Spin Cycle (Juntoshi)
Title: Spin Cycle
Pairing: Juntoshi
Rating: NC-17
Beta: lover_youshould
Genre: romance, AU
Summary: Ohno has never seen this unusual man before. He is suddenly here, dressed like a scarecrow, in the weirdest outfits ever. They meet coincidentally in the washing salon of their apartment building, and despite his appearance Ohno feels weirdly drawn to this man. He has intense eyes, and beautiful lips. Just why does he dress in such a hideous way?
Notes: Originally written for inaudible_d for arashi-exchange
“Excuse me.”
Ohno looks up when he hears the voice behind him. The man that just approached him is wearing huge nerdy glasses, has black messy hair and is wearing the hugest and fluffiest white turtleneck sweater he has ever seen. It reaches down to his knees and half of his face is hidden behind it. “Yes?” Ohno asks while he continues to empty the finished washing machine and puts the fresh clothes into the basket he brought along.
The guy’s lips tug, and Ohno isn’t quite sure if he is shy now, nervous or amused. “What are you actually doing with my underwear?”
Ohno blinks in surprise before he eyes the basket in front of him. There are a bunch of freshly washed black pants in there. Definitely the type he doesn’t wear. Some sport outfits - Ugh, sports! Sport outfits… something he doesn’t own - a pink polo shirt, and a few tank tops. Okay. Weird indeed. Everything smells like lemon too, and as he is short on cash he uses only the cheapest washing powder - it doesn’t smell like anything at all.
When he looks further up to the washing machine he sees a bottle of purple Lotus liquid washing gel for extra sensitive clothes and against knitting there. Talking about not wasting too much money. That one is definitely not his.
He looks back to the guy, eyeing him properly now. He has yellow hair clips in his hair, probably to hold his hair together, and he is wearing black sweat-pants with little Mickey Mouse faces imprinted on it and this over-sized fluffy sweater. What’s with that weird appearance? He looks a kid that put together his wardrobe for the first time. In fact Ohno can’t even tell if he is fat or skinny or… damn, he could be a girl!
The guy - or an androgynous looking girl - raises his eyebrows. “My clothes?”
“Ah.” These words bring Ohno back to reality and he hurries to hand the guy his basket, watching how he fishes for his clothes. He has interestingly delicate, long fingers. There is transparent glittery nail polish on them. “Sorry. I really thought this was my machine.” He sighs slightly. “They changed the numbers of them three weeks ago, and I’m such a creature of habit.”
“So, this one was yours before?” the guy asks and pats the machine.
Ohno nods while he slips to the one next to the guy’s and opens it. Ah, finally his clothes! The apartment complex they live in has a few washing salons, with a washing machine for every apartment in case someone doesn’t own one already. He sighs as he proceeds to work, exchanging the fresh laundry with the dirty one and restarting the machine. The Mickey-Mouse-pants slash hair-clip guy does the same.
To Ohno’s surprise he doesn’t leave the salon though, keeps staying there instead and leans against the washing machine. Out of his now empty basket he takes a book. Jane Austen’sPride and Prejudice. Really?
“Is it good?” Ohno asks, not sure why he is in the sudden mood to make conversation, because seriously he hates people that talk to him out of nowhere while he actually wants to read, daydream or drink his coffee, but something about this guy draws him in.
“Sense and Sensibility is better,” the guy explains. He looks at Ohno intensely, before he puts the book aside for a moment and reaches out his hand. “Matsumoto Jun,” he says politely with an almost wary smile. He looks weird in his stupid outfit, but his lips are beautiful. These moles.
“Ohno Satoshi,” he answers, and shakes the offered hand. “Have you been living here long already?” Ohno asks, wondering why he hasn’t met this guy before. If he wears these outfits on a regular basis, even an airhead like Ohno would have noticed him.
“Just moved here last week.”
“Hm.” Ohno nods. That’s why he hasn’t seen him before. He watches Jun go back to reading this ominous book while the machine rattles softly. It feels warm and the fringes from Jun’s sweater are electrified slightly. It’s almost like watching a still life or photography, a relaxing and calming one. The warm air of the room mixes up with the relaxing attitude of Matsumoto-san. He doesn’t know how long he keeps watching but at one point their laundries are finished and Jun takes the rest of his freshly washed clothes.
Ohno wonders what to do now. He just met someone new to this building after all, a new neighbour. Should he say something? Like… Do you want to come by? I invite you for coffee. Just to be nice and polite. While he is still thinking about what to say, Jun smiles and leaves.
~~~
His friend and co-worker Nino almost doubles over laughing. “You had a freak-meeting at the laundromat of your apartment complex? Why wasn’t I there?”
“He wasn’t that freaky,” Ohno points out calmly.
“Excuse me,” Nino snickers. “He reads Jane Austen! Jane Austen! Do you even know what her books are about?”
“They are classics?” Ohno offers.
Nino sneers. “Are you really an editor? Jeez, Oh-chan, at least pretend to know something about literature. And read an Austen book,” he dares him. “Read Sense and Sensibility. Or are you too much of a chicken to do it?”
Ohno knows Nino is trying to trick him, to provoke him, he knows it, but he can’t help but walk straight into his trap, knowingly. “I will!” he answers.
“What comes next?” Nino chuckles. “Does he listen to Taylor Swift?”
“I don’t know what music he listens to,” Ohno explains patiently, wondering why he even told Nino the whole story. It wasn’t even that weird and unusual to begin with. Okay, so Matsumoto walks around dressed like he lost a bet, but the housewife from the floor above always walks around in her pyjamas, the business woman three doors next to him wears Snoopy shorts and is mostly drunk, and his next door neighbour Aiba just wears his underwear when doing his laundry. That Matsumoto Jun guy wasn’t even that weird. He should have known Nino would milk this whole story as much as possible.
His suspicion gets confirmed when he finds a book in his bag all of a sudden when he gets home. Sense and Sensibility. Nino apparently wants to make sure he reads that fucking book.
~~~
Ohno occupies the bench in the laundromat while he washes his white shirts. As an editor for a magazine he has a few meetings with some authors next week, and needs to look somewhat pleasant and serious. He hates business meetings.
He sighs slightly when he leans back. The rattling of the machines and the soft sound they make when spinning is somewhat soothing. The air is warm, but not heated, and it makes him feel comfortable and relaxed.
Should he?
Well, why not. Nino would bother him anyway about it, and he might as well get it over with. With a sigh he angles for the book he brought along, skipping through the first pages without much interest and motivation. This Marianne seems to be kinda cute though, and he gets weirdly drawn to Elinor. Before short or long he starts rooting for Elinor and Edward, such a sweet couple, and he can so sympathize with the shy man. It’s a huge shock for him to realise the secret he is keeping… Oh my god, how could he even get close to Elinor while being engaged all that time. And Marianne? Was she really into that careless Willoughby guy? Wasn’t the Colonel much better?
“Do you like it?”
Ohno almost drops the book in shock, eyes widening in horror when he realizes Jun is there too, leaning against his own washing machine and watching him thoughtfully. He has a new book in his hands. Jane Eyre.
Ohno blushes deeply. “No,” he says hastily. Jun frowns and much to his surprise Ohno gets drawn to these deep eyes of his and the intense look they have. “Well,” he admits nervously, and doesn’t even understand why he feels like being honest to this guy. “Kind of.”
“Who are you rooting for?” Jun wants to know casually.
Ohno chews on the fingernail of his index finger. “The Colonel. I can’t stand Willoughby. And if Elinor and Edward won’t get a happy end I’ll write a letter of complaint to the author.”
“The author? Jane Austen died 200 years ago.” Jun laughs, and despite his embarrassment for lacking that information, Ohno feels weirdly mesmerized. That guy has an almost too dazzling smile, even more dazzling than Aiba’s - and hell, Aiba is the king of smiles!
“Embarrassing,” Ohno sighs. “Considering I’m working as an editor. I should never tell someone my profession.”
“Really?” Jun asks in surprise. “You are an editor? For actual books?”
Biting sarcasm. Ohno grins. He can deal with this kind of conversation. “Yes. My knowledge is embarrassing, but I’m doing my job quite well.” Ohno scans Jun in interest. He is wearing sweatpants again, this time with pictures of Tangled on them. And he is matching it with a light rose-toned shirt that’s so huge that two guys would fit into it. His hair is pulled back with a headband this time, and of course his huge glasses aren’t missing either. Why is he dressing so awkwardly!? When he realizes Jun is still watching, he hurries to give a proper answer. “I’m working in the erotic novel department though, so maybe that’s an excuse?”
Jun chuckles slightly. “Interesting,” he says, and there is something in his tone that makes Ohno raise his head. Sarcasm? Teasing? He checks Jun from head to toe again, wondering for the tenth time why he dresses like that. Judging by the glint in his eyes, but the way he made Ohno admit that he likes this cheesy novel and by his hinted teasing he feels there is more beneath the surface than he actually sees.
~~~
Ohno looks up Jane Eyre, without telling Nino about it this time. Hell, is that book long, and he assumes that there is no hot sex scene in it that would make up for the length. He already has to read so much for his job that he decides to invite Aiba over and watch the Jane Eyre movie.
Aiba brings popcorn and vodka. He is such a good soul, really. They settle down in front of the TV, Aiba lying on his stomach, and Ohno half sitting, half lying on the sofa chair. Damn it, is that movie depressing. They haven’t even reached half of the three-hour-long movie before they have emptied half the bottle of vodka.
Aiba halts the movie and they order pizza, and go for vodka lemon now… actually lychee, as Ohno doesn’t have lemon juice at home. But whatever makes their drink sweet is sufficient for them.
“Why are we watching this?” Aiba complains when Ohno wants to return to the movie. He bites into one piece of his extra-garlic, extra-cheesy, salami pizza.
“You know that new dude in our building?” Ohno slurs, already beyond the stage of actually knowing what he says and what not.
“Someone new here?”
“Hm.” Ohno nods and angles for his own piece of tuna pizza. “Met him in the laundromat.”
“Hot?” Aiba wants to know and giggles.
“I have no idea,” Ohno grins. “He is dressing so weirdly and his clothes are huge. He could be fat you know or missing a limb?”
“Or hot,” Aiba points out with a hysterical giggle. Apparently he is really into that thought now.
“He was reading the book.”
“Which book?” Aiba wants to know in interest.
“This one.” Ohno makes a broad gesture towards the TV.
“That depressing movie is a book?” Aiba asks in confusion, before his eyes widen in realisation. “OH!” he calls out. “It’s a book. They made a movie.”
“Yes,” Ohno giggles.
“And why are we watching it?”
“He recommended it.”
Aiba frowns. “Who?”
“The possibly ugly guy from the salon,” Ohno huffs as he is losing his patience.
“I thought he is hot?” Aiba blinks in surprise.
“No, you said he is hot!”
“But I don’t know him,” Aiba points out. “How can I say he is hot?”
Ohno feels how he is slowly getting a headache. “What? Don’t get it.”
“We are not watching this because you think he is ugly,” Aiba points out, voice quivering slightly while he bites into another piece of pizza, the grease from it dripping down on Ohno’s sofa. “You think he is hot. You think something about him is hot. And because you find him attractive, we watch this depressing movie so you can catch up with him. You are so cute~”
Ohno blinks in confusion. Does he? Think that weird guy in his even weirder clothes and huge glasses is hot? “Oh god,” he moans as his headache grows. “I don’t get it. Shut up.”
Aiba giggles, but is gladly too busy with fixing them another messy drink - messy, because he is too drunk to measure it properly and each drink is stronger than the previous one. At one point Aiba stalks away, back to his own apartment, gladly next door. He is wavering dangerously, but when Ohno hears how Aiba drops something inside his apartment, he knows he made it there safely.
He himself sleeps on the couch, not in the state to move to the bed. At one point he goes to the toilet and when he comes back, he feels tired and spent, the sight in front of his eyes dazed. He opens the door to his living room and stumbles inside. It’s weird though because he can’t find the sofa anymore. At one point he doesn’t mind though and just drops down on the floor, falling asleep.
