Paint, Film, and Stuffed Animals
Title: Paint, Film, and Stuffed Animals
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Aiba/Ohno, Jun/Sho
Genre: Romance, AU
Chapter: five
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Aiba becomes interested in Ohno, a recently popular artist, but it’s difficult to get a boyfriend when you have a kid…Everyone seems to think you’re straight.
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
The reception for the donated painting was in two days, and Aiba had found himself in the back of a taxi, with Koharu seated between him and the artist. Ohno had gone out of his way to convince Aiba to accompany him to the suit shop, and even though the photographer had to use that favor Kame owed him, he got away from work early enough to accommodate the request. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Ohno anyway, since they hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and (assuming they had girl’s dresses too) he could finally buy something proper for Koharu to wear to a gathering like this.
Ohno was playing some sort of clapping game with Koharu while they traveled and Aiba watched distractedly, crunching numbers in his head to see how much money he could spend today. He had already bought enough groceries to last until his paycheck at the end of the month, and he should be getting that bonus from the idol photoshoot…but the electric bill hadn’t come through yet and he had to buy that game from Nino before next Saturday…
Aiba perked up suddenly. “Hey Ohno,” he started in a conversational tone.
The older man turned to him, his hands still moving (although somewhat haphazardly) to keep Koharu’s attention. “Hmm?”
“You said I could invite anyone I wanted to the hospital reception thing, right?” he asked slowly, swallowing back the part of him that avoided causing other people problems at all costs. Ohno had already taken care of Koharu on his day off and proven that he didn’t mind Aiba asking a favor occasionally, so he should be able to suggest it without feeling guilty…
“Yeah?” Ohno replied with a blank expression.
“Well, I was wondering if I could give a ticket to Nino? He’s been sort of bugging me lately about not hanging out with him…” Actually, the phone message had been something more like youre ditching me for your new boyfriend D:< and Aiba had discovered quickly that bad things happen from making Nino jealous or more overprotective of his childhood friend than necessary. The obvious route to solve the problem was to get Nino and Ohno to become friends, and then the gamer wouldn’t complain about Aiba’s new love interest as much as he had been recently. And inviting him to one of Ohno’s art events would definitely be brownie points for the both of them in Nino’s book.
“Sure. I don’t mind,” Ohno responded with a shrug and Aiba smiled back in relief. It wasn’t like the question was really that important, but what would he have done if Ohno had said something like Well, it’s supposed to be really small… and rejected him?
The cab pulled over as Aiba was thanking the artist and before he could do anything else, Ohno was already handing the driver a bill. Although he tried to protest, Aiba was blatantly ignored as Koharu and her playmate sauntered in the shop ahead of him. The photographer could only shake his head and try to keep a small grin from his lips.
When he gently closed the doors behind him, the air conditioning in the building immediately cooling his sweaty skin, Aiba glanced to where Ohno was already chatting with a woman in a voice soft enough that the photographer couldn’t make out what they were saying. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to overhear anyway, since there was a weird air of secrecy around them.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly instead and wondering vaguely if he was going to get the opportunity to watch Ohno undress and be measured for a suit, Aiba stood in the entranceway until the artist retrieved him with a smirk.
With a hand on Aiba’s elbow, Ohno began pulling him back into the shop with Koharu on his other side.
“I’m going to walk around the shop with Haru-chan so we can look at the dresses really quickly. Why don’t you wait here and we’ll be back soon?”
Aiba, feeling a little confused at the sudden change in situation, glanced at his surroundings. He was in a room with a few chairs set against the wall and a group of mirrors in one corner; it was a little small, but the furniture indicated a waiting area, so he shrugged and allowed himself to be directed to one of the seats.
Before he sat, though, the photographer turned to Ohno and mumbled, “I need to buy her something anyway, so if there’s anything she likes feel free to have it readied.”
With a smirk that was far too mischievous for something as boring as shopping for clothes, Ohno nodded and dragged the girl (who was more than willing) back through the door they had entered.
Aiba pondered on the situation for a second, wondering what kind of dress they should get for Koharu and how much it was going to cost, and if Ohno would return before he got measured for his suit, or possibly if they were going to do that here (there were mirrors in the corner after all). When he had finally relaxed a little and his thoughts had turned to something more like daydreams of Ohno in a half clothed state, the door opened leisurely and a man that Aiba hadn’t met yet came in.
“Hello!” the stranger began cheerfully, and the waiting patron could only assume this man worked here from the style of clothes he was wearing and the measuring tape around his neck. “You must be Aiba-chan.”
The photographer stiffened a little at the casual use of his nickname and simply watched the employee approach him, a wide smile on the younger man’s face (there was a playful twinkle in his eye that looked a little familiar, too).
“Ohno told me you were waiting in here,” he explained and Aiba calmed down. He hadn’t realized that the artist had such a tight relationship with this store, but with the way he was talking quietly with the employees and tromping around like he owned the place, it only made sense.
“My name’s Chinen,” the man introduced himself with a smile and Aiba nodded at him, finally returning the gesture, although somewhat tensely.
As Chinen began pulling the measuring tape from around his shoulders he conversationally added, “I’m actually a big fan of Ohno’s. He’s been coming here for years, but I only got the opportunity to see his art recently in a magazine. I was really surprised! He’s becoming pretty famous, isn’t he?”
Aiba didn’t answer, since this guy had probably known Ohno for longer than him.
The employee laughed nervously at the lack of response and held up the measuring tape unsurely. “Shall we get started, then?”
“Huh?” came the eloquent reply.
The mischievous gleam was back and Chinen giggled more naturally at Aiba’s confused expression.
“I thought he might not have mentioned it to you. Ohno told me yesterday he was bringing in a ‘very special friend’ because he needed to buy a new suit.”
Aiba blushed bright red, even though somewhere in the back of his mind he tried to tell himself that Koharu could be the special friend… but why would she need a suit? Chinen must have just been confused.
“But, when I asked what kind of styles I should prepare, he wouldn’t tell me. Or more likely couldn’t,” the younger man explained with a knowing expression.
When Aiba continued to sit in his chair, stunned and unable to make his mind work correctly in trying to understand the situation, Chinen only looked amused and motioned for him to stand up, which Aiba did without thinking.
“Let’s start with your measurements, and then we can discuss what sort of suit you want,” he said, pushing Aiba gently towards the center of the room, where some overhead lights were positioned to make seeing easier. “If you don’t mind, could you take off your pants? You can leave your shirt on, though, since it’s pretty thin.”
At that request, Aiba suddenly turned to Chinen, his hands up in front of him defensively. It wasn’t that he had a problem with taking his pants off, but he was certainly not going to get a new suit. With Koharu’s dress he couldn’t afford one, and he was not going to let Ohno pay for it… which is where the situation seemed to be headed.
“There must be a mistake. I don’t need a suit.” Besides, they were here for Ohno, weren’t they?
Chinen looked a little anxious that Aiba was resisting, but he tried to keep his expression friendly and trusting. “Ohno said you did. He said you’d been wearing the same one for the last three years.”
Opening his mouth to respond, the photographer shut it again when he realized what Chinen said was true. But how did Ohno know that?
“It’s fine-“
Now Chinen just looked annoyed. “If you’re serious about being Ohno’s associate, you need another one. What if one gets ripped or needs to be cleaned-dear lord, you do clean it, right?”
Aiba’s mouth dropped open again and he couldn’t respond to the insult. He realized that the image he was giving this man wasn’t exactly a very high class one and that in fact he wasn’t the sort of person suited to be friends with Ohno at all-
“I’m sorry,” Chinen apologized immediately, dropping his head as he noticed Aiba’s incredulous expression.
“I…clean it,” Aiba stumbled to get out, turning to the door to go find Ohno and Koharu, but Chinen shuffled to get in front of him, stopping the taller man with two shaking hands.
“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to say that!”
Aiba swallowed back the shame burning his throat and glanced down at the suit designer.
“Please,” Chinen begged. “I told Ohno that I would take care of you… I really don’t want to disappoint him…”
At that plea, Aiba’s heart immediately softened and he sighed, wondering how this had all happened so suddenly.
“At least let me take your measurements!” the employee requested, bowing his head even more than it already was and placing his hands properly on the front of his thighs.
There was no way that Aiba could say no to that now. He could sense the fear radiating off the younger man and he certainly understood his position. Not only was Ohno a long time patron of their shop, but also someone Chinen looked up to, and making him disappointed would probably send the boy into a depression.
But Aiba definitely couldn’t afford a new suit and he was completely against Ohno paying for it.
“Is there a problem?”
Both men turned to the door, where Ohno was peeking through shyly, as if he knew that Aiba wasn’t going to be compliant after all.
Overwhelmed by a wave of not wanting to disappoint Ohno either, but the threat of a bare pocket book still looming (he had to take care of Koharu, after all), Aiba couldn’t do anything else but sigh.
Ohno slowly opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in, looking worriedly at Aiba and then Chinen, who had straightened up and almost retreated completely behind the photographer when the artist came closer.
“Ohno, I can’t afford-“
“I’ll buy it.”
“No.”
The face that the artist made at Aiba’s blatant rejection almost made him take back the word immediately.
Dropping his gaze to the ground, Ohno continued to walk closer until he was only a foot in front of the taller man, and then tentatively raised his hand to brush aside some invisible dust on Aiba’s chest. He wouldn’t meet his eyes, though, no matter how hard Aiba was staring at him.
“Ohno…” he tried again, this time in a gentler tone.
“Johnny’s going to be there. I want to introduce you to him,” came the explanation in a small voice. “He’s been a big help to me and-“
The artist suddenly turned his head up to meet Aiba’s look, his eyes wide and sparkling with emotion.
“Please.”
The photographer stared at him in defeat and then suddenly pulled the small artist against him in a hug, which Ohno returned immediately.
“God, you really have me wrapped around your finger, don’t you?” Aiba whispered and was given a chuckle in return.
“Does that mean you’re going to cooperate?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” he asked with a smile, and loosened his grip to look at Ohno in the eye. It seemed like everything was immediately better, and Aiba wondered if it was all an act to get him to submit to his friend’s wishes. Either way, he still didn’t have a choice.
“Nope,” Ohno grinned, and it was obvious they would be sharing a make-up kiss already if Chinen wasn’t behind them, looking relieved and adjusting his measuring tape.
Finally dropping his arms away from the artist, Aiba turned towards the door and asked curiously, “Where’s Haru?”
“She’s getting measured too,” Ohno explained with his impish grin and the photographer tried to hold back a similar expression and instead forced himself to act annoyed or something (which was more unsuccessful than usual).
“You had this planned from the start, didn’t you?” he accused in a playful tone and then jumped at the other man, tickling him in the sides like he’d seen Jun do before.
Ohno was giggling so much he couldn’t respond, trying to push Aiba’s hands away while still protecting his sensitive spots, and the two men danced around the room like that for almost a full minute before they were brought back to themselves again.
Chinen cleared his throat and gave Aiba an expectant smile when the pair turned to him, the artist out of breath already and almost limp in the photographer’s grip.
