How to Succeed in Business
Title: How to Succeed in Business
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Nino (slight Aiba/Ohno)
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: They were once friends, but became rivals when commerce demanded it of them. But sometimes relationship aren't that easy to define.
Notes: This is a fic trade with doctoggy who asked for Matsumiya competition! I really mean to write more of this pairing. AU and not betaed.
It was ironic, the way it started out, meaning coincidental, unexpected, and not in a good way. Nino had always wanted a shop of his own ever since he was small, with fond memories of late Sundays and the sweet smell of coffee with his mother; it had been his dream, one that he talked about all the time with his tight group of (eccentric) friends and one that he had finally made come true.
After a few years of working his way up the corporate chain and saving money like crazy, he purchased a cozy little plot in a newly developed shopping area. It was meant to be a secret until the plans were completed, but that ended up falling apart when, after checking in on the progress of the interior, he happened to (literally) run into Jun as he left the shop and found out that his long-time friend had also just happened to have, coincidentally, unexpectedly, bought the plot right across the open walking street between them.
A cake and coffee shop.
Not unlike Nino’s own, he soon discovered.
But, although the surprise showed clearly in his eyes upon the revelation, Jun didn’t back down, didn’t apologize or try to fix thing. That was predictable with how hard headed as he was and his own often verbalized dream of becoming a pastier, but Nino was just as bad, and instead of talking about it and working something out, their relationship suddenly changed from that of close friends to complete rivals in business.
+++
Nino leaned lazily against the counter, annoyed about the heat because the air conditioning was too expensive to turn on, and although the open doors helped, it was still stifling enough that he almost completely gave up and turned in for an early evening. Because there were barely people out in the first place, and none of them seemed to stop at all, let alone appear to be interested in Nino’s iced coffee special, or a fresh roll made by Oh-chan.
Jun was visible through his large front window, tinkering with something behind his own glass case filled with cakes and pies (that were quite delicious, although Nino never asked for or even accepted them outright; he usually got them through Ohno, who had no qualms about fraternizing with the competition), and Nino hadn’t realized he was staring until Jun happened to look up, squinting a bit through the writing on the window as though he was trying to catch him off guard.
Not knowing what else to do, Nino causally turned around and after a few seconds of thought, decided to distract himself by making an iced coffee special for himself, and maybe Oh-chan if he hadn’t already dozed off in the back.
Trying not to check to see if Jun was still watching him, he made the drink slowly, taking his time, then discreetly pulled his gameboy out, knowing that playing it for a while would be enough reward for him to make it through the rest of the afternoon.
Still no one came in, and ten minutes later he finally glanced up when something caught his eye, and grimaced when he saw Aiba-chan out on the sidewalk with a sign, sweating from the heat but looking just as cheerful as always, calling out to people as they walked past. He was too far away to make out any words, but Aiba was no doubt trying to coax people into Jun’s shop, which was just as empty as Nino’s own.
Well, if Jun was going to pull out his secret weapon, then Nino would just have to retaliate.
“Oh-chan!” he called, walking towards the back door where he found the older man doodling in his sketch book (but luckily he wasn’t asleep yet). He looked up with soft eyes and managed a smile as Nino promised him another hour towards his “time off for fishing” if he would comply, and that was all it took to get Ohno into a cute apron and out the front door with his own sign.
Unlike Aiba, he didn’t call out to people as they walked past, but he easily rivaled the other man in cute cuddly-ness, and soon enough the spare people that were unfortunate enough to get caught between them didn’t know what to do.
After a few minutes of watching, Nino’s smile widened as he leaned against the counter again with his chin in his palm. Now Aiba was distractedly watching Ohno instead of doing his job properly and Nino had succeeded in not only creating his own advertising, but also neutralizing Jun’s in the process. It wasn’t any time at all before Aiba shuffled across the street himself to start chatting with Ohno (despite the fact that the two men saw each other on a daily basis, and often went out drinking once they were finished working), pleasing him greatly and finally bringing in a customer.
Who was only searching for a bathroom and by the time Nino managed to turn him away (trying not to be too rude, although he was in absolutely no mood to be polite), the pair of them were out of sight.
With a click of his tongue, Nino swore to take back the hour of “time off for fishing” the next time he saw Ohno (probably in the morning), but wasn’t entirely surprised at the pair. He had known them for a long time, since high school at least if not longer, and Ohno together with Aiba was nothing but trouble. If they hadn’t already come up with a disgusting new bread to bake in the oven tomorrow morning, they were probably doing something much less innocent.
Well, that was that anyway, so it was simply back to a quiet afternoon, or so he was thinking when he pulled out his gaming magazine that had already been read twice, but apparently his rival across the street wasn’t satisfied with his subordinate’s sudden disappearance.
Most of Jun’s time was spent baking and running the management of the shop (Nino would know himself, even if he hadn’t gotten weekly updates from Sho since this had all started), and he rarely stepped foot outside of his store unless it was closed. Nino was positive this wasn’t because Jun didn’t realize how attractive he was (in fact, back in school he had used his looks to his every advantage), but mostly likely simply because of pride. Of course Nino had pride too, but his was a different variety and almost non-existent when money was involved.
So when he noticed that, not even five minutes later, Jun had taken up Aiba’s place and had even already stopped a group of school girls, the first of the afternoon rush of students, Nino felt more fired up than he had been in a while. Not only was Jun being overly aggressive today, but it was irritating him that there was no way that he could compete in that area (and, for as long as he could remember, he had been annoyed with the ease that Jun had flirted with everyone and anything, even if he had never formally accepted a girlfriend as far as Nino knew, and Nino knew).
Cute might be an adjective used to describe Nino, and he had perfected the smile that drew coos of admiration from his female customers a while ago, but Jun had a natural beauty about him that just didn’t seem right for a man with such big eyebrows.
As he continued to watch as the girls finally were coaxed into the shop, Nino let out an irritated huff. He may not be able to compete in the same area, but he had his own charms and talents to use and he would show Jun that he wasn’t going to be outdone.
Walking into the back, he collected his second secret weapon following Ohno (and the one he used less often, especially when he was running the shop alone, but he didn’t have a choice today, not after what Jun did), and walked back out the front door.
He set the piece of cardboard up where Ohno had been standing, just under his painted Hatenai Sora sign, and adjusted it to make sure it wouldn’t fall over before he walked back inside and waited for the customers to start flooding in. (It took a few minutes, but they did.)
Beat the champ and win a prize.
Nino was famous around the area for being good at videogames, and after classes were over, boys from the surrounding schools would come in for various competitions on the days he put his cardboard sign out. The entry fee was an order from the menu (which was consistently a small coffee because it was the cheapest thing on there, but Nino didn’t mind because it was also the easiest to make), and the prize for a winner was a free drink (under a certain price of course) and one of Oh-chan’s rolls, even if no one had beaten him yet. They mostly came for the challenge, and Nino didn’t mind giving it to them.
By the time kids finally started leaving several hours later, only about thirty minutes before he was to close up, Nino was completely exhausted, and his battery emptied. He had time for one more game, but he was saving that for his daily ritual, so he tucked his DS into his pocket and set about to cleaning up, wishing once again that he hadn’t put Ohno outside that afternoon, where he got distracted so easily. He supposed he could call him, but Ohno was inconsistent at best and usually elusive in these situations, so it wasn't worth the effort it would take to get him back in.
It was Jun’s fault, of course. The only thing that made Nino feel better was knowing that Jun had to do the same without Aiba as well (and he was doing so when Nino checked, wiping down the front window meticulously and trying not to appear as if he was looking across the street at Nino, even though he really was).
Next the coffee machine was cleaned and the leftover rolls (only two today, but that would suffice for dinner) put into a bag so the case could be taken care of as well, then Nino finally started pulling the shades down with one last look (and unconscious sigh) at Jun’s own closed shop.
