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ninoexchange2019-06-18 11:36 pm
nino_mod) wrote in ninoexchange2019-06-18 11:36 pm
Entry tags:
fic for phrenk!
For: phrenk
From: :3.
Title: It Takes Two to Tango
Pairing/Focus: Sakumiya, Juntoshi
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 8,127 words
Warnings: OOC, in a way. A lot of timeskip.
Summary: Nino unexpectedly met his university senior again after Jun assigned him as a photographer for a wedding.
Notes: Dear Phrenk, I don’t know why I ended up writing something that is kinda different from what I originally planned HAHA. I know that it’s not as good as what you expected but I hope that you enjoy reading this! A big thanks to my mental support, W. Thank you so much to my beta reader, M for being so patient with me. Lastly, thank you to NinoEx mod for your understanding and kindness~ <3
Sakurai Wedding Planner. Sakurai. SA-KU-RA-I.
Nino thought that his eyesight was getting worse because of the time he spent with his video games. He never had any problems with his eyesight, even with his games obsession since he was a little. Or, was it because of his sleepiness? He didn’t get a lot of sleep the day before. He kept on rubbing his eyes but the sign didn’t change. Unconvinced, he made sure and double checked the address. Maybe the navigation app wasn’t accurate. He searched for ‘Sakurai Wedding Planner‘ on Google and the address was the same with the address that Jun had given him. He was curious as to why Jun didn’t wrote the company’s name but Nino was indeed in the right place.
“Welcome to Sakurai Wedding Planner, how may I help you?”
“I’m Ninomiya from MJ Studio. I have an appointment with Sakurai-san at 10AM.”
“Please wait for a second,” the receptionist said, “For the meantime, Ninomiya-san, you may sit while we inform to Sakurai-san.”
Nino nodded and took a seat near the reception. The office wasn’t really that big. It was located on the 7th floor. The overall design of the office was simple and minimalistic. For some reason, he kept on staring at the name.
There were a lot of Sakurais in this world but he happened to know only one Sakurai. Maybe it was just a coincidence. As much as Matsumoto Jun had a lot of friends, he reckoned that his best friend also knew only one Sakurai. He got to know that Sakurai from his university friend and now a coworker, Jun. That Sakurai was a year senior from him and since they took different majors, Nino rarely saw the guy unless Jun invited him over to have dinner with the two of them.
It had been a long time since he had met the person, which was on his university graduation. He had never heard about the guy from Jun ever since then. That Sakurai had graduated from the Economics major and Nino was sure that there was no way he had become a wedding planner. The guy was simply a smart man and maybe didn’t really have any interest in weddings (not that Nino knew the guy very well but he somehow knew a lot about that Sakurai from Jun).
Not to mention, the kanji character of the sign was an old writing for ‘Sakura’. Nobody used that character anymore… except for that Sakurai. Of course, Nino was aware that the guy wasn’t the only Sakurai that existed in Japan but he couldn’t help to think that it was the Sakurai that he knew.
Nino’s mind was filled with every possibility. Maybe he was a bit overreacting. He kept on telling himself that there were a lot of Sakurai in Japan who still used the old kanji writing. The thought of Jun coincidentally meeting someone who had the same surname was possible. Besides, wedding planners were mostly women. If Jun knew what he was thinking, he would probably laugh at Nino. Gosh, he didn’t want Jun to know about it. He could even imagine how Jun would react. It was actually Jun’s fault for not mentioning the full name of the wedding planner.
Nino shook his head as he tried to forget his worries. It was ridiculous for him to spend more than 10 minutes thinking about something, just simply because of the word ‘Sakurai’. Well, he didn’t really have any problem if the Sakurai turned out to be that Sakurai but he just felt awkward to meet someone after… 8 years. Not to mention, working with his senior as a photographer would definitely be awkward. Nino rarely worked as a wedding photographer but he knew that wedding photographer needed to have a good relationship with the wedding planner. They needed to be a team as wedding photographer relied on wedding planner.
Nino got distracted when his phone suddenly vibrated. A great timing, indeed. He took out his phone from his pocket. It was a message from Aiba. Aiba was a videographer who also worked with him. They mostly worked together when there was an event. Nino read the message that Aiba had sent to him.
From: Aiba Masaki
To: Nino
Subject: I’m sorrry!!
Nino >___< I’m so sorrry!! I’m going to be late for the meeting~ Shiro-chan accidentally drank my chocolate milk and I had to take her to the vet :(( I’ll be there in 20 mins! I promise! ><
—Masaki
He sighed. It wasn’t the first time that Aiba was late. Nino didn’t mind but it may probably a problem for the wedding planner and especially, the client—bride and groom. Punctuality and first impression were the most important. The client usually decided to hire the photographer and videographer if they left a good impression. Nino looked at his watch. 09:57AM. At least, he was early.
As Nino looked away from his phone, a long brown-haired woman with formal suits attire approached him. She still looked young, the same age as him. She was holding her tablet and smiled.
“Ninomiya-san, I’m Kitagawa, Sakurai-san’s assistant. Thank you for waiting,” Kitagawa politely said, “Please follow me.”
Nino nodded and followed Kitagawa as she led the way. They went inside where there was a sign “STAFF ONLY” hanging at the door. There weren’t a lot of staff members compared to other wedding planning companies. Most of the spaces were meeting room surrounding the office and desks at the middle, supposedly for the employees. Sakurai’s office was the furthest in the office. The Sakurai Wedding Planner was probably more of an independent wedding planner.
Kitagawa stopped at one of the meeting rooms and held the door knob. She whispered, “Sakurai-san is waiting for you.”
Nino went inside as Kitagawa opened the door for him. She left and closed the door after he entered. A man was there, facing the window and looking at the city view. He was quite tall (definitely, taller than Nino) and had a firm figure. The man’s shoulders were particularly attracted Nino’s attention. Unlike others, the man’s sloped shoulders could definitely become a playground slide. The charismatic aura from him was very familiar but Nino wasn’t sure.
The man, supposedly known as Sakurai, turned around and faced Nino. His eyes widened as he scanned through Sakurai’s head to toe. It had been 8 years but he still remembered. There were things that changed from him but Nino could still recognized the man. What mattered was he guessed it right. It was that Sakurai. Sakurai Sho. He hated it that he was right.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ni—” Sho paused, “Nino?”
His voice was still the same. There was no doubt that the guy was Sakurai Sho. Nino was nervous, he didn’t expect to meet the man again. Sakurai was no one. Totally no one, just someone he knew back in his university days. However, his hands showed otherwise. He was unconsciously sweating and couldn’t care less. With his hoarse voice, Nino hesitated, “S-Sho-san?”
“Why are you—Wait, Oh. Jun,” Sho sighed, “He didn’t tell me that Ninomiya would be you. I really didn’t expect that it really is you!”
“So did I, he didn’t tell me beforehand,” Nino muttered.
It was weird how Jun didn’t tell Sakurai either—or Sho, as what Nino always called him. He got suspicious as to why Jun didn’t tell both of them. It wouldn’t be a big deal if Jun didn’t make things as a surprise. Nino wouldn’t even be panicking, just by looking at Sho’s last name. He definitely needed to confront Jun about it.
Sho offered his business card and it made Nino hurriedly took his business card. They both exchanged business cards and formally bowed at each other. After quite some time, there was an awkward atmosphere in the meeting room. Both of them were silent for a moment, looking and smiling at each other politely. Nino didn’t dare to start a conversation. Moreover, he didn’t know how to. He could’ve asked why and how Sho decided to be a wedding planner. It was too straightforward to asked something like that directly. He then remembered that he needed to tell Sho about Aiba.
“Ah, Aiba-san, the videographer, will be late for the meeting. He’s not usually this late but since it’s emergency so he needed to go to the vet because of his dog.”
“That’s alright. Our client has not yet arrived too. I guess we’re both quite early,” Sho grinned.
They both prepared for the meeting and waited for the couple as well as Aiba. The couple arrived after 20 minutes. Since it would delay the meeting if they waited for Aiba, they started the meeting right away.
The meeting turned out pretty well. The couple, was pleased with Nino’s photography. They were interested in Nino’s sample wedding photos that were given by Jun. Nino didn’t have a lot of portfolio when it comes to wedding photography. His most recent work were mostly pre-wedding photos. Hence, he was surprised that the couple liked it. On the other hand, Aiba was late but the couple didn’t mind as they understood how hard it was to take care of a pet. Overall, Nino was glad that the couple was very kind and considerate. In the meeting, they were telling Nino and Aiba as to what kind of expectations they had on the photos and videos for the wedding day. With the help of Sho, they made a schedule as to when to take pictures with the family, friends and work colleagues.
The couple went home afterwards and that left Nino, Aiba and Sho in the meeting room. Both Nino and Aiba packed their things as they thanked Sho for having them as a photographer and videographer. They both went out from the office and waited for the lift.
“Nino, I’m really sorry,” Aiba said with his apologetic expression, “I need to pick Shiro-chan after this. I left him with the vet and I already told the boss about it.”
“It’s fine, Masaki,” Nino nodded, “Shiro-chan is probably waiting for you. Besides, I need to go to the toilet. So, you go first.”
“Thank you, Nino. I’ll see you at the office later!” Aiba smiled as he went first and then waved at Nino when he was in the lift.
He definitely needed to talk to Jun about it. About Sakurai Sho and why the heck Jun didn’t tell him before hand. It kinda made him curious since Nino knew Sho since their university days. He went to the toilet and called Jun.
When the call got connected, Nino directly said, “MJ, what the hell is going on?”
“And yes, hello, Nino. I’m fine, thank you, how about you?”
“Jun. Stop joking around! You know what I mean,” Nino stopped, “Sho-san. Sakurai Sho-san.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t ‘ah’ me, MJ!”
“I’ll explain later when you’re back to the studio. I’m busy right now. See you, Nino.”
“Jun—”
Nino shook his head and rolled his eyes. Jun was very annoying as usual and he had no choice but to ask him again when he was back to the studio. He knew how busy Jun was with his work but he could sense that Jun was avoiding to talk about it.
