Supermarket AU Chapter Three (Juba)
I certainly need a better title for this, but at long last something was written. Not sure this chapter is done yet.
I think it is, but maybe not. We shall see what I think when I read over it in a day or so.
Thanks to satsumatsu for being epic, as usual
Supermarket AU Part Three:
Jun was certainly surprised to see Aiba waiting for him the next morning. After the night before he was certain that the other man wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him. Apparently the expression was obvious on his face, since Aiba just looked at Jun for a long moment, and then sighed.
“Jun didn’t realize that we were dating, but that is OK. Just because Jun-kun is leaving, and we weren’t really dating dating, doesn’t mean that Jun-kun can’t still date me.” Aiba flashed Jun a wide smile. “I like Jun, and I am sure that Jun likes me as well. And if you find someone else that you want to date then you can date them.” Aiba stated as he grabbed Jun’s hand, pulling him along the path towards Storm Market. Jun could not come up with a response to that logic. The fact that he had not slept the night before, could not get the feeling of that kiss out of his mind, combined with the fact that he was cursing fate and his life, left him wondering if dating Aiba would have been a good thing. It was just that he did not want to hurt the other man, with those wide eyes and bright smile.
Aiba was truly a good person. Jun did not want to crush that with a harsh rejection, especially when he didn’t really want to reject him. And if he was alright with this not really dating thing that they were doing, and apparently were going to keep doing, then who was Jun to take that from him? Crushing the innocent was not Jun’s habit.
When they arrived at the store, Nino gave Jun a hard glare, Aiba laughed, shifting between Nino and Jun.
“Be nice to Jun-kun, Nino-chan. He is leaving and you should send him off with happy memories.” Aiba moved away from the pair when Nino relaxed, grumbling about losing his best employee, and who was going to sell all the grannies their wine now. Jun could not help but smile. As much as he hated this place, he was going to miss Nino. More than he had ever told the other, but he was sure that he knew. He had to know. Feelings were not something that they talked about and - Jun paused as he felt a arm slip around his waist, hugging him for a moment.
“Stop getting all sentimental on me Jun, you haven’t even left yet. Miss me when you have, not while you are here.” Nino smirked at Jun, pushing him towards the wine area.
“As if, brat. You know you are lost without me here.” Jun snapped back and he could hear Nino’s laughter, knowing that the other was grinning, even if his eyes shined with tears that the other would not shed. That was how their friendship worked, always had; and Jun knew that if he needed to come back he could, in an instant. Nino would always welcome him with open arms. In return if Nino ever needed to get away, to escape, Jun would take him, no questions asked. Family, even if they were not related by blood, was a good thing.
The next few days passed in a haze. Jun packed up, spent some time with his father, which was getting worse not better, but Jun did not like to dwell on that as well as his mother. He spent a lot of time with Nino, as well as with Aiba. Sometimes with both, sometimes with each alone. Nino helped him pack while Aiba helped him load up the car for the trip. Even Satoshi, though Jun and the dog were still quite wary of each other, seemed to sense that both Aiba and his beloved Nino were upset about something, but at least there were no more altercations between the dog and Jun, which everyone was quite pleased about.
Aiba and Nino both waved Jun off, one with a bright smile and tears; the other one with a half smile and a wave of his hand, but Jun knew that he would be missed. Given how much Aiba had hugged him and promised to text, to come visit, to make sure that Nino came as well and that Aiba would make sure that the store would be alright if Nino was gone for a day.
But Jun tired not to dwell on that as he drove away, did not want to think about the tears or the sad smiles that he was sure would be apparent, especially given the fact that Nino had already commented that he was going to need to take Aiba out and get him drunk tonight, in order to get him to stop crying, knowing the man as well as Jun did. While that did not sit very well with Jun, there was not much that he could do about it.
This job was something that he had to take, for his family and the medical bills that his dad was accumulating. What kind of son would Jun be if he did not take care of his family when he had the chance?
He had been getting excited messaged from Sho about his move, assuring him that it was no issue to stay with him for a few days until Jun could find a place of his own; and that it would be nice to see the younger man again, emphasizing that working for Ogura would be exactly what Jun wanted.
Jun was not certain that living with Sho was going to be a good idea. He had seen the other’s room before and despite the cleanliness of the rest of the house, Sho did not seem to be able to keep his room clean. But in a week how bad could it possibly turn out? Sho had a spare room, which was the only reason that Jun was even considering it to begin with. Otherwise he would have taken a few day trips to Tokyo to find housing, but he wanted to see where he was working and the surrounding area before he decided on where to live.
As it turned out that was a good idea, just as living with Sho had been a bad one. He was not sure how someone could manage to live in such a mess, while having nothing in his house at all to cook with. Apparently, being a food critic for a magazine meant that one was never home to eat, or cook, and pretty much got to go out to eat, wherever, for free. And when Sho was not working, he was at Ogura’s place, chatting with the man or with Jun or was working on his articles. Waiting to find a place had been a good idea though, as the restaurant was in Roppongi. Despite the fact that Ogura paid well, it was unlikely that Jun would be able to afford a place in the area. Turns out, however, that he was wrong. Apparently, even though it was Roppongi, no one wanted to take a small industrial studio flat above a restaurant. So Jun had the luxury of walking down some stairs and into the back door of the kitchen to get to work. It was not the worst plan, but it meant that he was not getting to see much of Tokyo.
