Surprise Visit (二十)
Title: Love So Sweet
Pairing: Juntoshi (Side pairing: future Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG 13 overall
Summary: Just how much could a dream change your life?
Surprise Visit (二十)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno was sketching.
He felt like it had been forever since he’d had a chance to sit down properly and draw something. The creative juices were flowing with ideas from their music video shoot for “Beautiful Days.” Random elements were connecting into something new.
His hand continued to move across the page of his sketch book as he sat curled up on the couch. The apartment was quiet except the steady tick of a nearby wall clock and some absentminded humming from Ohno.
Having finished his recording for Arashi’s new single early that afternoon, Satoshi had left the studio as Jun was just arriving to start work. Right now, Jun was sure to be putting the final touches on the accompanying single, “Wasurerarenai.”
Ohno smiled at the thought that his boyfriend was probably giving a lot of grief to the recording staff about redoing his part until he was satisfied.
A sudden quiet knock at the door startled him out of his reverie.
Who...?
They weren’t expecting anyone today, so he set his pad down on the coffee table and went to the door, guessing it was a delivery man or something of the sort. Trying to remember if he’d ordered a new fishing pole and forgotten about it, Ohno twisted the knob open and looked up.
The slim figure standing on the other side when the door swung open made him gasp and back up into the side table by the entrance.
His frightened look was mirrored by Rie Matsumoto’s surprised one. Neither of them moved for a long time until Rie took the initiative and bowed low to Ohno. She straightened, saying softly, “I-I’m sorry for my rash actions. I... didn’t intend to make you frightened of me... I just wanted you to separate from Jun. If you have some time, I’d like to speak with you.”
Ohno eyed her warily, but waved an arm, gesturing to enter. She crossed the threshold and slipped off her shoes. Satoshi saw her searching in the entrance way for something and realizing what it was, he offered quietly, “Jun and I like to walk around barefoot, so we don’t have any slippers. Sorry.”
Rie raised her head. “Oh.”
Ohno led her to the living room and patted an armchair uncertainly. “Is this alright?”
She nodded slightly, sitting down with her back straight and hands overlapped in a complete picture of a proper lady. The atmosphere was stifling enough that Satoshi mumbled about making some coffee and retreated to the kitchen. He tried to ignore the woman sitting in his apartment. He busied himself with the coffee maker and picking out two of their plainer cups, figuring she wouldn’t appreciate Jun’s black ‘Fuck off’ mug.
He wasn’t sure he really wanted to have this conversation, but since Rie was already here, he couldn’t randomly give the excuse that he needed to go fishing, as much as he wished he could. Peeking around a corner to see if she wasn’t really an illusion, Ohno watched her gaze stopping at different points around the room.
There was a framed photo that caught her attention of everyone in Arashi smiling brightly, all decked out in their concert costumes at the end of a successful show. Next to it was another picture Jun had requested to be printed for his own collection from a photo shoot. That particular shot was between Satoshi and Jun when a near-kiss turned into a real one, making both of them smile.
She continued her pane around the room, seeing a few carefully organized bookshelves of Jun’s novels, Ohno’s fishing books, and random souvenirs from the guys. Then the cases that were packed with CDs and DVDs from their combined collections. She finally stopped at an oil painting Satoshi had completed a few months ago of an underwater scene.
There were a hundred fish of every color of the rainbow swirling around the colorful seascape. That was one of Ohno’s more time-consuming pieces due to his desire for it to be accurate. When the painting was completed, Jun unexpectedly told Satoshi he wanted to hang it in the living room. Ohno had been sure he was joking, until he’d come home from Maou’s filming to see the expanse of blue covering one of their walls and Jun grinning at his shocked look.
Smiling at the memory, he found he was able to calm down a bit and grab the steaming mugs of coffee with steady hands. Shuffling back into the room, Rie turned to watch him set a cup in front of her on the table and settle into his own spot on the couch. Silence reigned again as they were unsure how to start.
"That's a very lovely painting you have."