As Nino went out from the toilet, a familiar voice called him from behind. “Ninomiya-san! Nino!”
Nino looked back and saw Sho coming towards him. Sho was bringing his suitcase as he was ready to go somewhere. “Sho-san,” he muttered.
“Would you like to have lunch together?” Sho offered. It was a very expected offer to Nino. Even in their university days, they never had lunch together. Jun invited Sho sometime when they had lunch but that was just at least twice or thrice. It made Nino curious, this was the first time they ate lunch together. Just the two of them.
“With you?”
“Yes, with me, of course,” the older man chuckled, “it’s been awhile since we met and I would like to catch up on things with you.”
Nino nodded and accepted Sho’s invitation. He let Sho picked the restaurant as he knew the place around better. It was still 12PM and Nino had at least an hour left before he needed to go back to the studio. Since Sho didn’t want to waste a lot of time on lunch, he chose a restaurant right below the office.
“Sho-san, why did you become a wedding planner? I really didn’t expect that. I thought you’re going to work in a government official,” Nino stated after they were seated. At this point, Nino didn’t care if it sound rude or whatever. He just wanted to know.
Sho frowned and didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t really know. I guess I like seeing people happy and also, my hobby is to plan things ahead. I guess it suits me as a wedding planner? Besides, I don’t want to be an ordinary salary man.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Guess you became a photographer like what you dreamt of. I’m really happy for you,” Sho smiled.
Nino could feel his cheeks burning. He replied, “Th-thank you.”
Their lunch together went well. Sho talked about his life after university. He decided not to be an economist and government official despite what his dad told him to. Sho became interested in becoming a wedding planner because of his sister’s wedding. He was pretty close with his sister. She asked him to plan the wedding with her and because of that, he researched a lot about how to organize a wedding. His sister’s wedding turned out to be successful and she encouraged him to be wedding planner instead. Nino also shared about how did he become Jun’s subordinate. He didn’t want to lead. Unlike Jun, Nino liked to be someone who listened to what his boss said. He thought it would be the best for him to be a normal employee, as long as Jun paid him well. They enjoyed each other’s company. In the end, Sho paid for the lunch and he insisted on paying Nino’s share since it was their first meeting after a long time.
After they went outside the restaurant, they both exchanged each other’s personal contact. It was their first time working together and Nino felt nervous. Sho was someone who he respected the most and it was an honour to be his ‘partner-in-crime’. At the same time, Nino was not sure that he could work with Sho. He didn’t have the confidence to work with the guy actually. Firstly, Sho was his senior. Secondly, he didn’t have much experience being a wedding photographer compared to the others.
“It’s really nice to see you again, Nino.” Sho smiled. When was the last time Nino saw those smiles? Sakurai Sho didn’t change at all. Still a well-mannered person as always.
“It’s really nice to meet you again too, Sho-san.” Nino smiled. They bowed at each other as Sho went back to his office while Nino took the subway to the studio.
***
“MJ, Explain. Right now.”
Nino went to the studio after he had lunch with Sho. He immediately went to Jun’s office and didn’t bother to knock.
“Do you not know how to knock, Nino?” Jun frowned as he stopped what he was doing. Jun used his glasses and his office was a mess. This only meant one thing; he was busy. However, Nino didn’t care less because wasting 5 minutes of his time would not kill him anyway.
“Let’s not change the topic, shall we?” Nino snapped, “Sakurai Sho. Why didn’t you tell me that he’s the wedding planner?”
“Surprise?” Jun shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, isn’t it? You guys know each other since university. Besides, you know how busy I am these days and I couldn’t be his photographer. So, I recommended you.”
“Why me? I don’t do wedding photography as much as others.”
“Simple. Because I trust you and I believe that you can work together with Sho.”
“To be honest, I can’t. I can’t do this,” Nino muttered. He didn’t know why he couldn’t do it but it seemed like he wouldn’t be suitable to do the work. Yes, Nino had the experience as a wedding photographer but he was only a substitute since his coworker was sick on the day of the event. He didn’t know the process as much as his coworkers.
“Why?”
“I just can’t!”
“Why not? Do you hate him? Did something happen this morning?” Jun frowned.
“No, nothing happened. I—”
“Wait, don’t tell me… you like Sho? Is that why?”
“How do you even get that conclusion?”
“Your ear turned red somehow.”
Nino touched his ears and he could feel his ears burning. Jun was right. “Wha—”
“Nino, you’re too obvious even when you want to hide it.”
“I—Fine. I may actually had a crush on the guy, maybe I still like him, I don’t know. I just find it awkward to work with him.”
“Oh wow,” Jun gasped, “Well, that’s a strong reason as to why I need to make you work with Sho. If you feel awkward, then you need to work out on those feelings.”
“But—“
“Besides, you’ll be closer to him by working with him. Who knows what would happen?”
“Jun—“
“Nino, don’t you have other work that you need to do?”
Nino grumbled and rolled his eyes. Jun was right, he had other work that he needed to do. He went back to his desk and looked at his task for the day. There was no way that he could make an excuse to not work with Sho. He had no choice but to try to work with the guy.
Two weeks after they had their first meeting, they met again for the second meeting. Both the groom and bride were there along with Sho, as their wedding planner. This time, Aiba wasn’t late and he went together with Nino. They talked about the concept and ideas which both the bride and groom wanted. The couple Nino suggested some of his ideas and what was trending amongst the young couples. The couple along with Sho already decided the venue, which made it easier for Nino to visualize. Sho showed the pictures of the venue that he took a week before. The couple also gave the final draft list of the guests and also, together they planned out the order of which family, friends and coworkers would be taking the picture together with the couple first. Aiba also asked about what kind of concept for the video did the couple want. The second meeting ended in two hours and it was pretty productive.
The couple was thankful and delighted with how professional Nino was. It seemed that what he learnt were indeed useful. He researched and learnt from the internet as well as his coworker’s advice who had experience in wedding photography. The couple went back first and they thanked both Nino and Sho for the help. When Nino cleared his things from the desk, Sho cleared his throat.
“Nino, are you busy this Saturday?” Sho asked politely.
Nino’s heart was beating. Why did he suddenly ask about his Saturday? Nino bit his lips and thought about his plans for the rest of the week. “I don’t think so. Why, Sho-san?” Nino replied.
“I would like to introduce you to one of my close friends. He is also one of the usual vendors that works with me,” Sho explained, “he just came out with another product and he asked for my help to find someone who can aesthetically takes a photo of it.”
Nino nodded, “and you want me to take photos of his new product?”
“Exactly, don’t worry, Nino. He will definitely pay you,” Sho assured, “Ohno-san is a generous person and he bakes delicious bread as well as cake.”
Nino smiled when he saw Sho’s sparkling eyes. He remembered how Sho loved food a lot, ever since they were in the university. Sho was known as someone who likes to try new and interesting restaurants after classes and he could still maintained his perfect grades. He was wondering what kind of person Ohno-san was. Not to mention, he only knew Jun as Sho’s close friend. It was an opportunity to know more about Sho. Aside from that, he would get paid. Definitely he couldn’t miss the chance.
“I’ll go then,” Nino said, “What time and where do I meet you?”
“I’ll message you the place and time later,” Sho smiled widely, “I’m sure Ohno-san will be happy to meet you in person.”
At one moment, Nino had forgotten that Aiba was there, grinning after Sho went out from the meeting room. Nino knew what kind of grin it was. He just sighed and said, “What?”
“Nothing,” Aiba replied, while he still grinned until they went back to the studio again. Nino just shook his head looking at his coworker.
***
As promised, Sho texted him with the time and place on Thursday. Sho told him to meet up at 2PM and judging from the address, the meeting place was at Ohno’s bakery. Nino went to the place and when he arrived, Nino looked at the board sign; Ohno’s Bakery. The place was small but it looked like a perfect place to hangout with friends. The bakery was full of baby blue color—supposedly Ohno’s favorite color. When he went inside, he saw Sho and Ohno-san in the bakery.
“Nino!” Sho welcomed him cheerfully, “You made it!”
“Yeah,” Nino said.
Sho excitedly introduced him to Ohno-san. His full name was Ohno Satoshi. The guy was older than both Nino and Sho. Even though his face looked kind of sleepy, the man was skillful in making bread and cakes. He had a lot of creative ideas, even the bread and cake that were displayed on the counter were unique and out-of-the-box. Ohno wasn’t a talkative person as Sho but he would talk about his creation with a great enthusiasm. Nino also tried one of Ohno’s bread and Sho wasn’t lying. The bread was delicious and made him crave to eat more.
Ohno showed his latest creation, which would be on sale for a couple of weeks. He made a realistic, detailed fish-shaped bread. The detailed was unbelievable. Not only the detailed scale that he engraved, he also included the bones like it was a real fish. The filling of the bread was strawberry jam. As what Ohno said, the strawberry bread represented the fish's 'blood'. Nino found it funny how the man could think of a brilliant idea for a bread. Ohno also said that he would make variety of flavor and shapes in the future. The bread name was ‘sakana pan’—which means fish bread. It was a simple name but the bread was designed very artistically. Nino thought it would sell quite well.
“Why fish-shaped bread?” Nino asked.
“I like fish,” Ohno said.
“Ohno’s hobby is fishing so he is interested in every type of fish,” Sho explained as Ohno only nodded, agreeing what Sho stated.
Nino noticed that Sho acted like Ohno’s spokesperson. It made Nino wonder how long did Ohno and Sho knew each other. He wasn’t jealous of them being close, rather he found it interesting how two different people could connect like that. Nino took pictures of the sakana pan while they had a chat about bread, and everything. Ohno was a kind person, he even gave quite a sum of money to Nino after the man reviewed the pictures that he took. Nino thanked Ohno and Sho, who already referred him as a photographer.
Everything was fine. Nino still had another work aside from the wedding project. Things were bearable for him. At least it wasn’t as big as being a wedding photographer. Most of his work were inside the studio. Since Nino wasn’t really a big fan of the outdoors, Jun assigned him to be an indoor photographer, where he only took pictures of people for passport purposes and job interviews. He also edited the photos afterwards. Nino found it more comfortable that way.