~~~
OH.MY.GOD. Ohno groans in pain when he opens his eyes and the sun shines in his face. He tries to curl into the blanket, snuggling against his sofa. His freaking head. He is never going to drink again. He is never going to watch depressing movies again. And he is never going to invite Aiba for a vodka night again. If anything they are going to watch Disney movies and drink tea. Man, he feels so old.
And sick. He takes a deep breath, almost scared that he will smell the old pizza grease, and throw up over it, but to his surprise he only takes in the soft scent of cherries and orange. Lemon. And…
Ohno’s eyes snap open. Lemon? He sits up immediately, groaning when he feels dizzy from the sudden movement, and the headache kicks in.
“Finally awake?” he hears a teasing voice. “Thought you would sleep forever.”
Ohno turns around, eyeing the man in front of him. Jun is wearing short, baggy pants this time and a huge Hawaiian t-shirt. Why does he dress like that? Judging by the look of his naked legs, he isn’t fat at all! Ohno lets his gaze wander around the apartment. He frowns. It’s huge. Like really huge. The living room has thrice the size of his, and there is a gigantic sound and TV-system installed, the flat screen so big that Ohno is sure it had to cost five times his monthly salary. Also the inventory is nothing but top-notch. “You are living in the penthouse,” he stutters in shock.
“Yes,” Jun answers and puts a cup with warm, damping tea in front of Ohno.
“Why are you washing your stuff in the laundromat?” he continues to babble.
“My washing machine is broken,” the man explains casually. “So I thought for the time being I should use the one offered by the building.”
Ohno rubs over his face. He feels sweaty and for the first time he realizes that right now he is the one looking messy and horrible, not Jun. That dude is only wearing horrible clothes and weird clippings in his hair, but at least he looks fresh and tidy. “I’m sorry,” Ohno stutters. “I don’t even know how I got here.”
Jun laughs, both evilly and soothingly at the same time. An interesting sound, and suddenly Ohno remembers what Aiba said yesterday. You find him hot, no matter what he wears. You watch the movie because you are interested in him. “You were sleeping on the floor of the corridor right in front of the elevator,” Jun explains. “I didn’t want to leave you there, but I didn’t know the number of your apartment either.”
“Ah,” Ohno sighs. When he went to the toilet last night… “I invited a friend over yesterday and we watched Jane Eyre. Had a drink or two too much. My room number is 37 by the way.”
Jun pulls up his eyebrows. “Jane Eyre?”
“Yes,” Ohno stutters. “I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know it, you know… as an editor.” Oh my god, what is he even saying?
“Really, Ohno-san?” Jun asks seriously, and Ohno isn’t quite sure if he is mocking him or not. He tilts his head now, staring at Ohno through these deep, intense eyes of his. Something inside Ohno’s stomach jumps slightly, and he knows it’s not the hangover that does this to him.
“Please call me Satoshi,” Ohno offers all of a sudden. He isn’t so sure why he said it. Part of him tries hard to believe it’s to distract Jun from teasing him further, the other part though is stunned and appalled by how much he let his guard down. “You let me sleep on your sofa after all.”
Jun pulls an eyebrow up. “Fine,” he says. And. “Jun. I’m Jun.”
“So, may I invite you to dinner next week?” Ohno hears himself say. He wants to bite down on his tongue the moment he said it. Like seriously. It’s the third time in a row that he slips! “After all I really owe you and I would like to repay your kindness,” he continues to talk, relieved that he sounds somewhat coherent and apparently Jun buys it.
“Thank you, Satoshi-san.” Jun smiles dazzlingly, and something inside Ohno’s stomach betrays him once again by jumping. “It’s not necessary for you to repay me, but I’m happily taking you up on your offer.”
~~~
“So you are actually attracted to the dude of the freak-show?” Nino says while scanning Ohno from head to toe.
Ohno starts to feel exasperated by his friends’ insistence. First Aiba, then Nino. “I didn’t say that.”
“You said you invited him to have dinner with you. You never do that. You didn’t even invite me until we were friends for two years,” Nino points out mercilessly.
“Is this why you called me to a business meeting?” Ohno retorts calmly. “Or do you actually have something to discuss?”
“Ah!” Nino seems to remember. “Yes, I do. Remember we are doing this huge magazine campaign for our publishing company?”
Ohno nods.
“We got a ten-page spread!” Nino’s eyes are glinting in excitement. “Ten pages, Satoshi!”
“Are you kidding?” Ohno asks breathlessly.
“No, but Kiko-chan with her erotic short-stories maximised our sales last week, and she is even nominated for a newcomer award. On top of that Toma-san with his critical essays about sexuality and freedom did get quite some recognition from the press.” Nino grins proudly. Ohno can highly sympathize with his excitement. Nino is responsible for the marketing and PR, so he just has to feel really happy about making quite some money now.
“So, we get that huge spread in the magazine?” Ohno asks.
“Yes, and we need to have someone photograph Toma and Kiko, and some of our underdogs which we need to promote. This is our chance!” Nino takes the folder to his hands and opens it. “I’ve searched for some photographers. And this one caught my interest in particular. There is no photo of him as a person, but I have samples of his works.”
Ohno takes the photographs into his hands, checking them carefully. Yes, they are brilliant. Natural, but with an artistic touch. Art is probably his biggest interest right after his job, he paints pictures himself and sometimes lends them to exhibitions. “He or she portraits the persons as who they are. It’s still art, but at the same time natural,” he muses. “The artist really points out their hidden characteristics and who they are. It would be perfect for us. To imagine pictures like this with our magazine spread… the uproar in the scene would be huge and beneficial for us.”
“Yes.” Nino nods. “He is mainly photographing people on top of that. He takes photos of famous people, showing them as humans though. Also he recently had this couple series where he also photographed homosexual couples, old and middle-aged ones, teenagers and mixed races. He added nude shootings to it too, and focused on all kind of shades of love like BDSM couples or asexual ones, normal ones and alike. It’s a great series, and it received a lot of press internationally.”
“Is the artist a guy or a woman?”
“I have no idea.” Nino shrugs. “I have the feeling it’s a guy. He is working under a synonym.”
“Which is?”
“MJ.”
“Well,” Ohno snorts. “Doesn’t give away anything. You think he or she’ll take the job?”
“It’s for the monthly issue for Celebrity & Culture Fashion Mag. I bet he will. His fee will probably be higher than one of the others, but I would say we’ll give it a try.”
Ohno looks at the pictures again. The blunt honesty of them just draws him in immediately. He nods. “Let’s see what he says.”
~~~
Jun is wearing neon-orange sweatpants, an over-sized yellow sweater with little stars printed on it, and an oversized sun-hat. A sun-hat… in the fucking laundromat!
This time Ohno has decided not to embarrass himself by reading a book while he is at the laundromat. Instead he has his sketch book with him, painting while he sits on the bench. Jun is leaning against the washing machine again, his body vibrating slightly while the machine rattles against his body. He is reading… Ohno squints... Fifty Shades of Grey.
Hm, it’s an American author, he knows that. And he has heard of it before. Oh man, it’s really embarrassing that he is an editor. Seriously. Unbelievable that he is good at his job. He tries to focus on Jun’s facial expression now, and before he even realizes what he is doing, he is drafting his face. Without his huge glasses, without his weird hair clips or hats. Just Jun without anything else but his face and hair. He looks at his own picture in surprise. Aiba and Nino were right. He finds him attractive. He is attractive. He can trust his artistic instincts and he has painted this guy with his strong features and glinting eyes, making him look good in a way that Ohno wonders why he hasn’t realized it before.
“Satoshi-san?”
Ohno winces slightly when he realizes Jun’s dark eyes are resting on him. “Hm?”
“You are staring.”
Jun’s body vibrates again as the machine is doing a spin cycle. His lips are slightly parted and his eyes having a questioning thoughtful expression. Ohno gets up all of a sudden, and before he knows what he is doing, he has taken the book out of Jun’s hands. “Satoshi-san?” Jun stutters, and his cheeks are flushed slightly.
“Is it okay if I stare?” Ohno asks softly.
Jun nods, his cheeks flushed and his eyes carrying a joyful glint. It’s enough of an answer for Ohno.
Ohno reaches out his hands and takes the glasses from his face, surprised by the intense eyes and the beautifully shaped eyebrows and eyes, the long lashes. “You have beautiful eyes,” he says quietly. Jun moves forward a bit, something inside his eyes flickering like Ohno just said the perfect words, like he did something a hundred percent right. His long fingers move over Ohno’s neck, making his skin prickle in anticipation.
Jun leans forward to Ohno’s ear, smirking. “And now?” he asks innocently.
“I just really want to feel you beneath me,” Ohno whispers softly, wondering where his blunt courage comes from. He is used to being shy normally, especially around potential love affairs, but when he really wants someone he can be surprisingly bold.
“Here?” Jun asks, biting his lips in the sweetest way possible. “What if someone enters? What if-“
Ohno shuts him up by kissing him. Jun can’t know that this laundromat is only for his, Aiba’s, and Jun’s own washing machine. There are a few extra ones here, but the two families owning them moved out a month ago.
Ohno kisses Jun hard, with all he has, and he is thrilled to realize that Jun kisses him back as well, his tongue exploring Ohno’s mouth in a way Ohno hasn’t experienced before. He goes slowly sometimes then faster, the pressure on his tongue stronger sometimes, then soft. It feels like Jun is only half as innocent as he expected him to be.
He doesn’t linger on that thought though, instead he pushes Jun up to sit on the washing machine, pushing his pants down in one tug. For the first time Ohno is sincerely happy that he is wearing those awful sweatpants. They are easy to remove.
Jun is half hard already and Ohno hurries to kneel down a bit. Jun blinks. “Are you really going to… Satoshi-san…”
“I told you, I would like to repay your kindness,” Ohno whispers softly, grinning when he sees goosebumps on Jun’s skin. He goes down to business immediately, the thrill of someone maybe accidentally coming in and disrupting them sends a shiver of excitement over his spine while he licks over the tip of Jun’s cock experimentally. Jun’s cock makes a tentative jump and Ohno knows he is just as excited about this as he is. He takes Jun’s dick into his mouth completely, while his free hand moves up over Jun’s sides, and beneath his huge sweater. To his surprise he feels tight muscles there, trained abs and an obviously defined body. He keeps sucking Jun, licking his cock while his other hand rubs over his shaft. Why is he hiding this obviously well-built body?
“Why?” Ohno whispers against Jun’s cock. “Why are you wearing these clothes?”
Jun chuckles, and it sends a shiver over Ohno’s spine. “How about you try to find that out by yourself,” he snickers. “Now stop the teasing, get up and fuck me before someone comes in.”
Ohno smirks and follows Jun’s bold wish. He gets up, fishing a condom out of his pocket. “Well,” he smiles when Jun pulls one of his eyebrows up. “Owning an erotic novel publishing company means tons of free products. You would be surprised if you saw my collection of tasty lube.” He grins. “Today…” he muses while he takes a small bottle out of the pocket of his jeans. “We only have the plain one.”
“Fine with me,” Jun whispers, his cheeks flushed when Ohno starts to work his slicked up fingers into Jun’s hole. Jun’s tight but gladly not as tight as he feared he would be. He plants soft kisses on Jun’s neck and cheek, and on every part of naked skin he can reach with Jun wearing that stupid sweater. Jun relaxes almost immediately under this ministration, redoing the favour by letting his fingers wander over Ohno’s back and brushing through his hair.
Ohno wraps an arm around Jun’s waist and pulls him forward a little so that he can enter him without feeling uncomfortable. Jun follows by wrapping his legs around Ohno’s waist, pressing him closer to his body. “Don’t be too loud,” Ohno teases, grinning when Jun blushes. He goes slowly first, pushing his cock into Jun’s hole carefully so that Jun can adapt to the intrusion.
