Let it go: Chapter (3/?)
Let it go: Chapter 3
A series of events from Matsumoto Jun and Sakurai Sho’s perspective.
Author's note: This is turning a little more into exposition, but soon we shall be back to the action.
Some points in time over the next year:
After the incident at the work retreat, Jun noticed that he saw Nino everywhere in the company. It was as if suddenly, he was hyper aware of the other man. He observed him when he was walking through the cubicle, from his office to Sho’s. When he was on his way to the lunch room. When he was walking from his apartment to work. Either Ninomiya Kazunari was a very weird and creepy yet ineffective stalker, or Jun had somehow overlooked the other man until then. Nino always said hello, sometimes with words, sometimes with a nod, a smirk, or this weird two fingered salute that Jun was puzzled by, his every time Jun walked by, Nino seemed to notice he was there, and acknowledged him. It was unnerving really, how ever present in Jun’s work day the other man was. It was not as if Jun could avoid him, and he was not sure that he wanted too. If Sho thought anything of the situation he did not say anything, just smiled when Nino would say hi, and Jun would answer, laughing at the look of bemusement on Jun’s face when it happened every day.
If Nagase started sending Nino to Jun with updated on the progress of their software development, and just how it would be able to help his marketing campaigns Sho was quite certain that he himself had nothing to do with it. And when Nino started taking lunch at the same time as he and Jun it was certainly not due to Sho’s suggesting, as all of the company had heard Nagase’s rather loud announcement that his team would be taking lunch earlier, that way they could be more productive in the afternoons.
When that had happened, Jun had looked at Sho, arching one eyebrow in question, and Sho had continued eating the bento that Jun had brought for him that day, pretending not to notice the question in Jun’s action, or the piercing accusation in his stare. Oguri Shun, Jun’s personal assistant and one that Jun was training to replace him as marketing and PR VP would sometimes eat with them, when his schedule, and his girlfriend allowed him the time, but between the projects that he took on, and that Jun assigned to him, and his desire to eat with Yamada, Shun was too busy, often times, to eat lunch with Jun and Sho.
Nino had adjusted to the change much easier than the rest of his department, Jun and Sho had both noticed, but it seemed that the programmer never ate. They never saw him consume anything more that coffee, pocky, and sometimes an onigiri. It did not stop him from sititng with them, much to the shock of everyone else in the lunchroom.
Nino had walked up to the table that Jun and Sho sat at, identical bentos between them, and smirked slightly, catching Jun’s eye. Jun replied with a frown. At least now he understood where Nino’s comment about people in the office thinking that he and Sho were dating. The matching lunches were a little… couple like… but Sho was an utter failure in the kitchen, and would eat anything that was put in front of him, and Jun liked to cook. So Sho was the victim of his culinary experiments, and while it was not critical feedback, it was feedback. And so Jun cooked for him, daily.
But looking from Jun, to Sho, and then to the chair at the table, both med nodded, Sho motioning to the chair with a small smile.
“Have a seat, Ninomiya-san.” He had motioned to the chair and Nino had sat down with a small smile, and curt “Thank you, and its Nino.” Before popping the top on his coffee and taking a swig with a happy sigh.
The first few times they did not speak, not really, just ate in silence, and made occasional small talk. At first, Jun would leave early, and Nino would watch him leave with a gaze that Sho could not read, but was quite certain was a sign that perhaps Nino was as intrigued with Jun as the other was with him. One such day, when Shun was sitting with them, the other man looked at Jun’s retreating figure, and then to Nino, and to Sho, who nodded slightly, while shoveling more food into his mouth with a happy sigh. Jun really did make the best bentos.
“Jun is still hiding behind his work, instead of overcoming his shyness I see.” Shun commented with a sigh, looking at Sho, who nodded, hiding his smile behind his bento. It was not that Jun was shy, per se, it was more that if he did not know how to break the ice, where to begin, then he was horrible at small talk, and would prefer not to talk at all. It had taken Shun and Sho a bit of time to get used to that fact, but they had had years together to acclimate to Jun. Shun was a college acquaintance, and while he and Jun had not always been close they were now, but currently there is no one that Jun would trust to take over his job. When this would happen was still up in the air, but it would happen.