As Nino was doing his work, Nino forgot to ask something to the couple. He forgot to ask if the couple wanted to have a first look or not. First look was an intimate moment where the couple see each other before the wedding ceremony. Although it wasn’t a new trend, some couples might want to have their first look. As a wedding photographer, Nino had to set up the location and time with the bride and groom. Since he didn’t have the contact of the couple, Nino decided to ask Sho as the third party to tell the couple.
“Hello,” Sho said in a hoarse voice.
Nino’s eyes widen when he heard Sho’s voice. His voice changed. What happened to him? There was only one possibility as to why his voice changed like that. “Sho-san, your voice…”
“Don’t worry, it’s just cold,” Sho replied, “What’s wrong, Nino?”
“You should rest!”
Nino could hear Sho’s sigh from the phone. Judging from his sound, he was exhausted. “I need to work. I can’t rest, Nino.”
Nino sighed. He forgot that Sho was a stubborn man. In the end, he told Sho about the first look. Deep inside, Nino was worried about Sho more than the first look. It wasn’t as important as Sho’s health. Not to mention that the wedding would be held in two weeks. Nino was grateful that he had Kitagawa’s contact. They exchanged business card before. He called Kitagawa about Sho. It seemed that Sho already had cold since 2 days ago and looked pale.
“Ninomiya-san, I’ll try to tell him to go rest. You know how stubborn he is. Thank you for your concern,” Kitagawa said politely before she hung up the phone.
***
Jun and Aiba knew about Sho’s condition by the end of the day. After they finished their work, the three of them decided to have dinner together. Since both Jun and Aiba were up for desserts, he took them to Ohno’s place. He was glad that the bakery closed at 8PM. He wanted to introduce Ohno to Jun and Aiba. Especially with Ohno’s delicious bread, he wanted them to try. He thought Aiba would love them.
“Ah, this place. Satoshi’s place,” Jun muttered.
“Satoshi?!” Aiba and Nino said in unison.
“Yeah. He’s my boyfriend,” Jun nodded.
“Boyfriend?!” Both Aiba and Nino said in unison again.
It was as if like a normal thing for Jun. Aiba and Nino were shocked at the moment. Nino thought he heard Jun wrongly. How was it possible that Ohno was Jun’s boyfriend? He never told him about it, even if they knew each other for more than 8 years. Nino felt that Jun was very secretive when it came to his personal life.
“You never told us that you have a boyfriend, MatsuJun.”
Jun grinned, “Guess I forgot to tell you both about it.”
They went inside the bakery and Ohno welcomed them as he almost dozed off. There were no customers, probably not a lot of people would go to a bakery in the evening. They ordered the bread and cake that they wanted. Jun took the cheesecake, Aiba took the red velvet and Nino took the cream bread. They went to take a seat while Ohno prepared the desserts.
“Did you call Kitagawa to make Sho rest? Are you serious?” Jun said, continuing what they left in the office. Nino told them about him talking to Kitagawa too.
“Kitagawa-san?” Aiba frowned.
“Yeah, why? Kitagawa-san looks pretty strict to me, I think she can tell Sho to take a day off,” Nino shrugged.
“Nino, he’s a stubborn man.”
“I know, that’s why I asked Kitagawa-san. She had been his secretary for how many years?”
“Almost 7 years,” Ohno said in the background.
“There’s that. She can make him rest, I’m sure.”
The others were confused but they let it off. Nino told Ohno about Sho’s situation when he served all the desserts to Jun, Aiba and Nino. He took a seat beside Jun. Sho would usually rant about his life to Ohno and it seemed that it had been awhile since he had a long chat with him.
“Sho is rarely sick, even when he’s busy,” Ohno said, “He thinks that as long as he can still stand up, he definitely go to work.”
“He’s still a workaholic, even when he was still a university student. No wonder he was a top student,” Nino muttered. Jun only nodded while Aiba looked like he just knew something interesting.
It felt like Ohno knew a lot about Sho. There was a mysterious aura around the guy but Nino knew that he was totally harmless, especially since he was dating Jun.
“Now, let’s talk about your feelings toward Sho, shall we?” Jun said excitedly.
“EHH? Nino and Sakurai-san?!” Aiba yelled.
“I refuse, MJ.”
“Oh, c’mon. I think everyone knows about it except Mr. Oblivious Sakurai Sho,” Jun grinned.
Aiba shrugged, “Well, I didn’t know about this.“
“It’s actually obvious, especially when you didn’t refuse Sho’s request to help me,” Ohno said.
“Wha—“
“Nino…” Jun said, “Tell him that you like him. He’s Sakurai Sho. He won’t know your feelings until you tell him.”
“It’s not that simple, Jun.”
“Are you going to let it go and wait for another 8 years? I don’t think so. It’s better now or never.”
Nino didn’t know what to do. He definitely didn’t think of confessing. A confession could make their relationship awkward, but he noticed that Sho was too oblivious to know about his feelings all along. The bakery turned into silence and Nino didn’t know what to say either.
Even though Aiba didn’t know anything about Nino and Sho, he tried to change the topic since no one talked. Aiba asked out of nowhere, “So, how did you guys actually meet?”
The others were relieved to have Aiba in the group. At least, it wasn’t as awkward as before. Jun and Ohno just grinned at each other and said, “That’s a secret.”
Since Nino was worried about Sho, he decided to check on him on the day after. Nino asked about Sho’s whereabouts to Kitagawa. He was glad that Sho took a rest at home instead of going to work. When Nino asked about Sho's address, Kitagawa couldn't give him as it was confidential. He didn't know anyone else except for Jun. The guy definitely gave him the address and Nino went there afterwads. He gasped when he looked at the apartment. It was like a mansion, a place for elites. It was known that Sho came from a rich family, considering that his father was a vice minister. Sho opened the door and was surprised to see Nino. He was using his pajamas. It was a rare scene to see Sho in a vulnerable state.
“N-Nino, what brings you here? How did you know my home address?”
“I want to check you up,” Nino observed, “Your cold seems to be worse than yesterday. And also, Jun told me.”
“Kitagawa scolded me to rest and I guess my body couldn’t take it too,” Sho chuckled. Nino’s theory was right, Sho would definitely listen to Kitagawa.
“You should go back to bed, I’ll make you food,” Nino said, showing a bag of groceries that he bought before he went inside to Sho’s apartment.
“Nino, you don’t have to.”
“You’re sick,” Nino stated, “As far as I know you, you can’t cook.”
Sho frowned. Even though they weren’t that close in the university, Nino knew some things about Sho. Probably because it was a general knowledge and sometimes, Sho told him so.
“I can just buy takeouts—”
“Go back to bed, Sho-san,” Nino demanded as he pushed the older man to the bedroom. When Sho was lying on his bed, Nino went to the kitchen. The kitchen was clean. He doubted that Sho ever used them. He looked at the fridge and as expected, he only found beers and energy jelly drinks. Nino put his groceries on top of the kitchen counter and tried to find the utensils in each cupboard. After a minute, he found the pot. Nino decided to cook porridge for Sho. It was not a complicated dish. Even if Sho didn’t have any fever, it was best for him to eat healthy, non-fried food to soothe his throat and also his cold.
After the porridge was done, he put them on top of the tray that he found and also the cold medicine that he bought from the pharmacy as well as a glass of water. Nino went to Sho’s bedroom and put the tray on Sho’s bed.
“I made you a porridge and also, here’s the medicine. I usually drink this when I’m having cold. It’s really effective,” he said.
Sho muttered ‘thank you’ and ate the porridge. His expression turned into a pleasing one. At least, Nino knew that Sho was enjoying his meal.
“This is delicious, you can cook well,” Sho commented as he dug in the porridge again, “I bet your girlfriend or boyfriend is grateful to have you!”
“Thank you, Sho-san, but I don’t have any.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know that you’re still single.”
An awkward tension struck once again. Sho drank his medicine quietly while Nino just looked at the ceiling to distract himself. They both didn’t know what to say until Nino remembered, “Sho-san, there are still leftover on your dining table. You just need to heat it up in the microwave when you want to eat it.”
“Thank you so much, Nino. You don’t need to do this. I can take care of myself, don’t worry.”
“From what I see, I think you still need help. You’re not alone, Sho-san. You have other people who you could rely on. Besides, we need you to be healthy. You are the key of our project!”
Sho chuckled, “I guess you’re right.”
Nino knew that Sho was an independent man. He didn’t like to rely on other people. Sometimes, Nino thought that Sho was too independent to the point he thought it was alright.
“You can definitely count on me, Sho-san.”
After a second, Nino realized how misleading with what he just said. Before he gave a chance for Sho to react, Nino immediately explained, “I-I mean, if you need any help, I will definitely help you. You can count on other people too, of course.”
Sho smiled when he heard of Nino’s words. “I always count on you, Nino. Maybe you aren't aware of it but I know that you always do your best to achieve your goal, no matter how hard it is. You never change. That’s why I’m happy when I figured out it was you, instead of anyone else. I’m really glad that I meet you again.”
Nino was speechless, even when he wanted to say something. He could feel his cheeks and ears were burning at some point. Even if it was just a normal compliment from Sho, he thought it was something more than that. He didn’t know what he was feeling but his heart beat very fast. What he felt about Sho was still there all along. Maybe he needed to stop being in denial. He didn’t know how Sho felt about him but perhaps it was time for him to tell how he felt.
“Sho-san, I need to tell you something,” Nino said nervously, “I—”
Nino stopped when he heard a soft snore. Before he could confess, he found Sho falling asleep whilst holding the spoon. The older man looked peaceful when he slept. He even slept while still in his sitting position. How could you fall asleep while leaning on the headboard, Sho-san? You're unbelievable, Nino thought. It was a rare scene to see Sho falling asleep. Nino had to admit that the guy looked vulnerable in his unguarded state. At least, he knew one thing that the man was not always as strong as he looked. Nino smiled as he searched for a blanket to cover Sho’s body. He didn’t want to disturb the man.
