Step and Go
Title: Step and Go
Rating: PG13 (some language)
Pairing: Juntoshi (side pairing! Sakuraiba)
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Chapter: Six of ten (+prologue and epilogue)
Summary: Nino convinces Ohno to participate in a “who can seduce Jun first” contest after a particularly troublesome rehearsal.
Previous: Prologue, One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Chapter 6
Even though the talk with Nino had ended unresolved, Ohno waited for his friend to bring up the subject again.
He was mildly relieved to realize it had been weeks since then and the problem seemed to have magically disappeared. Yes, Jun was still acting awkward around him, but it hadn’t gotten any worse than before and actually it was sort of normal now. Sho still found it amusing, though, and often would pair the two together during shows and promotions just to see Jun squirm.
Nino was acting more like his usual self as well. After the night at the concert, he had relaxed a bit and his confident, sarcastic attitude had returned. Ohno had caught him and Jun in several hushed conversations, the two of them acting more familiar than usual, but had no idea what the two were plotting. And he really didn’t care, actually. He was sort of happy that Kazu was getting some attention from the other idol. It made him feel less guilty about the whole “I confessed to the man you loved behind your back” thing.
Leader was actually really happy that the whole situation was behind them. His own schedule had picked up after the concerts, as he had immediately continued filming the new drama he was starring in, “Maou”, but unlike Jun he actually worked better under the pressure.
Although he couldn’t hang out with the other members like usual, getting lunch together or going out when they had some free time, he was still managing to get in one fishing trip a week. It was usually unplanned and occurred when they didn’t need him for filming and sent him home to get some rest for a few hours. But, of course, Ohno would rather go fishing than just sit at home in his parent’s house, and it was more relaxing for him anyway. The whole aura of Maou was a little more intense than what he was used to, but he was dealing better with his character than he thought he would. Even if the director was a little peeved that he had showed up a little too tan once or twice.
Needless to say, Ohno was feeling good today. Although he had been filming most of the day yesterday, he had managed to sneak in an hour fishing trip in the afternoon and then had gone out for drinks with Touma-kun later that night. He hadn’t gotten much sleep and was expected at the Himitsu set bright and early, but it was a schedule he was more than used to. In fact, hanging out with Touma had been great; although he acted shy like Jun (in fact, a lot of things about his co-star reminded him of Jun) it had been the first time in a few years that the two of them had been out together.
After a few drinks, Touma had said that he had looked up to Ohno for a while, something that surprised the Arashi member very much, and that he couldn’t stop watching Ohno when he acted out Naruse, his character on Maou. It was incredible to see the way his face changed on set, like he was a different person altogether, he had commented.
Ohno had been embarrassed at the abundance of praise, but after Touma had finished his third beer he couldn’t shut up about the other star. And Ohno wasn’t really the kind of person to interrupt someone else when they were talking, especially if they were naturally chatty, whether he liked the topic or not. So he had spent the night sipping his beer, picking at kara-age, and watching Touma’s amusing act of switching between talking too fast and blushing in embarrassment.
In fact, he almost felt like he had gotten over Jun.
Except that everything he liked about Touma he liked about Jun even more.
And besides, it was embarrassing to be praised that much, even if his co-worker had been half drunk the whole time. Leader certainly didn’t think he deserved most of it- there were so many better actors and idols than him that worked much harder.
Jun, at least, was discreet in his compliments, which Ohno was thankful for (not that he had received any recently, not even during the concerts). He always said “Good Work” no matter the situation, but that was usually accompanied with “that kick that you did turned out perfectly” or “nice save with that mic”. It was those comments that were missing lately, the ones that let Ohno know that Jun was watching.
Leader mentally shrugged. He didn’t really care, anyway. He didn’t deserve the few compliments he’d received from Jun either.
Unconsciously, the captain of Arashi turned and looked at the topic of his thoughts, who was chatting with Nino in the corner again.