He turned off the lights in the back and sat at one of the tables in the half darkness and flipped on his gameboy again, hooking up wirelessly and finding his daily opponent. In the beginning he had just played after closing his cafe to cool off and calm down, but after the first few days someone had coincidentally kept showing up at the same time, and although Nino had a strong hunch who it was, he would never be the one to admit anything first.
MJ_reborn wasn’t quite as good as Nino, but he won every once in a while and it was something to look forward to during the slow days anyway, even if it was only a few short minutes alone in the shop that seemed so empty at these times. But even more importantly than his joint-game, almost always when he stepped outside and locked the shop up before heading home he would run into Jun, who was either doing the same, or walking as slowly as he possibly could towards the train station. Despite their rivalry they almost always went together, not talking about much and when they did it was almost always about sales and who was doing better, but Nino liked the silence more. Jun’s train would come first and sometimes Nino would smile at him when they parted, and sometimes Jun would smile back too.
Those were the best nights.
+++
Although the others had split with them to some degree, they hadn’t taken sides. Not really. It was more like they had decided between the three of them the best path to take until Jun and Nino made a truce, and there was no way that they could have done any less to support their friends.
Nino had forced Ohno to come with him as his own personal baker (and sometimes everything else when Nino started playing video games on particularly slow days and couldn’t pull himself away to even make a single cup of coffee; usually in these situations Ohno managed to convince the stray customer to get a bottled drink instead), and Jun had taken Aiba, simply because Sho couldn’t be trusted for anything involving consumables (and maybe because they all knew he had set his sights higher than menial labor, unlike the rest of them).
But Sho had found his spot too, spending Wednesday afternoons with Nino, simply sitting at the coffee bar and enjoying talking when there were few customers (Nino didn’t fail to notice that their conversations mostly revolved around Jun, although that was no surprise considering that they were rivals, and that maybe Nino had no other way of keeping up on his friend, since they rarely talked so casually with each other anymore). Sunday mornings were at Jun’s place, but afterwards Sho religiously stopped to say hello at Nino’s too, which he counted as a small victory over his competition (and sometimes brought a delicious pastry from Jun’s, although Nino always made sure the fact that he eagerly took them was a secret).
“I don’t know why you two are doing this to yourselves,” Sho sighed one Sunday morning after Nino had hidden the freshly baked cookies (chocolate strawberry, his favorite) behind a bag of coffee beans and managed to get Sho to sit down for a cup of coffee (Sho would never say so, but Nino knew his was better than Aiba’s). Nino had just grilled him on the conversation he’d had at Jun’s this morning, and although he knew that he hadn’t been given everything, it was enough to make him relax. But for the most part Sho was too perceptive for his own good, and he never failed to let Nino (or any of them really) know when they were being stupid.
But Nino still tried to play dumb, even if he knew that probably wouldn’t work out in the end. “I don’t know what you mean, Sho-chan.” He was cleaning the counter halfheartedly, and stealing small bites of the cookies when he thought he wouldn’t be seen through the front window.
“You guys used to be friends-are friends,” he said slowly, with a frustrated expression. “The two of you were closer than any of the rest of us. Did you forget that?”
After a probing look, making sure that Sho-chan actually knew what kind of conversation he was getting himself into, Nino replied, “You do realize that he bought a coffee shop. Even though he knew that coffee was mine.” He paused for effect, then leaned closer to Sho over the counter, suddenly hating himself for not being able to be more angry about that particular betrayal. Instead he just felt empty, and if he was honest, lonely. “He understood my dream, Sho, probably more than the rest of you. And he still did that,” he ended pointedly, then backed up again and went back to his work, feeling his mood declining rapidly.
It was true that he had been close to Jun since they had first met each other in school and long afterwards, because they hadn’t only shared a similar dream, but so many other things as well: video games, music, cooking (well, for Nino it was more like eating). Even though he had always felt at home with Aiba, Nino, and Ohno as well, there was a special place in his heart for Jun that he had attributed to being soul mates (friend soul mates, of course). He had been expecting that the two of them would be together forever, but his entire life had fallen apart that day that he had learned of Jun’s newly acquired shop. He didn’t give up on his dream, though… if he had learned anything from this whole mess, it was that even Jun wasn’t going to let his own goals in life collapse because of it, and therefore Nino couldn’t either. They had always encouraged each other, and even in opposition they couldn’t quite stop themselves from moving forward.
Sho only looked sad at the reply (or was that pity?) and finished his coffee in silence until Ohno came out of the back to request a lunch break and managed to ease the heavy mood.
+++
Tonight he was later closing up than usual and had even neglected his silently promised match with MJ_reborn. He had been doing that a lot lately, too caught up in other things to worry about, even though it would have brought him relief, even if only for a few minutes.
He sighed as he looked over his itemized financial statement for the month, the thing that had been on his mind for a while now. It had barely been a year since he had opened up his coffee shop, and although he knew that that time was the hardest to make it through, all he could see was red: wasted expenses competing with Jun, underutilization of Oh-chan, and too much free stuff for Aiba and Sho (and Jun… but Nino wasn’t supposed to know about it just like Jun wasn’t supposed to know that Nino got exactly half of everything Ohno brought back from there, plus extras from Sho-chan, so he couldn’t count that). He had been able to make ends meet up until now, but the scales had finally tipped and, no doubt, he would have to close shop in a few more months at this pace, losing his livelihood and his dream.
With the thought that he would come up with something eventually because he always did, Nino managed to brush his worries away for the moment and finished taking care of the remaining tasks, wiping down the counters and cleaning his coffee equipment. By the time he was ready to leave, it was several hours later than usual.
But Jun seemed to be on the same schedule and looked up slightly surprised, hand on his own door with the key in the lock when Nino stepped outside.
They stared at each other for a second, but Nino couldn’t bring any words to the surface, either to boast or criticize, and was afraid that Jun would read his expression word for word… although, in the end, he was still too tired and stressed to care even if he did.
“Hey, Nino?” Jun asked slowly, and Nino wondered when the last time Jun had called him by his nickname was. Since they had become rivals in business it had only been Ninomiya. “Want to get something to eat?”
Immediately he felt his mood lift a little and he got out a small smile even if he was still aching inside. “You buying?” he teased, feeling the same distance as before, the space that had grown between them despite the fact that they had been inseparable way back when.
Jun smiled in return, more casually than Nino thought he was feeling, but at least this was his genuine smile, not the one he gave the school girls and middle aged women in front of his shop. “Sure, whatever. Just tonight, though,” he agreed with a chuckle, then waited while Nino finished locking up too.
They slowly made their way towards the station, Nino’s hands in his pockets, but Jun veered off another direction before they got there, leading the way to a nearby ramen shop and mumbling, “If you’re making me pay you better not complain that it’s cheap.”
“Fine,” Nino replied half-heartedly, then smiled, “But next time you have to take me someplace nicer.” As he spoke he bumped his shoulder against Jun’s, not thinking at all about digging for information on Jun’s business or wondering what the other man’s intentions were, instead being pulled back to his youth where nothing mattered but how much gaming he could get in before his mother forced him to go to bed. Besides, ramen was his favorite, and Jun knew that.
The other man only rolled his eyes in reply and stood back to let Nino into the restaurant before him, which was half empty but held the ambiance of age and taste. They selected a small table in the corner, and Jun was even gracious enough to order them each a beer in addition to their ramen, which they waited for with almost no small talk exchanged, and ate with the same level of sound, only now their light comments were replaced by slurping and mumbles of delicious.
Before Nino finished Jun did (Nino had never been one for eating, actually, although he loved ramen and anything made by Jun), and the younger man sipped his second beer while watching him with searching eyes.
“Hey Nino?” he asked for the second time that night, and it took Nino off guard just as much as the first time. He had been too caught up in trying not to react to the intense stare and still distracted by thoughts of losing his precious cafe, and the link, however painful, it had provided with Jun.