All in all, Jun’s new life was not bad. It was what he wanted, to get out of that town, away from those memories and into a place of his own making. It was never the same without Nino, but Nino had his store and Jun had his career. He wanted to do this.
But something was missing.
And somehow, she had found out. Jun was not sure how, as Sho was constantly on the phone with his family about it, but somehow his stalker had found out where he was working. Jun had not noticed it at first, out at the wine supply store, looking for wines that would work best for the menu. Something had felt off, like he was being watched, but he almost always felt like that, especially in the big city.
It was not until he was turning down an alley, taking a short cut back to the restaurant that he heard the heeled footsteps behind him, a distinct gate that he would recognize anywhere. He did not dare glance over his shoulder but hurried his stride slightly. As he took longer steps, the footsteps behind him hurried up as well.
Grasping the bag he was holding tighter, Jun slipped his phone from his pocket and called Sho, merely commenting that an old friend was in town and wouldn’t it be great if they met at the usual spot? He hung up after that, darting down the closest subway entrance, glancing over his shoulder once. He could see her smiling at him, waving as he caught her eyes. He pushed forward, getting lost in the crowd, moving with them onto the first train that he could get onto. After getting off after the first stop, Jun paused to look around and get his bearings, making sure that she had not managed to get through as well. He could feel that he was shaking. Sho had called back again, trying to get details, frantic with worry and Jun assured him that he was fine, just that this would certainly cause some issues. After telling Sho which station he was at, he headed over to Sho’s apartment. If she did not know where he was living now, he was not going to help her out with that one.
A quick call to Ogura let the older man in on the situation. Ogura assured Jun that it was fine, his safety was more important than the wine. When he could come by, come by. Ogura also assured Jun that she would not be let into the restaurant (and that one of his old buddies worked in the police force, if it became too much of a problem).
The man was surprised to know that there was already a restraining order in place for her, and that she was not supposed to be in the same city as him. But when he had been abroad in France, it had been much harder to enforce. Now that he was in Tokyo, he was going to have to get the police involved. One woman, obsessed with a man in a city as large as Tokyo, though, did not give Jun much hope. What could they do if she did not try anything, and her trying anything was the last thing that Jun wanted.
Jun crashed in the guest bedroom that night, and Sho walked with him to work, making sure that Jun arrived safely before heading off. Sho had been up most of the night talking with his family, as well as hers. Apparently about two weeks ago she had just disappeared from home, leaving all of her things. They had already filed a missing persons report on her. They were disappointed to hear that she was in Tokyo, especially when Sho mentioned that he and Jun were both there and that they would have to take action. They were very apologetic about the fact that she had been ignoring their calls and that they had no way to get a hold of her - there was nothing they could do to bring her back home. Sho’s family, Jun was assured, would make certain that the Tokyo police was made aware of the situation and the history and that the restraining order, which was in place in his old town, also ended up effective in Tokyo. This, in reality, reassured neither Jun or Sho, but there was nothing much that could be done about it. Jun didn’t leave his building without either Ogura or Sho walking with him. In addition he was constantly sending Sho messages that he was alright and that he had not seen her.
Jun also had made certain to tell both Aiba and Nino that she was in town. Both sent messages fretting and worry about Jun’s safety. Nino’s flatly said that he would come and protect Jun, making certain that she would leave Jun the fuck alone, if that was what Jun wanted him to do. Jun had refused, but almost sent a message that it would be nice to see him. In the end he closed the message without sending it.
It took many assurances before they were satisfied that Jun was taking enough protective measures to make certain that she was not alone with him - ever, and never given the chance to be - before Aiba abandoned his plan to drive up to Tokyo right then and there.
Usually they did not see her, only sometimes they did. While passing in the streets. In a crowded bar in Roppongi. During shopping in Shinjuku. Getting a present for Nino in Akihabara (which was met with much rejoicing when he had opened the package in the mail). She was there but never tried anything.
In these times it would have been easy to ignore the fact that he missed Nino. And home, if not for the fact that instead of just Nino, there was something else missing. If he did not have a message from Aiba in the morning when he woke up, Jun was always unreasonably disappointed. If there was not a message at some point every few days from the other that he missed him, and he hoped that Jun-kun was taking good care of Mr. Squirrel, Jun was grumpy. He didn’t miss Aiba, really he didn’t. He just-Jun did not know what he just, just that he was irritated. Ogura never commented on it when Jun, during a work shift, would jump, his pocket vibrating with a message or email. He also never said anything when Jun’s mood would slip from fierce to friendly. He never had to. Sho did enough of that for him. Jun, however, was certain that he did not miss his kind of sort of date me until you meet someone else boyfriend (though Aiba had assured him that Jun would not meet anyone as awesome as he was in Tokyo). It was not possible to miss someone that had so recently become part of his life. There was no reason he should. And yet, Jun knew he was lying to himself, when he broke one day, replying to one of Aiba’s many texts that he missed him as well.
