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ninoexchange2016-06-17 10:52 pm
nino-mod.livejournal.com) wrote in ninoexchange2016-06-17 10:52 pm
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natsunonamae (10/10)
For: natsunonamae
From:sky_fish7
Part 9
~ * Chapter 10 * ~
Sho has a day off, it has been planned since weeks ago and originally, he has intended to go on a date with his boyfriend today, spending some quality time together. But of course, you can only go on a date with your boyfriend, if you still have one and Ninomiya with the sudden break up and his unwillingness to get in contact with Sho afterwards, has made it painfully clear that this is not the case between him and Sho any longer. He has tried to get him to talk, has tried to face him, but Ninomiya refuses any contact, or probably, he is sick and cannot pick up the phone, or he is involved in an accident and his cell phone is ruined and nobody even considers informing Sho about it because well... nobody knows about him, and Ninomiya may not want to tell them because they aren't together any longer.
Yeah, these kind of thoughts are torturing the young man since days and he cannot do anything against it. If it wasn't holidays, he could phone school and ask for information about Ninomiya, but nobody is there, apparently, every teacher left forsummer holidays, understandably. Sho curses that he hasn’t insisted on meeting Nino's friends or family either. If he had, he would probably have some contact information of someone he can call and ask about the man's well-being at least, but no... no chance.
Still, Sho cannot understand why this happened, how this could happen so damned fast and why it happened in first place since he really thinks he and Ninomiya are so good together, that it's something serious, something with a future. He blames himself for not doing anything to prevent it before it is obviously too late. But then, again, what can he do to prevent this from happening if he didn't see it coming at all? When he still doesn't understand what did he do wrong, where things have turned bad? His thoughts don't leave him alone, and the day off doesn't help. Maybe he should have cancelled and gone to work today, after all, he thinks, at least, he has Ohno's company in the shop and could try to forget his sorrow. Like this, trapped here at home, Satsuki still sulking in her room, not willing to talk to him, and Sho slumping on the couch, miserably, trying to nurse his painful broken heart, which he still cannot fully accept, it sucks. It sucks big.
Sighing, Sho buries his face in a huge pillow as he lies flat on his stomach. He's not in the mood for anything, not even listening to music or watching TV. He'd like to call Ninomiya again, to beg him to at least talk to him properly and explain his decision, but remembering his countless failed attempts, Sho just sighs again, giving up on that idea. The other man obviously doesn't want to talk to him. Or... he's sick. Or... he had an accident. No no no, he doesn't want to assume the worst, Sho scolds himself. He had this already...
Suddenly, his cell phone rings and Sho wonders, if it's Ohno and what he needs (maybe an emergency in the shop and Sho will finally have an excuse to show up there after all,) so he stretches his tired limbs and reaches out his hand to grab his phone.
He cannot believe his eyes when he sees Ninomiya's name blinking on his phone display. His heart starts racing, he sits up straight immediately and clears his throat nervously before picking up.
"Kazu?! Oh Gosh, I'm so happy to hear from you!" the young man immediately starts babbling, unable to control his overflowing heart. "Are you OK? Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't get in contact with you? Are you sick? Do you need something? Please, just talk to me, whatever you want to say, say it..."
Sho's throat feels thick and he can feel tears forming in his eyes. Damned, since when is he so freaking emotional?! The man cannot hide his surprise when he hears a stranger's voice coming through the speaker of his phone, not Ninomiya's...
"Uhm... Sakurai-san? This is Aiba Masaki speaking. In fact, I'm Nino's best friend," the voice says and Sho blinks, feeling dumbfounded. Why should Ninomiya's best friend call him from Ninomiya's phone... does it mean...
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm his... ex... apparently... did something happen to Ninomiya?" he asks, his voice slightly shaking, getting worried of hearing some bad news now that someone finally contacts him.
But somehow the man's voice from the phone doesn't sound too panicked or worried, probably, Ninomiya is fine, hopefully. "Nice to meet you too. Just in case you are wondering why I'm calling from Nino's phone, he's fine, he drank a little too much though... I found him and told him to take a bath."
"And you're telling me this because...," Sho frowns, wondering.
"I took the chance to contact you, because I think that you two definitely have something to talk about!"
"I think so too," Sho says, excitedly. At least, he's not the only one thinking that. "But I can’t reach him and..."
Aiba interrupts him. "Have you talked to your daughter already?"
"My daughter?"
"About her plans regarding this music school," the caller continues.
"Ah... that," Sho sighs. "No, not yet..."
"Have you made up your mind yet on how to decide in case she wants to go there?"
"Not completely," Sho replies, wondering what's going on with these questions coming from a man he doesn't even really know. "I mean, it's a hard decision if I should send my 16-year old child there, all alone or if I should leave behind my life here to accompany her when I probably will embarrass her with that anyway..."
"What will happen to Nino?" Aiba then simply asks, frankly.
"What do you mean?"
The caller sighs. "Let's assume, you will go to Europe together with your daughter, what will happen to Nino? To the relationship between you two guys, I mean."
Sho tilts his head, recollecting his thoughts about that topic. "Well... it may become a little complicated. Of course, I hope he will wait for me... but I can understand if it's too much to ask from him..."
"But you won't break up with him, right?" Aiba asks.
"What?! No, of course not!" Sho answers immediately, shaking his head heavily, even if nobody can see it. "I'd never break up with him!" He hears a soft chuckle through the phone.
"As I thought... Then this is where we have our misunderstanding."
"What are you talking about?" Sho frowns.
"Sakurai-san, please listen carefully now..."
"I'm all ears, Aiba-san," Sho nods and then, Aiba starts to talk, and it is like the fog is lifted from Sho's mind. Finally. Finally he can understand Ninomiya's behaviour and finally, he knows what to do.
~ * ~
"Satsuki? Satsuki, we need to talk, please."
Sho tries for the umpteenth time to approach his daughter, as he knocks at his daughter's door, who had locked herself in for a few days, only coming out for lunch or dinner or when a friend of hers drops by. She's alone at the moment, doing who knows what while listening to music and Sho isn't sure if she will be willing to talk now, but he has to try. He has to settle this first, before he can go and settle the other thing, even if he's dying to do so.
To his surprise, the volume of the music gets turned down and he can hear Satsuki approaching her door. "About Vienna?" she asks.
"About Vienna," Sho nods.
For a few second, there's silence, but then, Satsuki unlocks her door and opens it, standing there with a critical look that she shoots at her father. "You're ready to listen to what I have to say about the topic?"
"Of course," he nods again and Satsuki steps aside to let him in, gesturing him to take a seat on the bed while she climbs back onto the chair standing by her desk.
"Good then, because I have made a decision," she says, sitting up straight and her fists pressed on top of her thighs.
"Is that so?" Sho asks, elbows on his knees and folding his fingers as he watches his daughter's serious look. "So why didn't you tell me?"
Maybe this sounded more like a reproach than the curious question it's meant to be, Sho curses himself internally, when he sees his daughter's look darkening and she pouts her lips. "Because I'm still sulking because of your unfair behaviour, just in case you didn't notice."
Although he should know better, the father cannot hold back and it's like he and Satsuki enter their heated discussion routine right away again. "What do you mean with my unfair behaviour, I never said you cannot accept that offer, I just wanted you to think about it and -"
"Well, I finished thinking about it, OK?" Satsuki blurts out, interrupting her father. He looks at her, curiously. "So do you want to talk about it now, or not?"
"Yes, I want to talk about it," Sho replies, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
"Fine... So, I followed your advice and I thought through everything, considering the pros and cons and I made a decision," his daughter announces.
Sho's heart constricts a little. So she followed his advice after all and in the end, she made up her mind by herself, but without talking to him first. He isn't sure, if he likes that, but for now, the only thing he can do is to listen to his daughter. "Yeah, so what have you decided?"
Satsuki takes a deep breath and then, suddenly, her look softens and she averts her father's eyes. "I decided to decline the scholarship offer and stay here in Japan."
Sho stares at her, in disbelief. "What?!"
"You heard exactly what I said," Satsuki pouts, blushing in embarrassment.
"I did but... why?" her father asks, feeling confused. Even if it is slightly in his favour, he has not expect this situation at all. "You were so enthusiastic so why did you decide to stay?" Does he feel guilty now? Is it his fault that his daughter is declining a once in a lifetime chance?
"Well... after all... you've been right," Satsuki says. "I'm young, I have school here, I don’t speak a single word in German... if I go there, I will be lonely and lost and... I don't want that."
Sho swallows. After all, he just wants to hug his daughter and encourage her, to root for her. She's amazing after all, she's his daughter, after all! "What if I... come along with you?"
But Satsuki shakes her head, determined. "I don't want that. I don't want you and Kazu-kun to part just because of me. If I go, I will go alone and take care of myself," she says, looking at her father straightforwardly. Right, he hasn’t told her yet about the break-up with Ninomiya... "I don’t plan to steal three more years from your life, Dad, even if I know that you will say now that you don’t mind because I'm your daughter and you love me, and I know that. But because I am your daughter and I love you too, I cannot do this to you. I want you to be happy."
"Satsuki...," Sho doesn't know what to say. His throat feels thick again and he wants to cry again, but not because of desperation, but because he has such an adorable daughter and he loves her with all his heart.
"In fact, I talked to Mom about this and... she came up with another solution," the teenage girl continues.
Sho swallows his tears of love. "Something else?"
"Yes... apparently, she talked to the director of the music school, it seems that they know each other, and then she told me that the school will keep me in favour and if I will go back to play for them in three years and they still like what I do... they will renew the scholarship offer. For the university coupled to the school."
Sho's eyes widen in the process of her explanation and he doesn't dare to believe his ears. Can this even be real? "What? Really?"
Satsuki nods, giving him a smile.
"That's amazing!" Sho gapes. "That's really amazing..."
"It is! I will be able to study music with focus on piano there then!" the girl beams. "The scholarship includes school fees and parts of the living expenses so... it won't even be so expensive for us if you agree..."
"It sounds great! You can finish school here and then you can go and fulfil your dream," Sho is beaming now too, his heart jumping from joy.
Excitedly, Satsuki nods. "Then I'll be old enough to go overseas alone, without you needing to be troubled by me. I will practise the piano as hard as I can! I want more private lessons with Kazu-kun and Mom promised me to help out a little more often too, when she's in Japan. And I want to take German lessons. Dad, is that OK for you?"
"Satsuki, that's more than OK for me," her father answers, breaming with joy. Especially, since she actually did it – asking him for his opinion, which just means a lot to him. He jumps up and pulls Satsuki up from her chair, hugging his daughter close. "You know, I'm very proud of you. You listened to me and you thought about this situation properly and in the end you came up with a perfect solution."