Managing to swallow first, Nino stared back at him and asked, “Yeah?”
Jun averted his eyes once before asking, “How’s everything with your place?”
His instinct was initially that of defense, thinking that Jun had lured him into a false sense of security and was trying to find his weakness, and if he had been in even a minutely better mood he might have told him to back off, but he wasn’t and he was tired of fighting after a full year of not having his best friend.
Nino took a deep breath and sat down his chopsticks in front of his bowl, using a few seconds to collect himself and decide whether he was actually going to follow his gut feeling or not.
After a pause he said honestly, “Not well,” and looked at Jun to determine his reaction, his reasons for asking.
Jun seemed to have deflated at the reply and closed his eyes for a second before taking a long swig of his beer, then focused his attention back to Nino with a serious expression. “Mine either. Seems like things have piled up after all.”
They fell quiet, both thinking of the implications of the situation and trying to figure out who would say what, and if it was still considering losing to give in first in this sort of situation.
After a few tense minutes, Jun finally broke the silence, giving Nino a meaningful look that he pretended to ignore, just like he had all during school.
“Do you know why I bought that shop in the first place?”
It was a question that Nino had stayed up late many a night pondering, wondering if it had all been coincidence in the end, or if Jun had been trying to prove a point or even just get his attention. The obvious answer was that it only made sense after Jun had attended pastier school for two years, but he had known from the beginning that coffee belonged Nino, that it had been his dream and goal, and he had bought that shop fully knowing it.
Of course Nino couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t going to make any decisions for Jun or prevent him from doing what he had always dreamed of, just like he wasn’t going to give up himself. It was a rough world out there and you had to do what brought you customers, whether that was delicious cakes (they were certainly delicious) or a mean cup of coffee (Nino was positive his was better than Aiba’s), or handsome employees or video game tournaments. The problem with this situation, though, was that those customers were split between them, the two shops being in the same exact area.
In the end, Nino didn’t answer the question, so Jun answered it himself after a proper pause.
“I bought it for you. I was just going to give you the whole goddamn thing.”
That was the last thing he expected, and Nino stared into Jun’s eyes, seeing the honesty and intensity there, and the pain that had been driven home for both of them over the last year.
“I mean, you’d make the coffee and I’d make everything else, and it just seemed right, it seemed right, Nino and-“
He didn’t have to say the rest, because Nino could understand what he feeling even without the words. And then you bought that shop and I couldn’t take your dream away from you because you had worked so hard for it, but I couldn’t give up either and now we’re in this mess together.
Jun understood him through and through, down to the fact that Nino would have hated him for making him choose between what he had worked so hard for, scrimped and saved for to buy himself, and being with Jun, together in such a perfect way.
But now that he was where he was at, on the verge of losing his coffee shop altogether and aching inside and wanting something, and able to push away his pride, he understood Jun, too, understood his feelings down to the core, even if they scared him so, so much.
“It’s not too late,” he said quietly, making Jun freeze and strain to hear the words.
“What?” he asked just as quietly in return.
“It’s not too late,” Nino repeated more confidently, touching his chopsticks to try to distract himself and act nonchalant about what he was about to do when in fact he was shaking a bit. “I mean, if you still want to give me your shop,” he managed to end teasingly, forcing a smirk and finally meeting Jun’s incredulous look. “It would save me a bit of competition.”
Jun opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything, but managed to compose himself after a minute and leaned back in his chair, relaxing just barely. “I can’t even tell if your teasing me or not,” he let out, but looked relieved that he hadn’t been outright rejected at least. After finishing his beer in one gulp, he turned a piercing stare on Nino once again, obviously waiting for him to clarify.
He was able to meet the look for about two seconds, then turned back to his unfinished ramen, and swished the soup a bit with his chopsticks, although he had no intention of eating any more. And his own beer was already gone.
Saying something like this shouldn’t be so hard. He wasn’t giving up. It was a compromise.
Finally he came up with something that satisfied his pride as well as his heart. “I think we always worked better together than apart,” he said seriously, but ended with a wide smile. Jun seemed stunned for a few seconds, but his lips twitched twice before he managed a comparable smile in return, folding his arms across his chest shyly and leaned back over the table.
“Great. When are we going to start the negotiations?”
This drew a laugh out of Nino, because it was a suitable ending to their year-long rivalry, something that hopefully wouldn’t be reoccurring.
“I’ll need a few days to think about it first.” And of course he would have to consult Aiba, Ohno, and Sho as well, although somehow he knew none of them would be particularly upset, or even surprised.
“That’s fair enough,” Jun replied lightly, and they weren’t able to do anything else but watch each other for a few minutes, stealing glances shyly and wondering what they were supposed to say now, awkward from the lapse in their friendship despite feeling completely comfortable with each other once again.
So Jun paid for their food and they exited the shop without anything else exchanged, making their way automatically to the train station, although much more slowly than usual.
It wasn’t until they had gone through the ticket gate and were waiting on the platform that Nino realized that this was the end of their unusual rendezvous, and he wondered if he was really okay with that. Once he was home it would be like he had just had a fantastic hallucination and he’d spot his bank book and everything would come crashing apart like a picture frame that had fallen off the wall.
As they waited, he stared down at his shoes thoughtfully and Jun stared at one of the inspirational posters across from them.
The electronic sign suddenly changed to let them know the train was coming, and Nino’s head shot up involuntarily to look at Jun, who was already looking back.
“Come with me,” Jun blurted because he couldn’t stop the words, then cleared his throat and averted his eyes for just a second before correcting himself. “I mean, why don’t you come over to my place for a few more drinks?”
He wasn’t sure if he felt stunned or confused, but Nino simply stared at Jun stupidly for the five seconds that it took the train to pull into the platform. Once it stopped and the doors opened, Jun looking back and forth between the train and Nino nervously, he finally snapped out of his daze, glancing down again in order to try to collect his thoughts.
But before he could answer anyway, Jun was grabbing his hand and pulled him through the doors, leading him to the corner of the nearly empty car.
With a small swallow, Nino looked down at where their hands were still connected (and might have moved a little closer to Jun, who was staring out the window as if nothing extraordinary had happened) as the train took off, and they stayed frozen in place for the twenty minutes it took to get to Jun’s stop, nether willing to bring up what had just happened between them on the platform.
Of course Nino had been over to his place once before, for a “reunion party” (which wasn’t really accurate because the five of them saw each other on a weekly basis), and at the time he had put on a begrudging front, questioning why it had been at Jun’s when in fact he was excited to see what it looked like for himself, able to learn a little more of what Jun had made of his life since they had stopped talking (directly, at least).
But that instance and this one were very different with no boisterous Aiba or Ohno to hide behind, and somehow he felt exposed as soon as he stepped in the front door, overwhelmed with the privacy that he had been starved from before now.
Jun must have felt it because he turned to Nino and pulled him closer, their hands still attached somehow, and managed to rest his head against Nino’s, nose in the shorter man’s hair--a position that wouldn’t have been uncommon for them during their school years. Now it seemed far too intimate.
“Nino…” he said quietly, and Nino couldn’t help but rest his other hand on Jun’s narrow waist, bringing them barely closer. “You know why, right? You have to…”
Of course he knew. But it wasn’t ever something he acknowledged, despite the obvious signs, because it was terrifying. As of now, though, he had walked right into the thick of it and had no chance for escape. Hopefully he didn’t need to this time.
He closed his eyes and felt his stomach flip as he finally admitted it to Jun, and more importantly, to himself. “Yeah… I know.”
A small breath was let out into his hair, making a few strands shake, and Nino pulled him tighter, suddenly feeling guilty for what he had put Jun through, more so when they were younger, rather than over the past year. Because recently he had been hurting too… in school he was just frightened of his own feelings and the change that would have to develop between them if he ever stopped playing dumb. Eventually he had realized there were worse changes, though.