“Get well soon, Sho-san,” Nino whispered as he took away the tray and washed the dishes before he headed home.
Nino couldn’t go to Sho’s house after that day since he had a lot of work to do. He needed to catch up with his work. He messaged Sho asking how he was feeling and apologized because he couldn’t come to make food for Sho. A minute later, Sho replied his message.
From: Sakurai Sho
To: Nino
Hi, Nino. Don’t worry about it. I feel better after a little rest and the medicine you bought me. I’m sorry to bother you every single time. Thank you for everything :) I owe you. I’ll see you on Monday.
—Sho
Nino smiled. He felt relieved that Sho was feeling better. Nino replied to the message and told Sho to rest more before Monday. Before he slept, Nino looked at the message again. He remembered that day when he visited the guy. He was disappointed that his confession failed before but it was understandable since Sho was sick. He doubted if he should try to confess again.
“Tell him that you like him. He’s Sakurai Sho. He won’t know your feelings until you tell him.”
Nino remembered what Jun said. Somehow even though Jun was younger than him, it seemed that he was more mature and wiser. Nino had been denying his feelings for quite sometime and he didn’t have a gut to tell Sho, even after graduation. Jun was right. Maybe it was best to tell his feelings sooner than later.
***
It was the day everyone waited for. Time flew by very fast and it was already the day of their client’s wedding. Nino went to the venue along with Aiba. They brought the camera, video camera and every equipment that they needed to capture the moments. They both met Sho before they went to see the couple. Sho briefed some of the stuff that they needed to do and also, he gave the schedule that he made. If Nino could comment on what Sho wrote, it was too detailed. Sho put every minute and hour in the schedule, even for toilet breaks. Nino found it ridiculous but at the same time, that was how Sho was.
As what the wedding photographer and videographer would do, Nino and Aiba was there from the preparations until the end. Nino took pictures of the bride and also the makeup process. On the other hand, he also took pictures of the groom with his best men. Aiba asked the couple to make a letter for each other before the ceremony and read it for him so that he could make a video out of it. The couple also decided to have a first look before the ceremony. It was busy for everyone. Nino didn’t have time to eat his lunch and he only had coffee in the morning.
Nino met Kitagawa after he took pictures of the couple’s first look. She was also as busy as other people in the preparation. Kitagawa was in charge in giving food to all the vendors. Sho knew that everyone had no time to eat, so he usually asked Kitagawa to distribute the food. She gave katsu sandwich to Nino. He thanked her since he didn’t have anything for lunch. Before she left, Kitagawa called him.
“Ninomiya-san, I know this is not my business but…,” Kitagawa said, “I had a feeling that... there was something between you and Sakurai-san? I really hope that things get sorted out somehow.”
“Wait, Kitagawa-san. How did you know?”
“I guess it’s kind of obvious, Ninomiya-san,” Kitagawa grinned, “as well as, Sakurai-san.”
“What do you mean?”
She only grinned and shrugged. “Well, if you excuse me.”
Kitagawa bowed and left to give the food to the remaining vendors. Kitagawa’s words reminded him of what Jun said. Nino didn’t understand how obvious he was with his feelings. He knew that he liked Sho by now but he didn’t know how Sho would feel about him. Just a junior? A partner? He didn’t even know if Sho had a girlfriend or boyfriend. He didn’t know much about the guy.
Nino felt confused but he didn’t want his feelings to take control for now. He needed to focus on his work. Nino went to the venue as the ceremony started. He took pictures of the vendors and also the whole event with the help of Aiba as the videographer. The couple looked really happy and it made Nino felt happy for them. He wished for happiness and longevity for both groom and bride. The wedding ceremony ended at 9PM. The couple thanked Nino for keeping things professional and also as their wedding photographer.
Since their job was done, Nino and Aiba packed their equipment. Their job was done, Nino thought. It was his first time working with Sho and he felt kind of sad that the job ended quickly. It was nice to go outside and do an outdoor job, for once. Maybe 90 percent of the reason was because of Sho. The guy was really someone who could be counted on and Nino really liked working with him, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. He sighed as he took his camera bag.
“Nino? Nino?” Aiba said as he poked Nino, “I’ve been calling you.”
Nino snapped from his thoughts and apologized, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“Nino, you like him, don’t you?” Aiba said out of nowhere.
“What?”
“Sakurai-san. Nino, you should tell him. You know this is our last day.”
“But—”
Aiba stopped Nino from packing the things up and took the camera from Nino’s hand. “I’ll pack it up. Just go.”
“Masaki…” Nino muttered. Maybe Aiba was right. It was their last day working with Sho. They might see each other again, but not as much as when they worked together. It was an opportunity for Nino. He couldn’t hide the feelings anymore.
“Thank you so much, Masaki.”
Nino rushed himself to find Sho. He didn’t know where the older man was but for sure, he hadn’t left the venue yet. Nino tried to search for him. He wasn’t in the bride or groom’s waiting room, the ballroom itself and also the lobby. Nino went to the parking lot. He saw a guy with sloping shoulder, which he knew whose shoulder it was. Nino was already breathless since he ran to find the guy.
“Sho-san,” Nino said, “I need to tell you something.”
Sho looked back to see restless Nino who had been trying to catch up his breath. “Nino? Are you okay?”
Nino tried to gather his confidence. He could do it. He definitely confessed his feelings to Sho. It had been 8 years and the guy needed to know. Nino took a deep breath and confessed, “I like you since we were still university students. Maybe you don’t notice it but I had a crush on you. But… I really want you to know.”
There was an awkward tension between them. Sho didn’t react at all, he looked rather shocked. Nino waited for the older man to speak up. Was it wrong for him to confess his feeling all of the sudden? Nino looked at Sho as the older man was fidgeting, trying to find words to answer Nino’s confession.
“I-I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Nino. I—” Sho said awkwardly, “T-thank you for your good work today!”
Sho bowed immediately and went to his car. Sho looked very panicked as he almost threw his key and it seemed that he became clumsy all at the sudden, leaving Nino confused.
“Sho—”
Before Nino could say anything, Sho already drove his car at a high speed. Nino sighed. He couldn’t believe that Sho left him like that. He didn’t want things to be awkward with Sho. He could imagine how his rest of the week would be. Maybe it would have been better if he didn’t confess his feelings after all.
***
Nino knew that it was his fault when things got tense between him and Sho. They didn’t talk since then and even no matter how many times Nino called, Sho didn’t answer. He even messaged the older man and as expected, he only read his mail. He knew that it was the consequences for confessing his feelings to Sakurai Sho. He knew that it would happen somehow.
One time, he called his office and Kitagawa answered the call. Nino thought that Sho would talk to him because of work, but he was wrong.
“Kitagawa-san, this is Ninomiya. I would like to—”
“Ninomiya-san… I’m sorry but Sakurai-san didn’t want to talk to you,” Kitagawa said with an apologetic tone, "I wish I could help you. He also looked very tired these days. I hope things get better between you both.”
Nino sighed. He didn’t know what to do. The mixture of disappointment and anger were all that he could feel. He couldn’t wait any longer. What he needed from Sho was his answer. He didn’t care if Sho turned him down. He knew from the start that it would be impossible for Sho to accept it. They were just university friends—not to mention Sho was his senior. To Sho, he was probably just a junior. Not to mention, they only became close recently.
There was one option left. It was Saturday night and Nino knew Sho’s whereabouts. He went to Sho’s apartment as fast as he can. He pressed the bell twice and there was no response. He felt hopeless by now. Nino was sure that there was nothing to change Sho’s stubborn mind. His first love was definitely over by now. As Nino decided to leave, he could hear someone opening the door. Nino looked back and he saw Sho’s sleepless, tired face.
“Nino…” Sho muttered, “Why are you here?”
“Why didn’t you answer my phone calls and text?!” Nino yelled, “I’m worried about you! Sho-san, you don’t know how angry I am right now.”
“Nino, I’m sorry, it’s not that I’m distancing myself—”
“Sho-san, it’s definitely my fault to confess to you like that,” Nino bowed, “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time.”
“It’s not like that, Nino,” Sho bit his lips and ruffled his hair, “to be honest, I like you. I even liked you when we were still a university student. You were so determined to be a photographer and I really admired your work. You were there for me when I was sick. I really feel grateful about it. Nobody ever did that to me and I feel really happy. I… just don’t know how to express myself.”
“I really thought about things that you said to me and what you feel is important. But, I keep on thinking about what will happen in the future. What if it doesn’t work out, what if you don’t like me like you do right now, what if I can’t make you happy. I’m just… scared that I couldn’t be a good partner for you.”
“Sho-san…” Nino paused, “You’re an idiot, aren’t you? You don’t have to think about what will happen in the future. What’s important is now. I still like you even after 8 years. Maybe I don’t know about the current you as much as you don’t know about me, but I want to know more about you, Sho-san. This is not like planning a wedding. You just have to let things go with the flow.”
“I—”
Nino took a step closer to Sho and locked his arms around the older man’s neck. He didn’t hesitate even when Sho looked confused. Nino pressed his lips against Sho’s, didn’t care if the neighbour saw them. He knew that he would regret it if he didn’t do it. Sho responded his kiss and caressed Nino’s cheeks. Unlike what he expected, Sho’s kisses were soft and gentle as if he was afraid of hurting Nino. They pulled off after they felt breathless.
“Sho-san, you really are an idiot.”
“I know that,” Sho chuckled, “You don’t have to repeat what you said.”
“But I still like you,” Nino grinned.
Sho smiled and shook his head. He pulled Nino’s hand and leaned closer to kiss Nino once again. He wrapped his hands around Nino’s waist and took the younger man inside his apartment. Knowing their feelings were mutual, they both shyly smiled at each other.
“By the way, Nino,” Sho said, “There was something that you didn’t know about me.”
“Hmmm?”
“That was my first kiss.”
“What?!”
phrenkFrom: :3.