Ohno was seated on Arashi’s usual couch in their main dressing room by himself. Sho and Aiba had gone to change costumes in an adjacent room together and hadn’t made it back yet (who knew what they were doing now). Nino had casually gotten up to get tea when he saw Jun come in and pulled him against a wall, half out of Ohno’s sight behind a rack of unused clothes.
Of course his curiosity had perked up at the strange, but not entirely unusual, move, but as soon as Jun’s gaze had left Nino’s face and caught him looking, Leader turned back to the coffee table in front of him, his face burning.
He didn’t care. The two of them could talk about whatever they wanted to.
After looking around for a fishing magazine he had brought in a few days ago and not finding it in the direct vicinity, Ohno instead picked up a newspaper that Sho had left behind. There were a few headlines about politicians, the economy, and a new species of seaweed that had been discovered.
The artist opted for the seaweed article. It might keep his attention long enough for someone to return and break up the awkward tension that had settled over him and the couch.
Leader didn’t look up from the newspaper until Nino was standing right in front of him, pulling Jun behind him by the wrist. It looked vaguely like they were holding hands, but of course Ohno didn’t care about that either.
“Nee, Leader,” Nino said in his usual playful voice, but he looked mildly serious and irritated. “Come with me for a sec, would you?” His friend held out his other hand for Ohno to take.
His first response was to raise an eyebrow, especially at Jun’s anxious expression, but he held out his hand anyway. Nino immediately grabbed it and pulled him off the couch, dragging the two of them behind him and out of the dressing room. They walked halfway down the hallway to an unused waiting room, which Nino kicked open with his foot, and he forcefully brought the two of them inside behind him.
There was a short white table in the corner and a matching small couch, the one that Ohno sometimes occupied when he wanted some quiet time to himself, even if he had to occasionally share it with a sleeping Aiba. Nino had been holding on to his wrist quite tightly, more than he probably needed to (since Ohno would have followed him with a simple request), and when the three of them stumbled into the room, Jun and Ohno squeezing through the door almost simultaneously, Ohno was basically thrown onto the couch in front of him by the momentum.
He quickly turned over and rubbed his head comically, although he hadn’t hit the couch that hard, looking at Nino with questioning eyes.
“I can’t take this anymore.” Nino wasn’t looking at him, though. He was staring at Jun rather seriously. “You said you would take care of this a month ago.” Ohno perked up, scooting into a proper sitting position on the couch, and watched the other two actors in front of him with interest.
Apparently, earlier the two of them had been talking about the awkwardness that Jun was still bringing to the set. He wouldn’t put it past Nino to force the two of them to make up, and in reality, Leader was glad. He wasn’t aggressive enough to take care of it himself and obviously Jun was still too jumpy around him to fix the situation either.
This was a good thing. Ohno would try to be accommodating as possible. If Jun told him “it’s just weird to think you like me like that” he would nod and probably apologize. Maybe he would say something wise like “Love knows no gender!” Instead, if Jun said “I just don’t like you like that” he would nod to that, too, and shrug, and leave it at that. No matter what he was just give a passive answer and try to move past the problem.
Jun, once again, was looking at him with an expression of mild terror. Maybe he was scared to be in such close confinements with The Man Who Loved Him. Ohno found that vaguely amusing, although he was fairly sure that wasn’t the reason.
“I just…” he didn’t continue the sentence. Instead he looked at Nino like a teacher he had forgotten to turn his homework in to. Like he was trying to come up with a convincing excuse quickly.
That was also amusing. Ohno’s bright mood was only increasing.
“Jun, if you don’t tell him right now, I will.” Nino sounded serious and once again Ohno’s curiosity perked. Jun looked horrified by this threat, although Ohno wasn’t sure why. Obviously Jun had promised to take care of the tension between the two of them, probably a little after the concert in which he had so obviously kissed Leader, but he hadn’t said anything to him about it yet. It was probably the reason that Nino was so pissed right now, since that had been several weeks ago.