He clung to Jun, determined not to let him go again, no matter his pride or fears, but Jun pulled back to look at him instead, giving him the most gentle expression Nino had ever witnessed on that beautiful face.
Then the air changed around them, and Nino knew what was coming and completely abandoned himself to it, understanding that they would never be able to go back to what they had once been after this, whether that was rivals or best friends.
Jun kissed him.
Slowly, simply, full of emotion but not necessarily passion.
And Nino was scared again but he didn’t pull away and kissed back as much as his body would allow him to, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Obviously sensing his unease (and probably everything else, how much he was pushing himself and how much he wanted this, but how terrified he was of whatever this was that existed between them), Jun let it go at that, pulling away just a bit and smiling, which Nino was able to return without hesitation.
Then the awkwardness came. Nino knew Jun wanted more, wanted everything he had to give, but Nino wasn’t quite ready for that much yet and Jun wasn’t going to take it from him either, so they were at a standstill, wanting to confront the change, but not wanting to either.
Only time would fix that, so Nino did the only thing he knew how to do in order to break the ice.
“I thought we were drinking,” he teased, clutching onto Jun’s shirt (just because they weren’t kissing didn’t mean that they couldn’t keep touching…a lot; Nino was definitely looking forward to catching up on snuggling with Jun).
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled back, and pulled Nino behind him into the rest of the apartment, and through the course of the night they didn’t get quite as wasted as they probably would have otherwise, but Nino stayed over anyway.
+++
epilogue
The sweet smell of coffee filled the shop, awakening Nino’s senses almost more than the actual caffeine; the front windows were still mostly black with the lingering darkness of night, and it was far earlier than Nino usually woke up, but he was just a little nervous since it was the opening day of their new cafe.
In the end they had decided to change locations completely, getting rid of both previous stores, and buying one a little farther out of the main city. It was just barely bigger than Nino’s old place, but it fit just fine now that Aiba and Ohno were out of jobs (which they seemed almost pleased with, and it was obvious why when, not even a week later, Aiba declared that he was taking a bartending job at a high class place where Ohno had already been scouted out as a singer, unbeknownst to any of the rest of them).
And best of all, it had an apartment overhead where the two of them had moved in together only a few days ago. Nino had been nervous at the implications of a relationship, but Jun promised they would go slow and Nino trusted him more than he could verbally convey, grateful that he had been given time to adjust.
So far it wasn’t bad, not at all, but the real test would be from now on, whether they would succeed in business as well as their love, and Nino was still anxious, but had the courage to try this time, something that he hadn’t had back when all of this would have fallen together much easier.
After pouring a cup for himself in his favorite mug that he used in place of the customer’s generic white ones, Nino took a sip of the hot coffee before sitting it on the counter and moving over to double-check all of his equipment, wondering why Jun wasn’t up already, since it would take him a while to get everything made before their shop opened.
Then again, Jun had never been good at mornings, and Nino smiled when he realized that that fact hadn’t changed over the years. Even on their opening day.
It took a few more minutes, but Jun eventually came stumbling downstairs (Nino momentarily wondered if it had been because there was a missing lump of Nino shaped warmth from the bed, or if his inner alarm had finally managed to get him moving), but he paused as soon as he stepped into the room and took a deep breath.
“Coffee,” he said in the tone of a demand as he faced Nino, who had turned to look at him just as he finished cleaning the last of his equipment. One of Jun’s eyes was still completely closed, and the other one was squinted halfway shut, as if the soft lights that Nino had turned on to work by were too much for him.
After chuckling to himself, Nino pointed at his cup and offered, “You can have some of mine if you’re that desperate. It’s going to take me a minute otherwise.”
Without even stopping to think about it, Jun stumbled over to the cup and picked it up, smelling the rich aroma first before bringing it to his lips and taking a long swallow, and Nino couldn’t stop watching him, in both amusement and slow realization that this whole thing wasn’t going to be as normal as he had thought.
Well, normal wasn’t the right description. Jun was still Jun, after all, and Nino was himself too… somehow in all of his worrying he’d just assuming that they would be the ideal couple and that he had some image to live up to when in fact he had just realized now that Jun wanted Nino for Nino, not a completely perfect relationship that appeared in fairy tales or on TV programs. He really had no reason to be as worried about this was he had been, worried of not giving Jun everything he deserved.
“…So good,” he mumbled as he set the cup back down, and Nino made a mental note to double his own servings from now on…or maybe triple, as Jun was already raising the cup again for another swig.
“…Better than Aiba’s?” he smirked in reply, taking a step closer and leaning against the counter as he continued to watch his boyfriend… was that what Jun was to him now?
The object of his affection smirked back in a way that silently conveyed what he didn’t say. Yes, but I’m not going to admit that to you.
He came closer as well, until they were standing only a foot apart, and Nino found that he wasn’t as suffocated by the proximity as he had been before.
“Shouldn’t you get started?” he inquired half-seriously (although the smile didn’t leave his lips), and he reached out to fix Jun’s askew necklace, which had slid sideways because of the way he was balanced. Of course he somehow already appeared impeccable other than the sleepy look on his face. Maybe his hair was just permanently molded that way.
“I’ll get started when I want to,” he shot back, unable to keep an entirely straight face either. But after a moment he reached out for Nino himself, just as grateful as Nino about the fact that they had made it to this point, together once again. His hand brushed through his unruly hair (Nino would go up and finish getting ready right before they opened and not a moment sooner) and landed lightly on his shoulder. “What’re you doing up anyway…? Couldn’t sleep?” he guessed, his features softened with sleep and understanding.
“Just a little nervous, I guess…” Nino explained tentatively, not used to letting people know how insecure he actually was under his prickly exterior. He glanced at the front door out of habit but immediately returned his gaze to Jun when he felt the hand on his shoulder tightening in a comforting fashion.
“That doesn’t sound like you,” he teased, but it was obvious he understood that this was part of the change in their relationship as well, finding Nino’s secrets just like Nino was going to find all of his.
“Shut up,” was all he managed to get out in return, but Jun was beaming and smiling like he had just beaten him at Mario Kart.
“You’re so cute.” He leaned closer.
“Don’t call me cute. Or I’ll put you out on the street with a sign as soon as you’re finished with baking my breakfast.”
Jun chuckled, but didn’t take the threat seriously at all, and instead slowly continued closing in for a morning kiss.
As soon as their lips touched Nino found himself sighing and closing his eyes, surrendering to the calm feeling that spread through him, not thinking about the shop opening or the future between them, whether he would mess up or not be as perfect as expected, and it was the first time he had felt this way since he had begun to realize Jun’s feelings towards him.
“Guess I’ll start on breakfast, then,” he whispered against Nino’s lips before slowly (ever so slowly) starting for his kitchen in the back with a smirk and half lidded eyes that didn’t leave Nino’s until the door closed behind him.
Nino felt his whole body heat up and his mouth, he realized, was still open just a little, and he couldn’t help but smile giddily as he turned back to his machinery, ready to refill his cup before heading off to get his revenge and distract Jun until it was time to open, whether that was later than planned or not.
He’d have to put away some deliciousness for Aiba, Ohno, and Sho-chan too… but of course Nino would get the first taste this morning, and he would for as long as this worked, which would be a while if Nino had any say in the matter.
+++
A/N: Yay! Matsumiya! I wrote this a few weeks ago, but it took me a while to finish posting it. I still feel like it's too short, but hopefully that's okay. If you have any criticism I'd love to hear it!
I know I need to continue posting the ninja series soon... I don't have a banner and I have no motivation to make one, so... I apologize. I'll probably post it without anything. And I almost feel like I could write something, so we'll have to see what happens over the holidays. I can't wait for my break to come...! Next week you guys!!
