I don't not love you! Chapter 3 [ongoing]
I know, I know... FINALLY, right? Hope I meet everyone's expectations. And surprise! New avatar right there (threw a lot of you off, didn't it?), created by misswoodihut per my request. *hugs* But I'm only using it for this post (on Ebisu Midights anyway) because it was my personal reward for updating, haha.
As usual-- I do not own anything Mao and Jun related other than my fanfictions. If I owned Mao and Jun, they would have been in another drama together already. >.<
Chapter 1: So I like you...
Chapter 2: It must be your smile
Chapter 3: Or it could be your touch
"Mao-chan, you coming?" called Jun from the living room.
"Yes!" Mao stood up, hoping the few seconds she spent freezing her face was enough time to make her cheeks return to their usual color. She tried to look normal as she rushed to jump next to Jun on the couch. “Playful, fun-loving Mao-chan!” Mao-chan coaxed to herself, “That's me!”
"You left the fridge open." Jun said, casually.
"Oh? Oh!" She scampered back to the refrigerator and shut it, realized she was acting weird and tried to play off her embarrassment by walking leisurely back to the couch. Jun was watching her.
"You okay? You're really jumpy all of a sudden."
Mao let out a chortle of unconvincing laughter that was too loud, too nervous. She put a hand over her mouth and coughed to hide it. "I'm fine, fine."
His hair was still damp with that "just-out-of-the-shower" look, and Mao resisted the urge to run her hand through his tempting tresses. The thought made her recall the moment their foreheads touched and how warm his breath felt on her lips... Stop it, Mao, stop it! She didn't realize she was staring until Jun's hand went to his head, as if trying to pat down whatever stray hair she may be looking at. He caught her staring! Mao looked away quickly.
"So..." Jun said, trying to kill the sudden silence as he touched his hair self-consciously.
What was he here for again? Mao mused inwardly, Right! "Movie!"
Mao grimaced, and a blush reddened her cheeks. I yelled that out loud, didn't I? Jun's smirk confirmed her thought. This really was going to be a long night. He held up the Kung-Fu Panda DvD, which he had pulled out of his jacket earlier, with one hand. Mao took it from him, careful to not brush his fingers by accident... Or on purpose. She turned around and shuffled to the DvD player, and felt that burning sensation in her face finally begin to subside. Okay, this was good. As long as she didn't look at him, she was fine. Just... Mao checked the back of the movie case, 92 minutes of not looking at Jun to go. One excruciating hour and 32 torturingly slow minutes. Impossible.
She opened the DvD case and popped the CD out of his holder with minimal difficulty as she sat down in front of the DvD player below the television on the television shelf. Mao placed the case carefully next to her and she had to focus all her energy to avoid glancing at Jun's reflection on the television screen. She pressed the power button of the player. Nothing. Mao pressed it again. Silence.
"Something wrong?"
She could hear Jun shifting on the couch as he began to get up.
"It's nothing. I probably forgot to plug it in." Mao crawled to look at the electric outlet behind the television set and noted the DvD player was indeed, still plugged in. Hm. She went to try the power button one more time.
Suddenly, two arms were on either side of her.
"Maybe the cords in the back aren't properly connected."
Jun's voice was startlingly close to her right ear. She felt his breath ruffling the hairs at the nape of her exposed neck. She inhaled sharply. Kyaaa~-- No! You will not fangirl over your friend. I repeat, you will not fangirl... Calm. Down! Jun was kneeling behind her so closely she could feel his body heat press against her from all sides. It took her a moment to register he was adjusting the player in front of her to reconnect the cords. See? He's just fixing the DvD... he's not hugging you indirectly. Stop fidgeting!
"Etto..." Mao was counting to ten slowly in her suddenly sluggish mind, "Excuse me." She quickly ducked out from between his arms. At this rate, she would die from lack of oxygen to her brain, she blushing way too much.
"Thanks." Jun said, immediately taking advantage of the open space Mao gave him. She patted her cheeks subtly, hoping her embarrassment wasn't too obvious. Jun finished adjusting the wires in the back of the player and pressed power. No response. There was a second of terse silence. Then, "You broke it, Mao-chan." Jun declared with an amused smile.
