Captain Cavity
Title: Captain Cavity
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ohno/Aiba
Word Count: 4765
Summary: Aiba has a toothache. His new dentist is rather…unusual.
Warnings/Notes: Fluff like you wouldn’t believe. Genderswitched Jun(ko). Also Aimiya friendship, yay! I think I have to warn for the inanely random plotline and Aiba’s ragingly noisy (but adorable, I’d like to think) italic sub-conscious. I seriously have no idea why I wrote this, but I do remember starting it because of some stupid Tumblr picture, ages ago. A disclaimer: I know nothing about dentistry, so, lol. ♥
Of course Aiba wasn't at ease: he has a gnawing toothache. Sakurai-sensei, his usual dentist, is out of town for a “Ramen Awakening Convention” at Fukuoka, or so his secretary says.
Well, Aiba isn’t really surprised-Sakurai-sensei talks about nothing except food whenever Aiba’s getting something done. It’s no fun listening to Sakurai-sensei rhapsodizing about the best curry in town when a tingly, metal-thing was making drilling noises in his mouth. Also, Sakurai-sensei was kind of nerdy whenever he segues into his gastronomic passions. Aiba would make fun of him, but Sakurai-sensei always dishes out the best ice cream places (and flavors!) in town after his visits. Redeeming qualities, as far as Aiba is concerned.
Frowning, he looks at the address of another dentist scribbled for him by his mom and walks towards it. The summer heat bears down on his nape, making everything feel like it’s moving much too slowly, which isn’t pleasant when compounded by his dental woes. Am I hallucinating? He's a little lost for words when he reaches the address, wondering if his mom got it wrong.
"This can't be it," he mutters to himself as he shuffles through the boardwalk. He quickly types a message to his best friend ("MY NEW DENTIST'S CLINIC IS FLOATING-TYPE!? [warning sign emoji]") but all he gets in reply is "fighting boss go away".
So much for moral support-not that his best friend would be the best person for this set-up, anyway. Aiba pouts. Useless, seasick best friend.
Usually, people won't say that he's the brightest bulb out of the bunch (any bunch, really), but he would at least know that dental clinics aren't supposed to be situated on a...fishing boat. Granted, it's moored properly on the dock, but he's pretty sure that no dentist has the ability to stop the movement of the sea. Or that dentists are even allowed to have...nautical clinics.
Unless it’s a new-agey thing? Eh?? Well, there’s no turning back now, or he'd have to walk all the way home with his toothache and an irate mom to deal with. He may be only home from university and already a legitimate “adult” after turning twenty a couple of years ago, but Aiba-mama is a dragon. A force of nature. No fun getting in her way.
He feels sheepish as he hops into the boat. It sways gently under his weight.
"Captain Cavity, DMD?" He knits his brows as he tries to read the fine print on the wooden plaque hanging on the door. "Dental Superboy. Calming the raging storm in your mouth since 1999." Aiba takes a picture with his phone and sends it to his best friend. OMG Nino’ll get a kick out of this.
Before he even gets to back out silently-because there is no way he is getting his tooth bungled up by a “Dental Superboy”, mouthy Aiba-mama or not-the door opens.
He's greeted by a serene-looking man in shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt. With sharks on it. Lots and lots of sharks.
Aiba would be ask him about it, on a normal day, always one to be openly curious. But there is one problem: the man in the funky Hawaiian shirt is cute.
Omigod he’s so cute. So! Cute! There are sleep lines on his cheeks and little brown tufts of unruly hair sticking out all over the place. He doesn't look much older than he is, Aiba notes, which makes him a whirring ball of nerves, for a couple of reasons.
1.) Cute guy. 2.) Creepy situation. He looks over his shoulders-this definitely has to be a prank.
"Hello," the man says in an unhurried voice. "You're Aiba-san?"
He swallows, noting the man’s soft-looking lips. "I...am."
He smiles, tiny dimples bursting forth, and Aiba is confused in between his fear and being bowled over. "Please enter, we'll be with you shortly." The man in question walks to the cabin and calls out to someone inside. "Junko-chan, he's here!"
A distinct-looking female with tawny blonde hair (in a very neat bun, Aiba observes) saunters out. She is, thank god, in a dental practitioner's attire. Oh! Maybe I’m not getting murdered by a complete (but cute) psychopath today. The clinic looks fairly normal-except for the weird multi-colored baits that are framed on the walls-and “Junko-chan” seems to be all about business.
In fact, despite his, well, preferences, Aiba's a big fan of girls in uniform-dentists and nurses most especially-and this "Junko-chan" is...almost pretty. Almost. Her brown eyes have a steely look to them, and Aiba knows just the person who would appreciate that even more than he does.
"Aiba-san?" Junko says in a cool, clipped voice, her thick eyebrow rising in obvious impatience.
"Yes? That's me?" Aiba says, dazed, curious about what was slightly off with her.
"I know that you’re Aiba-san." She sighs what may be the biggest sigh of exasperation Aiba has heard in his entire existence. "Please take a seat," she says, pinching the bridge of her nose as she gestured to the dental chair. Oh yeah. Dental shenanigans.
“Right,” Aiba says, shuffling forward. She starts to pin a bib on him, and Aiba can’t help but sniff her as unobtrusively as he can manage. She smells nice-like a bouquet of flowers on a cool spring day. Perfume, he guesses, but not the asphyxiating kind. Just the right kind. Oh he’d soooo like her!
“What do you think you’re doing?” Junko says, her brows furrowed. Aiba has a sudden epiphany. Ah, it’s definitely the wooden-carving brows. Except for those, she’d be really, exceptionally pretty, with her wispy blonde bangs and huge lips. “Aiba-san?”
“Sorry,” Aiba says, trying not to stare or be rude or give cause for his new dentist to file for harassment, because he swears, he’s really not a creep. He gives her what he likes to think of as his casual, harmless smile. “Junko-sensei, my tooth has-”
She smirks. “Junko-sensei, huh? Wait here. Gargle or something.”
Before Aiba can reply, Junko walks back to the small room. Aiba quickly fires a message to his best friend.
“MY NEW DENTIST IS 97% HOT [explosion emoji], BROWS OF DEATH THO LMAO [tears of laughter smiley emoji]”
“Already objectifying another health practitioner? Also pictures or you’re making things up, as per usual”
“PORCELAIN FACE. BLONDE. A LITTLE COLD. AKA UR TYPE [wiggly eyebrow emoji]”
“So I gather she’s not the Dental Superboy”
Before he can compose a witty reply about judging a boat by its signage, someone coughs beside him. “You’re all ready for me, yes?” the man from before asks. He now has a white lab coat over a pair of clean light blue scrubs, which is kind of hot.
“Wait, what?” Aiba asks, stuffing his mobile phone into his pocket. Ooh hot dentist, but Aiba’s also nervous, because he really, really doesn’t want to end up as a novel medical casualty.
The man’s tanned face breaks out into a small, knowing smile. “Everyone wishes it’s Junko-chan, I know. You can call me Ohno,” he says, reaching out a hand to him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t dressed earlier and gave you the wrong impression?”