Sequel type thing here: How to Succeed in Love
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Nino (slight Aiba/Ohno)
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: They were once friends, but became rivals when commerce demanded it of them. But sometimes relationship aren't that easy to define.
Notes: This is a fic trade with doctoggy who asked for Matsumiya competition! I really mean to write more of this pairing. AU and not betaed.
It was ironic, the way it started out, meaning coincidental, unexpected, and not in a good way. Nino had always wanted a shop of his own ever since he was small, with fond memories of late Sundays and the sweet smell of coffee with his mother; it had been his dream, one that he talked about all the time with his tight group of (eccentric) friends and one that he had finally made come true.
After a few years of working his way up the corporate chain and saving money like crazy, he purchased a cozy little plot in a newly developed shopping area. It was meant to be a secret until the plans were completed, but that ended up falling apart when, after checking in on the progress of the interior, he happened to (literally) run into Jun as he left the shop and found out that his long-time friend had also just happened to have, coincidentally, unexpectedly, bought the plot right across the open walking street between them.
A cake and coffee shop.
Not unlike Nino’s own, he soon discovered.
But, although the surprise showed clearly in his eyes upon the revelation, Jun didn’t back down, didn’t apologize or try to fix thing. That was predictable with how hard headed as he was and his own often verbalized dream of becoming a pastier, but Nino was just as bad, and instead of talking about it and working something out, their relationship suddenly changed from that of close friends to complete rivals in business.
+++
Nino leaned lazily against the counter, annoyed about the heat because the air conditioning was too expensive to turn on, and although the open doors helped, it was still stifling enough that he almost completely gave up and turned in for an early evening. Because there were barely people out in the first place, and none of them seemed to stop at all, let alone appear to be interested in Nino’s iced coffee special, or a fresh roll made by Oh-chan.
Jun was visible through his large front window, tinkering with something behind his own glass case filled with cakes and pies (that were quite delicious, although Nino never asked for or even accepted them outright; he usually got them through Ohno, who had no qualms about fraternizing with the competition), and Nino hadn’t realized he was staring until Jun happened to look up, squinting a bit through the writing on the window as though he was trying to catch him off guard.
Not knowing what else to do, Nino causally turned around and after a few seconds of thought, decided to distract himself by making an iced coffee special for himself, and maybe Oh-chan if he hadn’t already dozed off in the back.
Trying not to check to see if Jun was still watching him, he made the drink slowly, taking his time, then discreetly pulled his gameboy out, knowing that playing it for a while would be enough reward for him to make it through the rest of the afternoon.
Still no one came in, and ten minutes later he finally glanced up when something caught his eye, and grimaced when he saw Aiba-chan out on the sidewalk with a sign, sweating from the heat but looking just as cheerful as always, calling out to people as they walked past. He was too far away to make out any words, but Aiba was no doubt trying to coax people into Jun’s shop, which was just as empty as Nino’s own.
Well, if Jun was going to pull out his secret weapon, then Nino would just have to retaliate.
“Oh-chan!” he called, walking towards the back door where he found the older man doodling in his sketch book (but luckily he wasn’t asleep yet). He looked up with soft eyes and managed a smile as Nino promised him another hour towards his “time off for fishing” if he would comply, and that was all it took to get Ohno into a cute apron and out the front door with his own sign.
Unlike Aiba, he didn’t call out to people as they walked past, but he easily rivaled the other man in cute cuddly-ness, and soon enough the spare people that were unfortunate enough to get caught between them didn’t know what to do.
After a few minutes of watching, Nino’s smile widened as he leaned against the counter again with his chin in his palm. Now Aiba was distractedly watching Ohno instead of doing his job properly and Nino had succeeded in not only creating his own advertising, but also neutralizing Jun’s in the process. It wasn’t any time at all before Aiba shuffled across the street himself to start chatting with Ohno (despite the fact that the two men saw each other on a daily basis, and often went out drinking once they were finished working), pleasing him greatly and finally bringing in a customer.
Who was only searching for a bathroom and by the time Nino managed to turn him away (trying not to be too rude, although he was in absolutely no mood to be polite), the pair of them were out of sight.
With a click of his tongue, Nino swore to take back the hour of “time off for fishing” the next time he saw Ohno (probably in the morning), but wasn’t entirely surprised at the pair. He had known them for a long time, since high school at least if not longer, and Ohno together with Aiba was nothing but trouble. If they hadn’t already come up with a disgusting new bread to bake in the oven tomorrow morning, they were probably doing something much less innocent.
Well, that was that anyway, so it was simply back to a quiet afternoon, or so he was thinking when he pulled out his gaming magazine that had already been read twice, but apparently his rival across the street wasn’t satisfied with his subordinate’s sudden disappearance.
Most of Jun’s time was spent baking and running the management of the shop (Nino would know himself, even if he hadn’t gotten weekly updates from Sho since this had all started), and he rarely stepped foot outside of his store unless it was closed. Nino was positive this wasn’t because Jun didn’t realize how attractive he was (in fact, back in school he had used his looks to his every advantage), but mostly likely simply because of pride. Of course Nino had pride too, but his was a different variety and almost non-existent when money was involved.
So when he noticed that, not even five minutes later, Jun had taken up Aiba’s place and had even already stopped a group of school girls, the first of the afternoon rush of students, Nino felt more fired up than he had been in a while. Not only was Jun being overly aggressive today, but it was irritating him that there was no way that he could compete in that area (and, for as long as he could remember, he had been annoyed with the ease that Jun had flirted with everyone and anything, even if he had never formally accepted a girlfriend as far as Nino knew, and Nino knew).
Cute might be an adjective used to describe Nino, and he had perfected the smile that drew coos of admiration from his female customers a while ago, but Jun had a natural beauty about him that just didn’t seem right for a man with such big eyebrows.
As he continued to watch as the girls finally were coaxed into the shop, Nino let out an irritated huff. He may not be able to compete in the same area, but he had his own charms and talents to use and he would show Jun that he wasn’t going to be outdone.
Walking into the back, he collected his second secret weapon following Ohno (and the one he used less often, especially when he was running the shop alone, but he didn’t have a choice today, not after what Jun did), and walked back out the front door.
He set the piece of cardboard up where Ohno had been standing, just under his painted Hatenai Sora sign, and adjusted it to make sure it wouldn’t fall over before he walked back inside and waited for the customers to start flooding in. (It took a few minutes, but they did.)
Beat the champ and win a prize.
Nino was famous around the area for being good at videogames, and after classes were over, boys from the surrounding schools would come in for various competitions on the days he put his cardboard sign out. The entry fee was an order from the menu (which was consistently a small coffee because it was the cheapest thing on there, but Nino didn’t mind because it was also the easiest to make), and the prize for a winner was a free drink (under a certain price of course) and one of Oh-chan’s rolls, even if no one had beaten him yet. They mostly came for the challenge, and Nino didn’t mind giving it to them.
By the time kids finally started leaving several hours later, only about thirty minutes before he was to close up, Nino was completely exhausted, and his battery emptied. He had time for one more game, but he was saving that for his daily ritual, so he tucked his DS into his pocket and set about to cleaning up, wishing once again that he hadn’t put Ohno outside that afternoon, where he got distracted so easily. He supposed he could call him, but Ohno was inconsistent at best and usually elusive in these situations, so it wasn't worth the effort it would take to get him back in.
It was Jun’s fault, of course. The only thing that made Nino feel better was knowing that Jun had to do the same without Aiba as well (and he was doing so when Nino checked, wiping down the front window meticulously and trying not to appear as if he was looking across the street at Nino, even though he really was).
Next the coffee machine was cleaned and the leftover rolls (only two today, but that would suffice for dinner) put into a bag so the case could be taken care of as well, then Nino finally started pulling the shades down with one last look (and unconscious sigh) at Jun’s own closed shop.