Title: It Takes Two to Tango
Pairing/Focus: Sakumiya, Juntoshi
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 8,127 words
Warnings: OOC, in a way. A lot of timeskip.
Summary: Nino unexpectedly met his university senior again after Jun assigned him as a photographer for a wedding.
Notes: Dear Phrenk, I don’t know why I ended up writing something that is kinda different from what I originally planned HAHA. I know that it’s not as good as what you expected but I hope that you enjoy reading this! A big thanks to my mental support, W. Thank you so much to my beta reader, M for being so patient with me. Lastly, thank you to NinoEx mod for your understanding and kindness~ <3
Sakurai Wedding Planner. Sakurai. SA-KU-RA-I.
Nino thought that his eyesight was getting worse because of the time he spent with his video games. He never had any problems with his eyesight, even with his games obsession since he was a little. Or, was it because of his sleepiness? He didn’t get a lot of sleep the day before. He kept on rubbing his eyes but the sign didn’t change. Unconvinced, he made sure and double checked the address. Maybe the navigation app wasn’t accurate. He searched for ‘Sakurai Wedding Planner‘ on Google and the address was the same with the address that Jun had given him. He was curious as to why Jun didn’t wrote the company’s name but Nino was indeed in the right place.
“Welcome to Sakurai Wedding Planner, how may I help you?”
“I’m Ninomiya from MJ Studio. I have an appointment with Sakurai-san at 10AM.”
“Please wait for a second,” the receptionist said, “For the meantime, Ninomiya-san, you may sit while we inform to Sakurai-san.”
Nino nodded and took a seat near the reception. The office wasn’t really that big. It was located on the 7th floor. The overall design of the office was simple and minimalistic. For some reason, he kept on staring at the name.
There were a lot of Sakurais in this world but he happened to know only one Sakurai. Maybe it was just a coincidence. As much as Matsumoto Jun had a lot of friends, he reckoned that his best friend also knew only one Sakurai. He got to know that Sakurai from his university friend and now a coworker, Jun. That Sakurai was a year senior from him and since they took different majors, Nino rarely saw the guy unless Jun invited him over to have dinner with the two of them.
It had been a long time since he had met the person, which was on his university graduation. He had never heard about the guy from Jun ever since then. That Sakurai had graduated from the Economics major and Nino was sure that there was no way he had become a wedding planner. The guy was simply a smart man and maybe didn’t really have any interest in weddings (not that Nino knew the guy very well but he somehow knew a lot about that Sakurai from Jun).
Not to mention, the kanji character of the sign was an old writing for ‘Sakura’. Nobody used that character anymore… except for that Sakurai. Of course, Nino was aware that the guy wasn’t the only Sakurai that existed in Japan but he couldn’t help to think that it was the Sakurai that he knew.
Nino’s mind was filled with every possibility. Maybe he was a bit overreacting. He kept on telling himself that there were a lot of Sakurai in Japan who still used the old kanji writing. The thought of Jun coincidentally meeting someone who had the same surname was possible. Besides, wedding planners were mostly women. If Jun knew what he was thinking, he would probably laugh at Nino. Gosh, he didn’t want Jun to know about it. He could even imagine how Jun would react. It was actually Jun’s fault for not mentioning the full name of the wedding planner.
Nino shook his head as he tried to forget his worries. It was ridiculous for him to spend more than 10 minutes thinking about something, just simply because of the word ‘Sakurai’. Well, he didn’t really have any problem if the Sakurai turned out to be that Sakurai but he just felt awkward to meet someone after… 8 years. Not to mention, working with his senior as a photographer would definitely be awkward. Nino rarely worked as a wedding photographer but he knew that wedding photographer needed to have a good relationship with the wedding planner. They needed to be a team as wedding photographer relied on wedding planner.
Nino got distracted when his phone suddenly vibrated. A great timing, indeed. He took out his phone from his pocket. It was a message from Aiba. Aiba was a videographer who also worked with him. They mostly worked together when there was an event. Nino read the message that Aiba had sent to him.
From: Aiba Masaki
To: Nino
Subject: I’m sorrry!!
Nino >___< I’m so sorrry!! I’m going to be late for the meeting~ Shiro-chan accidentally drank my chocolate milk and I had to take her to the vet :(( I’ll be there in 20 mins! I promise! ><
—Masaki
He sighed. It wasn’t the first time that Aiba was late. Nino didn’t mind but it may probably a problem for the wedding planner and especially, the client—bride and groom. Punctuality and first impression were the most important. The client usually decided to hire the photographer and videographer if they left a good impression. Nino looked at his watch. 09:57AM. At least, he was early.
As Nino looked away from his phone, a long brown-haired woman with formal suits attire approached him. She still looked young, the same age as him. She was holding her tablet and smiled.
“Ninomiya-san, I’m Kitagawa, Sakurai-san’s assistant. Thank you for waiting,” Kitagawa politely said, “Please follow me.”
Nino nodded and followed Kitagawa as she led the way. They went inside where there was a sign “STAFF ONLY” hanging at the door. There weren’t a lot of staff members compared to other wedding planning companies. Most of the spaces were meeting room surrounding the office and desks at the middle, supposedly for the employees. Sakurai’s office was the furthest in the office. The Sakurai Wedding Planner was probably more of an independent wedding planner.
Kitagawa stopped at one of the meeting rooms and held the door knob. She whispered, “Sakurai-san is waiting for you.”
Nino went inside as Kitagawa opened the door for him. She left and closed the door after he entered. A man was there, facing the window and looking at the city view. He was quite tall (definitely, taller than Nino) and had a firm figure. The man’s shoulders were particularly attracted Nino’s attention. Unlike others, the man’s sloped shoulders could definitely become a playground slide. The charismatic aura from him was very familiar but Nino wasn’t sure.
The man, supposedly known as Sakurai, turned around and faced Nino. His eyes widened as he scanned through Sakurai’s head to toe. It had been 8 years but he still remembered. There were things that changed from him but Nino could still recognized the man. What mattered was he guessed it right. It was that Sakurai. Sakurai Sho. He hated it that he was right.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ni—” Sho paused, “Nino?”
His voice was still the same. There was no doubt that the guy was Sakurai Sho. Nino was nervous, he didn’t expect to meet the man again. Sakurai was no one. Totally no one, just someone he knew back in his university days. However, his hands showed otherwise. He was unconsciously sweating and couldn’t care less. With his hoarse voice, Nino hesitated, “S-Sho-san?”
“Why are you—Wait, Oh. Jun,” Sho sighed, “He didn’t tell me that Ninomiya would be you. I really didn’t expect that it really is you!”
“So did I, he didn’t tell me beforehand,” Nino muttered.
It was weird how Jun didn’t tell Sakurai either—or Sho, as what Nino always called him. He got suspicious as to why Jun didn’t tell both of them. It wouldn’t be a big deal if Jun didn’t make things as a surprise. Nino wouldn’t even be panicking, just by looking at Sho’s last name. He definitely needed to confront Jun about it.
Sho offered his business card and it made Nino hurriedly took his business card. They both exchanged business cards and formally bowed at each other. After quite some time, there was an awkward atmosphere in the meeting room. Both of them were silent for a moment, looking and smiling at each other politely. Nino didn’t dare to start a conversation. Moreover, he didn’t know how to. He could’ve asked why and how Sho decided to be a wedding planner. It was too straightforward to asked something like that directly. He then remembered that he needed to tell Sho about Aiba.
“Ah, Aiba-san, the videographer, will be late for the meeting. He’s not usually this late but since it’s emergency so he needed to go to the vet because of his dog.”
“That’s alright. Our client has not yet arrived too. I guess we’re both quite early,” Sho grinned.
They both prepared for the meeting and waited for the couple as well as Aiba. The couple arrived after 20 minutes. Since it would delay the meeting if they waited for Aiba, they started the meeting right away.
***
The meeting turned out pretty well. The couple, was pleased with Nino’s photography. They were interested in Nino’s sample wedding photos that were given by Jun. Nino didn’t have a lot of portfolio when it comes to wedding photography. His most recent work were mostly pre-wedding photos. Hence, he was surprised that the couple liked it. On the other hand, Aiba was late but the couple didn’t mind as they understood how hard it was to take care of a pet. Overall, Nino was glad that the couple was very kind and considerate. In the meeting, they were telling Nino and Aiba as to what kind of expectations they had on the photos and videos for the wedding day. With the help of Sho, they made a schedule as to when to take pictures with the family, friends and work colleagues.
The couple went home afterwards and that left Nino, Aiba and Sho in the meeting room. Both Nino and Aiba packed their things as they thanked Sho for having them as a photographer and videographer. They both went out from the office and waited for the lift.
“Nino, I’m really sorry,” Aiba said with his apologetic expression, “I need to pick Shiro-chan after this. I left him with the vet and I already told the boss about it.”
“It’s fine, Masaki,” Nino nodded, “Shiro-chan is probably waiting for you. Besides, I need to go to the toilet. So, you go first.”
“Thank you, Nino. I’ll see you at the office later!” Aiba smiled as he went first and then waved at Nino when he was in the lift.
He definitely needed to talk to Jun about it. About Sakurai Sho and why the heck Jun didn’t tell him before hand. It kinda made him curious since Nino knew Sho since their university days. He went to the toilet and called Jun.
When the call got connected, Nino directly said, “MJ, what the hell is going on?”
“And yes, hello, Nino. I’m fine, thank you, how about you?”
“Jun. Stop joking around! You know what I mean,” Nino stopped, “Sho-san. Sakurai Sho-san.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t ‘ah’ me, MJ!”
“I’ll explain later when you’re back to the studio. I’m busy right now. See you, Nino.”
“Jun—”
Nino shook his head and rolled his eyes. Jun was very annoying as usual and he had no choice but to ask him again when he was back to the studio. He knew how busy Jun was with his work but he could sense that Jun was avoiding to talk about it.
As Nino went out from the toilet, a familiar voice called him from behind. “Ninomiya-san! Nino!”
Nino looked back and saw Sho coming towards him. Sho was bringing his suitcase as he was ready to go somewhere. “Sho-san,” he muttered.