“Ohno-san? Sensei?” Aiba asks, a little fluttery as he shakes his hand. “You don’t look much like a dentist.” He says it before he realizes it’s rude, but Ohno shakes his head humbly.
“I really don’t. Ohno-san is fine.”
“Captain Cavity?” God, he can’t stop with the stupid questions today, apparently.
His chuckle sounds like music to Aiba’s ears. “Sorry, dental school nickname. It stuck.”
He asks about what’s wrong with Aiba’s teeth, and Aiba proceeds to an explanation about a tooth that’s been hurting, and that he hasn’t been out for yakiniku in a week. Aiba shivers when Ohno, after doing a quick check, says that he has to extract the tooth. Today. Aiba thought that he’d just get a pain prescription and be done with it.
“But your boat is rocking!” he whines, the waves not seeming so gentle now.
Junko snorts in the background, and Aiba dies a little inside. Great, Junko-chan thinks I’m lame. Ohno-sensei probably does too.
“It’s okay, I do this all the time, Aiba-san,” Ohno says, his voice kind as he arranges his tools. “It’s like fishing, it’s all about timing.”
Oh my god. Aiba thinks about that one documentary he watched before-apparently serial killers tend to have exceedingly charming voices and kind-looking faces. Ohno ticks all the boxes. Aiba can already see the headlines: Captain Cavity Discovered as Chiba Serial Killer.
Ohno yanks the overhead light nearer, blinding Aiba momentarily. He takes his position over Aiba, his gloved hand ready. He smells lemony, kind of like fresh laundry. It’s like a fantasy and a nightmare all rolled into one. This is all your fault, Sakurai-sensei, Aiba thinks murderously.
“You just have to dance with the motion of the ocean, nothing to it.”
Aiba can only smile weakly. “Aaahh~”
He opens his mouth reluctantly. I’m going to die a death in the sea via this quack. This cute quack with super hot arms.
Minutes later, he’s pleasantly surprised. Except for the uncomfortable whirring, Ohno really does seem to be the “Dental Superboy” that the plaque says he is-he is gentle with his motions and even hums while he does his work. Granted, local anesthesia is involved, but Aiba can tell how skillful he is with his light, efficient movements. Sakurai-sensei is skilled, but Ohno seems to do it with inhuman ease.
Ohno works smoothly and talks to Junko over the noise, asking what recipe to cook because apparently, he has a room full of pineapples. Aiba would ask about it, but then his mouth is full of Ohno’s gloved fingers. Which is another thing he is quite busy thinking about. Dental appointments aren’t supposed to be sexy.
“A sweet stew of some kind, maybe? The juices from the pineapple would taste wonderful on something like chicken. Crock pot?” Junko answers helpfully.
“Mmm, juices huh,” Ohno purrs. “You think of the yummiest things.”
“Silly,” Junko replies.
Ohno pushes a pedal and a whoosh comes out of his hand-held tool of supposed death. Except, Ohno’s deft with his movements and remarkably not clumsy at all, unlike Sakurai-sensei, who’s known to bump his head into the overhead light frequently. He pushes again, and another whoosh comes out. “Wanna come over on Friday? I’ll make those juices flow, definitely,” he says through his mask.
Junko actually giggles. “Not hot, Ohno-sensei. Also you just want me to cook, don’t you.”
Aiba laments his misfortunes in dental care: Sakurai-sensei and his boring monologues about different kinds of tonkotsu broths, and now, a super cute one who flirts clumsily with his pretty assistant. All that while he has mouth open helplessly, unable to get a word in.
“But you’ll come? You don’t have a hot date or anything, right?”
Junko snorts. “Chiba seems to have a shortage of those recently, so no. And yes.”
“Alright!” Ohno says, a small whoop contained inside his mask.
Ugh, what the hell. Well, at least the view was kind of nice. Ohno has a tan, pretty neck. Pretty shape too.
“Junko-chan, some fluoride please?” he says.
“Aye aye, Captain.” She doesn’t hesitate and reaches out to get it.
Aiba would begrudge his dentist the flirting, but he feels a hundred times better than when he came in, so he doesn’t. Sort of. He gargles and spits, pleased with the absence of the pain that’s been bugging him for weeks.
“All set,” Ohno says, taking off his mask, smile all kind and compact and making Aiba’s insides churn all over like butter. “Junko-chan will give you a list of food that you can eat for the next few days.”
“Great!” Aiba says, really grateful.
“You’ll have to eat soup and stuff for the first few days,” Junko chimes in, handing a piece of paper to Aiba. “It’s going to suck.”
“Junko-chan,” Ohno warns, laughter skittering at the edge of his statement.
“Um, can I at least eat yakiniku next weekend?” It is a legitimate worry, Aiba thinks.
“Yakiniku?” Ohno asks.
“It has to be yakiniku. I mean, my brother is training to be a chef, you see. And he’s back in town, and we just can’t miss yakiniku, and he’s treating me because he can’t be there for my graduation!”
Junko looks at him like she’s smelling something bad. Ohno only chuckles. “Well, just on one side of your mouth, please.”
Aiba does a mental fist pump in the air. “Awesome!”
After getting the payment out of the way, Ohno peels off his coat. As much as Aiba has a uniform fetish, he finds him more interesting and adorable in his shorts and shirt overrun with sharks. But either way, ugh, Ohno-sensei. He tries not to be obvious as he accepts the receipt from him.
“Aiba-san, do you also want to come on Friday? Pineapples,” he says, as if that explains everything.
“But-but we just met,” Aiba says, fingertips suddenly icy. Is he feeling…giddy?
“But I was practically all up in your mouth the whole afternoon, I don’t think we’re strangers?” Ohno’s smile is so unhurried and innocent, and maybe Aiba splutters a little.
OMIGOD OMIGOD. OMIGOOOOOD.
Before he knows it, he agrees to dinner, but only “if I could bring my best friend,” he hears himself saying, he is being so uncool and impatient and chatty and he just knows he will hate himself later on.
“Why not,” Ohno agrees, which almost gives Aiba a heart attack, because he almost expected to be turned down. Ohno leads him to the door. “Come by next Friday? Maybe around 7?”
Aiba, somehow, even with his nerves and the general tripping-over-himself, finds himself agreeing.
His weird dentist scratches his stomach without a care in the world, and Aiba finds some kind of strange glee suddenly wedging in his throat. “Oh, by the way, your face will become swollen,” he says.
“Excuse me?” Aiba says, confused.
“From the extraction,” Ohno replies patiently. “So don’t swallow more than necessary.”
“Oh! Oh,” Aiba says, “I mean, yeah, I won’t.”
Is he serious??? Aiba feels his feet doing the walking for him because his brain is a little fried.
Junko stabs him with her molten dagger eyes on his way out. He stumbles out to the deck, his whole mouth numb, perplexed, but still somewhat grinning stupidly. It’s the most surreal trip to the dentist he’s ever had.
He grabs his phone and types furiously.
“CAPTAIN CAVITY WAS FLIRTING WITH ME [explosion emoji] SOMETHING ABOUT BEING INSIDE MY MOUTH AND SWALLOWING [skull emoji] [skull emoji] [skull emoji] OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME TO DINNER NEXT WEEK OK? OK???”