"What? I did not! It was working yesterday!"
"Then get it to work now." Jun challenged.
"Move over." Jun only scooted over slightly, and leaned back to rest himself against his elbows in a casual lay down position so he could watch his friend work.
Mao immediately set to unplugging and replugging the wires, thankful for the distraction Jun's challenge offered. She could feel Jun scrutinizing her form from behind, but she didn't want to turn to meet his sure to be amused gaze.
Twenty minutes later found Mao letting out a sound of satisfaction. "Done!" She announced.
"Me too."
"Eh?" She turned around to look at Jun who held up the empty platter that used to hold her many cupcakes. He seemed to have thrown away the cupcake cups and was already heading to the kitchen to wash the empty dish. She giggled softly.
"You could leave it in the sink."
"Nope. You're the one who created these Heavenly manifestations. You have to preserve your hands so you could make me more in the future."
Mao smirked. "How very unselfish of you."
"Well, let's see that DvD player turn on," Jun suggested, as he rinsed the platter.
"Hai! Se... no!" She pressed power.
POP!
Mao screamed.
Jun laughed.
The DvD player hissed.
Jun rushed over, abandoning the dish and wiping his hands quickly on a towel which he brought with him, to survey the damage.
"What did you do?" exclaimed Jun through his mirth. The DvD player was still intact, but there was smoke coming out from the air vents of it.
"I followed the instructions!" Mao held up an instruction manual, trying to explain herself to her laughing ex-costar.
"Instructions to break it?" Jun asked.
Mao frowned and hit him gently on the shoulder, “Why are you so mean!”
Jun leaned over to poke her forehead, “I’m mean? Who murdered their innocent DvD player?”
Mao hit him half-heartedly again, “I didn’t murder anything!”
“Fine…” Jun said with a cheeky grin, “Let's get this thing out of here. I'm sure smoke coming out of any electronic is unhealthy."
Mao agreed sullenly and went to go get a plastic bag to wrap the burnt out player with while Jun unplugged its wires. “Look on the bright side, you could finally open that new Blu-Ray disc player your parents sent you for your birthday! I have faith you won’t break that one.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” murmured Mao as she sat back down next to Jun.
Jun started to laugh again and he slipped the DvD player into the bag Mao held open for him. Mao knotted the bag firmly and placed it next to the door so she could remember to take it out the next morning. She then went to get the air freshener from the bathroom to clear the air of the burnt plastic smell the player left over when Mao “murdered” (as Jun so colorfully described) it.
“Never a dull day with Mao-chan, is it?” Jun asked with a smile as he went back to the kitchen to finish washing the dish.
They finished their respective chores and both meandered back to the couch and sat down.
“What to do..?” Jun asked.
Mao hadn’t thought of this. Now that the movie wasn’t an option for entertainment, especially since she didn’t want to go through the humiliation of installing the new Blu-Ray player so Jun could further poke fun at her, she noticed they had about an hour and a half to fill.
Mao glanced at Jun.
Jun looked away.
Mao looked away.
She felt the strange sensation of someone’s eyes on her, but when she turned to look at Jun, he was facing the ceiling, as if thinking of things to do. Mao dropped her attention to her feet. Maybe I should go brew coffee for us while we sit here… She felt that “being watched” sensation once more and looked up at Jun again.
He was staring at her.
As if he were a little boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar, he quickly jerked his attention elsewhere.
“Jun? Mao asked, confused. Did he think of an idea?
“Hm?” Jun replied, not looking at her.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“What? W-why would I have something to say?” Jun said defensively. If Mao didn’t know Jun as well as she did, she would say Jun was blushing. But that couldn’t be. There was nothing to be blushing about. Mao frowned, a minuscule movement at the corners of her lips,
“Because we’re looking for something to do.”
“Oh. Oh! Of course! Something to do, right.” Jun grinned sheepishly, but Mao detected the tone of relief in his words.
“Why, what did you think I was talking about?”
