[Stormy Exchange 2021] The Proposal - Part 2
Title: The Proposal
Pairing(s): Matsumiya (main), Sakuraiba (side), Ohmiya (one-sided, past)
Genres: AU, romance, comedy, slight hurt/comfort, angst
Part 1
Part 2
Nino flipped through the pages of the interview folder as the plane took off. There were a lot of questions! He highly doubted that ‘real’ couples knew all these about each other. He sure didn’t know half of these things about his past partners. But on the other hand, that might’ve been the reason why they all dumped him in the end…
“Well, these are some detailed questions… Good news, I know all this about you,” he said closing the folder. “Bad news, you have four days to learn all these about me.”
“Really? Everything?” Jun asked back skeptically, taking the folder from Nino’s hand. “Hmm… What am I allergic to?”
“Pine nuts. And the whole spectrum of human emotions,” Nino replied without thinking.
“So funny…” Jun snarled back, flipping a few pages. “What’s my hobby?”
Nino held back from rolling his eyes as Jun carried on with his own little interrogation.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll change by Monday but right now, it’s your little bonsai. Before that, it was surfing. Before that photography. Before that…” Nino listed. After all he was the one who signed off all those instruction books and what not when they got delivered to the office for Jun.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Jun cut Nino off, slight pink coloring the tip of his ears. So, what if his interest was a bit diverse? It was not a crime last time he checked. To divert his attention from his embarrassed feelings, Jun flipped a few more pages in the folder.
“’Whose place are we staying at?’ Well, that’s easy. Mine…” he mumbled under his breath.
“And why is that?” Nino asked back, not even trying to hide his offended tone.
“Because I have a 3LDK apartment at Sunrise Building, in Akasaka, while you probably live in a one-room flat in Akihabara, full of games and comics and… figurines…”
Nino wasn’t sure which shocked him most. The barely covered disgust in Jun’s voice or the almost accurate description of his home.
“Whatever,” Nino grumbled turning away. His place was just fine, thank you very much. He had all the things he could need nearby and wasn’t planning on inviting Jun over anyway so, yeah, whatever…
After getting off the plane in Sapporo, for Jun’s greatest distaste, they got on the most cramped and clunky bus for another hour-long ride. By the time they arrived to Esashi’s bus station, the sky started darkening.
“Kazu! Kazu!”
Nino was torn between embarrassment and delight when he spotted his mom and grandma waiting for them, waving a huge ‘Welcome home, Kazu!’ banner. ‘As if I wouldn’t recognize them otherwise…’ he thought and quickened his steps to greet them.
“Welcome home, Kazu,” his mom said and Nino felt slightly guilty when he saw her teary eyes. He knew he should visit more often. It wasn’t fair to them. How many years it had been since the last time he came home? Probably around the time he started working for Jun…
“So, where is he?” His grandma asked with a cheeky grin. “That boy of yours?”
Jun cleared his throat loudly behind Nino who rolled his eyes in answer but stepped aside to introduce them to each other.
“My, my! Aren’t you an eye-candy?” Nino’s grandma cried out in pure delight. “Call me Asuka,” she added on a flirty tone that made Jun blush and Nino groan out loudly.
Before she could embarrass him further, Nino’s mom cut in:
“Granny, be nice! Welcome, Matsumoto-kun, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s get going, shall we?” She said smiling.
They loaded into the Ninomiya family’s old truck and after a while Jun noticed that they were about to leave the town.
“Ehm… I thought we were going to the hotel,” Jun said cautiously.
“Oh, we cancelled your reservation. Family can’t stay in a hotel. You’ll stay with us at home!” Nino’s mom said as it if was the most natural thing to do. It probably was normal in a tight-knit families but Jun couldn’t imagine himself to be included in one.
“Oh… How generous of you. Thank you,” he said politely.
Nino had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep in the laughter that threatened to burst out. Seeing Jun so out of his element almost made it worth going through this hell.
Nino’s fun turned out to be pre-mature, though.
“Mom? What’s this?” He asked when they got out of the car.
The big, traditional Japanese-style house where Nino grew up was completely lit up. Several people were milling around in the front garden. Noises of music and even more people came from inside the house.
“This? Just a little welcome home surprise. It has been such a long time after all. A lot of people missed you, you know!” She said and Nino groaned loudly again. This was one of the reasons why he didn’t visit his family a lot. Not having any free time was another one…
Nino looked over to Jun who seemed to share his feelings about this surprise get-together. Nino hoped to lay low until the actual birthday party but as usual, his mom had plans of her own.
“You forgot to mention you own this town…” Jun whispered to him.
“I do not,” Nino denied. “Granny’s family owned lands here since forever, though… Anyway, let’s get this show on the road! It’s not like they’ll just disappear if we keep standing in the cold,” he grumbled and headed inside, Jun close on his heels.
They could barely enter the house because with every step, someone stopped them to greet them, saying how much they missed Nino.
“Look at that, what the cat brought in…” Someone commented behind their back.
“Hello, sis. I missed you too…” Nino said turning around. One more reason he wasn’t in a hurry to visit more often. He liked his sister, they were family after all but the less time they spent in close range of each other, was the better, according to Nino.
“And you must be Jun-chan,” she ignored Nino’s snarky tone and turned her attention to Jun. “I’m Kaori, Kazu’s sister.”
“Matsumoto. Nice to meet you…” Jun answered rather stiffly. He really didn’t appreciate when people behaved all familiar upon the first meeting.
“So, tell us, Jun-chan, what does a concert director do exactly? Well, except of ordering around and bullying other people, obviously…” She asked with barely concealed malice in her tone.
The people around them laughed out, taking her words for a joke. Not Nino though…
“Would you excuse us for a minute?” He asked, grabbing his sister’s arm, dragging her to the other room. “Couldn’t you wait like ten minutes before pulling this crap, could you?” Nino hissed at her angrily.
