Nino Mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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ninoexchange2017-06-22 11:13 pm
nino_mod) wrote in ninoexchange2017-06-22 11:13 pm
Entry tags:
fic for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kirasebi
For: kirasebi
From: :3.
Title: There’ll Be Sunshine After Rain
Pairing/Focus: Ohmiya, Yama, Junba (squint, you’ll missed it),
Rating: PG
Summary: Five years has passed since he last met Ohno. He thought his feeling for the guy was now forgotten. He was wrong. He still loves this guy. And he saw the effort Ohno made. Except, he couldn’t believe it
Notes: Dear recipient. I… really hope that you will enjoy this fic. Somehow, my words aren’t really connected but thanks to my beta, she makes this better. Kudos to her. I tried to include your prompt on the coffee shop au, but, it’s not that much. Hope you’ll enjoy it. To the mod, thanks a lot for everything.
It had been five years since he started living to his past, trapped in a memory he refused to forget. He waited, kept on waiting for his lover to come back to at least explain the sudden silence.
Days turned into weeks, then months. And before he knew it, 5 years have passed since he last saw the man.
It hurt. Waiting was exhausting. But his love for the man wasn’t just a silly college-boy love. He meant it; sincerely loved the man from the bottom of his heart. And he knew the feeling was mutual from the other side. But right after they graduated from college, his lover left him unnoticed, without a trace. Every single thing about the man was gone, as if he had never existed in the first place. And he kept living in sorrow since then.
His lover had always loved books and coffee. He loved food; something like sweet cake was what he favored the most. Ohno just couldn’t stop thinking about the guy at all. He refused to find a job, thinking that it would be in his way in order to find the man. Using the money he got from him parent, he roamed around Tokyo every single day, trying to find a trace of the man he was trying to find.
Until one day, he stopped in front of a book café.
The cafe had everything that he needed. Coffee, sweet cake, pasta cooked by an awesome chef named Matsumoto Jun, who previously worked in a well-known restaurant before he quit and worked there. Rumor had it that Matsumoto was actually co-establishing the cafe with his best friend, but Ohno never knew the truth of the rumor.
And of course, five racks of books that varied with interest. And that day, there was a new stock of books coming in.
Ohno had never been so excited in the past 5 years. But seeing the fishing magazines coming in, he finally did. He took one of it, getting totally absorbed in the magazine, before someone interrupted him-
“That is an interesting book in your hand,”
The voice sounded familiar to his ears. When he raised his head up, his eyes met with a pair of beautiful brown eyes, before they trailed to the well-defined face, a small mole on the man’s chin.
“Nino-“ he said unconsciously, breathlessly . He could tell the man was startled when he said his name. And his memories kicked in.
***
Nino wasn’t a guy who liked to spend his time socializing with other people. His world revolved around the book café that he inherited from his parent and practicing his magic skills in front of Jun, his only friend that stayed by his side. Just that.
He started the café 3 years ago, few months after he graduated from college, utilizing his BBA to the fullest. That was what he’s been telling Jun. But in reality, he just refused to expose himself to the outside world.
He still had his heart broken. It happened 5 years ago but it could never be healed. He was head over heels for someone only to be told that he was nothing. It was meaningless. On the same day that he was told that, he lost his parents in an accident. And Nino knew perhaps this was the way that God was telling him he should never feel love. It didn’t mean anything.
He moved on, or so he thought.
Five years weren’t a short amount of time. Within those years, he never met or heard about the guy who he used to have a crush on. Deep inside, he wished he never saw the man again, wishing that the guy would be happy with whoever he could have met and chosen.
But when Ohno started to come to this café he owned, Nino knew he couldn’t escape his past. He needed to face it.
Jun used to nag a lot at him for refusing to take an order from the man. Jun would never understand him, he thought. The pain from before -even Ohno wasn’t the exact reason to it- was unbearable. He was afraid to meet the guy again, knowing it would make his confidence shatter.
For weeks, he never bothered to approach Ohno even as his customer, until that day.
Jun was out of town, which left him alone in the café, along with another chef in the kitchen. Luck was totally not on his side when Ohno walked into his café, browsing books at one of the shelves before he took his seat at his usual spot.
He is your customer, Nino’s inner self screamed. You shouldn’t make him wait any longer.
But, he will recognize- his other side screamed.
No, he won’t! Remember what he told you years ago. He won’t recognize you.
And Nino believed his inner self.
Usually, when he took an order from a customer, Nino would be straight to the point. But this time, something caught his attention.
“That is an interesting book in your hand,” he said, startling the customer, who lifted his head with a confused expression that quickly changed into a shocked one.
But what was more shocking was when Ohno called his name.
“Nino-“
And Nino flinched.
Shit!
Ohno remembered.
***
“Black cappuccino, if you don’t mind,” Ohno ordered, earning a glare from Nino. He laughed.
A week had passed since he finally met the real owner of the café. What a small world. At the same time, he wondered if his past was coming back to him.
He knew Nino for a few years, especially when he used to be Nino’s mentor in the university. While some part of him was still feeling guilty about what he had said to the man, he was glad to know that nothing had changed. Nino was still the guy who he used to know; a witty, snarky brat.
“No such thing as black cappuccino, Ohno. Make up your mind or I’ll invent a new recipe that will make you puke every now and then,” Nino said, faking an annoyed expression though Ohno could see that tiny smile on his lips as he made his way back to the counter.
“Nah, just the usual cappuccino, and a vanilla muffin,” he said, a grin formed on his lips when Nino nodded slightly.
Why? Why couldn’t he see those beautiful brown eyes Nino owned before? Why couldn’t he notice how adorable that shy smile the man flashed every time he was teased? Five years ago, why couldn’t he feel that butterfly in his stomach every single time Nino laughed like what he felt right then in the café?
He couldn’t help eyeing the guy in amazement when Nino made his way back to the counter, entering his order on the computer before starting to work on it. The guy hadn’t changed at all. Aside from his character, his face, not a year aging and Ohno couldn’t help wondering if the guy had any secret regarding that.
He wondered if he was in love with Nino after the past five years.
But was it worth it, especially after what had happened between them?
When they met again a week ago, his memories kicked in, sending him all kinds of feels inside him violently. Had he been too harsh? Or had he made the right thing? He wanted to ask Nino all these questions. But Nino was professional enough to avoid them.
“I never knew-“
“Well, now that you know, will that make you stop coming here?” Nino’s voice sounded serious when he asked the question. Together with the way he was staring at him, Ohno really thought that Nino still had that bitterness since years ago. That was until the man broke the tension with a laugh.
“You look older, Ohno. It has been a long time,”
Ohno shrugged. “Indeed,”
“So, cappuccino and vanilla muffin?”
“You know?”
“Obviously. I’m the one who worked on your order every single time,”
“Yet you never bothered to greet me,” he said, sounding disappointed. But Nino chose to ignore it.