Ohno looked up from his caffeinated drink and was shocked when he saw she was referring to the underwater piece. "Uh, thanks. When I painted it, I didn't really think Jun would really put it up."
Rie's gaze jerked back to the art work. "You created that?"
"Yeah." Ohno ducked his head, uncertain if she was just making nice or actually impressed.
"Y- your apartment is quite clean." Rie inspected the space again. "It's my first time here, so I wasn't sure what to expect."
"You've never been here before?"
Rie shook her head and reached to take her cup of coffee. "Jun... Jun never invited us to see his apartment."
Ohno felt a bit guilty because his own mother and father came to visit whenever they were in the area, which had been about a dozen times already.
"Is he doing well?"
"Jun? He's finally taking a break since we just finished our tour."
"Oh." Rie stared into the cup in her hands for a few minutes. He was struggling for a polite way to ask why she had come when she blurted out, "Do you really love him?"
Ohno blinked in surprise. He didn't know what to make of the sudden question. But one thing he was certain of was that Rie was asking in all seriousness, so he felt he should answer with the same sincerity. Satoshi looked at his own mug for a few minutes, thinking of how he should express his feelings to the unnerving woman.
"I love him more than I can say. Jun's always been there for me... and I want to do the same for him. You may not believe me, but... I can't imagine being with anyone else but Jun... He's everything to me..." Ohno hadn't realized he'd leaned forward when he was speaking earnestly. Settling back, he avoided meeting Rie's piercing gaze.
"I don't agree with the choices you've both made... I think you don't realize the responsibilities and commitments that come with a long-term relationship." Ohno's brow furrowed as he kept his difference of opinion unvoiced. "But.. I don't want to lose Jun because I'm not willing to accept the possibility that I'm wrong and you two might be right." Rie was sadly looking at him. "For now... I hope you'll give me another chance."
He bit his lip and gripped his mug's handle tighter than necessary. "Maybe it's not my place to say, but... I think that'd be okay."
Jun's mother gave a small smile and a nod.
"Jun should be getting home soon. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
The offer seemed to stun Rie speechless. Waiting for her to respond, he took a sip of his now-cold coffee. Once she found her voice again, she breathed out, "May I?"
Ohno nodded his consent, fidgeting on the couch under her stare. "What do you want to eat? I can only fix a few dishes really well, mostly stir-frys."
Rie's stern face finally seemed to lighten a bit. She leaned forward in her seat with her hands held tightly together in her lap. "I-If you don't mind, I could cook something."
This whole conversation had long since left him confused, so he only shrugged at the offer. "Sure. That sounds... great. Um, I know we have some fish, maybe some chicken left, and..." Ohno trailed off as he stood to check what was really in the kitchen. He was far from feeling comfortable in Rie's presence, but the pair was losing the tense sensitivity to each other's reactions.
Jun's mother scoured the kitchen for different ingredients she needed for whatever she planned to make. Ohno pointed out where the necessary spices or basic dishes Rie asked for were located, helping with other menial tasks too. They had just barely settled into a working rhythm when the front door squeaked open. Jun yelled out, "I'm home."
Ohno hadn't noticed Rie was caught by surprise at the shout and the glass mixing bowl she was holding slipped out of her hands to crash on the floor.
The sudden explosion of glass took Ohno's breath away. Panic clouded his thoughts. Automatically, he backed away until he ran into something solid. Hugging himself tightly, Ohno couldn't see anything but a broken room swimming in front of his vision.
Jun had run to the kitchen immediately, hardly taking time to be dumbfounded by Rie's presence, instead looking around for the shorter man. "Satoshi!"
Ohno felt the pressure of arms wrapping around him, but he still couldn't make his mind tell him who it was. He whimpered softly as he tried to pull away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Ohno wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but he couldn't stop the flow of words from his mouth. At least, not until another pair of lips kissed him silent.
His consciousness returned at the recognition of this feeling. It was something familiar, something safe. Blinking the haze away, his eyes focused on Jun's worried face watching for signs that he was alert again. Letting out a shaky breath, Ohno said, "I'm okay..."