This explained the secret conversations the two had been sharing, though, which Ohno was relieved to discover. The little part of him that had been jealous at the exchanges quelled and almost disappeared.
“You don’t have to do that!” Jun’s voice almost sounded like a squeak and one of his hands unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Nino’s shirt in desperation. Ohno held back his smile, simply because the air between the two seemed like that of a battle, even though Jun was acting so cute and nervous again.
Leader continued to watch the exchange, Nino and Jun still ignoring him despite his apparent importance in the conversation, as the gamer leaned forward and stuck his finger in Jun’s face, making the other star back up abruptly.
“I’ll give you one more chance. Right now. Tell him.” Jun swallowed nervously, but after a second grabbed Nino’s finger and pushed it away from his face, feigning confidence.
“Fine, but you have to get out of here.” He grabbed Nino’s arm this time and gently pushed him out the open door, closing it promptly in his face. Ohno barely caught the stern (and almost comical) look on Nino’s face before it disappeared behind the door.
Jun didn’t turn to look at him right away. It seemed like he was trying to collect his thoughts.
All the better. Ohno would give him a minute and wait for Jun’s eloquence to explain the situation to him.
Finally, the taller star turned to him, making eye contact for the first time that day.
Jun’s eyes were telling him he was nervous (if that wasn’t obvious already) and that he was holding back a lot more than Ohno had originally thought. Although Ohno’s good mood didn’t deflate, he suppressed it enough to give Jun a moderately serious look, sitting up a little straighter on the couch.
Jun stood where he was, fiddling with the edge of the blue vest he was wearing with one hand, his eyes now darting back and forth between Ohno and his hand.
“I can’t hear you!” Nino suddenly called from the hallway, making Jun jump and turn around sharply. He curtly opened the door to find Nino still standing there, arms folded and raising an eyebrow at the younger man.
Jun scowled.
“Get out of here!”
When Nino didn’t move, Jun forced him to turn, giving Ohno a brief ‘wait a moment, would you?’ look, and pushed Nino back the way they came. Ohno could hear them mumbling something back and forth before Jun returned, closing the door behind him and leaning up against it.
Ohno stood to face Jun as he returned, but held back his promptings. Was the other star really so nervous over something like this? Even if Ohno had been his hero (which was going a little too far, they were friends more than anything) Matsujun was confident enough in himself that he hardly ever messed up without meaning to and didn’t hesitate when he knew it would make him look like a coward.
Their eyes met again and Ohno took a moment to appreciate the depth of Jun’s eyes.
When the younger man blinked a moment later, it seemed like slow motion, his long lashes falling to delicately touch his cheek and then rising again, a piece of hair hanging in his face jolted by the movement. His hair was always so perfect, although sometimes that took more hair gel than Ohno thought was really necessary, but Leader secretly liked it when it was curly, when it fell around his face messily. He liked it when Jun was barely wearing any makeup, like he was now, and his lips were shiny only due to the lip gloss that he favored due to the texture.
Ohno loved Jun when he was the most natural and wasn’t worried about being filmed or photographed. When he could just be himself. Leader could barely stand the way that Jun would lick his lips, sometimes chewing on the bottom one when he was thinking, like he was doing right now. Just watching those two curves open and close, parting enough so that the tip of his tongue was just barely visible, teasing his fans (Ohno included) and enticing them to look maybe just a little closer… Ohno could feel his-
Wait. Jun had just said something.
Ohno blinked. “Eeeh?” His mouth dropped open when he realized what the other actor had told him.
“I said, I think I like you too.” Jun’s face was burning bright red and he looked minutely annoyed at having to repeat such an embarrassing thing.
Ohno blinked again. This wasn’t right. He must have been imagining the words coming out of Jun’s mouth when he had lost himself in the daydream.
“You…like me?” he asked to clarify, pointing at himself with his forefinger. Ohno couldn’t stop his eye lids from fluttering, unsure how else to show his incredulity.