*
He meets with Nino at the corner Lawson for a cone of soft-serve and a cheap slice of rare cheesecake. After a week of salt rinses and gunky, tasteless food, he is ready to eat. Sweets are obviously the first order of business.
Nino complains to him as the automatic door shuts behind them. “I don’t know why I have to come with you to dinner.”
“Because Ohno-sensei invited us, that’s why,” he says. They settle on a bench, the impending sunset tingeing the sky with the faintest orange. “It’s rude to turn down invitations!”
“But he’s just your dentist,” Nino says, lapping lazily at his cone. “I’m so telling on you to Sakurai-sensei. I mean, disloyal much?”
Aiba rolls his eyes and talks through a mouthful of cheesecake. “I’ll still get my cleaning done at Sakurai-sensei.”
“Whatever. I’m still fifty-fifty over dinner.”
“Nino,” he whines. It’s embarrassing trying to explain his, umm, obvious attraction to the dentist, mixed with this happy, bright, swirling curiosity-for starters, how would Ohno cook his pineapples? Will he wear another Hawaiian shirt? Aiba must find out. He is suddenly filled with renewed fighting spirit. “You need to come, remember that hot assistant I told you about? She’ll be there!”
“Are you bribing me with a girl who has a uni-brow?” Nino asks. “Not a terribly enticing prospect, to be honest.”
“Just come, will you!” Aiba pleads. “She’s a little rude, yes, but she’s hot, I swear! Please come, please please please.”
Nino sighs when Aiba actually tugs on his shirtsleeves. “You’ve dragged me this far already, haven’t you?”
Aiba grins, because he knows that tone. It’s the Nino-has-caved-in tone, because at the end of the day, they were “best friends and baseball co-captains forever and ever!” Not that Aiba will repeat it out loud, not after Nino had stalked off that day, back in junior high, all prickly and embarrassed. So cute!
“Ninomi, you so love me,” Aiba enthuses. Nino wipes off his sticky hand on Aiba’s arm.
“Yeah, I just can’t resist the opportunity of seeing you with Captain McCreepster.”
“Don’t call him that!”
“Why, because you’re so attracted to him?”
“Am not,” he says, even as a telltale blush creeps traitorously on his face. “I’m just…curious.”
His denials are lost on his best friend, who finishes off his cone with even relish. “She better be hot.”
*
They arrive on Ohno’s boat-which is apparently his clinic and his home as well-at exactly 7 sharp. Aiba rings the doorbell and fidgets, wondering if the dentist even remembers inviting him. He’s in the middle of brainstorming a contingency plan just in case Ohno doesn’t recall being hospitable when Nino laughs at the signage. “You weren’t kidding.”
“Shh, he’ll hear you!” Aiba says, embarrassed.
The door is opened by Ohno, who is, sadly enough, not in a Hawaiian shirt. Aiba’s openly roaming eyes, though, can more than appreciate the white shirt sticking oh-so-subtly along his apparently trim shoulders-did he just step out of the bath?
“Aiba-san, hi,” Ohno says. He feels out of his depth then, like it’s a battle he didn’t prepare for enough, if at all. If Nino’s growing smile is any indication, then yes-he definitely isn’t prepared.
“This is Nino-” Aiba sputters, trying not to stare at his new dentist’s tiny collar bones “-miya-kun.”
“Nice to meet you, Nino,” he says, “-miya-kun.”
“Hey,” Nino says, a jaunty salute thrown at Ohno’s way. “Just Nino is cool.”
“Oh, here,” Ohno mumbles, chuckling as he shuffles to the side, as if he’s just remembered that they are his guests and that he should make way for them. Aiba tries his best to peel his eyes off from him. “Please enter.”
He enters after Nino into what can only be described as a very normal-looking cabin. It’s spacious, though, and at the end of the room, the open kitchen reveals an aproned Junko, bending down to the oven.
“She’s just helping me glaze the chicken one last time,” Ohno explains, nudging beers into both of their hands. “They’re here, Junko-chan!”
Junko straightens up and removes her apron, revealing jeans that skim nicely on her legs and a cute white sailor top with blue trimmings. She walks toward them with a tentative, if slightly hesitant smile. “Hey.”
Aiba feels Nino straightening up in attention beside him. Introductions are made, and Ohno leads the four of them to a neat little table set-up on the deck outside. Red lamps that looked like they were from old restaurants are strung overhead, making for an odd glow over the wooden table. The breeze is light though, and Aiba finds himself relaxing as the four of them settle down and make idle chatter.
They take their cues from Ohno and swill their beer as they attack the bread basket. Hmm? He tears up his bread into tiny pieces? Ugh, cute.
In the middle of his ruminations about Ohno’s fingers and his increasingly bread-filled cheeks, Aiba notices Nino staring at Junko. Can he not see that Junko’s giving him the dagger eyes? He tries to be subtle about sending a mail to Nino.
“OMG DON’T STARE YOU’RE CREEPING HER OUT [heartbroken emoji]”-which didn’t end up meriting a reply from his best friend. Nino looks more than content taking tiny sips from his beer and smiling at everything Junko says to Ohno, like she only had eyes for him.
When Junko excuses herself to get the bird from the oven, Nino rams the bottle on the table with uncharacteristic purpose. “Ohno-san.”
“Y-yes?” Ohno says, startled at Nino’s sudden effusive declaration.
“I’m very observant, you see. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not dating Junko-san, yes?” Nino asks, and Aiba is about to smack him in the forehead because OMG NINO STOP when Ohno snorts.
“Junko-chan would never fall for someone like me,” he says, still chuckling, as if it was the most hilarious thing he’s heard in a while. Nino grins.
“Cool,” Nino declares, as he makes twitchy brows at Aiba and stands up. “I’ll go help her out.”
Suddenly left alone, the two of them are silent. His phone vibrates. It’s a message from Nino.
“I am so in the game with Junko-chan here,” it says, to which Aiba furiously replies, “DONT BE RUDE OK [sad face emoji] SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE’LL THROW YOU OVERBOARD ANY MOMENT NOW” to which Nino only says “You know nothing, Aiba Masaki. Concentrate on loverboy right there”
-which is timely, because Ohno may or may not have accidentally nudged him with his foot. “Do you want to go up for a bit?”
Aiba tries desperately not to be uncool. “Um, up?”
Ohno points up behind Aiba, to a ladder that leads to an open-air second-floor ledge on top of the cabin. “Oh, up. Sure,” Aiba says, his chair making a scraping sound.
They walk towards the ladder, and when Aiba makes a motion for Ohno to go first, Ohno shakes his head. “You first,” he says. As he climbs the ladder, Aiba wonders how his ass looks like in his frayed jeans. He can only hope it’s a nice view when he feels Ohno following on his heels. It takes a huge spurt of coordination from Aiba to clamber to the ledge in one piece.
The marina opens up and twinkles with the lights from the boardwalk. “Wow, nice view,” Aiba says, as he leans on the rails and Ohno settles beside him. “You can see all the other boats from here too!”