He turned off the lights in the back and sat at one of the tables in the half darkness and flipped on his gameboy again, hooking up wirelessly and finding his daily opponent. In the beginning he had just played after closing his cafe to cool off and calm down, but after the first few days someone had coincidentally kept showing up at the same time, and although Nino had a strong hunch who it was, he would never be the one to admit anything first.
MJ_reborn wasn’t quite as good as Nino, but he won every once in a while and it was something to look forward to during the slow days anyway, even if it was only a few short minutes alone in the shop that seemed so empty at these times. But even more importantly than his joint-game, almost always when he stepped outside and locked the shop up before heading home he would run into Jun, who was either doing the same, or walking as slowly as he possibly could towards the train station. Despite their rivalry they almost always went together, not talking about much and when they did it was almost always about sales and who was doing better, but Nino liked the silence more. Jun’s train would come first and sometimes Nino would smile at him when they parted, and sometimes Jun would smile back too.
Those were the best nights.
+++
Although the others had split with them to some degree, they hadn’t taken sides. Not really. It was more like they had decided between the three of them the best path to take until Jun and Nino made a truce, and there was no way that they could have done any less to support their friends.
Nino had forced Ohno to come with him as his own personal baker (and sometimes everything else when Nino started playing video games on particularly slow days and couldn’t pull himself away to even make a single cup of coffee; usually in these situations Ohno managed to convince the stray customer to get a bottled drink instead), and Jun had taken Aiba, simply because Sho couldn’t be trusted for anything involving consumables (and maybe because they all knew he had set his sights higher than menial labor, unlike the rest of them).
But Sho had found his spot too, spending Wednesday afternoons with Nino, simply sitting at the coffee bar and enjoying talking when there were few customers (Nino didn’t fail to notice that their conversations mostly revolved around Jun, although that was no surprise considering that they were rivals, and that maybe Nino had no other way of keeping up on his friend, since they rarely talked so casually with each other anymore). Sunday mornings were at Jun’s place, but afterwards Sho religiously stopped to say hello at Nino’s too, which he counted as a small victory over his competition (and sometimes brought a delicious pastry from Jun’s, although Nino always made sure the fact that he eagerly took them was a secret).
“I don’t know why you two are doing this to yourselves,” Sho sighed one Sunday morning after Nino had hidden the freshly baked cookies (chocolate strawberry, his favorite) behind a bag of coffee beans and managed to get Sho to sit down for a cup of coffee (Sho would never say so, but Nino knew his was better than Aiba’s). Nino had just grilled him on the conversation he’d had at Jun’s this morning, and although he knew that he hadn’t been given everything, it was enough to make him relax. But for the most part Sho was too perceptive for his own good, and he never failed to let Nino (or any of them really) know when they were being stupid.
But Nino still tried to play dumb, even if he knew that probably wouldn’t work out in the end. “I don’t know what you mean, Sho-chan.” He was cleaning the counter halfheartedly, and stealing small bites of the cookies when he thought he wouldn’t be seen through the front window.
“You guys used to be friends-are friends,” he said slowly, with a frustrated expression. “The two of you were closer than any of the rest of us. Did you forget that?”
After a probing look, making sure that Sho-chan actually knew what kind of conversation he was getting himself into, Nino replied, “You do realize that he bought a coffee shop. Even though he knew that coffee was mine.” He paused for effect, then leaned closer to Sho over the counter, suddenly hating himself for not being able to be more angry about that particular betrayal. Instead he just felt empty, and if he was honest, lonely. “He understood my dream, Sho, probably more than the rest of you. And he still did that,” he ended pointedly, then backed up again and went back to his work, feeling his mood declining rapidly.
It was true that he had been close to Jun since they had first met each other in school and long afterwards, because they hadn’t only shared a similar dream, but so many other things as well: video games, music, cooking (well, for Nino it was more like eating). Even though he had always felt at home with Aiba, Nino, and Ohno as well, there was a special place in his heart for Jun that he had attributed to being soul mates (friend soul mates, of course). He had been expecting that the two of them would be together forever, but his entire life had fallen apart that day that he had learned of Jun’s newly acquired shop. He didn’t give up on his dream, though… if he had learned anything from this whole mess, it was that even Jun wasn’t going to let his own goals in life collapse because of it, and therefore Nino couldn’t either. They had always encouraged each other, and even in opposition they couldn’t quite stop themselves from moving forward.
Sho only looked sad at the reply (or was that pity?) and finished his coffee in silence until Ohno came out of the back to request a lunch break and managed to ease the heavy mood.
+++
Tonight he was later closing up than usual and had even neglected his silently promised match with MJ_reborn. He had been doing that a lot lately, too caught up in other things to worry about, even though it would have brought him relief, even if only for a few minutes.
He sighed as he looked over his itemized financial statement for the month, the thing that had been on his mind for a while now. It had barely been a year since he had opened up his coffee shop, and although he knew that that time was the hardest to make it through, all he could see was red: wasted expenses competing with Jun, underutilization of Oh-chan, and too much free stuff for Aiba and Sho (and Jun… but Nino wasn’t supposed to know about it just like Jun wasn’t supposed to know that Nino got exactly half of everything Ohno brought back from there, plus extras from Sho-chan, so he couldn’t count that). He had been able to make ends meet up until now, but the scales had finally tipped and, no doubt, he would have to close shop in a few more months at this pace, losing his livelihood and his dream.
With the thought that he would come up with something eventually because he always did, Nino managed to brush his worries away for the moment and finished taking care of the remaining tasks, wiping down the counters and cleaning his coffee equipment. By the time he was ready to leave, it was several hours later than usual.
But Jun seemed to be on the same schedule and looked up slightly surprised, hand on his own door with the key in the lock when Nino stepped outside.
They stared at each other for a second, but Nino couldn’t bring any words to the surface, either to boast or criticize, and was afraid that Jun would read his expression word for word… although, in the end, he was still too tired and stressed to care even if he did.
“Hey, Nino?” Jun asked slowly, and Nino wondered when the last time Jun had called him by his nickname was. Since they had become rivals in business it had only been Ninomiya. “Want to get something to eat?”
Immediately he felt his mood lift a little and he got out a small smile even if he was still aching inside. “You buying?” he teased, feeling the same distance as before, the space that had grown between them despite the fact that they had been inseparable way back when.
Jun smiled in return, more casually than Nino thought he was feeling, but at least this was his genuine smile, not the one he gave the school girls and middle aged women in front of his shop. “Sure, whatever. Just tonight, though,” he agreed with a chuckle, then waited while Nino finished locking up too.
They slowly made their way towards the station, Nino’s hands in his pockets, but Jun veered off another direction before they got there, leading the way to a nearby ramen shop and mumbling, “If you’re making me pay you better not complain that it’s cheap.”
“Fine,” Nino replied half-heartedly, then smiled, “But next time you have to take me someplace nicer.” As he spoke he bumped his shoulder against Jun’s, not thinking at all about digging for information on Jun’s business or wondering what the other man’s intentions were, instead being pulled back to his youth where nothing mattered but how much gaming he could get in before his mother forced him to go to bed. Besides, ramen was his favorite, and Jun knew that.
The other man only rolled his eyes in reply and stood back to let Nino into the restaurant before him, which was half empty but held the ambiance of age and taste. They selected a small table in the corner, and Jun was even gracious enough to order them each a beer in addition to their ramen, which they waited for with almost no small talk exchanged, and ate with the same level of sound, only now their light comments were replaced by slurping and mumbles of delicious.
Before Nino finished Jun did (Nino had never been one for eating, actually, although he loved ramen and anything made by Jun), and the younger man sipped his second beer while watching him with searching eyes.
“Hey Nino?” he asked for the second time that night, and it took Nino off guard just as much as the first time. He had been too caught up in trying not to react to the intense stare and still distracted by thoughts of losing his precious cafe, and the link, however painful, it had provided with Jun.