“Yes. What I’m saying is… Well, I mean…” Jun trailed off, looking at the wall to his right, then at his hands, and then slowly back to Ohno, who was surely looking dumbfounded right now. “What I’m saying is that… well, maybe we can give dating a try or something?” Jun’s hands were gripped in fists, one of them resting lightly against his lips as he cleared his throat.
Ohno thought for about one second before a smile spread across his face. “Ah, is this a prank?” Nino was involved after all, and there was no way that Jun could actually be serious about dating. This was far too sudden.
Jun frowned at that reply. His posture said that he was offended Ohno had suggested such a thing, but honestly, there was no other reason for this.
When Ohno didn’t continue, Jun said with a huffy voice, “No, it’s not a prank!” The shorter star blinked again, not comprehending one bit of what Jun was saying. “I like you, okay?” he repeated.
Jun turned away from Ohno, resting his hand against one of the bare walls.
“Damn Nino. I didn’t want to have to tell you like this. I wanted there to be flowers or a nice dinner, at least.” Ohno mouth dropped open again. Jun was being completely serious about this.
Oh well, even if it was a prank, Ohno thought he should take advantage of the situation by not provoking Jun any more.
“Well, it’s done now, so.” Jun turned back to him, his attitude morphing to that of business, the one he used during important meetings with important people. “Shall we go on a date, then?” Jun shuffled a few steps closer to Ohno, who was still looking at him with wide eyes, and the couch. His tone sounded more confident, but his face still had a tinge of red to it.
“Uhh…” Ohno still wasn’t completely sure he hadn’t just made up the last five minutes of conversation in his head.
“How about tonight?” Matsujun had shoved one of his hands into his pocket and was looking at Ohno with a barely masked hopeful look.
How had Ohno been misreading him this whole time? Jun had been avoiding him, jumping when they touched, and giving him generally bad vibes, and now he was like “let’s date”?
What was wrong with this situation? Ohno couldn’t help but this it was his fault. He must have not understood Jun’s nonverbal cues as much as he thought he had.
Jun leaned in closer and Leader realized he’d been asked a question. How had Jun’s attitude changed so much in the last five minutes? He’d been nervous as hell a moment ago, now he was back to his usual arrogant self.
Ohno swallowed.
“Uh… N-no, I have Maou filming tonight.” He blinked, barely a hold of himself enough to suggest the next day instead.
“Tomorrow? Are you sure?” Jun took another step towards him and slowly reached out to Ohno, who hadn’t moved since their conversation had started. His hands slowly settled in the side of Ohno’s own spiky locks, and his thumb gently touched Leader’s cheek by his ear. It felt good, and the touch told him that maybe Jun really did want to give this a try.
Ohno couldn’t help but think about the bad timing of the whole situation, though. Since he had admitted his own attraction to Jun, it had been barely less than 3 months. They had finished their concerts, Jun had ended his movie and Ohno had started his drama, and the group had been filming their new television show enough to air it once a week. After all this time, Jun decided to come forward and tell Ohno this? After he had lived in self-denial and near-angst after his own confession?
He mentally shrugged. Maybe the only reason that he knew about it now was Kazu.
“Yeah. If you really want to, that is.” Ohno couldn’t hold back the second part of his response, unable to believe Jun’s admission despite his body language. In the end, he could only give it time and see where it went. If it was a prank it would float to the surface eventually.
+ + +
A/N: I hope you liked Jun's "confession"! :D Another shout out to yarukizero who helped me fix a bunch of mistakes on this and the upcoming chapter. ^.^;; You're a lifesaver!! <3
Also, thanks to all of you still reading! To those Sakuraiba fans, they'll be showing up more in a little while, so please look forward to it! Also, as a note, I made the ending of this NC-17. I'll be posting the chapter in two parts just in case there are readers who would rather skip the mansex inappropriate parts. Don't worry, I'll put a huge warning. ^.^;
On to chapter seven!!