“Yeah, it’s great isn’t it,” Ohno says, truly sounding content. Aiba looks at him sideways when Ohno meets his eyes. Like, meaningfully. OMIGOD OMIGOD
“It’s still weird that you’re a dentist, and we’re on your boat,” Aiba says, scrabbling for conversation, because Ohno looks like someone who could own an entire space, the universe too, perhaps, without saying a damn word and man, it is the most unnerving thing. He can smell Ohno's clean smell, and it's futzing with his brain like mad. “Like, my dentist. So weird.”
Ohno runs a hand through his hair, chuffing out tiny puffs of laughter. “Aw. And here I was, hoping you had a fetish.”
"What?" And he can’t help it, his eyes grow big, and his heart thuds so dumbly, he’s not entirely sure that Ohno can’t actually see it beating out of his chest. Even if it's physically impossible. “Are you propositioning me, Ohno-san?”
“I don’t know,” Ohno says. There’s a twinkle in his eyes. “I mean, are you propositionable?”
Aiba laughs, because seriously, it was the dumbest yet sexiest conversation he’s had in ages, and also, what in the world. “I did find you cute in your Hawaiian shirt, though,” he admits, a little embarrassed, but riding the wave to a crest he knows Ohno spies in the distance as well. Aiba’s not naïve, after all.
“The one with sharks?” Ohno says.
“Yeah, that one.”
“Is this the part where you allow me to kiss you?” Ohno asks, blunt and calm, the smallest of petulant smirks alighting on his lips.
“Like, right here?” Aiba asks, and god, he is so turned on and so giddy, it’s not even sinking in right. The man asking permission to ravage (what, he’s optimistic) his mouth is the very same person who extracted a tooth in the very same, well, mouth. All kinds of strange.
“Yeah, here,” Ohno says. All kinds of hot too.
“Well, okay.”
Ohno hems him in to the railing with his arms, not touching him just yet, but already, Aiba’s breath is caught as he turns. “The boat is rocking,” he says stupidly, inhaling Ohno's scent and his scant smile.
Aiba is glad Ohno doesn’t dignify his dumb statement with a response and instead settles for leaning in to what may yet be the most mind-blowing first kiss Aiba’s ever had. Ohno's hands skate up his arm, and everything feels delicious and rarefied. His lips are just as soft as Aiba imagined, and he tastes like beer, all warm and spicy.
"Ah," Aiba says. It's not the slight breeze that brushes against his neck that cause a smattering of goosebumps on his skin, it's the way Ohno sighs into him that does it, and perhaps his fingertips exploring the skin right beneath his sleeve.
"Ohno-san," Aiba breathes.
“Wow. I want to kiss you again,” Ohno smiles as his eyes flutter open, revealing a tiny dimple on the side of his mouth.
“We could date?” Aiba suggests, pleased, stunned, already out of breath.
“We could, what did you think I invited you for,” Ohno says, reaching out to hold his hand. “I’m not the best at keeping things in proper order.”
“You aren’t,” Aiba says, unable to keep the triumph out of his voice, smiling right back at him. I KNEW IT GODDAMMIT I KNEW THE FINGERS IN MOUTH QUIP WAS NOT INNOCENT NO WAY THAT WAS INNOCENT!
“What’s your major,” Ohno asks, all of a sudden, stepping in even closer, as if it were possible. The heat of their hips softly pressing together consumes Aiba. “You’re graduating, right?”
“Um, physics,” Aiba says, distracted. Ohno was so pretty. So pretty and weird and making him feel funny fluttery feelings in his stomach that weren’t just entirely him being a horn dog in general-it was a kind of innocent attraction that already had him in grips.
“So hardcore,” Ohno says, and goes in for another knee-melting kiss, just, so slow and unhurried and perfect. "Go on," Ohno goads against his lips, when Aiba wraps his arms around his neck, and they are just kissing, feeling each other smiling. He feels Ohno sigh again when his hand meanders to his hair, and maybe to Aiba, it's already fast becoming one of his favorite sounds in the world. Aiba could easily imagine being lost in Ohno.
His hands trail to Aiba’s hips, pushing him softly against the railing. Aiba could feel nothing but new sensations, feels sickeningly excited about life. Like, even more than usual.
Aiba’s phone beeps, and he has to disentangle himself from Ohno, just as he was scritching Aiba's shirt up a bit. “Wait,” he says, to which Ohno pouts, breathless, with an audible “aw.” How cute is this dentist, for fucking real? Aiba thinks, as he clicks on Nino’s message.
“You better not be making out like horny teenagers because if yes you two are officially gross we’re on a ship for crying out loud also the bird is here and Junko-chan’s not happy about waiting.”
“Bird’s downstairs,” Aiba says to Ohno as he leans back on the railing, trying for his most serious face.
They only had to look at each other to crack up into each other’s shoulders, and Aiba revels in his high-pitched, almost soundless laughter. "Bird's downstairs," Ohno repeats, giggling.
Painless extraction? Check. Great kisser? Check. Lewd humor? Check.
Best. Dentist. Ever.
(Sorry Sakurai-sensei.)
*
“So, like, Junko-chan totally hated you,” Aiba says, their shoulders bumping in the backseat of the taxi as they head back from the dinner.
“We can meet on Tuesday for drinks? I expect that you’ll have a plan in mind,” reads Nino from his phone. “She actually uses cute emoji, you know.” His face is all kinds of smug, and Aiba tries not to call him out on it, because aww. “Also look at this picture, wait.”
Aiba doesn’t know how Nino managed it, but apparently, it happened. Aiba grins at the photo of Junko holding the platter of chicken with a smile on her face, with Nino beside her, a peace sign by his cheeks.
“So domestic already? I thought you didn’t like uni-brows,” Aiba comments.
“Junko-chan does not have uni-brows, you always overstate things.”
They remain in a truce for ten minutes. Aiba couldn’t stop himself. “Ninomi, I now I know why they call him Captain Cavity, the way he kisses gives you-”
“Don’t,” Nino interjects. “Just don’t.”
“Prude!”
Nino smirks. “Not at all, but seriously, your dentist? You might as well just have Frenched Sakurai-sensei.”
“Um, my god, no.” Aiba giggles, which infects Nino almost immediately, because the thought of making out with Sakurai-sensei was ridiculous because a) he was as straight as a pole and b) he was kind of a dork (in a good way, but yeah, a dork.) “But so what if Ohno-san’s my dentist! You’re so judgmental, Ninomi.”
“What? I’m done judging you and your perverted proclivities,” Nino declares, going back to texting with his precious Junko-chan.
“Whatever, I bet you’ll jack off to the thought of Junko-chan in her super cute sailor shirt tonight.”
“Don’t you dare even start imagining her in that light!”
“Wow, so protective,” Aiba says, grinning.
“Ugh. Leave me alone, Aiba-shi,” Nino huffs, clutching his phone even nearer to his face.
And Aiba, Aiba knows Nino’s just thanked him for a very, very good night indeed. Aiba thinks about coaxing Nino into treating him for some fancy strawberry daifuku tomorrow, since, well, it was ultimately his toothache that led to their happy endings (beginnings?) tonight.
Or maybe yuzu chiffon cake. Ah, the possibilities!