“Would you like to have lunch together?” Sho offered. It was a very expected offer to Nino. Even in their university days, they never had lunch together. Jun invited Sho sometime when they had lunch but that was just at least twice or thrice. It made Nino curious, this was the first time they ate lunch together. Just the two of them.
“With you?”
“Yes, with me, of course,” the older man chuckled, “it’s been awhile since we met and I would like to catch up on things with you.”
Nino nodded and accepted Sho’s invitation. He let Sho picked the restaurant as he knew the place around better. It was still 12PM and Nino had at least an hour left before he needed to go back to the studio. Since Sho didn’t want to waste a lot of time on lunch, he chose a restaurant right below the office.
“Sho-san, why did you become a wedding planner? I really didn’t expect that. I thought you’re going to work in a government official,” Nino stated after they were seated. At this point, Nino didn’t care if it sound rude or whatever. He just wanted to know.
Sho frowned and didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t really know. I guess I like seeing people happy and also, my hobby is to plan things ahead. I guess it suits me as a wedding planner? Besides, I don’t want to be an ordinary salary man.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Guess you became a photographer like what you dreamt of. I’m really happy for you,” Sho smiled.
Nino could feel his cheeks burning. He replied, “Th-thank you.”
Their lunch together went well. Sho talked about his life after university. He decided not to be an economist and government official despite what his dad told him to. Sho became interested in becoming a wedding planner because of his sister’s wedding. He was pretty close with his sister. She asked him to plan the wedding with her and because of that, he researched a lot about how to organize a wedding. His sister’s wedding turned out to be successful and she encouraged him to be wedding planner instead. Nino also shared about how did he become Jun’s subordinate. He didn’t want to lead. Unlike Jun, Nino liked to be someone who listened to what his boss said. He thought it would be the best for him to be a normal employee, as long as Jun paid him well. They enjoyed each other’s company. In the end, Sho paid for the lunch and he insisted on paying Nino’s share since it was their first meeting after a long time.
After they went outside the restaurant, they both exchanged each other’s personal contact. It was their first time working together and Nino felt nervous. Sho was someone who he respected the most and it was an honour to be his ‘partner-in-crime’. At the same time, Nino was not sure that he could work with Sho. He didn’t have the confidence to work with the guy actually. Firstly, Sho was his senior. Secondly, he didn’t have much experience being a wedding photographer compared to the others.
“It’s really nice to see you again, Nino.” Sho smiled. When was the last time Nino saw those smiles? Sakurai Sho didn’t change at all. Still a well-mannered person as always.
“It’s really nice to meet you again too, Sho-san.” Nino smiled. They bowed at each other as Sho went back to his office while Nino took the subway to the studio.
***
“MJ, Explain. Right now.”
Nino went to the studio after he had lunch with Sho. He immediately went to Jun’s office and didn’t bother to knock.
“Do you not know how to knock, Nino?” Jun frowned as he stopped what he was doing. Jun used his glasses and his office was a mess. This only meant one thing; he was busy. However, Nino didn’t care less because wasting 5 minutes of his time would not kill him anyway.
“Let’s not change the topic, shall we?” Nino snapped, “Sakurai Sho. Why didn’t you tell me that he’s the wedding planner?”
“Surprise?” Jun shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, isn’t it? You guys know each other since university. Besides, you know how busy I am these days and I couldn’t be his photographer. So, I recommended you.”
“Why me? I don’t do wedding photography as much as others.”
“Simple. Because I trust you and I believe that you can work together with Sho.”
“To be honest, I can’t. I can’t do this,” Nino muttered. He didn’t know why he couldn’t do it but it seemed like he wouldn’t be suitable to do the work. Yes, Nino had the experience as a wedding photographer but he was only a substitute since his coworker was sick on the day of the event. He didn’t know the process as much as his coworkers.
“Why?”
“I just can’t!”
“Why not? Do you hate him? Did something happen this morning?” Jun frowned.
“No, nothing happened. I—”
“Wait, don’t tell me… you like Sho? Is that why?”
“How do you even get that conclusion?”
“Your ear turned red somehow.”
Nino touched his ears and he could feel his ears burning. Jun was right. “Wha—”
“Nino, you’re too obvious even when you want to hide it.”
“I—Fine. I may actually had a crush on the guy, maybe I still like him, I don’t know. I just find it awkward to work with him.”
“Oh wow,” Jun gasped, “Well, that’s a strong reason as to why I need to make you work with Sho. If you feel awkward, then you need to work out on those feelings.”
“But—“
“Besides, you’ll be closer to him by working with him. Who knows what would happen?”
“Jun—“
“Nino, don’t you have other work that you need to do?”
Nino grumbled and rolled his eyes. Jun was right, he had other work that he needed to do. He went back to his desk and looked at his task for the day. There was no way that he could make an excuse to not work with Sho. He had no choice but to try to work with the guy.
***
Two weeks after they had their first meeting, they met again for the second meeting. Both the groom and bride were there along with Sho, as their wedding planner. This time, Aiba wasn’t late and he went together with Nino. They talked about the concept and ideas which both the bride and groom wanted. The couple Nino suggested some of his ideas and what was trending amongst the young couples. The couple along with Sho already decided the venue, which made it easier for Nino to visualize. Sho showed the pictures of the venue that he took a week before. The couple also gave the final draft list of the guests and also, together they planned out the order of which family, friends and coworkers would be taking the picture together with the couple first. Aiba also asked about what kind of concept for the video did the couple want. The second meeting ended in two hours and it was pretty productive.
The couple was thankful and delighted with how professional Nino was. It seemed that what he learnt were indeed useful. He researched and learnt from the internet as well as his coworker’s advice who had experience in wedding photography. The couple went back first and they thanked both Nino and Sho for the help. When Nino cleared his things from the desk, Sho cleared his throat.
“Nino, are you busy this Saturday?” Sho asked politely.
Nino’s heart was beating. Why did he suddenly ask about his Saturday? Nino bit his lips and thought about his plans for the rest of the week. “I don’t think so. Why, Sho-san?” Nino replied.
“I would like to introduce you to one of my close friends. He is also one of the usual vendors that works with me,” Sho explained, “he just came out with another product and he asked for my help to find someone who can aesthetically takes a photo of it.”
Nino nodded, “and you want me to take photos of his new product?”
“Exactly, don’t worry, Nino. He will definitely pay you,” Sho assured, “Ohno-san is a generous person and he bakes delicious bread as well as cake.”
Nino smiled when he saw Sho’s sparkling eyes. He remembered how Sho loved food a lot, ever since they were in the university. Sho was known as someone who likes to try new and interesting restaurants after classes and he could still maintained his perfect grades. He was wondering what kind of person Ohno-san was. Not to mention, he only knew Jun as Sho’s close friend. It was an opportunity to know more about Sho. Aside from that, he would get paid. Definitely he couldn’t miss the chance.
“I’ll go then,” Nino said, “What time and where do I meet you?”
“I’ll message you the place and time later,” Sho smiled widely, “I’m sure Ohno-san will be happy to meet you in person.”
At one moment, Nino had forgotten that Aiba was there, grinning after Sho went out from the meeting room. Nino knew what kind of grin it was. He just sighed and said, “What?”
“Nothing,” Aiba replied, while he still grinned until they went back to the studio again. Nino just shook his head looking at his coworker.
***
As promised, Sho texted him with the time and place on Thursday. Sho told him to meet up at 2PM and judging from the address, the meeting place was at Ohno’s bakery. Nino went to the place and when he arrived, Nino looked at the board sign; Ohno’s Bakery. The place was small but it looked like a perfect place to hangout with friends. The bakery was full of baby blue color—supposedly Ohno’s favorite color. When he went inside, he saw Sho and Ohno-san in the bakery.
“Nino!” Sho welcomed him cheerfully, “You made it!”
“Yeah,” Nino said.
Sho excitedly introduced him to Ohno-san. His full name was Ohno Satoshi. The guy was older than both Nino and Sho. Even though his face looked kind of sleepy, the man was skillful in making bread and cakes. He had a lot of creative ideas, even the bread and cake that were displayed on the counter were unique and out-of-the-box. Ohno wasn’t a talkative person as Sho but he would talk about his creation with a great enthusiasm. Nino also tried one of Ohno’s bread and Sho wasn’t lying. The bread was delicious and made him crave to eat more.
Ohno showed his latest creation, which would be on sale for a couple of weeks. He made a realistic, detailed fish-shaped bread. The detailed was unbelievable. Not only the detailed scale that he engraved, he also included the bones like it was a real fish. The filling of the bread was strawberry jam. As what Ohno said, the strawberry bread represented the fish's 'blood'. Nino found it funny how the man could think of a brilliant idea for a bread. Ohno also said that he would make variety of flavor and shapes in the future. The bread name was ‘sakana pan’—which means fish bread. It was a simple name but the bread was designed very artistically. Nino thought it would sell quite well.
“Why fish-shaped bread?” Nino asked.
“I like fish,” Ohno said.
“Ohno’s hobby is fishing so he is interested in every type of fish,” Sho explained as Ohno only nodded, agreeing what Sho stated.
Nino noticed that Sho acted like Ohno’s spokesperson. It made Nino wonder how long did Ohno and Sho knew each other. He wasn’t jealous of them being close, rather he found it interesting how two different people could connect like that. Nino took pictures of the sakana pan while they had a chat about bread, and everything. Ohno was a kind person, he even gave quite a sum of money to Nino after the man reviewed the pictures that he took. Nino thanked Ohno and Sho, who already referred him as a photographer.
***
Everything was fine. Nino still had another work aside from the wedding project. Things were bearable for him. At least it wasn’t as big as being a wedding photographer. Most of his work were inside the studio. Since Nino wasn’t really a big fan of the outdoors, Jun assigned him to be an indoor photographer, where he only took pictures of people for passport purposes and job interviews. He also edited the photos afterwards. Nino found it more comfortable that way.