Rating: PG13 (some language)
Pairing: Juntoshi (side pairing! Sakuraiba)
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Chapter: Six of ten (+prologue and epilogue)
Summary: Nino convinces Ohno to participate in a “who can seduce Jun first” contest after a particularly troublesome rehearsal.
Previous: Prologue, One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Chapter 6
Even though the talk with Nino had ended unresolved, Ohno waited for his friend to bring up the subject again.
He was mildly relieved to realize it had been weeks since then and the problem seemed to have magically disappeared. Yes, Jun was still acting awkward around him, but it hadn’t gotten any worse than before and actually it was sort of normal now. Sho still found it amusing, though, and often would pair the two together during shows and promotions just to see Jun squirm.
Nino was acting more like his usual self as well. After the night at the concert, he had relaxed a bit and his confident, sarcastic attitude had returned. Ohno had caught him and Jun in several hushed conversations, the two of them acting more familiar than usual, but had no idea what the two were plotting. And he really didn’t care, actually. He was sort of happy that Kazu was getting some attention from the other idol. It made him feel less guilty about the whole “I confessed to the man you loved behind your back” thing.
Leader was actually really happy that the whole situation was behind them. His own schedule had picked up after the concerts, as he had immediately continued filming the new drama he was starring in, “Maou”, but unlike Jun he actually worked better under the pressure.
Although he couldn’t hang out with the other members like usual, getting lunch together or going out when they had some free time, he was still managing to get in one fishing trip a week. It was usually unplanned and occurred when they didn’t need him for filming and sent him home to get some rest for a few hours. But, of course, Ohno would rather go fishing than just sit at home in his parent’s house, and it was more relaxing for him anyway. The whole aura of Maou was a little more intense than what he was used to, but he was dealing better with his character than he thought he would. Even if the director was a little peeved that he had showed up a little too tan once or twice.
Needless to say, Ohno was feeling good today. Although he had been filming most of the day yesterday, he had managed to sneak in an hour fishing trip in the afternoon and then had gone out for drinks with Touma-kun later that night. He hadn’t gotten much sleep and was expected at the Himitsu set bright and early, but it was a schedule he was more than used to. In fact, hanging out with Touma had been great; although he acted shy like Jun (in fact, a lot of things about his co-star reminded him of Jun) it had been the first time in a few years that the two of them had been out together.
After a few drinks, Touma had said that he had looked up to Ohno for a while, something that surprised the Arashi member very much, and that he couldn’t stop watching Ohno when he acted out Naruse, his character on Maou. It was incredible to see the way his face changed on set, like he was a different person altogether, he had commented.
Ohno had been embarrassed at the abundance of praise, but after Touma had finished his third beer he couldn’t shut up about the other star. And Ohno wasn’t really the kind of person to interrupt someone else when they were talking, especially if they were naturally chatty, whether he liked the topic or not. So he had spent the night sipping his beer, picking at kara-age, and watching Touma’s amusing act of switching between talking too fast and blushing in embarrassment.
In fact, he almost felt like he had gotten over Jun.
Except that everything he liked about Touma he liked about Jun even more.
And besides, it was embarrassing to be praised that much, even if his co-worker had been half drunk the whole time. Leader certainly didn’t think he deserved most of it- there were so many better actors and idols than him that worked much harder.
Jun, at least, was discreet in his compliments, which Ohno was thankful for (not that he had received any recently, not even during the concerts). He always said “Good Work” no matter the situation, but that was usually accompanied with “that kick that you did turned out perfectly” or “nice save with that mic”. It was those comments that were missing lately, the ones that let Ohno know that Jun was watching.
Leader mentally shrugged. He didn’t really care, anyway. He didn’t deserve the few compliments he’d received from Jun either.
Unconsciously, the captain of Arashi turned and looked at the topic of his thoughts, who was chatting with Nino in the corner again.