“What did you expect? We listened to you complain about that man for three years and now you bring him here for Granny’s birthday?!” She snapped back. “I never thought you’d sink so low… Sleeping with your boss…” she added with obvious disgust.
Nino felt his face flush with anger and embarrassment. Not only that wasn’t true, but it was also deeply offending. For both him and Jun as well.
“Just so you know, he’s one of the most well-known and respected concert directors in the country, if not East-Asia. And you better get used to seeing him ‘cause that’s your future brother-in-law!” Nino spouted the words in her face.
“What?” She asked back, eyes wide in shock.
“You heard me. He’s my fiancé. We’re getting married,” Nino spelled it out for her. “Nice talking to you as always…” he said before leaving behind his still gaping sister.
Just to bump straight into Jun at the doorway.
“That was the way you wanted to announce your engagement?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, shut it!” Nino grumbled, not ready to hear another lecture from his boss too. “You wanted me to tell them, so there you go. Quit complaining about everything!” He said stepping aside Jun. He needed a drink, quickly.
“So… I heard congratulations are in order…”
Nino jumped startled. Why did people enjoy doing this to him? He turned around quickly.
“Oh-chan! I had no idea you were here too…” he said, hugging the man in a bit of a daze.
“Your mom wanted to surprise you,” Ohno chuckled.
Jun cleared his throat uncomfortably beside them which reminded Nino to let go of Ohno hurriedly.
“J! This is Oh-chan, we went to school together,” he introduced them quickly.
“Nice to meet you…” Jun shook Ohno’s hand, his glance jumping between Nino and this ‘Oh-chan’. He had a feeling there was more than simple school-boy friendship, and it caused a weird feeling stirring in his chest. But why was that? Nino and he had a simple business deal, nothing more. Right?
“So, am I late?” Ohno asked curiously.
“Late for what?” Nino asked back confused.
“For the story, of course! Of your proposal,” he said as if that was the most obvious thing. “Did you tell that already?”
“Oh! That!” Nino said, a devious smirk forming on his lips slowly. “No, not yet. You’re just in time actually. J here was just about to tell. His big moment! Am I right, darling?” Nino said loudly.
Before Jun could protest, people around him started insisting on hearing the story so Nino stirred him to the middle of the room for everyone to see. It was petty revenge on his side probably, but he did enjoy seeing Jun squirming uncomfortably under the attention of all these people, trying to come up with a story of a grand proposal. Something grander than Nino forcing him on his knees in front of the immigration office… Nino’s only help was throwing in snarky comments randomly, making Jun trip over his words, but luckily the audience didn’t seem to mind much because in the end Jun still managed to paint a romantic scene that involved a high-class hotel, hundreds of roses and pictures of the two of them posted on every wall…
Nino never considered himself a romantic soul, yet he couldn’t help but feel moved by the scene Jun painted for them. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, least of all to Jun…
“Kiss! Let’s see a kiss!” someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
It was Nino’s turn to try and fail in protesting. His grandma ‘gently’ pushed him off the armrest of the couch where he sat, straight into Jun’s arms. For some reason, feeling Jun’s arms around his waist made Nino’s cheeks heat up.
“Come on, just kiss me so we can get over it!” Nino mumbled to Jun who seemed equally reluctant, but in the end pressed a quick peck to Nino’s lips just to ‘get over it’ as Nino told him to.
“That’s not a kiss!” Nino’s grandma complained. “Kiss properly!” she ordered them.
“Let’s just do it, so we can get out of here!” Jun hissed at Nino this time.
‘Don’t give me orders here!’ Nino wanted to say but instead he grabbed Jun’s collar, pulling him down for a kiss.
It might’ve been the surprise. Or the heightened emotions. Nino tried to reason later the fireworks that burst behind his closed eyelids the moment their lips collided. The way Jun’s lips caressed his softly… He pulled back, eyes fluttering open slowly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the cat-calls and awing from the people around them but for some reason, he was unable to tear his eyes from Jun’s. How did he not notice before that Jun had the prettiest eyes… ‘What are you thinking, Ninomiya Kazunari?!’ he thought and took a quick step away from Jun before he did something utterly stupid.
Like leaning in for another kiss…
“And this will be your room…” Nino’s mom said opening the door at the end of the short house-tour.
The guests of the surprise party left an hour or so ago and now they could finally get some rest after an awfully long and event-full day. Jun looked around the room curiously, taking in the pair of armchairs with a small table, the closet and the bed. The one and only bed.
“And where will be Kazunari’s room?”
A question this innocent coming from a grown man’s mouth almost made Nino burst out laughing. Jun really didn’t do much of a good job on pretending to be a couple, did he?
Nino’s mom and grandma were less considerate with their reaction; both of them started giggling at the question like schoolgirls.
“Oh, we don’t have any illusions. As if the two of you not sharing a bed back in Tokyo…” Nino’s mom waved her hand laughing and Jun felt his cheeks flush. “Anyway, we’ll leave you to rest now. Good night!”
“Our rooms are on the other side of the house so feel yourself at home! Good night!” Nino’s grandma chirped, throwing a wink at the young couple before leaving.
“I’m not sharing this bed with you!” Jun said the moment the door was closed.
“As if I want to…” Nino mumbled, stepping to the closet, dragging out the spare futon and spreading it on the other side of the room, as far from the bed as possible.
Upon seeing Nino prepare a separate sleeping place for himself, Jun was relieved. He grabbed his sleeping stuff from his suitcase and fled to the adjoined bathroom to prepare for bed and more importantly, to get a hold of his feelings that were swirling around confused ever since he and Nino kissed.
Why did he get so worked up?! There was no reason to lose his cool right? It was only a kiss. A necessary prop to this marriage charade. Still, it was only a business deal first and foremost! The fact that Nino was not an ugly fellow - actually he was exactly Jun’s type, though he would never admit it to anyone, - was completely irrelevant. Either way, there was no reason for them to share the bed. Or any more kisses. Neither now, nor later! With that thought in mind, Jun poked his head out from the bathroom.
“Are you asleep?” He asked.