“You know why I like reading this?” he continued, just before Nino was about to make his way back to the counter.
“Trying to find a way to impress him more?” Nino answered. “I mean, Sakurai loves the outdoors right? How is he, by the way?”
How is he, a question that even he didn’t have an answer for. Nino sounded sincere in the way he asked though, but deep inside, he couldn’t help wondering, if there’s at least a little sign of bitterness in the man’s voice. He couldn’t figure it either.
“I haven’t seen him since five years ago-“ he answered. He raised his head, trying to look at Nino. He could see a sign of disbelieve on the man’s face.
“Have the two of you…..broken up?” he asked cautiously.
“I want to ask him that too,”
“I see,”
“Nino-“ he called the man again when Nino tried to walk away. Annoyed, the guy turned to look at him again, displease was obviously shown on his face. “What I said last time-“
“It’s in the past,” Nino cut him. “I’ve refused to hang to it. Now, if you could please excuse me. I have a few other customers that I need to greet,”
I’ve refused to hang to it, was what Nino had said.
Had he?
***
As weeks passed, Nino found Ohno at his usual spot much more frequently than before. He didn’t find it annoying either. With Ohno coming 4 times a week meant they had added another frequent customer to the café. More money generated for them.
But as more weeks passed, Nino realized that Ohno did not visit the café for just a drink. And his usual spot had changed too; from the one behind the wall at the corner of the room to the bar right in front the counter. The Ohno he used to know five years ago, a silent and minding-his-own-business kind of guy, had turned into a super talkative one, initiating their conversations of various topics.
Just like that day.
“Why did you start this business Nino?” he asked, taking a sip from his cup. Nino found it cute how an old guy always blew his coffee before each sip from his cup. Had he been another guy, Nino would have gotten annoyed at the blowing noise, but this was Ohno; a guy who he used to have a crush on and somehow still makes his heart flutter.
“It wasn’t mine,” he replied. His hand worked on his phone, playing with the game he’s been trying to win for the last few days. “It was my parent’s. I thought of closing this down when they passed away, but then I felt that this would be the perfect place to practice what I’ve learned for my degree. Besides, this place had always brought me happiness, ever since I was a child.”
Ohno’s mouth hanged open. He never knew that Nino had lost his parents. But the boy was an open book to him before. He talked about everything, so why didn’t he know about it?
“They died?” Nino nodded. “When? How?”
“He won’t answer if you asked, Ohno. Let me answer it for him,” Jun, who was coming out of nowhere, poked in. Ohno frowned. Was it a bad question? When he saw Nino throwing Jun a murderous glare, warning him to not meddle with it, Ohno realized that he must have asked something Nino refused to talk about.
But Jun simply ignored that unsatisfied look from Nino.
“On the same day, you graduated,” Jun said it short before he made his way back to the kitchen with Nino’s stare trailing his steps.
Ohno had a chill. If what Jun said was true, it could possibly mean that –
“Don’t mind him,” Nino said all of sudden. His attention was back to his phone as he spoke. “This fact has nothing to do with you at all,”
Of course it did. He broke the man’s hope on the day he lost his parents. Just how much sadness the guy had borne that day?
He wanted to ask. He had always wanted to know; what was Nino feeling for him? Did he still love him? Or had that college-crush turned into ashes and all Nino did then -being nice to him- was because he was just doing what a café owner should do to his customer?
He didn’t want that! He didn’t want Nino to treat him well because he was just a customer. He wanted more than that. Having that thought in his mind made him blush for some reason while he kept staring at Nino behind the counter.
“Creep,” Nino said it short, breaking his trail of thought. Ohno frowned for a brief moment, wondering what Nino meant by that. But when he heard Nino’s laugh, Ohno then realized how hot his face was, perhaps from the blushing.
He laughed.
“Sorry,” he said. “Can’t help it,”
“Help what?” this time it was Nino’s turn to get confused.
“Staring at you and having this thought,”
Nino laughed. Their conversations always got weird.
“Do you still love him?” Nino asked. Ohno perfectly knew who he meant by him. How admirable. He wished he had that courage to ask the same question to Nino.
But then, the smile on his face faded. Did he still love Sho? How many weeks had it been since he last thought about Sho? If he met Sho again, woould it change everything that he felt at that moment? Will he want to start his life with Sho again?
“I don’t know,” he answered Nino. It was the truth. At that point, things had started to get confusing. He knew some part inside him was hoping to meet Sho again. He just wanted to know the reason behind all the silent treatment in the past five years. But at the same time, spending time with Nino had sent sparks that he’s been missing for a long while. The same sparks he had once felt when he was with Sho but even greater when he was with Nino.
“Waiting is tiring right,” Nino replied. A bitter smile formed on his lips.
How he wished he could turn that bitterness into happiness. He wanted to be Nino’s happiness.
***
“You’re being hard to yourself,” Jun said. It was their closing time but it had been their usual routine to stay for a few more hours to tidy up and prepare for the next day.
“If being hard to myself means protecting myself from being heartbroken again, then I guess it’s really worth it, Jun,” Nino replied, calculating the money inside the register while doing his daily report.
Jun was right about the part where he was being hard to himself. But maybe Jun forgot that Ohno was the reason why he couldn’t open up his heart for someone to love.
He wasn’t blind to see how Ohno was making steps towards him. Of course, he knew he still had his heart set for Ohno. But what if whatever he was seeing was just an illusion? What if Ohno never felt the same as he did? He couldn’t bear the embarrassment for the second time.
“I believe my eyes more than I believe you, Nino,” Jun said, earning a glare from Nino. “And I’m sure he likes you. He’s trying to get closer to you.”
“I saw that too. But what if he doesn’t really?”
“I know love when I see it. How long has he been coming to our café?”
“6 weeks,”
“There, you counted!” Jun said, grinning when he heard the man snort. “He might be confused now. And from what you’ve been telling me, he’s looking for his ex-lover whom he doesn’t even know if he’ll ever find again. Believe me, Nino, I think he wants you.”
Nino sighed. He was confused. To be honest, he just didn’t know what he really wanted anymore.
But spending time with Ohno was really the best part of his every-day life. Their topics were random and with every topic they discussed, he knew he was having the best time of his life.
Except, Ohno’s words from years ago kept on echoing inside his head, ruining those happy moments.
“It’s not a bad thing to give him a chance,” Jun said, squeezing his shoulder gently, reassuring him.
Was he worth it?
***
Ohno came again to the café the very next day. He knew the guy had something planned inside his mind when he walked into the café, whistling happily with a wide smile on his face. A few seconds later, he was at his usual spot.
That time, Nino hated how distracting Ohno was to him. From the corner of his eyes, he knew Ohno was doing his usual habit, staring with a wide grin on his face, except it was a little peculiar.
“Cappuccino?” Nino asked. He frowned when Ohno shook his head.
