Arashi: A Golden Moon (3)
FANDOM: Arashi
RATING: G
PAIRING: (broken)Sakumoto, Juntoshi, (mention of)Sakuraiba
ARCHIVE: just here
WARNING: possible OOC, AU
DATE: November 12th, 2010
NOTES: I don't own Arashi. Very loosely based on Suga Shikao's 「黄金の月」(Ougon no Tsuki). Sequel to "This Year's Sakura."
Chapter Two | Chapter Four
CHAPTER THREE | Even If Someone, Somewhere, Laughs At Me
“Jun-kun.”
Aiba blinked at the man standing before him. It was barely six in the morning, and Jun looked so fresh, which struck him as plain wrong. It was a public holiday, after all. Reasonable people slept in on these days... didn’t they?
“What are you doing here?” he asked, remembering that Jun didn’t live in his town. He must have taken a really early train to be here at this time.
“Sorry. I forgot that it’s a holiday and the only ticket I could get was for the first train... is Sho in?”
Aiba wanted to tell Jun not to bother with Sho any longer - after all, the two have broken up. But one look at Jun’s face, and all of his own insecurities and jealousy went away. He didn’t deserve any of what happened to him, Aiba thought. He didn’t feel guilty - he would never regret being with Sho - but he felt sorry for Jun.
“He actually left for Tokyo today,” Aiba said, gently. “There’s a meeting with his editor, because they were doing an essay compilation - the best articles published by the magazine - and they needed to sort through his old column to choose which ones to use.”
“I see,” Jun murmured, wondering why Sho hadn’t mentioned he was going to be in town. Maybe he didn’t want to see me. “That’s great.”
“Why don’t you come in?”
“I don’t want to be a bother...”
“I think Sho would be mad if I turned you away without at least offering you a drink, right?” Aiba reached for Jun’s wrist, pulling the model in so that he could close the front door. “How’s work?”
“Not good,” Jun answered truthfully. “I’m in a slump, I guess.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Aiba looked genuinely concerned, which irked and warmed Jun at the same time. “Don’t worry about it too much, because it can get worse if you push yourself. Just take your time.” Gesturing towards the living area, he said, “sit anywhere; I’ll get you a drink.”
“You don’t really have to...” Jun started, before he was distracted by the sight before him. “Where’s your furniture?” Jun stared at the living area, which was bare in comparison to the last time he was there. There were a couple of floor cushions, and a small low table, but the sofa and old coffee table, as well as the cabinets, were gone.
“Sho brought his things when he moved in,” Aiba explained, his voice growing distant as he walked to the kitchen. Jun followed him in order to hear. “But with both of our stuff, things got really messy. The magazines from the cabinets are all in the guest room now, which we converted into a study for Sho to work in. The sofa was moved to the master bedroom, which has lots of space anyway. Some of the other stuff were put into storage.”
“And what does his parents think of all this?”
“To be honest, I’m not completely sure. It’s all very strange. When Sho told them that he’s going to move back to town and live here with me, all they did was ask could he take care of their place as well, because then they would be able to extend their vacation.”
“That’s...” Jun was at lost for words.
“I think the right word for it is ‘weird.’ Maybe they ate something funny, or something happened while they were away. I don’t know. Maybe when they come back they’ll yell at him for ruining his career and for living in sin with another man, or whatever.” Putting the kettle to boil, Aiba asked, “coffee or tea?”
“You don’t have to...” Aiba just gave him a look, causing Jun to back down. “I mean, tea, please.”
“Really? I’m more of a coffee person, myself.”
“Ah, then -”
“No, no, no. If you want tea, you shall have tea,” Aiba said magnanimously. “Thanks to Sho, we have an overabundance of that stuff anyway.”
Jun’s lips quirked in a small smile, as he remembered. “He really does love his tea.”
“Can you wait for me in the living room, please?” Aiba asked, abrupt. “I’ll bring the drinks out when they’re done.”