The room was darkened already except from the light on the bedside table.
“Yeah,” Nino replied obviously awake, rolling his eyes.
“Close your eyes!” Jun ordered, but his tone was unusually insecure.
“Closed,” Nino said on a bored tone and kept staring at the ceiling. ‘What was he fussing about?’ he thought, just the moment Jun made a dash for the bed. But he wasn’t fast enough for Nino to not see his pajamas. “Oh, my! I didn’t think anything about you could still surprise me! So that’s why you were so desperate to get the Storm project! You’re a fan!” Nino cried out as he caught a glimpse of the Storm concert T-shirt Jun was wearing.
“Shut up! You were not supposed to see this as I should have had a room of my own in the hotel!” Jun retorted, embarrassed that Nino discovered one more secret of his. “Good night!” He said with as much dignity he could muster up at the moment and clicked off the light.
But Nino’s chuckle haunted him in the darkness even minutes later…
For Nino, it felt like he slept for minutes only when the loud ringing of Jun’s phone jerked him awake.
“You must be kidding me!” He moaned pressing his face into the pillow, trying to ignore the irritating noise.
“Huh?” Jun sat up on the bed, still half asleep. “Phone… phone…” he mumbled, searching around the bed for the said object.
“Bag. Front pocket,” Nino grumbled out. “Answer it finally, would you?”
Jun found his phone thanks to Nino’s guidance.
“Hello?... Hello?... I can’t hear you!” Jun was practically screaming in the phone.
“Damn it, Jun!” Nino yelled at him, flinging his pillow in the general direction of Jun’s voice.
Jun seemed to finally get the message as the pillow landed at his feet.
“Wait, wait! I’ll look for a place with better reception!” Jun whispered-shouted to the caller, still too loud for Nino’s taste but thankfully the door was soon closed behind him.
With the disturbance leaving the room, Nino sighed happily and let himself doze off again…
When Nino woke up some time later, Jun was still absent from the room.
“Where did that guy go?” He groaned but pushed himself off the futon and grabbing a hoodie, and he went to search for his ‘fiancé’.
“What is he doing?” the question escaped him before he could stop himself as he joined his mother and grandma at the window, watching as Jun ran around in the garden, waving his arms - his phone, more precisely, trying to get reception, probably.
“I would’ve never expected this boy of yours to be this funny!” His grandma commented giggling.
“That makes two of us…” Nino mumbled barely audible, a soft smile appearing on his lips. If he wanted to be honest, he found this new side of Jun rather charming. A lot more likable than his usual self.
“Come on, collect your boyfriend, would you? We have a whole day planned for him,” his mom said with a wide smile. “You’re welcome to join us too!”
“I’ll pass, thank you. I planned on getting nostalgic with my old games,” Nino declined firmly but headed out to grab Jun as he was told to.
“Good morning, fiancé!” he called Jun as he approached him, hands tucked firmly in the pocket of his hoodie.
“Ah, Nino, there you are!” Jun turned toward him quickly, breathless, cheeks pink from the cold and exertion. It was a very pretty sight. “The reception here is horrible,” he informed him.
Nino snorted out a laughter.
“What did you expect? You can use the landline later.”
“Later is no good. I have to make tons of calls. I need to check my mails too,” Jun protested.
“There’s an internet café in the town, you can check your mails there. But as I said, it will have to wait. The girls have the whole day planned for you. Consider this as your engagement vacation. Go with them sightseeing, shopping or whatever. Work can wait,” Nino said pointing at the house behind him. “Now, boyfriend, before they think we’re fighting…” he said with a cheeky grin. Nino curled his fingers onto Jun’s coat lapel then tiptoed and pressed a quick, rather chaste kiss on Jun’s cheek. “Come on, let’s get going!” He chirped and headed back to the house and for some reason he felt quite proud to be able to kiss Jus once more…
“Mom told me you wanted to talk to me,” Nino said as he approached his sister who was tending to the vegetables behind the house.
“Did she?” Kaori asked back. “More like she wanted me to apologize to you. According to her, I was rude to you and Jun-chan yesterday. So, I’m sorry.”
Nino was surprised to hear this, but he wasn’t one look the gift horse in the mouth.
“Apology accepted. Thank you,” he said honestly, reaching for one of the tools on the ground to help her.
“But you know!” She said suddenly after working silently for a few minutes. “I just still don’t get it! How can you do this? I know you’re a lazy bastard, you ran away from your family just because working on the fields is hard, but sleeping with your boss on top of everything? I never thought you’d be so much after that good for nothing father of ours…”
“I’m not like him! You know nothing about Jun, or me, or our relationship, so just back the hell off!” Nino snapped at her, throwing the garden scissor from his hand. “You know what, apology not accepted!” He added before stomping off. He should’ve just stuck with his games as he planned, he thought fuming…
In any other case, Jun would’ve enjoyed a day full of sightseeing, playing tourist and shopping, but today was an exception for a lot of reasons. First, there was nothing much to see at such a tiny town as this was. Secondly, the company made him feel quite on the edge. They were weird. Fussing over him as he was Nino’s fiancé... Well, okay, theoretically he was that but it’s not like they should establish a relationship too, nor did he and Nino planned on a happily ever after. It felt like the theme of the whole day was ‘welcome to the family’ and it freaked the hell out of Jun…
Under the excuse of having to use the toilette, he escaped through the back door of the restaurant where they were having lunch. He was not planning an actual escape, he was more well-mannered than that, but he sure needed a breather before he said or did something he would regret later on.
“They can be a lot to handle sometimes but they’re nice people…”
“Ah, Ohno-san…” Jun turned to the other man who seemed to have the same idea as he did. He thought he spotted him earlier in the restaurant but he didn’t have the chance to approach him for a chat. Though he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to or not. But now he couldn’t avoid talking to him. “Yeah, they’re nice,” he agreed.
“But of course you knew that already. Being engaged to Nino and all,” Ohno added with a small chuckle.