Managing to swallow first, Nino stared back at him and asked, “Yeah?”
Jun averted his eyes once before asking, “How’s everything with your place?”
His instinct was initially that of defense, thinking that Jun had lured him into a false sense of security and was trying to find his weakness, and if he had been in even a minutely better mood he might have told him to back off, but he wasn’t and he was tired of fighting after a full year of not having his best friend.
Nino took a deep breath and sat down his chopsticks in front of his bowl, using a few seconds to collect himself and decide whether he was actually going to follow his gut feeling or not.
After a pause he said honestly, “Not well,” and looked at Jun to determine his reaction, his reasons for asking.
Jun seemed to have deflated at the reply and closed his eyes for a second before taking a long swig of his beer, then focused his attention back to Nino with a serious expression. “Mine either. Seems like things have piled up after all.”
They fell quiet, both thinking of the implications of the situation and trying to figure out who would say what, and if it was still considering losing to give in first in this sort of situation.
After a few tense minutes, Jun finally broke the silence, giving Nino a meaningful look that he pretended to ignore, just like he had all during school.
“Do you know why I bought that shop in the first place?”
It was a question that Nino had stayed up late many a night pondering, wondering if it had all been coincidence in the end, or if Jun had been trying to prove a point or even just get his attention. The obvious answer was that it only made sense after Jun had attended pastier school for two years, but he had known from the beginning that coffee belonged Nino, that it had been his dream and goal, and he had bought that shop fully knowing it.
Of course Nino couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t going to make any decisions for Jun or prevent him from doing what he had always dreamed of, just like he wasn’t going to give up himself. It was a rough world out there and you had to do what brought you customers, whether that was delicious cakes (they were certainly delicious) or a mean cup of coffee (Nino was positive his was better than Aiba’s), or handsome employees or video game tournaments. The problem with this situation, though, was that those customers were split between them, the two shops being in the same exact area.
In the end, Nino didn’t answer the question, so Jun answered it himself after a proper pause.
“I bought it for you. I was just going to give you the whole goddamn thing.”
That was the last thing he expected, and Nino stared into Jun’s eyes, seeing the honesty and intensity there, and the pain that had been driven home for both of them over the last year.
“I mean, you’d make the coffee and I’d make everything else, and it just seemed right, it seemed right, Nino and-“
He didn’t have to say the rest, because Nino could understand what he feeling even without the words. And then you bought that shop and I couldn’t take your dream away from you because you had worked so hard for it, but I couldn’t give up either and now we’re in this mess together.
Jun understood him through and through, down to the fact that Nino would have hated him for making him choose between what he had worked so hard for, scrimped and saved for to buy himself, and being with Jun, together in such a perfect way.
But now that he was where he was at, on the verge of losing his coffee shop altogether and aching inside and wanting something, and able to push away his pride, he understood Jun, too, understood his feelings down to the core, even if they scared him so, so much.
“It’s not too late,” he said quietly, making Jun freeze and strain to hear the words.
“What?” he asked just as quietly in return.
“It’s not too late,” Nino repeated more confidently, touching his chopsticks to try to distract himself and act nonchalant about what he was about to do when in fact he was shaking a bit. “I mean, if you still want to give me your shop,” he managed to end teasingly, forcing a smirk and finally meeting Jun’s incredulous look. “It would save me a bit of competition.”
Jun opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything, but managed to compose himself after a minute and leaned back in his chair, relaxing just barely. “I can’t even tell if your teasing me or not,” he let out, but looked relieved that he hadn’t been outright rejected at least. After finishing his beer in one gulp, he turned a piercing stare on Nino once again, obviously waiting for him to clarify.
He was able to meet the look for about two seconds, then turned back to his unfinished ramen, and swished the soup a bit with his chopsticks, although he had no intention of eating any more. And his own beer was already gone.
Saying something like this shouldn’t be so hard. He wasn’t giving up. It was a compromise.
Finally he came up with something that satisfied his pride as well as his heart. “I think we always worked better together than apart,” he said seriously, but ended with a wide smile. Jun seemed stunned for a few seconds, but his lips twitched twice before he managed a comparable smile in return, folding his arms across his chest shyly and leaned back over the table.
“Great. When are we going to start the negotiations?”
This drew a laugh out of Nino, because it was a suitable ending to their year-long rivalry, something that hopefully wouldn’t be reoccurring.
“I’ll need a few days to think about it first.” And of course he would have to consult Aiba, Ohno, and Sho as well, although somehow he knew none of them would be particularly upset, or even surprised.
“That’s fair enough,” Jun replied lightly, and they weren’t able to do anything else but watch each other for a few minutes, stealing glances shyly and wondering what they were supposed to say now, awkward from the lapse in their friendship despite feeling completely comfortable with each other once again.
So Jun paid for their food and they exited the shop without anything else exchanged, making their way automatically to the train station, although much more slowly than usual.
It wasn’t until they had gone through the ticket gate and were waiting on the platform that Nino realized that this was the end of their unusual rendezvous, and he wondered if he was really okay with that. Once he was home it would be like he had just had a fantastic hallucination and he’d spot his bank book and everything would come crashing apart like a picture frame that had fallen off the wall.
As they waited, he stared down at his shoes thoughtfully and Jun stared at one of the inspirational posters across from them.
The electronic sign suddenly changed to let them know the train was coming, and Nino’s head shot up involuntarily to look at Jun, who was already looking back.
“Come with me,” Jun blurted because he couldn’t stop the words, then cleared his throat and averted his eyes for just a second before correcting himself. “I mean, why don’t you come over to my place for a few more drinks?”
He wasn’t sure if he felt stunned or confused, but Nino simply stared at Jun stupidly for the five seconds that it took the train to pull into the platform. Once it stopped and the doors opened, Jun looking back and forth between the train and Nino nervously, he finally snapped out of his daze, glancing down again in order to try to collect his thoughts.
But before he could answer anyway, Jun was grabbing his hand and pulled him through the doors, leading him to the corner of the nearly empty car.
With a small swallow, Nino looked down at where their hands were still connected (and might have moved a little closer to Jun, who was staring out the window as if nothing extraordinary had happened) as the train took off, and they stayed frozen in place for the twenty minutes it took to get to Jun’s stop, nether willing to bring up what had just happened between them on the platform.
Of course Nino had been over to his place once before, for a “reunion party” (which wasn’t really accurate because the five of them saw each other on a weekly basis), and at the time he had put on a begrudging front, questioning why it had been at Jun’s when in fact he was excited to see what it looked like for himself, able to learn a little more of what Jun had made of his life since they had stopped talking (directly, at least).
But that instance and this one were very different with no boisterous Aiba or Ohno to hide behind, and somehow he felt exposed as soon as he stepped in the front door, overwhelmed with the privacy that he had been starved from before now.
Jun must have felt it because he turned to Nino and pulled him closer, their hands still attached somehow, and managed to rest his head against Nino’s, nose in the shorter man’s hair--a position that wouldn’t have been uncommon for them during their school years. Now it seemed far too intimate.
“Nino…” he said quietly, and Nino couldn’t help but rest his other hand on Jun’s narrow waist, bringing them barely closer. “You know why, right? You have to…”
Of course he knew. But it wasn’t ever something he acknowledged, despite the obvious signs, because it was terrifying. As of now, though, he had walked right into the thick of it and had no chance for escape. Hopefully he didn’t need to this time.
He closed his eyes and felt his stomach flip as he finally admitted it to Jun, and more importantly, to himself. “Yeah… I know.”
A small breath was let out into his hair, making a few strands shake, and Nino pulled him tighter, suddenly feeling guilty for what he had put Jun through, more so when they were younger, rather than over the past year. Because recently he had been hurting too… in school he was just frightened of his own feelings and the change that would have to develop between them if he ever stopped playing dumb. Eventually he had realized there were worse changes, though.