})i({
Even though it was the same space he had been in before, the living room looked different from how he remembered. Or perhaps it only felt different, Jun thought, as he lowered himself to sit on one of the floor cushions. He supposed that it used to look like the house Aiba grew up in. Everything in the house must have suffocated him in the memories they bring.
Now, stripped of its old furniture, somehow the way the light fell into the room have changed. It made him feel calmer, somewhat. More at peace. It was a new beginning, he supposed, for both Sho and Aiba. A fresh start, away from the memories of the past that threaten to stop them from enjoying the present.
He wondered if he was one of those memories that Sho needed to be rid of.
“Jun-kun, are you alright?”
Jun blinked a few times, and shook his head, before focusing on Aiba. He didn’t know when Aiba had appeared, but there was already a cup of tea on the table before him, along with some pastries. Aiba was nursing a large cup in his hands; coffee, Jun thought, from the smell of it.
“Sorry,” he said. “I really have been out of it, lately, I guess.”
“Is it really hard?” Aiba asked. “When you're working?”
“I guess it depends on the work. Some are harder than others. And some days I’m better at it than others.”
“No, I mean...” Aiba hesitated. “Is it hard, pretending that you’re okay, when you’re not?”
Jun picked up his tea, and looked down at it, refusing to answer. He bit his lips as he started to get just a little teary. He couldn’t help it; Aiba sounded so kind, and so genuine, and ever since Sho left the apartment everything had felt emptier, colder. But even though Aiba’s voice exuded warmth, his words felt like he was rubbing in the fact that Jun was finding it hard to let go.
“I’m not trying to be mean,” Aiba said quietly. “Really. It’s just that I think I know the feeling.”
Jun had wondered about that. He couldn’t imagine being raised in the loving kind of household that Aiba had, and having it all torn away in one moment. It made him almost glad of his own family, of how easily he fled his home, and how no matter how far he ran he would never be far away enough. However hard it was for him to pretend that things were fine at the moment, it must be worse for Aiba.
“I guess you do, at that,” he acknowledged.
“Why were you looking for Sho, anyway?”
“It’s nothing important, really. Since I don’t have work this week, and have nothing to do but prepare for more auditions and a couple of photo shoots next week, I thought I’d drop by. To see if he’s doing okay, you know.”
“He’s still getting used to living here again,” Aiba told Jun. “It was alright when he was just visiting, but now he’s starting to realise that there’s a lot that he’ll be missing. It’s good that he got a new column, though, for the literature section. All he does is write about the books he’s been reading. He enjoys it, but it doesn’t pay as much as when he did the art section. But he’s getting a teaching job here, and his editor is trying to convince him to expand his last short story into a novel...”
“Really,” Jun murmured. “That’s wonderful.”
“Isn’t it?” Aiba beamed proudly. “I think Sho-chan can really do anything he wanted to.”
“He’s good at that,” Jun agreed.
They spent the morning alternating between conversation and silence, just comfortable enough with each other’s presence. Both of them knew that if circumstances had been different, they could have been good friends.
Maybe, Jun thought, they could be good friends anyway.
He felt a slight ache in his chest as he thought that, wondering why he was making himself feel worse by coming down to see how happy Sho was to be living with Aiba. He remembered his mother, who was always gracious and friendly towards his father’s wife, on the rare occasion she visited. “To make sure my husband’s son is being raised properly,” she always said, but she never really spared a glance towards him during her visits. She was nothing like Aiba, though. She was full of barbs and subtle put-downs and by the time she left, his mother had always seemed a little more broken than before.
A loud, cheerful tune broke away his thoughts, and the silence between them.
“My phone,” Aiba said apologetically, standing up. He rushed towards the kitchen, where he had left the thing.
})i({
“Sho-chan?”
He kept his voice low, so that Jun wouldn’t hear in the other room.
“Aiba... why are you whispering?” Sho sounded relaxed, amused. Aiba smiled. The meeting must be going well. “And you sound happy. Is Nino there?”
“No, he’s helping out at Asami’s store. You know that. Jun’s here, though.”
“Jun? My Jun?”