He shouldn’t ask, really, Jun knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. Not after he saw the two of them together the day before. Nino’s face the moment he saw Ohno was…
“Ehm… Ohno-san, did you and Nino…?” Jun trailed off, suddenly unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“Did we date?” Ohno asked back with a soft but sad smile. “No, he never looked at me that way. I asked him out but he said he was leaving this town, which I’ve never wanted to do so… This place was always too small for his ambitions, so I wasn’t surprised. It would’ve been a waste if he stayed here,” Ohno seemed to rather think aloud than talking to Jun. Which Jun was kind of grateful because he had no idea what to reply if Ohno expected some kind of reaction from him. After all, he couldn’t admit that everything Ohno said revealed a whole new side of Nino that he didn’t know until now.
“Though, that time when his father…” Ohno continued his aloud musings.
“What about his father?” The question escaped Jun before he could stop himself. He did notice that Nino’s dad was missing and no one seemed to even mention him. It got him curious.
“Oh, there you are, Jun-chan!” Nino’s grandma appeared next to them suddenly before Ohno had the chance or will to answer Jun’s question. “Come on, the night is still young!” she said cheerfully. “You come too, Satoshi-kun!”
By the time Jun came back home, he wanted nothing but a hot shower and sleep. It was exhausting to keep up the image of a fiancé in love when everything during the day only reminded him how he knew nothing about Nino.
As Jun got out of the shower, he realized he only had a small towel with him that was barely enough to cover his private parts. He cursed at his carelessness but in the end he decided that it was safe to leave the bathroom. The room must be empty since Nino was nowhere to be seen since they returned…
“I see you’re feeling at home…”
Later Jun would totally deny that he’d shrieked when he heard Nino’s voice. He did rush to the bed though - almost losing his towel in the process - grabbing the quilt from there to cover himself from Nino’s view.
“What are you doing here?” He yelled at Nino, his face burning with embarrassment.
“I planned on going to sleep, what do you think?” Nino retorted, leaving his spot near the doorway where he stood slightly frozen since he spotted Jun emerging from the bathroom almost nude. He tried to act cool but that was quite some body his boss was hiding under those pricey, designer clothes he loved to wear. Was he to be blamed if he was shocked?!
“Did you not heard of ‘knocking’?” Jun asked, pressing the blanket closer to his body. What was he freaking out for now? He considered himself more mature than this. Seeing Nino being so calm about the situation only made Jun feel more embarrassed about his own reaction.
“This is my room too. And in case you’ve forgotten… We’re engaged,” Nino threw a meaningful look to Jun before heading to the bathroom.
“Fine, fine! Whatever! Go shower or something, just get out of here!”
The only answer Jun got was the door shutting behind Nino.
By the time Nino finished bathing, Jun was in bed already, but he kept the light on the bedside table on for him. Nino was surprised to see that Jun even prepared his futon for him. He couldn’t hold back the soft smile that appeared on his lips. ‘You do have a soft side, don’t you?’ he thought fondly as he settled down to sleep.
“So…” Jun spoke up suddenly just when Nino was about to ask him to turn off the light. “What happened to your dad?”
In an instant, Nino felt all the happy feelings drained from him like any time that man was mentioned.
“Oh, I’m sorry, that question is not in the folder,” he said snappily, though it probably was there. Maybe not like this but people about to get married usually know about each other’s family situation, don’t they? But not even the upcoming interview or the threat of a prison sentence was enough for Nino to willingly dive into that topic.
Heavy silence settled on the room for a while and Nino started to feel guilty for snapping at Jun. It wasn’t his fault, after all. He had the right to ask and Nino himself should stop being so damn sensitive about it too.
“My parents died when I was sixteen. Car crash. Not long after they’ve sent me to Japan for high school. They were second generation Asian-Americans so we had no relatives here, but they thought it was important that I got to know my Japanese heritage. Obviously, they thought the best way for that was sending me to school here for three years on my own. And if I learned to look after myself in the process then…Well, two birds with one stone I guess…” Jun wasn’t sure why he was telling Nino this now. He didn’t want his pity, for sure. But maybe he wanted him to see that he wasn’t the only one with a messed up family background.
“Why didn’t you go back?” Nino asked. For some reason, he didn’t like the thought. If Jun would’ve returned to America, they would’ve never met probably. It caused a heavy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach but he tried to ignore it, because it acknowledging would mean… ‘No! No! It would mean nothing!’ he thought fiercely.
“I had no remaining family there either and it seemed more troublesome. With school and everything… Also, I actually quite liked it here, so I stayed,” Jun said with a little chuckle. His teenage-self thought staying in a foreign country meant he could immerse himself in an adventure instead of facing the cruel reality of being left alone in the world.
Nino felt sorry for Jun. There was such deep sadness in his voice despite pretending not to care about his past that it broke Nino’s heart, and he wanted to comfort him somehow. He knew better than to voice these feelings of his though. Jun was a prideful man and they weren’t even friends, so, on what basis would Nino even speak up?
“When I was a kid my father left us and this town for another woman. He took all the family savings with him too. As it turned out, he rather took his inheritance in money than in farm lands… I can understand the lack of appeal in farm life but I hope that’s the only trait I share with that man…” Nino said after being silent for a while, trying to find enough courage to speak about his own issues. “Mom took it really hard. People talk in such a small town like this, you know. But I think we were lucky that Granny actually liked mom more than she liked her own son, so we weren’t driven out from here after he left us. Granny must’ve always known how my father was so it wasn’t much of a surprise for her than it was for everyone else. Anyway, that’s it. The shameful past of the Ninomiya family!” Nino tried to joke with the story but even after all these years, anger and bitter pain burned his chest just from thinking about his father.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jun said gently.
“Of course not! I was awesome even as a kid!” Nino said bragging, not knowing any other way to handle Jun’s sudden kindness.
Jun snorted at that comment.
“I’d bet all my money that you were a brat.”