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ohno/Aiba
Word Count: 4765
Summary: Aiba has a toothache. His new dentist is rather…unusual.
Warnings/Notes: Fluff like you wouldn’t believe. Genderswitched Jun(ko). Also Aimiya friendship, yay! I think I have to warn for the inanely random plotline and Aiba’s ragingly noisy (but adorable, I’d like to think) italic sub-conscious. I seriously have no idea why I wrote this, but I do remember starting it because of some stupid Tumblr picture, ages ago. A disclaimer: I know nothing about dentistry, so, lol. ♥
Of course Aiba wasn't at ease: he has a gnawing toothache. Sakurai-sensei, his usual dentist, is out of town for a “Ramen Awakening Convention” at Fukuoka, or so his secretary says.
Well, Aiba isn’t really surprised-Sakurai-sensei talks about nothing except food whenever Aiba’s getting something done. It’s no fun listening to Sakurai-sensei rhapsodizing about the best curry in town when a tingly, metal-thing was making drilling noises in his mouth. Also, Sakurai-sensei was kind of nerdy whenever he segues into his gastronomic passions. Aiba would make fun of him, but Sakurai-sensei always dishes out the best ice cream places (and flavors!) in town after his visits. Redeeming qualities, as far as Aiba is concerned.
Frowning, he looks at the address of another dentist scribbled for him by his mom and walks towards it. The summer heat bears down on his nape, making everything feel like it’s moving much too slowly, which isn’t pleasant when compounded by his dental woes. Am I hallucinating? He's a little lost for words when he reaches the address, wondering if his mom got it wrong.
"This can't be it," he mutters to himself as he shuffles through the boardwalk. He quickly types a message to his best friend ("MY NEW DENTIST'S CLINIC IS FLOATING-TYPE!? [warning sign emoji]") but all he gets in reply is "fighting boss go away".
So much for moral support-not that his best friend would be the best person for this set-up, anyway. Aiba pouts. Useless, seasick best friend.
Usually, people won't say that he's the brightest bulb out of the bunch (any bunch, really), but he would at least know that dental clinics aren't supposed to be situated on a...fishing boat. Granted, it's moored properly on the dock, but he's pretty sure that no dentist has the ability to stop the movement of the sea. Or that dentists are even allowed to have...nautical clinics.
Unless it’s a new-agey thing? Eh?? Well, there’s no turning back now, or he'd have to walk all the way home with his toothache and an irate mom to deal with. He may be only home from university and already a legitimate “adult” after turning twenty a couple of years ago, but Aiba-mama is a dragon. A force of nature. No fun getting in her way.
He feels sheepish as he hops into the boat. It sways gently under his weight.
"Captain Cavity, DMD?" He knits his brows as he tries to read the fine print on the wooden plaque hanging on the door. "Dental Superboy. Calming the raging storm in your mouth since 1999." Aiba takes a picture with his phone and sends it to his best friend. OMG Nino’ll get a kick out of this.
Before he even gets to back out silently-because there is no way he is getting his tooth bungled up by a “Dental Superboy”, mouthy Aiba-mama or not-the door opens.
He's greeted by a serene-looking man in shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt. With sharks on it. Lots and lots of sharks.
Aiba would be ask him about it, on a normal day, always one to be openly curious. But there is one problem: the man in the funky Hawaiian shirt is cute.
Omigod he’s so cute. So! Cute! There are sleep lines on his cheeks and little brown tufts of unruly hair sticking out all over the place. He doesn't look much older than he is, Aiba notes, which makes him a whirring ball of nerves, for a couple of reasons.
1.) Cute guy. 2.) Creepy situation. He looks over his shoulders-this definitely has to be a prank.
"Hello," the man says in an unhurried voice. "You're Aiba-san?"
He swallows, noting the man’s soft-looking lips. "I...am."
He smiles, tiny dimples bursting forth, and Aiba is confused in between his fear and being bowled over. "Please enter, we'll be with you shortly." The man in question walks to the cabin and calls out to someone inside. "Junko-chan, he's here!"
A distinct-looking female with tawny blonde hair (in a very neat bun, Aiba observes) saunters out. She is, thank god, in a dental practitioner's attire. Oh! Maybe I’m not getting murdered by a complete (but cute) psychopath today. The clinic looks fairly normal-except for the weird multi-colored baits that are framed on the walls-and “Junko-chan” seems to be all about business.
In fact, despite his, well, preferences, Aiba's a big fan of girls in uniform-dentists and nurses most especially-and this "Junko-chan" is...almost pretty. Almost. Her brown eyes have a steely look to them, and Aiba knows just the person who would appreciate that even more than he does.
"Aiba-san?" Junko says in a cool, clipped voice, her thick eyebrow rising in obvious impatience.
"Yes? That's me?" Aiba says, dazed, curious about what was slightly off with her.
"I know that you’re Aiba-san." She sighs what may be the biggest sigh of exasperation Aiba has heard in his entire existence. "Please take a seat," she says, pinching the bridge of her nose as she gestured to the dental chair. Oh yeah. Dental shenanigans.
“Right,” Aiba says, shuffling forward. She starts to pin a bib on him, and Aiba can’t help but sniff her as unobtrusively as he can manage. She smells nice-like a bouquet of flowers on a cool spring day. Perfume, he guesses, but not the asphyxiating kind. Just the right kind. Oh he’d soooo like her!
“What do you think you’re doing?” Junko says, her brows furrowed. Aiba has a sudden epiphany. Ah, it’s definitely the wooden-carving brows. Except for those, she’d be really, exceptionally pretty, with her wispy blonde bangs and huge lips. “Aiba-san?”
“Sorry,” Aiba says, trying not to stare or be rude or give cause for his new dentist to file for harassment, because he swears, he’s really not a creep. He gives her what he likes to think of as his casual, harmless smile. “Junko-sensei, my tooth has-”
She smirks. “Junko-sensei, huh? Wait here. Gargle or something.”
Before Aiba can reply, Junko walks back to the small room. Aiba quickly fires a message to his best friend.
“MY NEW DENTIST IS 97% HOT [explosion emoji], BROWS OF DEATH THO LMAO [tears of laughter smiley emoji]”
“Already objectifying another health practitioner? Also pictures or you’re making things up, as per usual”
“PORCELAIN FACE. BLONDE. A LITTLE COLD. AKA UR TYPE [wiggly eyebrow emoji]”
“So I gather she’s not the Dental Superboy”
Before he can compose a witty reply about judging a boat by its signage, someone coughs beside him. “You’re all ready for me, yes?” the man from before asks. He now has a white lab coat over a pair of clean light blue scrubs, which is kind of hot.
“Wait, what?” Aiba asks, stuffing his mobile phone into his pocket. Ooh hot dentist, but Aiba’s also nervous, because he really, really doesn’t want to end up as a novel medical casualty.
The man’s tanned face breaks out into a small, knowing smile. “Everyone wishes it’s Junko-chan, I know. You can call me Ohno,” he says, reaching out a hand to him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t dressed earlier and gave you the wrong impression?”