“Yes, ‘your’ Jun, if you want to put it like that.”
“What did he want?”
“I think he’s lonely, Sho-chan.” He waited for Sho’s reply, but his statement had surprised Sho, perhaps, because the writer didn’t say anything. “I’ve always had you, and Nino, and Ohno. All of you are my family, too. But Jun? I think you’re the only family he has.”
“He never really talked about his family much,” Sho said, changing the subject a little. His voice sounded strange, and Aiba knew that the thought that he abandoned Jun still nagged at him.
“Then it’s probably not something he wants to talk about,” Aiba said. “Don’t worry about it, Sho-chan. Is your meeting going alright?”
})i({
Aiba didn’t know what happened. First he was talking happily on the phone with Sho, and then he hung up, automatically returning Sho’s “I love you”, when he remembered the last time he casually said those words.
His mother had called him up, twenty minutes after they left for Yuu-chan’s school. It was a normal conversation - she wanted to make sure that he was resting, instead of playing around with Nino, to which he indignantly reminded her that he was no longer a kid. (He was sure that his mother heard the background music of the game he was playing, anyway)
She rarely said anything truly affection over the phone, but before she had hung up, she had said, absently, “take care, I love you.”
And he, just as absently, had told her he loved her, too.
It wasn’t even half a year since it happened, and he was happy. How could he be happy when she was gone?
“Aiba?”
He didn’t look up as Jun peered into the kitchen.
“You’ve been in there for some time. Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry,” Aiba said. He turned, and tried to smile, although it came out rather wobbly and unconvincing. “I guess I was just preoccupied.” Jun ignored his words, and took a long look at his face instead. He stepped back, uncomfortable. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“It’s okay,” Jun said kindly. He felt awkward; he knew that Aiba was still a little broken, and probably always would be. He knew that he wanted to make Aiba feel better. What he didn’t know was what he was supposed to do about it. “It’s okay to be happy.” Aiba gave him a startled look, which told him that he had got it right. “Your family wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad all the time, would they?”
“I know that,” Aiba said, sounding more than a little frustrated. “I know it, but still… it’s not right. It’s not fair. There are a lot of things Yuu-chan haven’t done. There are a lot of things I haven’t been able to tell my mother, things I’ve yet to learn from my father… it’s not right, somehow, to forget that.”
“You didn’t forget them. I don’t think you’ll ever forget them. Maybe there will be moments when they’re not the foremost in your thoughts, but they’ll still be in your heart, always.”
Self-consciously - he wasn’t used to initiating contact, even with Sho - Jun went up to Aiba, and placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. It was meant to be comforting, and perhaps it was, because Aiba leaned closer, resting his head on Jun’s shoulder, turning the gesture into an embrace.
})i({
It certainly was turning into a strange day.
Jun still wondered why he couldn’t find it in himself to resent Aiba, even though he dearly wanted to. He had ended up spending the rest of the morning trying to make Aiba feel better. Aiba then told him that he was welcome to stay over, as Sho was coming back the next day. He refused; after thinking about it he didn’t know if it would be a good idea to see Sho again, and he didn’t bring a change of clothes anyway.
He left Aiba’s place by noon, and went by the ticket stall for the river cruise. He told himself that he wasn’t looking for anyone, but he was disappointed to find that it was closed for the summer. What kind of supposed tourist attraction closes during the summer, anyway?
Not knowing what to do (his ticket back to Tokyo was for the evening), Jun went to the park near the hotel he used to stay in. While the road to Aiba’s was lined with sakura trees, the park was all purples and blues from blooming hydrangeas. The sight of sakura always made him a little sad, despite their beauty - or maybe because of it. The fragile, almost exquisite beauty, the way they fade away almost as quickly as they appeared… cherry blossoms made him as uneasy as it amazed him. Jun preferred the bold colours of the summer’s hydrangeas, the way that they always seemed to represent the season to him more than anything else.
Really, if he were pressed, he wouldn’t know why the sight of the flowers pleased him. But they did, and he learned early in life not to question the little things that brought him happiness.