“I still am. According to my sister,” Nino said flatly, yet his comment made both of them burst out laughing…
Part 3
Pairing(s): Matsumiya (main), Sakuraiba (side), Ohmiya (one-sided, past)
Genres: AU, romance, comedy, slight hurt/comfort, angst
Part 1
Part 2
Nino flipped through the pages of the interview folder as the plane took off. There were a lot of questions! He highly doubted that ‘real’ couples knew all these about each other. He sure didn’t know half of these things about his past partners. But on the other hand, that might’ve been the reason why they all dumped him in the end…
“Well, these are some detailed questions… Good news, I know all this about you,” he said closing the folder. “Bad news, you have four days to learn all these about me.”
“Really? Everything?” Jun asked back skeptically, taking the folder from Nino’s hand. “Hmm… What am I allergic to?”
“Pine nuts. And the whole spectrum of human emotions,” Nino replied without thinking.
“So funny…” Jun snarled back, flipping a few pages. “What’s my hobby?”
Nino held back from rolling his eyes as Jun carried on with his own little interrogation.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll change by Monday but right now, it’s your little bonsai. Before that, it was surfing. Before that photography. Before that…” Nino listed. After all he was the one who signed off all those instruction books and what not when they got delivered to the office for Jun.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Jun cut Nino off, slight pink coloring the tip of his ears. So, what if his interest was a bit diverse? It was not a crime last time he checked. To divert his attention from his embarrassed feelings, Jun flipped a few more pages in the folder.
“’Whose place are we staying at?’ Well, that’s easy. Mine…” he mumbled under his breath.
“And why is that?” Nino asked back, not even trying to hide his offended tone.
“Because I have a 3LDK apartment at Sunrise Building, in Akasaka, while you probably live in a one-room flat in Akihabara, full of games and comics and… figurines…”
Nino wasn’t sure which shocked him most. The barely covered disgust in Jun’s voice or the almost accurate description of his home.
“Whatever,” Nino grumbled turning away. His place was just fine, thank you very much. He had all the things he could need nearby and wasn’t planning on inviting Jun over anyway so, yeah, whatever…
After getting off the plane in Sapporo, for Jun’s greatest distaste, they got on the most cramped and clunky bus for another hour-long ride. By the time they arrived to Esashi’s bus station, the sky started darkening.
“Kazu! Kazu!”
Nino was torn between embarrassment and delight when he spotted his mom and grandma waiting for them, waving a huge ‘Welcome home, Kazu!’ banner. ‘As if I wouldn’t recognize them otherwise…’ he thought and quickened his steps to greet them.
“Welcome home, Kazu,” his mom said and Nino felt slightly guilty when he saw her teary eyes. He knew he should visit more often. It wasn’t fair to them. How many years it had been since the last time he came home? Probably around the time he started working for Jun…
“So, where is he?” His grandma asked with a cheeky grin. “That boy of yours?”
Jun cleared his throat loudly behind Nino who rolled his eyes in answer but stepped aside to introduce them to each other.
“My, my! Aren’t you an eye-candy?” Nino’s grandma cried out in pure delight. “Call me Asuka,” she added on a flirty tone that made Jun blush and Nino groan out loudly.
Before she could embarrass him further, Nino’s mom cut in:
“Granny, be nice! Welcome, Matsumoto-kun, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s get going, shall we?” She said smiling.
They loaded into the Ninomiya family’s old truck and after a while Jun noticed that they were about to leave the town.
“Ehm… I thought we were going to the hotel,” Jun said cautiously.
“Oh, we cancelled your reservation. Family can’t stay in a hotel. You’ll stay with us at home!” Nino’s mom said as it if was the most natural thing to do. It probably was normal in a tight-knit families but Jun couldn’t imagine himself to be included in one.
“Oh… How generous of you. Thank you,” he said politely.
Nino had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep in the laughter that threatened to burst out. Seeing Jun so out of his element almost made it worth going through this hell.
Nino’s fun turned out to be pre-mature, though.
“Mom? What’s this?” He asked when they got out of the car.
The big, traditional Japanese-style house where Nino grew up was completely lit up. Several people were milling around in the front garden. Noises of music and even more people came from inside the house.
“This? Just a little welcome home surprise. It has been such a long time after all. A lot of people missed you, you know!” She said and Nino groaned loudly again. This was one of the reasons why he didn’t visit his family a lot. Not having any free time was another one…
Nino looked over to Jun who seemed to share his feelings about this surprise get-together. Nino hoped to lay low until the actual birthday party but as usual, his mom had plans of her own.
“You forgot to mention you own this town…” Jun whispered to him.
“I do not,” Nino denied. “Granny’s family owned lands here since forever, though… Anyway, let’s get this show on the road! It’s not like they’ll just disappear if we keep standing in the cold,” he grumbled and headed inside, Jun close on his heels.
They could barely enter the house because with every step, someone stopped them to greet them, saying how much they missed Nino.
“Look at that, what the cat brought in…” Someone commented behind their back.
“Hello, sis. I missed you too…” Nino said turning around. One more reason he wasn’t in a hurry to visit more often. He liked his sister, they were family after all but the less time they spent in close range of each other, was the better, according to Nino.
“And you must be Jun-chan,” she ignored Nino’s snarky tone and turned her attention to Jun. “I’m Kaori, Kazu’s sister.”
“Matsumoto. Nice to meet you…” Jun answered rather stiffly. He really didn’t appreciate when people behaved all familiar upon the first meeting.
“So, tell us, Jun-chan, what does a concert director do exactly? Well, except of ordering around and bullying other people, obviously…” She asked with barely concealed malice in her tone.
The people around them laughed out, taking her words for a joke. Not Nino though…
“Would you excuse us for a minute?” He asked, grabbing his sister’s arm, dragging her to the other room. “Couldn’t you wait like ten minutes before pulling this crap, could you?” Nino hissed at her angrily.
“What did you expect? We listened to you complain about that man for three years and now you bring him here for Granny’s birthday?!” She snapped back. “I never thought you’d sink so low… Sleeping with your boss…” she added with obvious disgust.