Ohno was seated on Arashi’s usual couch in their main dressing room by himself. Sho and Aiba had gone to change costumes in an adjacent room together and hadn’t made it back yet (who knew what they were doing now). Nino had casually gotten up to get tea when he saw Jun come in and pulled him against a wall, half out of Ohno’s sight behind a rack of unused clothes.
Of course his curiosity had perked up at the strange, but not entirely unusual, move, but as soon as Jun’s gaze had left Nino’s face and caught him looking, Leader turned back to the coffee table in front of him, his face burning.
He didn’t care. The two of them could talk about whatever they wanted to.
After looking around for a fishing magazine he had brought in a few days ago and not finding it in the direct vicinity, Ohno instead picked up a newspaper that Sho had left behind. There were a few headlines about politicians, the economy, and a new species of seaweed that had been discovered.
The artist opted for the seaweed article. It might keep his attention long enough for someone to return and break up the awkward tension that had settled over him and the couch.
Leader didn’t look up from the newspaper until Nino was standing right in front of him, pulling Jun behind him by the wrist. It looked vaguely like they were holding hands, but of course Ohno didn’t care about that either.
“Nee, Leader,” Nino said in his usual playful voice, but he looked mildly serious and irritated. “Come with me for a sec, would you?” His friend held out his other hand for Ohno to take.
His first response was to raise an eyebrow, especially at Jun’s anxious expression, but he held out his hand anyway. Nino immediately grabbed it and pulled him off the couch, dragging the two of them behind him and out of the dressing room. They walked halfway down the hallway to an unused waiting room, which Nino kicked open with his foot, and he forcefully brought the two of them inside behind him.
There was a short white table in the corner and a matching small couch, the one that Ohno sometimes occupied when he wanted some quiet time to himself, even if he had to occasionally share it with a sleeping Aiba. Nino had been holding on to his wrist quite tightly, more than he probably needed to (since Ohno would have followed him with a simple request), and when the three of them stumbled into the room, Jun and Ohno squeezing through the door almost simultaneously, Ohno was basically thrown onto the couch in front of him by the momentum.
He quickly turned over and rubbed his head comically, although he hadn’t hit the couch that hard, looking at Nino with questioning eyes.
“I can’t take this anymore.” Nino wasn’t looking at him, though. He was staring at Jun rather seriously. “You said you would take care of this a month ago.” Ohno perked up, scooting into a proper sitting position on the couch, and watched the other two actors in front of him with interest.
Apparently, earlier the two of them had been talking about the awkwardness that Jun was still bringing to the set. He wouldn’t put it past Nino to force the two of them to make up, and in reality, Leader was glad. He wasn’t aggressive enough to take care of it himself and obviously Jun was still too jumpy around him to fix the situation either.
This was a good thing. Ohno would try to be accommodating as possible. If Jun told him “it’s just weird to think you like me like that” he would nod and probably apologize. Maybe he would say something wise like “Love knows no gender!” Instead, if Jun said “I just don’t like you like that” he would nod to that, too, and shrug, and leave it at that. No matter what he was just give a passive answer and try to move past the problem.
Jun, once again, was looking at him with an expression of mild terror. Maybe he was scared to be in such close confinements with The Man Who Loved Him. Ohno found that vaguely amusing, although he was fairly sure that wasn’t the reason.
“I just…” he didn’t continue the sentence. Instead he looked at Nino like a teacher he had forgotten to turn his homework in to. Like he was trying to come up with a convincing excuse quickly.
That was also amusing. Ohno’s bright mood was only increasing.
“Jun, if you don’t tell him right now, I will.” Nino sounded serious and once again Ohno’s curiosity perked. Jun looked horrified by this threat, although Ohno wasn’t sure why. Obviously Jun had promised to take care of the tension between the two of them, probably a little after the concert in which he had so obviously kissed Leader, but he hadn’t said anything to him about it yet. It was probably the reason that Nino was so pissed right now, since that had been several weeks ago.