“A board game, let’s play a board game,” Jun said, ignoring her question, he was looking everywhere else but at her, “You know what I haven’t played in awhile? Monopoly. Let’s play Monopoly. Monopoly’s a fun game. You get to move these small pieces around a board-”
“I’ve played Monopoly before,” Mao said, even more confused by Jun’s behavior.
“Oh, so you own it, then?” Jun got up and started to walk away, “That’s good. I think-”
Mao grabbed Jun’s hand so couldn’t walk away further, concern written all over her face, “Jun, what’s wrong?”
Jun jerked to a halt. Their eyes met. Then, in some weird synchronized movement, they both looked at Mao’s hand holding his.
There was ten seconds of pure, thick, and awkward silence.
“Um,” Mao began, “I… I’ll go get the board game.”
“I… I’ll wait here, you know, for you to get it.”
Pause.
“Err, want to let go of my hand now?”
Mao pulled her hand away as if she touched fire. They both laughed nervously.
“Okay, I’m going to get Monopoly now.”
“Okay.”
Another pause as they stared at each other again.
“Here I go!” Mao said, getting up and breaking their gaze. She walked to her room at an even pace, but as soon as she was out of Jun’s view she squatted on the ground and exhaled.
What. Was. That?
“Let’s hope the game is a little more uneventful,” Mao murmured hopelessly.
Mao’s wish came true. Asides from small awkward moments when their hands brushed when grabbing the dice, it was a fun game. Mao managed to buy and put hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, but Jun bought out the orange and red zones of the board which were the most often landed on spots in the game for some reason.
“That’ll be $1,000,” Jun said, offering his hand to her for the money, palm up.
“1,000? But There’s only three houses on that block!”
“You owe me though. Remember?”
Mao grumbled as she forked over two $500. They had been playing for awhile… She glanced at the watch.
“Eh? 10pm already?”
Jun followed her gaze. “Wow, that was fast,” Jun said with equal surprise.
“Ah!” Mao said suddenly.
“What? What happened?” Jun looked around to see what might’ve caused her outburst.
“I forgot to call Kimika!”
“Kimika?”
“Hug-chan’s sitter,” Mao was about to get up to go get the phone but she paused to look at Jun, she felt bad leaving him alone when she was the hostess, “Mind if I go call? It’ll only be a little while.”
“Go ahead, you don’t need my permission,” Jun responded, “I need to go call for a cab anyway.”
Mao squelched her disappointment at the idea of him leaving.
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll be in my room.”
Mao went to find her phone somewhere in her room. She dialed her sitter's number and she picked up on the second ring.
"Moshi, moshi?" The female voice asked.
"Ah, Kimika?"
"Mao!" said Kimika, enthusiastically from the other line, "Hey, I was about to call you."
"Is Hug-chan causing trouble?"
"No, no. But I was hoping perhaps I could bring Hug-chan over tomorrow morning instead? It's raining really hard and the cabs aren't driving anyone until the rain lets up."
Mao's eyes widened.
"Honto?"
"Yes. I'm really sorry, Mao. I'd bring Hug-chan right over, otherwise. I've tried everywhere and no one is willing to drive. They said it's really dangerous."
"Oh no no, it's fine. Is it really okay if Hug-chan stays with you until tomorrow? I'll pay you extra for the overnight time you have to keep Hug-chan."
"No, it's not a problem. Your dog is so sweet!"
"Arigatou, Kimika."
"No problem. Good night."
"Good night."
Mao flipped her phone shut and glanced outside through her window. She hadn't notice how hard the rain was falling. She must have been really distracted. Mao opened her door and walked outside, only to stop short at Jun's next words as he argued over the phone,
"What do you mean 'just stay where you are for the night until the rain lets up'?"
Author’s Note: There you have it! Chapter 3. I hope the long wait was worth it. >.< I really hope I don’t repeat such a long break from this story for updating again. The next chapter is going to be so fun to write, I know it! Hope everyone enjoyed. This was super fun to imagine in my head. *laughs* Also, thanks so much to misswoodihut again for agreeing with my icon request and making me my BEAUTIFUL avatars. ^_^ Ah, paradise. It was one of the inspirations to complete this chapter. I told myself I’ll put the avatar to use when I finish chapter 3. One more thing, "Fight Song" by Arashi and this chapter go really well with each other for some reason. Comments make authors happy!