“If you don’t mind… Can we get started?” he asked politely, his face a weak shade of red after witnessing the teasing between them. Aiba turned back to Ohno, making sure he could stand on his own before releasing him again and casually moving his hands to the waist of his pants in order to show the clothing expert his willingness to cooperate.
Chuckling, the artist moved right up against him, batting Aiba’s hands away, and started unfastening the belt himself.
“I’ll help,” he whispered.
Even though he realized how dangerous this situation was, what with Chinen watching and all (and it was probably a good thing he was, because otherwise they wouldn’t have halted at just taking the pants off), Aiba still couldn’t bring himself to stop Ohno’s long fingers from dipping into the crevice between his kaki’s and briefs.
Feeling his Adam’s apple bob as he tried to control himself, the photographer simply watched the sudden change in the artist’s eyes and the way his lips had just parted barely, as if begging the photographer to forget etiquette and kiss him.
He swallowed when his pants were pushed down a few inches on his waist and tried to stop a full on erection from coming out with just his mind… which was really difficult with the way Ohno was blatantly staring at his crotch.
Chinen cleared his throat again, and this time the photographer couldn’t bring himself to look at the younger man, closing his eyes instead as Ohno continued to remove the bottoms.
“There, all done!” the artist said cheerfully, pushing Aiba’s thighs gently to get him to step out of the clothing. When they were freed, he then picked up the khakis and began folding them while his friend tried to discreetly pull his t-shirt down as far as he could.
“Over here, please…” Chinen said in a feeble voice, indicated the middle of the room with all of the lights overhead, and he was also doing his best to not look at either of the other occupants.
“I’ll go check on Koharu,” Ohno offered, not acting apologetic at all for his display. He even smacked Aiba lightly on the ass before he sauntered out, causing the taller man to jump a little and turn to watch him close the door, full of embarrassment.
Chinen appeared to be mortified as he pulled the measuring tape out tautly and began running it around various parts of Aiba’s body, and the photographer couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, who looked like he’d been scarred or at least shaken a little.
“By the way, what kind of suit would you like?” he finally asked after several minutes of tense silence, extracting the tape from Aiba’s elbow and wrapping it around his neck once again.
“I’m honestly not sure.”
Chinen nodded, as if expecting an answer like that, and replied, “Well, I’ll just bring out our more popular styles and we’ll go from there, okay?”
Just glad that the employee was going to give him a moment to himself, Aiba mumbled a positive response and then shuffled back to his chair when Chinen turned to leave.
Another messy afternoon. It seemed like Aiba’s world had been turned around again after meeting Ohno, just like when Koharu had come into his life. But just like Koharu, there was no way he was giving the artist up now. He would just have to learn to go with the flow and possibly how to control his hormones a little better.
Before Chinen returned, Ohno did.
“Hey,” he smiled gently as he made his way to where Aiba was sitting and took up the seat next to him.
“Hey,” Aiba replied, feeling a strange change of emotion, like he hadn’t seen Ohno for days and was craving his presence, even though they hadn’t been apart for more than ten minutes.
With a short glance at the door, Ohno turned back to Aiba and kissed him quickly on the lips.
Of course Aiba smiled brightly in return and would have done the same back, except he knew that they would be interrupted any second and wanted to spare Chinen as much as he could.
“What kind of suit am I getting?” he asked instead, reaching up to run his thumb over the side of Ohno’s face, cupping his jaw in his palm.
After a moment of thought the artist replied, “Something quirky or unique would be good. Johnny likes a little flair,” his eyes crinkling a little along with the expression on his face.
“’Kay,” Aiba replied without really thinking about it. His thoughts were already overrun with reasons why he was so lucky to have met the artist, including how handsome and laid back he was, not to mention the way he smiled was adorable and he seemed to bask in the attention Aiba lavished on him like a puppy.
“Want to go out after this? There’s an Italian place close…” Ohno mumbled, leaning into the younger man’s touch with a satisfied look on his face.
“Yeah. Sounds good…”
Ohno continued to slowly fall forward, towards Aiba, and eventually stole another leisurely kiss.
“Aiba-chan, can we…?” he started under his breath in a seductive whisper, but Chinen chose that timing to come back in, pushing the door open quite obviously, and then waiting a full second before finally ducking his head in.
Feeling a little less anxious now, Aiba chuckled at the clear attempt to avoid catching them unaware, and Ohno did the same, watching the man and two other employees bring in a line of suits while continuing to lie against Aiba’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s look,” the photographer suggested in a relaxed tone once the suits were arranged and Chinen was glancing at them expectantly.
Ohno’s hand slipped into his, and Aiba couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about the action. If the artist felt comfortable enough to do that here, then he should feel that way too.
All in all, there were about fifteen coordinations, two with bow ties, and more than half of them made of plain black material.
Although they looked at each of them in turn, it was obvious which outfit Ohno was interested in.
The only suit with a bright color other than the small accents was a blue one on the end. It was almost shining in the overhead light and looked quite sharp with the black collared shirt and matching blue tie underneath.
Ohno touched it lightly with interest in his eyes and grinned at Aiba when he gave the shorter man a questioning look. “Blue’s my favorite color,” he explained shyly and the photographer squeezed his hand. It was strange how Ohno seemed indifferent about so many things, but when something grabbed his attention, it got all of it; somehow Aiba was reminded of that published photo of a fish that he had taken, the one that Ohno had liked so much.
When Chinen started chatting a little about the material of the suits and what was in fashion right now, Ohno began looking a little bored and finally mumbled that he was going to check on Koharu again before patting Aiba’s ass and leaving.
Aiba and Chinen were alone now and the conversation suddenly died.
Looking down the line of suits, it was obvious which he was going to take.
“Shall we start with the blue one?” Aiba suggested and Chinen suddenly smiled.
+++
It was impossible for Ohno to pick Aiba up before the party (he had to stay to make sure the preparations were complete, and he didn’t have a car anyway), and so he had designated the responsibility to Jun.
And of course with Jun came Sho, who Aiba was talking on the phone with while trying to get ready.
Because he had chosen the blue suit, Koharu had gotten a fluffy dress of the same color, and Aiba made sure she was ready first (plus it was infinitely easier to zip up the back of a dress than the complicated steps of his new ensemble) before attacking his nemesis in clothing form.
Of course Ohno had been pleased when he saw Aiba in the favored color, but when he suggested they abandon the black dress shirt for something a little more personalized, there was no way the photographer could say no.
Which had left him with a funny looking light blue replacement, covered in a bold lip print.
The black one had been part of the set, so he had taken that one home along with the rest of the outfit, but there was no way he could neglect Ohno’s attempt at fashion, since he was going to the reception for Ohno in the first place.
At least the tie wasn’t bad.
And after he did his hair a little, he looked fashionable instead of loony.
“Yeah, I’m at Jun’s right now and we were just about to leave to get you,” Sho was explaining as Aiba adjusting his tie and began unbuttoning the suit jacket to see which way looked better.
“Thanks for the ride, Sho-chan. But really, we can take a taxi or something… I mean, shouldn’t Jun be at the hotel already?”
“I’m not sure… He said it was okay, so…”
Aiba smoothed out the outlandish shirt and let out a tiny sigh. “If you say so…”
“By the way,” Sho started before the photographer could thank him and hang up, “I have a favor to ask.”
“What’s that?” Aiba replied, leaning in close to the mirror to check out his reflection, making sure he didn’t miss a spot shaving or something.
“I’m sorry, this is really strange,” Sho continued, lowering his voice a little, and Aiba had to strain to hear him properly. “Jun offered to do Koharu’s hair.”
Trying to figure out why Sho seemed so worried about that, Aiba turned from the mirror and glanced at where his daughter was pretending to have a date with the bear Ohno had given her at their low table.
Before he could ask, though, Sho continued in a rushed but quiet tone. “I mean, he just sort of casually mentioned it to me when I said I was going to call you, but he’s in the bathroom right now collecting hair spray and ribbons and a curling iron, and he seems really serious about it. I’m so sorry, but you’d be doing me a favor if you’d just let him do her hair before the party,” Sho begged and Aiba almost laughed.
“It’s fine, Sho-chan. I’m useless at that stuff anyway, so he’d actually be doing me a favor.”
He heard the designer let out a sigh of relief and mumble a gratuitous remark before reiterating that they would be leaving soon.
“Okay, we’ll meet you out front.”
By the time he convinced Koharu that the bear couldn’t come with them and collected his wallet and keys, Sho and Jun were already waiting for them in the manager’s oversized SUV.
“Thank you for the ride!” Aiba offered to Jun, who was in the driver’s seat with a pair of sunglasses on, and the younger man smiled back at him via the rear view mirror and nodded.
“I brought some candy for Koharu-chan, if you don’t mind,” Jun said, turning in his seat to pass back a packet of gummies to Aiba, and the girl next to him perked up.
“Oh, thanks…” the photographer replied, a little surprised.
“And a corsage, too.”
Jun handed the father a plastic box next, in which was a white flower decorated with light blue ribbons pinned to a piece of foam.
“And if it’s okay, I’ll do her hair-“ he tried to continue, but Aiba interrupted, feeling a little overwhelmed.
“Sho mentioned it. I’d appreciate the help.”
He wasn’t sure if Jun was trying to make a good impression or if he was just in the habit of spoiling people (which would explain a lot about Ohno, probably), but Aiba felt like he needed to be stopped before Koharu got greedy (not that that would ever happen).
Jun beamed at the designer sitting next to him in the passenger seat and Sho grinned and turned away, trying to hide his shy expression.
“Can I eat it, papa?” Koharu asked quietly, looking from Aiba’s face to the pack of candy in his hand.
“Let’s get your seatbelt on first,” he replied, reaching over to help the girl get adjusted while Jun waited.
And true to Sho’s explanation, when they reached the hotel and all piled out of the manager’s car to leave it in the care of a valet, one of the bags Jun brought with him was overflowing with hair products and accessories.
Although Koharu was set on keeping a hold of Aiba’s hand, the corsage in the other, Jun somehow coaxed her ahead with him, showing her what was in his bag, and left the photographer to walk with Sho a few feet behind them.
“So I guess you heard that Johnny likes weird clothes,” Aiba mumbled with a grin, glancing at the suit his friend was wearing quite obviously. It was brightly colored like his, mostly red with black and white stripes, but instead of a strangely printed dress shirt underneath it was a simple black with a matching tie.
Sho laughed at the comment and smiled widely. “Yeah, Jun mentioned it to me. Said I should wear something bold even if I felt strange.”
“Don’t worry, it looks good,” Aiba replied in an attempt to make him feel better, and Sho nodded and returned the compliment.
“You don’t usually wear blue, though, do you?”
Aiba blushed. “Ohno helped me pick it out.”
Sho grinned and nudged him in the side. “Are you two dating yet?”
“I guess,” Aiba mumbled back shyly as they stopped in front of an elevator in the lobby of the hotel. He wasn’t sure how to explain to Sho that he felt like they’d know each other for ten years already even though they’d only been out on two dates, and that was counting suit shopping.
Before he could inquire about the designer’s situation, though, they were piling onto the lift and Koharu was grasping his hand again.
“The party doesn’t officially start for another hour,” Jun explained, “but feel free to look around or whatever while they’re putting out dinner. Not much to see, but there’s a good view.”