As he neared the park, he saw a familiar figure hunched on one of the benches. His steps felt lighter as he quickened his pace, eager to reach his destination before the figure moved elsewhere.
When he was finally in front of Ohno, the two of them looking at each other, gladness and surprise and a hint of bitterness swam together in them, the first thing that came out of his mouth was an accusing, “you’re not working at the same place anymore.”
Ohno’s lips quirked in a half-smile. “I never work at the same place for too long.”
Jun could hear a lot of other things, unspoken, in Ohno’s statement. Ohno wasn’t like Sho, he thought. He wasn’t someone Jun could grasp at, someone he could define and put in a perfectly labelled box - he was the sort of person who was always changing, and yet always the same. Always out of reach, despite never leaving his comfort zone. Elusive, he supposed. That was probably the best word for Ohno.
“Did you finally come to model for me?” Ohno asked. He could do it, he thought. It didn’t matter that nothing he worked on lately was working; if it was this person, he was sure that he could do it. After all, he hadn't been able to get his mind to stop obsessing over how to best paint Jun for the longest time.
He blinked, slowly, surprised by his own thoughts. He knew that he wanted Jun to model for him, of course. But he hadn’t realised just how much he wanted it. Now he was starting to wonder if Jun was the answer to whatever it was that was making everything he did seem so colourless.
“No, actually,” Jun said. He thought of saying yes, just because Ohno looked so disappointed, but then he remembered Toma and Shun. “Did you get a call from One Art Galleries?”
“Oh. That. It’s being handled.” If being handled meant Nino hassling and insulting the two callers over the phone on his behalf.
“I’ll only model for you if you give them a chance.”
Another slow blink, as Ohno processed Jun’s words. “No. I’ll pay for the modeling, if that’s what you’re -”
“It’s not about the money.” Jun sighed, asking himself why did everything have to be difficult with Ohno. “I don’t really care about the money. But this is important to me. I think you should give them a chance.”
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Two | Chapter Four
Marineko's Notes:
As usual, things move slooooowly. >_>
RATING: G
PAIRING: (broken)Sakumoto, Juntoshi, (mention of)Sakuraiba
ARCHIVE: just here
WARNING: possible OOC, AU
DATE: November 12th, 2010
NOTES: I don't own Arashi. Very loosely based on Suga Shikao's 「黄金の月」(Ougon no Tsuki). Sequel to "This Year's Sakura."
Chapter Two | Chapter Four
CHAPTER THREE | Even If Someone, Somewhere, Laughs At Me
“Jun-kun.”
Aiba blinked at the man standing before him. It was barely six in the morning, and Jun looked so fresh, which struck him as plain wrong. It was a public holiday, after all. Reasonable people slept in on these days... didn’t they?
“What are you doing here?” he asked, remembering that Jun didn’t live in his town. He must have taken a really early train to be here at this time.
“Sorry. I forgot that it’s a holiday and the only ticket I could get was for the first train... is Sho in?”
Aiba wanted to tell Jun not to bother with Sho any longer - after all, the two have broken up. But one look at Jun’s face, and all of his own insecurities and jealousy went away. He didn’t deserve any of what happened to him, Aiba thought. He didn’t feel guilty - he would never regret being with Sho - but he felt sorry for Jun.
“He actually left for Tokyo today,” Aiba said, gently. “There’s a meeting with his editor, because they were doing an essay compilation - the best articles published by the magazine - and they needed to sort through his old column to choose which ones to use.”
“I see,” Jun murmured, wondering why Sho hadn’t mentioned he was going to be in town. Maybe he didn’t want to see me. “That’s great.”
“Why don’t you come in?”
“I don’t want to be a bother...”
“I think Sho would be mad if I turned you away without at least offering you a drink, right?” Aiba reached for Jun’s wrist, pulling the model in so that he could close the front door. “How’s work?”