Once he has, he starts with soft pushes against Jun, slow first before he picks up the speed of his movements. Jun leans forward, his head resting against Ohno’s shoulder, hands gripped tightly around Ohno’s shirt. He tries to muffle his noises into his shirt, and it sounds so sweet that Ohno strengthens his movements. He wonders what other noises he can draw from Jun, his hand moving down to his neglected cock. It’s even harder than before, probably from the body contact they are having and from the friction it received by being pressed against Ohno’s stomach. He pulls Jun even closer, giving his cock a few hard strokes while he fucks him relentlessly.
Jun moans and whimpers into Ohno’s neck, and it’s even better than the sounds Ohno imagined him to make, his body shudders and shakes before he comes over Ohno’s hand. Ohno’s hands move to Jun’s ass, spreading his cheeks and pulling Jun further to his body, forcing Jun to lie back a little. He gives it a few more strong pushes before he comes with deep shudder and a muffled moan escaping his lips.
They both pant heavily. Ohno lets go of Jun and slips out of him carefully. Jun has dropped his head back, revealing a beautiful, delicious neck, his legs still slightly spread. Ohno pats the inside of his thighs softly. He looks so hot that Ohno has to pause a bit to take in the picture in front of him.
“Did I play you or are you playing me?” Ohno whispers. “I don’t get it.”
Jun just laughs. Ohno pulls his eyebrows up, and grins. Before Jun can react he pulls his ugly orange sweatpants up again to cover his body. “I’m still all sticky, Satoshi-san! Ugh.” Jun huffs.
“Perfect reason to get rid of those horrible pants then,” Ohno jokes. He cleans himself up with one of his dirty shirts that he wanted to wash anyway, then dresses again. “Tell me again, who played who?”
Jun gets up with a grin. He takes his book and his laundry. “I told you,” he smiles teasingly. “Find that out yourself. I for one need a shower.”
~~~
Ohno tries not to be embarrassed by Aiba and Nino peeking through the door and watching how Jun passes Ohno’s apartment and walks towards the elevator.
“Why the hell is he dressed like that?” Nino complains.
“And he really said you should find it out by yourself?” Aiba asks curiously. “After you had sex.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it,” Nino huffs. “I mean, he is fucking rich, isn’t he? He lives in the penthouse. He could probably just call the Hugo Boss shop and tell them to open up for him exclusively on a Sunday evening.”
“Maybe he has, you know, a scar or he’s missing a limb?” Aiba offers.
“No,” Ohno says casually. “There isn’t even a scar on his body. I checked on it.”
Aiba sighs slightly before he closes the door carefully and pats to the kitchen. He has brought some salad for them, while Ohno prepares the fish.
“It’s rare for you to invite us officially for dinner,” Nino says. “You seem to be in a very specific, good mood.”
Ohno swallows at this comment. Nino, this brat, how did he know? How did he know he actually likes Jun? He throws Nino a begging glance, and to his relief Nino nods reassuringly and smiles warmly. When Aiba hurries to his own apartment to get some spices, Nino approaches him though. “You like this dude, don’t you?” he asks. “Why?”
“I don’t know why I’m attracted to him, but there is something… First I really wanted to get to know the man beneath these weird clothes. There is his addiction to read these books, and he uses the laundromat though he has tons of money and could just call someone to do it for him. He was kind enough to pick me up from the corridor and make me sleep on his sofa. He has a beautiful laugh, and he is a tease. He has made the one or other sarcastic comment. I assume he holds back though. And…”
“And?” Nino asks curiously.
“When I kissed him and I felt him kissing me back, I knew the whole ugly duckling thing is only a façade. I just don’t understand what for.” Ohno smiles dreamingly. “I want to get to know his secrets.”
“Who knows?” Nino chuckles. “Maybe he even shares the one or other weird sexual thing with you? I know your dirty mind.”
Ohno chuckles softly, but doesn’t answer to Nino’s teasing. He needs to read 50 Shades of Grey though. He has looked up a summary, and it sounds interesting…
~~~
Sakurai Sho-san is a pain in the butt. He is good-looking, serious and pretty arrogant, much to Ohno’s annoyance. He is glad that Nino is there to do the talking.
“You aren’t MJ, are you?” Ohno asks pretty undiplomatically.
Sho lets out a sigh, like he’s talking to a little annoying child. “No,” he says calmly. “I’m his manager.”
Ohno and Nino like things casual, hence they invite their business partners into their homes and don’t meet in restaurants. It’s an unusual approach, but they are both the type for it and it works. Sho was not particularly excited to meet them at Ohno’s place but once he stepped into Ohno’s - now perfectly cleaned , thanks to the cleaning lady- apartment and eyed the many pictures on the wall, he was impressed. “Your pictures?” he asked, and Ohno nodded.
They invite people interested in arts to Ohno’s place, and those into music to Nino’s, who despite his stinginess owns a piano, a guitar, a flute and a huge collection of around 2000 CDs, and the same amount of Blu-rays and games. They know how to get their clients and possible business partners.
“You know,” Sho muses. “First I was against meeting here, but I see now that it’s perfect. Editors work close with authors, and probably see them a lot at their homes, or their authors visit them. Your home is also your working place.”
Ohno is actually a little impressed. That arrogant dude is definitely not an idiot.
“So,” Nino starts. “Did you think about our offer?”
“Well, Macchan has lots of current projects and work, but we admit that your collaboration sounds too interesting for us to decline. However,” Sho points at some documents. “We want an exhibition and an event too.”
Nino blinks. “You mean you want us to organize an event for the authors to read and for MJ to show his pictures?”
“Advertisement,” Sho points out.
Ohno frowns. Too much work, really. To his shock though Nino seems to be into it immediately. He knows that face of his friend. It’s his million dollar look, he has smelled money. “Perfect,” Nino muses. “If done correctly this could be a huge chance. We are not going to carry the expenses by ourselves though. We will accept your fee for MJ-san, but not pay for the whole event.”
“The event is a collaboration of course,” Sho points out and takes a piece of the perfect sushi Ohno bought from the expensive restaurant around the corner. “We’ll share the expenses. I’ll discuss the details with Macchan later, and I think the both of you should too. We can meet all together then.”
Macchan. He calls the artist Macchan. So…it’s a girl. “Excuse me,” Ohno smiles. “MJ-san, is it a man or woman?”
Sho laughs, and for the first time his face seems to loosen up and he looks less stressed and strict than before. “A man. Basically our age. A little younger.”
“And you call him Macchan?”
“Yes, but he hates it.” Sho smiles warmly, and something about this smile is so beautiful that Ohno feels warm inside. Sho obviously really cares for his MJ.
It’s when he guides Sho to the door to let him out that Sho turns around again. “You know, Ohno-san, for the next meeting please let’s meet up in an official restaurant, to our conditions.” Before Ohno can complain, Sho raises his hands in defence. “Really, I like it here, but Macchan can be a little moody. I don’t know how I should break it to him that we need to meet at an editor’s personal apartment.”
Ohno grins. “Artists,” he says knowingly while he opens the door. He remembers how Kiko always wants almond milk, and Toma only eats fish from one certain supplier from Okinawa.
Sho laughs heartedly. He steps outside, apparently miscalculates his steps and stumbles. Ohno catches him last second before he drops to the ground. His arm is wrapped around Sho’s waist, and Sho grabs his arms, he is laughing even more now. First impressions can sometimes lie, Ohno thinks when he sees Sho’s open and silly expression. Who would have known that this stiff guy is actually fun?
Ohno lifts his gaze, and freezes. He looks directly into two dark chestnut-brown eyes. Since when is he here? Why is he here right in front of his apartment? Before he can say something though, Jun throws him an inscrutable glance and walks away. Ohno has the weird and uncomfortable feeling that Jun has just misinterpreted something.
He tries to look for him later on. And the next day, pretending to have tons of laundry to do in the laundromat, but to his disappointment Jun doesn’t appear. And now? What is he supposed to do? Having Sho lying in his arms and giggling sure looked weird to Jun, didn’t it?
~~~
He and Nino follow Sho’s wish and meet MJ-san and Sho in an established, high-notched restaurant for soba. “He likes soba,” Sho explains, when they meet up a bit earlier to go through a few formal things. MJ is going to come any minute though, and Ohno looks at the door expectantly.
The first thing Ohno actually sees is a nicely shaped butt, clad into the tightest black jeans possible, the second thing is the man’s slender waist, an insult to every woman, when he leans over to ask the waitress something. When MJ turns around, his lips and the moles strike him immediately. And Ohno understands several things all of a sudden: The initials MJ, the fact that Ohno’s eyes didn’t betray him and the man beneath the clothes is indeed beautiful - too beautiful almost - and that Nino was probably right: he calls Hugo Boss to tell them to open for him exclusively. What he doesn’t understand though is that a man dressed like that runs around like a scarecrow at home.
He has to give Jun credit though for looking seriously shocked when he looks into their direction. He didn’t expect him. Still, something inside Ohno twitches. He knows it’s childish, but he feels a bit betrayed. He has expected Jun to be someone with a trauma or with a weird fashion sense, low self-esteem or whatever, and not lead a double life and be this radiating, fashionable guy in reality. Ohno has a good eye for arts and colours, and appearance. And he knows, a person dressed like this, with accessories chosen so carefully, hair perfect, and beautifully shaped glasses (he probably also owns contacts) does like fashion. What kind of weird game is he actually playing?
“May I introduce you,” Sho says, while he gets up to grab Jun’s arm and pull him to the place next to himself. “This is, MJ, or rather Matsumoto Jun. As priorly settled you’ll keep the name highly confidential.”
Jun bows his head politely, his long eyelashes fluttering nervously when he looks at Ohno. Ohno is glad that Nino does the talking - he is better with that anyway. And Jun is good with it too. Well, considering Jun’s little snarky replies from their little meetings before, it isn’t much of a surprise. What bothers him more though is how Sho attends to Jun, forcing him to eat something and arguing with him that he thinks Jun isn’t eating enough. Sometimes Jun bickers with Sho in a silly way and throws annoyed glances at him, something Ohno hasn’t seen in Jun’s eyes ever before. Something inside his stomach stings. Fuck this, really.
He is almost relieved that they don’t have any moment alone to talk to each other. It’s only after Jun and Sho excused themselves and left that Nino grabs Ohno’s arm. “Is THIS the Matsumoto Jun out of your apartment?”
So he made the connection too. Ohno nods. “How did you know?”
“Your weird reaction, Satoshi, and he looked like he knew you.” Nino lets out an impressed sigh. “To imagine he looks that hot! You were right. But why the hell is he hiding under these crappy clothes then?”
“I have no idea,” Ohno grumbles.
Nino looks at him in confusion before he rolls his eyes. “Really Satoshi? Don’t be such a child,” he huffs, and again Ohno is surprised by his sharp mind and the way he can make a connection between things immediately. “You met him in the laundromat before you knew each other and before you even exchanged one word. He was already dressed weirdly there. Being mad at it now is ridiculous.”
Ohno knows he is childish but he feels pissed and betrayed, and freaking jealous of this stupid Sho who obviously is way too close to Jun.
~~~
The next weekend Ohno spends with sulking, ignoring Nino’s messages and only doing the most necessary work for that stupid collab, day-dreaming about Jun’s tight ass in those incredible black jeans and eating chocolate ice-cream.
When there is a knock at his door, he ignores it successfully at first, before it gets more insistent. Hello, person out there! Get the message already! When the person doesn’t get the message and hence doesn’t leave, Ohno gets up with a sigh, dragging himself to the door. Well, it could be an emergency, who knows. To his surprise he finds Jun at the door. He apparently just came back from work because he is wearing a black jacket and hat, there are raindrops sparkling on his shoulders. Did it really rain today? Wow, he seems to be out of it completely.
“Jun-san,” Ohno mumbles nervously, not sure what to say.