As Nino was doing his work, Nino forgot to ask something to the couple. He forgot to ask if the couple wanted to have a first look or not. First look was an intimate moment where the couple see each other before the wedding ceremony. Although it wasn’t a new trend, some couples might want to have their first look. As a wedding photographer, Nino had to set up the location and time with the bride and groom. Since he didn’t have the contact of the couple, Nino decided to ask Sho as the third party to tell the couple.
“Hello,” Sho said in a hoarse voice.
Nino’s eyes widen when he heard Sho’s voice. His voice changed. What happened to him? There was only one possibility as to why his voice changed like that. “Sho-san, your voice…”
“Don’t worry, it’s just cold,” Sho replied, “What’s wrong, Nino?”
“You should rest!”
Nino could hear Sho’s sigh from the phone. Judging from his sound, he was exhausted. “I need to work. I can’t rest, Nino.”
Nino sighed. He forgot that Sho was a stubborn man. In the end, he told Sho about the first look. Deep inside, Nino was worried about Sho more than the first look. It wasn’t as important as Sho’s health. Not to mention that the wedding would be held in two weeks. Nino was grateful that he had Kitagawa’s contact. They exchanged business card before. He called Kitagawa about Sho. It seemed that Sho already had cold since 2 days ago and looked pale.
“Ninomiya-san, I’ll try to tell him to go rest. You know how stubborn he is. Thank you for your concern,” Kitagawa said politely before she hung up the phone.
***
Jun and Aiba knew about Sho’s condition by the end of the day. After they finished their work, the three of them decided to have dinner together. Since both Jun and Aiba were up for desserts, he took them to Ohno’s place. He was glad that the bakery closed at 8PM. He wanted to introduce Ohno to Jun and Aiba. Especially with Ohno’s delicious bread, he wanted them to try. He thought Aiba would love them.
“Ah, this place. Satoshi’s place,” Jun muttered.
“Satoshi?!” Aiba and Nino said in unison.
“Yeah. He’s my boyfriend,” Jun nodded.
“Boyfriend?!” Both Aiba and Nino said in unison again.
It was as if like a normal thing for Jun. Aiba and Nino were shocked at the moment. Nino thought he heard Jun wrongly. How was it possible that Ohno was Jun’s boyfriend? He never told him about it, even if they knew each other for more than 8 years. Nino felt that Jun was very secretive when it came to his personal life.
“You never told us that you have a boyfriend, MatsuJun.”
Jun grinned, “Guess I forgot to tell you both about it.”
They went inside the bakery and Ohno welcomed them as he almost dozed off. There were no customers, probably not a lot of people would go to a bakery in the evening. They ordered the bread and cake that they wanted. Jun took the cheesecake, Aiba took the red velvet and Nino took the cream bread. They went to take a seat while Ohno prepared the desserts.
“Did you call Kitagawa to make Sho rest? Are you serious?” Jun said, continuing what they left in the office. Nino told them about him talking to Kitagawa too.
“Kitagawa-san?” Aiba frowned.
“Yeah, why? Kitagawa-san looks pretty strict to me, I think she can tell Sho to take a day off,” Nino shrugged.
“Nino, he’s a stubborn man.”
“I know, that’s why I asked Kitagawa-san. She had been his secretary for how many years?”
“Almost 7 years,” Ohno said in the background.
“There’s that. She can make him rest, I’m sure.”
The others were confused but they let it off. Nino told Ohno about Sho’s situation when he served all the desserts to Jun, Aiba and Nino. He took a seat beside Jun. Sho would usually rant about his life to Ohno and it seemed that it had been awhile since he had a long chat with him.
“Sho is rarely sick, even when he’s busy,” Ohno said, “He thinks that as long as he can still stand up, he definitely go to work.”
“He’s still a workaholic, even when he was still a university student. No wonder he was a top student,” Nino muttered. Jun only nodded while Aiba looked like he just knew something interesting.
It felt like Ohno knew a lot about Sho. There was a mysterious aura around the guy but Nino knew that he was totally harmless, especially since he was dating Jun.
“Now, let’s talk about your feelings toward Sho, shall we?” Jun said excitedly.
“EHH? Nino and Sakurai-san?!” Aiba yelled.
“I refuse, MJ.”
“Oh, c’mon. I think everyone knows about it except Mr. Oblivious Sakurai Sho,” Jun grinned.
Aiba shrugged, “Well, I didn’t know about this.“
“It’s actually obvious, especially when you didn’t refuse Sho’s request to help me,” Ohno said.
“Wha—“
“Nino…” Jun said, “Tell him that you like him. He’s Sakurai Sho. He won’t know your feelings until you tell him.”
“It’s not that simple, Jun.”
“Are you going to let it go and wait for another 8 years? I don’t think so. It’s better now or never.”
Nino didn’t know what to do. He definitely didn’t think of confessing. A confession could make their relationship awkward, but he noticed that Sho was too oblivious to know about his feelings all along. The bakery turned into silence and Nino didn’t know what to say either.
Even though Aiba didn’t know anything about Nino and Sho, he tried to change the topic since no one talked. Aiba asked out of nowhere, “So, how did you guys actually meet?”
The others were relieved to have Aiba in the group. At least, it wasn’t as awkward as before. Jun and Ohno just grinned at each other and said, “That’s a secret.”
***
Since Nino was worried about Sho, he decided to check on him on the day after. Nino asked about Sho’s whereabouts to Kitagawa. He was glad that Sho took a rest at home instead of going to work. When Nino asked about Sho's address, Kitagawa couldn't give him as it was confidential. He didn't know anyone else except for Jun. The guy definitely gave him the address and Nino went there afterwads. He gasped when he looked at the apartment. It was like a mansion, a place for elites. It was known that Sho came from a rich family, considering that his father was a vice minister. Sho opened the door and was surprised to see Nino. He was using his pajamas. It was a rare scene to see Sho in a vulnerable state.
“N-Nino, what brings you here? How did you know my home address?”
“I want to check you up,” Nino observed, “Your cold seems to be worse than yesterday. And also, Jun told me.”
“Kitagawa scolded me to rest and I guess my body couldn’t take it too,” Sho chuckled. Nino’s theory was right, Sho would definitely listen to Kitagawa.
“You should go back to bed, I’ll make you food,” Nino said, showing a bag of groceries that he bought before he went inside to Sho’s apartment.
“Nino, you don’t have to.”
“You’re sick,” Nino stated, “As far as I know you, you can’t cook.”
Sho frowned. Even though they weren’t that close in the university, Nino knew some things about Sho. Probably because it was a general knowledge and sometimes, Sho told him so.
“I can just buy takeouts—”
“Go back to bed, Sho-san,” Nino demanded as he pushed the older man to the bedroom. When Sho was lying on his bed, Nino went to the kitchen. The kitchen was clean. He doubted that Sho ever used them. He looked at the fridge and as expected, he only found beers and energy jelly drinks. Nino put his groceries on top of the kitchen counter and tried to find the utensils in each cupboard. After a minute, he found the pot. Nino decided to cook porridge for Sho. It was not a complicated dish. Even if Sho didn’t have any fever, it was best for him to eat healthy, non-fried food to soothe his throat and also his cold.
After the porridge was done, he put them on top of the tray that he found and also the cold medicine that he bought from the pharmacy as well as a glass of water. Nino went to Sho’s bedroom and put the tray on Sho’s bed.
“I made you a porridge and also, here’s the medicine. I usually drink this when I’m having cold. It’s really effective,” he said.
Sho muttered ‘thank you’ and ate the porridge. His expression turned into a pleasing one. At least, Nino knew that Sho was enjoying his meal.
“This is delicious, you can cook well,” Sho commented as he dug in the porridge again, “I bet your girlfriend or boyfriend is grateful to have you!”
“Thank you, Sho-san, but I don’t have any.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know that you’re still single.”
An awkward tension struck once again. Sho drank his medicine quietly while Nino just looked at the ceiling to distract himself. They both didn’t know what to say until Nino remembered, “Sho-san, there are still leftover on your dining table. You just need to heat it up in the microwave when you want to eat it.”
“Thank you so much, Nino. You don’t need to do this. I can take care of myself, don’t worry.”
“From what I see, I think you still need help. You’re not alone, Sho-san. You have other people who you could rely on. Besides, we need you to be healthy. You are the key of our project!”
Sho chuckled, “I guess you’re right.”
Nino knew that Sho was an independent man. He didn’t like to rely on other people. Sometimes, Nino thought that Sho was too independent to the point he thought it was alright.
“You can definitely count on me, Sho-san.”
After a second, Nino realized how misleading with what he just said. Before he gave a chance for Sho to react, Nino immediately explained, “I-I mean, if you need any help, I will definitely help you. You can count on other people too, of course.”
Sho smiled when he heard of Nino’s words. “I always count on you, Nino. Maybe you aren't aware of it but I know that you always do your best to achieve your goal, no matter how hard it is. You never change. That’s why I’m happy when I figured out it was you, instead of anyone else. I’m really glad that I meet you again.”
Nino was speechless, even when he wanted to say something. He could feel his cheeks and ears were burning at some point. Even if it was just a normal compliment from Sho, he thought it was something more than that. He didn’t know what he was feeling but his heart beat very fast. What he felt about Sho was still there all along. Maybe he needed to stop being in denial. He didn’t know how Sho felt about him but perhaps it was time for him to tell how he felt.
“Sho-san, I need to tell you something,” Nino said nervously, “I—”
Nino stopped when he heard a soft snore. Before he could confess, he found Sho falling asleep whilst holding the spoon. The older man looked peaceful when he slept. He even slept while still in his sitting position. How could you fall asleep while leaning on the headboard, Sho-san? You're unbelievable, Nino thought. It was a rare scene to see Sho falling asleep. Nino had to admit that the guy looked vulnerable in his unguarded state. At least, he knew one thing that the man was not always as strong as he looked. Nino smiled as he searched for a blanket to cover Sho’s body. He didn’t want to disturb the man.
“Get well soon, Sho-san,” Nino whispered as he took away the tray and washed the dishes before he headed home.