“Ohno-san? Sensei?” Aiba asks, a little fluttery as he shakes his hand. “You don’t look much like a dentist.” He says it before he realizes it’s rude, but Ohno shakes his head humbly.
“I really don’t. Ohno-san is fine.”
“Captain Cavity?” God, he can’t stop with the stupid questions today, apparently.
His chuckle sounds like music to Aiba’s ears. “Sorry, dental school nickname. It stuck.”
He asks about what’s wrong with Aiba’s teeth, and Aiba proceeds to an explanation about a tooth that’s been hurting, and that he hasn’t been out for yakiniku in a week. Aiba shivers when Ohno, after doing a quick check, says that he has to extract the tooth. Today. Aiba thought that he’d just get a pain prescription and be done with it.
“But your boat is rocking!” he whines, the waves not seeming so gentle now.
Junko snorts in the background, and Aiba dies a little inside. Great, Junko-chan thinks I’m lame. Ohno-sensei probably does too.
“It’s okay, I do this all the time, Aiba-san,” Ohno says, his voice kind as he arranges his tools. “It’s like fishing, it’s all about timing.”
Oh my god. Aiba thinks about that one documentary he watched before-apparently serial killers tend to have exceedingly charming voices and kind-looking faces. Ohno ticks all the boxes. Aiba can already see the headlines: Captain Cavity Discovered as Chiba Serial Killer.
Ohno yanks the overhead light nearer, blinding Aiba momentarily. He takes his position over Aiba, his gloved hand ready. He smells lemony, kind of like fresh laundry. It’s like a fantasy and a nightmare all rolled into one. This is all your fault, Sakurai-sensei, Aiba thinks murderously.
“You just have to dance with the motion of the ocean, nothing to it.”
Aiba can only smile weakly. “Aaahh~”
He opens his mouth reluctantly. I’m going to die a death in the sea via this quack. This cute quack with super hot arms.
Minutes later, he’s pleasantly surprised. Except for the uncomfortable whirring, Ohno really does seem to be the “Dental Superboy” that the plaque says he is-he is gentle with his motions and even hums while he does his work. Granted, local anesthesia is involved, but Aiba can tell how skillful he is with his light, efficient movements. Sakurai-sensei is skilled, but Ohno seems to do it with inhuman ease.
Ohno works smoothly and talks to Junko over the noise, asking what recipe to cook because apparently, he has a room full of pineapples. Aiba would ask about it, but then his mouth is full of Ohno’s gloved fingers. Which is another thing he is quite busy thinking about. Dental appointments aren’t supposed to be sexy.
“A sweet stew of some kind, maybe? The juices from the pineapple would taste wonderful on something like chicken. Crock pot?” Junko answers helpfully.
“Mmm, juices huh,” Ohno purrs. “You think of the yummiest things.”
“Silly,” Junko replies.
Ohno pushes a pedal and a whoosh comes out of his hand-held tool of supposed death. Except, Ohno’s deft with his movements and remarkably not clumsy at all, unlike Sakurai-sensei, who’s known to bump his head into the overhead light frequently. He pushes again, and another whoosh comes out. “Wanna come over on Friday? I’ll make those juices flow, definitely,” he says through his mask.
Junko actually giggles. “Not hot, Ohno-sensei. Also you just want me to cook, don’t you.”
Aiba laments his misfortunes in dental care: Sakurai-sensei and his boring monologues about different kinds of tonkotsu broths, and now, a super cute one who flirts clumsily with his pretty assistant. All that while he has mouth open helplessly, unable to get a word in.
“But you’ll come? You don’t have a hot date or anything, right?”
Junko snorts. “Chiba seems to have a shortage of those recently, so no. And yes.”
“Alright!” Ohno says, a small whoop contained inside his mask.
Ugh, what the hell. Well, at least the view was kind of nice. Ohno has a tan, pretty neck. Pretty shape too.
“Junko-chan, some fluoride please?” he says.
“Aye aye, Captain.” She doesn’t hesitate and reaches out to get it.
Aiba would begrudge his dentist the flirting, but he feels a hundred times better than when he came in, so he doesn’t. Sort of. He gargles and spits, pleased with the absence of the pain that’s been bugging him for weeks.
“All set,” Ohno says, taking off his mask, smile all kind and compact and making Aiba’s insides churn all over like butter. “Junko-chan will give you a list of food that you can eat for the next few days.”
“Great!” Aiba says, really grateful.
“You’ll have to eat soup and stuff for the first few days,” Junko chimes in, handing a piece of paper to Aiba. “It’s going to suck.”
“Junko-chan,” Ohno warns, laughter skittering at the edge of his statement.
“Um, can I at least eat yakiniku next weekend?” It is a legitimate worry, Aiba thinks.
“Yakiniku?” Ohno asks.
“It has to be yakiniku. I mean, my brother is training to be a chef, you see. And he’s back in town, and we just can’t miss yakiniku, and he’s treating me because he can’t be there for my graduation!”
Junko looks at him like she’s smelling something bad. Ohno only chuckles. “Well, just on one side of your mouth, please.”
Aiba does a mental fist pump in the air. “Awesome!”
After getting the payment out of the way, Ohno peels off his coat. As much as Aiba has a uniform fetish, he finds him more interesting and adorable in his shorts and shirt overrun with sharks. But either way, ugh, Ohno-sensei. He tries not to be obvious as he accepts the receipt from him.
“Aiba-san, do you also want to come on Friday? Pineapples,” he says, as if that explains everything.
“But-but we just met,” Aiba says, fingertips suddenly icy. Is he feeling…giddy?
“But I was practically all up in your mouth the whole afternoon, I don’t think we’re strangers?” Ohno’s smile is so unhurried and innocent, and maybe Aiba splutters a little.
OMIGOD OMIGOD. OMIGOOOOOD.
Before he knows it, he agrees to dinner, but only “if I could bring my best friend,” he hears himself saying, he is being so uncool and impatient and chatty and he just knows he will hate himself later on.
“Why not,” Ohno agrees, which almost gives Aiba a heart attack, because he almost expected to be turned down. Ohno leads him to the door. “Come by next Friday? Maybe around 7?”
Aiba, somehow, even with his nerves and the general tripping-over-himself, finds himself agreeing.
His weird dentist scratches his stomach without a care in the world, and Aiba finds some kind of strange glee suddenly wedging in his throat. “Oh, by the way, your face will become swollen,” he says.
“Excuse me?” Aiba says, confused.
“From the extraction,” Ohno replies patiently. “So don’t swallow more than necessary.”
“Oh! Oh,” Aiba says, “I mean, yeah, I won’t.”
Is he serious??? Aiba feels his feet doing the walking for him because his brain is a little fried.
Junko stabs him with her molten dagger eyes on his way out. He stumbles out to the deck, his whole mouth numb, perplexed, but still somewhat grinning stupidly. It’s the most surreal trip to the dentist he’s ever had.
He grabs his phone and types furiously.
“CAPTAIN CAVITY WAS FLIRTING WITH ME [explosion emoji] SOMETHING ABOUT BEING INSIDE MY MOUTH AND SWALLOWING [skull emoji] [skull emoji] [skull emoji] OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME TO DINNER NEXT WEEK OK? OK???”