“I.” Jun pauses, shifting his head. He isn’t wearing glasses this time, probably contacts instead. “I know it sounds weird and pathetic, but it’s not like I wanted to hide something from you.”
“I don’t like to be lied to,” Ohno points out.
“I’m sorry.” Jun smiles nervously, his dark eyes are looking at Ohno beggingly. “I didn’t mean to.”
“But what did you mean?” Ohno insists to know. “Was it just a game to you? To see that you can get a guy even when you are ugly like a scarecrow?”
“What!?” Jun is so obviously taken aback that Ohno almost regrets saying what he just did. Jun’s cheeks are flushed, but Ohno takes a guess it’s not out of embarrassment but out of anger. “How dare you,” Jun huffs. He looks hurt all of a sudden, and Ohno has to fight the urge to hug him. He feels that he should definitely say or do something now, but while he is still thinking, Jun throws him a glare. “You don’t even know me! How can you accuse me of such things? Apparently I have wasted my time!” he adds, and stomps off. Ohno sighs, wondering for the hundredth time why he always needs so long to actually find an appropriate reaction. Everyone always walks away before he can say something.
He sighs again, patting back to his sofa, and dropping down there. He thinks about Jun, and about the way he looked at him out there at the corridor, he thinks of how it felt to hug him and make love to him, and the stinging feeling when he saw Sho being so close to him. At one point Ohno falls asleep, and it’s around lunch at the next day when he wakes up again. His phone vibrates. It’s more out of an instinct that he takes it and reads the incoming message.
YOU IDIOT! Nino sends him with capital letters. First of all, you don’t call the person you like ugly, even when dressed like a scarecrow. And second, stop the fucking drama and accusations!
Ohno is shocked. How did he know? How did Nino know? The question burns in his mind, so he asks.
Sho-san told me, gladly he doesn’t know that you are the stupid idiot who hurt his beloved artist. Jun went jogging for like two hours, and Sho had to basically throw himself in front of him to stop him from running.
I didn’t know what to say. Ohno answers. Didn’t want to hurt him, but at the same time I want to know what he thought about me all this time.
Then how about you fucking ask!?
Ohno sighs. Too late.
What is wrong with you? Nino wants to know. Don’t tell me it’s the old story again?
All colour gets basically drained from Ohno’s face. How did he possibly know? How did Nino understand so fast? He can be freaking scary! You know what happened the last time I trusted someone. He types. You know how I was lied to.
It’s not even the same. Nino argues. Someone dressing like a nerdy freak in his free time can’t be compared with someone who cheated on you all the time. Don’t be ridiculous. Maybe J just likes to dress casually at home or whatever. This is the most stupid conversation I’ve ever led!
He knows it is ridiculous, but he can’t switch off his mind. You don’t understand, Kazu.
Nino doesn’t give up though. Of course I do. I understand perfectly. Who are you kidding? If you ask me it’s not about being lied to or not. You just needed an excuse NOT to end up with him, not to like him. Any excuse would do for you to run away from him.
The truth stings. Really. Nino is always blunt and direct, but it’s rare for him to be that harsh in his choice of words. Ohno understands it though, he really does, but it’s difficult for his mind to accept it.
Nino sends him a few more messages packed with annoyed looking emoticons. Then he does something so sly that even Ohno is taken aback by it… he sends Aiba to his place. No one can be unfriendly to Aiba. No one!
He owns a key to Ohno’s apartment, waltzes inside without ringing and basically tugs Ohno from his sofa. “You should really eat something,” he chirps, rummaging in his kitchen. “I’ll cook something for you. Meanwhile do your laundry.”
Ohno frowns. “But…”
“Just go! And please shower before you do so, you look horrible. When you are back you’ll have perfect vegetable and chicken ramen in front of you.”
Well, the thought of something so delicious to eat basically gives him the kick in the butt he needs. Hence he stumbles to his shower first, then downstairs to the salon with the washing machines. He yawns slightly while he puts his dirty laundry inside, switching on the machine. In his bag with the detergent, he eyes a book. Oh. He has almost forgotten that. 50 Shades of Grey. He wanted to catch up on what Jun reads… What is he even supposed to do now?
“Do you think I’m good-looking?”
Ohno spins around when he hears the well-known voice behind him. “Jun-san,” he breathes out. “I-“
“Do you think I’m hot?” Jun interrupts him.
Jun is wearing jeans this time, broad enough to underline his slender waist, while he is wearing a white and tight tank-top shirt. One of his wrists is covered in a broad leather bracelet, and there are a few eccentric looking rings gracing his long beautiful fingers. He is wearing elegantly shaped glasses that underline the strong features of his face and give him a sophisticated look. His hair is perfectly styled. He also has his bag in his hands, probably on the verge of going outside. “Yes,” Ohno says, because everything else would be a brutal lie.
“And can you imagine how many people hit on me just because of my looks?” Jun continues. He grabs his bag tighter and approaches the door. “A few months ago, I just had another very disappointing relationship. Another person that promised me love and affection but actually just wanted to fuck me. The reason I ran around in sweatpants and weird shirts recently is to…” His voice trails off, but Ohno knows what he wants to say anyways.
“… to protect yourself,” he continues quietly.
“I know the kind of man I dated up to now.” Jun looks at him thoughtfully. “Now I just wonder what kind of man you are. I’m sick of making mistakes in my choice of partners. So tell me… are you? A mistake?”
So, he was disappointed too, he was betrayed too, Ohno thinks in surprise, and a sudden wave of sympathy hits him. They were both disappointed with their previous lovers and relationships.
~~~
“Okay,” Ohno raises his arms in defence when Nino leans at the door frame of his apartment, arms crossed. “I over-reacted a little.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” Nino grumbles, but he has to grin even a second later. He points with his head towards his living room. “Come in. I hope you brought something to eat and drink.”
Ohno can’t suppress a smile. “Well, it’s you. So of course I did.”
They settle down on Nino’s sofa and dig into the two huge ramen bowls Ohno brought along from the cheap next-door Chinese food store they both love so much. They drink beer out of a can.
“Jun-san is classy,” Nino smirks. “You might want to treat him to finer food.”
Ohno smiles dreamingly when he thinks of how Jun felt in his arms and of his beautiful fingers. “He is delicate,” he muses.
“Ugh,” Nino giggles. “Spare me details of his luscious body and the hot sex you had….”
“… on a washing machine,” Ohno continues with a little sigh.
“On a washing machine. Awesome. I won’t ever get that image out of my head.” Nino rolls his eyes.
Ohno ignores his complaint. “What should I do now?”
“Maybe have sex in a bed?” Nino offers.
Ohno throws a pillow at him which Nino dodges with a grin. “Kazu, seriously.”
Nino sighs. “Go to his place, knock at his door, with something awesome to eat, with a huge bucket of expensive flowers and with an even better excuse and explanation. He will understand once you tell him everything.”
“He is not at home much right now,” Ohno sighs. “Working for the presentation.”
Nino blinks. “How do you know?” A slight blush crawls over Ohno’s cheeks, and Nino grins openly. “Well, well… spied on him.”
Of course he did. He was just too much of a chicken to approach Jun. Hence he only watched him secretly. Much to his embarrassment he has realized that Jun still dresses up weirdly when at home, probably afraid to get hit on by another idiot. His conscience really made his heart clench. Damn it, this here could have been a lot simpler.
“Next week is the whole presentation and convention. We’ll be there together.” Ohno nods to himself like he wants to reassure himself. “I’ll talk to him there.” He tilts his head. “I hope he still wants me. I hope he actually really wanted me to begin with.”
Nino smiles slightly. “I’m pretty sure he does.”
“How?”
Nino grins, and hands him a little package. “Here, a present from me. How about you read it.”
Nino doesn’t let him open it right there. Only when Ohno is finally at home, does he have the chance to rip the paper off the book. 50 Shades of Grey. Exclusive edition with pictures from the movie. Right, the last book Jun read. On it there is a note from Nino. The book is garbage. But the fact that he read it right in front of you, probably only for you, says enough already. Read it :D
So, Ohno does.
~~~
Jun is looking so juicy and pretty in his decent black jeans and his white long-sleeved shirt with buttons that Ohno has to fight the urge to jump him right there. But it would probably be the worst timing ever as Jun just presents his photographs of the authors to the press. It’s a great project, and to be honest, Toma and Kiko have never looked better than on Jun’s photos. He has shown a vulnerable, approachable side of them, yet made them look beautiful and attractive. He knows Kiko already had one of the photos at home, probably looking at it happily every day.
Once the presentation is over, the authors get the stage, and start with presenting their short stories and novels. Jun is listening too, leaning against the door frame, head slightly tilted and revealing his delicious neck. Ohno bites down on his lips. Actually he has never felt that intensely for someone, and never that passionately, so that he could basically shove Jun into a storage room, rip his clothes from his body and make love to him.
Hm, he frowns, not a bad idea actually.
When Kiko starts reading the adventure of Harumi-chan and Tomoya-kun, who wash ashore on an island and have various juicy erotic adventures and reaches a lengthy description of Tomoya-kun’s pulsating erection, Jun leaves the room, and Ohno follows. He apparently goes to where the office is. They have rented a huge official hall for vernissages and presentation, with a few offices to prepare everything.
Before Jun can pass the room though, Ohno grabs his arm from behind and pulls him into one of them.
“WHAT!?” Jun turns around and tries to kick him away, halting when he sees that it’s Ohno. “What are you doing? You almost gave me a heart-attack, you idiot. You-“
Ohno shuts him up by surging forward and kissing him. Jun resists him first, obviously trying to push him away, then however he gives in, kissing Ohno back. Ohno’s fingers dive through Jun’s hair, happy that he apparently lets it grow now. It’s only when his hand slips under Jun’s shirt, touching his muscles that Jun draws back all of a sudden.
“What are you doing?” he stutters. “What is this?”
“I’m sorry I was an ass,” Ohno mumbles against Jun’s cheek, smiling inwardly when he hears how Jun sighs at his touches. “I’m just like you. I got disappointed, I was hurt and I immediately thought you hid something from me on purpose.”
Jun pouts. “You think I’ll forgive you that easily.”
“I was jealous,” Ohno continues, ignoring his complaint, while his finger brush over Jun’s arms. “Because you are so close to Sho-san.”
“You mean my childhood friend Sho? The one who is like an older brother for me?” Jun grumbles. “It was you who held him in your arms!”
“It was a business meeting and that idiot stumbled,” Ohno explains calmly.
Apparently his simple explanation takes the wind out of Jun’s sails because he just stutters something incomprehensible. Ohno draws back with a smile and takes his hands. “Let me do it your style,” he says softly and without any teasing. “My lovely Jun-san,” he starts. “I really like you, from the first moment on. I was attracted to you and your sharp mind and your witty personality, no matter if you were wearing an ugly shirt or not, because to me you were and are always pretty. I’m sorry I immediately thought of the worst when I saw you dressed so prettily, and I’m sorry for pushing you away when you came to talk to me in my apartment.” Jun smiles while he talks, his hands suddenly wandering up to Ohno’s face and brushing over his cheeks, while Ohno rests his own on Jun’s hips now “I know you are a kind and honest guy, and I promise to always treat you with respect and that I don’t want you for sex only. I would like to go out with you, take you out on dates, cook for you or let you cook for me, cuddle on the sofa for a stupid cheesy romance movie and have steaming hot sex. So, please give me the incredible honour to go out with you.”
He pauses, looking at Jun warily and expectantly. “So what do you say?”
Jun nods, cheeks flushed. “Of course I say yes,” he says softly. “I want to do all this together with you.” He leans into a second kiss, softer this time. “That speech though… You read too many romance novels,” he whispers teasingly.
Ohno chuckles. “You were the one feeding me with them, young man,” he jokes. “And I hope you know what I do with you after you made me read that garbage Shades of Grey book.”
Jun smirks against his lips. “Oh,” he mumbles. “I hoped you would be smart enough to catch on.”
Ohno smiles when he hugs Jun, feeling his heart beat against his chest. This is right, he thinks, it’s finally right.