Nino glanced at Shun sharply, and the other pretended not to notice as he finished his lunch, packing it up with a small smile. “Yuu always makes the best lunched. I think she might have your gourmet beat, Sakurai.” Shun stood, noting the way that Sho shook his head emphatically, placing the bento down onto the table.
“You are just upset that Jun stopped cooking for you as soon as you got a girlfriend.” Sho packed his lunch up and stood along with Shun, following the other out of the lunch room arguing about who had the better lunches, and both found it hard to NOT turn around and look at Nino.
If Shun came by Sho’s office later to tell him that Nino had been spotted at the coffee dispenser muttering something about shyness, and breaking the ice, Shun and Sho might have shared a high five in the office. Maybe. But as no one was there to witness it, it didn’t happen. And it there was a congratulatory drink shared later that evening, when progress was finally made between the two they very much did not invite Jun. Both valued their lives too much to let him know that they were meddling, albeit subtly, in his life. Even as much as they were doing was enough to make Jun very very angry, were he ever to confront them about it. So it was best to conduct these sorts of celebrations in private.
Jun looked up from his work when there was a light knock on the door, and he was not surprised to see Nino hovering just outside.
“Come in.” Jun called, looking back down at his work, marking up the latest advertising proposal that the marketing department had given him. He appreciated that Shun wanted to give some people a chance to develop their skills, he really did, but this…. contribution, if one could even call it that… was something that would never havet he SM Enterprises name associated with it. It was just, if Jun and Sho had planned things right, and they usually did, in a few years, Jun would be stepping into a direct leadership role, and someone would need to be able to take over for him. And Shun was the best that they had for that position. But if this was going to be what was left…. Jun wondered if perhaps they should bring on a new batch of interns, this current batch was not doing nearly as well as he would like, and he was sure that Shun knew it as well. He had looked almost reproachful when he had handed Jun the project folder, commenting that this was the best that he had gotten yet.
Jun knew that Nino had entered his office, perching at the edge of the desk, and he wondered what the programmer thought of the use of his software in the creation of the advertising campaign that Jun was tearing apart with a red pen and a critical eye. Glancing up, Jun could see the frown on Nino’s face, though the programmer tried to school it into indifference when he saw that Jun was watching him. Jun, however, did manage to keep his features schooled into indifference, but he was pleased to know that he was not the only one who found this image less that pleasing.
“Interesting use of the software, isn’t it?” Jun motioned for Nino to have a seat, and the other sat in the chair, crossing his legs and waiting for the VP to finish.
“It was not quite what Naga-nii-san envisioned for the software I am sure.” Was Nino’s reply, and Jun could not hide the slight smile at the words.
“Skirting the line again, Nino?” Jun asked, taking the folder that Nino had left on the desk, and the other man shrugged.
“I am not certain what you are referring to, Matsumoto-san.” Was the light reply, and Jun wondered if that was true. It had been months since the incident at the retreat, and he wondered if Nino even remembered the conversation. Jun wondered if he had imagined it all, and if he was just deluding himself into thinking that the man in front of him found him attractive.
“I am sure that you don’t.” Jun snapped back, opening the folder and skimming the progress report. He could hear the other shifting in the chair in front of him, and Jun was quite certain that his voice had been sharper then necessary. But what could he do about that now?
“Impressive as usual, you all are doing quite well. At this rate, you will need a new project soon.” Jun looked up, and Nino nodded.
“Nagase-nii had found quite an efficient system to motivating us. The more ahead of schedule we are, the better the prize that we can compete for.”