She came to the restaurant once, looking for Jun and for a nice glass of wine. Ogura had told her as nicely but firmly that she was not welcomed in the restaurant. She had tried to force the issue, assuring him that she knew Jun-kun, quite well in fact and that he would love to see her at his work place.
Sho, who was arriving from a job at that time, glared at her, enough that she stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground.
“Ah, Reiko, I wondered when we were going to see you here. Your family has been quite worried about you, but I am sure you know that, as often as they have been calling.” Sho looked to Ogura, who moved back towards the door, making sure that she could not get in, as well as making sure that this did not cause too much of a scene. It was a Friday night, after all, and it was almost time for the dinner rush hour.
“Sakurai-san.” Reiko stammered, looking at him with wide eyes and he nodded in return.
“It is kind of a relief to see you. Now that there are witnesses that have seen you try and approach Jun, it will be much easier to get the restraining order transferred.” Sho spoke lightly, snapping a picture before tucking his phone into his pocket. He easily stepped out of the way as she lunged for him. The proof of her presence safe. “You didn’t forget about that, did you Reiko?” His voice was hard and she shook her head.
“I know that you want to keep me from him and I don’t understand why, Sakurai-san. I am certain that Jun wants me too.” She glared at Sho, sticking out her lip in a pout. Sho shook his head. “That is not the case at all.”
Sho glanced down the street, noting that two uniformed police officers were making their way towards them, approaching Reiko from behind. He was glad. Jun, it seemed, had the presence of mind to call the police.
“Ogura-san,” The officers nodded at the owner of the restaurant and Reiko’s eyes widened as she took in their presence. “We received a call that there was a small disturbance.”
Ogura nodded. The door to the restaurant opened with Jun stepping outside, though he made certain to stand behind Ogura. Sho tried not to react but he knew that he tensed up.
“Yes, I made the call.” Jun’s voice was soft. Reiko spun around when she heard it, smiling widely. “Jun-kun!” She tired to reach for him, but Jun stepped away.
“We are in the process of getting a restraining order transferred from my home town to Tokyo. This individual is not supposed to be this close to me and most certainly not supposed to be trying to visit me at work.” Jun did not look at the officers as he spoke and Reiko seemed not to care that he was speaking at all. She just kept trying to get to Jun while he kept moving out of her reach.
“Jun-kun, why are you running away from me?” She asked, frowning at the way that he was cringing.
“Is this true, ma’am?” One of the officers asked. Jun was surprised to see that it was Ogura’s old friend. “Does such a thing exist?”
No one expected her to answer the truth, incriminating as it was, but she nodded. “Sakurai wants Jun-kun all to himself, so he pushed Jun into it, but I know that Jun loves me.” She stated, batting her eyes prettily at the officer, as if flirting with him would change the fact that she was admitting that there was an order in place.
Jun, in response to her words, shrunk away, shaking his head. The officer looked at him kindly. “You can go inside, Matusmoto-san, Ogura-san. We will take care of this.”
Jun did not hesitate to slip back through the door, and Ogura was soon to follow. Sho stayed outside, answering questions of the police before Reiko was escorted away. She was not under arrest, they assured her. They just needed to get some information from her to make sure that everything was in order. They did warn her, however, that if there was an order in place that it was really in her best interest to follow it. She seemed not to hear them, insisting that Jun loved her, that Sho was the problem, pointing to him with a snarl.
Sho made certain that the police had his information and that they knew about the picture, in case proof was needed that she had been seeking Jun out. They thanked him, as they led her away.
“Jun-kun, you know you can take the rest of the day off, if you need it.” Sho heard Ogura as he walked into the kitchen. Jun shook his head.
“You are debuting new wines and a new dish tonight. I need to be here for it.” His voice shook and Sho glared at him, ready to fuss. “Please, I - it would be easier if I were not sitting at home, thinking about this. I just need a few minutes to call Kazu and let him know. He would kill me if I don’t.”
Sho nodded and Ogura waved Jun upstairs. Sho could see the way that Jun paused, looking in the hallway that would lead to the locked staircase up to his flat, before moving out of the kitchen. When the door closed, Sho leaned against the wall with a sigh, noting the way that the chefs gave him and Ogura space to talk.
“I am sorry about all the trouble. I know that Jun is as well.”
“Jun-kun is good at what he does. I can not fault him for being so well loved by Reiko. I knew about her before I hired him, Sho, I was in town with you all when this started, if you recall.”
Sho did not recall, but he did know that both Jun and Nino knew Ogura, being in there small hometown before. Nino had been quite pleased that someone as famous as Ogura would shop at his store.
“I am more worried about Reiko finding out that Jun lives here, and him being trapped here. While Jun is on the phone you should call your family and let them know. My friend will keep us updated regarding the police.”
Sho nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and stepping into the hallway. It was a good idea.
Jun hung up the phone with a sigh and was not pleased to see that he was shaking slightly. There was no reason that her appearance, her appearance alone would unsettle him like this, but she had tried things in the past. In France, when he was in school, someone had broken into his apartment and had taken some of his clothing as well as books. The police had never been able to find the suspect, but not long after that Reiko had started mailing him letters, complementing him on his taste in books, on books that she could not know he had unless she had been in his apartment. She mentioned clothing of his wardrobe that still had the tags on them since he had not been able to wear them.