"So you allow it?" the girl asks.
"Of course! Give it your best! I'll support you with all my might."
"Thanks, Dad," she tightens her arms around her father's body. "And I'm sorry for being so stubborn."
"Don't worry, Dear. It's OK," he assures her. "I'm also sorry for reacting too emotionally."
She shakes her head and Sho smiles, relieved that things are cleared with probably the best solution possible. Now everything left to do is to get things with Ninomiya back on track, hopefully.
"Ah, can you go over to Satoshi and Satomi for dinner? I'll call them and I'm sure, Satomi-chan will be happy to prepare a great meal for celebration," Sho suggests then, breaking the embrace and fumbling in his pockets for his phone.
"Eh? Aren't you joining?" Satsuki asks her father in surprise.
"I will, but I have something important to do before," he smiles before setting off to make the phone call to ask his friend for help.
~ * ~
"Sorry, took me a bit longer... Masaki, are you hungry?" Nino asks when he exits the bathroom after a very long bath.
He has to admit that he has even fallen asleep for about half an hour, the exhaustion from the last few days overwhelming him and the heat of the bath doing it's additional job. Rubbing his wet hair dry with a towel and freshly dressed in some comfortable three quarter pants and a simple dark blue t-shirt, he enters the kitchen, approaching the fridge. He drops the towel around his neck and picks his glasses that hang at his collar, adjusting them and checking potential ingredients for dinner. But, as expected, there isn't much useful ingredients in there to prepare for anything and so the young man closes the fridge again, sighing. He turns to a drawer, pulling it open and snatching a bunch of menus from delivery services. Nino spots the flyer of Pizza Amici, the delivery service Sakurai is working for, and when he feels melancholy is about to overwhelm him, he quickly pushes the flyer back, hiding it behind a couple of others, out of his sight. Not today.
"Hey, Masaki," he continues, his eyes glued on the menu when he drags his feet to the living room where he expects his friend to be waiting for him. "What do you think about ordering something? I'd like to eat pizza... Masaki?"
Finding the lack of reply from his usually so talkative friend strange, Nino finally lifts his head to look at the person sitting on the couch but he doesn't find his best friend there. He blinks in disbelief.
"Sho...," he stammers.
"Hey," Sakurai stands up, smiling at Nino shyly and taking a few steps closer to the other. "Sorry, I'm not Masaki..."
Nino swallows. He can't believe it. What the hell is Sakurai doing here, how did he get into his apartment and where is Aiba?! Facing the love of his life again, who is still looking gorgeous like always, Nino longs for him like crazy, and he stops breathing for a second. His heart starts beating heavily. He isn't ready for this. He isn't ready to face the man he is still so deeply in love with, even if he agreed with Aiba that he will talk to him again to set things right but this? This is going much too fast, he still does not have his words for an apology, he doesn’t even... he doesn't even know what he should say to the other at all and so he just asks in a low voice, dumbfounded.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry for barging in," Sakurai replies, playing with his fingers a bit nervously. "Aiba-san called me and explained some things to me, so I wanted to come over to talk to you and he let me in. He told me to tell you that he had to go home and wants you to call him later."
"Oh that traitor...," Nino murmurs. But at least, this explains a lot.
"What?"
"Nothing...," he shakes his head and abandoning the menus he's holding on a nearby shelf before he lifts his hand to rub his neck, nervously. "Do you... want something to drink or something?" he offers his unexpected guest.
"No thank you," Sakurai shakes his head. "I'm not here for a drink, as I said, I'm here to talk to you."
Nino gestures for him to sit down again, pulling off the towel around his neck to hang it over the back of a chair to let it dry and shortly after accompanies Sakurai on the couch. He takes a deep breath and then, turns towards the other man, looking at him straightforwardly, biting his lips a bit nervously. Still, his heartbeat is racing in high speed.
"In fact, I should be the one talking to you," he finally begins. "I'm sorry for ignoring you these last few days. I'm surprised, you're even willing to talk to me after my childish behaviour," the young teacher blushes, feeling embarrassed at that thought.
"Aiba-san told me about our misunderstanding," Sakurai says. "That you think that I will go to Vienna and break up with you."
Nino sighs. "Well... it's what I assumed. Without even asking you about it..."
"That was wrong!" Sakurai interrupts him, firmly, looking at him with a serious look. "You should have asked me before assuming things."
"I should have," Nino agrees, lowering his look. "But I was scared..."
"Scared that I will break up with you?"
"Yes...," the young man murmurs, wondering why his loud heartbeat isn't drowning his words. "You... you remember the evening when we were at Enoshima?" the young man finally adds, sheepishly.
Wondering, Sakurai looks at him, then he nods. "Of course. It's been such a wonderful trip..."
"After... you know... after we had sex, I was talking to you," Nino starts, fumbling with his fingers, nervously. When Sakurai just nods slightly, the teacher continues. "I said that I would like to settle. As a couple, I mean. As... family. But... you didn't answer."
"Oh Kazu...," Sakurai takes a deep breath, his widened eyes filled with realization. "I am so sorry, I have no idea, I don’t even remember it properly, I must have been asleep by then..."
Nino chuckles, dropping his look. "I assumed so. But... I got scared. I thought, what if it's not my place to say something like that, to demand something like that? I mean, you have your family already – Satsuki – probably, you won't like me intruding and prefer to keep me like, I don't know, just your boyfriend, with no further commitments. I got scared that for you I'd be replaceable and that you won't need me anymore when this... adventure between us is over. I thought I'm too demanding. Too greedy... Our relationship was pretty fresh after all. Probably too fresh for such a topic."
"Kazu, listen, that's bullshit," Sakurai replies, determined, and then he reaches out his hand, to lay it on top of Nino's, who stiffens a bit at the unexpected touch. "Listen, I'm going to tell you now what I would have told you that evening if I had still been capable of it," the man says, pressing Nino's hand causesing the other to look at him, finally. "I love you. No matter how fresh our relationship is, I love you and I want to stay with you. I cannot imagine anything more wonderful than being able to settle with you. I swear, I'm as serious about you as anyone can be. I will never leave you, Kazu, you hear me?"
"Sho...," Nino looks at the man, his breathe hesitant and he has a hard time not to start crying, lowering his look again, embarrassed.
"Do you have so little trust in me?" Sakurai asks in almost a whisper.
Nino parts his lips again, searching for words, his watery eyes glued on Sakurai's hand. The slight touch, it feels so good, it feels so right.
"Sho, I... I'm sorry. Indeed, I should have trusted you more. It's just, when Satsuki suddenly got the chance to go to Europe and you two were fighting, and she said you should go with her if you don't want to let her go, I thought... I thought...," Nino takes a deep breath. "I already saw you two packing your stuff and going to Europe, as the small, inseparable family you are... leaving me behind..."
Sakurai shakes his head, heavily. "You thought I would leave you, because your ex left you for a similar reason, isn't it?" Sakurai wants to confirm in a soft voice, and Nino feels caught, once more.
"Yes," he admits.
"Oh, silly," Sakurai scolds him softly, reaching one of his hands to Nino's face, placing it under his chin to make him look at him again. The warm look in Sakurai's eyes finally reassures Nino a bit. "Not a second have I thought about a break-up! Don't assume such things on your own," the man pouts cutely.
"I thought the same thing would happen again and decided on my own, too quickly, without even giving you the chance to talk to me. It hurt so much the last time when my ex broke up with me, I didn't want to experience it once more. I was a coward and decided to break up with you before you could break up with me," Nino spills out, frowning in remorse. "I ran away and hurt you before realizing how much I have hurt both of us. I'm sorry."
"You must have been upset and I didn't make things clear, it's also my fault," Sakurai says, even if Nino shakes his head firmly. "To be honest, I really pondered upon how to react to the situation with Satsuki and whether it would be better to go with her or to let her go on her own and stay here with you... it's not an easy decision to make, you know?"
"Of course, I know...," Nino hangs his head.
"But you shouldn't have made the decision for me already, thinking that I will go with Satsuki and leave you," Sakurai says, enforcing the grip around Nino's hand even more. "Because I will never leave you."
"Sho... is that really true?" Nino asks in a weak voice, close to tears, his heart almost bursting. He just can't help but fear it. He's weak, he has to learn how to fully trust someone again, and he will, if Sakurai will give him the chance to.
"It is," the other man nods, reassuring his beloved. "Maybe it is not the best solution but I would definitely have asked you to stay together and to... wait for my return or maybe to come with us, but I know I am asking too much... Probably, I'm selfish to expect this from you but I thought, it's worth a try, after all, we make such a good couple..."
"Really?" Nino sobs, his hands starting to tremble.
"It's true, believe me already! I don't want and never wanted to break up with you," Sakurai reassures him with a determined look.
Nino averts his eyes, lifts his left hand, brushing it over his face to wipe away some small tears. "But I already did. I ruined what we had."
"No, you didn't," Sakurai shakes his head.
"Does this mean you'd accept my apology and take me back?" Nino dares looking back into Sakurai's eyes and the man's loving smile makes his heart jump.
"I insist on you coming back."
Sakurai's words are like the last straws in breaking free all of Nino's emotions one more time. His heart beating like crazy, tears spilling over his cheeks and his whole body trembling, he tries to speak what he wants to tell the other so much. "Sho, I still love you."
"Come here, Kazu," Sakurai replies, immediately, getting closer to the young man to pull him into a tight embrace. "I never stopped loving you. I want to be with you. Forever."
Those words are exactly what Nino needs to strengthen his heart, he almost can't believe his ears. He swallows the little doubts that are trying to bubble up in his chest, fights them until they shut up and stay away from him, because now isn't the time for doubts, it's the time to rebuild and reinforce the trust that has sprouted between him and Sakurai since the day they got together. Nino has to believe in this. In their relationship, their love. In Sakurai.
He feels relief, happiness flooding every single cell of his body and his heart is beating so loudly that he almost fears that his words are being drowned.
"I'm so sorry about everything," Nino sobs, as he presses his trembling body against the man he loves, burying his head at his neck and his hands in Sakurai's shirt, grabbing it with all his might as if he fears the man is just a hallucination and will vanish any second.
"I'm sorry too for making you lose faith in me. I should have been more assuring about our relationship."
"Don't blame yourself," Nino shakes his head. "I reacted too quickly."
"I won't give you any reasons to do this ever again."
Relieved, Nino chuckles. "Good."