Aiba glanced over at the manager as he spoke and noticed that his outfit looked fairly normal (or at least on Jun it looked normal). The only deviation from a regular black suit was the gold on the collar and matching outline on the pockets, but there were several other bags in his hands, so Aiba wondered if he was actually going to leave his outfit at that or not. Jun seemed too much of a pursuer of fashion to let an opportunity to use his creativity like this pass.
While Sho asked some questions about the schedule for the party, Aiba leaned down to wipe the dried sugar off of Koharu’s face. He really didn’t want her to eat candy before dinner, but it would have been rude to turn down Jun, and breaking the rules a little didn’t hurt, right? Besides, they were pretty early, so maybe a small snack had been a good idea on Jun’s part.
They quickly reached the top floor, where a grand meeting hall had been reserved for the party, and Jun stopped them before they went past the main lobby.
“That’s the prep room-Ohno’s probably in there,” he explained to Aiba, pointing to a door to the right, “and that should be an extra room,” he followed up, moving his finger across the hall in front of them. “We can do Koharu’s hair in there.”
As much as Aiba wanted to meet his date right away, he did the responsible thing and followed Jun into the indicated area, placing Koharu’s corsage on the coffee table and sitting next to her while the manager immediately rummaged through his bag and went to work combing out her locks.
“How should we do it, Koharu-chan? Curls? Curls would be cute…” Jun asked in a playful voice and Koharu was smiling at him, obviously excited about the prospect of having something more than a halfhearted braid.
Antsy the whole time, Aiba exchanged a look with Sho, who was standing behind Jun, leaning against the wall, and after five minutes he finally decided he could leave Koharu in the care of these two men. He was just going across the hall after all.
“Honey, papa’s going to go find Oh-chan, okay?”
Koharu looked at him with wide eyes, but nodded, and Aiba ducked forward to peck her on the forehead even as Jun was gently pulling her long hair up. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay, papa,” she replied and then smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
Sho also smiled at him as he left, but Jun was too caught up in his work (or he had just been expecting it to happen eventually) that he didn’t even turn when the photographer slowly pushed the door open and exited the room.
Going to the place that Jun had indicated Ohno was probably waiting, Aiba took a second to straighten his tie and fluff up his hair a little before knocking softly and straining to hear any noises from inside.
“Come in,” came Ohno’s voice and he was turning towards the entrance as the photographer pushed the door open and grinned at him, not waiting to walk in even though there was another man in the room with the artist.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Aiba asked quietly, his expression turning sheepish, and Ohno faced the last occupant, silently asking him if they could push their meeting back a few minutes.
But before they had even made eye contact, the man was already nodding and heading towards the exit, slipping behind Aiba and promising he’d be back soon.
“Masaki,” Ohno said sweetly as he walked across the room, which was littered with flowers, cards, and extra decorations from the main hall, and Aiba watched him closely, feeling his heart speed up.
When they had gone to buy suits, Ohno had only picked his up, having been in there a week before to get fitted and choose his pattern, and so Aiba actually had no idea what to expect from the older man tonight.
He was wearing a plain black suit with a vest underneath, but the dress shirt on the very bottom of it all was a bold print of red plaid, and although he looked mildly like a lumberjack, Aiba thought it somehow fit him.
Ohno glanced down shyly as they finally stood facing each other, just a little space still between them, and unconsciously smoothed out Aiba’s sleeve while the photographer’s hand immediately went around his waist.
“I’m sorry. You’re probably busy,” Aiba mumbled, leaning towards Ohno, but not close enough to actually meet his body with his own. “I just came to say hi.”
“Hi,” Ohno replied without hesitation, looking up at Aiba and grinning so widely most of his teeth were visible.
“Hi.”
For a moment they just stared at each other, smiling like idiots, and then finally Aiba loosened his hold on the older man and began backing up.
“Well, I guess that’s all, then,” he said teasingly, pretending to head for the door even though he had no intention of actually leaving.
But his actions had the desired effect and Ohno grabbed him, pulling their bodies back together.
“What do you mean ‘that’s all’?” the artist asked with a fake pout, looking pointedly between Aiba’s mouth and his eyes.
“What?” Aiba was laughing even though he tried to make it seem like he had no idea what Ohno was insinuating.
“That’s not a proper greeting.”
Pressing their lips together firmly with his hand around the smaller man’s waist again, Aiba tried his best to take away Ohno’s breath through a proper greeting.
When the photographer pulled away roughly ten seconds later, Ohno hummed in satisfaction, blinking dreamily at his date with a smirk that was slowly becoming his signature look in Aiba’s presence.
He was ecstatic that his date had agreed to come and bring Koharu with him, since it would make a boring night of being forced to have dry conversation with Johnny and other old men into something a little more exciting. Even if Ohno couldn’t cling to the photographer for the greater part of the evening, which he intended to do, just snatching looks at his dashing partner from across the room would put him in a soaring mood.
“I guess I’d really better leave you alone, huh? You’re probably busy,” Aiba whispered, kissing Ohno’s forehead once, then his nose, and finally his lips.
“Actually, I do have a few things I still need to take care of…” Ohno admitted in a hesitant voice, even though the last thing he wanted right now was to be devoid of Aiba’s presence.
Sighing softly, the taller man gave his date another brief kiss and then removed his grip from Ohno’s waist, forcing himself to retreat a little to give them room.
“It’s not like I won’t be here all night,” Aiba mumbled, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself to leave than Ohno.
But of course when other people started coming and they were caught in the crowd they wouldn’t be able to do much more than share a few gentle touches, which is why the artist didn’t want anything to start at all. He’d be satisfied to just stay in this room with Aiba all night…if only Jun would let him.
“Anyway,” the photographer said, forcing a smile, “I’ll leave you to it.”
Once again Aiba tried to turn to leave, but Ohno grabbed his hand and so the taller man turned back to face him.
“Wait. Where’s Haru-chan? I want to say hi to her too.”
Aiba grinned and pulled Ohno behind him, their shoulders almost touching the entire way to the next room, but he released his grip immediately when Sho’s eyes fell on them and Jun turned around upon their entrance.
When Koharu saw him, she jumped out of her chair and rushed over to the artist, giving him a big hug around the waist.
“Wow, look at how beautiful you are!” Ohno cooed, scooping the girl up easily and balancing her on his hip while he examined her dress and hair. “You’re like a princess! We need to get you a crown or something!”
“I have one,” Jun replied in a dead pan voice, then immediately began digging through his bag in an attempt to find it, “although I really think this bow would look better. It matches the color of her dress almost exactly.”
Although the man of the night grinned at his friend in amusement, he didn’t verbally respond and began twirling around a little instead, making Koharu giggle and grasp onto him tightly.
After a moment he sat her back on her feet and gently patted her on the head while she continued to laugh, then looked at Jun pointedly and loudly whispered to her, “I guess I’d better let you go back to Jun or else he’ll get mad at me.”
The pair glanced at the manager together, and he was frowning and raising his eyebrow in irritation at the comment, which only made Ohno and Koharu start laughing again. But the girl trotted back over to her chair and properly sat down and the stylist immediately went back to work, and before Ohno left with a soft apology, he discreetly brushed his fingers against Aiba’s.
It took another ten minutes for the perfectionist that was Matsumoto Jun to get all of the curls in the place that he wanted them to be and then Aiba finally took Koharu by the hand to check out the main reception hall and give Sho a little time with his boyfriend.
It was just as Jun had said. The mid-sized room was mostly bare, with only a few round tables high enough to stand at, a lower one obviously meant for food, and some chairs lining the walls, but there were wide windows all around the expanse of the corridor, allowing a good view of the city that was just beginning to be covered in darkness.
With a delighted gasp, Koharu ran over to the nearest one to look out, and Aiba smiled, wondering how Sho was going to fare tonight, since he was scared of heights and all.
After getting over the excitement of being in such a high place, the father and daughter eventually took up seats near the window closest to the entrance, watching as some workers in white suits began arranging food on the lower tables, and discussed what they though each item tasted like.
“That’s definitely pumpkin,” Aiba said in a confident voice, referring to a mass of orange sitting in a pie crust with a small dollop of whipped cream on top.
“I think its tomato,” Koharu argued, bouncing up and down on her father’s lap and generally not paying attention to anything other than running her tiny fingers over the lines in Aiba’s palm.
“Why? You’re not even looking!” the father argued in amusement. “Hey, is that chicken?” he asked next, perking up and trying to make out the deep fried entrée.
There was a rumbling laugh to his left and Aiba turned immediately to see Nino and his boyfriend sneaking in through the entrance to the room. There weren’t any other guests waiting in the main hall like Aiba and his daughter, but after the newly arrived pair, five other people trailed in, so Aiba could only assume they had been deterred by the closed doors.
“Nino, you’re early!” Aiba greeted, pleasantly delighted (even though Nino was generally very conscious of time and polite with basically everyone other than his childhood friend), and helped Koharu off of his legs so he could stand to talk with the shop owner.
“Touma-chan!” the girl squeed when she saw the arrived couple, and immediately ran at the man accompanying Nino, jumping into his arms as he bent over to catch her.
“She doesn’t do that to me,” Nino complained with a displeased expression, and Aiba had to refrain from being rude and laughing.
“That’s because you don’t do that,” Aiba explained simply as Touma spun her around unabashedly, raising her high above his head as she giggled.
Actually, although there had never been any incidents, Nino generally didn’t like children and children generally didn’t like Nino. Since Koharu was better behaved than most, they had managed a cordial friendship and Nino had even come around to bribing her with video games and candy, but it was like pulling teeth to get them any closer than that no matter how much Aiba wanted to.
Touma was a different story, though. From the first time Nino had casually dropped by to introduce him as his new boyfriend, Koharu had taken to him, falling for his childish grin and energetic attitude.
“Look, Touma-chan! Look! Look!” Koharu said excitedly, pulling on the sleeve of Touma’s suit and dragging him towards the window to show how high up they were. There was banter between the two of them of how far they could see and that the people looked like ants, and Aiba couldn’t hold back his grin.
Nino wasn’t doing much better; he had to glance away from the sugary pair in an attempt to keep his sour expression in place.
“What are you wearing, anyway? What the hell is this?” Nino asked suddenly, trying to change the subject, and began pulling lightly at Aiba’s lip print shirt.
“It’s fashion?” Aiba guessed, not willing to disclose the fact that he couldn’t say no to Ohno but not exactly willing to take responsibility for it either.
“Oh please. I know fashion and this is not it.”
Aiba glanced down at Nino’s suit and wasn’t surprised by the chic looking pin striped jacket accented with black pockets. Touma was wearing a similar print, although his white stripes were much thinner and appeared on his pants too, and Aiba had a vaguely funny impression that Nino had dressed him.
“Koharu looks cute, though. Her hair is mildly impressive,” he conceded with a satisfied nod, and then glanced at Aiba as if waiting for him to spill his secret to success. Jun had pulled the girls hair into a pony tail on the top of her head and then curled it into tight ringlets before tying the blue bow he had been insistent on using around the rubber band holding it all together.