~yoshi09
As usual-- I do not own anything Mao and Jun related other than my fanfictions. If I owned Mao and Jun, they would have been in another drama together already. >.<
Chapter 1: So I like you...
Chapter 2: It must be your smile
Chapter 3: Or it could be your touch
"Mao-chan, you coming?" called Jun from the living room.
"Yes!" Mao stood up, hoping the few seconds she spent freezing her face was enough time to make her cheeks return to their usual color. She tried to look normal as she rushed to jump next to Jun on the couch. “Playful, fun-loving Mao-chan!” Mao-chan coaxed to herself, “That's me!”
"You left the fridge open." Jun said, casually.
"Oh? Oh!" She scampered back to the refrigerator and shut it, realized she was acting weird and tried to play off her embarrassment by walking leisurely back to the couch. Jun was watching her.
"You okay? You're really jumpy all of a sudden."
Mao let out a chortle of unconvincing laughter that was too loud, too nervous. She put a hand over her mouth and coughed to hide it. "I'm fine, fine."
His hair was still damp with that "just-out-of-the-shower" look, and Mao resisted the urge to run her hand through his tempting tresses. The thought made her recall the moment their foreheads touched and how warm his breath felt on her lips... Stop it, Mao, stop it! She didn't realize she was staring until Jun's hand went to his head, as if trying to pat down whatever stray hair she may be looking at. He caught her staring! Mao looked away quickly.
"So..." Jun said, trying to kill the sudden silence as he touched his hair self-consciously.
What was he here for again? Mao mused inwardly, Right! "Movie!"
Mao grimaced, and a blush reddened her cheeks. I yelled that out loud, didn't I? Jun's smirk confirmed her thought. This really was going to be a long night. He held up the Kung-Fu Panda DvD, which he had pulled out of his jacket earlier, with one hand. Mao took it from him, careful to not brush his fingers by accident... Or on purpose. She turned around and shuffled to the DvD player, and felt that burning sensation in her face finally begin to subside. Okay, this was good. As long as she didn't look at him, she was fine. Just... Mao checked the back of the movie case, 92 minutes of not looking at Jun to go. One excruciating hour and 32 torturingly slow minutes. Impossible.
She opened the DvD case and popped the CD out of his holder with minimal difficulty as she sat down in front of the DvD player below the television on the television shelf. Mao placed the case carefully next to her and she had to focus all her energy to avoid glancing at Jun's reflection on the television screen. She pressed the power button of the player. Nothing. Mao pressed it again. Silence.
"Something wrong?"
She could hear Jun shifting on the couch as he began to get up.
"It's nothing. I probably forgot to plug it in." Mao crawled to look at the electric outlet behind the television set and noted the DvD player was indeed, still plugged in. Hm. She went to try the power button one more time.
Suddenly, two arms were on either side of her.
"Maybe the cords in the back aren't properly connected."
Jun's voice was startlingly close to her right ear. She felt his breath ruffling the hairs at the nape of her exposed neck. She inhaled sharply. Kyaaa~-- No! You will not fangirl over your friend. I repeat, you will not fangirl... Calm. Down! Jun was kneeling behind her so closely she could feel his body heat press against her from all sides. It took her a moment to register he was adjusting the player in front of her to reconnect the cords. See? He's just fixing the DvD... he's not hugging you indirectly. Stop fidgeting!
"Etto..." Mao was counting to ten slowly in her suddenly sluggish mind, "Excuse me." She quickly ducked out from between his arms. At this rate, she would die from lack of oxygen to her brain, she blushing way too much.
"Thanks." Jun said, immediately taking advantage of the open space Mao gave him. She patted her cheeks subtly, hoping her embarrassment wasn't too obvious. Jun finished adjusting the wires in the back of the player and pressed power. No response. There was a second of terse silence. Then, "You broke it, Mao-chan." Jun declared with an amused smile.
"What? I did not! It was working yesterday!"
"Then get it to work now." Jun challenged.