He saw his boyfriend's expression shift from relief to fury as he turned to face his mother.
Satoshi immediately grabbed the taller man's arm and pulled Jun's face back towards him, stopping him before he'd say something he'd regret later. "It wasn't her fault. It was only an accident. The sound just caught me off guard. She didn't do anything wrong." Ohno was still a little breathless as he explained.
Jun looked back at his mother. Rie was wringing a dish towel, not understanding what had just happened, but knowing it was possibly her fault. Jun sighed forcefully. "Why is she even here?"
"She apologized to me. She just wanted to talk."
"Why is she in the kitchen then?"
"I asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner. She offered to make it."
Jun frowned. "Satoshi, since when is it alright to have a guest make you food in your own house?"
Ohno's lips twitched into a grin, knowing his boyfriend was going to give Rie the benefit of the doubt, simply because Ohno already had. "Since now?"
Rie watched the quick exchange like a tennis match, concerned she was no longer welcomed.
Ohno turned to her, apologizing for the scare and breezing over his panic attack. Matsumoto moved to start cleaning up the glass and when Rie bent to help, Jun finally glanced at his mother. He said softly, "It's okay. I'll do it. I don't want you to get cut."
She stared at her son, daring to be a little hopeful. "Thank you... And I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."
Ohno skirted around the glass and slipped out of the kitchen, wanting to give them a chance to talk in private. He knew they would all be awkward around each other the rest of the night. And probably the next time they were together, and the next, but Ohno knew they were making an effort. He wasn't too worried about Jun and his mother. Rie had already taken the first step and his boyfriend wouldn't let the opportunity pass by.
However, Ohno was worried about whether dinner would ever get finished tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Yoshie was successful! That or Ohno's cuteness changed Rie's mind.
So, completely unrelated to the story, I've been working my way through all of the VS Arashi episodes for the past week. I'm only halfway so far, and I'm wondering if I'm going to die of laughter before I can finish all of them. *sigh of happiness*
One month to Oh-chan's mini drama. =^_^=
Christmas (二十一) time is coming!
Pairing: Juntoshi (Side pairing: future Sakuraiba)
Rating: PG 13 overall
Summary: Just how much could a dream change your life?
Surprise Visit (二十)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohno was sketching.
He felt like it had been forever since he’d had a chance to sit down properly and draw something. The creative juices were flowing with ideas from their music video shoot for “Beautiful Days.” Random elements were connecting into something new.
His hand continued to move across the page of his sketch book as he sat curled up on the couch. The apartment was quiet except the steady tick of a nearby wall clock and some absentminded humming from Ohno.
Having finished his recording for Arashi’s new single early that afternoon, Satoshi had left the studio as Jun was just arriving to start work. Right now, Jun was sure to be putting the final touches on the accompanying single, “Wasurerarenai.”
Ohno smiled at the thought that his boyfriend was probably giving a lot of grief to the recording staff about redoing his part until he was satisfied.
A sudden quiet knock at the door startled him out of his reverie.
Who...?
They weren’t expecting anyone today, so he set his pad down on the coffee table and went to the door, guessing it was a delivery man or something of the sort. Trying to remember if he’d ordered a new fishing pole and forgotten about it, Ohno twisted the knob open and looked up.
The slim figure standing on the other side when the door swung open made him gasp and back up into the side table by the entrance.
His frightened look was mirrored by Rie Matsumoto’s surprised one. Neither of them moved for a long time until Rie took the initiative and bowed low to Ohno. She straightened, saying softly, “I-I’m sorry for my rash actions. I... didn’t intend to make you frightened of me... I just wanted you to separate from Jun. If you have some time, I’d like to speak with you.”
Ohno eyed her warily, but waved an arm, gesturing to enter. She crossed the threshold and slipped off her shoes. Satoshi saw her searching in the entrance way for something and realizing what it was, he offered quietly, “Jun and I like to walk around barefoot, so we don’t have any slippers. Sorry.”
Rie raised her head. “Oh.”
Ohno led her to the living room and patted an armchair uncertainly. “Is this alright?”