She had also tried to assault one of his classmates, a cute little French girl who had been kind enough to show him some of the best wineries. In the end Jun had to get between them with Reiko’s nails biting into this skin enough to bleed. And while there we no scars, he still knew exactly where it had been.
He also keenly recalled the pity that his classmates treated him with after the incident, and the wariness. Be careful of Jun, he has a crazy stalker friend. It certainly made things harder.
Nino had gone through the rook with anger when Jun explained what had happened, or at least what he knew what had happened. It had taken Jun a while to calm him down and explain that really, he was alright, nothing had happened. Nothing had happened and the police had taken her away. And that he was not sure she didn’t know where he lived. And no he could not assure Nino that she would not be back, but he was alright. Please just stop worrying.
It had gotten him a lecture how of course Nino was going to worry, how it would upset Aiba if something happened to Jun. Jun’s heart had dropped at that point, heavy.
“Nino, she can’t find out about Aiba.” His voice was soft. Nino paused in his rant, letting Jun’s words sink in. “If she thinks that there is someone I like, something might happen to him. I wouldn’t be able to accept that I was the cause of something happening to him.” Jun was worried. He knew that Nino could hear it in his voice.
“I know, Jun, but I wont let anything happen, trust me. I am taking good care of him for you, though he tries to forge this scarf and gloves all the time here at the store and then starts coughing. My smacking him upside the head isn’t quite as effective as yours with your rings, but it does the trick.” Jun knew that Nino was trying to distract him. He allowed it to happen, talking with him for a few more minutes before excusing himself for work.
No one was surprised when Nino walked into the restaurant later that night, his eyes scanning for someone he knew. At first the hostess was reluctant to go get Ogura, Sho or Matsumoto for him. They had all seen what had happened earlier, though no one commented on it but gossip traveled fast in a small place like this.
Sho, who had been sitting at the bar working on an article, heard the slight, very slight commotion and looked over to the entrance. He smiled and waved at Nino when he recognized him, who waved back. Both could see the way that the hostess relaxed and Sho disappeared into the kitchen.
“Jun, you have a guest out front,” was all he said before moving out to greet Nino. Jun nodded. The sheer lack of messages from either Aiba or Nino meant that they were coming to see him. Jun knew Nino well enough, knew Aiba well enough by now to know that the other would tag along.
Jun finished his preparations and asked Ogura if it would be alright it he took a moment to show his guests up to his place. What Jun did not expect, as he stepped into the hallway, was to get tackled by Aiba, who smiled and sniffled as he hugged Jun, tighter and tighter until he thought that he was going to burst - yet at the same time Jun was pleased, so pleased that the other was there.
“We brought you a present.” Nino drawled, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. It was then that Jun noticed that Nino and Aiba were not alone, they had indeed brought a guest.
“Satoshi?” Jun shrugged Aiba off and stood, moving towards the dog, nervously holding out his hand. After a moment the dog licked Jun’s hand, causing him to jump back.
“Disgusting! I can’t go back in the restaurant until I sanitize my hand!” Jun grumbled. No one could hold in their laughter as Satoshi thumped his tail against the floor, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in what Jun could only describe as a stupid dog grin.
“He is a rather large dog.” Sho confirmed, looking from Nino to Aiba to the dog and Aiba nodded, beaming.
“Satoshi is the best dog ever. Kazu-chan and I are sure that he will do his very best to keep Jun-kun safe.”
“But the dog doesn’t even like me.” Jun mumbled, showing the pair up the stairs to his flat and Aiba just laughed, waving a hand in the air as if that fact didn’t matter - as if Satoshi had not caused Jun bodily harm some months previous.
“We both had a long talk with him about it, and he knows that Jun-kun if very important to both of us and that we will be very unhappy is something happens to him, so he needs to protect you from any scary ladies.”
“I didn’t have a chance to get extra futons or anything, but you both can stay here tonight. I need to get down to the restaurant again. We don’t close for another hour or so, but you are welcome to stay up here if you want.” Jun handed Nino is keys. “Don’t loose these, I trust you will be able to figure out which is which. I am not setting up Satoshi’s things, so if you are serious about this then you need to make sure that all I have to do is feed him and take him outside.”
“We got an automatic feeder, just to make it easier for Jun-kun!” Aiba called out as Jun paused at the door. Jun could not help but smile.
“Idiot, that was unnecessary.”
“Yay, Jun missed me!” Aiba crowed. Sho looked at him in confusion, while Nino just laughed, smiling widely.
“What?” Sho asked and even Jun paused, waiting for the answer before he left.
“Jun-kun only calls me an idiot when I do something sweet for him that he thinks is unnecessary. It is how I know that he cares about it.” Aiba giggled, arranging Satoshi’s stuff by the sink in the kitchen. Jun just shook his head, closing the door beside him.
Perhaps Aiba was right, but all Jun did know that he was much happier (and his step lighter as he returned to work) than he had been in a long time, despite the issues of the day.