“Not good,” Jun answered truthfully. “I’m in a slump, I guess.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Aiba looked genuinely concerned, which irked and warmed Jun at the same time. “Don’t worry about it too much, because it can get worse if you push yourself. Just take your time.” Gesturing towards the living area, he said, “sit anywhere; I’ll get you a drink.”
“You don’t really have to...” Jun started, before he was distracted by the sight before him. “Where’s your furniture?” Jun stared at the living area, which was bare in comparison to the last time he was there. There were a couple of floor cushions, and a small low table, but the sofa and old coffee table, as well as the cabinets, were gone.
“Sho brought his things when he moved in,” Aiba explained, his voice growing distant as he walked to the kitchen. Jun followed him in order to hear. “But with both of our stuff, things got really messy. The magazines from the cabinets are all in the guest room now, which we converted into a study for Sho to work in. The sofa was moved to the master bedroom, which has lots of space anyway. Some of the other stuff were put into storage.”
“And what does his parents think of all this?”
“To be honest, I’m not completely sure. It’s all very strange. When Sho told them that he’s going to move back to town and live here with me, all they did was ask could he take care of their place as well, because then they would be able to extend their vacation.”
“That’s...” Jun was at lost for words.
“I think the right word for it is ‘weird.’ Maybe they ate something funny, or something happened while they were away. I don’t know. Maybe when they come back they’ll yell at him for ruining his career and for living in sin with another man, or whatever.” Putting the kettle to boil, Aiba asked, “coffee or tea?”
“You don’t have to...” Aiba just gave him a look, causing Jun to back down. “I mean, tea, please.”
“Really? I’m more of a coffee person, myself.”
“Ah, then -”
“No, no, no. If you want tea, you shall have tea,” Aiba said magnanimously. “Thanks to Sho, we have an overabundance of that stuff anyway.”
Jun’s lips quirked in a small smile, as he remembered. “He really does love his tea.”
“Can you wait for me in the living room, please?” Aiba asked, abrupt. “I’ll bring the drinks out when they’re done.”
})i({
Even though it was the same space he had been in before, the living room looked different from how he remembered. Or perhaps it only felt different, Jun thought, as he lowered himself to sit on one of the floor cushions. He supposed that it used to look like the house Aiba grew up in. Everything in the house must have suffocated him in the memories they bring.
Now, stripped of its old furniture, somehow the way the light fell into the room have changed. It made him feel calmer, somewhat. More at peace. It was a new beginning, he supposed, for both Sho and Aiba. A fresh start, away from the memories of the past that threaten to stop them from enjoying the present.
He wondered if he was one of those memories that Sho needed to be rid of.
“Jun-kun, are you alright?”
Jun blinked a few times, and shook his head, before focusing on Aiba. He didn’t know when Aiba had appeared, but there was already a cup of tea on the table before him, along with some pastries. Aiba was nursing a large cup in his hands; coffee, Jun thought, from the smell of it.
“Sorry,” he said. “I really have been out of it, lately, I guess.”
“Is it really hard?” Aiba asked. “When you're working?”
“I guess it depends on the work. Some are harder than others. And some days I’m better at it than others.”
“No, I mean...” Aiba hesitated. “Is it hard, pretending that you’re okay, when you’re not?”
Jun picked up his tea, and looked down at it, refusing to answer. He bit his lips as he started to get just a little teary. He couldn’t help it; Aiba sounded so kind, and so genuine, and ever since Sho left the apartment everything had felt emptier, colder. But even though Aiba’s voice exuded warmth, his words felt like he was rubbing in the fact that Jun was finding it hard to let go.
“I’m not trying to be mean,” Aiba said quietly. “Really. It’s just that I think I know the feeling.”
Jun had wondered about that. He couldn’t imagine being raised in the loving kind of household that Aiba had, and having it all torn away in one moment. It made him almost glad of his own family, of how easily he fled his home, and how no matter how far he ran he would never be far away enough. However hard it was for him to pretend that things were fine at the moment, it must be worse for Aiba.
“I guess you do, at that,” he acknowledged.
“Why were you looking for Sho, anyway?”