Jun chuckled. Nagase had come to them with the idea to bribe his team to perform better, and out perform the other departments, and since neither he or Sho minded they allowed it. It was one of Nagase’s better ideas, much better then the lets get more meat than all of could ever eat idea for the holiday party the office had the year before. Who needed 100 pounds of meat on a stick, honestly?
“I am glad that his idea worked. It does make his department one of the most efficient ones.” Jun leaned back, handing Nino back the folder. “All of the changes look good to me. We will obviously need to test it out before we try and do any of the graphics rendering on it, but it looks like it is ready to launch.”
Nino nodded, standing and taking the folder off of Jun’s desk. He did not speak for a moment, just looked at Jun, who looked back with an even gaze, and he hoped that he was not blushing as Nino’s eyes searched his face, looking for something, through Jun was not sure what.
“You know, Matsumoto-san. If you ever get tired of cooking for Sakurai, though it does look delicious, a friend of mine owns a yakiniku shop around here. We could go. So just think about it.” Nino slipped out the door before Jun could answer, and the first thought that crossed Jun’s mind was ‘why does he always do that, slip away before I can respond?’ The second was disbelief. Did that really just happen?
“Don’t be an idiot, Jun, it is just lunch.” His words were soft, but he could not keep himself from wondering if he should accept the offer.
And the next morning, when Jun arrived earlier than everyone else, despite the fact that he was anything but a morning person Sho chose not to say anything. When Nino arrived and there was a small bento, wrapped in a nondescript cloth waiting for him on his desk, Nino chose not to say anything, though watching him from his doorway Sho could see a soft smile play across the others face, and thought that the programmer should smile more. It suited him.
And when Sho saw the shy and slightly apprehensive look on Jun’s face as Nino sat down with them at lunch, actually eating for once, he certainly did not say anything about how it appeared as it Jun had spent more time preparing the food than normal.
Finally, when lunch was over, and Nino leaned down, to comment in Jun’s ear, though Sho had to strain to hear what he said, informing Jun that it was delicious, and next time, they would have to go out, Sho did think that perhaps the hangover from the night out with Shun in celebration of the progress Jun and Nino had made was worth it.
A series of events from Matsumoto Jun and Sakurai Sho’s perspective.
Author's note: This is turning a little more into exposition, but soon we shall be back to the action.
Some points in time over the next year:
After the incident at the work retreat, Jun noticed that he saw Nino everywhere in the company. It was as if suddenly, he was hyper aware of the other man. He observed him when he was walking through the cubicle, from his office to Sho’s. When he was on his way to the lunch room. When he was walking from his apartment to work. Either Ninomiya Kazunari was a very weird and creepy yet ineffective stalker, or Jun had somehow overlooked the other man until then. Nino always said hello, sometimes with words, sometimes with a nod, a smirk, or this weird two fingered salute that Jun was puzzled by, his every time Jun walked by, Nino seemed to notice he was there, and acknowledged him. It was unnerving really, how ever present in Jun’s work day the other man was. It was not as if Jun could avoid him, and he was not sure that he wanted too. If Sho thought anything of the situation he did not say anything, just smiled when Nino would say hi, and Jun would answer, laughing at the look of bemusement on Jun’s face when it happened every day.
If Nagase started sending Nino to Jun with updated on the progress of their software development, and just how it would be able to help his marketing campaigns Sho was quite certain that he himself had nothing to do with it. And when Nino started taking lunch at the same time as he and Jun it was certainly not due to Sho’s suggesting, as all of the company had heard Nagase’s rather loud announcement that his team would be taking lunch earlier, that way they could be more productive in the afternoons.
When that had happened, Jun had looked at Sho, arching one eyebrow in question, and Sho had continued eating the bento that Jun had brought for him that day, pretending not to notice the question in Jun’s action, or the piercing accusation in his stare. Oguri Shun, Jun’s personal assistant and one that Jun was training to replace him as marketing and PR VP would sometimes eat with them, when his schedule, and his girlfriend allowed him the time, but between the projects that he took on, and that Jun assigned to him, and his desire to eat with Yamada, Shun was too busy, often times, to eat lunch with Jun and Sho.