“I’m heading for a job interview in a few minutes,”
“That’s great!” Nino exclaimed. “Why are you still here then? You’re gonna be late!” Nino said. He still handed the man a black coffee instead. Somehow, Ohno chuckled.
“I need to get my luck,”
“Huh?”
“You are my luck,” Ohno replied, squeezed Nino’s hand lightly only to make the guy blush hard. What a sweet talker, Nino thought.
“But that’s not only it,” Ohno continued. He started searching for something inside his bag before he pulled two pieces of paper that Nino quickly recognized as concert tickets. He frowned, raising his brows in amusement.
“AKB48?”
“No, Sekai no Owari. I never thought you had interest in any girls group?”
Nino laughed, “That’s supposed to be a joke, Ohno,”
Ohno chuckled. “I know,”
And then there was an awkward silence filling the atmosphere. The wide space in the café seemed suffocating as breathing felt difficult, as if a big lump was stuck inside his throat that Ohno couldn’t even form any coherent word.
“You’re gonna be late for that interview, Ohno,” Nino said, pushing the cup of coffee he prepared earlier to Ohno. Without hesitation, Ohno drank it, only to whine about it being hot.
A second later, “I was just thinking if you would like to go to the concert with me?” he finally asked.
Nino blinked once, twice, thrice.
“Is that a no?” Ohno asked, eyes reflecting all the worrying he was feeling.
“I wonder-“ Nino replied, producing a long hmmm as he seemed hesitant to ask the question he’s wondering about. But then, he blurted it out. “Is it a date?”
“It could be one.” came the quick answer in a voice full of hope.
God only knows how long he’s stayed blushing, even after Ohno had long gone to the interview.
***
“Ohno, I just- I just really like you,” he confessed. He never expected to get ‘i like you too’ in return, he just needed the man to know.
Ohno had been mentoring him for three years. The thought that he would never meet Ohno again after the guy graduated was killing him that he couldn’t keep himself collected and rational anymore. Ohno had been his great influencer, someone he admired from the bottom of his heart.
Within those three years too, he knew how deep Ohno’s love for Sho was. That guy was his life. They’re everyone’s topic and everyone seemed to approve of them.
He saw that shocked face Ohno made. Sure, he wasn’t someone who people would say ‘yes’ to on the first try. Hardly anyone wanted someone as moody as he was; quiet but a snarky little brat when he wanted to, as their boyfriend. He swore to God if Ohno rejected him, he wouldn’t press on the topic ever again. After all, this was the last time he was going to see the guy, right?
“I’m sorry, Ninomiya-kun. I just- I can’t accept it,”
Damn. Why did he still hear his heart break, even though he had prepared for it?
“I love Sho. And it will always be Sho. I just- you- I can’t accept you in my life. I just- maybe never.”
It could possibly have been Ohno’s wrong choice of words, but it really tore him apart.
“Never?” he asked, voice shaking as he was holding himself from breaking in front of the guy. Truly, he hated it when he saw how apologetic the man was.
“I’m sorry-“
“No, it’s ok. I just…..wanted you to know,” he knew his legs were betraying him. It hurt. It fucking hurt! This wasn’t just a stupid college-boy crush. It wasn’t a simple crush anymore. He loved Ohno, really loved him that it was breaking him from every single direction.
“Congratulations on your graduation, Ohno,” were his last words to the man before he rushed out of the man’s room. Even though he tried so hard to face the rejection like a real man, he ended up crying. Soon after, he discovered that not only had he lost Ohno, the guy he loved so deeply, but also his parents in a car accident.
Somehow, he couldn’t take the image away from his mind. It wasn’t that harsh, he knew. And Ohno was telling him the truth. He should be grateful for that. Ohno was being a good guy for not giving him a false hope.
But it was hard on him. He fell in love with different people before but he would feel out of love in a few months later. But with Ohno, it felt like forever. He could never get over the feelings he had for him.
‘It could be one,’ one line from Ohno had sent him a great amount of hope. But again, his memories scared him.
What if it won’t work? What if he’s going to break my heart again?, he thought with a heavy sigh.
“That is a very worried face you have, Nino,” Jun said, laughing as he hit the man’s head just to break Nino’s trail of thought. “You’re going to get older if you keep on having that kind of face, you know,”
Nino rolled his eyes. Man, sometimes, Jun was a little bit too much to deal with.
“What did you think, Jun?” He started. Sitting on the sofa in his house, he leaned back, staring at the empty white ceiling. “I confessed to Ohno and I lost my parents on the same day. Was this relationship so unforgivable that I received a punishment from God?”
Jun sighed. He knew Nino for years. They were friends since high school even though they didn’t go to the same college together. And he knew how serious Nino’s insecurities could get. Just like that one. He was over thinking.
“Probably,” He replied, making Nino turn at him with an empty stare. “Like mine and Masaki. On the day I confessed to him, it was raining heavily. I fell into a pool of mud, and a homeless man snatched my wallet when I tried to get up,”
Nino saw Jun smiling.
“What I’m trying to say, Nino, there’ll be sunshine after rain,”
“Not for me though.”
“That’s because you never try to open up to someone. Nino, after all these years, you’ve met him again. This is God giving you another chance! And you can totally see he’s making an effort towards you. So don’t lose this chance, you have to face your own fear. Be brave and go, for your own sake.”
Jun was totally right. He was afraid to fall in love. Many people have had to deal with different situations of heartbreak before finally finding their happiness. So, maybe he just needed to face it.
“What if he didn’t feel the same towards me?” Nino asked.
“After that? Believe me, Nino, if I were you, I would just go for it. Because if I didn’t, I would forever regret not taking a step that could lead to my happiness in the future,”
Jun stood from his seat, patted Nino lightly on his shoulder before he left Nino alone in the living room.
Nino sighed. It sounded easy to his ears. But heartbreak was not something he wanted to feel again.
For the countless time that night, he sighed.
***
Ohno had never been so nervous in his life. But when he invited Nino to go with him to the concert the previous day, dropping a hint that it could be their first date, he couldn’t help feeling nervous to enter the café again.
He was ready to move on. For days, he kept asking himself if it really mattered for him to wait for Sho. It had been five years, after all. Sho must have started his life with someone else by then and even if the guy came back into his life, Ohno had made up his mind.
He chose Nino.
Ohno didn’t know when it had started when every dream he had had Nino in it. In those dreams he was happy, enjoying their life together just like a normal domestic couple would. Without him realizing it, every single moment of his life, he portrayed it with Nino in it.
God, he was so madly in love with this guy. Why?
When he entered the café, Nino greeted him with his usual smile. Except, that day it was brighter than usual. He was stunning. His beautiful brown eyes were sparkling, shinier than stars if Ohno had to explain. Nino looked happier than ever.