“It’s nothing important, really. Since I don’t have work this week, and have nothing to do but prepare for more auditions and a couple of photo shoots next week, I thought I’d drop by. To see if he’s doing okay, you know.”
“He’s still getting used to living here again,” Aiba told Jun. “It was alright when he was just visiting, but now he’s starting to realise that there’s a lot that he’ll be missing. It’s good that he got a new column, though, for the literature section. All he does is write about the books he’s been reading. He enjoys it, but it doesn’t pay as much as when he did the art section. But he’s getting a teaching job here, and his editor is trying to convince him to expand his last short story into a novel...”
“Really,” Jun murmured. “That’s wonderful.”
“Isn’t it?” Aiba beamed proudly. “I think Sho-chan can really do anything he wanted to.”
“He’s good at that,” Jun agreed.
They spent the morning alternating between conversation and silence, just comfortable enough with each other’s presence. Both of them knew that if circumstances had been different, they could have been good friends.
Maybe, Jun thought, they could be good friends anyway.
He felt a slight ache in his chest as he thought that, wondering why he was making himself feel worse by coming down to see how happy Sho was to be living with Aiba. He remembered his mother, who was always gracious and friendly towards his father’s wife, on the rare occasion she visited. “To make sure my husband’s son is being raised properly,” she always said, but she never really spared a glance towards him during her visits. She was nothing like Aiba, though. She was full of barbs and subtle put-downs and by the time she left, his mother had always seemed a little more broken than before.
A loud, cheerful tune broke away his thoughts, and the silence between them.
“My phone,” Aiba said apologetically, standing up. He rushed towards the kitchen, where he had left the thing.
})i({
“Sho-chan?”
He kept his voice low, so that Jun wouldn’t hear in the other room.
“Aiba... why are you whispering?” Sho sounded relaxed, amused. Aiba smiled. The meeting must be going well. “And you sound happy. Is Nino there?”
“No, he’s helping out at Asami’s store. You know that. Jun’s here, though.”
“Jun? My Jun?”
“Yes, ‘your’ Jun, if you want to put it like that.”
“What did he want?”
“I think he’s lonely, Sho-chan.” He waited for Sho’s reply, but his statement had surprised Sho, perhaps, because the writer didn’t say anything. “I’ve always had you, and Nino, and Ohno. All of you are my family, too. But Jun? I think you’re the only family he has.”
“He never really talked about his family much,” Sho said, changing the subject a little. His voice sounded strange, and Aiba knew that the thought that he abandoned Jun still nagged at him.
“Then it’s probably not something he wants to talk about,” Aiba said. “Don’t worry about it, Sho-chan. Is your meeting going alright?”
})i({
Aiba didn’t know what happened. First he was talking happily on the phone with Sho, and then he hung up, automatically returning Sho’s “I love you”, when he remembered the last time he casually said those words.
His mother had called him up, twenty minutes after they left for Yuu-chan’s school. It was a normal conversation - she wanted to make sure that he was resting, instead of playing around with Nino, to which he indignantly reminded her that he was no longer a kid. (He was sure that his mother heard the background music of the game he was playing, anyway)
She rarely said anything truly affection over the phone, but before she had hung up, she had said, absently, “take care, I love you.”
And he, just as absently, had told her he loved her, too.
It wasn’t even half a year since it happened, and he was happy. How could he be happy when she was gone?
“Aiba?”
He didn’t look up as Jun peered into the kitchen.
“You’ve been in there for some time. Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry,” Aiba said. He turned, and tried to smile, although it came out rather wobbly and unconvincing. “I guess I was just preoccupied.” Jun ignored his words, and took a long look at his face instead. He stepped back, uncomfortable. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“It’s okay,” Jun said kindly. He felt awkward; he knew that Aiba was still a little broken, and probably always would be. He knew that he wanted to make Aiba feel better. What he didn’t know was what he was supposed to do about it. “It’s okay to be happy.” Aiba gave him a startled look, which told him that he had got it right. “Your family wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad all the time, would they?”