"You know, even if everything that I said just now is true, like that I never wanted us to break up even if I would have to leave the country and such... I do have news for you," Sakurai says and they break their hug again to face each other.
While Sakurai reaches his thumbs to wipe away Nino's tears, the other asks, wondering. "What is it?"
"I won't leave Japan. And Satsuki neither," Sakurai smiles at him.
"What?! Why?" Nino asks in surprise. "I was so sure that she would accept the scholarship. It’s such a big chance!"
"It is, yes," the other man nods. "But she thought everything through and came to the conclusion herself that it's too early for her. She still has things to learn and she found another solution."
"Another solution?"
"She'll study hard, graduate from school here in Japan, practise the piano as much as she can and take German lessons and then, when she graduated, she'll take the test again and the music school in Vienna promised to keep her in favour so that she can have the chance to receive a new scholarship for an affiliated university then, in three years."
"Oh my God, is it true?" Nino can't believe it. This... is perfect. "This sounds even better."
"Right? I think it's the perfect solution for everything."
"Indeed," the young man replies, still stunned.
Sakurai looks at him, his hands still cupping Nino's face. He blushes a bit, cutely, before he parts his lips. "May... may I kiss you now, please?"
Nino's heart jumps once more and he smiles widely. "I beg you."
A second later, his now-again-boyfriend leans forward, capturing Nino's lips with his in a kiss overflowing with joy and love, reuniting them in the most ceremonious way and Nino kisses him back with all of his love too. He feels like being in a dream. He feels like he's finally back home. How could he be so stupid to risk this, he wonders, but scolds himself immediately for these negative thoughts. He should be happy now. Happy to have Sho back and happy that their bond is strong enough to overcome his own huge stupidity. With this, they will be able to overcome every obstacle that they may have to face as a couple from now on, Nino is convinced about that!
It doesn't take them long before their kiss becomes more demanding, their hands everywhere on their partner's body, exchanging caressing gestures and pressing them closeer, not willing to ever let go again. It's then, after countless kisses, that Nino's stomach incongruously pipes up, growling loudly and making the two men break their kiss, looking at each other startlingly, their lips swollen and wet and their cheeks taken a nice shade of pink.
"Oops," Nino murmurs, blushing even more. "Sorry..."
Sakurai laughs, uninhibited. "So, you're hungry?"
"Sorry, I didn't eat properly for the past few days...," Nino replies with an apologetic look, rubbing his stomach slightly.
"I can see it... cup ramen, huh?" Sakurai eyes a package of instant noodle soup placed underneath the low table. Apparently, Aiba missed that one when helping Nino clean the living room. "Definitely not the healthiest diet."
Nino shrugs, smiling crookedly. "Shall we order something? What about pizza? I'd be in the mood for Calzone and Coke," he then suggests, smirking.
All he earns is another adorable chuckle from his boyfriend before the man smirks at him too, knowingly. "You know, that reminds me that you still owe me 2.400 Yen."
"You have a good memory," the other laughs. "But you forgot something. I owe you something more."
Arching an eyebrow, Sakurai asks. "What would that be?"
"Don't tell me you forgot, idiot," Nino reaches his hands to cup his boyfriend's face to pull him into another kiss. "This," he smirks and Sakurai smiles back, beaming happily before he kisses him back, softly.
"In fact, I hoped you will come with us to celebrate Satsuki's decision," Sakurai then says.
"Oh, a celebration?"
"I begged Ohno and his wife to set up something for us. Will you join us?"
Nino smiles, nodding. How could he resist those cute puppy eyes?
"Sure, but before that...," he grins, leaning forward to softly bite his lover's neck.
~ * Epilogue * ~
The world looks distant and peaceful, it's breath-taking. The beds of fluffy clouds underneath the wings of the plane, reminiscent of cotton balls or cotton candy, and the shades of blue filling the sky are countless, the variation of colours flooding one's mind with pure harmony.
Looking outside of the small window, enjoying the sight while some classic music is playing through a headphone in one of his ears, it's indeed a harmonious moment for Nino, even if the man besides him has been talking non-stop ever since their flight took off, only interrupted by a few hours of sleep earlier, which got brushed away by a cup of coffee and huge excitement within just a few minutes.
Nino on the other side is still half dreaming, trying hard to focus on his boyfriend's words, feeling a bit guilty for not being able to focus since the beginning of their conversation. He yawns one last time and then finally rolls his head to the other side, to find Sho looking at him and gesturing with his hands, excitedly. Nino smiles and finally, the tiredness starts to leave his mind, and he can finally focus on the meaning of his partner's words.
"...And then she wants to show us the "Mozarthaus" in the... Domgasse, it's called, I think," Sho says with a frown. "Do you know that Mozart was a free composer in Vienna between 1781 and 1791, until he died there? He wasn't able to finish his "Requium". They say that a former student of his – I forgot his name, something with Xaver or so - finished it on his behalf. He was only 35 years old when he died... how sad is it for such a talented person to die so young..."
Nino finds it utterly cute on how much Sakurai has prepared for their trip to Vienna. He saw his boyfriend browsing websites, borrowing books from the city library and reading tons of brochures that Satsuki had sent to them via airmail. In fact, Nino finds it so cute that he does not have the heart to tell his boyfriend, that in fact, thanks to his interest and his studies at the university, even if it's years ago, he knows Mozart's whole life story by heart, alongside those of other classical composers. However, he just smiles, acknowledging Sho's explanation.
"I'm really looking forward to the "My Fair Lady" musical!" the man continues his monologue, pointing at one of the brochures he has pulled out of his hand luggage. "Since you showed me the movie, I'm in love with that story. It's just too bad that we won't be able to understand the language... good thing that we know the story and the content of the songs already," Sho chuckles. "Satsuki also suggested for us to watch some theatre performances but I told her that she must have forgotten that we cannot understand German so..."
Nino shuffles in his seat, trying to stretch his tired limbs a bit. He looks at his boyfriend again, and smirks. "Sho, is it possible that you are nervous?"
Sho blushes a bit, but immediately pouts his lips. "I'm not, I'm just so excited, it's my first overseas trip and I just can't wait to meet Satsuki again," he is nervous, Nino thinks, finding his partner just so adorable. "It's been so long since we saw her and she came up with so many nice ideas on what we can do during our holidays in Vienna! She wants to show us so many places and I – I'm sorry, I guess I got a little carried away."
"No no, it's completely fine," the teacher replies, sliding his hand onto Sho's thigh to caress it just for a short moment.
In fact, he finds his boyfriend's behaviour adorable. He has been a bunch of nerves for days, when their holidays were approaching and things became "serious". Sho has checked their passports and visa again and again, same for the checklists for their luggage that he packed for both of them since "We're sharing a closet anyway, leave this to me, Kazu", is what Sho said. He has especially taken care of all the Japanese stuff he has promised to bring for his daughter, things that she can't get in Europe and misses from her country.
Things have changed since Satsuki moved to Vienna just a few months ago, to start her music and piano studies with her scholarship at one of the most prestigious music universities in the world, making her parents and also Nino immensely proud.
With Satsuki's moving to Vienna, Sho took the chance to move out of his apartment, into a new place, a place that he's sharing with Nino now. They started searching for it together since Satsuki's graduation and found a wonderful place in the Ohnos' neighbourhood, big enough to have a room for each of them, including Satsuki, so that the girl can come to visit them whenever she likes. They have a huge living room with enough space for the piano, a gorgeous bedroom, and even a little garden. Sho has quitted his job as a delivery man. Living together with Nino, and knowing that his daughter is well taken care of living in the dormitory of the university that even provides warm meals twice a day. Since everything is covered by the renewed scholarship that the girl received, Sho can afford to step back and only focus on his work in the antiques shop together with Ohno as his only financial source. And it's great, giving them more time together and as such, Sho can also make it to the bar on Fridays without fail, to listen to his boyfriend's piano playing.
Nino long knows that he won't be a professional pianist making a living from his playing. He has long accepted it and he cannot complain about his job as a teacher which he loves. He can share his love for music with young people, help them to discover the magic of music, encourage them, support them, just like he did with Satsuki, and he loves this part of his job. But encouraged by Sho as well as Satsuki and even Satsuki's mother, who claims to be a fan of Nino ever since she heard him playing one day in the antiques' shop, he decided to face his dream once more, even if it is a smaller version, perhaps. Due to Kitagawa's influence, Nino was introduced to the owner of the "Monochrome" and the man was enchanted by Nino's talent and offered him a regular performing spot in "Monochrome", which the other accepted, shyly at first, but pushed by his partner, he knew he has all the support he needs. In fact, Nino has even reached a decent degree of popularity since then, and so he'd be a liar if he says he doesn't enjoy it.
They couple has not met Satsuki since the last holidays which she spent in Japan. It's understandable that Sho is fidgeting and impatient to meet his beloved daughter again.
"Keep on telling me what else we will be able to see," Nino encourages his partner, knowing that he needs it. He leans back in his seat in the most comfortable position possible, and glues his eyes on the man who immediately breaks into a smile.
"Sure!" he says enthusiastically. "So... I didn't tell her yet but actually, I also am interested in going to see Schönbrunn Palace. The old furniture there must be awesome and I read the Great Gallery is breath-taking! Also the gardens, I showed you some pictures, right? The gardens look so beautiful..."
"And there's a zoo there, right?" Nino remembers having heard something about that, at least, the name Schönbrunn rings a bell.
"Satsuki loves it!" Probably, it has been Satsuki then, who told them about it.
"I can imagine," Nino smiles.
"We can go there too, right?" Sho asks, excited like a child.
Of course, Nino nods. An Austrian zoo might not be too different from a Japanese one, he thinks, but he likes zoos anyway. After all the first time he hugged Sho has been in a zoo, even if the circumstances back then have been something more tragic than it will be this time.
"I'm also looking forward to the food!"
Nino snorts. "As expected from my little gourmet! What do you want to eat there?"
"Of course... Wiener Schnitzel," Sho replies seriously in an awkward but adorable accent, causing Nino to laugh.
"That's nice, isn't it?"
"And Sacher cake," of course. "What about you?"
Nino tilts his head, and even if there's indeed an image of a dish he's instantly curious about, he cannot properly remember the actual name of it. "Hm... how is it called... something with Emperor... Emperor's... I can't remember it. You showed it to me on the internet, you remember?"
"Emperor's mess?" Sho points at him, as if answering a quiz.
Smiling, Nino nods. "Yes, that one. With apple sauce and cranberries... Why are you grinning?"