She nodded slightly, sitting down with her back straight and hands overlapped in a complete picture of a proper lady. The atmosphere was stifling enough that Satoshi mumbled about making some coffee and retreated to the kitchen. He tried to ignore the woman sitting in his apartment. He busied himself with the coffee maker and picking out two of their plainer cups, figuring she wouldn’t appreciate Jun’s black ‘Fuck off’ mug.
He wasn’t sure he really wanted to have this conversation, but since Rie was already here, he couldn’t randomly give the excuse that he needed to go fishing, as much as he wished he could. Peeking around a corner to see if she wasn’t really an illusion, Ohno watched her gaze stopping at different points around the room.
There was a framed photo that caught her attention of everyone in Arashi smiling brightly, all decked out in their concert costumes at the end of a successful show. Next to it was another picture Jun had requested to be printed for his own collection from a photo shoot. That particular shot was between Satoshi and Jun when a near-kiss turned into a real one, making both of them smile.
She continued her pane around the room, seeing a few carefully organized bookshelves of Jun’s novels, Ohno’s fishing books, and random souvenirs from the guys. Then the cases that were packed with CDs and DVDs from their combined collections. She finally stopped at an oil painting Satoshi had completed a few months ago of an underwater scene.
There were a hundred fish of every color of the rainbow swirling around the colorful seascape. That was one of Ohno’s more time-consuming pieces due to his desire for it to be accurate. When the painting was completed, Jun unexpectedly told Satoshi he wanted to hang it in the living room. Ohno had been sure he was joking, until he’d come home from Maou’s filming to see the expanse of blue covering one of their walls and Jun grinning at his shocked look.
Smiling at the memory, he found he was able to calm down a bit and grab the steaming mugs of coffee with steady hands. Shuffling back into the room, Rie turned to watch him set a cup in front of her on the table and settle into his own spot on the couch. Silence reigned again as they were unsure how to start.
"That's a very lovely painting you have."
Ohno looked up from his caffeinated drink and was shocked when he saw she was referring to the underwater piece. "Uh, thanks. When I painted it, I didn't really think Jun would really put it up."
Rie's gaze jerked back to the art work. "You created that?"
"Yeah." Ohno ducked his head, uncertain if she was just making nice or actually impressed.
"Y- your apartment is quite clean." Rie inspected the space again. "It's my first time here, so I wasn't sure what to expect."
"You've never been here before?"
Rie shook her head and reached to take her cup of coffee. "Jun... Jun never invited us to see his apartment."
Ohno felt a bit guilty because his own mother and father came to visit whenever they were in the area, which had been about a dozen times already.
"Is he doing well?"
"Jun? He's finally taking a break since we just finished our tour."
"Oh." Rie stared into the cup in her hands for a few minutes. He was struggling for a polite way to ask why she had come when she blurted out, "Do you really love him?"
Ohno blinked in surprise. He didn't know what to make of the sudden question. But one thing he was certain of was that Rie was asking in all seriousness, so he felt he should answer with the same sincerity. Satoshi looked at his own mug for a few minutes, thinking of how he should express his feelings to the unnerving woman.
"I love him more than I can say. Jun's always been there for me... and I want to do the same for him. You may not believe me, but... I can't imagine being with anyone else but Jun... He's everything to me..." Ohno hadn't realized he'd leaned forward when he was speaking earnestly. Settling back, he avoided meeting Rie's piercing gaze.
"I don't agree with the choices you've both made... I think you don't realize the responsibilities and commitments that come with a long-term relationship." Ohno's brow furrowed as he kept his difference of opinion unvoiced. "But.. I don't want to lose Jun because I'm not willing to accept the possibility that I'm wrong and you two might be right." Rie was sadly looking at him. "For now... I hope you'll give me another chance."
He bit his lip and gripped his mug's handle tighter than necessary. "Maybe it's not my place to say, but... I think that'd be okay."
Jun's mother gave a small smile and a nod.
"Jun should be getting home soon. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
The offer seemed to stun Rie speechless. Waiting for her to respond, he took a sip of his now-cold coffee. Once she found her voice again, she breathed out, "May I?"