Pairing: Juntoshi
Rating: NC-17
Beta: lover_youshould
Genre: romance, AU
Summary: Ohno has never seen this unusual man before. He is suddenly here, dressed like a scarecrow, in the weirdest outfits ever. They meet coincidentally in the washing salon of their apartment building, and despite his appearance Ohno feels weirdly drawn to this man. He has intense eyes, and beautiful lips. Just why does he dress in such a hideous way?
Notes: Originally written for inaudible_d for arashi-exchange
“Excuse me.”
Ohno looks up when he hears the voice behind him. The man that just approached him is wearing huge nerdy glasses, has black messy hair and is wearing the hugest and fluffiest white turtleneck sweater he has ever seen. It reaches down to his knees and half of his face is hidden behind it. “Yes?” Ohno asks while he continues to empty the finished washing machine and puts the fresh clothes into the basket he brought along.
The guy’s lips tug, and Ohno isn’t quite sure if he is shy now, nervous or amused. “What are you actually doing with my underwear?”
Ohno blinks in surprise before he eyes the basket in front of him. There are a bunch of freshly washed black pants in there. Definitely the type he doesn’t wear. Some sport outfits - Ugh, sports! Sport outfits… something he doesn’t own - a pink polo shirt, and a few tank tops. Okay. Weird indeed. Everything smells like lemon too, and as he is short on cash he uses only the cheapest washing powder - it doesn’t smell like anything at all.
When he looks further up to the washing machine he sees a bottle of purple Lotus liquid washing gel for extra sensitive clothes and against knitting there. Talking about not wasting too much money. That one is definitely not his.
He looks back to the guy, eyeing him properly now. He has yellow hair clips in his hair, probably to hold his hair together, and he is wearing black sweat-pants with little Mickey Mouse faces imprinted on it and this over-sized fluffy sweater. What’s with that weird appearance? He looks a kid that put together his wardrobe for the first time. In fact Ohno can’t even tell if he is fat or skinny or… damn, he could be a girl!
The guy - or an androgynous looking girl - raises his eyebrows. “My clothes?”
“Ah.” These words bring Ohno back to reality and he hurries to hand the guy his basket, watching how he fishes for his clothes. He has interestingly delicate, long fingers. There is transparent glittery nail polish on them. “Sorry. I really thought this was my machine.” He sighs slightly. “They changed the numbers of them three weeks ago, and I’m such a creature of habit.”
“So, this one was yours before?” the guy asks and pats the machine.
Ohno nods while he slips to the one next to the guy’s and opens it. Ah, finally his clothes! The apartment complex they live in has a few washing salons, with a washing machine for every apartment in case someone doesn’t own one already. He sighs as he proceeds to work, exchanging the fresh laundry with the dirty one and restarting the machine. The Mickey-Mouse-pants slash hair-clip guy does the same.
To Ohno’s surprise he doesn’t leave the salon though, keeps staying there instead and leans against the washing machine. Out of his now empty basket he takes a book. Jane Austen’sPride and Prejudice. Really?
“Is it good?” Ohno asks, not sure why he is in the sudden mood to make conversation, because seriously he hates people that talk to him out of nowhere while he actually wants to read, daydream or drink his coffee, but something about this guy draws him in.
“Sense and Sensibility is better,” the guy explains. He looks at Ohno intensely, before he puts the book aside for a moment and reaches out his hand. “Matsumoto Jun,” he says politely with an almost wary smile. He looks weird in his stupid outfit, but his lips are beautiful. These moles.
“Ohno Satoshi,” he answers, and shakes the offered hand. “Have you been living here long already?” Ohno asks, wondering why he hasn’t met this guy before. If he wears these outfits on a regular basis, even an airhead like Ohno would have noticed him.
“Just moved here last week.”
“Hm.” Ohno nods. That’s why he hasn’t seen him before. He watches Jun go back to reading this ominous book while the machine rattles softly. It feels warm and the fringes from Jun’s sweater are electrified slightly. It’s almost like watching a still life or photography, a relaxing and calming one. The warm air of the room mixes up with the relaxing attitude of Matsumoto-san. He doesn’t know how long he keeps watching but at one point their laundries are finished and Jun takes the rest of his freshly washed clothes.
Ohno wonders what to do now. He just met someone new to this building after all, a new neighbour. Should he say something? Like… Do you want to come by? I invite you for coffee. Just to be nice and polite. While he is still thinking about what to say, Jun smiles and leaves.
~~~
His friend and co-worker Nino almost doubles over laughing. “You had a freak-meeting at the laundromat of your apartment complex? Why wasn’t I there?”
“He wasn’t that freaky,” Ohno points out calmly.
“Excuse me,” Nino snickers. “He reads Jane Austen! Jane Austen! Do you even know what her books are about?”
“They are classics?” Ohno offers.
Nino sneers. “Are you really an editor? Jeez, Oh-chan, at least pretend to know something about literature. And read an Austen book,” he dares him. “Read Sense and Sensibility. Or are you too much of a chicken to do it?”
Ohno knows Nino is trying to trick him, to provoke him, he knows it, but he can’t help but walk straight into his trap, knowingly. “I will!” he answers.
“What comes next?” Nino chuckles. “Does he listen to Taylor Swift?”
“I don’t know what music he listens to,” Ohno explains patiently, wondering why he even told Nino the whole story. It wasn’t even that weird and unusual to begin with. Okay, so Matsumoto walks around dressed like he lost a bet, but the housewife from the floor above always walks around in her pyjamas, the business woman three doors next to him wears Snoopy shorts and is mostly drunk, and his next door neighbour Aiba just wears his underwear when doing his laundry. That Matsumoto Jun guy wasn’t even that weird. He should have known Nino would milk this whole story as much as possible.
His suspicion gets confirmed when he finds a book in his bag all of a sudden when he gets home. Sense and Sensibility. Nino apparently wants to make sure he reads that fucking book.
~~~
Ohno occupies the bench in the laundromat while he washes his white shirts. As an editor for a magazine he has a few meetings with some authors next week, and needs to look somewhat pleasant and serious. He hates business meetings.
He sighs slightly when he leans back. The rattling of the machines and the soft sound they make when spinning is somewhat soothing. The air is warm, but not heated, and it makes him feel comfortable and relaxed.
Should he?
Well, why not. Nino would bother him anyway about it, and he might as well get it over with. With a sigh he angles for the book he brought along, skipping through the first pages without much interest and motivation. This Marianne seems to be kinda cute though, and he gets weirdly drawn to Elinor. Before short or long he starts rooting for Elinor and Edward, such a sweet couple, and he can so sympathize with the shy man. It’s a huge shock for him to realise the secret he is keeping… Oh my god, how could he even get close to Elinor while being engaged all that time. And Marianne? Was she really into that careless Willoughby guy? Wasn’t the Colonel much better?
“Do you like it?”
Ohno almost drops the book in shock, eyes widening in horror when he realizes Jun is there too, leaning against his own washing machine and watching him thoughtfully. He has a new book in his hands. Jane Eyre.
Ohno blushes deeply. “No,” he says hastily. Jun frowns and much to his surprise Ohno gets drawn to these deep eyes of his and the intense look they have. “Well,” he admits nervously, and doesn’t even understand why he feels like being honest to this guy. “Kind of.”
“Who are you rooting for?” Jun wants to know casually.
Ohno chews on the fingernail of his index finger. “The Colonel. I can’t stand Willoughby. And if Elinor and Edward won’t get a happy end I’ll write a letter of complaint to the author.”
“The author? Jane Austen died 200 years ago.” Jun laughs, and despite his embarrassment for lacking that information, Ohno feels weirdly mesmerized. That guy has an almost too dazzling smile, even more dazzling than Aiba’s - and hell, Aiba is the king of smiles!
“Embarrassing,” Ohno sighs. “Considering I’m working as an editor. I should never tell someone my profession.”
“Really?” Jun asks in surprise. “You are an editor? For actual books?”
Biting sarcasm. Ohno grins. He can deal with this kind of conversation. “Yes. My knowledge is embarrassing, but I’m doing my job quite well.” Ohno scans Jun in interest. He is wearing sweatpants again, this time with pictures of Tangled on them. And he is matching it with a light rose-toned shirt that’s so huge that two guys would fit into it. His hair is pulled back with a headband this time, and of course his huge glasses aren’t missing either. Why is he dressing so awkwardly!? When he realizes Jun is still watching, he hurries to give a proper answer. “I’m working in the erotic novel department though, so maybe that’s an excuse?”
Jun chuckles slightly. “Interesting,” he says, and there is something in his tone that makes Ohno raise his head. Sarcasm? Teasing? He checks Jun from head to toe again, wondering for the tenth time why he dresses like that. Judging by the glint in his eyes, but the way he made Ohno admit that he likes this cheesy novel and by his hinted teasing he feels there is more beneath the surface than he actually sees.
~~~
Ohno looks up Jane Eyre, without telling Nino about it this time. Hell, is that book long, and he assumes that there is no hot sex scene in it that would make up for the length. He already has to read so much for his job that he decides to invite Aiba over and watch the Jane Eyre movie.
Aiba brings popcorn and vodka. He is such a good soul, really. They settle down in front of the TV, Aiba lying on his stomach, and Ohno half sitting, half lying on the sofa chair. Damn it, is that movie depressing. They haven’t even reached half of the three-hour-long movie before they have emptied half the bottle of vodka.
Aiba halts the movie and they order pizza, and go for vodka lemon now… actually lychee, as Ohno doesn’t have lemon juice at home. But whatever makes their drink sweet is sufficient for them.
“Why are we watching this?” Aiba complains when Ohno wants to return to the movie. He bites into one piece of his extra-garlic, extra-cheesy, salami pizza.
“You know that new dude in our building?” Ohno slurs, already beyond the stage of actually knowing what he says and what not.
“Someone new here?”
“Hm.” Ohno nods and angles for his own piece of tuna pizza. “Met him in the laundromat.”
“Hot?” Aiba wants to know and giggles.
“I have no idea,” Ohno grins. “He is dressing so weirdly and his clothes are huge. He could be fat you know or missing a limb?”
“Or hot,” Aiba points out with a hysterical giggle. Apparently he is really into that thought now.
“He was reading the book.”
“Which book?” Aiba wants to know in interest.
“This one.” Ohno makes a broad gesture towards the TV.
“That depressing movie is a book?” Aiba asks in confusion, before his eyes widen in realisation. “OH!” he calls out. “It’s a book. They made a movie.”
“Yes,” Ohno giggles.
“And why are we watching it?”
“He recommended it.”
Aiba frowns. “Who?”
“The possibly ugly guy from the salon,” Ohno huffs as he is losing his patience.
“I thought he is hot?” Aiba blinks in surprise.
“No, you said he is hot!”
“But I don’t know him,” Aiba points out. “How can I say he is hot?”
Ohno feels how he is slowly getting a headache. “What? Don’t get it.”
“We are not watching this because you think he is ugly,” Aiba points out, voice quivering slightly while he bites into another piece of pizza, the grease from it dripping down on Ohno’s sofa. “You think he is hot. You think something about him is hot. And because you find him attractive, we watch this depressing movie so you can catch up with him. You are so cute~”
Ohno blinks in confusion. Does he? Think that weird guy in his even weirder clothes and huge glasses is hot? “Oh god,” he moans as his headache grows. “I don’t get it. Shut up.”
Aiba giggles, but is gladly too busy with fixing them another messy drink - messy, because he is too drunk to measure it properly and each drink is stronger than the previous one. At one point Aiba stalks away, back to his own apartment, gladly next door. He is wavering dangerously, but when Ohno hears how Aiba drops something inside his apartment, he knows he made it there safely.
He himself sleeps on the couch, not in the state to move to the bed. At one point he goes to the toilet and when he comes back, he feels tired and spent, the sight in front of his eyes dazed. He opens the door to his living room and stumbles inside. It’s weird though because he can’t find the sofa anymore. At one point he doesn’t mind though and just drops down on the floor, falling asleep.