This explained the secret conversations the two had been sharing, though, which Ohno was relieved to discover. The little part of him that had been jealous at the exchanges quelled and almost disappeared.
“You don’t have to do that!” Jun’s voice almost sounded like a squeak and one of his hands unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Nino’s shirt in desperation. Ohno held back his smile, simply because the air between the two seemed like that of a battle, even though Jun was acting so cute and nervous again.
Leader continued to watch the exchange, Nino and Jun still ignoring him despite his apparent importance in the conversation, as the gamer leaned forward and stuck his finger in Jun’s face, making the other star back up abruptly.
“I’ll give you one more chance. Right now. Tell him.” Jun swallowed nervously, but after a second grabbed Nino’s finger and pushed it away from his face, feigning confidence.
“Fine, but you have to get out of here.” He grabbed Nino’s arm this time and gently pushed him out the open door, closing it promptly in his face. Ohno barely caught the stern (and almost comical) look on Nino’s face before it disappeared behind the door.
Jun didn’t turn to look at him right away. It seemed like he was trying to collect his thoughts.
All the better. Ohno would give him a minute and wait for Jun’s eloquence to explain the situation to him.
Finally, the taller star turned to him, making eye contact for the first time that day.
Jun’s eyes were telling him he was nervous (if that wasn’t obvious already) and that he was holding back a lot more than Ohno had originally thought. Although Ohno’s good mood didn’t deflate, he suppressed it enough to give Jun a moderately serious look, sitting up a little straighter on the couch.
Jun stood where he was, fiddling with the edge of the blue vest he was wearing with one hand, his eyes now darting back and forth between Ohno and his hand.
“I can’t hear you!” Nino suddenly called from the hallway, making Jun jump and turn around sharply. He curtly opened the door to find Nino still standing there, arms folded and raising an eyebrow at the younger man.
Jun scowled.
“Get out of here!”
When Nino didn’t move, Jun forced him to turn, giving Ohno a brief ‘wait a moment, would you?’ look, and pushed Nino back the way they came. Ohno could hear them mumbling something back and forth before Jun returned, closing the door behind him and leaning up against it.
Ohno stood to face Jun as he returned, but held back his promptings. Was the other star really so nervous over something like this? Even if Ohno had been his hero (which was going a little too far, they were friends more than anything) Matsujun was confident enough in himself that he hardly ever messed up without meaning to and didn’t hesitate when he knew it would make him look like a coward.
Their eyes met again and Ohno took a moment to appreciate the depth of Jun’s eyes.
When the younger man blinked a moment later, it seemed like slow motion, his long lashes falling to delicately touch his cheek and then rising again, a piece of hair hanging in his face jolted by the movement. His hair was always so perfect, although sometimes that took more hair gel than Ohno thought was really necessary, but Leader secretly liked it when it was curly, when it fell around his face messily. He liked it when Jun was barely wearing any makeup, like he was now, and his lips were shiny only due to the lip gloss that he favored due to the texture.
Ohno loved Jun when he was the most natural and wasn’t worried about being filmed or photographed. When he could just be himself. Leader could barely stand the way that Jun would lick his lips, sometimes chewing on the bottom one when he was thinking, like he was doing right now. Just watching those two curves open and close, parting enough so that the tip of his tongue was just barely visible, teasing his fans (Ohno included) and enticing them to look maybe just a little closer… Ohno could feel his-
Wait. Jun had just said something.
Ohno blinked. “Eeeh?” His mouth dropped open when he realized what the other actor had told him.
“I said, I think I like you too.” Jun’s face was burning bright red and he looked minutely annoyed at having to repeat such an embarrassing thing.
Ohno blinked again. This wasn’t right. He must have been imagining the words coming out of Jun’s mouth when he had lost himself in the daydream.
“You…like me?” he asked to clarify, pointing at himself with his forefinger. Ohno couldn’t stop his eye lids from fluttering, unsure how else to show his incredulity.