I think it is, but maybe not. We shall see what I think when I read over it in a day or so.
Thanks to satsumatsu for being epic, as usual
Supermarket AU Part Three:
Jun was certainly surprised to see Aiba waiting for him the next morning. After the night before he was certain that the other man wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him. Apparently the expression was obvious on his face, since Aiba just looked at Jun for a long moment, and then sighed.
“Jun didn’t realize that we were dating, but that is OK. Just because Jun-kun is leaving, and we weren’t really dating dating, doesn’t mean that Jun-kun can’t still date me.” Aiba flashed Jun a wide smile. “I like Jun, and I am sure that Jun likes me as well. And if you find someone else that you want to date then you can date them.” Aiba stated as he grabbed Jun’s hand, pulling him along the path towards Storm Market. Jun could not come up with a response to that logic. The fact that he had not slept the night before, could not get the feeling of that kiss out of his mind, combined with the fact that he was cursing fate and his life, left him wondering if dating Aiba would have been a good thing. It was just that he did not want to hurt the other man, with those wide eyes and bright smile.
Aiba was truly a good person. Jun did not want to crush that with a harsh rejection, especially when he didn’t really want to reject him. And if he was alright with this not really dating thing that they were doing, and apparently were going to keep doing, then who was Jun to take that from him? Crushing the innocent was not Jun’s habit.
When they arrived at the store, Nino gave Jun a hard glare, Aiba laughed, shifting between Nino and Jun.
“Be nice to Jun-kun, Nino-chan. He is leaving and you should send him off with happy memories.” Aiba moved away from the pair when Nino relaxed, grumbling about losing his best employee, and who was going to sell all the grannies their wine now. Jun could not help but smile. As much as he hated this place, he was going to miss Nino. More than he had ever told the other, but he was sure that he knew. He had to know. Feelings were not something that they talked about and - Jun paused as he felt a arm slip around his waist, hugging him for a moment.
“Stop getting all sentimental on me Jun, you haven’t even left yet. Miss me when you have, not while you are here.” Nino smirked at Jun, pushing him towards the wine area.
“As if, brat. You know you are lost without me here.” Jun snapped back and he could hear Nino’s laughter, knowing that the other was grinning, even if his eyes shined with tears that the other would not shed. That was how their friendship worked, always had; and Jun knew that if he needed to come back he could, in an instant. Nino would always welcome him with open arms. In return if Nino ever needed to get away, to escape, Jun would take him, no questions asked. Family, even if they were not related by blood, was a good thing.
The next few days passed in a haze. Jun packed up, spent some time with his father, which was getting worse not better, but Jun did not like to dwell on that as well as his mother. He spent a lot of time with Nino, as well as with Aiba. Sometimes with both, sometimes with each alone. Nino helped him pack while Aiba helped him load up the car for the trip. Even Satoshi, though Jun and the dog were still quite wary of each other, seemed to sense that both Aiba and his beloved Nino were upset about something, but at least there were no more altercations between the dog and Jun, which everyone was quite pleased about.
Aiba and Nino both waved Jun off, one with a bright smile and tears; the other one with a half smile and a wave of his hand, but Jun knew that he would be missed. Given how much Aiba had hugged him and promised to text, to come visit, to make sure that Nino came as well and that Aiba would make sure that the store would be alright if Nino was gone for a day.
But Jun tired not to dwell on that as he drove away, did not want to think about the tears or the sad smiles that he was sure would be apparent, especially given the fact that Nino had already commented that he was going to need to take Aiba out and get him drunk tonight, in order to get him to stop crying, knowing the man as well as Jun did. While that did not sit very well with Jun, there was not much that he could do about it.
This job was something that he had to take, for his family and the medical bills that his dad was accumulating. What kind of son would Jun be if he did not take care of his family when he had the chance?
He had been getting excited messaged from Sho about his move, assuring him that it was no issue to stay with him for a few days until Jun could find a place of his own; and that it would be nice to see the younger man again, emphasizing that working for Ogura would be exactly what Jun wanted.
Jun was not certain that living with Sho was going to be a good idea. He had seen the other’s room before and despite the cleanliness of the rest of the house, Sho did not seem to be able to keep his room clean. But in a week how bad could it possibly turn out? Sho had a spare room, which was the only reason that Jun was even considering it to begin with. Otherwise he would have taken a few day trips to Tokyo to find housing, but he wanted to see where he was working and the surrounding area before he decided on where to live.
As it turned out that was a good idea, just as living with Sho had been a bad one. He was not sure how someone could manage to live in such a mess, while having nothing in his house at all to cook with. Apparently, being a food critic for a magazine meant that one was never home to eat, or cook, and pretty much got to go out to eat, wherever, for free. And when Sho was not working, he was at Ogura’s place, chatting with the man or with Jun or was working on his articles. Waiting to find a place had been a good idea though, as the restaurant was in Roppongi. Despite the fact that Ogura paid well, it was unlikely that Jun would be able to afford a place in the area. Turns out, however, that he was wrong. Apparently, even though it was Roppongi, no one wanted to take a small industrial studio flat above a restaurant. So Jun had the luxury of walking down some stairs and into the back door of the kitchen to get to work. It was not the worst plan, but it meant that he was not getting to see much of Tokyo.