~~~
OH.MY.GOD. Ohno groans in pain when he opens his eyes and the sun shines in his face. He tries to curl into the blanket, snuggling against his sofa. His freaking head. He is never going to drink again. He is never going to watch depressing movies again. And he is never going to invite Aiba for a vodka night again. If anything they are going to watch Disney movies and drink tea. Man, he feels so old.
And sick. He takes a deep breath, almost scared that he will smell the old pizza grease, and throw up over it, but to his surprise he only takes in the soft scent of cherries and orange. Lemon. And…
Ohno’s eyes snap open. Lemon? He sits up immediately, groaning when he feels dizzy from the sudden movement, and the headache kicks in.
“Finally awake?” he hears a teasing voice. “Thought you would sleep forever.”
Ohno turns around, eyeing the man in front of him. Jun is wearing short, baggy pants this time and a huge Hawaiian t-shirt. Why does he dress like that? Judging by the look of his naked legs, he isn’t fat at all! Ohno lets his gaze wander around the apartment. He frowns. It’s huge. Like really huge. The living room has thrice the size of his, and there is a gigantic sound and TV-system installed, the flat screen so big that Ohno is sure it had to cost five times his monthly salary. Also the inventory is nothing but top-notch. “You are living in the penthouse,” he stutters in shock.
“Yes,” Jun answers and puts a cup with warm, damping tea in front of Ohno.
“Why are you washing your stuff in the laundromat?” he continues to babble.
“My washing machine is broken,” the man explains casually. “So I thought for the time being I should use the one offered by the building.”
Ohno rubs over his face. He feels sweaty and for the first time he realizes that right now he is the one looking messy and horrible, not Jun. That dude is only wearing horrible clothes and weird clippings in his hair, but at least he looks fresh and tidy. “I’m sorry,” Ohno stutters. “I don’t even know how I got here.”
Jun laughs, both evilly and soothingly at the same time. An interesting sound, and suddenly Ohno remembers what Aiba said yesterday. You find him hot, no matter what he wears. You watch the movie because you are interested in him. “You were sleeping on the floor of the corridor right in front of the elevator,” Jun explains. “I didn’t want to leave you there, but I didn’t know the number of your apartment either.”
“Ah,” Ohno sighs. When he went to the toilet last night… “I invited a friend over yesterday and we watched Jane Eyre. Had a drink or two too much. My room number is 37 by the way.”
Jun pulls up his eyebrows. “Jane Eyre?”
“Yes,” Ohno stutters. “I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know it, you know… as an editor.” Oh my god, what is he even saying?
“Really, Ohno-san?” Jun asks seriously, and Ohno isn’t quite sure if he is mocking him or not. He tilts his head now, staring at Ohno through these deep, intense eyes of his. Something inside Ohno’s stomach jumps slightly, and he knows it’s not the hangover that does this to him.
“Please call me Satoshi,” Ohno offers all of a sudden. He isn’t so sure why he said it. Part of him tries hard to believe it’s to distract Jun from teasing him further, the other part though is stunned and appalled by how much he let his guard down. “You let me sleep on your sofa after all.”
Jun pulls an eyebrow up. “Fine,” he says. And. “Jun. I’m Jun.”
“So, may I invite you to dinner next week?” Ohno hears himself say. He wants to bite down on his tongue the moment he said it. Like seriously. It’s the third time in a row that he slips! “After all I really owe you and I would like to repay your kindness,” he continues to talk, relieved that he sounds somewhat coherent and apparently Jun buys it.
“Thank you, Satoshi-san.” Jun smiles dazzlingly, and something inside Ohno’s stomach betrays him once again by jumping. “It’s not necessary for you to repay me, but I’m happily taking you up on your offer.”
~~~
“So you are actually attracted to the dude of the freak-show?” Nino says while scanning Ohno from head to toe.
Ohno starts to feel exasperated by his friends’ insistence. First Aiba, then Nino. “I didn’t say that.”
“You said you invited him to have dinner with you. You never do that. You didn’t even invite me until we were friends for two years,” Nino points out mercilessly.
“Is this why you called me to a business meeting?” Ohno retorts calmly. “Or do you actually have something to discuss?”
“Ah!” Nino seems to remember. “Yes, I do. Remember we are doing this huge magazine campaign for our publishing company?”
Ohno nods.
“We got a ten-page spread!” Nino’s eyes are glinting in excitement. “Ten pages, Satoshi!”
“Are you kidding?” Ohno asks breathlessly.
“No, but Kiko-chan with her erotic short-stories maximised our sales last week, and she is even nominated for a newcomer award. On top of that Toma-san with his critical essays about sexuality and freedom did get quite some recognition from the press.” Nino grins proudly. Ohno can highly sympathize with his excitement. Nino is responsible for the marketing and PR, so he just has to feel really happy about making quite some money now.
“So, we get that huge spread in the magazine?” Ohno asks.
“Yes, and we need to have someone photograph Toma and Kiko, and some of our underdogs which we need to promote. This is our chance!” Nino takes the folder to his hands and opens it. “I’ve searched for some photographers. And this one caught my interest in particular. There is no photo of him as a person, but I have samples of his works.”
Ohno takes the photographs into his hands, checking them carefully. Yes, they are brilliant. Natural, but with an artistic touch. Art is probably his biggest interest right after his job, he paints pictures himself and sometimes lends them to exhibitions. “He or she portraits the persons as who they are. It’s still art, but at the same time natural,” he muses. “The artist really points out their hidden characteristics and who they are. It would be perfect for us. To imagine pictures like this with our magazine spread… the uproar in the scene would be huge and beneficial for us.”
“Yes.” Nino nods. “He is mainly photographing people on top of that. He takes photos of famous people, showing them as humans though. Also he recently had this couple series where he also photographed homosexual couples, old and middle-aged ones, teenagers and mixed races. He added nude shootings to it too, and focused on all kind of shades of love like BDSM couples or asexual ones, normal ones and alike. It’s a great series, and it received a lot of press internationally.”
“Is the artist a guy or a woman?”
“I have no idea.” Nino shrugs. “I have the feeling it’s a guy. He is working under a synonym.”
“Which is?”
“MJ.”
“Well,” Ohno snorts. “Doesn’t give away anything. You think he or she’ll take the job?”
“It’s for the monthly issue for Celebrity & Culture Fashion Mag. I bet he will. His fee will probably be higher than one of the others, but I would say we’ll give it a try.”
Ohno looks at the pictures again. The blunt honesty of them just draws him in immediately. He nods. “Let’s see what he says.”
~~~
Jun is wearing neon-orange sweatpants, an over-sized yellow sweater with little stars printed on it, and an oversized sun-hat. A sun-hat… in the fucking laundromat!
This time Ohno has decided not to embarrass himself by reading a book while he is at the laundromat. Instead he has his sketch book with him, painting while he sits on the bench. Jun is leaning against the washing machine again, his body vibrating slightly while the machine rattles against his body. He is reading… Ohno squints... Fifty Shades of Grey.
Hm, it’s an American author, he knows that. And he has heard of it before. Oh man, it’s really embarrassing that he is an editor. Seriously. Unbelievable that he is good at his job. He tries to focus on Jun’s facial expression now, and before he even realizes what he is doing, he is drafting his face. Without his huge glasses, without his weird hair clips or hats. Just Jun without anything else but his face and hair. He looks at his own picture in surprise. Aiba and Nino were right. He finds him attractive. He is attractive. He can trust his artistic instincts and he has painted this guy with his strong features and glinting eyes, making him look good in a way that Ohno wonders why he hasn’t realized it before.
“Satoshi-san?”
Ohno winces slightly when he realizes Jun’s dark eyes are resting on him. “Hm?”
“You are staring.”
Jun’s body vibrates again as the machine is doing a spin cycle. His lips are slightly parted and his eyes having a questioning thoughtful expression. Ohno gets up all of a sudden, and before he knows what he is doing, he has taken the book out of Jun’s hands. “Satoshi-san?” Jun stutters, and his cheeks are flushed slightly.
“Is it okay if I stare?” Ohno asks softly.
Jun nods, his cheeks flushed and his eyes carrying a joyful glint. It’s enough of an answer for Ohno.
Ohno reaches out his hands and takes the glasses from his face, surprised by the intense eyes and the beautifully shaped eyebrows and eyes, the long lashes. “You have beautiful eyes,” he says quietly. Jun moves forward a bit, something inside his eyes flickering like Ohno just said the perfect words, like he did something a hundred percent right. His long fingers move over Ohno’s neck, making his skin prickle in anticipation.
Jun leans forward to Ohno’s ear, smirking. “And now?” he asks innocently.
“I just really want to feel you beneath me,” Ohno whispers softly, wondering where his blunt courage comes from. He is used to being shy normally, especially around potential love affairs, but when he really wants someone he can be surprisingly bold.
“Here?” Jun asks, biting his lips in the sweetest way possible. “What if someone enters? What if-“
Ohno shuts him up by kissing him. Jun can’t know that this laundromat is only for his, Aiba’s, and Jun’s own washing machine. There are a few extra ones here, but the two families owning them moved out a month ago.
Ohno kisses Jun hard, with all he has, and he is thrilled to realize that Jun kisses him back as well, his tongue exploring Ohno’s mouth in a way Ohno hasn’t experienced before. He goes slowly sometimes then faster, the pressure on his tongue stronger sometimes, then soft. It feels like Jun is only half as innocent as he expected him to be.
He doesn’t linger on that thought though, instead he pushes Jun up to sit on the washing machine, pushing his pants down in one tug. For the first time Ohno is sincerely happy that he is wearing those awful sweatpants. They are easy to remove.
Jun is half hard already and Ohno hurries to kneel down a bit. Jun blinks. “Are you really going to… Satoshi-san…”
“I told you, I would like to repay your kindness,” Ohno whispers softly, grinning when he sees goosebumps on Jun’s skin. He goes down to business immediately, the thrill of someone maybe accidentally coming in and disrupting them sends a shiver of excitement over his spine while he licks over the tip of Jun’s cock experimentally. Jun’s cock makes a tentative jump and Ohno knows he is just as excited about this as he is. He takes Jun’s dick into his mouth completely, while his free hand moves up over Jun’s sides, and beneath his huge sweater. To his surprise he feels tight muscles there, trained abs and an obviously defined body. He keeps sucking Jun, licking his cock while his other hand rubs over his shaft. Why is he hiding this obviously well-built body?
“Why?” Ohno whispers against Jun’s cock. “Why are you wearing these clothes?”
Jun chuckles, and it sends a shiver over Ohno’s spine. “How about you try to find that out by yourself,” he snickers. “Now stop the teasing, get up and fuck me before someone comes in.”
Ohno smirks and follows Jun’s bold wish. He gets up, fishing a condom out of his pocket. “Well,” he smiles when Jun pulls one of his eyebrows up. “Owning an erotic novel publishing company means tons of free products. You would be surprised if you saw my collection of tasty lube.” He grins. “Today…” he muses while he takes a small bottle out of the pocket of his jeans. “We only have the plain one.”
“Fine with me,” Jun whispers, his cheeks flushed when Ohno starts to work his slicked up fingers into Jun’s hole. Jun’s tight but gladly not as tight as he feared he would be. He plants soft kisses on Jun’s neck and cheek, and on every part of naked skin he can reach with Jun wearing that stupid sweater. Jun relaxes almost immediately under this ministration, redoing the favour by letting his fingers wander over Ohno’s back and brushing through his hair.
Ohno wraps an arm around Jun’s waist and pulls him forward a little so that he can enter him without feeling uncomfortable. Jun follows by wrapping his legs around Ohno’s waist, pressing him closer to his body. “Don’t be too loud,” Ohno teases, grinning when Jun blushes. He goes slowly first, pushing his cock into Jun’s hole carefully so that Jun can adapt to the intrusion.