"Move over." Jun only scooted over slightly, and leaned back to rest himself against his elbows in a casual lay down position so he could watch his friend work.
Mao immediately set to unplugging and replugging the wires, thankful for the distraction Jun's challenge offered. She could feel Jun scrutinizing her form from behind, but she didn't want to turn to meet his sure to be amused gaze.
Twenty minutes later found Mao letting out a sound of satisfaction. "Done!" She announced.
"Me too."
"Eh?" She turned around to look at Jun who held up the empty platter that used to hold her many cupcakes. He seemed to have thrown away the cupcake cups and was already heading to the kitchen to wash the empty dish. She giggled softly.
"You could leave it in the sink."
"Nope. You're the one who created these Heavenly manifestations. You have to preserve your hands so you could make me more in the future."
Mao smirked. "How very unselfish of you."
"Well, let's see that DvD player turn on," Jun suggested, as he rinsed the platter.
"Hai! Se... no!" She pressed power.
POP!
Mao screamed.
Jun laughed.
The DvD player hissed.
Jun rushed over, abandoning the dish and wiping his hands quickly on a towel which he brought with him, to survey the damage.
"What did you do?" exclaimed Jun through his mirth. The DvD player was still intact, but there was smoke coming out from the air vents of it.
"I followed the instructions!" Mao held up an instruction manual, trying to explain herself to her laughing ex-costar.
"Instructions to break it?" Jun asked.
Mao frowned and hit him gently on the shoulder, “Why are you so mean!”
Jun leaned over to poke her forehead, “I’m mean? Who murdered their innocent DvD player?”
Mao hit him half-heartedly again, “I didn’t murder anything!”
“Fine…” Jun said with a cheeky grin, “Let's get this thing out of here. I'm sure smoke coming out of any electronic is unhealthy."
Mao agreed sullenly and went to go get a plastic bag to wrap the burnt out player with while Jun unplugged its wires. “Look on the bright side, you could finally open that new Blu-Ray disc player your parents sent you for your birthday! I have faith you won’t break that one.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” murmured Mao as she sat back down next to Jun.
Jun started to laugh again and he slipped the DvD player into the bag Mao held open for him. Mao knotted the bag firmly and placed it next to the door so she could remember to take it out the next morning. She then went to get the air freshener from the bathroom to clear the air of the burnt plastic smell the player left over when Mao “murdered” (as Jun so colorfully described) it.
“Never a dull day with Mao-chan, is it?” Jun asked with a smile as he went back to the kitchen to finish washing the dish.
They finished their respective chores and both meandered back to the couch and sat down.
“What to do..?” Jun asked.
Mao hadn’t thought of this. Now that the movie wasn’t an option for entertainment, especially since she didn’t want to go through the humiliation of installing the new Blu-Ray player so Jun could further poke fun at her, she noticed they had about an hour and a half to fill.
Mao glanced at Jun.
Jun looked away.
Mao looked away.
She felt the strange sensation of someone’s eyes on her, but when she turned to look at Jun, he was facing the ceiling, as if thinking of things to do. Mao dropped her attention to her feet. Maybe I should go brew coffee for us while we sit here… She felt that “being watched” sensation once more and looked up at Jun again.
He was staring at her.
As if he were a little boy caught with his hand in a cookie jar, he quickly jerked his attention elsewhere.
“Jun? Mao asked, confused. Did he think of an idea?
“Hm?” Jun replied, not looking at her.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“What? W-why would I have something to say?” Jun said defensively. If Mao didn’t know Jun as well as she did, she would say Jun was blushing. But that couldn’t be. There was nothing to be blushing about. Mao frowned, a minuscule movement at the corners of her lips,
“Because we’re looking for something to do.”
“Oh. Oh! Of course! Something to do, right.” Jun grinned sheepishly, but Mao detected the tone of relief in his words.
“Why, what did you think I was talking about?”
“A board game, let’s play a board game,” Jun said, ignoring her question, he was looking everywhere else but at her, “You know what I haven’t played in awhile? Monopoly. Let’s play Monopoly. Monopoly’s a fun game. You get to move these small pieces around a board-”
“I’ve played Monopoly before,” Mao said, even more confused by Jun’s behavior.