Nino felt his face flush with anger and embarrassment. Not only that wasn’t true, but it was also deeply offending. For both him and Jun as well.
“Just so you know, he’s one of the most well-known and respected concert directors in the country, if not East-Asia. And you better get used to seeing him ‘cause that’s your future brother-in-law!” Nino spouted the words in her face.
“What?” She asked back, eyes wide in shock.
“You heard me. He’s my fiancé. We’re getting married,” Nino spelled it out for her. “Nice talking to you as always…” he said before leaving behind his still gaping sister.
Just to bump straight into Jun at the doorway.
“That was the way you wanted to announce your engagement?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, shut it!” Nino grumbled, not ready to hear another lecture from his boss too. “You wanted me to tell them, so there you go. Quit complaining about everything!” He said stepping aside Jun. He needed a drink, quickly.
“So… I heard congratulations are in order…”
Nino jumped startled. Why did people enjoy doing this to him? He turned around quickly.
“Oh-chan! I had no idea you were here too…” he said, hugging the man in a bit of a daze.
“Your mom wanted to surprise you,” Ohno chuckled.
Jun cleared his throat uncomfortably beside them which reminded Nino to let go of Ohno hurriedly.
“J! This is Oh-chan, we went to school together,” he introduced them quickly.
“Nice to meet you…” Jun shook Ohno’s hand, his glance jumping between Nino and this ‘Oh-chan’. He had a feeling there was more than simple school-boy friendship, and it caused a weird feeling stirring in his chest. But why was that? Nino and he had a simple business deal, nothing more. Right?
“So, am I late?” Ohno asked curiously.
“Late for what?” Nino asked back confused.
“For the story, of course! Of your proposal,” he said as if that was the most obvious thing. “Did you tell that already?”
“Oh! That!” Nino said, a devious smirk forming on his lips slowly. “No, not yet. You’re just in time actually. J here was just about to tell. His big moment! Am I right, darling?” Nino said loudly.
Before Jun could protest, people around him started insisting on hearing the story so Nino stirred him to the middle of the room for everyone to see. It was petty revenge on his side probably, but he did enjoy seeing Jun squirming uncomfortably under the attention of all these people, trying to come up with a story of a grand proposal. Something grander than Nino forcing him on his knees in front of the immigration office… Nino’s only help was throwing in snarky comments randomly, making Jun trip over his words, but luckily the audience didn’t seem to mind much because in the end Jun still managed to paint a romantic scene that involved a high-class hotel, hundreds of roses and pictures of the two of them posted on every wall…
Nino never considered himself a romantic soul, yet he couldn’t help but feel moved by the scene Jun painted for them. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, least of all to Jun…
“Kiss! Let’s see a kiss!” someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
It was Nino’s turn to try and fail in protesting. His grandma ‘gently’ pushed him off the armrest of the couch where he sat, straight into Jun’s arms. For some reason, feeling Jun’s arms around his waist made Nino’s cheeks heat up.
“Come on, just kiss me so we can get over it!” Nino mumbled to Jun who seemed equally reluctant, but in the end pressed a quick peck to Nino’s lips just to ‘get over it’ as Nino told him to.
“That’s not a kiss!” Nino’s grandma complained. “Kiss properly!” she ordered them.
“Let’s just do it, so we can get out of here!” Jun hissed at Nino this time.
‘Don’t give me orders here!’ Nino wanted to say but instead he grabbed Jun’s collar, pulling him down for a kiss.
It might’ve been the surprise. Or the heightened emotions. Nino tried to reason later the fireworks that burst behind his closed eyelids the moment their lips collided. The way Jun’s lips caressed his softly… He pulled back, eyes fluttering open slowly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the cat-calls and awing from the people around them but for some reason, he was unable to tear his eyes from Jun’s. How did he not notice before that Jun had the prettiest eyes… ‘What are you thinking, Ninomiya Kazunari?!’ he thought and took a quick step away from Jun before he did something utterly stupid.
Like leaning in for another kiss…
“And this will be your room…” Nino’s mom said opening the door at the end of the short house-tour.
The guests of the surprise party left an hour or so ago and now they could finally get some rest after an awfully long and event-full day. Jun looked around the room curiously, taking in the pair of armchairs with a small table, the closet and the bed. The one and only bed.
“And where will be Kazunari’s room?”
A question this innocent coming from a grown man’s mouth almost made Nino burst out laughing. Jun really didn’t do much of a good job on pretending to be a couple, did he?
Nino’s mom and grandma were less considerate with their reaction; both of them started giggling at the question like schoolgirls.
“Oh, we don’t have any illusions. As if the two of you not sharing a bed back in Tokyo…” Nino’s mom waved her hand laughing and Jun felt his cheeks flush. “Anyway, we’ll leave you to rest now. Good night!”
“Our rooms are on the other side of the house so feel yourself at home! Good night!” Nino’s grandma chirped, throwing a wink at the young couple before leaving.
“I’m not sharing this bed with you!” Jun said the moment the door was closed.
“As if I want to…” Nino mumbled, stepping to the closet, dragging out the spare futon and spreading it on the other side of the room, as far from the bed as possible.
Upon seeing Nino prepare a separate sleeping place for himself, Jun was relieved. He grabbed his sleeping stuff from his suitcase and fled to the adjoined bathroom to prepare for bed and more importantly, to get a hold of his feelings that were swirling around confused ever since he and Nino kissed.
Why did he get so worked up?! There was no reason to lose his cool right? It was only a kiss. A necessary prop to this marriage charade. Still, it was only a business deal first and foremost! The fact that Nino was not an ugly fellow - actually he was exactly Jun’s type, though he would never admit it to anyone, - was completely irrelevant. Either way, there was no reason for them to share the bed. Or any more kisses. Neither now, nor later! With that thought in mind, Jun poked his head out from the bathroom.
“Are you asleep?” He asked.
The room was darkened already except from the light on the bedside table.