“Before you order, may I recommend my specialty here?” Nino started. Ohno noticed how shy the guy was when he smiled at him, but judging from Nino’s eyes, he knew the guy had something planned. Ohno shrugged.
“Cafe latte,” Nino said. “No worries. No love potion or poison. It comes with an art,”
Ohno laughed. “I wouldn’t know if you put love potion in it, Nino. It would feel natural,”
Nino blushed. Was Ohno making things absolutely clear here? He wished.
“So-“ he began. Ohno watched Nino’s hand skillfully prepare the drink; stir the cup and the pot containing the creamer in it before pouring them into the cup. “I was thinking about your proposal yesterday,”
Ohno raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Though I have a little doubt-“ he said. Slowly, he pushed the crafted drink towards Ohno, making him smile as he looked at the art.
“Here’s my answer to it,”
It was a simple design. Nothing fancy in it. It was just a heart symbol and 3 letters that spelled YES below it. He grinned. Nino was still the guy who never voiced it directly since years ago. And that made him cute in Ohno’s eyes.
“No. No. No. Don’t get it wrong. That heart means I’d love to go to the concert with you. It has no other meaning,” Hah! A lie that Ohno could see so clearly. Nino was blushing hard, unable to look at him back as he kept staring at his feet, playing with his apron before he made his way back to the register.
Why? He felt his heart beat happily. He felt that his happiness was overflown just by the simple gesture the man made. This was completely different from what he used to feel with Sho. Right then, he realized he just wanted Nino to feel the same.
“So, I’ll fetch you here tomorrow? 3 pm?” Ohno said, unable to hide his smile. Slightly, Nino nodded.
“3 pm, then. I’ll wait,”
This is going to be fine, Ohno thought. He knew it would.
However a few seconds later, they both heard the chimes of the bell at the front door.
It felt like a slow motion. He heard Nino greet the new customer, except, he couldn’t finish-
“Irrashai-“
Ohno turned. By the door, stood Sho.
“Satoshi?”
Nothing could describe what Ohno felt at that moment. It was all messed up. Especially when he saw a beautiful woman next to Sho, hand in hand. And in Sho’s other hand, was a cute little girl who looked just like him.
***
His heart was shattered. He wanted to open up to the man again, to give him a chance. But when he saw how Ohno looked at Sho when he entered the cafe that morning, Nino knew, he wouldn’t stand a chance anymore.
Ohno loved Sho. He had it in his eyes that Nino didn’t even bother to ask. And it hurt him thinking about it, especially when words from five years ago echoed in his head again.
5 years weren’t a short amount of time. It needed to end.
“Nino-“ Jun called the guy. Watching Nino like this; giving up, it saddened him
“I give up-“ he said, sighing. “It’s just a silly college crush, after all. It has almost zero possibility to happen,”
“But-“ Jun replied after a brief minute of silence. “If you have a crush on someone for almost 5 years, Nino, it’s not a crush. It’s love.”
Silence.
“Are you really going to give it up? Think about it. I don’t want you to come to me 20 years later and say you regret-“
“This pain is too unbearable, Jun. I just want it to end.”
“Think wisely-“
“I did.” He said, sounding determined. “I’ll leave Tokyo once it’s over,”
Jun shook his head.
***
The concert was fun. He felt like a jerk for not being able to enjoy it well when the inside of his head felt like a wired mess.
He loved Ohno. So much. Spending time with Ohno was something he had always looked forward to let alone the thought to spend his whole life with the man. But how could he enjoy it, when he couldn’t get the thought of Ohno loving someone else out of his head.
He was being silence throughout the day. No matter how interesting the topic Ohno tried to initiate, he couldn’t bring himself to get hype too. Surely, Ohno noticed that.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing-“ Nino replied, shrugging.
Nothing. Ohno remembered that very same word coming from Sho’s mouth five years ago. He had asked Sho if the guy had anything to say as he looked restless during their final day in college. Sho said nothing, when it was everything.
“How are you?” Sho had asked him when they finally met again.
“Surviving, and moving on,” he replied coldly. “I see you’re married,”
There, a pang of guilt hit Sho. He was wrong, he knew. Leaving Ohno alone without any explanation.
But he was scared. He had thought that what was between him and Ohno wasn’t serious. Was it love? He wondered. But he never had Ohno in his vision when he was planning for his future. And when he heard that Nino confessed to Ohno and was rejected, he was terrified.
Ohno was serious, but he wasn’t.
Hence he thought it was better to leave Ohno without a single explanation. Hoping that Ohno would have moved on by the time they would meet again.
But he was wrong. Ohno had not moved on. He had people to check the guy for years. And that was when he met Matsumoto. In secret, they made a plan.
But he was selfish. Damn selfish. When he heard it from Jun, about how Ohno was slowly moving on, making an effort towards Nino, a little jealousy hit him. Not because he loved the guy, but because he knew Nino.
“I’m sorry-“
“Why?” Ohno asked, annoyed. “Is it because you’re married or because you left me hanging?”
“I-“ Sho paused. He knew he was being selfish. For a brief moment, he glanced at his wife. She was beautiful and he knew he would never regret marrying her. They were happy and he knew he wouldn’t turn his back.
However, it took him this long to realize that Ohno was someone in his life. The guy was someone who taught him love. He showered him with one and made him believe that he deserved it when he didn’t. He didn’t deserve Ohno.
“What did you have in your mind, Sho?” Ohno asked. “When you decided to leave me, what did you have in your mind?”
Sho bit his lips.
“Did you even love me? At least a little bit?”
“Satoshi-“ he sighed. “I thought we were just playing,”
Ohno’s eyes widened.
“I never planned my future with you in it. I thought it was just a silly college-boy love,”
Ohno chuckled bitterly. Hearing those words from Sho, sure, he felt wasted. But at the same time, it felt like a big burden had been lifted up from his shoulder. He had been freed from his past.
But Sho needed to know. Sho needed to know that he never thought it was a joke. He loved the guy for real. He loved Sho sincerely. However, it was no longer Sho in his heart.
It was Nino.
“Well, thank you for telling me that,”
“Satoshi-“
“I loved you seriously before, Sho. But, now, I have someone that I want to make happy. Just because I was blinded before by my love towards you, doesn’t mean I want to be blinded forever. He deserves love.”
Ohno saw Sho bit his lips. He completely looked speechless.
“This time, I won’t choose you,” he said, leaving the cafe, wishing he’d never meet Sho ever again.
But during the date, Nino was treating him the same way Sho had treated him. There were things in the man’s head that needed to be told, but Nino chose to keep them to himself. And he knew it would just ruin everything he had been working on.
Nino’s face was glowing under the full moon. He was so beautiful to Ohno’s eyes. So beautiful that Ohno had to stop him from entering his appartment, making him face him.
“Ohno- I just-“ Nino wanted to say something. But that could wait.