*
He meets with Nino at the corner Lawson for a cone of soft-serve and a cheap slice of rare cheesecake. After a week of salt rinses and gunky, tasteless food, he is ready to eat. Sweets are obviously the first order of business.
Nino complains to him as the automatic door shuts behind them. “I don’t know why I have to come with you to dinner.”
“Because Ohno-sensei invited us, that’s why,” he says. They settle on a bench, the impending sunset tingeing the sky with the faintest orange. “It’s rude to turn down invitations!”
“But he’s just your dentist,” Nino says, lapping lazily at his cone. “I’m so telling on you to Sakurai-sensei. I mean, disloyal much?”
Aiba rolls his eyes and talks through a mouthful of cheesecake. “I’ll still get my cleaning done at Sakurai-sensei.”
“Whatever. I’m still fifty-fifty over dinner.”
“Nino,” he whines. It’s embarrassing trying to explain his, umm, obvious attraction to the dentist, mixed with this happy, bright, swirling curiosity-for starters, how would Ohno cook his pineapples? Will he wear another Hawaiian shirt? Aiba must find out. He is suddenly filled with renewed fighting spirit. “You need to come, remember that hot assistant I told you about? She’ll be there!”
“Are you bribing me with a girl who has a uni-brow?” Nino asks. “Not a terribly enticing prospect, to be honest.”
“Just come, will you!” Aiba pleads. “She’s a little rude, yes, but she’s hot, I swear! Please come, please please please.”
Nino sighs when Aiba actually tugs on his shirtsleeves. “You’ve dragged me this far already, haven’t you?”
Aiba grins, because he knows that tone. It’s the Nino-has-caved-in tone, because at the end of the day, they were “best friends and baseball co-captains forever and ever!” Not that Aiba will repeat it out loud, not after Nino had stalked off that day, back in junior high, all prickly and embarrassed. So cute!
“Ninomi, you so love me,” Aiba enthuses. Nino wipes off his sticky hand on Aiba’s arm.
“Yeah, I just can’t resist the opportunity of seeing you with Captain McCreepster.”
“Don’t call him that!”
“Why, because you’re so attracted to him?”
“Am not,” he says, even as a telltale blush creeps traitorously on his face. “I’m just…curious.”
His denials are lost on his best friend, who finishes off his cone with even relish. “She better be hot.”
*
They arrive on Ohno’s boat-which is apparently his clinic and his home as well-at exactly 7 sharp. Aiba rings the doorbell and fidgets, wondering if the dentist even remembers inviting him. He’s in the middle of brainstorming a contingency plan just in case Ohno doesn’t recall being hospitable when Nino laughs at the signage. “You weren’t kidding.”
“Shh, he’ll hear you!” Aiba says, embarrassed.
The door is opened by Ohno, who is, sadly enough, not in a Hawaiian shirt. Aiba’s openly roaming eyes, though, can more than appreciate the white shirt sticking oh-so-subtly along his apparently trim shoulders-did he just step out of the bath?
“Aiba-san, hi,” Ohno says. He feels out of his depth then, like it’s a battle he didn’t prepare for enough, if at all. If Nino’s growing smile is any indication, then yes-he definitely isn’t prepared.
“This is Nino-” Aiba sputters, trying not to stare at his new dentist’s tiny collar bones “-miya-kun.”
“Nice to meet you, Nino,” he says, “-miya-kun.”
“Hey,” Nino says, a jaunty salute thrown at Ohno’s way. “Just Nino is cool.”
“Oh, here,” Ohno mumbles, chuckling as he shuffles to the side, as if he’s just remembered that they are his guests and that he should make way for them. Aiba tries his best to peel his eyes off from him. “Please enter.”
He enters after Nino into what can only be described as a very normal-looking cabin. It’s spacious, though, and at the end of the room, the open kitchen reveals an aproned Junko, bending down to the oven.
“She’s just helping me glaze the chicken one last time,” Ohno explains, nudging beers into both of their hands. “They’re here, Junko-chan!”
Junko straightens up and removes her apron, revealing jeans that skim nicely on her legs and a cute white sailor top with blue trimmings. She walks toward them with a tentative, if slightly hesitant smile. “Hey.”
Aiba feels Nino straightening up in attention beside him. Introductions are made, and Ohno leads the four of them to a neat little table set-up on the deck outside. Red lamps that looked like they were from old restaurants are strung overhead, making for an odd glow over the wooden table. The breeze is light though, and Aiba finds himself relaxing as the four of them settle down and make idle chatter.
They take their cues from Ohno and swill their beer as they attack the bread basket. Hmm? He tears up his bread into tiny pieces? Ugh, cute.
In the middle of his ruminations about Ohno’s fingers and his increasingly bread-filled cheeks, Aiba notices Nino staring at Junko. Can he not see that Junko’s giving him the dagger eyes? He tries to be subtle about sending a mail to Nino.
“OMG DON’T STARE YOU’RE CREEPING HER OUT [heartbroken emoji]”-which didn’t end up meriting a reply from his best friend. Nino looks more than content taking tiny sips from his beer and smiling at everything Junko says to Ohno, like she only had eyes for him.
When Junko excuses herself to get the bird from the oven, Nino rams the bottle on the table with uncharacteristic purpose. “Ohno-san.”
“Y-yes?” Ohno says, startled at Nino’s sudden effusive declaration.
“I’m very observant, you see. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re not dating Junko-san, yes?” Nino asks, and Aiba is about to smack him in the forehead because OMG NINO STOP when Ohno snorts.
“Junko-chan would never fall for someone like me,” he says, still chuckling, as if it was the most hilarious thing he’s heard in a while. Nino grins.
“Cool,” Nino declares, as he makes twitchy brows at Aiba and stands up. “I’ll go help her out.”
Suddenly left alone, the two of them are silent. His phone vibrates. It’s a message from Nino.
“I am so in the game with Junko-chan here,” it says, to which Aiba furiously replies, “DONT BE RUDE OK [sad face emoji] SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE’LL THROW YOU OVERBOARD ANY MOMENT NOW” to which Nino only says “You know nothing, Aiba Masaki. Concentrate on loverboy right there”
-which is timely, because Ohno may or may not have accidentally nudged him with his foot. “Do you want to go up for a bit?”
Aiba tries desperately not to be uncool. “Um, up?”
Ohno points up behind Aiba, to a ladder that leads to an open-air second-floor ledge on top of the cabin. “Oh, up. Sure,” Aiba says, his chair making a scraping sound.
They walk towards the ladder, and when Aiba makes a motion for Ohno to go first, Ohno shakes his head. “You first,” he says. As he climbs the ladder, Aiba wonders how his ass looks like in his frayed jeans. He can only hope it’s a nice view when he feels Ohno following on his heels. It takes a huge spurt of coordination from Aiba to clamber to the ledge in one piece.
The marina opens up and twinkles with the lights from the boardwalk. “Wow, nice view,” Aiba says, as he leans on the rails and Ohno settles beside him. “You can see all the other boats from here too!”