***
Nino couldn’t go to Sho’s house after that day since he had a lot of work to do. He needed to catch up with his work. He messaged Sho asking how he was feeling and apologized because he couldn’t come to make food for Sho. A minute later, Sho replied his message.
From: Sakurai Sho
To: Nino
Hi, Nino. Don’t worry about it. I feel better after a little rest and the medicine you bought me. I’m sorry to bother you every single time. Thank you for everything :) I owe you. I’ll see you on Monday.
—Sho
Nino smiled. He felt relieved that Sho was feeling better. Nino replied to the message and told Sho to rest more before Monday. Before he slept, Nino looked at the message again. He remembered that day when he visited the guy. He was disappointed that his confession failed before but it was understandable since Sho was sick. He doubted if he should try to confess again.
“Tell him that you like him. He’s Sakurai Sho. He won’t know your feelings until you tell him.”
Nino remembered what Jun said. Somehow even though Jun was younger than him, it seemed that he was more mature and wiser. Nino had been denying his feelings for quite sometime and he didn’t have a gut to tell Sho, even after graduation. Jun was right. Maybe it was best to tell his feelings sooner than later.
***
It was the day everyone waited for. Time flew by very fast and it was already the day of their client’s wedding. Nino went to the venue along with Aiba. They brought the camera, video camera and every equipment that they needed to capture the moments. They both met Sho before they went to see the couple. Sho briefed some of the stuff that they needed to do and also, he gave the schedule that he made. If Nino could comment on what Sho wrote, it was too detailed. Sho put every minute and hour in the schedule, even for toilet breaks. Nino found it ridiculous but at the same time, that was how Sho was.
As what the wedding photographer and videographer would do, Nino and Aiba was there from the preparations until the end. Nino took pictures of the bride and also the makeup process. On the other hand, he also took pictures of the groom with his best men. Aiba asked the couple to make a letter for each other before the ceremony and read it for him so that he could make a video out of it. The couple also decided to have a first look before the ceremony. It was busy for everyone. Nino didn’t have time to eat his lunch and he only had coffee in the morning.
Nino met Kitagawa after he took pictures of the couple’s first look. She was also as busy as other people in the preparation. Kitagawa was in charge in giving food to all the vendors. Sho knew that everyone had no time to eat, so he usually asked Kitagawa to distribute the food. She gave katsu sandwich to Nino. He thanked her since he didn’t have anything for lunch. Before she left, Kitagawa called him.
“Ninomiya-san, I know this is not my business but…,” Kitagawa said, “I had a feeling that... there was something between you and Sakurai-san? I really hope that things get sorted out somehow.”
“Wait, Kitagawa-san. How did you know?”
“I guess it’s kind of obvious, Ninomiya-san,” Kitagawa grinned, “as well as, Sakurai-san.”
“What do you mean?”
She only grinned and shrugged. “Well, if you excuse me.”
Kitagawa bowed and left to give the food to the remaining vendors. Kitagawa’s words reminded him of what Jun said. Nino didn’t understand how obvious he was with his feelings. He knew that he liked Sho by now but he didn’t know how Sho would feel about him. Just a junior? A partner? He didn’t even know if Sho had a girlfriend or boyfriend. He didn’t know much about the guy.
Nino felt confused but he didn’t want his feelings to take control for now. He needed to focus on his work. Nino went to the venue as the ceremony started. He took pictures of the vendors and also the whole event with the help of Aiba as the videographer. The couple looked really happy and it made Nino felt happy for them. He wished for happiness and longevity for both groom and bride. The wedding ceremony ended at 9PM. The couple thanked Nino for keeping things professional and also as their wedding photographer.
Since their job was done, Nino and Aiba packed their equipment. Their job was done, Nino thought. It was his first time working with Sho and he felt kind of sad that the job ended quickly. It was nice to go outside and do an outdoor job, for once. Maybe 90 percent of the reason was because of Sho. The guy was really someone who could be counted on and Nino really liked working with him, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. He sighed as he took his camera bag.
“Nino? Nino?” Aiba said as he poked Nino, “I’ve been calling you.”
Nino snapped from his thoughts and apologized, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“Nino, you like him, don’t you?” Aiba said out of nowhere.
“What?”
“Sakurai-san. Nino, you should tell him. You know this is our last day.”
“But—”
Aiba stopped Nino from packing the things up and took the camera from Nino’s hand. “I’ll pack it up. Just go.”
“Masaki…” Nino muttered. Maybe Aiba was right. It was their last day working with Sho. They might see each other again, but not as much as when they worked together. It was an opportunity for Nino. He couldn’t hide the feelings anymore.
“Thank you so much, Masaki.”
Nino rushed himself to find Sho. He didn’t know where the older man was but for sure, he hadn’t left the venue yet. Nino tried to search for him. He wasn’t in the bride or groom’s waiting room, the ballroom itself and also the lobby. Nino went to the parking lot. He saw a guy with sloping shoulder, which he knew whose shoulder it was. Nino was already breathless since he ran to find the guy.
“Sho-san,” Nino said, “I need to tell you something.”
Sho looked back to see restless Nino who had been trying to catch up his breath. “Nino? Are you okay?”
Nino tried to gather his confidence. He could do it. He definitely confessed his feelings to Sho. It had been 8 years and the guy needed to know. Nino took a deep breath and confessed, “I like you since we were still university students. Maybe you don’t notice it but I had a crush on you. But… I really want you to know.”
There was an awkward tension between them. Sho didn’t react at all, he looked rather shocked. Nino waited for the older man to speak up. Was it wrong for him to confess his feeling all of the sudden? Nino looked at Sho as the older man was fidgeting, trying to find words to answer Nino’s confession.
“I-I don’t know what to say. I’m really sorry, Nino. I—” Sho said awkwardly, “T-thank you for your good work today!”
Sho bowed immediately and went to his car. Sho looked very panicked as he almost threw his key and it seemed that he became clumsy all at the sudden, leaving Nino confused.
“Sho—”
Before Nino could say anything, Sho already drove his car at a high speed. Nino sighed. He couldn’t believe that Sho left him like that. He didn’t want things to be awkward with Sho. He could imagine how his rest of the week would be. Maybe it would have been better if he didn’t confess his feelings after all.
***
Nino knew that it was his fault when things got tense between him and Sho. They didn’t talk since then and even no matter how many times Nino called, Sho didn’t answer. He even messaged the older man and as expected, he only read his mail. He knew that it was the consequences for confessing his feelings to Sakurai Sho. He knew that it would happen somehow.
One time, he called his office and Kitagawa answered the call. Nino thought that Sho would talk to him because of work, but he was wrong.
“Kitagawa-san, this is Ninomiya. I would like to—”
“Ninomiya-san… I’m sorry but Sakurai-san didn’t want to talk to you,” Kitagawa said with an apologetic tone, "I wish I could help you. He also looked very tired these days. I hope things get better between you both.”
Nino sighed. He didn’t know what to do. The mixture of disappointment and anger were all that he could feel. He couldn’t wait any longer. What he needed from Sho was his answer. He didn’t care if Sho turned him down. He knew from the start that it would be impossible for Sho to accept it. They were just university friends—not to mention Sho was his senior. To Sho, he was probably just a junior. Not to mention, they only became close recently.
There was one option left. It was Saturday night and Nino knew Sho’s whereabouts. He went to Sho’s apartment as fast as he can. He pressed the bell twice and there was no response. He felt hopeless by now. Nino was sure that there was nothing to change Sho’s stubborn mind. His first love was definitely over by now. As Nino decided to leave, he could hear someone opening the door. Nino looked back and he saw Sho’s sleepless, tired face.
“Nino…” Sho muttered, “Why are you here?”
“Why didn’t you answer my phone calls and text?!” Nino yelled, “I’m worried about you! Sho-san, you don’t know how angry I am right now.”
“Nino, I’m sorry, it’s not that I’m distancing myself—”
“Sho-san, it’s definitely my fault to confess to you like that,” Nino bowed, “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time.”
“It’s not like that, Nino,” Sho bit his lips and ruffled his hair, “to be honest, I like you. I even liked you when we were still a university student. You were so determined to be a photographer and I really admired your work. You were there for me when I was sick. I really feel grateful about it. Nobody ever did that to me and I feel really happy. I… just don’t know how to express myself.”
“I really thought about things that you said to me and what you feel is important. But, I keep on thinking about what will happen in the future. What if it doesn’t work out, what if you don’t like me like you do right now, what if I can’t make you happy. I’m just… scared that I couldn’t be a good partner for you.”
“Sho-san…” Nino paused, “You’re an idiot, aren’t you? You don’t have to think about what will happen in the future. What’s important is now. I still like you even after 8 years. Maybe I don’t know about the current you as much as you don’t know about me, but I want to know more about you, Sho-san. This is not like planning a wedding. You just have to let things go with the flow.”
“I—”
Nino took a step closer to Sho and locked his arms around the older man’s neck. He didn’t hesitate even when Sho looked confused. Nino pressed his lips against Sho’s, didn’t care if the neighbour saw them. He knew that he would regret it if he didn’t do it. Sho responded his kiss and caressed Nino’s cheeks. Unlike what he expected, Sho’s kisses were soft and gentle as if he was afraid of hurting Nino. They pulled off after they felt breathless.
“Sho-san, you really are an idiot.”
“I know that,” Sho chuckled, “You don’t have to repeat what you said.”
“But I still like you,” Nino grinned.
Sho smiled and shook his head. He pulled Nino’s hand and leaned closer to kiss Nino once again. He wrapped his hands around Nino’s waist and took the younger man inside his apartment. Knowing their feelings were mutual, they both shyly smiled at each other.
“By the way, Nino,” Sho said, “There was something that you didn’t know about me.”
“Hmmm?”
“That was my first kiss.”
“What?!”
End.
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Sho would make such an excellent wedding planner. Good with scheduling, probably friendly with every vendor out there for competitive rates, and he'd know how to charm everyone at the reception LOL
My heart broke for Nino a little when he confessed and Sho didn't seem to react, but of course he was just overthinking things! Really glad they had a happy ending :)