All in all, Jun’s new life was not bad. It was what he wanted, to get out of that town, away from those memories and into a place of his own making. It was never the same without Nino, but Nino had his store and Jun had his career. He wanted to do this.
But something was missing.
And somehow, she had found out. Jun was not sure how, as Sho was constantly on the phone with his family about it, but somehow his stalker had found out where he was working. Jun had not noticed it at first, out at the wine supply store, looking for wines that would work best for the menu. Something had felt off, like he was being watched, but he almost always felt like that, especially in the big city.
It was not until he was turning down an alley, taking a short cut back to the restaurant that he heard the heeled footsteps behind him, a distinct gate that he would recognize anywhere. He did not dare glance over his shoulder but hurried his stride slightly. As he took longer steps, the footsteps behind him hurried up as well.
Grasping the bag he was holding tighter, Jun slipped his phone from his pocket and called Sho, merely commenting that an old friend was in town and wouldn’t it be great if they met at the usual spot? He hung up after that, darting down the closest subway entrance, glancing over his shoulder once. He could see her smiling at him, waving as he caught her eyes. He pushed forward, getting lost in the crowd, moving with them onto the first train that he could get onto. After getting off after the first stop, Jun paused to look around and get his bearings, making sure that she had not managed to get through as well. He could feel that he was shaking. Sho had called back again, trying to get details, frantic with worry and Jun assured him that he was fine, just that this would certainly cause some issues. After telling Sho which station he was at, he headed over to Sho’s apartment. If she did not know where he was living now, he was not going to help her out with that one.
A quick call to Ogura let the older man in on the situation. Ogura assured Jun that it was fine, his safety was more important than the wine. When he could come by, come by. Ogura also assured Jun that she would not be let into the restaurant (and that one of his old buddies worked in the police force, if it became too much of a problem).
The man was surprised to know that there was already a restraining order in place for her, and that she was not supposed to be in the same city as him. But when he had been abroad in France, it had been much harder to enforce. Now that he was in Tokyo, he was going to have to get the police involved. One woman, obsessed with a man in a city as large as Tokyo, though, did not give Jun much hope. What could they do if she did not try anything, and her trying anything was the last thing that Jun wanted.
Jun crashed in the guest bedroom that night, and Sho walked with him to work, making sure that Jun arrived safely before heading off. Sho had been up most of the night talking with his family, as well as hers. Apparently about two weeks ago she had just disappeared from home, leaving all of her things. They had already filed a missing persons report on her. They were disappointed to hear that she was in Tokyo, especially when Sho mentioned that he and Jun were both there and that they would have to take action. They were very apologetic about the fact that she had been ignoring their calls and that they had no way to get a hold of her - there was nothing they could do to bring her back home. Sho’s family, Jun was assured, would make certain that the Tokyo police was made aware of the situation and the history and that the restraining order, which was in place in his old town, also ended up effective in Tokyo. This, in reality, reassured neither Jun or Sho, but there was nothing much that could be done about it. Jun didn’t leave his building without either Ogura or Sho walking with him. In addition he was constantly sending Sho messages that he was alright and that he had not seen her.
Jun also had made certain to tell both Aiba and Nino that she was in town. Both sent messages fretting and worry about Jun’s safety. Nino’s flatly said that he would come and protect Jun, making certain that she would leave Jun the fuck alone, if that was what Jun wanted him to do. Jun had refused, but almost sent a message that it would be nice to see him. In the end he closed the message without sending it.
It took many assurances before they were satisfied that Jun was taking enough protective measures to make certain that she was not alone with him - ever, and never given the chance to be - before Aiba abandoned his plan to drive up to Tokyo right then and there.
Usually they did not see her, only sometimes they did. While passing in the streets. In a crowded bar in Roppongi. During shopping in Shinjuku. Getting a present for Nino in Akihabara (which was met with much rejoicing when he had opened the package in the mail). She was there but never tried anything.
In these times it would have been easy to ignore the fact that he missed Nino. And home, if not for the fact that instead of just Nino, there was something else missing. If he did not have a message from Aiba in the morning when he woke up, Jun was always unreasonably disappointed. If there was not a message at some point every few days from the other that he missed him, and he hoped that Jun-kun was taking good care of Mr. Squirrel, Jun was grumpy. He didn’t miss Aiba, really he didn’t. He just-Jun did not know what he just, just that he was irritated. Ogura never commented on it when Jun, during a work shift, would jump, his pocket vibrating with a message or email. He also never said anything when Jun’s mood would slip from fierce to friendly. He never had to. Sho did enough of that for him. Jun, however, was certain that he did not miss his kind of sort of date me until you meet someone else boyfriend (though Aiba had assured him that Jun would not meet anyone as awesome as he was in Tokyo). It was not possible to miss someone that had so recently become part of his life. There was no reason he should. And yet, Jun knew he was lying to himself, when he broke one day, replying to one of Aiba’s many texts that he missed him as well.