"Satsuki loves it," Sho states. "The Vienna apple sauce, I mean," he sighs, his beautiful eyes taking a glint of nostalgia. "It reminds me of when she was so small that she was barely able to hold a spoon up by herself with her tiny fingers... Oh Gosh, my girl grew up so much, I still can't believe she's actually living there!"
"You miss her, don't you?" Nino asks, caringly.
Sho's face takes a serious expression. "I'm very proud of her. Of course I miss her, but don't tell her, OK? I want her to enjoy her time there as much as she can."
"No worries, I won't tell her about her father worrying everyday and how he looks at her photo in his wallet every time he opens it."
"Hey, don't tease me," Sho pouts. "And I have a photo of you in there too!"
"And you still don't think, it's embarrassing."
"Because it's not."
Nino blushes, but he knows, he doesn't stand a chance against his lover. "Whatever, do as you please."
"I will," Sho whispers, leaned close to his boyfriend's ear, with a confident smile on his lips.
"Don't... we're in a plane half filled with Japanese tourists. They will feel uncomfortable if they see us like this," Nino whispers, his face blushed deeply red, as he slightly pushes Sho away who pouts playfully but of course accepts his boyfriend's argument.
However, he can't help but lean a bit closer to the other again to whisper into his ear. "I heard, in Europe, people don’t look that strangely at a gay couple holding hands on the streets... or even sharing a kiss..."
Nino turns his head and locks eyes with Sho, whose lips have curled up into a devilish smirk. The teacher chuckles, amused. "Is this your subtle way of telling me that you want to try showing our affection in public there?"
"I just want to show off my adorable boyfriend," the other replies, with a cute pout. "Isn't it possible?"
Nino's heart jumps a little at the thought and he will be lying if he said he doesn't get at least a little excited about it. "Well, I didn't say, I'm completely against it."
Sho smirks again and quickly, too quickly for Nino to even complain about it, he pecks his lover's cheeks before turning his focus back onto the bunch of brochures.
"Kazu?" Sho then turns back at his boyfriend, looking at him with serious eyes.
"Hm?"
"Do you think Satsuki misses us too?" the father says, looking a bit worried and Nino's heart constricts at the cuteness of his lover.
"I'm sure," Nino replies, even if a tiny little voice in his head tells him that probably the girl might not miss them as much as she could. Knowing the reason for that – actually something delightful - he smirks, and bites his lower lip playfully, tryingto keep the secret though, for now.
Just a few hours later, they finally reached their destination, disembarked, got their luggage, and are now heading towards the arrival hall. To Nino's surprise Sho reaches out and grabs his boyfriend's hand, determined to hold it tight, not caring about who might see them like this. Just when he wants to part his lips to protest, Sho mutes him immediately – with a kiss.
"Oh Gosh, Dad, please, I know you love Kazu-kun but can't you wait until you reached your hotel room?"
Nino hears a familiar voice nearby and just as fast as Sho has attacked him with that kiss, his boyfriend immediately let go off his hand, drops his luggage and runs a few steps forward to give his daughter a stormy, tight hug.
"Satsuki!" he screams and Nino can almost hear a sob in Sho's voice.
"Ugh, Dad... you're squashing me," the girl complains, but Nino grins when he sees her arms wrapped around her father's body, tightly, holding him at least as close as he's holding her. When they finally break apart again, Satsuki turns towards him, flashing him a happy smile. "Kazu-kun, good to see you! I hope you had a nice flight."
"Thanks for picking us up, Satsuki-chan," Nino replies and gives the girl a hug as well.
"It's the least I can do," she says. "Let me help you with your luggage."
"Oh, we didn't bring that much," Sho says, but looking at the large, heavy suitcases, the additional bags and backpacks, Nino has to disagree.
Suddenly, a young Japanese reaches out his hand to take one of the big bags from Sho. "Please let me help you too."
Sho stares at him, critically, refusing to let go off his bag. "Eh? Who's that young man here?" he asks his daughter, surprised.
"This? Uhm...."
Nino can't help but grin knowingly when he sees the young woman blushing at her father's question. She exchanges a look with the young man at her side and looks at her father again, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah?" Sho asks.
"This is Yuudai-kun. He's from Kyoto. We're studying in the same classes and he lives in the dormitory. When I told him my family is coming, he wanted to... get to know you."
"Uhum... I see," her father replies, nodding slightly. His look is still critical, if not even more so than before. No, it's definitely more critical than before, Nino notes when he sees how Sho is scanning the young Japanese. "So... He's a friend of yours?"
The girl nods her head, heavily. "Yes yes, a friend."
Sure, Nino thinks, having a hard time standing still and not letting his cover blow up. In fact, he knows exactly, who this friend is, because Satsuki has already told him about Yuudai a few weeks ago on the phone when she secretly consulted her father's boyfriend for some advice. Apparently, the girl is less embarrassed to talk to Nino about love matters than to Sho, which is impossible as stressing on the fact that her father will possibly freak out if he finds out that his daughter is dating someone, and that she can only trust Nino with this.
It would be a lie if Nino says he isn't proud of the fact that he and Satsuki have become even closer since he and Sho got together. They liked each other since the beginning, their common interest in music will always connect them and the amount of trust the girl has shown him over the years has helped to foster the certainty in Nino that he belongs to the Sakurai family now, which makes him immensely proud and happy. Hopefully, Sho will not kill him though, when he finds out that Nino knew about Satsuki's boyfriend before him and didn't tell him about him.
Finally, Sho narrows his eyes at his daughter. "Satsuki?" Uh oh, that tone is dangerous.
"Uhm... yes?"
Nino smirks, amused by the whole scene, even if at this moment, he feels a bit sorry for Yuudai but he'll have to get through this and survive the first hurdle in order to win his potential father-in-law's approval.
"Is it possible that he is your boyfriend?!" Sho asks in a very serious voice.
Nino purses his lips, in order not to burst into laughter. Yes, he feels a bit sorry for his partner having to experience this shock this soon after a long flight, but on the other hand, this scene is just too amusing, just too typical of adorable Papa Sho. Now, Satsuki will have to tell the truth and the two of them will bicker, Nino knows it. Just like in the good old times when they still shared one apartment as father and daughter.
"Dad, I..."
"Young Lady! Didn't we talk about this?" the girl's father continues. "You're far too young for a serious relationship and don’t you want to focus on studies?"
"Dad, seriously, I'm almost 20..."
But of course, her father doesn't care. He's in his full dad-mode already. "You can always find love later on, you know? Remember when I met Kazu? I was already 32 at that time."
"But dare I remind you that you were only 17 when you and Mom had me!" Satsuki fights back, immediately. Touché! "Which implies..."
"We are not going to talk about underage sex here at the airport, young Lady!" Sho says, raising his finger.
"I don't plan to talk about sex with my father at all, just for the records!" the young woman almost freaks out. "You were the one starting to talk about strange stuff, remember?"
Suddenly, Nino feels a presence beside him and when he turns his head, he spots Yuudai, Satsuki's boyfriend standing next to him, who must have given up on trying to take Sho's luggage, opting to retreat from the scene before them. He's biting his lips, frowning and looking very uncomfortable about the whole situation. Nino encouragingly pats the young guy's shoulder, making him look at him.
"Don't mind him, he's just in Superdad mode," Nino smiles, pointing at Sho. "He'll come around to you and apologize later on, he's a good guy."
The young man grins at Nino, still feeling a bit insecure. "It's OK, Satsuki warned me that her dad can be... slightly overprotective when it comes to her."
"That's his love towards her," the teacher replies confidently. "Something we all have in common so I'm sure he'll accept you soon."
"I hope so...," Yuudai chuckles, still sounding not completely convinced.
Nino encouragingly pats the young man's shoulder one more time before his look wanders back to Sho and Satsuki who are still discussing vividly. He smiles.
"Welcome to our family."
The END
natsunonamaeFrom:
sky_fish7Part 9
~ * Chapter 10 * ~
Sho has a day off, it has been planned since weeks ago and originally, he has intended to go on a date with his boyfriend today, spending some quality time together. But of course, you can only go on a date with your boyfriend, if you still have one and Ninomiya with the sudden break up and his unwillingness to get in contact with Sho afterwards, has made it painfully clear that this is not the case between him and Sho any longer. He has tried to get him to talk, has tried to face him, but Ninomiya refuses any contact, or probably, he is sick and cannot pick up the phone, or he is involved in an accident and his cell phone is ruined and nobody even considers informing Sho about it because well... nobody knows about him, and Ninomiya may not want to tell them because they aren't together any longer.
Yeah, these kind of thoughts are torturing the young man since days and he cannot do anything against it. If it wasn't holidays, he could phone school and ask for information about Ninomiya, but nobody is there, apparently, every teacher left forsummer holidays, understandably. Sho curses that he hasn’t insisted on meeting Nino's friends or family either. If he had, he would probably have some contact information of someone he can call and ask about the man's well-being at least, but no... no chance.
Still, Sho cannot understand why this happened, how this could happen so damned fast and why it happened in first place since he really thinks he and Ninomiya are so good together, that it's something serious, something with a future. He blames himself for not doing anything to prevent it before it is obviously too late. But then, again, what can he do to prevent this from happening if he didn't see it coming at all? When he still doesn't understand what did he do wrong, where things have turned bad? His thoughts don't leave him alone, and the day off doesn't help. Maybe he should have cancelled and gone to work today, after all, he thinks, at least, he has Ohno's company in the shop and could try to forget his sorrow. Like this, trapped here at home, Satsuki still sulking in her room, not willing to talk to him, and Sho slumping on the couch, miserably, trying to nurse his painful broken heart, which he still cannot fully accept, it sucks. It sucks big.
Sighing, Sho buries his face in a huge pillow as he lies flat on his stomach. He's not in the mood for anything, not even listening to music or watching TV. He'd like to call Ninomiya again, to beg him to at least talk to him properly and explain his decision, but remembering his countless failed attempts, Sho just sighs again, giving up on that idea. The other man obviously doesn't want to talk to him. Or... he's sick. Or... he had an accident. No no no, he doesn't want to assume the worst, Sho scolds himself. He had this already...
Suddenly, his cell phone rings and Sho wonders, if it's Ohno and what he needs (maybe an emergency in the shop and Sho will finally have an excuse to show up there after all,) so he stretches his tired limbs and reaches out his hand to grab his phone.
He cannot believe his eyes when he sees Ninomiya's name blinking on his phone display. His heart starts racing, he sits up straight immediately and clears his throat nervously before picking up.
"Kazu?! Oh Gosh, I'm so happy to hear from you!" the young man immediately starts babbling, unable to control his overflowing heart. "Are you OK? Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't get in contact with you? Are you sick? Do you need something? Please, just talk to me, whatever you want to say, say it..."