Slowly, he pulled the guy towards him. He knew he was rushing this, but he wasn’t a guy who was good with words. Saying I love you would sound cliché at that kind of moment. Hence, he leaned in and his lips brushed lightly on Nino’s lips.
But the kiss wasn’t returned. And when he pulled back, he saw how empty Nino’s reaction was.
“Nino, I’m-“
Nino sighed.
“If you have something to say, Nino, I think this is the best time for you to say it,” Ohno tried to provoke the guy to speak.
“I just feel that maybe, it is better for you to go with Sakurai. You’ve been waiting for years. And now he’s here,” Nino said. From his tone, there wasn’t a sign of playfulness in the man’s words. And that worried him.
“He has a wife,”
“Who cares?” Nino snapped. “You love him. He loves you-“
“He doesn’t! Nino, you need to listen to me,”
He was desperate. Nino had been misunderstanding him all along and he wanted Nino to know, to understand whatever he was thinking was wrong. He gripped the man by his arms, making Nino face him directly. His eyes stared into the man’s own; wanting Nino to understand that whatever he was going to say was the truth. He opened his mouth to start an explanation, but as he stared deeply into the man’s eyes, he noticed how tired the man was. Tired of waiting. And that scared him knowing that at that point, it would be impossible to convince the man that he loved him more than everything. He dropped the explanation he was going to say and simply went with-
“I love you,”
Shockingly, that made the situation worse, “I’m not your last resort!” Nino retorted angrily. “I’m not someone for you to take because your previous lover has started a new life without you! God, you’re unbelievable!”
He tried to leave but Ohno grabbed his hand in hope of stopping him, so he yanked off the man’s grip.
“Nino- wait!”
“You really don’t understand, do you?” Nino continued, gritting his teeth in annoyance. “I don’t need your pity or any feeling of guilt from you. Five years weren’t a short amount of time and I got used to not falling in love. And then you appeared and I thought ‘hey, it’s not bad to give him another chance’, but you’re just making my life miserable! And you- you’re uncertain. You’re still hanging to your past, waiting and waiting and you keep on waiting! I refuse to wait more because I’m so fucking tired of it,”
There, he lashed out. Too much. He didn’t need Ohno to tell him anymore lies just to make things look like it was his favor. It was time to move on, and Ohno- god- he loved this guy. So much. It never changed, but growing. But to think that Ohno never chose him, waiting and hoping for Sho, he just couldn’t live with this guy.
He was afraid. What if sometime in the future Sho decided to come back and Ohno would choose Sho over him again? He wouldn’t be able to bear that.
It should stop before it happened.
Ohno knew he messed up. He was given almost two months but never made up his mind. He could see the frustration on Nino’s face, before the guy sighed and decided to go into his own house.
Why couldn’t he say it before? Why was it too hard for him to say it to Nino before Sho appeared again? If he did, maybe things wouldn’t be as complicated.
He knew he loved Nino. He had planned his life, picturing Nino in it. But how could he change the thought that Nino had of him?
“Nino,” he called. Looking at the way the man’s body slouched as he made his way into his house, Ohno knew something was burdening the man. Something unspeakable because that’s the way Nino was. That scene from years ago kept replaying inside his head, spreading sadness and guilt inside him.
When Nino stopped walking, he continued. “Do you still love me?”
Nino turned, facing him. His face was blank. His eyes were empty. When he started to speak, he sounded soulless.
Not the usual Nino.
“I had enough. Opening my heart to someone only to have them breaking it all over again,”
Slowly, he made his way back to Ohno, cupping his face with his trembling hand. When Ohno tried to speak, he shushed him by putting his finger on the man’s lips.
“I wish you happiness with Sakurai. Make effort.”
He said with a weak smile, before he stepped back to close the door of his own house, fast enough as he refused to take a look at the man again.
***
Five days without Ohno appearing in the café made Nino wonder if he had made the right decision. Would he regret it in the future?
Sometimes when he was alone, he couldn’t help screaming out of frustration. He knew he never stopped loving the guy, yet, why was he pushing the guy away when it was obvious that Ohno wanted to start all over again.
Sho came again to the café the last few days. Instead of looking for Ohno, he was looking for Nino. The conversation was dry at first, until Sho made it clear to him.
“I love my wife,” Sho started.
“I don’t think I need to know that,” Nino replied, annoyed.
“You do. Because by knowing that, you’ll know I have no intention to go back to him,” Nino rolled his eyes. Bullshit, he thought inside his head.
“And you need to know that Ohno is determined. I just wish you could love him like you always did,”
God! Why is everything so complicated to him?
The sound of the bell chimes woke him up from his own thought. His mood was in a bad form today that he didn’t even have the mood to greet the customer. But then he noticed that it was Ohno.
He was annoyed, mad and frustrated. How he wished to disappear by now, going anywhere possible but not here in the same place as Ohno.
But Ohno didn’t look happy either. In instant, his anger subsided, replaced by curiosity. He let Ohno take his usual seat in front of him, allowing the guy with his usual habit to stare at him like a creep, before he gave the man a fishing magazine that he stored under the counter.
Ohno however, took his hand instead.
“Matsumoto told me about your plan. You want to leave.” Ohno said. “Nino, I’m sorry,”
He wondered what Ohno was apologizing for. The things that happened between them were so damn confusing. Him with his insecurities and Ohno being loyal towards Sho, was it really necessary for Ohno to apologize to him?
“Things happened too fast between us that I thought it was fine. But I was completely wrong.” Ohno said with sadness obviously shown in his voice. “I was just….desperate. I need you to know that my choice isn’t the same as before. I choose you, I want you. But I just- messed up everything,”
Nino shrugged.
“You told me that this restaurant was your everything. I just- if this restaurant is your happiness, I will feel like a jerk for making you leave this place just to avoid me. So, don’t go,”
“You will then?” Nino snapped. Out of his expectation, Ohno nodded. “Why?”
“I want you to be happy,”
“How does you leaving make me happy? I’m losing a customer here,”
Ohno sighed. This was harder than he expected. Of course, sooner or later, he needed to tell the guy, but before he told the reason behind his decision to leave, Nino needed to understand the reason behind it.
“I have always wanted to find out the answer-“ He started again. Noticing that frown on Nino’s face, he clarified. “- From Sho. I just needed to know why he left without an explanation. But then, when I met you again, those answers from Sho seemed to be no longer what I’ve been looking for. Before I knew it, I started planning my life with you in it.”
Nino felt his heart flutter.
“Five years, I walked aimlessly, searching for an answer. I lived with my past hanging to me. I was jobless. But then I meet you again, and all I could feel is hope. You are my hope, Nino.”
He tried to look for Nino’s reaction, wondering what Nino would think about him while hearing all of his rant. Neutral. Not a sign of boredom or annoyance. Not even a sign of interest. Still, he continued.
“I didn’t have a job, within the past five years. My head was occupied by my own frustration. But you, you just made me want to be responsible for myself, and for you. That’s why, I started to look for one,”
“And you landed one?”