“I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re asking,” Aiba replied under his breath. There was no way he could take credit for it, and Nino would know that he was lying anyway.
Apparently content with that answer or not wanting to push the subject any more, the gamer started looking around the room, which wasn’t even half full by that time, and conversationally asked, “So where’s Ohno?”
“I’m not sure,” Aiba replied, trying not to let his disappointment show, although it was obvious from the look in Nino’s eyes that he’d noticed it. “He’s been busy with some other stuff.”
His friend hummed a response as Touma and Koharu ran back over to them, both out of breath, and Aiba picked his daughter up when she leaned against his leg.
But when Touma returned to his boyfriend’s side, Nino hit him lightly on the head. “We are in a public place,” he said teasingly, pretending like he was chiding a kid, but Touma only grinned at him and apologized. Nino turned away again in an attempt to keep from Aiba seeing him grin like an idiot (even though he saw it anyway), and Touma finally turned to the photographer.
“Hey Aiba-chan. How’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. Busy with work, but not much new.”
“I know how that goes,” he replied conversationally, then ducked past Nino to add under his breath, “Hey, Kazu said I get to meet your boyfriend tonight.”
Aiba blushed and floundered for a quick answer. “He’s not really… my boyfriend…”
“I heard he’s really nice and that he’s good friends with Koharu!” Touma added, pinching the girl’s cheeks teasingly, and she laughed at him even while trying to swat the man’s hand away. “And, I mean, this is his party, right?”
“Oh, you’re talking about Oh-chan,” Koharu broke in, as if she’s been trying to figure out the answer to a puzzle for the last few minutes of conversation.
“Oh-chan, huh? He sounds so nice," Touma said to the girl and she beamed back at him, apparently getting ready to burst into an explanation of Ohno's finer points as a playmate, but before she could, Nino grabbed his boyfriend's attention as the gamer began a mumbled conversation with Aiba.
"Woah, would you look at those two? That's a power couple if I ever saw one."
Glad for an excuse to change the conversation from him and Ohno to something else, Aiba glanced over to where Nino was staring, but there were enough people in the room now that he wasn't sure who he was talking about.
"Shit, he looks like he owns the place. And that guy next to him looks like he should be a freakin' TV personality or something. One of the guys that women watch the news for. Eye candy, you know?" Nino began rambling and let out a low whistle, obviously disregarding the mildly irritated glare that Touma was sending him. Aiba wondered if he was just doing it to egg him on, since the pair had a fairly teasing relationship, but for the photographer, something as blatant as checking out other men was going a little too far.
"God, the first one, the guy in the sunglasses is gorgeous. Now that's what I call fashion, Aiba-chan."
Touma grabbed Nino around the waist and the gamer continued to try to ignore him with a smirk on his lips, but when the taller man pulled him flush against his body, the shop owner finally began laughing and met Touma's you'll pay for that later look.
Aiba laughed at the pair good naturedly, but realized very quickly who the two men that his friend had picked out of the crowd were, and that they were coming towards them. He wondered what Nino and Touma were going to do when confronted directly with Mr. Gorgeous and his television personality boyfriend.
Sho met his eyes, looking nervous and embarrassed and Aiba could definitely imagine the reason why. Jun had accented his relatively normal suit with a rimmed red hat and matching sunglasses, even though they were inside. Now he was looking a little strange like Aiba and Sho, but he was pulling it off much better than either of them, and just like Nino had said, he was strutting around like he owned the place (which might actually be the case if Aiba decided to think about it long enough).
The photographer was grinning though. Jun now matched Sho's suit to almost the exact shade, and with the way that Jun was basically stuck to his side, there was no mistaking that they were a couple or at least very close (to those women who would rather convince themselves there was still a chance for them instead of giving in immediately to the image of the two handsome men having sex). But to Aiba, Jun's aura was emitting warning signs to the people staring at them while at the same time basking in the attention.
When it was obvious that the pair was headed for the small group of men, Nino turned towards Touma more, blushing a little, and his boyfriend smiled brightly, trying to keep his triumphant expression in check.
"I'm sorry we took so long, Aiba," Sho apologized immediately, although he still looked mildly uncomfortable at the way Jun was nearly smothering him with his presence. Aiba noticed that the manager's hand had automatically come to rest around his date's waist when they had stopped and Aiba felt a little embarrassed for Sho himself, since it caused a few people that were already staring at them to start whispering.
"Oh, Sho-chan, it's you..." Nino mumbled, looking even more mortified than a second ago. "I didn't recognize you..."
"Ah, Nino. Aiba mentioned he invited you," the designer returned the greeting, nodding to the game shop owner that he had actually only met once, maybe twice if you counted a wave from Aiba's window as they drove off.
Despite that, though, Nino had already taken to calling Aiba's business friend 'Sho-chan', since that's what he was called by both the photographer and his daughter, and it was the same situation with Ohno, although Aiba could justify that a little more, as the artist was slowly becoming a permanent fixture in their lives.
"By the way, this is my, uh... date," Nino explained when Sho glanced over at the taller man standing next to him, but before he could explain any more, there was a sudden interruption.
"Touma? What're you doing here?"
Jun had reached up to take off his glasses, and was staring at the mentioned man with an incredulous but pleased expression as he distractedly fumbled to get the accessory into his front pocket.
“Jun?” Touma replied with a grin, but immediately turned to Nino and whispered something like you’re really going to pay for that comment now before either of them offered an explanation as to why they were already acquainted.
Sho looked confused and Aiba was glancing back and forth between his two friends, wondering how in the world they already knew each other, but somehow the girl in his arms didn’t seemed surprised, like she had somehow figured it out already or didn’t understand the concept of two of her friends not being friends too.
At his date’s expression, Jun finally laughed and said, “Touma’s my cousin… or something? I actually don’t even know how we’re related, but somehow he always ends up at my grandparent’s for the Obon festival.”
Aiba nodded with a slightly open mouth. “Wow, small world.”
“Yeah,” Touma agreed with a grin, then pointed out Nino to Jun. “This is my boyfriend, Ninomiya Kazunari.” He paused, then laughed and added, “I think you’re the first person I’ve introduced him to like that.”
A shimmering of understanding flew through Jun’s eyes and he turned to Sho. “Aiba’s best friend Nino?” he asked for clarification, and although Sho still looked a little lost, he nodded, and the photographer wondered if they were going to continue to keep him out of the conversation despite his obvious connecting role between the four men.
“Seriously, what a coincidence,” Jun said in amusement, glancing at Nino and Touma, then noticed the pointed look his relative was sending him in reference to the red clad man, who he was obviously acting very over protective with. “Ah, Touma. This is Sho, my…” Suddenly the manager looked a little uneasy and glanced at his date, clearly floundering over what to call him.
“B-boyfriend is okay,” Sho mumbled in a shy tone, blushing all the way down to his neck, but Jun smiled brightly and kissed him firmly on the cheek, making the designer wince and creating a new wave of whispers around the other guests in the immediate vicinity.
Aiba grinned at his friend’s obvious discomfort at the public display and tried to subtly block Koharu’s sight by pulling her closer to his chest.
But, although Ohno had been on his mind all night, he only now realized that if Jun had finally made an appearance, the artist might be here somewhere too… even if Aiba should leave him alone to do his work.
“Nice to meet you,” Touma said brightly, offering his hand to the slightly frazzled designer, which Sho immediately shook back in an attempt to ignore Jun, who hadn’t backed off at all after his attack.
“You too.”
Not one to disregard proper etiquette, though, Jun leaned toward Nino, offering the arm that wasn’t still wrapped around his date.
“And nice to finally meet you, Nino,” he said with a grin, but Touma had stopped moving back to his original position and was half standing in his way so he couldn’t proceed any further.
“You don’t need to bother with this little brat,” he explained and the said brat hit him lightly on the shoulder, weakly trying to push him out of the way. Jun looked a little taken back, but Aiba was avidly attempting to hold in his laughter at the overprotective attitude that Touma himself had developed after Nino had been teasing him earlier about how handsome Jun was. It was weird how similar Jun and Touma were, and the photographer could certainly see that they were related, at least in personality.
“Touma,” Nino whined. “Don’t be mean!”
The taller man turned around and pushed his date back a few steps with his body, sending him a mock-warning look. After leaning down and whispering something in Nino’s ear, the predator grinned at the flustered expression he’d caused and then finally turned back to Sho and Jun, who were both looking curious.
“Sorry for interrupting.”
Nino looked less sure now, but still slowly extended his hand towards the manager, who raised his to return the action.
“By the way, Jun, Nino was admiring your ensemble earlier. He said it was very fashionable,” Touma added, pointedly looked at his boyfriend with a mischievous stare, but Nino immediately tensed up and blushed as badly as Sho had. Jun still grasped onto him, though, with a pleased grin and thanked him for thinking so as he energetically shook Nino’s hand.
Aiba immediately perked up when he caught Ohno through the crowd, forcing a smile and shaking someone’s hand himself, and through some invisible connection, the artist immediately swiveled his head and met the photographer’s eyes, his demeanor instantly changing to genuine and a little relieved. He turned to the man and nodded, said something, and then made a bee-line for Aiba and Koharu.
Touma and Jun had just started a light conversation about something or other, obliviously catching up, when the artist squeezed himself between his manager and Aiba, not paying attention to anyone but his date and the girl in his arms.
“How’s everything-“ Aiba started to ask just as Jun turned to see who had shoved him a little, but they were all stopped by Touma, who looked delighted at the new arrival, and then as several other emotions fought for part of his face.
“Ohno-“ he said with a grin, then glanced at Aiba and Koharu. “Oh-chan.”
“Oh, Touma,” the artist looked mildly surprised, and then did a full once over of the circle of men, as if expecting someone else he wasn’t planning on attending to be present as well.
His eyes fell on Jun and he casually asked, “Did you invite him?”
“I invited him,” Nino replied quickly, looking already recovered from his boyfriend’s antics.
“Oh, Kazu,” was the only response Ohno gave, but Touma looked a little ruffled and turned to Nino pointedly.
“Why did he call you Kazu?” he whispered, looking surprised and jealous at the same time.
The gamer seemed a little uncomfortable again, but still tried to shrug it off. “I call him Oh-chan, so…”
There was an awkward silence, and Aiba muffled his snicker in Koharu’s hair, imagining just how much Touma was going to punish Nino later.
“Anyway, thanks for coming,” the artist mumbled, apparently not picking up on the tense atmosphere, and finally turned back to the photographer, his real goal. “Aiba, do you have a minute? I’ll introduce you to Johnny.”
“Sure. Can I bring Haru-chan?” he asked, setting his daughter down on the ground and taking her hand in one of his while the other automatically sought out Ohno’s lower back.
“Of course.”
+++
A/N: Update taim! Yep, it turned into Touma/Nino. (Still writing Touma with a u =A= I can't help it, it's habit now...) I really liked writing them in this chapter. So happy and teasing. ^.^ And a little more Sakumoto air time too. How was it?
By the way, this might be put on hold for a few weeks through the holidays. I don't know what kind of free time I'll have (I'm going to yarukizero's house YAY) and there's a few other stories/drabbles I want to get posted. :) So sorry, but here's another long update to hold you over!