Sho's throat feels thick and he can feel tears forming in his eyes. Damned, since when is he so freaking emotional?! The man cannot hide his surprise when he hears a stranger's voice coming through the speaker of his phone, not Ninomiya's...
"Uhm... Sakurai-san? This is Aiba Masaki speaking. In fact, I'm Nino's best friend," the voice says and Sho blinks, feeling dumbfounded. Why should Ninomiya's best friend call him from Ninomiya's phone... does it mean...
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm his... ex... apparently... did something happen to Ninomiya?" he asks, his voice slightly shaking, getting worried of hearing some bad news now that someone finally contacts him.
But somehow the man's voice from the phone doesn't sound too panicked or worried, probably, Ninomiya is fine, hopefully. "Nice to meet you too. Just in case you are wondering why I'm calling from Nino's phone, he's fine, he drank a little too much though... I found him and told him to take a bath."
"And you're telling me this because...," Sho frowns, wondering.
"I took the chance to contact you, because I think that you two definitely have something to talk about!"
"I think so too," Sho says, excitedly. At least, he's not the only one thinking that. "But I can’t reach him and..."
Aiba interrupts him. "Have you talked to your daughter already?"
"My daughter?"
"About her plans regarding this music school," the caller continues.
"Ah... that," Sho sighs. "No, not yet..."
"Have you made up your mind yet on how to decide in case she wants to go there?"
"Not completely," Sho replies, wondering what's going on with these questions coming from a man he doesn't even really know. "I mean, it's a hard decision if I should send my 16-year old child there, all alone or if I should leave behind my life here to accompany her when I probably will embarrass her with that anyway..."
"What will happen to Nino?" Aiba then simply asks, frankly.
"What do you mean?"
The caller sighs. "Let's assume, you will go to Europe together with your daughter, what will happen to Nino? To the relationship between you two guys, I mean."
Sho tilts his head, recollecting his thoughts about that topic. "Well... it may become a little complicated. Of course, I hope he will wait for me... but I can understand if it's too much to ask from him..."
"But you won't break up with him, right?" Aiba asks.
"What?! No, of course not!" Sho answers immediately, shaking his head heavily, even if nobody can see it. "I'd never break up with him!" He hears a soft chuckle through the phone.
"As I thought... Then this is where we have our misunderstanding."
"What are you talking about?" Sho frowns.
"Sakurai-san, please listen carefully now..."
"I'm all ears, Aiba-san," Sho nods and then, Aiba starts to talk, and it is like the fog is lifted from Sho's mind. Finally. Finally he can understand Ninomiya's behaviour and finally, he knows what to do.
~ * ~
"Satsuki? Satsuki, we need to talk, please."
Sho tries for the umpteenth time to approach his daughter, as he knocks at his daughter's door, who had locked herself in for a few days, only coming out for lunch or dinner or when a friend of hers drops by. She's alone at the moment, doing who knows what while listening to music and Sho isn't sure if she will be willing to talk now, but he has to try. He has to settle this first, before he can go and settle the other thing, even if he's dying to do so.
To his surprise, the volume of the music gets turned down and he can hear Satsuki approaching her door. "About Vienna?" she asks.
"About Vienna," Sho nods.
For a few second, there's silence, but then, Satsuki unlocks her door and opens it, standing there with a critical look that she shoots at her father. "You're ready to listen to what I have to say about the topic?"
"Of course," he nods again and Satsuki steps aside to let him in, gesturing him to take a seat on the bed while she climbs back onto the chair standing by her desk.
"Good then, because I have made a decision," she says, sitting up straight and her fists pressed on top of her thighs.
"Is that so?" Sho asks, elbows on his knees and folding his fingers as he watches his daughter's serious look. "So why didn't you tell me?"
Maybe this sounded more like a reproach than the curious question it's meant to be, Sho curses himself internally, when he sees his daughter's look darkening and she pouts her lips. "Because I'm still sulking because of your unfair behaviour, just in case you didn't notice."
Although he should know better, the father cannot hold back and it's like he and Satsuki enter their heated discussion routine right away again. "What do you mean with my unfair behaviour, I never said you cannot accept that offer, I just wanted you to think about it and -"
"Well, I finished thinking about it, OK?" Satsuki blurts out, interrupting her father. He looks at her, curiously. "So do you want to talk about it now, or not?"
"Yes, I want to talk about it," Sho replies, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
"Fine... So, I followed your advice and I thought through everything, considering the pros and cons and I made a decision," his daughter announces.
Sho's heart constricts a little. So she followed his advice after all and in the end, she made up her mind by herself, but without talking to him first. He isn't sure, if he likes that, but for now, the only thing he can do is to listen to his daughter. "Yeah, so what have you decided?"
Satsuki takes a deep breath and then, suddenly, her look softens and she averts her father's eyes. "I decided to decline the scholarship offer and stay here in Japan."
Sho stares at her, in disbelief. "What?!"
"You heard exactly what I said," Satsuki pouts, blushing in embarrassment.
"I did but... why?" her father asks, feeling confused. Even if it is slightly in his favour, he has not expect this situation at all. "You were so enthusiastic so why did you decide to stay?" Does he feel guilty now? Is it his fault that his daughter is declining a once in a lifetime chance?
"Well... after all... you've been right," Satsuki says. "I'm young, I have school here, I don’t speak a single word in German... if I go there, I will be lonely and lost and... I don't want that."
Sho swallows. After all, he just wants to hug his daughter and encourage her, to root for her. She's amazing after all, she's his daughter, after all! "What if I... come along with you?"
But Satsuki shakes her head, determined. "I don't want that. I don't want you and Kazu-kun to part just because of me. If I go, I will go alone and take care of myself," she says, looking at her father straightforwardly. Right, he hasn’t told her yet about the break-up with Ninomiya... "I don’t plan to steal three more years from your life, Dad, even if I know that you will say now that you don’t mind because I'm your daughter and you love me, and I know that. But because I am your daughter and I love you too, I cannot do this to you. I want you to be happy."
"Satsuki...," Sho doesn't know what to say. His throat feels thick again and he wants to cry again, but not because of desperation, but because he has such an adorable daughter and he loves her with all his heart.
"In fact, I talked to Mom about this and... she came up with another solution," the teenage girl continues.
Sho swallows his tears of love. "Something else?"
"Yes... apparently, she talked to the director of the music school, it seems that they know each other, and then she told me that the school will keep me in favour and if I will go back to play for them in three years and they still like what I do... they will renew the scholarship offer. For the university coupled to the school."
Sho's eyes widen in the process of her explanation and he doesn't dare to believe his ears. Can this even be real? "What? Really?"
Satsuki nods, giving him a smile.
"That's amazing!" Sho gapes. "That's really amazing..."
"It is! I will be able to study music with focus on piano there then!" the girl beams. "The scholarship includes school fees and parts of the living expenses so... it won't even be so expensive for us if you agree..."
"It sounds great! You can finish school here and then you can go and fulfil your dream," Sho is beaming now too, his heart jumping from joy.
Excitedly, Satsuki nods. "Then I'll be old enough to go overseas alone, without you needing to be troubled by me. I will practise the piano as hard as I can! I want more private lessons with Kazu-kun and Mom promised me to help out a little more often too, when she's in Japan. And I want to take German lessons. Dad, is that OK for you?"
"Satsuki, that's more than OK for me," her father answers, breaming with joy. Especially, since she actually did it – asking him for his opinion, which just means a lot to him. He jumps up and pulls Satsuki up from her chair, hugging his daughter close. "You know, I'm very proud of you. You listened to me and you thought about this situation properly and in the end you came up with a perfect solution."
"So you allow it?" the girl asks.
"Of course! Give it your best! I'll support you with all my might."
"Thanks, Dad," she tightens her arms around her father's body. "And I'm sorry for being so stubborn."
"Don't worry, Dear. It's OK," he assures her. "I'm also sorry for reacting too emotionally."
She shakes her head and Sho smiles, relieved that things are cleared with probably the best solution possible. Now everything left to do is to get things with Ninomiya back on track, hopefully.
"Ah, can you go over to Satoshi and Satomi for dinner? I'll call them and I'm sure, Satomi-chan will be happy to prepare a great meal for celebration," Sho suggests then, breaking the embrace and fumbling in his pockets for his phone.
"Eh? Aren't you joining?" Satsuki asks her father in surprise.
"I will, but I have something important to do before," he smiles before setting off to make the phone call to ask his friend for help.
~ * ~
"Sorry, took me a bit longer... Masaki, are you hungry?" Nino asks when he exits the bathroom after a very long bath.
He has to admit that he has even fallen asleep for about half an hour, the exhaustion from the last few days overwhelming him and the heat of the bath doing it's additional job. Rubbing his wet hair dry with a towel and freshly dressed in some comfortable three quarter pants and a simple dark blue t-shirt, he enters the kitchen, approaching the fridge. He drops the towel around his neck and picks his glasses that hang at his collar, adjusting them and checking potential ingredients for dinner. But, as expected, there isn't much useful ingredients in there to prepare for anything and so the young man closes the fridge again, sighing. He turns to a drawer, pulling it open and snatching a bunch of menus from delivery services. Nino spots the flyer of Pizza Amici, the delivery service Sakurai is working for, and when he feels melancholy is about to overwhelm him, he quickly pushes the flyer back, hiding it behind a couple of others, out of his sight. Not today.
"Hey, Masaki," he continues, his eyes glued on the menu when he drags his feet to the living room where he expects his friend to be waiting for him. "What do you think about ordering something? I'd like to eat pizza... Masaki?"
Finding the lack of reply from his usually so talkative friend strange, Nino finally lifts his head to look at the person sitting on the couch but he doesn't find his best friend there. He blinks in disbelief.
"Sho...," he stammers.
"Hey," Sakurai stands up, smiling at Nino shyly and taking a few steps closer to the other. "Sorry, I'm not Masaki..."
Nino swallows. He can't believe it. What the hell is Sakurai doing here, how did he get into his apartment and where is Aiba?! Facing the love of his life again, who is still looking gorgeous like always, Nino longs for him like crazy, and he stops breathing for a second. His heart starts beating heavily. He isn't ready for this. He isn't ready to face the man he is still so deeply in love with, even if he agreed with Aiba that he will talk to him again to set things right but this? This is going much too fast, he still does not have his words for an apology, he doesn’t even... he doesn't even know what he should say to the other at all and so he just asks in a low voice, dumbfounded.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry for barging in," Sakurai replies, playing with his fingers a bit nervously. "Aiba-san called me and explained some things to me, so I wanted to come over to talk to you and he let me in. He told me to tell you that he had to go home and wants you to call him later."