“Yeah,” Nino replied obviously awake, rolling his eyes.
“Close your eyes!” Jun ordered, but his tone was unusually insecure.
“Closed,” Nino said on a bored tone and kept staring at the ceiling. ‘What was he fussing about?’ he thought, just the moment Jun made a dash for the bed. But he wasn’t fast enough for Nino to not see his pajamas. “Oh, my! I didn’t think anything about you could still surprise me! So that’s why you were so desperate to get the Storm project! You’re a fan!” Nino cried out as he caught a glimpse of the Storm concert T-shirt Jun was wearing.
“Shut up! You were not supposed to see this as I should have had a room of my own in the hotel!” Jun retorted, embarrassed that Nino discovered one more secret of his. “Good night!” He said with as much dignity he could muster up at the moment and clicked off the light.
But Nino’s chuckle haunted him in the darkness even minutes later…
For Nino, it felt like he slept for minutes only when the loud ringing of Jun’s phone jerked him awake.
“You must be kidding me!” He moaned pressing his face into the pillow, trying to ignore the irritating noise.
“Huh?” Jun sat up on the bed, still half asleep. “Phone… phone…” he mumbled, searching around the bed for the said object.
“Bag. Front pocket,” Nino grumbled out. “Answer it finally, would you?”
Jun found his phone thanks to Nino’s guidance.
“Hello?... Hello?... I can’t hear you!” Jun was practically screaming in the phone.
“Damn it, Jun!” Nino yelled at him, flinging his pillow in the general direction of Jun’s voice.
Jun seemed to finally get the message as the pillow landed at his feet.
“Wait, wait! I’ll look for a place with better reception!” Jun whispered-shouted to the caller, still too loud for Nino’s taste but thankfully the door was soon closed behind him.
With the disturbance leaving the room, Nino sighed happily and let himself doze off again…
When Nino woke up some time later, Jun was still absent from the room.
“Where did that guy go?” He groaned but pushed himself off the futon and grabbing a hoodie, and he went to search for his ‘fiancé’.
“What is he doing?” the question escaped him before he could stop himself as he joined his mother and grandma at the window, watching as Jun ran around in the garden, waving his arms - his phone, more precisely, trying to get reception, probably.
“I would’ve never expected this boy of yours to be this funny!” His grandma commented giggling.
“That makes two of us…” Nino mumbled barely audible, a soft smile appearing on his lips. If he wanted to be honest, he found this new side of Jun rather charming. A lot more likable than his usual self.
“Come on, collect your boyfriend, would you? We have a whole day planned for him,” his mom said with a wide smile. “You’re welcome to join us too!”
“I’ll pass, thank you. I planned on getting nostalgic with my old games,” Nino declined firmly but headed out to grab Jun as he was told to.
“Good morning, fiancé!” he called Jun as he approached him, hands tucked firmly in the pocket of his hoodie.
“Ah, Nino, there you are!” Jun turned toward him quickly, breathless, cheeks pink from the cold and exertion. It was a very pretty sight. “The reception here is horrible,” he informed him.
Nino snorted out a laughter.
“What did you expect? You can use the landline later.”
“Later is no good. I have to make tons of calls. I need to check my mails too,” Jun protested.
“There’s an internet café in the town, you can check your mails there. But as I said, it will have to wait. The girls have the whole day planned for you. Consider this as your engagement vacation. Go with them sightseeing, shopping or whatever. Work can wait,” Nino said pointing at the house behind him. “Now, boyfriend, before they think we’re fighting…” he said with a cheeky grin. Nino curled his fingers onto Jun’s coat lapel then tiptoed and pressed a quick, rather chaste kiss on Jun’s cheek. “Come on, let’s get going!” He chirped and headed back to the house and for some reason he felt quite proud to be able to kiss Jus once more…
“Mom told me you wanted to talk to me,” Nino said as he approached his sister who was tending to the vegetables behind the house.
“Did she?” Kaori asked back. “More like she wanted me to apologize to you. According to her, I was rude to you and Jun-chan yesterday. So, I’m sorry.”
Nino was surprised to hear this, but he wasn’t one look the gift horse in the mouth.
“Apology accepted. Thank you,” he said honestly, reaching for one of the tools on the ground to help her.
“But you know!” She said suddenly after working silently for a few minutes. “I just still don’t get it! How can you do this? I know you’re a lazy bastard, you ran away from your family just because working on the fields is hard, but sleeping with your boss on top of everything? I never thought you’d be so much after that good for nothing father of ours…”
“I’m not like him! You know nothing about Jun, or me, or our relationship, so just back the hell off!” Nino snapped at her, throwing the garden scissor from his hand. “You know what, apology not accepted!” He added before stomping off. He should’ve just stuck with his games as he planned, he thought fuming…
In any other case, Jun would’ve enjoyed a day full of sightseeing, playing tourist and shopping, but today was an exception for a lot of reasons. First, there was nothing much to see at such a tiny town as this was. Secondly, the company made him feel quite on the edge. They were weird. Fussing over him as he was Nino’s fiancé... Well, okay, theoretically he was that but it’s not like they should establish a relationship too, nor did he and Nino planned on a happily ever after. It felt like the theme of the whole day was ‘welcome to the family’ and it freaked the hell out of Jun…
Under the excuse of having to use the toilette, he escaped through the back door of the restaurant where they were having lunch. He was not planning an actual escape, he was more well-mannered than that, but he sure needed a breather before he said or did something he would regret later on.
“They can be a lot to handle sometimes but they’re nice people…”
“Ah, Ohno-san…” Jun turned to the other man who seemed to have the same idea as he did. He thought he spotted him earlier in the restaurant but he didn’t have the chance to approach him for a chat. Though he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to or not. But now he couldn’t avoid talking to him. “Yeah, they’re nice,” he agreed.
“But of course you knew that already. Being engaged to Nino and all,” Ohno added with a small chuckle.