Love you guys~
Chapter six
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Aiba/Ohno, Jun/Sho
Genre: Romance, AU
Chapter: five
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Aiba becomes interested in Ohno, a recently popular artist, but it’s difficult to get a boyfriend when you have a kid…Everyone seems to think you’re straight.
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
The reception for the donated painting was in two days, and Aiba had found himself in the back of a taxi, with Koharu seated between him and the artist. Ohno had gone out of his way to convince Aiba to accompany him to the suit shop, and even though the photographer had to use that favor Kame owed him, he got away from work early enough to accommodate the request. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Ohno anyway, since they hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and (assuming they had girl’s dresses too) he could finally buy something proper for Koharu to wear to a gathering like this.
Ohno was playing some sort of clapping game with Koharu while they traveled and Aiba watched distractedly, crunching numbers in his head to see how much money he could spend today. He had already bought enough groceries to last until his paycheck at the end of the month, and he should be getting that bonus from the idol photoshoot…but the electric bill hadn’t come through yet and he had to buy that game from Nino before next Saturday…
Aiba perked up suddenly. “Hey Ohno,” he started in a conversational tone.
The older man turned to him, his hands still moving (although somewhat haphazardly) to keep Koharu’s attention. “Hmm?”
“You said I could invite anyone I wanted to the hospital reception thing, right?” he asked slowly, swallowing back the part of him that avoided causing other people problems at all costs. Ohno had already taken care of Koharu on his day off and proven that he didn’t mind Aiba asking a favor occasionally, so he should be able to suggest it without feeling guilty…
“Yeah?” Ohno replied with a blank expression.
“Well, I was wondering if I could give a ticket to Nino? He’s been sort of bugging me lately about not hanging out with him…” Actually, the phone message had been something more like youre ditching me for your new boyfriend D:< and Aiba had discovered quickly that bad things happen from making Nino jealous or more overprotective of his childhood friend than necessary. The obvious route to solve the problem was to get Nino and Ohno to become friends, and then the gamer wouldn’t complain about Aiba’s new love interest as much as he had been recently. And inviting him to one of Ohno’s art events would definitely be brownie points for the both of them in Nino’s book.
“Sure. I don’t mind,” Ohno responded with a shrug and Aiba smiled back in relief. It wasn’t like the question was really that important, but what would he have done if Ohno had said something like Well, it’s supposed to be really small… and rejected him?
The cab pulled over as Aiba was thanking the artist and before he could do anything else, Ohno was already handing the driver a bill. Although he tried to protest, Aiba was blatantly ignored as Koharu and her playmate sauntered in the shop ahead of him. The photographer could only shake his head and try to keep a small grin from his lips.
When he gently closed the doors behind him, the air conditioning in the building immediately cooling his sweaty skin, Aiba glanced to where Ohno was already chatting with a woman in a voice soft enough that the photographer couldn’t make out what they were saying. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to overhear anyway, since there was a weird air of secrecy around them.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly instead and wondering vaguely if he was going to get the opportunity to watch Ohno undress and be measured for a suit, Aiba stood in the entranceway until the artist retrieved him with a smirk.
With a hand on Aiba’s elbow, Ohno began pulling him back into the shop with Koharu on his other side.
“I’m going to walk around the shop with Haru-chan so we can look at the dresses really quickly. Why don’t you wait here and we’ll be back soon?”
Aiba, feeling a little confused at the sudden change in situation, glanced at his surroundings. He was in a room with a few chairs set against the wall and a group of mirrors in one corner; it was a little small, but the furniture indicated a waiting area, so he shrugged and allowed himself to be directed to one of the seats.
Before he sat, though, the photographer turned to Ohno and mumbled, “I need to buy her something anyway, so if there’s anything she likes feel free to have it readied.”
With a smirk that was far too mischievous for something as boring as shopping for clothes, Ohno nodded and dragged the girl (who was more than willing) back through the door they had entered.
Aiba pondered on the situation for a second, wondering what kind of dress they should get for Koharu and how much it was going to cost, and if Ohno would return before he got measured for his suit, or possibly if they were going to do that here (there were mirrors in the corner after all). When he had finally relaxed a little and his thoughts had turned to something more like daydreams of Ohno in a half clothed state, the door opened leisurely and a man that Aiba hadn’t met yet came in.
“Hello!” the stranger began cheerfully, and the waiting patron could only assume this man worked here from the style of clothes he was wearing and the measuring tape around his neck. “You must be Aiba-chan.”
The photographer stiffened a little at the casual use of his nickname and simply watched the employee approach him, a wide smile on the younger man’s face (there was a playful twinkle in his eye that looked a little familiar, too).
“Ohno told me you were waiting in here,” he explained and Aiba calmed down. He hadn’t realized that the artist had such a tight relationship with this store, but with the way he was talking quietly with the employees and tromping around like he owned the place, it only made sense.
“My name’s Chinen,” the man introduced himself with a smile and Aiba nodded at him, finally returning the gesture, although somewhat tensely.
As Chinen began pulling the measuring tape from around his shoulders he conversationally added, “I’m actually a big fan of Ohno’s. He’s been coming here for years, but I only got the opportunity to see his art recently in a magazine. I was really surprised! He’s becoming pretty famous, isn’t he?”
Aiba didn’t answer, since this guy had probably known Ohno for longer than him.
The employee laughed nervously at the lack of response and held up the measuring tape unsurely. “Shall we get started, then?”
“Huh?” came the eloquent reply.
The mischievous gleam was back and Chinen giggled more naturally at Aiba’s confused expression.
“I thought he might not have mentioned it to you. Ohno told me yesterday he was bringing in a ‘very special friend’ because he needed to buy a new suit.”
Aiba blushed bright red, even though somewhere in the back of his mind he tried to tell himself that Koharu could be the special friend… but why would she need a suit? Chinen must have just been confused.
“But, when I asked what kind of styles I should prepare, he wouldn’t tell me. Or more likely couldn’t,” the younger man explained with a knowing expression.
When Aiba continued to sit in his chair, stunned and unable to make his mind work correctly in trying to understand the situation, Chinen only looked amused and motioned for him to stand up, which Aiba did without thinking.
“Let’s start with your measurements, and then we can discuss what sort of suit you want,” he said, pushing Aiba gently towards the center of the room, where some overhead lights were positioned to make seeing easier. “If you don’t mind, could you take off your pants? You can leave your shirt on, though, since it’s pretty thin.”
At that request, Aiba suddenly turned to Chinen, his hands up in front of him defensively. It wasn’t that he had a problem with taking his pants off, but he was certainly not going to get a new suit. With Koharu’s dress he couldn’t afford one, and he was not going to let Ohno pay for it… which is where the situation seemed to be headed.
“There must be a mistake. I don’t need a suit.” Besides, they were here for Ohno, weren’t they?
Chinen looked a little anxious that Aiba was resisting, but he tried to keep his expression friendly and trusting. “Ohno said you did. He said you’d been wearing the same one for the last three years.”
Opening his mouth to respond, the photographer shut it again when he realized what Chinen said was true. But how did Ohno know that?
“It’s fine-“
Now Chinen just looked annoyed. “If you’re serious about being Ohno’s associate, you need another one. What if one gets ripped or needs to be cleaned-dear lord, you do clean it, right?”
Aiba’s mouth dropped open again and he couldn’t respond to the insult. He realized that the image he was giving this man wasn’t exactly a very high class one and that in fact he wasn’t the sort of person suited to be friends with Ohno at all-
“I’m sorry,” Chinen apologized immediately, dropping his head as he noticed Aiba’s incredulous expression.
“I…clean it,” Aiba stumbled to get out, turning to the door to go find Ohno and Koharu, but Chinen shuffled to get in front of him, stopping the taller man with two shaking hands.
“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to say that!”
Aiba swallowed back the shame burning his throat and glanced down at the suit designer.
“Please,” Chinen begged. “I told Ohno that I would take care of you… I really don’t want to disappoint him…”
At that plea, Aiba’s heart immediately softened and he sighed, wondering how this had all happened so suddenly.
“At least let me take your measurements!” the employee requested, bowing his head even more than it already was and placing his hands properly on the front of his thighs.
There was no way that Aiba could say no to that now. He could sense the fear radiating off the younger man and he certainly understood his position. Not only was Ohno a long time patron of their shop, but also someone Chinen looked up to, and making him disappointed would probably send the boy into a depression.
But Aiba definitely couldn’t afford a new suit and he was completely against Ohno paying for it.
“Is there a problem?”
Both men turned to the door, where Ohno was peeking through shyly, as if he knew that Aiba wasn’t going to be compliant after all.
Overwhelmed by a wave of not wanting to disappoint Ohno either, but the threat of a bare pocket book still looming (he had to take care of Koharu, after all), Aiba couldn’t do anything else but sigh.
Ohno slowly opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in, looking worriedly at Aiba and then Chinen, who had straightened up and almost retreated completely behind the photographer when the artist came closer.
“Ohno, I can’t afford-“
“I’ll buy it.”
“No.”
The face that the artist made at Aiba’s blatant rejection almost made him take back the word immediately.
Dropping his gaze to the ground, Ohno continued to walk closer until he was only a foot in front of the taller man, and then tentatively raised his hand to brush aside some invisible dust on Aiba’s chest. He wouldn’t meet his eyes, though, no matter how hard Aiba was staring at him.
“Ohno…” he tried again, this time in a gentler tone.
“Johnny’s going to be there. I want to introduce you to him,” came the explanation in a small voice. “He’s been a big help to me and-“
The artist suddenly turned his head up to meet Aiba’s look, his eyes wide and sparkling with emotion.
“Please.”
The photographer stared at him in defeat and then suddenly pulled the small artist against him in a hug, which Ohno returned immediately.
“God, you really have me wrapped around your finger, don’t you?” Aiba whispered and was given a chuckle in return.
“Does that mean you’re going to cooperate?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” he asked with a smile, and loosened his grip to look at Ohno in the eye. It seemed like everything was immediately better, and Aiba wondered if it was all an act to get him to submit to his friend’s wishes. Either way, he still didn’t have a choice.
“Nope,” Ohno grinned, and it was obvious they would be sharing a make-up kiss already if Chinen wasn’t behind them, looking relieved and adjusting his measuring tape.
Finally dropping his arms away from the artist, Aiba turned towards the door and asked curiously, “Where’s Haru?”
“She’s getting measured too,” Ohno explained with his impish grin and the photographer tried to hold back a similar expression and instead forced himself to act annoyed or something (which was more unsuccessful than usual).
“You had this planned from the start, didn’t you?” he accused in a playful tone and then jumped at the other man, tickling him in the sides like he’d seen Jun do before.
Ohno was giggling so much he couldn’t respond, trying to push Aiba’s hands away while still protecting his sensitive spots, and the two men danced around the room like that for almost a full minute before they were brought back to themselves again.
Chinen cleared his throat and gave Aiba an expectant smile when the pair turned to him, the artist out of breath already and almost limp in the photographer’s grip.
“If you don’t mind… Can we get started?” he asked politely, his face a weak shade of red after witnessing the teasing between them. Aiba turned back to Ohno, making sure he could stand on his own before releasing him again and casually moving his hands to the waist of his pants in order to show the clothing expert his willingness to cooperate.