“Yeah, it’s great isn’t it,” Ohno says, truly sounding content. Aiba looks at him sideways when Ohno meets his eyes. Like, meaningfully. OMIGOD OMIGOD
“It’s still weird that you’re a dentist, and we’re on your boat,” Aiba says, scrabbling for conversation, because Ohno looks like someone who could own an entire space, the universe too, perhaps, without saying a damn word and man, it is the most unnerving thing. He can smell Ohno's clean smell, and it's futzing with his brain like mad. “Like, my dentist. So weird.”
Ohno runs a hand through his hair, chuffing out tiny puffs of laughter. “Aw. And here I was, hoping you had a fetish.”
"What?" And he can’t help it, his eyes grow big, and his heart thuds so dumbly, he’s not entirely sure that Ohno can’t actually see it beating out of his chest. Even if it's physically impossible. “Are you propositioning me, Ohno-san?”
“I don’t know,” Ohno says. There’s a twinkle in his eyes. “I mean, are you propositionable?”
Aiba laughs, because seriously, it was the dumbest yet sexiest conversation he’s had in ages, and also, what in the world. “I did find you cute in your Hawaiian shirt, though,” he admits, a little embarrassed, but riding the wave to a crest he knows Ohno spies in the distance as well. Aiba’s not naïve, after all.
“The one with sharks?” Ohno says.
“Yeah, that one.”
“Is this the part where you allow me to kiss you?” Ohno asks, blunt and calm, the smallest of petulant smirks alighting on his lips.
“Like, right here?” Aiba asks, and god, he is so turned on and so giddy, it’s not even sinking in right. The man asking permission to ravage (what, he’s optimistic) his mouth is the very same person who extracted a tooth in the very same, well, mouth. All kinds of strange.
“Yeah, here,” Ohno says. All kinds of hot too.
“Well, okay.”
Ohno hems him in to the railing with his arms, not touching him just yet, but already, Aiba’s breath is caught as he turns. “The boat is rocking,” he says stupidly, inhaling Ohno's scent and his scant smile.
Aiba is glad Ohno doesn’t dignify his dumb statement with a response and instead settles for leaning in to what may yet be the most mind-blowing first kiss Aiba’s ever had. Ohno's hands skate up his arm, and everything feels delicious and rarefied. His lips are just as soft as Aiba imagined, and he tastes like beer, all warm and spicy.
"Ah," Aiba says. It's not the slight breeze that brushes against his neck that cause a smattering of goosebumps on his skin, it's the way Ohno sighs into him that does it, and perhaps his fingertips exploring the skin right beneath his sleeve.
"Ohno-san," Aiba breathes.
“Wow. I want to kiss you again,” Ohno smiles as his eyes flutter open, revealing a tiny dimple on the side of his mouth.
“We could date?” Aiba suggests, pleased, stunned, already out of breath.
“We could, what did you think I invited you for,” Ohno says, reaching out to hold his hand. “I’m not the best at keeping things in proper order.”
“You aren’t,” Aiba says, unable to keep the triumph out of his voice, smiling right back at him. I KNEW IT GODDAMMIT I KNEW THE FINGERS IN MOUTH QUIP WAS NOT INNOCENT NO WAY THAT WAS INNOCENT!
“What’s your major,” Ohno asks, all of a sudden, stepping in even closer, as if it were possible. The heat of their hips softly pressing together consumes Aiba. “You’re graduating, right?”
“Um, physics,” Aiba says, distracted. Ohno was so pretty. So pretty and weird and making him feel funny fluttery feelings in his stomach that weren’t just entirely him being a horn dog in general-it was a kind of innocent attraction that already had him in grips.
“So hardcore,” Ohno says, and goes in for another knee-melting kiss, just, so slow and unhurried and perfect. "Go on," Ohno goads against his lips, when Aiba wraps his arms around his neck, and they are just kissing, feeling each other smiling. He feels Ohno sigh again when his hand meanders to his hair, and maybe to Aiba, it's already fast becoming one of his favorite sounds in the world. Aiba could easily imagine being lost in Ohno.
His hands trail to Aiba’s hips, pushing him softly against the railing. Aiba could feel nothing but new sensations, feels sickeningly excited about life. Like, even more than usual.
Aiba’s phone beeps, and he has to disentangle himself from Ohno, just as he was scritching Aiba's shirt up a bit. “Wait,” he says, to which Ohno pouts, breathless, with an audible “aw.” How cute is this dentist, for fucking real? Aiba thinks, as he clicks on Nino’s message.
“You better not be making out like horny teenagers because if yes you two are officially gross we’re on a ship for crying out loud also the bird is here and Junko-chan’s not happy about waiting.”
“Bird’s downstairs,” Aiba says to Ohno as he leans back on the railing, trying for his most serious face.
They only had to look at each other to crack up into each other’s shoulders, and Aiba revels in his high-pitched, almost soundless laughter. "Bird's downstairs," Ohno repeats, giggling.
Painless extraction? Check. Great kisser? Check. Lewd humor? Check.
Best. Dentist. Ever.
(Sorry Sakurai-sensei.)
*
“So, like, Junko-chan totally hated you,” Aiba says, their shoulders bumping in the backseat of the taxi as they head back from the dinner.
“We can meet on Tuesday for drinks? I expect that you’ll have a plan in mind,” reads Nino from his phone. “She actually uses cute emoji, you know.” His face is all kinds of smug, and Aiba tries not to call him out on it, because aww. “Also look at this picture, wait.”
Aiba doesn’t know how Nino managed it, but apparently, it happened. Aiba grins at the photo of Junko holding the platter of chicken with a smile on her face, with Nino beside her, a peace sign by his cheeks.
“So domestic already? I thought you didn’t like uni-brows,” Aiba comments.
“Junko-chan does not have uni-brows, you always overstate things.”
They remain in a truce for ten minutes. Aiba couldn’t stop himself. “Ninomi, I now I know why they call him Captain Cavity, the way he kisses gives you-”
“Don’t,” Nino interjects. “Just don’t.”
“Prude!”
Nino smirks. “Not at all, but seriously, your dentist? You might as well just have Frenched Sakurai-sensei.”
“Um, my god, no.” Aiba giggles, which infects Nino almost immediately, because the thought of making out with Sakurai-sensei was ridiculous because a) he was as straight as a pole and b) he was kind of a dork (in a good way, but yeah, a dork.) “But so what if Ohno-san’s my dentist! You’re so judgmental, Ninomi.”
“What? I’m done judging you and your perverted proclivities,” Nino declares, going back to texting with his precious Junko-chan.
“Whatever, I bet you’ll jack off to the thought of Junko-chan in her super cute sailor shirt tonight.”
“Don’t you dare even start imagining her in that light!”
“Wow, so protective,” Aiba says, grinning.
“Ugh. Leave me alone, Aiba-shi,” Nino huffs, clutching his phone even nearer to his face.
And Aiba, Aiba knows Nino’s just thanked him for a very, very good night indeed. Aiba thinks about coaxing Nino into treating him for some fancy strawberry daifuku tomorrow, since, well, it was ultimately his toothache that led to their happy endings (beginnings?) tonight.
Or maybe yuzu chiffon cake. Ah, the possibilities!