Ohno nodded his consent, fidgeting on the couch under her stare. "What do you want to eat? I can only fix a few dishes really well, mostly stir-frys."
Rie's stern face finally seemed to lighten a bit. She leaned forward in her seat with her hands held tightly together in her lap. "I-If you don't mind, I could cook something."
This whole conversation had long since left him confused, so he only shrugged at the offer. "Sure. That sounds... great. Um, I know we have some fish, maybe some chicken left, and..." Ohno trailed off as he stood to check what was really in the kitchen. He was far from feeling comfortable in Rie's presence, but the pair was losing the tense sensitivity to each other's reactions.
Jun's mother scoured the kitchen for different ingredients she needed for whatever she planned to make. Ohno pointed out where the necessary spices or basic dishes Rie asked for were located, helping with other menial tasks too. They had just barely settled into a working rhythm when the front door squeaked open. Jun yelled out, "I'm home."
Ohno hadn't noticed Rie was caught by surprise at the shout and the glass mixing bowl she was holding slipped out of her hands to crash on the floor.
The sudden explosion of glass took Ohno's breath away. Panic clouded his thoughts. Automatically, he backed away until he ran into something solid. Hugging himself tightly, Ohno couldn't see anything but a broken room swimming in front of his vision.
Jun had run to the kitchen immediately, hardly taking time to be dumbfounded by Rie's presence, instead looking around for the shorter man. "Satoshi!"
Ohno felt the pressure of arms wrapping around him, but he still couldn't make his mind tell him who it was. He whimpered softly as he tried to pull away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Ohno wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but he couldn't stop the flow of words from his mouth. At least, not until another pair of lips kissed him silent.
His consciousness returned at the recognition of this feeling. It was something familiar, something safe. Blinking the haze away, his eyes focused on Jun's worried face watching for signs that he was alert again. Letting out a shaky breath, Ohno said, "I'm okay..."
He saw his boyfriend's expression shift from relief to fury as he turned to face his mother.
Satoshi immediately grabbed the taller man's arm and pulled Jun's face back towards him, stopping him before he'd say something he'd regret later. "It wasn't her fault. It was only an accident. The sound just caught me off guard. She didn't do anything wrong." Ohno was still a little breathless as he explained.
Jun looked back at his mother. Rie was wringing a dish towel, not understanding what had just happened, but knowing it was possibly her fault. Jun sighed forcefully. "Why is she even here?"
"She apologized to me. She just wanted to talk."
"Why is she in the kitchen then?"
"I asked her if she wanted to stay for dinner. She offered to make it."
Jun frowned. "Satoshi, since when is it alright to have a guest make you food in your own house?"
Ohno's lips twitched into a grin, knowing his boyfriend was going to give Rie the benefit of the doubt, simply because Ohno already had. "Since now?"
Rie watched the quick exchange like a tennis match, concerned she was no longer welcomed.
Ohno turned to her, apologizing for the scare and breezing over his panic attack. Matsumoto moved to start cleaning up the glass and when Rie bent to help, Jun finally glanced at his mother. He said softly, "It's okay. I'll do it. I don't want you to get cut."
She stared at her son, daring to be a little hopeful. "Thank you... And I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."
Ohno skirted around the glass and slipped out of the kitchen, wanting to give them a chance to talk in private. He knew they would all be awkward around each other the rest of the night. And probably the next time they were together, and the next, but Ohno knew they were making an effort. He wasn't too worried about Jun and his mother. Rie had already taken the first step and his boyfriend wouldn't let the opportunity pass by.
However, Ohno was worried about whether dinner would ever get finished tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
Yoshie was successful! That or Ohno's cuteness changed Rie's mind.
So, completely unrelated to the story, I've been working my way through all of the VS Arashi episodes for the past week. I'm only halfway so far, and I'm wondering if I'm going to die of laughter before I can finish all of them. *sigh of happiness*
One month to Oh-chan's mini drama. =^_^=
Christmas (二十一) time is coming!