Chuckling, the artist moved right up against him, batting Aiba’s hands away, and started unfastening the belt himself.
“I’ll help,” he whispered.
Even though he realized how dangerous this situation was, what with Chinen watching and all (and it was probably a good thing he was, because otherwise they wouldn’t have halted at just taking the pants off), Aiba still couldn’t bring himself to stop Ohno’s long fingers from dipping into the crevice between his kaki’s and briefs.
Feeling his Adam’s apple bob as he tried to control himself, the photographer simply watched the sudden change in the artist’s eyes and the way his lips had just parted barely, as if begging the photographer to forget etiquette and kiss him.
He swallowed when his pants were pushed down a few inches on his waist and tried to stop a full on erection from coming out with just his mind… which was really difficult with the way Ohno was blatantly staring at his crotch.
Chinen cleared his throat again, and this time the photographer couldn’t bring himself to look at the younger man, closing his eyes instead as Ohno continued to remove the bottoms.
“There, all done!” the artist said cheerfully, pushing Aiba’s thighs gently to get him to step out of the clothing. When they were freed, he then picked up the khakis and began folding them while his friend tried to discreetly pull his t-shirt down as far as he could.
“Over here, please…” Chinen said in a feeble voice, indicated the middle of the room with all of the lights overhead, and he was also doing his best to not look at either of the other occupants.
“I’ll go check on Koharu,” Ohno offered, not acting apologetic at all for his display. He even smacked Aiba lightly on the ass before he sauntered out, causing the taller man to jump a little and turn to watch him close the door, full of embarrassment.
Chinen appeared to be mortified as he pulled the measuring tape out tautly and began running it around various parts of Aiba’s body, and the photographer couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, who looked like he’d been scarred or at least shaken a little.
“By the way, what kind of suit would you like?” he finally asked after several minutes of tense silence, extracting the tape from Aiba’s elbow and wrapping it around his neck once again.
“I’m honestly not sure.”
Chinen nodded, as if expecting an answer like that, and replied, “Well, I’ll just bring out our more popular styles and we’ll go from there, okay?”
Just glad that the employee was going to give him a moment to himself, Aiba mumbled a positive response and then shuffled back to his chair when Chinen turned to leave.
Another messy afternoon. It seemed like Aiba’s world had been turned around again after meeting Ohno, just like when Koharu had come into his life. But just like Koharu, there was no way he was giving the artist up now. He would just have to learn to go with the flow and possibly how to control his hormones a little better.
Before Chinen returned, Ohno did.
“Hey,” he smiled gently as he made his way to where Aiba was sitting and took up the seat next to him.
“Hey,” Aiba replied, feeling a strange change of emotion, like he hadn’t seen Ohno for days and was craving his presence, even though they hadn’t been apart for more than ten minutes.
With a short glance at the door, Ohno turned back to Aiba and kissed him quickly on the lips.
Of course Aiba smiled brightly in return and would have done the same back, except he knew that they would be interrupted any second and wanted to spare Chinen as much as he could.
“What kind of suit am I getting?” he asked instead, reaching up to run his thumb over the side of Ohno’s face, cupping his jaw in his palm.
After a moment of thought the artist replied, “Something quirky or unique would be good. Johnny likes a little flair,” his eyes crinkling a little along with the expression on his face.
“’Kay,” Aiba replied without really thinking about it. His thoughts were already overrun with reasons why he was so lucky to have met the artist, including how handsome and laid back he was, not to mention the way he smiled was adorable and he seemed to bask in the attention Aiba lavished on him like a puppy.
“Want to go out after this? There’s an Italian place close…” Ohno mumbled, leaning into the younger man’s touch with a satisfied look on his face.
“Yeah. Sounds good…”
Ohno continued to slowly fall forward, towards Aiba, and eventually stole another leisurely kiss.
“Aiba-chan, can we…?” he started under his breath in a seductive whisper, but Chinen chose that timing to come back in, pushing the door open quite obviously, and then waiting a full second before finally ducking his head in.
Feeling a little less anxious now, Aiba chuckled at the clear attempt to avoid catching them unaware, and Ohno did the same, watching the man and two other employees bring in a line of suits while continuing to lie against Aiba’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s look,” the photographer suggested in a relaxed tone once the suits were arranged and Chinen was glancing at them expectantly.
Ohno’s hand slipped into his, and Aiba couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about the action. If the artist felt comfortable enough to do that here, then he should feel that way too.
All in all, there were about fifteen coordinations, two with bow ties, and more than half of them made of plain black material.
Although they looked at each of them in turn, it was obvious which outfit Ohno was interested in.
The only suit with a bright color other than the small accents was a blue one on the end. It was almost shining in the overhead light and looked quite sharp with the black collared shirt and matching blue tie underneath.
Ohno touched it lightly with interest in his eyes and grinned at Aiba when he gave the shorter man a questioning look. “Blue’s my favorite color,” he explained shyly and the photographer squeezed his hand. It was strange how Ohno seemed indifferent about so many things, but when something grabbed his attention, it got all of it; somehow Aiba was reminded of that published photo of a fish that he had taken, the one that Ohno had liked so much.
When Chinen started chatting a little about the material of the suits and what was in fashion right now, Ohno began looking a little bored and finally mumbled that he was going to check on Koharu again before patting Aiba’s ass and leaving.
Aiba and Chinen were alone now and the conversation suddenly died.
Looking down the line of suits, it was obvious which he was going to take.
“Shall we start with the blue one?” Aiba suggested and Chinen suddenly smiled.
+++
It was impossible for Ohno to pick Aiba up before the party (he had to stay to make sure the preparations were complete, and he didn’t have a car anyway), and so he had designated the responsibility to Jun.
And of course with Jun came Sho, who Aiba was talking on the phone with while trying to get ready.
Because he had chosen the blue suit, Koharu had gotten a fluffy dress of the same color, and Aiba made sure she was ready first (plus it was infinitely easier to zip up the back of a dress than the complicated steps of his new ensemble) before attacking his nemesis in clothing form.
Of course Ohno had been pleased when he saw Aiba in the favored color, but when he suggested they abandon the black dress shirt for something a little more personalized, there was no way the photographer could say no.
Which had left him with a funny looking light blue replacement, covered in a bold lip print.
The black one had been part of the set, so he had taken that one home along with the rest of the outfit, but there was no way he could neglect Ohno’s attempt at fashion, since he was going to the reception for Ohno in the first place.
At least the tie wasn’t bad.
And after he did his hair a little, he looked fashionable instead of loony.
“Yeah, I’m at Jun’s right now and we were just about to leave to get you,” Sho was explaining as Aiba adjusting his tie and began unbuttoning the suit jacket to see which way looked better.
“Thanks for the ride, Sho-chan. But really, we can take a taxi or something… I mean, shouldn’t Jun be at the hotel already?”
“I’m not sure… He said it was okay, so…”
Aiba smoothed out the outlandish shirt and let out a tiny sigh. “If you say so…”
“By the way,” Sho started before the photographer could thank him and hang up, “I have a favor to ask.”
“What’s that?” Aiba replied, leaning in close to the mirror to check out his reflection, making sure he didn’t miss a spot shaving or something.
“I’m sorry, this is really strange,” Sho continued, lowering his voice a little, and Aiba had to strain to hear him properly. “Jun offered to do Koharu’s hair.”
Trying to figure out why Sho seemed so worried about that, Aiba turned from the mirror and glanced at where his daughter was pretending to have a date with the bear Ohno had given her at their low table.
Before he could ask, though, Sho continued in a rushed but quiet tone. “I mean, he just sort of casually mentioned it to me when I said I was going to call you, but he’s in the bathroom right now collecting hair spray and ribbons and a curling iron, and he seems really serious about it. I’m so sorry, but you’d be doing me a favor if you’d just let him do her hair before the party,” Sho begged and Aiba almost laughed.
“It’s fine, Sho-chan. I’m useless at that stuff anyway, so he’d actually be doing me a favor.”
He heard the designer let out a sigh of relief and mumble a gratuitous remark before reiterating that they would be leaving soon.
“Okay, we’ll meet you out front.”
By the time he convinced Koharu that the bear couldn’t come with them and collected his wallet and keys, Sho and Jun were already waiting for them in the manager’s oversized SUV.
“Thank you for the ride!” Aiba offered to Jun, who was in the driver’s seat with a pair of sunglasses on, and the younger man smiled back at him via the rear view mirror and nodded.
“I brought some candy for Koharu-chan, if you don’t mind,” Jun said, turning in his seat to pass back a packet of gummies to Aiba, and the girl next to him perked up.
“Oh, thanks…” the photographer replied, a little surprised.
“And a corsage, too.”
Jun handed the father a plastic box next, in which was a white flower decorated with light blue ribbons pinned to a piece of foam.
“And if it’s okay, I’ll do her hair-“ he tried to continue, but Aiba interrupted, feeling a little overwhelmed.
“Sho mentioned it. I’d appreciate the help.”
He wasn’t sure if Jun was trying to make a good impression or if he was just in the habit of spoiling people (which would explain a lot about Ohno, probably), but Aiba felt like he needed to be stopped before Koharu got greedy (not that that would ever happen).
Jun beamed at the designer sitting next to him in the passenger seat and Sho grinned and turned away, trying to hide his shy expression.
“Can I eat it, papa?” Koharu asked quietly, looking from Aiba’s face to the pack of candy in his hand.
“Let’s get your seatbelt on first,” he replied, reaching over to help the girl get adjusted while Jun waited.
And true to Sho’s explanation, when they reached the hotel and all piled out of the manager’s car to leave it in the care of a valet, one of the bags Jun brought with him was overflowing with hair products and accessories.
Although Koharu was set on keeping a hold of Aiba’s hand, the corsage in the other, Jun somehow coaxed her ahead with him, showing her what was in his bag, and left the photographer to walk with Sho a few feet behind them.
“So I guess you heard that Johnny likes weird clothes,” Aiba mumbled with a grin, glancing at the suit his friend was wearing quite obviously. It was brightly colored like his, mostly red with black and white stripes, but instead of a strangely printed dress shirt underneath it was a simple black with a matching tie.
Sho laughed at the comment and smiled widely. “Yeah, Jun mentioned it to me. Said I should wear something bold even if I felt strange.”
“Don’t worry, it looks good,” Aiba replied in an attempt to make him feel better, and Sho nodded and returned the compliment.
“You don’t usually wear blue, though, do you?”
Aiba blushed. “Ohno helped me pick it out.”
Sho grinned and nudged him in the side. “Are you two dating yet?”
“I guess,” Aiba mumbled back shyly as they stopped in front of an elevator in the lobby of the hotel. He wasn’t sure how to explain to Sho that he felt like they’d know each other for ten years already even though they’d only been out on two dates, and that was counting suit shopping.
Before he could inquire about the designer’s situation, though, they were piling onto the lift and Koharu was grasping his hand again.
“The party doesn’t officially start for another hour,” Jun explained, “but feel free to look around or whatever while they’re putting out dinner. Not much to see, but there’s a good view.”