He clung to Jun, determined not to let him go again, no matter his pride or fears, but Jun pulled back to look at him instead, giving him the most gentle expression Nino had ever witnessed on that beautiful face.
Then the air changed around them, and Nino knew what was coming and completely abandoned himself to it, understanding that they would never be able to go back to what they had once been after this, whether that was rivals or best friends.
Jun kissed him.
Slowly, simply, full of emotion but not necessarily passion.
And Nino was scared again but he didn’t pull away and kissed back as much as his body would allow him to, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Obviously sensing his unease (and probably everything else, how much he was pushing himself and how much he wanted this, but how terrified he was of whatever this was that existed between them), Jun let it go at that, pulling away just a bit and smiling, which Nino was able to return without hesitation.
Then the awkwardness came. Nino knew Jun wanted more, wanted everything he had to give, but Nino wasn’t quite ready for that much yet and Jun wasn’t going to take it from him either, so they were at a standstill, wanting to confront the change, but not wanting to either.
Only time would fix that, so Nino did the only thing he knew how to do in order to break the ice.
“I thought we were drinking,” he teased, clutching onto Jun’s shirt (just because they weren’t kissing didn’t mean that they couldn’t keep touching…a lot; Nino was definitely looking forward to catching up on snuggling with Jun).
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled back, and pulled Nino behind him into the rest of the apartment, and through the course of the night they didn’t get quite as wasted as they probably would have otherwise, but Nino stayed over anyway.
+++
epilogue
The sweet smell of coffee filled the shop, awakening Nino’s senses almost more than the actual caffeine; the front windows were still mostly black with the lingering darkness of night, and it was far earlier than Nino usually woke up, but he was just a little nervous since it was the opening day of their new cafe.
In the end they had decided to change locations completely, getting rid of both previous stores, and buying one a little farther out of the main city. It was just barely bigger than Nino’s old place, but it fit just fine now that Aiba and Ohno were out of jobs (which they seemed almost pleased with, and it was obvious why when, not even a week later, Aiba declared that he was taking a bartending job at a high class place where Ohno had already been scouted out as a singer, unbeknownst to any of the rest of them).
And best of all, it had an apartment overhead where the two of them had moved in together only a few days ago. Nino had been nervous at the implications of a relationship, but Jun promised they would go slow and Nino trusted him more than he could verbally convey, grateful that he had been given time to adjust.
So far it wasn’t bad, not at all, but the real test would be from now on, whether they would succeed in business as well as their love, and Nino was still anxious, but had the courage to try this time, something that he hadn’t had back when all of this would have fallen together much easier.
After pouring a cup for himself in his favorite mug that he used in place of the customer’s generic white ones, Nino took a sip of the hot coffee before sitting it on the counter and moving over to double-check all of his equipment, wondering why Jun wasn’t up already, since it would take him a while to get everything made before their shop opened.
Then again, Jun had never been good at mornings, and Nino smiled when he realized that that fact hadn’t changed over the years. Even on their opening day.
It took a few more minutes, but Jun eventually came stumbling downstairs (Nino momentarily wondered if it had been because there was a missing lump of Nino shaped warmth from the bed, or if his inner alarm had finally managed to get him moving), but he paused as soon as he stepped into the room and took a deep breath.
“Coffee,” he said in the tone of a demand as he faced Nino, who had turned to look at him just as he finished cleaning the last of his equipment. One of Jun’s eyes was still completely closed, and the other one was squinted halfway shut, as if the soft lights that Nino had turned on to work by were too much for him.
After chuckling to himself, Nino pointed at his cup and offered, “You can have some of mine if you’re that desperate. It’s going to take me a minute otherwise.”
Without even stopping to think about it, Jun stumbled over to the cup and picked it up, smelling the rich aroma first before bringing it to his lips and taking a long swallow, and Nino couldn’t stop watching him, in both amusement and slow realization that this whole thing wasn’t going to be as normal as he had thought.
Well, normal wasn’t the right description. Jun was still Jun, after all, and Nino was himself too… somehow in all of his worrying he’d just assuming that they would be the ideal couple and that he had some image to live up to when in fact he had just realized now that Jun wanted Nino for Nino, not a completely perfect relationship that appeared in fairy tales or on TV programs. He really had no reason to be as worried about this was he had been, worried of not giving Jun everything he deserved.
“…So good,” he mumbled as he set the cup back down, and Nino made a mental note to double his own servings from now on…or maybe triple, as Jun was already raising the cup again for another swig.
“…Better than Aiba’s?” he smirked in reply, taking a step closer and leaning against the counter as he continued to watch his boyfriend… was that what Jun was to him now?
The object of his affection smirked back in a way that silently conveyed what he didn’t say. Yes, but I’m not going to admit that to you.
He came closer as well, until they were standing only a foot apart, and Nino found that he wasn’t as suffocated by the proximity as he had been before.
“Shouldn’t you get started?” he inquired half-seriously (although the smile didn’t leave his lips), and he reached out to fix Jun’s askew necklace, which had slid sideways because of the way he was balanced. Of course he somehow already appeared impeccable other than the sleepy look on his face. Maybe his hair was just permanently molded that way.
“I’ll get started when I want to,” he shot back, unable to keep an entirely straight face either. But after a moment he reached out for Nino himself, just as grateful as Nino about the fact that they had made it to this point, together once again. His hand brushed through his unruly hair (Nino would go up and finish getting ready right before they opened and not a moment sooner) and landed lightly on his shoulder. “What’re you doing up anyway…? Couldn’t sleep?” he guessed, his features softened with sleep and understanding.
“Just a little nervous, I guess…” Nino explained tentatively, not used to letting people know how insecure he actually was under his prickly exterior. He glanced at the front door out of habit but immediately returned his gaze to Jun when he felt the hand on his shoulder tightening in a comforting fashion.
“That doesn’t sound like you,” he teased, but it was obvious he understood that this was part of the change in their relationship as well, finding Nino’s secrets just like Nino was going to find all of his.
“Shut up,” was all he managed to get out in return, but Jun was beaming and smiling like he had just beaten him at Mario Kart.
“You’re so cute.” He leaned closer.
“Don’t call me cute. Or I’ll put you out on the street with a sign as soon as you’re finished with baking my breakfast.”
Jun chuckled, but didn’t take the threat seriously at all, and instead slowly continued closing in for a morning kiss.
As soon as their lips touched Nino found himself sighing and closing his eyes, surrendering to the calm feeling that spread through him, not thinking about the shop opening or the future between them, whether he would mess up or not be as perfect as expected, and it was the first time he had felt this way since he had begun to realize Jun’s feelings towards him.
“Guess I’ll start on breakfast, then,” he whispered against Nino’s lips before slowly (ever so slowly) starting for his kitchen in the back with a smirk and half lidded eyes that didn’t leave Nino’s until the door closed behind him.
Nino felt his whole body heat up and his mouth, he realized, was still open just a little, and he couldn’t help but smile giddily as he turned back to his machinery, ready to refill his cup before heading off to get his revenge and distract Jun until it was time to open, whether that was later than planned or not.
He’d have to put away some deliciousness for Aiba, Ohno, and Sho-chan too… but of course Nino would get the first taste this morning, and he would for as long as this worked, which would be a while if Nino had any say in the matter.
+++
A/N: Yay! Matsumiya! I wrote this a few weeks ago, but it took me a while to finish posting it. I still feel like it's too short, but hopefully that's okay. If you have any criticism I'd love to hear it!
I know I need to continue posting the ninja series soon... I don't have a banner and I have no motivation to make one, so... I apologize. I'll probably post it without anything. And I almost feel like I could write something, so we'll have to see what happens over the holidays. I can't wait for my break to come...! Next week you guys!!
Sequel type thing here: How to Succeed in Love