“I know that,” Aiba said, sounding more than a little frustrated. “I know it, but still… it’s not right. It’s not fair. There are a lot of things Yuu-chan haven’t done. There are a lot of things I haven’t been able to tell my mother, things I’ve yet to learn from my father… it’s not right, somehow, to forget that.”
“You didn’t forget them. I don’t think you’ll ever forget them. Maybe there will be moments when they’re not the foremost in your thoughts, but they’ll still be in your heart, always.”
Self-consciously - he wasn’t used to initiating contact, even with Sho - Jun went up to Aiba, and placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. It was meant to be comforting, and perhaps it was, because Aiba leaned closer, resting his head on Jun’s shoulder, turning the gesture into an embrace.
})i({
It certainly was turning into a strange day.
Jun still wondered why he couldn’t find it in himself to resent Aiba, even though he dearly wanted to. He had ended up spending the rest of the morning trying to make Aiba feel better. Aiba then told him that he was welcome to stay over, as Sho was coming back the next day. He refused; after thinking about it he didn’t know if it would be a good idea to see Sho again, and he didn’t bring a change of clothes anyway.
He left Aiba’s place by noon, and went by the ticket stall for the river cruise. He told himself that he wasn’t looking for anyone, but he was disappointed to find that it was closed for the summer. What kind of supposed tourist attraction closes during the summer, anyway?
Not knowing what to do (his ticket back to Tokyo was for the evening), Jun went to the park near the hotel he used to stay in. While the road to Aiba’s was lined with sakura trees, the park was all purples and blues from blooming hydrangeas. The sight of sakura always made him a little sad, despite their beauty - or maybe because of it. The fragile, almost exquisite beauty, the way they fade away almost as quickly as they appeared… cherry blossoms made him as uneasy as it amazed him. Jun preferred the bold colours of the summer’s hydrangeas, the way that they always seemed to represent the season to him more than anything else.
Really, if he were pressed, he wouldn’t know why the sight of the flowers pleased him. But they did, and he learned early in life not to question the little things that brought him happiness.
As he neared the park, he saw a familiar figure hunched on one of the benches. His steps felt lighter as he quickened his pace, eager to reach his destination before the figure moved elsewhere.
When he was finally in front of Ohno, the two of them looking at each other, gladness and surprise and a hint of bitterness swam together in them, the first thing that came out of his mouth was an accusing, “you’re not working at the same place anymore.”
Ohno’s lips quirked in a half-smile. “I never work at the same place for too long.”
Jun could hear a lot of other things, unspoken, in Ohno’s statement. Ohno wasn’t like Sho, he thought. He wasn’t someone Jun could grasp at, someone he could define and put in a perfectly labelled box - he was the sort of person who was always changing, and yet always the same. Always out of reach, despite never leaving his comfort zone. Elusive, he supposed. That was probably the best word for Ohno.
“Did you finally come to model for me?” Ohno asked. He could do it, he thought. It didn’t matter that nothing he worked on lately was working; if it was this person, he was sure that he could do it. After all, he hadn't been able to get his mind to stop obsessing over how to best paint Jun for the longest time.
He blinked, slowly, surprised by his own thoughts. He knew that he wanted Jun to model for him, of course. But he hadn’t realised just how much he wanted it. Now he was starting to wonder if Jun was the answer to whatever it was that was making everything he did seem so colourless.
“No, actually,” Jun said. He thought of saying yes, just because Ohno looked so disappointed, but then he remembered Toma and Shun. “Did you get a call from One Art Galleries?”
“Oh. That. It’s being handled.” If being handled meant Nino hassling and insulting the two callers over the phone on his behalf.
“I’ll only model for you if you give them a chance.”
Another slow blink, as Ohno processed Jun’s words. “No. I’ll pay for the modeling, if that’s what you’re -”
“It’s not about the money.” Jun sighed, asking himself why did everything have to be difficult with Ohno. “I don’t really care about the money. But this is important to me. I think you should give them a chance.”
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Two | Chapter Four
Marineko's Notes:
As usual, things move slooooowly. >_>