Aiba glanced over at the manager as he spoke and noticed that his outfit looked fairly normal (or at least on Jun it looked normal). The only deviation from a regular black suit was the gold on the collar and matching outline on the pockets, but there were several other bags in his hands, so Aiba wondered if he was actually going to leave his outfit at that or not. Jun seemed too much of a pursuer of fashion to let an opportunity to use his creativity like this pass.
While Sho asked some questions about the schedule for the party, Aiba leaned down to wipe the dried sugar off of Koharu’s face. He really didn’t want her to eat candy before dinner, but it would have been rude to turn down Jun, and breaking the rules a little didn’t hurt, right? Besides, they were pretty early, so maybe a small snack had been a good idea on Jun’s part.
They quickly reached the top floor, where a grand meeting hall had been reserved for the party, and Jun stopped them before they went past the main lobby.
“That’s the prep room-Ohno’s probably in there,” he explained to Aiba, pointing to a door to the right, “and that should be an extra room,” he followed up, moving his finger across the hall in front of them. “We can do Koharu’s hair in there.”
As much as Aiba wanted to meet his date right away, he did the responsible thing and followed Jun into the indicated area, placing Koharu’s corsage on the coffee table and sitting next to her while the manager immediately rummaged through his bag and went to work combing out her locks.
“How should we do it, Koharu-chan? Curls? Curls would be cute…” Jun asked in a playful voice and Koharu was smiling at him, obviously excited about the prospect of having something more than a halfhearted braid.
Antsy the whole time, Aiba exchanged a look with Sho, who was standing behind Jun, leaning against the wall, and after five minutes he finally decided he could leave Koharu in the care of these two men. He was just going across the hall after all.
“Honey, papa’s going to go find Oh-chan, okay?”
Koharu looked at him with wide eyes, but nodded, and Aiba ducked forward to peck her on the forehead even as Jun was gently pulling her long hair up. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay, papa,” she replied and then smiled as if to tell him not to worry.
Sho also smiled at him as he left, but Jun was too caught up in his work (or he had just been expecting it to happen eventually) that he didn’t even turn when the photographer slowly pushed the door open and exited the room.
Going to the place that Jun had indicated Ohno was probably waiting, Aiba took a second to straighten his tie and fluff up his hair a little before knocking softly and straining to hear any noises from inside.
“Come in,” came Ohno’s voice and he was turning towards the entrance as the photographer pushed the door open and grinned at him, not waiting to walk in even though there was another man in the room with the artist.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Aiba asked quietly, his expression turning sheepish, and Ohno faced the last occupant, silently asking him if they could push their meeting back a few minutes.
But before they had even made eye contact, the man was already nodding and heading towards the exit, slipping behind Aiba and promising he’d be back soon.
“Masaki,” Ohno said sweetly as he walked across the room, which was littered with flowers, cards, and extra decorations from the main hall, and Aiba watched him closely, feeling his heart speed up.
When they had gone to buy suits, Ohno had only picked his up, having been in there a week before to get fitted and choose his pattern, and so Aiba actually had no idea what to expect from the older man tonight.
He was wearing a plain black suit with a vest underneath, but the dress shirt on the very bottom of it all was a bold print of red plaid, and although he looked mildly like a lumberjack, Aiba thought it somehow fit him.
Ohno glanced down shyly as they finally stood facing each other, just a little space still between them, and unconsciously smoothed out Aiba’s sleeve while the photographer’s hand immediately went around his waist.
“I’m sorry. You’re probably busy,” Aiba mumbled, leaning towards Ohno, but not close enough to actually meet his body with his own. “I just came to say hi.”
“Hi,” Ohno replied without hesitation, looking up at Aiba and grinning so widely most of his teeth were visible.
“Hi.”
For a moment they just stared at each other, smiling like idiots, and then finally Aiba loosened his hold on the older man and began backing up.
“Well, I guess that’s all, then,” he said teasingly, pretending to head for the door even though he had no intention of actually leaving.
But his actions had the desired effect and Ohno grabbed him, pulling their bodies back together.
“What do you mean ‘that’s all’?” the artist asked with a fake pout, looking pointedly between Aiba’s mouth and his eyes.
“What?” Aiba was laughing even though he tried to make it seem like he had no idea what Ohno was insinuating.
“That’s not a proper greeting.”
Pressing their lips together firmly with his hand around the smaller man’s waist again, Aiba tried his best to take away Ohno’s breath through a proper greeting.
When the photographer pulled away roughly ten seconds later, Ohno hummed in satisfaction, blinking dreamily at his date with a smirk that was slowly becoming his signature look in Aiba’s presence.
He was ecstatic that his date had agreed to come and bring Koharu with him, since it would make a boring night of being forced to have dry conversation with Johnny and other old men into something a little more exciting. Even if Ohno couldn’t cling to the photographer for the greater part of the evening, which he intended to do, just snatching looks at his dashing partner from across the room would put him in a soaring mood.
“I guess I’d really better leave you alone, huh? You’re probably busy,” Aiba whispered, kissing Ohno’s forehead once, then his nose, and finally his lips.
“Actually, I do have a few things I still need to take care of…” Ohno admitted in a hesitant voice, even though the last thing he wanted right now was to be devoid of Aiba’s presence.
Sighing softly, the taller man gave his date another brief kiss and then removed his grip from Ohno’s waist, forcing himself to retreat a little to give them room.
“It’s not like I won’t be here all night,” Aiba mumbled, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself to leave than Ohno.
But of course when other people started coming and they were caught in the crowd they wouldn’t be able to do much more than share a few gentle touches, which is why the artist didn’t want anything to start at all. He’d be satisfied to just stay in this room with Aiba all night…if only Jun would let him.
“Anyway,” the photographer said, forcing a smile, “I’ll leave you to it.”
Once again Aiba tried to turn to leave, but Ohno grabbed his hand and so the taller man turned back to face him.
“Wait. Where’s Haru-chan? I want to say hi to her too.”
Aiba grinned and pulled Ohno behind him, their shoulders almost touching the entire way to the next room, but he released his grip immediately when Sho’s eyes fell on them and Jun turned around upon their entrance.
When Koharu saw him, she jumped out of her chair and rushed over to the artist, giving him a big hug around the waist.
“Wow, look at how beautiful you are!” Ohno cooed, scooping the girl up easily and balancing her on his hip while he examined her dress and hair. “You’re like a princess! We need to get you a crown or something!”
“I have one,” Jun replied in a dead pan voice, then immediately began digging through his bag in an attempt to find it, “although I really think this bow would look better. It matches the color of her dress almost exactly.”
Although the man of the night grinned at his friend in amusement, he didn’t verbally respond and began twirling around a little instead, making Koharu giggle and grasp onto him tightly.
After a moment he sat her back on her feet and gently patted her on the head while she continued to laugh, then looked at Jun pointedly and loudly whispered to her, “I guess I’d better let you go back to Jun or else he’ll get mad at me.”
The pair glanced at the manager together, and he was frowning and raising his eyebrow in irritation at the comment, which only made Ohno and Koharu start laughing again. But the girl trotted back over to her chair and properly sat down and the stylist immediately went back to work, and before Ohno left with a soft apology, he discreetly brushed his fingers against Aiba’s.
It took another ten minutes for the perfectionist that was Matsumoto Jun to get all of the curls in the place that he wanted them to be and then Aiba finally took Koharu by the hand to check out the main reception hall and give Sho a little time with his boyfriend.
It was just as Jun had said. The mid-sized room was mostly bare, with only a few round tables high enough to stand at, a lower one obviously meant for food, and some chairs lining the walls, but there were wide windows all around the expanse of the corridor, allowing a good view of the city that was just beginning to be covered in darkness.
With a delighted gasp, Koharu ran over to the nearest one to look out, and Aiba smiled, wondering how Sho was going to fare tonight, since he was scared of heights and all.
After getting over the excitement of being in such a high place, the father and daughter eventually took up seats near the window closest to the entrance, watching as some workers in white suits began arranging food on the lower tables, and discussed what they though each item tasted like.
“That’s definitely pumpkin,” Aiba said in a confident voice, referring to a mass of orange sitting in a pie crust with a small dollop of whipped cream on top.
“I think its tomato,” Koharu argued, bouncing up and down on her father’s lap and generally not paying attention to anything other than running her tiny fingers over the lines in Aiba’s palm.
“Why? You’re not even looking!” the father argued in amusement. “Hey, is that chicken?” he asked next, perking up and trying to make out the deep fried entrée.
There was a rumbling laugh to his left and Aiba turned immediately to see Nino and his boyfriend sneaking in through the entrance to the room. There weren’t any other guests waiting in the main hall like Aiba and his daughter, but after the newly arrived pair, five other people trailed in, so Aiba could only assume they had been deterred by the closed doors.
“Nino, you’re early!” Aiba greeted, pleasantly delighted (even though Nino was generally very conscious of time and polite with basically everyone other than his childhood friend), and helped Koharu off of his legs so he could stand to talk with the shop owner.
“Touma-chan!” the girl squeed when she saw the arrived couple, and immediately ran at the man accompanying Nino, jumping into his arms as he bent over to catch her.
“She doesn’t do that to me,” Nino complained with a displeased expression, and Aiba had to refrain from being rude and laughing.
“That’s because you don’t do that,” Aiba explained simply as Touma spun her around unabashedly, raising her high above his head as she giggled.
Actually, although there had never been any incidents, Nino generally didn’t like children and children generally didn’t like Nino. Since Koharu was better behaved than most, they had managed a cordial friendship and Nino had even come around to bribing her with video games and candy, but it was like pulling teeth to get them any closer than that no matter how much Aiba wanted to.
Touma was a different story, though. From the first time Nino had casually dropped by to introduce him as his new boyfriend, Koharu had taken to him, falling for his childish grin and energetic attitude.
“Look, Touma-chan! Look! Look!” Koharu said excitedly, pulling on the sleeve of Touma’s suit and dragging him towards the window to show how high up they were. There was banter between the two of them of how far they could see and that the people looked like ants, and Aiba couldn’t hold back his grin.
Nino wasn’t doing much better; he had to glance away from the sugary pair in an attempt to keep his sour expression in place.
“What are you wearing, anyway? What the hell is this?” Nino asked suddenly, trying to change the subject, and began pulling lightly at Aiba’s lip print shirt.
“It’s fashion?” Aiba guessed, not willing to disclose the fact that he couldn’t say no to Ohno but not exactly willing to take responsibility for it either.
“Oh please. I know fashion and this is not it.”
Aiba glanced down at Nino’s suit and wasn’t surprised by the chic looking pin striped jacket accented with black pockets. Touma was wearing a similar print, although his white stripes were much thinner and appeared on his pants too, and Aiba had a vaguely funny impression that Nino had dressed him.
“Koharu looks cute, though. Her hair is mildly impressive,” he conceded with a satisfied nod, and then glanced at Aiba as if waiting for him to spill his secret to success. Jun had pulled the girls hair into a pony tail on the top of her head and then curled it into tight ringlets before tying the blue bow he had been insistent on using around the rubber band holding it all together.
“I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re asking,” Aiba replied under his breath. There was no way he could take credit for it, and Nino would know that he was lying anyway.