Ohno nodded.
“Isn’t that great? Ah, I get it now. Now that you have one, spending your time here is a waste of time,”
Quickly, Ohno shook his head.
“I got the job. But not here in Tokyo,”
“Huh?”
“I will be sent to Singapore. They have a new firm there and they want me to learn from there,”
Nino eyes widen. This was shocking!
“When?”
“Tomorrow,”
“For how long?”
“Five years. It’s stated in the contract”
Nino bit his lips. Somehow, five years gap really plays an important role in his life.
“I see... I’m going to miss you then. You and your weird fishing books.” He replied, trying to hide the sadness building inside his chest out of nowhere.
“You’re going to throw them all?”
“It’s only you who read them,” Somehow, hearing this, Ohno chuckled.
Silence.
“I love you,” there, Ohno said it again. Though Nino looked startled by the sudden confession, he could see the man was holding himself from saying the same.
“You do?” Nino asked instead.
“I do. I really do. If I could go back in time, I’d go back to the day when you confessed. I’d definitely say yes. That is my biggest regret now,”
For some reason, Nino just shrugged.
Ohno never expected a return from it. He thought he never expected it. He thought he was strong enough to leave with Nino knowing he loved him. But when Nino just kept silence, wiping the same glass for the next five minutes, a rush of sadness filled him. Maybe this was what Nino felt when he said it last time.
“Say Nino- if,” he sighed. There was bitterness down his throat. But he needed to say it. “I know you still love me. And I know it was me who was the reason why you refused to open up to me again. But if, within the next five years you can finally open up to me, willing to let me love you, will you make me my favorite coffee the next time we meet?”
Nino didn’t respond to that. Instead, he kept doing his job, cleaning the final glass on the rack before he started making a handcraft coffee.
“What is your favourite coffee once again? I’m confused,” Nino asked.
“Cappuccino,” a smile crept on Ohno’s lips when he saw Nino nodded in acknowledgment.
“So, within these five years you’ll be gone, no phone call?” the guy asked.
“It will be expensive-“
“What about LINE?” Nino asked again.
Ohno smiled when he noticed the guy smiled back. A little hope for him start to arise
“Every day. I promise,”
Nino grinned smugly.
Ohno didn’t realize it when Nino finished with the handcraft coffee before he pushed the cup towards him. For one last time, he saw the man blushed, a shy smile on his face before he chuckled as their eyes met.
“My treat. Come back safe, ok?” he said, pointing at the cup. Ohno couldn’t help smiling too when Nino, who was too overwhelmed with his own feeling left to the kitchen.
Crafted on the cappuccino was a heart symbol and letters that spelled “I WILL”. His smile grew even wider when he saw it.
He didn’t have to wait for five years then. He got his answer now.
kirasebiFrom: :3.
Title: There’ll Be Sunshine After Rain
Pairing/Focus: Ohmiya, Yama, Junba (squint, you’ll missed it),
Rating: PG
Summary: Five years has passed since he last met Ohno. He thought his feeling for the guy was now forgotten. He was wrong. He still loves this guy. And he saw the effort Ohno made. Except, he couldn’t believe it
Notes: Dear recipient. I… really hope that you will enjoy this fic. Somehow, my words aren’t really connected but thanks to my beta, she makes this better. Kudos to her. I tried to include your prompt on the coffee shop au, but, it’s not that much. Hope you’ll enjoy it. To the mod, thanks a lot for everything.
It had been five years since he started living to his past, trapped in a memory he refused to forget. He waited, kept on waiting for his lover to come back to at least explain the sudden silence.
Days turned into weeks, then months. And before he knew it, 5 years have passed since he last saw the man.
It hurt. Waiting was exhausting. But his love for the man wasn’t just a silly college-boy love. He meant it; sincerely loved the man from the bottom of his heart. And he knew the feeling was mutual from the other side. But right after they graduated from college, his lover left him unnoticed, without a trace. Every single thing about the man was gone, as if he had never existed in the first place. And he kept living in sorrow since then.
His lover had always loved books and coffee. He loved food; something like sweet cake was what he favored the most. Ohno just couldn’t stop thinking about the guy at all. He refused to find a job, thinking that it would be in his way in order to find the man. Using the money he got from him parent, he roamed around Tokyo every single day, trying to find a trace of the man he was trying to find.
Until one day, he stopped in front of a book café.
The cafe had everything that he needed. Coffee, sweet cake, pasta cooked by an awesome chef named Matsumoto Jun, who previously worked in a well-known restaurant before he quit and worked there. Rumor had it that Matsumoto was actually co-establishing the cafe with his best friend, but Ohno never knew the truth of the rumor.
And of course, five racks of books that varied with interest. And that day, there was a new stock of books coming in.
Ohno had never been so excited in the past 5 years. But seeing the fishing magazines coming in, he finally did. He took one of it, getting totally absorbed in the magazine, before someone interrupted him-
“That is an interesting book in your hand,”
The voice sounded familiar to his ears. When he raised his head up, his eyes met with a pair of beautiful brown eyes, before they trailed to the well-defined face, a small mole on the man’s chin.
“Nino-“ he said unconsciously, breathlessly . He could tell the man was startled when he said his name. And his memories kicked in.
***
Nino wasn’t a guy who liked to spend his time socializing with other people. His world revolved around the book café that he inherited from his parent and practicing his magic skills in front of Jun, his only friend that stayed by his side. Just that.
He started the café 3 years ago, few months after he graduated from college, utilizing his BBA to the fullest. That was what he’s been telling Jun. But in reality, he just refused to expose himself to the outside world.
He still had his heart broken. It happened 5 years ago but it could never be healed. He was head over heels for someone only to be told that he was nothing. It was meaningless. On the same day that he was told that, he lost his parents in an accident. And Nino knew perhaps this was the way that God was telling him he should never feel love. It didn’t mean anything.
He moved on, or so he thought.
Five years weren’t a short amount of time. Within those years, he never met or heard about the guy who he used to have a crush on. Deep inside, he wished he never saw the man again, wishing that the guy would be happy with whoever he could have met and chosen.
But when Ohno started to come to this café he owned, Nino knew he couldn’t escape his past. He needed to face it.
Jun used to nag a lot at him for refusing to take an order from the man. Jun would never understand him, he thought. The pain from before -even Ohno wasn’t the exact reason to it- was unbearable. He was afraid to meet the guy again, knowing it would make his confidence shatter.
For weeks, he never bothered to approach Ohno even as his customer, until that day.
Jun was out of town, which left him alone in the café, along with another chef in the kitchen. Luck was totally not on his side when Ohno walked into his café, browsing books at one of the shelves before he took his seat at his usual spot.
He is your customer, Nino’s inner self screamed. You shouldn’t make him wait any longer.
But, he will recognize- his other side screamed.