"Oh that traitor...," Nino murmurs. But at least, this explains a lot.
"What?"
"Nothing...," he shakes his head and abandoning the menus he's holding on a nearby shelf before he lifts his hand to rub his neck, nervously. "Do you... want something to drink or something?" he offers his unexpected guest.
"No thank you," Sakurai shakes his head. "I'm not here for a drink, as I said, I'm here to talk to you."
Nino gestures for him to sit down again, pulling off the towel around his neck to hang it over the back of a chair to let it dry and shortly after accompanies Sakurai on the couch. He takes a deep breath and then, turns towards the other man, looking at him straightforwardly, biting his lips a bit nervously. Still, his heartbeat is racing in high speed.
"In fact, I should be the one talking to you," he finally begins. "I'm sorry for ignoring you these last few days. I'm surprised, you're even willing to talk to me after my childish behaviour," the young teacher blushes, feeling embarrassed at that thought.
"Aiba-san told me about our misunderstanding," Sakurai says. "That you think that I will go to Vienna and break up with you."
Nino sighs. "Well... it's what I assumed. Without even asking you about it..."
"That was wrong!" Sakurai interrupts him, firmly, looking at him with a serious look. "You should have asked me before assuming things."
"I should have," Nino agrees, lowering his look. "But I was scared..."
"Scared that I will break up with you?"
"Yes...," the young man murmurs, wondering why his loud heartbeat isn't drowning his words. "You... you remember the evening when we were at Enoshima?" the young man finally adds, sheepishly.
Wondering, Sakurai looks at him, then he nods. "Of course. It's been such a wonderful trip..."
"After... you know... after we had sex, I was talking to you," Nino starts, fumbling with his fingers, nervously. When Sakurai just nods slightly, the teacher continues. "I said that I would like to settle. As a couple, I mean. As... family. But... you didn't answer."
"Oh Kazu...," Sakurai takes a deep breath, his widened eyes filled with realization. "I am so sorry, I have no idea, I don’t even remember it properly, I must have been asleep by then..."
Nino chuckles, dropping his look. "I assumed so. But... I got scared. I thought, what if it's not my place to say something like that, to demand something like that? I mean, you have your family already – Satsuki – probably, you won't like me intruding and prefer to keep me like, I don't know, just your boyfriend, with no further commitments. I got scared that for you I'd be replaceable and that you won't need me anymore when this... adventure between us is over. I thought I'm too demanding. Too greedy... Our relationship was pretty fresh after all. Probably too fresh for such a topic."
"Kazu, listen, that's bullshit," Sakurai replies, determined, and then he reaches out his hand, to lay it on top of Nino's, who stiffens a bit at the unexpected touch. "Listen, I'm going to tell you now what I would have told you that evening if I had still been capable of it," the man says, pressing Nino's hand causesing the other to look at him, finally. "I love you. No matter how fresh our relationship is, I love you and I want to stay with you. I cannot imagine anything more wonderful than being able to settle with you. I swear, I'm as serious about you as anyone can be. I will never leave you, Kazu, you hear me?"
"Sho...," Nino looks at the man, his breathe hesitant and he has a hard time not to start crying, lowering his look again, embarrassed.
"Do you have so little trust in me?" Sakurai asks in almost a whisper.
Nino parts his lips again, searching for words, his watery eyes glued on Sakurai's hand. The slight touch, it feels so good, it feels so right.
"Sho, I... I'm sorry. Indeed, I should have trusted you more. It's just, when Satsuki suddenly got the chance to go to Europe and you two were fighting, and she said you should go with her if you don't want to let her go, I thought... I thought...," Nino takes a deep breath. "I already saw you two packing your stuff and going to Europe, as the small, inseparable family you are... leaving me behind..."
Sakurai shakes his head, heavily. "You thought I would leave you, because your ex left you for a similar reason, isn't it?" Sakurai wants to confirm in a soft voice, and Nino feels caught, once more.
"Yes," he admits.
"Oh, silly," Sakurai scolds him softly, reaching one of his hands to Nino's face, placing it under his chin to make him look at him again. The warm look in Sakurai's eyes finally reassures Nino a bit. "Not a second have I thought about a break-up! Don't assume such things on your own," the man pouts cutely.
"I thought the same thing would happen again and decided on my own, too quickly, without even giving you the chance to talk to me. It hurt so much the last time when my ex broke up with me, I didn't want to experience it once more. I was a coward and decided to break up with you before you could break up with me," Nino spills out, frowning in remorse. "I ran away and hurt you before realizing how much I have hurt both of us. I'm sorry."
"You must have been upset and I didn't make things clear, it's also my fault," Sakurai says, even if Nino shakes his head firmly. "To be honest, I really pondered upon how to react to the situation with Satsuki and whether it would be better to go with her or to let her go on her own and stay here with you... it's not an easy decision to make, you know?"
"Of course, I know...," Nino hangs his head.
"But you shouldn't have made the decision for me already, thinking that I will go with Satsuki and leave you," Sakurai says, enforcing the grip around Nino's hand even more. "Because I will never leave you."
"Sho... is that really true?" Nino asks in a weak voice, close to tears, his heart almost bursting. He just can't help but fear it. He's weak, he has to learn how to fully trust someone again, and he will, if Sakurai will give him the chance to.
"It is," the other man nods, reassuring his beloved. "Maybe it is not the best solution but I would definitely have asked you to stay together and to... wait for my return or maybe to come with us, but I know I am asking too much... Probably, I'm selfish to expect this from you but I thought, it's worth a try, after all, we make such a good couple..."
"Really?" Nino sobs, his hands starting to tremble.
"It's true, believe me already! I don't want and never wanted to break up with you," Sakurai reassures him with a determined look.
Nino averts his eyes, lifts his left hand, brushing it over his face to wipe away some small tears. "But I already did. I ruined what we had."
"No, you didn't," Sakurai shakes his head.
"Does this mean you'd accept my apology and take me back?" Nino dares looking back into Sakurai's eyes and the man's loving smile makes his heart jump.
"I insist on you coming back."
Sakurai's words are like the last straws in breaking free all of Nino's emotions one more time. His heart beating like crazy, tears spilling over his cheeks and his whole body trembling, he tries to speak what he wants to tell the other so much. "Sho, I still love you."
"Come here, Kazu," Sakurai replies, immediately, getting closer to the young man to pull him into a tight embrace. "I never stopped loving you. I want to be with you. Forever."
Those words are exactly what Nino needs to strengthen his heart, he almost can't believe his ears. He swallows the little doubts that are trying to bubble up in his chest, fights them until they shut up and stay away from him, because now isn't the time for doubts, it's the time to rebuild and reinforce the trust that has sprouted between him and Sakurai since the day they got together. Nino has to believe in this. In their relationship, their love. In Sakurai.
He feels relief, happiness flooding every single cell of his body and his heart is beating so loudly that he almost fears that his words are being drowned.
"I'm so sorry about everything," Nino sobs, as he presses his trembling body against the man he loves, burying his head at his neck and his hands in Sakurai's shirt, grabbing it with all his might as if he fears the man is just a hallucination and will vanish any second.
"I'm sorry too for making you lose faith in me. I should have been more assuring about our relationship."
"Don't blame yourself," Nino shakes his head. "I reacted too quickly."
"I won't give you any reasons to do this ever again."
Relieved, Nino chuckles. "Good."
"You know, even if everything that I said just now is true, like that I never wanted us to break up even if I would have to leave the country and such... I do have news for you," Sakurai says and they break their hug again to face each other.
While Sakurai reaches his thumbs to wipe away Nino's tears, the other asks, wondering. "What is it?"
"I won't leave Japan. And Satsuki neither," Sakurai smiles at him.
"What?! Why?" Nino asks in surprise. "I was so sure that she would accept the scholarship. It’s such a big chance!"
"It is, yes," the other man nods. "But she thought everything through and came to the conclusion herself that it's too early for her. She still has things to learn and she found another solution."
"Another solution?"
"She'll study hard, graduate from school here in Japan, practise the piano as much as she can and take German lessons and then, when she graduated, she'll take the test again and the music school in Vienna promised to keep her in favour so that she can have the chance to receive a new scholarship for an affiliated university then, in three years."
"Oh my God, is it true?" Nino can't believe it. This... is perfect. "This sounds even better."
"Right? I think it's the perfect solution for everything."
"Indeed," the young man replies, still stunned.
Sakurai looks at him, his hands still cupping Nino's face. He blushes a bit, cutely, before he parts his lips. "May... may I kiss you now, please?"
Nino's heart jumps once more and he smiles widely. "I beg you."
A second later, his now-again-boyfriend leans forward, capturing Nino's lips with his in a kiss overflowing with joy and love, reuniting them in the most ceremonious way and Nino kisses him back with all of his love too. He feels like being in a dream. He feels like he's finally back home. How could he be so stupid to risk this, he wonders, but scolds himself immediately for these negative thoughts. He should be happy now. Happy to have Sho back and happy that their bond is strong enough to overcome his own huge stupidity. With this, they will be able to overcome every obstacle that they may have to face as a couple from now on, Nino is convinced about that!
It doesn't take them long before their kiss becomes more demanding, their hands everywhere on their partner's body, exchanging caressing gestures and pressing them closeer, not willing to ever let go again. It's then, after countless kisses, that Nino's stomach incongruously pipes up, growling loudly and making the two men break their kiss, looking at each other startlingly, their lips swollen and wet and their cheeks taken a nice shade of pink.
"Oops," Nino murmurs, blushing even more. "Sorry..."
Sakurai laughs, uninhibited. "So, you're hungry?"
"Sorry, I didn't eat properly for the past few days...," Nino replies with an apologetic look, rubbing his stomach slightly.
"I can see it... cup ramen, huh?" Sakurai eyes a package of instant noodle soup placed underneath the low table. Apparently, Aiba missed that one when helping Nino clean the living room. "Definitely not the healthiest diet."
Nino shrugs, smiling crookedly. "Shall we order something? What about pizza? I'd be in the mood for Calzone and Coke," he then suggests, smirking.
All he earns is another adorable chuckle from his boyfriend before the man smirks at him too, knowingly. "You know, that reminds me that you still owe me 2.400 Yen."
"You have a good memory," the other laughs. "But you forgot something. I owe you something more."
Arching an eyebrow, Sakurai asks. "What would that be?"