Once he has, he starts with soft pushes against Jun, slow first before he picks up the speed of his movements. Jun leans forward, his head resting against Ohno’s shoulder, hands gripped tightly around Ohno’s shirt. He tries to muffle his noises into his shirt, and it sounds so sweet that Ohno strengthens his movements. He wonders what other noises he can draw from Jun, his hand moving down to his neglected cock. It’s even harder than before, probably from the body contact they are having and from the friction it received by being pressed against Ohno’s stomach. He pulls Jun even closer, giving his cock a few hard strokes while he fucks him relentlessly.
Jun moans and whimpers into Ohno’s neck, and it’s even better than the sounds Ohno imagined him to make, his body shudders and shakes before he comes over Ohno’s hand. Ohno’s hands move to Jun’s ass, spreading his cheeks and pulling Jun further to his body, forcing Jun to lie back a little. He gives it a few more strong pushes before he comes with deep shudder and a muffled moan escaping his lips.
They both pant heavily. Ohno lets go of Jun and slips out of him carefully. Jun has dropped his head back, revealing a beautiful, delicious neck, his legs still slightly spread. Ohno pats the inside of his thighs softly. He looks so hot that Ohno has to pause a bit to take in the picture in front of him.
“Did I play you or are you playing me?” Ohno whispers. “I don’t get it.”
Jun just laughs. Ohno pulls his eyebrows up, and grins. Before Jun can react he pulls his ugly orange sweatpants up again to cover his body. “I’m still all sticky, Satoshi-san! Ugh.” Jun huffs.
“Perfect reason to get rid of those horrible pants then,” Ohno jokes. He cleans himself up with one of his dirty shirts that he wanted to wash anyway, then dresses again. “Tell me again, who played who?”
Jun gets up with a grin. He takes his book and his laundry. “I told you,” he smiles teasingly. “Find that out yourself. I for one need a shower.”
~~~
Ohno tries not to be embarrassed by Aiba and Nino peeking through the door and watching how Jun passes Ohno’s apartment and walks towards the elevator.
“Why the hell is he dressed like that?” Nino complains.
“And he really said you should find it out by yourself?” Aiba asks curiously. “After you had sex.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it,” Nino huffs. “I mean, he is fucking rich, isn’t he? He lives in the penthouse. He could probably just call the Hugo Boss shop and tell them to open up for him exclusively on a Sunday evening.”
“Maybe he has, you know, a scar or he’s missing a limb?” Aiba offers.
“No,” Ohno says casually. “There isn’t even a scar on his body. I checked on it.”
Aiba sighs slightly before he closes the door carefully and pats to the kitchen. He has brought some salad for them, while Ohno prepares the fish.
“It’s rare for you to invite us officially for dinner,” Nino says. “You seem to be in a very specific, good mood.”
Ohno swallows at this comment. Nino, this brat, how did he know? How did he know he actually likes Jun? He throws Nino a begging glance, and to his relief Nino nods reassuringly and smiles warmly. When Aiba hurries to his own apartment to get some spices, Nino approaches him though. “You like this dude, don’t you?” he asks. “Why?”
“I don’t know why I’m attracted to him, but there is something… First I really wanted to get to know the man beneath these weird clothes. There is his addiction to read these books, and he uses the laundromat though he has tons of money and could just call someone to do it for him. He was kind enough to pick me up from the corridor and make me sleep on his sofa. He has a beautiful laugh, and he is a tease. He has made the one or other sarcastic comment. I assume he holds back though. And…”
“And?” Nino asks curiously.
“When I kissed him and I felt him kissing me back, I knew the whole ugly duckling thing is only a façade. I just don’t understand what for.” Ohno smiles dreamingly. “I want to get to know his secrets.”
“Who knows?” Nino chuckles. “Maybe he even shares the one or other weird sexual thing with you? I know your dirty mind.”
Ohno chuckles softly, but doesn’t answer to Nino’s teasing. He needs to read 50 Shades of Grey though. He has looked up a summary, and it sounds interesting…
~~~
Sakurai Sho-san is a pain in the butt. He is good-looking, serious and pretty arrogant, much to Ohno’s annoyance. He is glad that Nino is there to do the talking.
“You aren’t MJ, are you?” Ohno asks pretty undiplomatically.
Sho lets out a sigh, like he’s talking to a little annoying child. “No,” he says calmly. “I’m his manager.”
Ohno and Nino like things casual, hence they invite their business partners into their homes and don’t meet in restaurants. It’s an unusual approach, but they are both the type for it and it works. Sho was not particularly excited to meet them at Ohno’s place but once he stepped into Ohno’s - now perfectly cleaned , thanks to the cleaning lady- apartment and eyed the many pictures on the wall, he was impressed. “Your pictures?” he asked, and Ohno nodded.
They invite people interested in arts to Ohno’s place, and those into music to Nino’s, who despite his stinginess owns a piano, a guitar, a flute and a huge collection of around 2000 CDs, and the same amount of Blu-rays and games. They know how to get their clients and possible business partners.
“You know,” Sho muses. “First I was against meeting here, but I see now that it’s perfect. Editors work close with authors, and probably see them a lot at their homes, or their authors visit them. Your home is also your working place.”
Ohno is actually a little impressed. That arrogant dude is definitely not an idiot.
“So,” Nino starts. “Did you think about our offer?”
“Well, Macchan has lots of current projects and work, but we admit that your collaboration sounds too interesting for us to decline. However,” Sho points at some documents. “We want an exhibition and an event too.”
Nino blinks. “You mean you want us to organize an event for the authors to read and for MJ to show his pictures?”
“Advertisement,” Sho points out.
Ohno frowns. Too much work, really. To his shock though Nino seems to be into it immediately. He knows that face of his friend. It’s his million dollar look, he has smelled money. “Perfect,” Nino muses. “If done correctly this could be a huge chance. We are not going to carry the expenses by ourselves though. We will accept your fee for MJ-san, but not pay for the whole event.”
“The event is a collaboration of course,” Sho points out and takes a piece of the perfect sushi Ohno bought from the expensive restaurant around the corner. “We’ll share the expenses. I’ll discuss the details with Macchan later, and I think the both of you should too. We can meet all together then.”
Macchan. He calls the artist Macchan. So…it’s a girl. “Excuse me,” Ohno smiles. “MJ-san, is it a man or woman?”
Sho laughs, and for the first time his face seems to loosen up and he looks less stressed and strict than before. “A man. Basically our age. A little younger.”
“And you call him Macchan?”
“Yes, but he hates it.” Sho smiles warmly, and something about this smile is so beautiful that Ohno feels warm inside. Sho obviously really cares for his MJ.
It’s when he guides Sho to the door to let him out that Sho turns around again. “You know, Ohno-san, for the next meeting please let’s meet up in an official restaurant, to our conditions.” Before Ohno can complain, Sho raises his hands in defence. “Really, I like it here, but Macchan can be a little moody. I don’t know how I should break it to him that we need to meet at an editor’s personal apartment.”
Ohno grins. “Artists,” he says knowingly while he opens the door. He remembers how Kiko always wants almond milk, and Toma only eats fish from one certain supplier from Okinawa.
Sho laughs heartedly. He steps outside, apparently miscalculates his steps and stumbles. Ohno catches him last second before he drops to the ground. His arm is wrapped around Sho’s waist, and Sho grabs his arms, he is laughing even more now. First impressions can sometimes lie, Ohno thinks when he sees Sho’s open and silly expression. Who would have known that this stiff guy is actually fun?
Ohno lifts his gaze, and freezes. He looks directly into two dark chestnut-brown eyes. Since when is he here? Why is he here right in front of his apartment? Before he can say something though, Jun throws him an inscrutable glance and walks away. Ohno has the weird and uncomfortable feeling that Jun has just misinterpreted something.
He tries to look for him later on. And the next day, pretending to have tons of laundry to do in the laundromat, but to his disappointment Jun doesn’t appear. And now? What is he supposed to do? Having Sho lying in his arms and giggling sure looked weird to Jun, didn’t it?
~~~
He and Nino follow Sho’s wish and meet MJ-san and Sho in an established, high-notched restaurant for soba. “He likes soba,” Sho explains, when they meet up a bit earlier to go through a few formal things. MJ is going to come any minute though, and Ohno looks at the door expectantly.
The first thing Ohno actually sees is a nicely shaped butt, clad into the tightest black jeans possible, the second thing is the man’s slender waist, an insult to every woman, when he leans over to ask the waitress something. When MJ turns around, his lips and the moles strike him immediately. And Ohno understands several things all of a sudden: The initials MJ, the fact that Ohno’s eyes didn’t betray him and the man beneath the clothes is indeed beautiful - too beautiful almost - and that Nino was probably right: he calls Hugo Boss to tell them to open for him exclusively. What he doesn’t understand though is that a man dressed like that runs around like a scarecrow at home.
He has to give Jun credit though for looking seriously shocked when he looks into their direction. He didn’t expect him. Still, something inside Ohno twitches. He knows it’s childish, but he feels a bit betrayed. He has expected Jun to be someone with a trauma or with a weird fashion sense, low self-esteem or whatever, and not lead a double life and be this radiating, fashionable guy in reality. Ohno has a good eye for arts and colours, and appearance. And he knows, a person dressed like this, with accessories chosen so carefully, hair perfect, and beautifully shaped glasses (he probably also owns contacts) does like fashion. What kind of weird game is he actually playing?
“May I introduce you,” Sho says, while he gets up to grab Jun’s arm and pull him to the place next to himself. “This is, MJ, or rather Matsumoto Jun. As priorly settled you’ll keep the name highly confidential.”
Jun bows his head politely, his long eyelashes fluttering nervously when he looks at Ohno. Ohno is glad that Nino does the talking - he is better with that anyway. And Jun is good with it too. Well, considering Jun’s little snarky replies from their little meetings before, it isn’t much of a surprise. What bothers him more though is how Sho attends to Jun, forcing him to eat something and arguing with him that he thinks Jun isn’t eating enough. Sometimes Jun bickers with Sho in a silly way and throws annoyed glances at him, something Ohno hasn’t seen in Jun’s eyes ever before. Something inside his stomach stings. Fuck this, really.
He is almost relieved that they don’t have any moment alone to talk to each other. It’s only after Jun and Sho excused themselves and left that Nino grabs Ohno’s arm. “Is THIS the Matsumoto Jun out of your apartment?”
So he made the connection too. Ohno nods. “How did you know?”
“Your weird reaction, Satoshi, and he looked like he knew you.” Nino lets out an impressed sigh. “To imagine he looks that hot! You were right. But why the hell is he hiding under these crappy clothes then?”
“I have no idea,” Ohno grumbles.
Nino looks at him in confusion before he rolls his eyes. “Really Satoshi? Don’t be such a child,” he huffs, and again Ohno is surprised by his sharp mind and the way he can make a connection between things immediately. “You met him in the laundromat before you knew each other and before you even exchanged one word. He was already dressed weirdly there. Being mad at it now is ridiculous.”
Ohno knows he is childish but he feels pissed and betrayed, and freaking jealous of this stupid Sho who obviously is way too close to Jun.
~~~
The next weekend Ohno spends with sulking, ignoring Nino’s messages and only doing the most necessary work for that stupid collab, day-dreaming about Jun’s tight ass in those incredible black jeans and eating chocolate ice-cream.
When there is a knock at his door, he ignores it successfully at first, before it gets more insistent. Hello, person out there! Get the message already! When the person doesn’t get the message and hence doesn’t leave, Ohno gets up with a sigh, dragging himself to the door. Well, it could be an emergency, who knows. To his surprise he finds Jun at the door. He apparently just came back from work because he is wearing a black jacket and hat, there are raindrops sparkling on his shoulders. Did it really rain today? Wow, he seems to be out of it completely.
“Jun-san,” Ohno mumbles nervously, not sure what to say.
“I.” Jun pauses, shifting his head. He isn’t wearing glasses this time, probably contacts instead. “I know it sounds weird and pathetic, but it’s not like I wanted to hide something from you.”