“Oh, so you own it, then?” Jun got up and started to walk away, “That’s good. I think-”
Mao grabbed Jun’s hand so couldn’t walk away further, concern written all over her face, “Jun, what’s wrong?”
Jun jerked to a halt. Their eyes met. Then, in some weird synchronized movement, they both looked at Mao’s hand holding his.
There was ten seconds of pure, thick, and awkward silence.
“Um,” Mao began, “I… I’ll go get the board game.”
“I… I’ll wait here, you know, for you to get it.”
Pause.
“Err, want to let go of my hand now?”
Mao pulled her hand away as if she touched fire. They both laughed nervously.
“Okay, I’m going to get Monopoly now.”
“Okay.”
Another pause as they stared at each other again.
“Here I go!” Mao said, getting up and breaking their gaze. She walked to her room at an even pace, but as soon as she was out of Jun’s view she squatted on the ground and exhaled.
What. Was. That?
“Let’s hope the game is a little more uneventful,” Mao murmured hopelessly.
Mao’s wish came true. Asides from small awkward moments when their hands brushed when grabbing the dice, it was a fun game. Mao managed to buy and put hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, but Jun bought out the orange and red zones of the board which were the most often landed on spots in the game for some reason.
“That’ll be $1,000,” Jun said, offering his hand to her for the money, palm up.
“1,000? But There’s only three houses on that block!”
“You owe me though. Remember?”
Mao grumbled as she forked over two $500. They had been playing for awhile… She glanced at the watch.
“Eh? 10pm already?”
Jun followed her gaze. “Wow, that was fast,” Jun said with equal surprise.
“Ah!” Mao said suddenly.
“What? What happened?” Jun looked around to see what might’ve caused her outburst.
“I forgot to call Kimika!”
“Kimika?”
“Hug-chan’s sitter,” Mao was about to get up to go get the phone but she paused to look at Jun, she felt bad leaving him alone when she was the hostess, “Mind if I go call? It’ll only be a little while.”
“Go ahead, you don’t need my permission,” Jun responded, “I need to go call for a cab anyway.”
Mao squelched her disappointment at the idea of him leaving.
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll be in my room.”
Mao went to find her phone somewhere in her room. She dialed her sitter's number and she picked up on the second ring.
"Moshi, moshi?" The female voice asked.
"Ah, Kimika?"
"Mao!" said Kimika, enthusiastically from the other line, "Hey, I was about to call you."
"Is Hug-chan causing trouble?"
"No, no. But I was hoping perhaps I could bring Hug-chan over tomorrow morning instead? It's raining really hard and the cabs aren't driving anyone until the rain lets up."
Mao's eyes widened.
"Honto?"
"Yes. I'm really sorry, Mao. I'd bring Hug-chan right over, otherwise. I've tried everywhere and no one is willing to drive. They said it's really dangerous."
"Oh no no, it's fine. Is it really okay if Hug-chan stays with you until tomorrow? I'll pay you extra for the overnight time you have to keep Hug-chan."
"No, it's not a problem. Your dog is so sweet!"
"Arigatou, Kimika."
"No problem. Good night."
"Good night."
Mao flipped her phone shut and glanced outside through her window. She hadn't notice how hard the rain was falling. She must have been really distracted. Mao opened her door and walked outside, only to stop short at Jun's next words as he argued over the phone,
"What do you mean 'just stay where you are for the night until the rain lets up'?"
Author’s Note: There you have it! Chapter 3. I hope the long wait was worth it. >.< I really hope I don’t repeat such a long break from this story for updating again. The next chapter is going to be so fun to write, I know it! Hope everyone enjoyed. This was super fun to imagine in my head. *laughs* Also, thanks so much to misswoodihut again for agreeing with my icon request and making me my BEAUTIFUL avatars. ^_^ Ah, paradise. It was one of the inspirations to complete this chapter. I told myself I’ll put the avatar to use when I finish chapter 3. One more thing, "Fight Song" by Arashi and this chapter go really well with each other for some reason. Comments make authors happy!
~yoshi09