Nino had adjusted to the change much easier than the rest of his department, Jun and Sho had both noticed, but it seemed that the programmer never ate. They never saw him consume anything more that coffee, pocky, and sometimes an onigiri. It did not stop him from sititng with them, much to the shock of everyone else in the lunchroom.
Nino had walked up to the table that Jun and Sho sat at, identical bentos between them, and smirked slightly, catching Jun’s eye. Jun replied with a frown. At least now he understood where Nino’s comment about people in the office thinking that he and Sho were dating. The matching lunches were a little… couple like… but Sho was an utter failure in the kitchen, and would eat anything that was put in front of him, and Jun liked to cook. So Sho was the victim of his culinary experiments, and while it was not critical feedback, it was feedback. And so Jun cooked for him, daily.
But looking from Jun, to Sho, and then to the chair at the table, both med nodded, Sho motioning to the chair with a small smile.
“Have a seat, Ninomiya-san.” He had motioned to the chair and Nino had sat down with a small smile, and curt “Thank you, and its Nino.” Before popping the top on his coffee and taking a swig with a happy sigh.
The first few times they did not speak, not really, just ate in silence, and made occasional small talk. At first, Jun would leave early, and Nino would watch him leave with a gaze that Sho could not read, but was quite certain was a sign that perhaps Nino was as intrigued with Jun as the other was with him. One such day, when Shun was sitting with them, the other man looked at Jun’s retreating figure, and then to Nino, and to Sho, who nodded slightly, while shoveling more food into his mouth with a happy sigh. Jun really did make the best bentos.
“Jun is still hiding behind his work, instead of overcoming his shyness I see.” Shun commented with a sigh, looking at Sho, who nodded, hiding his smile behind his bento. It was not that Jun was shy, per se, it was more that if he did not know how to break the ice, where to begin, then he was horrible at small talk, and would prefer not to talk at all. It had taken Shun and Sho a bit of time to get used to that fact, but they had had years together to acclimate to Jun. Shun was a college acquaintance, and while he and Jun had not always been close they were now, but currently there is no one that Jun would trust to take over his job. When this would happen was still up in the air, but it would happen.
Nino glanced at Shun sharply, and the other pretended not to notice as he finished his lunch, packing it up with a small smile. “Yuu always makes the best lunched. I think she might have your gourmet beat, Sakurai.” Shun stood, noting the way that Sho shook his head emphatically, placing the bento down onto the table.
“You are just upset that Jun stopped cooking for you as soon as you got a girlfriend.” Sho packed his lunch up and stood along with Shun, following the other out of the lunch room arguing about who had the better lunches, and both found it hard to NOT turn around and look at Nino.
If Shun came by Sho’s office later to tell him that Nino had been spotted at the coffee dispenser muttering something about shyness, and breaking the ice, Shun and Sho might have shared a high five in the office. Maybe. But as no one was there to witness it, it didn’t happen. And it there was a congratulatory drink shared later that evening, when progress was finally made between the two they very much did not invite Jun. Both valued their lives too much to let him know that they were meddling, albeit subtly, in his life. Even as much as they were doing was enough to make Jun very very angry, were he ever to confront them about it. So it was best to conduct these sorts of celebrations in private.
Jun looked up from his work when there was a light knock on the door, and he was not surprised to see Nino hovering just outside.
“Come in.” Jun called, looking back down at his work, marking up the latest advertising proposal that the marketing department had given him. He appreciated that Shun wanted to give some people a chance to develop their skills, he really did, but this…. contribution, if one could even call it that… was something that would never havet he SM Enterprises name associated with it. It was just, if Jun and Sho had planned things right, and they usually did, in a few years, Jun would be stepping into a direct leadership role, and someone would need to be able to take over for him. And Shun was the best that they had for that position. But if this was going to be what was left…. Jun wondered if perhaps they should bring on a new batch of interns, this current batch was not doing nearly as well as he would like, and he was sure that Shun knew it as well. He had looked almost reproachful when he had handed Jun the project folder, commenting that this was the best that he had gotten yet.