No, he won’t! Remember what he told you years ago. He won’t recognize you.
And Nino believed his inner self.
Usually, when he took an order from a customer, Nino would be straight to the point. But this time, something caught his attention.
“That is an interesting book in your hand,” he said, startling the customer, who lifted his head with a confused expression that quickly changed into a shocked one.
But what was more shocking was when Ohno called his name.
“Nino-“
And Nino flinched.
Shit!
Ohno remembered.
***
“Black cappuccino, if you don’t mind,” Ohno ordered, earning a glare from Nino. He laughed.
A week had passed since he finally met the real owner of the café. What a small world. At the same time, he wondered if his past was coming back to him.
He knew Nino for a few years, especially when he used to be Nino’s mentor in the university. While some part of him was still feeling guilty about what he had said to the man, he was glad to know that nothing had changed. Nino was still the guy who he used to know; a witty, snarky brat.
“No such thing as black cappuccino, Ohno. Make up your mind or I’ll invent a new recipe that will make you puke every now and then,” Nino said, faking an annoyed expression though Ohno could see that tiny smile on his lips as he made his way back to the counter.
“Nah, just the usual cappuccino, and a vanilla muffin,” he said, a grin formed on his lips when Nino nodded slightly.
Why? Why couldn’t he see those beautiful brown eyes Nino owned before? Why couldn’t he notice how adorable that shy smile the man flashed every time he was teased? Five years ago, why couldn’t he feel that butterfly in his stomach every single time Nino laughed like what he felt right then in the café?
He couldn’t help eyeing the guy in amazement when Nino made his way back to the counter, entering his order on the computer before starting to work on it. The guy hadn’t changed at all. Aside from his character, his face, not a year aging and Ohno couldn’t help wondering if the guy had any secret regarding that.
He wondered if he was in love with Nino after the past five years.
But was it worth it, especially after what had happened between them?
When they met again a week ago, his memories kicked in, sending him all kinds of feels inside him violently. Had he been too harsh? Or had he made the right thing? He wanted to ask Nino all these questions. But Nino was professional enough to avoid them.
“I never knew-“
“Well, now that you know, will that make you stop coming here?” Nino’s voice sounded serious when he asked the question. Together with the way he was staring at him, Ohno really thought that Nino still had that bitterness since years ago. That was until the man broke the tension with a laugh.
“You look older, Ohno. It has been a long time,”
Ohno shrugged. “Indeed,”
“So, cappuccino and vanilla muffin?”
“You know?”
“Obviously. I’m the one who worked on your order every single time,”
“Yet you never bothered to greet me,” he said, sounding disappointed. But Nino chose to ignore it.
“You know why I like reading this?” he continued, just before Nino was about to make his way back to the counter.
“Trying to find a way to impress him more?” Nino answered. “I mean, Sakurai loves the outdoors right? How is he, by the way?”
How is he, a question that even he didn’t have an answer for. Nino sounded sincere in the way he asked though, but deep inside, he couldn’t help wondering, if there’s at least a little sign of bitterness in the man’s voice. He couldn’t figure it either.
“I haven’t seen him since five years ago-“ he answered. He raised his head, trying to look at Nino. He could see a sign of disbelieve on the man’s face.
“Have the two of you…..broken up?” he asked cautiously.
“I want to ask him that too,”
“I see,”
“Nino-“ he called the man again when Nino tried to walk away. Annoyed, the guy turned to look at him again, displease was obviously shown on his face. “What I said last time-“
“It’s in the past,” Nino cut him. “I’ve refused to hang to it. Now, if you could please excuse me. I have a few other customers that I need to greet,”
I’ve refused to hang to it, was what Nino had said.
Had he?
***
As weeks passed, Nino found Ohno at his usual spot much more frequently than before. He didn’t find it annoying either. With Ohno coming 4 times a week meant they had added another frequent customer to the café. More money generated for them.
But as more weeks passed, Nino realized that Ohno did not visit the café for just a drink. And his usual spot had changed too; from the one behind the wall at the corner of the room to the bar right in front the counter. The Ohno he used to know five years ago, a silent and minding-his-own-business kind of guy, had turned into a super talkative one, initiating their conversations of various topics.
Just like that day.
“Why did you start this business Nino?” he asked, taking a sip from his cup. Nino found it cute how an old guy always blew his coffee before each sip from his cup. Had he been another guy, Nino would have gotten annoyed at the blowing noise, but this was Ohno; a guy who he used to have a crush on and somehow still makes his heart flutter.
“It wasn’t mine,” he replied. His hand worked on his phone, playing with the game he’s been trying to win for the last few days. “It was my parent’s. I thought of closing this down when they passed away, but then I felt that this would be the perfect place to practice what I’ve learned for my degree. Besides, this place had always brought me happiness, ever since I was a child.”
Ohno’s mouth hanged open. He never knew that Nino had lost his parents. But the boy was an open book to him before. He talked about everything, so why didn’t he know about it?
“They died?” Nino nodded. “When? How?”
“He won’t answer if you asked, Ohno. Let me answer it for him,” Jun, who was coming out of nowhere, poked in. Ohno frowned. Was it a bad question? When he saw Nino throwing Jun a murderous glare, warning him to not meddle with it, Ohno realized that he must have asked something Nino refused to talk about.
But Jun simply ignored that unsatisfied look from Nino.
“On the same day, you graduated,” Jun said it short before he made his way back to the kitchen with Nino’s stare trailing his steps.
Ohno had a chill. If what Jun said was true, it could possibly mean that –
“Don’t mind him,” Nino said all of sudden. His attention was back to his phone as he spoke. “This fact has nothing to do with you at all,”
Of course it did. He broke the man’s hope on the day he lost his parents. Just how much sadness the guy had borne that day?
He wanted to ask. He had always wanted to know; what was Nino feeling for him? Did he still love him? Or had that college-crush turned into ashes and all Nino did then -being nice to him- was because he was just doing what a café owner should do to his customer?
He didn’t want that! He didn’t want Nino to treat him well because he was just a customer. He wanted more than that. Having that thought in his mind made him blush for some reason while he kept staring at Nino behind the counter.
“Creep,” Nino said it short, breaking his trail of thought. Ohno frowned for a brief moment, wondering what Nino meant by that. But when he heard Nino’s laugh, Ohno then realized how hot his face was, perhaps from the blushing.
He laughed.
“Sorry,” he said. “Can’t help it,”
“Help what?” this time it was Nino’s turn to get confused.
“Staring at you and having this thought,”
Nino laughed. Their conversations always got weird.
“Do you still love him?” Nino asked. Ohno perfectly knew who he meant by him. How admirable. He wished he had that courage to ask the same question to Nino.
But then, the smile on his face faded. Did he still love Sho? How many weeks had it been since he last thought about Sho? If he met Sho again, woould it change everything that he felt at that moment? Will he want to start his life with Sho again?