"Don't tell me you forgot, idiot," Nino reaches his hands to cup his boyfriend's face to pull him into another kiss. "This," he smirks and Sakurai smiles back, beaming happily before he kisses him back, softly.
"In fact, I hoped you will come with us to celebrate Satsuki's decision," Sakurai then says.
"Oh, a celebration?"
"I begged Ohno and his wife to set up something for us. Will you join us?"
Nino smiles, nodding. How could he resist those cute puppy eyes?
"Sure, but before that...," he grins, leaning forward to softly bite his lover's neck.
~ * Epilogue * ~
The world looks distant and peaceful, it's breath-taking. The beds of fluffy clouds underneath the wings of the plane, reminiscent of cotton balls or cotton candy, and the shades of blue filling the sky are countless, the variation of colours flooding one's mind with pure harmony.
Looking outside of the small window, enjoying the sight while some classic music is playing through a headphone in one of his ears, it's indeed a harmonious moment for Nino, even if the man besides him has been talking non-stop ever since their flight took off, only interrupted by a few hours of sleep earlier, which got brushed away by a cup of coffee and huge excitement within just a few minutes.
Nino on the other side is still half dreaming, trying hard to focus on his boyfriend's words, feeling a bit guilty for not being able to focus since the beginning of their conversation. He yawns one last time and then finally rolls his head to the other side, to find Sho looking at him and gesturing with his hands, excitedly. Nino smiles and finally, the tiredness starts to leave his mind, and he can finally focus on the meaning of his partner's words.
"...And then she wants to show us the "Mozarthaus" in the... Domgasse, it's called, I think," Sho says with a frown. "Do you know that Mozart was a free composer in Vienna between 1781 and 1791, until he died there? He wasn't able to finish his "Requium". They say that a former student of his – I forgot his name, something with Xaver or so - finished it on his behalf. He was only 35 years old when he died... how sad is it for such a talented person to die so young..."
Nino finds it utterly cute on how much Sakurai has prepared for their trip to Vienna. He saw his boyfriend browsing websites, borrowing books from the city library and reading tons of brochures that Satsuki had sent to them via airmail. In fact, Nino finds it so cute that he does not have the heart to tell his boyfriend, that in fact, thanks to his interest and his studies at the university, even if it's years ago, he knows Mozart's whole life story by heart, alongside those of other classical composers. However, he just smiles, acknowledging Sho's explanation.
"I'm really looking forward to the "My Fair Lady" musical!" the man continues his monologue, pointing at one of the brochures he has pulled out of his hand luggage. "Since you showed me the movie, I'm in love with that story. It's just too bad that we won't be able to understand the language... good thing that we know the story and the content of the songs already," Sho chuckles. "Satsuki also suggested for us to watch some theatre performances but I told her that she must have forgotten that we cannot understand German so..."
Nino shuffles in his seat, trying to stretch his tired limbs a bit. He looks at his boyfriend again, and smirks. "Sho, is it possible that you are nervous?"
Sho blushes a bit, but immediately pouts his lips. "I'm not, I'm just so excited, it's my first overseas trip and I just can't wait to meet Satsuki again," he is nervous, Nino thinks, finding his partner just so adorable. "It's been so long since we saw her and she came up with so many nice ideas on what we can do during our holidays in Vienna! She wants to show us so many places and I – I'm sorry, I guess I got a little carried away."
"No no, it's completely fine," the teacher replies, sliding his hand onto Sho's thigh to caress it just for a short moment.
In fact, he finds his boyfriend's behaviour adorable. He has been a bunch of nerves for days, when their holidays were approaching and things became "serious". Sho has checked their passports and visa again and again, same for the checklists for their luggage that he packed for both of them since "We're sharing a closet anyway, leave this to me, Kazu", is what Sho said. He has especially taken care of all the Japanese stuff he has promised to bring for his daughter, things that she can't get in Europe and misses from her country.
Things have changed since Satsuki moved to Vienna just a few months ago, to start her music and piano studies with her scholarship at one of the most prestigious music universities in the world, making her parents and also Nino immensely proud.
With Satsuki's moving to Vienna, Sho took the chance to move out of his apartment, into a new place, a place that he's sharing with Nino now. They started searching for it together since Satsuki's graduation and found a wonderful place in the Ohnos' neighbourhood, big enough to have a room for each of them, including Satsuki, so that the girl can come to visit them whenever she likes. They have a huge living room with enough space for the piano, a gorgeous bedroom, and even a little garden. Sho has quitted his job as a delivery man. Living together with Nino, and knowing that his daughter is well taken care of living in the dormitory of the university that even provides warm meals twice a day. Since everything is covered by the renewed scholarship that the girl received, Sho can afford to step back and only focus on his work in the antiques shop together with Ohno as his only financial source. And it's great, giving them more time together and as such, Sho can also make it to the bar on Fridays without fail, to listen to his boyfriend's piano playing.
Nino long knows that he won't be a professional pianist making a living from his playing. He has long accepted it and he cannot complain about his job as a teacher which he loves. He can share his love for music with young people, help them to discover the magic of music, encourage them, support them, just like he did with Satsuki, and he loves this part of his job. But encouraged by Sho as well as Satsuki and even Satsuki's mother, who claims to be a fan of Nino ever since she heard him playing one day in the antiques' shop, he decided to face his dream once more, even if it is a smaller version, perhaps. Due to Kitagawa's influence, Nino was introduced to the owner of the "Monochrome" and the man was enchanted by Nino's talent and offered him a regular performing spot in "Monochrome", which the other accepted, shyly at first, but pushed by his partner, he knew he has all the support he needs. In fact, Nino has even reached a decent degree of popularity since then, and so he'd be a liar if he says he doesn't enjoy it.
They couple has not met Satsuki since the last holidays which she spent in Japan. It's understandable that Sho is fidgeting and impatient to meet his beloved daughter again.
"Keep on telling me what else we will be able to see," Nino encourages his partner, knowing that he needs it. He leans back in his seat in the most comfortable position possible, and glues his eyes on the man who immediately breaks into a smile.
"Sure!" he says enthusiastically. "So... I didn't tell her yet but actually, I also am interested in going to see Schönbrunn Palace. The old furniture there must be awesome and I read the Great Gallery is breath-taking! Also the gardens, I showed you some pictures, right? The gardens look so beautiful..."
"And there's a zoo there, right?" Nino remembers having heard something about that, at least, the name Schönbrunn rings a bell.
"Satsuki loves it!" Probably, it has been Satsuki then, who told them about it.
"I can imagine," Nino smiles.
"We can go there too, right?" Sho asks, excited like a child.
Of course, Nino nods. An Austrian zoo might not be too different from a Japanese one, he thinks, but he likes zoos anyway. After all the first time he hugged Sho has been in a zoo, even if the circumstances back then have been something more tragic than it will be this time.
"I'm also looking forward to the food!"
Nino snorts. "As expected from my little gourmet! What do you want to eat there?"
"Of course... Wiener Schnitzel," Sho replies seriously in an awkward but adorable accent, causing Nino to laugh.
"That's nice, isn't it?"
"And Sacher cake," of course. "What about you?"
Nino tilts his head, and even if there's indeed an image of a dish he's instantly curious about, he cannot properly remember the actual name of it. "Hm... how is it called... something with Emperor... Emperor's... I can't remember it. You showed it to me on the internet, you remember?"
"Emperor's mess?" Sho points at him, as if answering a quiz.
Smiling, Nino nods. "Yes, that one. With apple sauce and cranberries... Why are you grinning?"
"Satsuki loves it," Sho states. "The Vienna apple sauce, I mean," he sighs, his beautiful eyes taking a glint of nostalgia. "It reminds me of when she was so small that she was barely able to hold a spoon up by herself with her tiny fingers... Oh Gosh, my girl grew up so much, I still can't believe she's actually living there!"
"You miss her, don't you?" Nino asks, caringly.
Sho's face takes a serious expression. "I'm very proud of her. Of course I miss her, but don't tell her, OK? I want her to enjoy her time there as much as she can."
"No worries, I won't tell her about her father worrying everyday and how he looks at her photo in his wallet every time he opens it."
"Hey, don't tease me," Sho pouts. "And I have a photo of you in there too!"
"And you still don't think, it's embarrassing."
"Because it's not."
Nino blushes, but he knows, he doesn't stand a chance against his lover. "Whatever, do as you please."
"I will," Sho whispers, leaned close to his boyfriend's ear, with a confident smile on his lips.
"Don't... we're in a plane half filled with Japanese tourists. They will feel uncomfortable if they see us like this," Nino whispers, his face blushed deeply red, as he slightly pushes Sho away who pouts playfully but of course accepts his boyfriend's argument.
However, he can't help but lean a bit closer to the other again to whisper into his ear. "I heard, in Europe, people don’t look that strangely at a gay couple holding hands on the streets... or even sharing a kiss..."
Nino turns his head and locks eyes with Sho, whose lips have curled up into a devilish smirk. The teacher chuckles, amused. "Is this your subtle way of telling me that you want to try showing our affection in public there?"
"I just want to show off my adorable boyfriend," the other replies, with a cute pout. "Isn't it possible?"
Nino's heart jumps a little at the thought and he will be lying if he said he doesn't get at least a little excited about it. "Well, I didn't say, I'm completely against it."
Sho smirks again and quickly, too quickly for Nino to even complain about it, he pecks his lover's cheeks before turning his focus back onto the bunch of brochures.
"Kazu?" Sho then turns back at his boyfriend, looking at him with serious eyes.
"Hm?"
"Do you think Satsuki misses us too?" the father says, looking a bit worried and Nino's heart constricts at the cuteness of his lover.
"I'm sure," Nino replies, even if a tiny little voice in his head tells him that probably the girl might not miss them as much as she could. Knowing the reason for that – actually something delightful - he smirks, and bites his lower lip playfully, tryingto keep the secret though, for now.
Just a few hours later, they finally reached their destination, disembarked, got their luggage, and are now heading towards the arrival hall. To Nino's surprise Sho reaches out and grabs his boyfriend's hand, determined to hold it tight, not caring about who might see them like this. Just when he wants to part his lips to protest, Sho mutes him immediately – with a kiss.
"Oh Gosh, Dad, please, I know you love Kazu-kun but can't you wait until you reached your hotel room?"
Nino hears a familiar voice nearby and just as fast as Sho has attacked him with that kiss, his boyfriend immediately let go off his hand, drops his luggage and runs a few steps forward to give his daughter a stormy, tight hug.
"Satsuki!" he screams and Nino can almost hear a sob in Sho's voice.