She came to the restaurant once, looking for Jun and for a nice glass of wine. Ogura had told her as nicely but firmly that she was not welcomed in the restaurant. She had tried to force the issue, assuring him that she knew Jun-kun, quite well in fact and that he would love to see her at his work place.
Sho, who was arriving from a job at that time, glared at her, enough that she stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground.
“Ah, Reiko, I wondered when we were going to see you here. Your family has been quite worried about you, but I am sure you know that, as often as they have been calling.” Sho looked to Ogura, who moved back towards the door, making sure that she could not get in, as well as making sure that this did not cause too much of a scene. It was a Friday night, after all, and it was almost time for the dinner rush hour.
“Sakurai-san.” Reiko stammered, looking at him with wide eyes and he nodded in return.
“It is kind of a relief to see you. Now that there are witnesses that have seen you try and approach Jun, it will be much easier to get the restraining order transferred.” Sho spoke lightly, snapping a picture before tucking his phone into his pocket. He easily stepped out of the way as she lunged for him. The proof of her presence safe. “You didn’t forget about that, did you Reiko?” His voice was hard and she shook her head.
“I know that you want to keep me from him and I don’t understand why, Sakurai-san. I am certain that Jun wants me too.” She glared at Sho, sticking out her lip in a pout. Sho shook his head. “That is not the case at all.”
Sho glanced down the street, noting that two uniformed police officers were making their way towards them, approaching Reiko from behind. He was glad. Jun, it seemed, had the presence of mind to call the police.
“Ogura-san,” The officers nodded at the owner of the restaurant and Reiko’s eyes widened as she took in their presence. “We received a call that there was a small disturbance.”
Ogura nodded. The door to the restaurant opened with Jun stepping outside, though he made certain to stand behind Ogura. Sho tried not to react but he knew that he tensed up.
“Yes, I made the call.” Jun’s voice was soft. Reiko spun around when she heard it, smiling widely. “Jun-kun!” She tired to reach for him, but Jun stepped away.
“We are in the process of getting a restraining order transferred from my home town to Tokyo. This individual is not supposed to be this close to me and most certainly not supposed to be trying to visit me at work.” Jun did not look at the officers as he spoke and Reiko seemed not to care that he was speaking at all. She just kept trying to get to Jun while he kept moving out of her reach.
“Jun-kun, why are you running away from me?” She asked, frowning at the way that he was cringing.
“Is this true, ma’am?” One of the officers asked. Jun was surprised to see that it was Ogura’s old friend. “Does such a thing exist?”
No one expected her to answer the truth, incriminating as it was, but she nodded. “Sakurai wants Jun-kun all to himself, so he pushed Jun into it, but I know that Jun loves me.” She stated, batting her eyes prettily at the officer, as if flirting with him would change the fact that she was admitting that there was an order in place.
Jun, in response to her words, shrunk away, shaking his head. The officer looked at him kindly. “You can go inside, Matusmoto-san, Ogura-san. We will take care of this.”
Jun did not hesitate to slip back through the door, and Ogura was soon to follow. Sho stayed outside, answering questions of the police before Reiko was escorted away. She was not under arrest, they assured her. They just needed to get some information from her to make sure that everything was in order. They did warn her, however, that if there was an order in place that it was really in her best interest to follow it. She seemed not to hear them, insisting that Jun loved her, that Sho was the problem, pointing to him with a snarl.
Sho made certain that the police had his information and that they knew about the picture, in case proof was needed that she had been seeking Jun out. They thanked him, as they led her away.
“Jun-kun, you know you can take the rest of the day off, if you need it.” Sho heard Ogura as he walked into the kitchen. Jun shook his head.
“You are debuting new wines and a new dish tonight. I need to be here for it.” His voice shook and Sho glared at him, ready to fuss. “Please, I - it would be easier if I were not sitting at home, thinking about this. I just need a few minutes to call Kazu and let him know. He would kill me if I don’t.”
Sho nodded and Ogura waved Jun upstairs. Sho could see the way that Jun paused, looking in the hallway that would lead to the locked staircase up to his flat, before moving out of the kitchen. When the door closed, Sho leaned against the wall with a sigh, noting the way that the chefs gave him and Ogura space to talk.
“I am sorry about all the trouble. I know that Jun is as well.”
“Jun-kun is good at what he does. I can not fault him for being so well loved by Reiko. I knew about her before I hired him, Sho, I was in town with you all when this started, if you recall.”
Sho did not recall, but he did know that both Jun and Nino knew Ogura, being in there small hometown before. Nino had been quite pleased that someone as famous as Ogura would shop at his store.
“I am more worried about Reiko finding out that Jun lives here, and him being trapped here. While Jun is on the phone you should call your family and let them know. My friend will keep us updated regarding the police.”
Sho nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and stepping into the hallway. It was a good idea.
Jun hung up the phone with a sigh and was not pleased to see that he was shaking slightly. There was no reason that her appearance, her appearance alone would unsettle him like this, but she had tried things in the past. In France, when he was in school, someone had broken into his apartment and had taken some of his clothing as well as books. The police had never been able to find the suspect, but not long after that Reiko had started mailing him letters, complementing him on his taste in books, on books that she could not know he had unless she had been in his apartment. She mentioned clothing of his wardrobe that still had the tags on them since he had not been able to wear them.