“Yes. What I’m saying is… Well, I mean…” Jun trailed off, looking at the wall to his right, then at his hands, and then slowly back to Ohno, who was surely looking dumbfounded right now. “What I’m saying is that… well, maybe we can give dating a try or something?” Jun’s hands were gripped in fists, one of them resting lightly against his lips as he cleared his throat.
Ohno thought for about one second before a smile spread across his face. “Ah, is this a prank?” Nino was involved after all, and there was no way that Jun could actually be serious about dating. This was far too sudden.
Jun frowned at that reply. His posture said that he was offended Ohno had suggested such a thing, but honestly, there was no other reason for this.
When Ohno didn’t continue, Jun said with a huffy voice, “No, it’s not a prank!” The shorter star blinked again, not comprehending one bit of what Jun was saying. “I like you, okay?” he repeated.
Jun turned away from Ohno, resting his hand against one of the bare walls.
“Damn Nino. I didn’t want to have to tell you like this. I wanted there to be flowers or a nice dinner, at least.” Ohno mouth dropped open again. Jun was being completely serious about this.
Oh well, even if it was a prank, Ohno thought he should take advantage of the situation by not provoking Jun any more.
“Well, it’s done now, so.” Jun turned back to him, his attitude morphing to that of business, the one he used during important meetings with important people. “Shall we go on a date, then?” Jun shuffled a few steps closer to Ohno, who was still looking at him with wide eyes, and the couch. His tone sounded more confident, but his face still had a tinge of red to it.
“Uhh…” Ohno still wasn’t completely sure he hadn’t just made up the last five minutes of conversation in his head.
“How about tonight?” Matsujun had shoved one of his hands into his pocket and was looking at Ohno with a barely masked hopeful look.
How had Ohno been misreading him this whole time? Jun had been avoiding him, jumping when they touched, and giving him generally bad vibes, and now he was like “let’s date”?
What was wrong with this situation? Ohno couldn’t help but this it was his fault. He must have not understood Jun’s nonverbal cues as much as he thought he had.
Jun leaned in closer and Leader realized he’d been asked a question. How had Jun’s attitude changed so much in the last five minutes? He’d been nervous as hell a moment ago, now he was back to his usual arrogant self.
Ohno swallowed.
“Uh… N-no, I have Maou filming tonight.” He blinked, barely a hold of himself enough to suggest the next day instead.
“Tomorrow? Are you sure?” Jun took another step towards him and slowly reached out to Ohno, who hadn’t moved since their conversation had started. His hands slowly settled in the side of Ohno’s own spiky locks, and his thumb gently touched Leader’s cheek by his ear. It felt good, and the touch told him that maybe Jun really did want to give this a try.
Ohno couldn’t help but think about the bad timing of the whole situation, though. Since he had admitted his own attraction to Jun, it had been barely less than 3 months. They had finished their concerts, Jun had ended his movie and Ohno had started his drama, and the group had been filming their new television show enough to air it once a week. After all this time, Jun decided to come forward and tell Ohno this? After he had lived in self-denial and near-angst after his own confession?
He mentally shrugged. Maybe the only reason that he knew about it now was Kazu.
“Yeah. If you really want to, that is.” Ohno couldn’t hold back the second part of his response, unable to believe Jun’s admission despite his body language. In the end, he could only give it time and see where it went. If it was a prank it would float to the surface eventually.
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A/N: I hope you liked Jun's "confession"! :D Another shout out to yarukizero who helped me fix a bunch of mistakes on this and the upcoming chapter. ^.^;; You're a lifesaver!! <3
Also, thanks to all of you still reading! To those Sakuraiba fans, they'll be showing up more in a little while, so please look forward to it! Also, as a note, I made the ending of this NC-17. I'll be posting the chapter in two parts just in case there are readers who would rather skip the mansex inappropriate parts. Don't worry, I'll put a huge warning. ^.^;
On to chapter seven!!