He shouldn’t ask, really, Jun knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. Not after he saw the two of them together the day before. Nino’s face the moment he saw Ohno was…
“Ehm… Ohno-san, did you and Nino…?” Jun trailed off, suddenly unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“Did we date?” Ohno asked back with a soft but sad smile. “No, he never looked at me that way. I asked him out but he said he was leaving this town, which I’ve never wanted to do so… This place was always too small for his ambitions, so I wasn’t surprised. It would’ve been a waste if he stayed here,” Ohno seemed to rather think aloud than talking to Jun. Which Jun was kind of grateful because he had no idea what to reply if Ohno expected some kind of reaction from him. After all, he couldn’t admit that everything Ohno said revealed a whole new side of Nino that he didn’t know until now.
“Though, that time when his father…” Ohno continued his aloud musings.
“What about his father?” The question escaped Jun before he could stop himself. He did notice that Nino’s dad was missing and no one seemed to even mention him. It got him curious.
“Oh, there you are, Jun-chan!” Nino’s grandma appeared next to them suddenly before Ohno had the chance or will to answer Jun’s question. “Come on, the night is still young!” she said cheerfully. “You come too, Satoshi-kun!”
By the time Jun came back home, he wanted nothing but a hot shower and sleep. It was exhausting to keep up the image of a fiancé in love when everything during the day only reminded him how he knew nothing about Nino.
As Jun got out of the shower, he realized he only had a small towel with him that was barely enough to cover his private parts. He cursed at his carelessness but in the end he decided that it was safe to leave the bathroom. The room must be empty since Nino was nowhere to be seen since they returned…
“I see you’re feeling at home…”
Later Jun would totally deny that he’d shrieked when he heard Nino’s voice. He did rush to the bed though - almost losing his towel in the process - grabbing the quilt from there to cover himself from Nino’s view.
“What are you doing here?” He yelled at Nino, his face burning with embarrassment.
“I planned on going to sleep, what do you think?” Nino retorted, leaving his spot near the doorway where he stood slightly frozen since he spotted Jun emerging from the bathroom almost nude. He tried to act cool but that was quite some body his boss was hiding under those pricey, designer clothes he loved to wear. Was he to be blamed if he was shocked?!
“Did you not heard of ‘knocking’?” Jun asked, pressing the blanket closer to his body. What was he freaking out for now? He considered himself more mature than this. Seeing Nino being so calm about the situation only made Jun feel more embarrassed about his own reaction.
“This is my room too. And in case you’ve forgotten… We’re engaged,” Nino threw a meaningful look to Jun before heading to the bathroom.
“Fine, fine! Whatever! Go shower or something, just get out of here!”
The only answer Jun got was the door shutting behind Nino.
By the time Nino finished bathing, Jun was in bed already, but he kept the light on the bedside table on for him. Nino was surprised to see that Jun even prepared his futon for him. He couldn’t hold back the soft smile that appeared on his lips. ‘You do have a soft side, don’t you?’ he thought fondly as he settled down to sleep.
“So…” Jun spoke up suddenly just when Nino was about to ask him to turn off the light. “What happened to your dad?”
In an instant, Nino felt all the happy feelings drained from him like any time that man was mentioned.
“Oh, I’m sorry, that question is not in the folder,” he said snappily, though it probably was there. Maybe not like this but people about to get married usually know about each other’s family situation, don’t they? But not even the upcoming interview or the threat of a prison sentence was enough for Nino to willingly dive into that topic.
Heavy silence settled on the room for a while and Nino started to feel guilty for snapping at Jun. It wasn’t his fault, after all. He had the right to ask and Nino himself should stop being so damn sensitive about it too.
“My parents died when I was sixteen. Car crash. Not long after they’ve sent me to Japan for high school. They were second generation Asian-Americans so we had no relatives here, but they thought it was important that I got to know my Japanese heritage. Obviously, they thought the best way for that was sending me to school here for three years on my own. And if I learned to look after myself in the process then…Well, two birds with one stone I guess…” Jun wasn’t sure why he was telling Nino this now. He didn’t want his pity, for sure. But maybe he wanted him to see that he wasn’t the only one with a messed up family background.
“Why didn’t you go back?” Nino asked. For some reason, he didn’t like the thought. If Jun would’ve returned to America, they would’ve never met probably. It caused a heavy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach but he tried to ignore it, because it acknowledging would mean… ‘No! No! It would mean nothing!’ he thought fiercely.
“I had no remaining family there either and it seemed more troublesome. With school and everything… Also, I actually quite liked it here, so I stayed,” Jun said with a little chuckle. His teenage-self thought staying in a foreign country meant he could immerse himself in an adventure instead of facing the cruel reality of being left alone in the world.
Nino felt sorry for Jun. There was such deep sadness in his voice despite pretending not to care about his past that it broke Nino’s heart, and he wanted to comfort him somehow. He knew better than to voice these feelings of his though. Jun was a prideful man and they weren’t even friends, so, on what basis would Nino even speak up?
“When I was a kid my father left us and this town for another woman. He took all the family savings with him too. As it turned out, he rather took his inheritance in money than in farm lands… I can understand the lack of appeal in farm life but I hope that’s the only trait I share with that man…” Nino said after being silent for a while, trying to find enough courage to speak about his own issues. “Mom took it really hard. People talk in such a small town like this, you know. But I think we were lucky that Granny actually liked mom more than she liked her own son, so we weren’t driven out from here after he left us. Granny must’ve always known how my father was so it wasn’t much of a surprise for her than it was for everyone else. Anyway, that’s it. The shameful past of the Ninomiya family!” Nino tried to joke with the story but even after all these years, anger and bitter pain burned his chest just from thinking about his father.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jun said gently.
“Of course not! I was awesome even as a kid!” Nino said bragging, not knowing any other way to handle Jun’s sudden kindness.
Jun snorted at that comment.
“I’d bet all my money that you were a brat.”
“I still am. According to my sister,” Nino said flatly, yet his comment made both of them burst out laughing…
Part 3