She had also tried to assault one of his classmates, a cute little French girl who had been kind enough to show him some of the best wineries. In the end Jun had to get between them with Reiko’s nails biting into this skin enough to bleed. And while there we no scars, he still knew exactly where it had been.
He also keenly recalled the pity that his classmates treated him with after the incident, and the wariness. Be careful of Jun, he has a crazy stalker friend. It certainly made things harder.
Nino had gone through the rook with anger when Jun explained what had happened, or at least what he knew what had happened. It had taken Jun a while to calm him down and explain that really, he was alright, nothing had happened. Nothing had happened and the police had taken her away. And that he was not sure she didn’t know where he lived. And no he could not assure Nino that she would not be back, but he was alright. Please just stop worrying.
It had gotten him a lecture how of course Nino was going to worry, how it would upset Aiba if something happened to Jun. Jun’s heart had dropped at that point, heavy.
“Nino, she can’t find out about Aiba.” His voice was soft. Nino paused in his rant, letting Jun’s words sink in. “If she thinks that there is someone I like, something might happen to him. I wouldn’t be able to accept that I was the cause of something happening to him.” Jun was worried. He knew that Nino could hear it in his voice.
“I know, Jun, but I wont let anything happen, trust me. I am taking good care of him for you, though he tries to forge this scarf and gloves all the time here at the store and then starts coughing. My smacking him upside the head isn’t quite as effective as yours with your rings, but it does the trick.” Jun knew that Nino was trying to distract him. He allowed it to happen, talking with him for a few more minutes before excusing himself for work.
No one was surprised when Nino walked into the restaurant later that night, his eyes scanning for someone he knew. At first the hostess was reluctant to go get Ogura, Sho or Matsumoto for him. They had all seen what had happened earlier, though no one commented on it but gossip traveled fast in a small place like this.
Sho, who had been sitting at the bar working on an article, heard the slight, very slight commotion and looked over to the entrance. He smiled and waved at Nino when he recognized him, who waved back. Both could see the way that the hostess relaxed and Sho disappeared into the kitchen.
“Jun, you have a guest out front,” was all he said before moving out to greet Nino. Jun nodded. The sheer lack of messages from either Aiba or Nino meant that they were coming to see him. Jun knew Nino well enough, knew Aiba well enough by now to know that the other would tag along.
Jun finished his preparations and asked Ogura if it would be alright it he took a moment to show his guests up to his place. What Jun did not expect, as he stepped into the hallway, was to get tackled by Aiba, who smiled and sniffled as he hugged Jun, tighter and tighter until he thought that he was going to burst - yet at the same time Jun was pleased, so pleased that the other was there.
“We brought you a present.” Nino drawled, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. It was then that Jun noticed that Nino and Aiba were not alone, they had indeed brought a guest.
“Satoshi?” Jun shrugged Aiba off and stood, moving towards the dog, nervously holding out his hand. After a moment the dog licked Jun’s hand, causing him to jump back.
“Disgusting! I can’t go back in the restaurant until I sanitize my hand!” Jun grumbled. No one could hold in their laughter as Satoshi thumped his tail against the floor, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in what Jun could only describe as a stupid dog grin.
“He is a rather large dog.” Sho confirmed, looking from Nino to Aiba to the dog and Aiba nodded, beaming.
“Satoshi is the best dog ever. Kazu-chan and I are sure that he will do his very best to keep Jun-kun safe.”
“But the dog doesn’t even like me.” Jun mumbled, showing the pair up the stairs to his flat and Aiba just laughed, waving a hand in the air as if that fact didn’t matter - as if Satoshi had not caused Jun bodily harm some months previous.
“We both had a long talk with him about it, and he knows that Jun-kun if very important to both of us and that we will be very unhappy is something happens to him, so he needs to protect you from any scary ladies.”
“I didn’t have a chance to get extra futons or anything, but you both can stay here tonight. I need to get down to the restaurant again. We don’t close for another hour or so, but you are welcome to stay up here if you want.” Jun handed Nino is keys. “Don’t loose these, I trust you will be able to figure out which is which. I am not setting up Satoshi’s things, so if you are serious about this then you need to make sure that all I have to do is feed him and take him outside.”
“We got an automatic feeder, just to make it easier for Jun-kun!” Aiba called out as Jun paused at the door. Jun could not help but smile.
“Idiot, that was unnecessary.”
“Yay, Jun missed me!” Aiba crowed. Sho looked at him in confusion, while Nino just laughed, smiling widely.
“What?” Sho asked and even Jun paused, waiting for the answer before he left.
“Jun-kun only calls me an idiot when I do something sweet for him that he thinks is unnecessary. It is how I know that he cares about it.” Aiba giggled, arranging Satoshi’s stuff by the sink in the kitchen. Jun just shook his head, closing the door beside him.
Perhaps Aiba was right, but all Jun did know that he was much happier (and his step lighter as he returned to work) than he had been in a long time, despite the issues of the day.