Jun knew that Nino had entered his office, perching at the edge of the desk, and he wondered what the programmer thought of the use of his software in the creation of the advertising campaign that Jun was tearing apart with a red pen and a critical eye. Glancing up, Jun could see the frown on Nino’s face, though the programmer tried to school it into indifference when he saw that Jun was watching him. Jun, however, did manage to keep his features schooled into indifference, but he was pleased to know that he was not the only one who found this image less that pleasing.
“Interesting use of the software, isn’t it?” Jun motioned for Nino to have a seat, and the other sat in the chair, crossing his legs and waiting for the VP to finish.
“It was not quite what Naga-nii-san envisioned for the software I am sure.” Was Nino’s reply, and Jun could not hide the slight smile at the words.
“Skirting the line again, Nino?” Jun asked, taking the folder that Nino had left on the desk, and the other man shrugged.
“I am not certain what you are referring to, Matsumoto-san.” Was the light reply, and Jun wondered if that was true. It had been months since the incident at the retreat, and he wondered if Nino even remembered the conversation. Jun wondered if he had imagined it all, and if he was just deluding himself into thinking that the man in front of him found him attractive.
“I am sure that you don’t.” Jun snapped back, opening the folder and skimming the progress report. He could hear the other shifting in the chair in front of him, and Jun was quite certain that his voice had been sharper then necessary. But what could he do about that now?
“Impressive as usual, you all are doing quite well. At this rate, you will need a new project soon.” Jun looked up, and Nino nodded.
“Nagase-nii had found quite an efficient system to motivating us. The more ahead of schedule we are, the better the prize that we can compete for.”
Jun chuckled. Nagase had come to them with the idea to bribe his team to perform better, and out perform the other departments, and since neither he or Sho minded they allowed it. It was one of Nagase’s better ideas, much better then the lets get more meat than all of could ever eat idea for the holiday party the office had the year before. Who needed 100 pounds of meat on a stick, honestly?
“I am glad that his idea worked. It does make his department one of the most efficient ones.” Jun leaned back, handing Nino back the folder. “All of the changes look good to me. We will obviously need to test it out before we try and do any of the graphics rendering on it, but it looks like it is ready to launch.”
Nino nodded, standing and taking the folder off of Jun’s desk. He did not speak for a moment, just looked at Jun, who looked back with an even gaze, and he hoped that he was not blushing as Nino’s eyes searched his face, looking for something, through Jun was not sure what.
“You know, Matsumoto-san. If you ever get tired of cooking for Sakurai, though it does look delicious, a friend of mine owns a yakiniku shop around here. We could go. So just think about it.” Nino slipped out the door before Jun could answer, and the first thought that crossed Jun’s mind was ‘why does he always do that, slip away before I can respond?’ The second was disbelief. Did that really just happen?
“Don’t be an idiot, Jun, it is just lunch.” His words were soft, but he could not keep himself from wondering if he should accept the offer.
And the next morning, when Jun arrived earlier than everyone else, despite the fact that he was anything but a morning person Sho chose not to say anything. When Nino arrived and there was a small bento, wrapped in a nondescript cloth waiting for him on his desk, Nino chose not to say anything, though watching him from his doorway Sho could see a soft smile play across the others face, and thought that the programmer should smile more. It suited him.
And when Sho saw the shy and slightly apprehensive look on Jun’s face as Nino sat down with them at lunch, actually eating for once, he certainly did not say anything about how it appeared as it Jun had spent more time preparing the food than normal.
Finally, when lunch was over, and Nino leaned down, to comment in Jun’s ear, though Sho had to strain to hear what he said, informing Jun that it was delicious, and next time, they would have to go out, Sho did think that perhaps the hangover from the night out with Shun in celebration of the progress Jun and Nino had made was worth it.