“I don’t like to be lied to,” Ohno points out.
“I’m sorry.” Jun smiles nervously, his dark eyes are looking at Ohno beggingly. “I didn’t mean to.”
“But what did you mean?” Ohno insists to know. “Was it just a game to you? To see that you can get a guy even when you are ugly like a scarecrow?”
“What!?” Jun is so obviously taken aback that Ohno almost regrets saying what he just did. Jun’s cheeks are flushed, but Ohno takes a guess it’s not out of embarrassment but out of anger. “How dare you,” Jun huffs. He looks hurt all of a sudden, and Ohno has to fight the urge to hug him. He feels that he should definitely say or do something now, but while he is still thinking, Jun throws him a glare. “You don’t even know me! How can you accuse me of such things? Apparently I have wasted my time!” he adds, and stomps off. Ohno sighs, wondering for the hundredth time why he always needs so long to actually find an appropriate reaction. Everyone always walks away before he can say something.
He sighs again, patting back to his sofa, and dropping down there. He thinks about Jun, and about the way he looked at him out there at the corridor, he thinks of how it felt to hug him and make love to him, and the stinging feeling when he saw Sho being so close to him. At one point Ohno falls asleep, and it’s around lunch at the next day when he wakes up again. His phone vibrates. It’s more out of an instinct that he takes it and reads the incoming message.
YOU IDIOT! Nino sends him with capital letters. First of all, you don’t call the person you like ugly, even when dressed like a scarecrow. And second, stop the fucking drama and accusations!
Ohno is shocked. How did he know? How did Nino know? The question burns in his mind, so he asks.
Sho-san told me, gladly he doesn’t know that you are the stupid idiot who hurt his beloved artist. Jun went jogging for like two hours, and Sho had to basically throw himself in front of him to stop him from running.
I didn’t know what to say. Ohno answers. Didn’t want to hurt him, but at the same time I want to know what he thought about me all this time.
Then how about you fucking ask!?
Ohno sighs. Too late.
What is wrong with you? Nino wants to know. Don’t tell me it’s the old story again?
All colour gets basically drained from Ohno’s face. How did he possibly know? How did Nino understand so fast? He can be freaking scary! You know what happened the last time I trusted someone. He types. You know how I was lied to.
It’s not even the same. Nino argues. Someone dressing like a nerdy freak in his free time can’t be compared with someone who cheated on you all the time. Don’t be ridiculous. Maybe J just likes to dress casually at home or whatever. This is the most stupid conversation I’ve ever led!
He knows it is ridiculous, but he can’t switch off his mind. You don’t understand, Kazu.
Nino doesn’t give up though. Of course I do. I understand perfectly. Who are you kidding? If you ask me it’s not about being lied to or not. You just needed an excuse NOT to end up with him, not to like him. Any excuse would do for you to run away from him.
The truth stings. Really. Nino is always blunt and direct, but it’s rare for him to be that harsh in his choice of words. Ohno understands it though, he really does, but it’s difficult for his mind to accept it.
Nino sends him a few more messages packed with annoyed looking emoticons. Then he does something so sly that even Ohno is taken aback by it… he sends Aiba to his place. No one can be unfriendly to Aiba. No one!
He owns a key to Ohno’s apartment, waltzes inside without ringing and basically tugs Ohno from his sofa. “You should really eat something,” he chirps, rummaging in his kitchen. “I’ll cook something for you. Meanwhile do your laundry.”
Ohno frowns. “But…”
“Just go! And please shower before you do so, you look horrible. When you are back you’ll have perfect vegetable and chicken ramen in front of you.”
Well, the thought of something so delicious to eat basically gives him the kick in the butt he needs. Hence he stumbles to his shower first, then downstairs to the salon with the washing machines. He yawns slightly while he puts his dirty laundry inside, switching on the machine. In his bag with the detergent, he eyes a book. Oh. He has almost forgotten that. 50 Shades of Grey. He wanted to catch up on what Jun reads… What is he even supposed to do now?
“Do you think I’m good-looking?”
Ohno spins around when he hears the well-known voice behind him. “Jun-san,” he breathes out. “I-“
“Do you think I’m hot?” Jun interrupts him.
Jun is wearing jeans this time, broad enough to underline his slender waist, while he is wearing a white and tight tank-top shirt. One of his wrists is covered in a broad leather bracelet, and there are a few eccentric looking rings gracing his long beautiful fingers. He is wearing elegantly shaped glasses that underline the strong features of his face and give him a sophisticated look. His hair is perfectly styled. He also has his bag in his hands, probably on the verge of going outside. “Yes,” Ohno says, because everything else would be a brutal lie.
“And can you imagine how many people hit on me just because of my looks?” Jun continues. He grabs his bag tighter and approaches the door. “A few months ago, I just had another very disappointing relationship. Another person that promised me love and affection but actually just wanted to fuck me. The reason I ran around in sweatpants and weird shirts recently is to…” His voice trails off, but Ohno knows what he wants to say anyways.
“… to protect yourself,” he continues quietly.
“I know the kind of man I dated up to now.” Jun looks at him thoughtfully. “Now I just wonder what kind of man you are. I’m sick of making mistakes in my choice of partners. So tell me… are you? A mistake?”
So, he was disappointed too, he was betrayed too, Ohno thinks in surprise, and a sudden wave of sympathy hits him. They were both disappointed with their previous lovers and relationships.
~~~
“Okay,” Ohno raises his arms in defence when Nino leans at the door frame of his apartment, arms crossed. “I over-reacted a little.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” Nino grumbles, but he has to grin even a second later. He points with his head towards his living room. “Come in. I hope you brought something to eat and drink.”
Ohno can’t suppress a smile. “Well, it’s you. So of course I did.”
They settle down on Nino’s sofa and dig into the two huge ramen bowls Ohno brought along from the cheap next-door Chinese food store they both love so much. They drink beer out of a can.
“Jun-san is classy,” Nino smirks. “You might want to treat him to finer food.”
Ohno smiles dreamingly when he thinks of how Jun felt in his arms and of his beautiful fingers. “He is delicate,” he muses.
“Ugh,” Nino giggles. “Spare me details of his luscious body and the hot sex you had….”
“… on a washing machine,” Ohno continues with a little sigh.
“On a washing machine. Awesome. I won’t ever get that image out of my head.” Nino rolls his eyes.
Ohno ignores his complaint. “What should I do now?”
“Maybe have sex in a bed?” Nino offers.
Ohno throws a pillow at him which Nino dodges with a grin. “Kazu, seriously.”
Nino sighs. “Go to his place, knock at his door, with something awesome to eat, with a huge bucket of expensive flowers and with an even better excuse and explanation. He will understand once you tell him everything.”
“He is not at home much right now,” Ohno sighs. “Working for the presentation.”
Nino blinks. “How do you know?” A slight blush crawls over Ohno’s cheeks, and Nino grins openly. “Well, well… spied on him.”
Of course he did. He was just too much of a chicken to approach Jun. Hence he only watched him secretly. Much to his embarrassment he has realized that Jun still dresses up weirdly when at home, probably afraid to get hit on by another idiot. His conscience really made his heart clench. Damn it, this here could have been a lot simpler.
“Next week is the whole presentation and convention. We’ll be there together.” Ohno nods to himself like he wants to reassure himself. “I’ll talk to him there.” He tilts his head. “I hope he still wants me. I hope he actually really wanted me to begin with.”
Nino smiles slightly. “I’m pretty sure he does.”
“How?”
Nino grins, and hands him a little package. “Here, a present from me. How about you read it.”
Nino doesn’t let him open it right there. Only when Ohno is finally at home, does he have the chance to rip the paper off the book. 50 Shades of Grey. Exclusive edition with pictures from the movie. Right, the last book Jun read. On it there is a note from Nino. The book is garbage. But the fact that he read it right in front of you, probably only for you, says enough already. Read it :D
So, Ohno does.
~~~
Jun is looking so juicy and pretty in his decent black jeans and his white long-sleeved shirt with buttons that Ohno has to fight the urge to jump him right there. But it would probably be the worst timing ever as Jun just presents his photographs of the authors to the press. It’s a great project, and to be honest, Toma and Kiko have never looked better than on Jun’s photos. He has shown a vulnerable, approachable side of them, yet made them look beautiful and attractive. He knows Kiko already had one of the photos at home, probably looking at it happily every day.
Once the presentation is over, the authors get the stage, and start with presenting their short stories and novels. Jun is listening too, leaning against the door frame, head slightly tilted and revealing his delicious neck. Ohno bites down on his lips. Actually he has never felt that intensely for someone, and never that passionately, so that he could basically shove Jun into a storage room, rip his clothes from his body and make love to him.
Hm, he frowns, not a bad idea actually.
When Kiko starts reading the adventure of Harumi-chan and Tomoya-kun, who wash ashore on an island and have various juicy erotic adventures and reaches a lengthy description of Tomoya-kun’s pulsating erection, Jun leaves the room, and Ohno follows. He apparently goes to where the office is. They have rented a huge official hall for vernissages and presentation, with a few offices to prepare everything.
Before Jun can pass the room though, Ohno grabs his arm from behind and pulls him into one of them.
“WHAT!?” Jun turns around and tries to kick him away, halting when he sees that it’s Ohno. “What are you doing? You almost gave me a heart-attack, you idiot. You-“
Ohno shuts him up by surging forward and kissing him. Jun resists him first, obviously trying to push him away, then however he gives in, kissing Ohno back. Ohno’s fingers dive through Jun’s hair, happy that he apparently lets it grow now. It’s only when his hand slips under Jun’s shirt, touching his muscles that Jun draws back all of a sudden.
“What are you doing?” he stutters. “What is this?”
“I’m sorry I was an ass,” Ohno mumbles against Jun’s cheek, smiling inwardly when he hears how Jun sighs at his touches. “I’m just like you. I got disappointed, I was hurt and I immediately thought you hid something from me on purpose.”
Jun pouts. “You think I’ll forgive you that easily.”
“I was jealous,” Ohno continues, ignoring his complaint, while his finger brush over Jun’s arms. “Because you are so close to Sho-san.”
“You mean my childhood friend Sho? The one who is like an older brother for me?” Jun grumbles. “It was you who held him in your arms!”
“It was a business meeting and that idiot stumbled,” Ohno explains calmly.
Apparently his simple explanation takes the wind out of Jun’s sails because he just stutters something incomprehensible. Ohno draws back with a smile and takes his hands. “Let me do it your style,” he says softly and without any teasing. “My lovely Jun-san,” he starts. “I really like you, from the first moment on. I was attracted to you and your sharp mind and your witty personality, no matter if you were wearing an ugly shirt or not, because to me you were and are always pretty. I’m sorry I immediately thought of the worst when I saw you dressed so prettily, and I’m sorry for pushing you away when you came to talk to me in my apartment.” Jun smiles while he talks, his hands suddenly wandering up to Ohno’s face and brushing over his cheeks, while Ohno rests his own on Jun’s hips now “I know you are a kind and honest guy, and I promise to always treat you with respect and that I don’t want you for sex only. I would like to go out with you, take you out on dates, cook for you or let you cook for me, cuddle on the sofa for a stupid cheesy romance movie and have steaming hot sex. So, please give me the incredible honour to go out with you.”
He pauses, looking at Jun warily and expectantly. “So what do you say?”
Jun nods, cheeks flushed. “Of course I say yes,” he says softly. “I want to do all this together with you.” He leans into a second kiss, softer this time. “That speech though… You read too many romance novels,” he whispers teasingly.
Ohno chuckles. “You were the one feeding me with them, young man,” he jokes. “And I hope you know what I do with you after you made me read that garbage Shades of Grey book.”
Jun smirks against his lips. “Oh,” he mumbles. “I hoped you would be smart enough to catch on.”
Ohno smiles when he hugs Jun, feeling his heart beat against his chest. This is right, he thinks, it’s finally right.