Apparently content with that answer or not wanting to push the subject any more, the gamer started looking around the room, which wasn’t even half full by that time, and conversationally asked, “So where’s Ohno?”
“I’m not sure,” Aiba replied, trying not to let his disappointment show, although it was obvious from the look in Nino’s eyes that he’d noticed it. “He’s been busy with some other stuff.”
His friend hummed a response as Touma and Koharu ran back over to them, both out of breath, and Aiba picked his daughter up when she leaned against his leg.
But when Touma returned to his boyfriend’s side, Nino hit him lightly on the head. “We are in a public place,” he said teasingly, pretending like he was chiding a kid, but Touma only grinned at him and apologized. Nino turned away again in an attempt to keep from Aiba seeing him grin like an idiot (even though he saw it anyway), and Touma finally turned to the photographer.
“Hey Aiba-chan. How’ve you been?”
“Pretty good. Busy with work, but not much new.”
“I know how that goes,” he replied conversationally, then ducked past Nino to add under his breath, “Hey, Kazu said I get to meet your boyfriend tonight.”
Aiba blushed and floundered for a quick answer. “He’s not really… my boyfriend…”
“I heard he’s really nice and that he’s good friends with Koharu!” Touma added, pinching the girl’s cheeks teasingly, and she laughed at him even while trying to swat the man’s hand away. “And, I mean, this is his party, right?”
“Oh, you’re talking about Oh-chan,” Koharu broke in, as if she’s been trying to figure out the answer to a puzzle for the last few minutes of conversation.
“Oh-chan, huh? He sounds so nice," Touma said to the girl and she beamed back at him, apparently getting ready to burst into an explanation of Ohno's finer points as a playmate, but before she could, Nino grabbed his boyfriend's attention as the gamer began a mumbled conversation with Aiba.
"Woah, would you look at those two? That's a power couple if I ever saw one."
Glad for an excuse to change the conversation from him and Ohno to something else, Aiba glanced over to where Nino was staring, but there were enough people in the room now that he wasn't sure who he was talking about.
"Shit, he looks like he owns the place. And that guy next to him looks like he should be a freakin' TV personality or something. One of the guys that women watch the news for. Eye candy, you know?" Nino began rambling and let out a low whistle, obviously disregarding the mildly irritated glare that Touma was sending him. Aiba wondered if he was just doing it to egg him on, since the pair had a fairly teasing relationship, but for the photographer, something as blatant as checking out other men was going a little too far.
"God, the first one, the guy in the sunglasses is gorgeous. Now that's what I call fashion, Aiba-chan."
Touma grabbed Nino around the waist and the gamer continued to try to ignore him with a smirk on his lips, but when the taller man pulled him flush against his body, the shop owner finally began laughing and met Touma's you'll pay for that later look.
Aiba laughed at the pair good naturedly, but realized very quickly who the two men that his friend had picked out of the crowd were, and that they were coming towards them. He wondered what Nino and Touma were going to do when confronted directly with Mr. Gorgeous and his television personality boyfriend.
Sho met his eyes, looking nervous and embarrassed and Aiba could definitely imagine the reason why. Jun had accented his relatively normal suit with a rimmed red hat and matching sunglasses, even though they were inside. Now he was looking a little strange like Aiba and Sho, but he was pulling it off much better than either of them, and just like Nino had said, he was strutting around like he owned the place (which might actually be the case if Aiba decided to think about it long enough).
The photographer was grinning though. Jun now matched Sho's suit to almost the exact shade, and with the way that Jun was basically stuck to his side, there was no mistaking that they were a couple or at least very close (to those women who would rather convince themselves there was still a chance for them instead of giving in immediately to the image of the two handsome men having sex). But to Aiba, Jun's aura was emitting warning signs to the people staring at them while at the same time basking in the attention.
When it was obvious that the pair was headed for the small group of men, Nino turned towards Touma more, blushing a little, and his boyfriend smiled brightly, trying to keep his triumphant expression in check.
"I'm sorry we took so long, Aiba," Sho apologized immediately, although he still looked mildly uncomfortable at the way Jun was nearly smothering him with his presence. Aiba noticed that the manager's hand had automatically come to rest around his date's waist when they had stopped and Aiba felt a little embarrassed for Sho himself, since it caused a few people that were already staring at them to start whispering.
"Oh, Sho-chan, it's you..." Nino mumbled, looking even more mortified than a second ago. "I didn't recognize you..."
"Ah, Nino. Aiba mentioned he invited you," the designer returned the greeting, nodding to the game shop owner that he had actually only met once, maybe twice if you counted a wave from Aiba's window as they drove off.
Despite that, though, Nino had already taken to calling Aiba's business friend 'Sho-chan', since that's what he was called by both the photographer and his daughter, and it was the same situation with Ohno, although Aiba could justify that a little more, as the artist was slowly becoming a permanent fixture in their lives.
"By the way, this is my, uh... date," Nino explained when Sho glanced over at the taller man standing next to him, but before he could explain any more, there was a sudden interruption.
"Touma? What're you doing here?"
Jun had reached up to take off his glasses, and was staring at the mentioned man with an incredulous but pleased expression as he distractedly fumbled to get the accessory into his front pocket.
“Jun?” Touma replied with a grin, but immediately turned to Nino and whispered something like you’re really going to pay for that comment now before either of them offered an explanation as to why they were already acquainted.
Sho looked confused and Aiba was glancing back and forth between his two friends, wondering how in the world they already knew each other, but somehow the girl in his arms didn’t seemed surprised, like she had somehow figured it out already or didn’t understand the concept of two of her friends not being friends too.
At his date’s expression, Jun finally laughed and said, “Touma’s my cousin… or something? I actually don’t even know how we’re related, but somehow he always ends up at my grandparent’s for the Obon festival.”
Aiba nodded with a slightly open mouth. “Wow, small world.”
“Yeah,” Touma agreed with a grin, then pointed out Nino to Jun. “This is my boyfriend, Ninomiya Kazunari.” He paused, then laughed and added, “I think you’re the first person I’ve introduced him to like that.”
A shimmering of understanding flew through Jun’s eyes and he turned to Sho. “Aiba’s best friend Nino?” he asked for clarification, and although Sho still looked a little lost, he nodded, and the photographer wondered if they were going to continue to keep him out of the conversation despite his obvious connecting role between the four men.
“Seriously, what a coincidence,” Jun said in amusement, glancing at Nino and Touma, then noticed the pointed look his relative was sending him in reference to the red clad man, who he was obviously acting very over protective with. “Ah, Touma. This is Sho, my…” Suddenly the manager looked a little uneasy and glanced at his date, clearly floundering over what to call him.
“B-boyfriend is okay,” Sho mumbled in a shy tone, blushing all the way down to his neck, but Jun smiled brightly and kissed him firmly on the cheek, making the designer wince and creating a new wave of whispers around the other guests in the immediate vicinity.
Aiba grinned at his friend’s obvious discomfort at the public display and tried to subtly block Koharu’s sight by pulling her closer to his chest.
But, although Ohno had been on his mind all night, he only now realized that if Jun had finally made an appearance, the artist might be here somewhere too… even if Aiba should leave him alone to do his work.
“Nice to meet you,” Touma said brightly, offering his hand to the slightly frazzled designer, which Sho immediately shook back in an attempt to ignore Jun, who hadn’t backed off at all after his attack.
“You too.”
Not one to disregard proper etiquette, though, Jun leaned toward Nino, offering the arm that wasn’t still wrapped around his date.
“And nice to finally meet you, Nino,” he said with a grin, but Touma had stopped moving back to his original position and was half standing in his way so he couldn’t proceed any further.
“You don’t need to bother with this little brat,” he explained and the said brat hit him lightly on the shoulder, weakly trying to push him out of the way. Jun looked a little taken back, but Aiba was avidly attempting to hold in his laughter at the overprotective attitude that Touma himself had developed after Nino had been teasing him earlier about how handsome Jun was. It was weird how similar Jun and Touma were, and the photographer could certainly see that they were related, at least in personality.
“Touma,” Nino whined. “Don’t be mean!”
The taller man turned around and pushed his date back a few steps with his body, sending him a mock-warning look. After leaning down and whispering something in Nino’s ear, the predator grinned at the flustered expression he’d caused and then finally turned back to Sho and Jun, who were both looking curious.
“Sorry for interrupting.”
Nino looked less sure now, but still slowly extended his hand towards the manager, who raised his to return the action.
“By the way, Jun, Nino was admiring your ensemble earlier. He said it was very fashionable,” Touma added, pointedly looked at his boyfriend with a mischievous stare, but Nino immediately tensed up and blushed as badly as Sho had. Jun still grasped onto him, though, with a pleased grin and thanked him for thinking so as he energetically shook Nino’s hand.
Aiba immediately perked up when he caught Ohno through the crowd, forcing a smile and shaking someone’s hand himself, and through some invisible connection, the artist immediately swiveled his head and met the photographer’s eyes, his demeanor instantly changing to genuine and a little relieved. He turned to the man and nodded, said something, and then made a bee-line for Aiba and Koharu.
Touma and Jun had just started a light conversation about something or other, obliviously catching up, when the artist squeezed himself between his manager and Aiba, not paying attention to anyone but his date and the girl in his arms.
“How’s everything-“ Aiba started to ask just as Jun turned to see who had shoved him a little, but they were all stopped by Touma, who looked delighted at the new arrival, and then as several other emotions fought for part of his face.
“Ohno-“ he said with a grin, then glanced at Aiba and Koharu. “Oh-chan.”
“Oh, Touma,” the artist looked mildly surprised, and then did a full once over of the circle of men, as if expecting someone else he wasn’t planning on attending to be present as well.
His eyes fell on Jun and he casually asked, “Did you invite him?”
“I invited him,” Nino replied quickly, looking already recovered from his boyfriend’s antics.
“Oh, Kazu,” was the only response Ohno gave, but Touma looked a little ruffled and turned to Nino pointedly.
“Why did he call you Kazu?” he whispered, looking surprised and jealous at the same time.
The gamer seemed a little uncomfortable again, but still tried to shrug it off. “I call him Oh-chan, so…”
There was an awkward silence, and Aiba muffled his snicker in Koharu’s hair, imagining just how much Touma was going to punish Nino later.
“Anyway, thanks for coming,” the artist mumbled, apparently not picking up on the tense atmosphere, and finally turned back to the photographer, his real goal. “Aiba, do you have a minute? I’ll introduce you to Johnny.”
“Sure. Can I bring Haru-chan?” he asked, setting his daughter down on the ground and taking her hand in one of his while the other automatically sought out Ohno’s lower back.
“Of course.”
+++
A/N: Update taim! Yep, it turned into Touma/Nino. (Still writing Touma with a u =A= I can't help it, it's habit now...) I really liked writing them in this chapter. So happy and teasing. ^.^ And a little more Sakumoto air time too. How was it?
By the way, this might be put on hold for a few weeks through the holidays. I don't know what kind of free time I'll have (I'm going to yarukizero's house YAY) and there's a few other stories/drabbles I want to get posted. :) So sorry, but here's another long update to hold you over!
Love you guys~
Chapter six