"Ugh, Dad... you're squashing me," the girl complains, but Nino grins when he sees her arms wrapped around her father's body, tightly, holding him at least as close as he's holding her. When they finally break apart again, Satsuki turns towards him, flashing him a happy smile. "Kazu-kun, good to see you! I hope you had a nice flight."
"Thanks for picking us up, Satsuki-chan," Nino replies and gives the girl a hug as well.
"It's the least I can do," she says. "Let me help you with your luggage."
"Oh, we didn't bring that much," Sho says, but looking at the large, heavy suitcases, the additional bags and backpacks, Nino has to disagree.
Suddenly, a young Japanese reaches out his hand to take one of the big bags from Sho. "Please let me help you too."
Sho stares at him, critically, refusing to let go off his bag. "Eh? Who's that young man here?" he asks his daughter, surprised.
"This? Uhm...."
Nino can't help but grin knowingly when he sees the young woman blushing at her father's question. She exchanges a look with the young man at her side and looks at her father again, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah?" Sho asks.
"This is Yuudai-kun. He's from Kyoto. We're studying in the same classes and he lives in the dormitory. When I told him my family is coming, he wanted to... get to know you."
"Uhum... I see," her father replies, nodding slightly. His look is still critical, if not even more so than before. No, it's definitely more critical than before, Nino notes when he sees how Sho is scanning the young Japanese. "So... He's a friend of yours?"
The girl nods her head, heavily. "Yes yes, a friend."
Sure, Nino thinks, having a hard time standing still and not letting his cover blow up. In fact, he knows exactly, who this friend is, because Satsuki has already told him about Yuudai a few weeks ago on the phone when she secretly consulted her father's boyfriend for some advice. Apparently, the girl is less embarrassed to talk to Nino about love matters than to Sho, which is impossible as stressing on the fact that her father will possibly freak out if he finds out that his daughter is dating someone, and that she can only trust Nino with this.
It would be a lie if Nino says he isn't proud of the fact that he and Satsuki have become even closer since he and Sho got together. They liked each other since the beginning, their common interest in music will always connect them and the amount of trust the girl has shown him over the years has helped to foster the certainty in Nino that he belongs to the Sakurai family now, which makes him immensely proud and happy. Hopefully, Sho will not kill him though, when he finds out that Nino knew about Satsuki's boyfriend before him and didn't tell him about him.
Finally, Sho narrows his eyes at his daughter. "Satsuki?" Uh oh, that tone is dangerous.
"Uhm... yes?"
Nino smirks, amused by the whole scene, even if at this moment, he feels a bit sorry for Yuudai but he'll have to get through this and survive the first hurdle in order to win his potential father-in-law's approval.
"Is it possible that he is your boyfriend?!" Sho asks in a very serious voice.
Nino purses his lips, in order not to burst into laughter. Yes, he feels a bit sorry for his partner having to experience this shock this soon after a long flight, but on the other hand, this scene is just too amusing, just too typical of adorable Papa Sho. Now, Satsuki will have to tell the truth and the two of them will bicker, Nino knows it. Just like in the good old times when they still shared one apartment as father and daughter.
"Dad, I..."
"Young Lady! Didn't we talk about this?" the girl's father continues. "You're far too young for a serious relationship and don’t you want to focus on studies?"
"Dad, seriously, I'm almost 20..."
But of course, her father doesn't care. He's in his full dad-mode already. "You can always find love later on, you know? Remember when I met Kazu? I was already 32 at that time."
"But dare I remind you that you were only 17 when you and Mom had me!" Satsuki fights back, immediately. Touché! "Which implies..."
"We are not going to talk about underage sex here at the airport, young Lady!" Sho says, raising his finger.
"I don't plan to talk about sex with my father at all, just for the records!" the young woman almost freaks out. "You were the one starting to talk about strange stuff, remember?"
Suddenly, Nino feels a presence beside him and when he turns his head, he spots Yuudai, Satsuki's boyfriend standing next to him, who must have given up on trying to take Sho's luggage, opting to retreat from the scene before them. He's biting his lips, frowning and looking very uncomfortable about the whole situation. Nino encouragingly pats the young guy's shoulder, making him look at him.
"Don't mind him, he's just in Superdad mode," Nino smiles, pointing at Sho. "He'll come around to you and apologize later on, he's a good guy."
The young man grins at Nino, still feeling a bit insecure. "It's OK, Satsuki warned me that her dad can be... slightly overprotective when it comes to her."
"That's his love towards her," the teacher replies confidently. "Something we all have in common so I'm sure he'll accept you soon."
"I hope so...," Yuudai chuckles, still sounding not completely convinced.
Nino encouragingly pats the young man's shoulder one more time before his look wanders back to Sho and Satsuki who are still discussing vividly. He smiles.
"Welcome to our family."
The END
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I liked that the dramatic points came from both external and internal factors at play, and that it didn't rely on the cliche of "teacher breaks the rules", but instead from real relationship struggles - how to stay together when life is in motion and there are other priorities and people to consider.
For some reason -- THANKS, I KNOW THAT NOW! PLEASE LET ME DIE, Nino wants to scream and run away -- that part of the fic I just burst out laughing and couldn't stop.
Really great moments of humor and heartbreak and love. The ending made me smile! Thanks for the good read!
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I think we should never underestimate the circumstances from outside like how you said what can happen to a relationship when other people are to consider and unexpected things happen. I definitely wanted to show that, alongside inner conflicts.
Again, thanks a lot for reading! =)
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Everything about this fic is perfect: shy Nino, teasing Sho, their love and especially the warm feeling reading this.
You did an amazing job, dear author! I don't know how to express into words how wonderful this fics are.
Sakumiya fits so well in this fic.
Thank you for writing this!
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Sorry it took me awhile to get back to you, but oh my gosh, reading this was a pleasure, anon. It's so slice-of-life-y and you managed to squeeze in several of my prompts but managing to make it seamless...YAY!!! I honestly didn't know what to expect this year, but this one is a very, very nice surprise.
I love how you didn’t take any shortcuts and allowed us to see how they got to know each other. It’s true, sometimes people fall in love that fast, but it’s still complicated, because human beings are complicated. I really admire how you painted Sho and Nino, their distinct personalities, their life experiences. Sho isn’t just some hot pizza delivery guy, he’s actually a father who has given up a lot to provide for his daughter. Nino’s not just some tacky teacher going after his student’s parent—he actually loves teaching, he lives for music. They're two different people who just happened to fall in love--and you showed how that in itself isn't always so easy.
Their dates were so very fun. AUCTION???? That is the nerdiest Sakurai idea to have ever happened, but it is so him, and it’s so lovely. Then sneaking in to the school for a personal concert—with a bonus makeout session that was nearly busted by the headmaster. Good times. The way Sho teases him is so adorable, btw. Help.
Also: you write sexy times very, very well. Kudos. It’s a talent, I’m telling you. (Take it from one who has no idea how to write it well /weeps)
At the midway point, you could’ve ended the fic already and I would’ve already been satisfied, but you continued on, and I’m grateful. I loved how you explored Nino’s insecurities further (and YAY FOR WONDERFUL AIBA PUTTING SOME SENSE IN HIS HEAD). I also loved that Satsuki, Sho’s daughter, is really level-headed. Their father-daughter relationship is one of the things I really relished in your fic. You wrote it so sweetly and realistically. Gosh, I just love Papa Sho I really do.
I LOVED THE ENDING!!! The airport scene. You tied up everything well, but more than that, I was touched by Nino being part of the Sakurai family, and welcoming another potential family member to it. Sho and Nino have gone so far. It really made me happy! ♥ /sighs
Thank you for getting carried away, as you said you did, anon. I enjoyed reading this so much! I hope you enjoyed writing it too. :)
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I had so so so much fun writing Sho as a DILF, he just fits the role so perfectly, doesn't he?! I had fun to make him overprotective but still loving and trying to give his daughter the freedom and protection she needs at the same time. I guess it's not easy to be a parent, especially the parent of a teenager, but I think he did a great job. I'm proud of Papa Sho :3
I agree with you, I think human beings are very complicated creatures, so theres a lot of thoughts and feelings to consider. I had a great time portraying Sho and Nino like t his and I came to love the characters a lot! It was hard to say goodbye to them after the epilogue tbh.
I'm relieved you enjoyed the dates XD The auction was definitely quirky but it fits Sho somehow, doesn't it? I just wanted to make them go on dates they really might enjoy and that aren't too standard.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the sexy times because those are always the hardest for me to write! Haha X///D Yeah...
I want to take the chance and thank you for inspiring me to this story, thanks so much for your comment and I'm really really happy you enjoyed this! :3 Big hug! <3
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Now for your story:
I really liked it. I love them being parents or caring for kids so Sho being an overly worried and loving parent for his daughter was a big highlight for me throughout this story. I loved the little snippets about him caring for Satsuki and thinking about her.
And his relationship with Nino was so good. I loved the slow build in the beginning (after their first meeting that was absolutely hilarious XD) I loved Sho teasing Nino but stopping when he realised that he took it too far and that he apologised for this.
Nino was so insecure and shy when with Sho alone and that was so absolutely cute. Nino was cute throughout the story and him being a music teacher was the best. I loved that he cared for his students that much (At least I believe he cared for them much and not only for Satsuki XD) and Sho absolutely in love with Nino plaiying the piano only for him ^^
Their dates were also great because it was just what they would enjoy and they didn't try to be someone else just to impress the other. I really liked that.
Then the big crisis with Satsuki and Vienna which was so well written >< all the angst Nino had and then him stupidly ending the relationship without talking about his thoughts and worries >< I really can understand him in a way but he was also so stupid. Luckily Jun and Aiba are there to but in whenenver neccessary.
The epilogue was great to end the story ^^ It's good to see that their relationship lasted till now and that Nino is much more comfortable and secure in it. As much as giving comfort to Satsuki's boyfriend :D
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I had a great time writing Papa Sho overprotectively and still cute and I tried my best to portray a nice but realistic relationship between him and his daughter.
I'm happy you enjoyed Sho and Nino's first meeting xD I feared the scene might be too long and not funny at all but I couldn't help myself lol. Sho teasing Nino was really fun to write, usually it's more the other way round, right? Nino is indeed a passionate teacher, even if teaching wasn't his first choice of job in the beginning. And yes, Satsuki was only one example of a student Nino cared about, of course =)
I found it important to find a way of dating for the two that fit their personalities and I'm happy people received the probably slightly quirky dates positively ^^ And yeah, I can't write stories without a little Nino-angst I guess xD I love to make him suffer before he gets his happy ending. I'm a mean writer LOL I let the characters suffer and suffer with them.