“I don’t know,” he answered Nino. It was the truth. At that point, things had started to get confusing. He knew some part inside him was hoping to meet Sho again. He just wanted to know the reason behind all the silent treatment in the past five years. But at the same time, spending time with Nino had sent sparks that he’s been missing for a long while. The same sparks he had once felt when he was with Sho but even greater when he was with Nino.
“Waiting is tiring right,” Nino replied. A bitter smile formed on his lips.
How he wished he could turn that bitterness into happiness. He wanted to be Nino’s happiness.
***
“You’re being hard to yourself,” Jun said. It was their closing time but it had been their usual routine to stay for a few more hours to tidy up and prepare for the next day.
“If being hard to myself means protecting myself from being heartbroken again, then I guess it’s really worth it, Jun,” Nino replied, calculating the money inside the register while doing his daily report.
Jun was right about the part where he was being hard to himself. But maybe Jun forgot that Ohno was the reason why he couldn’t open up his heart for someone to love.
He wasn’t blind to see how Ohno was making steps towards him. Of course, he knew he still had his heart set for Ohno. But what if whatever he was seeing was just an illusion? What if Ohno never felt the same as he did? He couldn’t bear the embarrassment for the second time.
“I believe my eyes more than I believe you, Nino,” Jun said, earning a glare from Nino. “And I’m sure he likes you. He’s trying to get closer to you.”
“I saw that too. But what if he doesn’t really?”
“I know love when I see it. How long has he been coming to our café?”
“6 weeks,”
“There, you counted!” Jun said, grinning when he heard the man snort. “He might be confused now. And from what you’ve been telling me, he’s looking for his ex-lover whom he doesn’t even know if he’ll ever find again. Believe me, Nino, I think he wants you.”
Nino sighed. He was confused. To be honest, he just didn’t know what he really wanted anymore.
But spending time with Ohno was really the best part of his every-day life. Their topics were random and with every topic they discussed, he knew he was having the best time of his life.
Except, Ohno’s words from years ago kept on echoing inside his head, ruining those happy moments.
“It’s not a bad thing to give him a chance,” Jun said, squeezing his shoulder gently, reassuring him.
Was he worth it?
***
Ohno came again to the café the very next day. He knew the guy had something planned inside his mind when he walked into the café, whistling happily with a wide smile on his face. A few seconds later, he was at his usual spot.
That time, Nino hated how distracting Ohno was to him. From the corner of his eyes, he knew Ohno was doing his usual habit, staring with a wide grin on his face, except it was a little peculiar.
“Cappuccino?” Nino asked. He frowned when Ohno shook his head.
“I’m heading for a job interview in a few minutes,”
“That’s great!” Nino exclaimed. “Why are you still here then? You’re gonna be late!” Nino said. He still handed the man a black coffee instead. Somehow, Ohno chuckled.
“I need to get my luck,”
“Huh?”
“You are my luck,” Ohno replied, squeezed Nino’s hand lightly only to make the guy blush hard. What a sweet talker, Nino thought.
“But that’s not only it,” Ohno continued. He started searching for something inside his bag before he pulled two pieces of paper that Nino quickly recognized as concert tickets. He frowned, raising his brows in amusement.
“AKB48?”
“No, Sekai no Owari. I never thought you had interest in any girls group?”
Nino laughed, “That’s supposed to be a joke, Ohno,”
Ohno chuckled. “I know,”
And then there was an awkward silence filling the atmosphere. The wide space in the café seemed suffocating as breathing felt difficult, as if a big lump was stuck inside his throat that Ohno couldn’t even form any coherent word.
“You’re gonna be late for that interview, Ohno,” Nino said, pushing the cup of coffee he prepared earlier to Ohno. Without hesitation, Ohno drank it, only to whine about it being hot.
A second later, “I was just thinking if you would like to go to the concert with me?” he finally asked.
Nino blinked once, twice, thrice.
“Is that a no?” Ohno asked, eyes reflecting all the worrying he was feeling.
“I wonder-“ Nino replied, producing a long hmmm as he seemed hesitant to ask the question he’s wondering about. But then, he blurted it out. “Is it a date?”
“It could be one.” came the quick answer in a voice full of hope.
God only knows how long he’s stayed blushing, even after Ohno had long gone to the interview.
***
“Ohno, I just- I just really like you,” he confessed. He never expected to get ‘i like you too’ in return, he just needed the man to know.
Ohno had been mentoring him for three years. The thought that he would never meet Ohno again after the guy graduated was killing him that he couldn’t keep himself collected and rational anymore. Ohno had been his great influencer, someone he admired from the bottom of his heart.
Within those three years too, he knew how deep Ohno’s love for Sho was. That guy was his life. They’re everyone’s topic and everyone seemed to approve of them.
He saw that shocked face Ohno made. Sure, he wasn’t someone who people would say ‘yes’ to on the first try. Hardly anyone wanted someone as moody as he was; quiet but a snarky little brat when he wanted to, as their boyfriend. He swore to God if Ohno rejected him, he wouldn’t press on the topic ever again. After all, this was the last time he was going to see the guy, right?
“I’m sorry, Ninomiya-kun. I just- I can’t accept it,”
Damn. Why did he still hear his heart break, even though he had prepared for it?
“I love Sho. And it will always be Sho. I just- you- I can’t accept you in my life. I just- maybe never.”
It could possibly have been Ohno’s wrong choice of words, but it really tore him apart.
“Never?” he asked, voice shaking as he was holding himself from breaking in front of the guy. Truly, he hated it when he saw how apologetic the man was.
“I’m sorry-“
“No, it’s ok. I just…..wanted you to know,” he knew his legs were betraying him. It hurt. It fucking hurt! This wasn’t just a stupid college-boy crush. It wasn’t a simple crush anymore. He loved Ohno, really loved him that it was breaking him from every single direction.
“Congratulations on your graduation, Ohno,” were his last words to the man before he rushed out of the man’s room. Even though he tried so hard to face the rejection like a real man, he ended up crying. Soon after, he discovered that not only had he lost Ohno, the guy he loved so deeply, but also his parents in a car accident.
Somehow, he couldn’t take the image away from his mind. It wasn’t that harsh, he knew. And Ohno was telling him the truth. He should be grateful for that. Ohno was being a good guy for not giving him a false hope.
But it was hard on him. He fell in love with different people before but he would feel out of love in a few months later. But with Ohno, it felt like forever. He could never get over the feelings he had for him.
‘It could be one,’ one line from Ohno had sent him a great amount of hope. But again, his memories scared him.
What if it won’t work? What if he’s going to break my heart again?, he thought with a heavy sigh.
“That is a very worried face you have, Nino,” Jun said, laughing as he hit the man’s head just to break Nino’s trail of thought. “You’re going to get older if you keep on having that kind of face, you know,”
Nino rolled his eyes. Man, sometimes, