rating/genre: PG, fluff, humour, AU
pairing(s): Ohmiya
words: 737
summary: Nino has a blind date.
disclaimer: fiction.
Spaghetti, Coffee and Love
The cafe is a little rundown, but the atmosphere is warm as the owner welcomes Nino with a nod from his spot behind the counter. There’s a couple in the corner comfortably quiet and eating lunch, and a young woman reading a book by the window. The sound of laughter from one of the tables outside breaks through the relaxed notes of the jazz music playing from the old CD player, squeezed next to the coffee beans on a high shelf.
Nino does a quick scan of the cafe, then sits himself down in a booth facing the entrance. He busies himself with the menu, looking up whenever the bell on the door chimes. After ten minutes of reading the menu back to front, ordering a coffee and pilfering a handful of sugar packets, he sees him.
He enters the cafe like he came in by accident; wandering in and waving gently to the owner. He’s wearing relaxed but still well-fitting jeans, a baseball cap and a leather jacket.
“Look out for a leather jacket, a pretty nice one too!” Aiba had emphasised this with great gusto, as if Nino had never seen someone in an expensive jacket before. Please, they were friends with Jun, whose modelling work only spurred on his shopping addiction.
Nino stands up from his booth and motions for the man to come over, which he does, still looking slightly lost. He observes him walking over, and realises it’s not that he’s perpetually disorientated, but that he seems to be very light on his feet. Despite the shuffling.
The man gives him an unsure smile as he reaches the booth. “Hi?”
“Hi. I’m Ninomiya.” replies Nino.
“Oh, I’m Ohno,” the man says after staring blankly for a moment. As he settles down and takes off his jacket he gives him another smile, less unsure and more relaxed, and Nino feels like his heart has been shot with an arrow. He is going to write songs about this guy.
Aiba had described his blind date as, “A little quiet, but definitely cute once you guys have warmed up to each other.” Nino feels like he didn’t need to warm up to this guy to already find him pretty damn cute.
The two of them order spaghetti and another round of coffee. It turns out that the leather jacket was a gift given to him by a friend; it seems that Ohno is taken care by other people often, whether that means receiving clothing, food, or an apartment to host his live-in art studio. Nino jabs a tomato sauce-painted fork in his direction. “Do you do it on purpose? Make people want to give you things.”
Ohno shakes his head and laughs the smallest of belly laughs. “I think I’m just lucky.” He takes a deep breath and settles back into the booth seat. “Though sometimes I do try and get what I want.” he says, fixing Nino with a look that he can only describe as artlessly seductive.
It all feels distant; the sounds of the owner emptying the dishwasher, the couple in the corner laughing at a joke, the group outside saying their goodbyes and the girl shrugging her coat on and the chime at the door ringing as she leaves. Nino feels like the universe consists of just himself, Ohno, and their spaghetti and coffee.
People are going to buy his songs, and they’re going to be million-sellers and make him set for life just from the royalties.
Nino is swiping into the television studio when Aiba runs up from behind him and hooks an arm around his shoulder. “How was the blind date?” he asks, face close and eyes intense. Nino pushes his face away with an open palm. “Good morning to you too.”
“Hooow waaas iiit?” Aiba sings, as they walk into the elevator. Nino presses the button for both the tenth floor and the fourteenth while giving him a dirty look.
“Really great. Actually not judging your taste for once,” he sniffs.
Aiba lights up. “Awesome! I knew you’d like Mii-chan, she is totally your type,” he says happily. The elevator slowly comes to a stop and announces reaching the tenth floor.
“...What?”
“Uh, Mii-chan? Miyako-chan? She’s super indoorsy, always got a book with her,” Aiba steps out into the hallway, turning back to frown at Nino.
“Right, Miyako-chan,” Nino says faintly, as the elevator doors close.
Afterword: Just in case it's not clear because it's not - apart from Ohno they work in a TV station or do work involved with the media - Jun models + does some tv work, Aiba is on variety, Nino is a sound guy who writes songs on the side hoping for a big hit, Sho (not pictured above) is a newscaster.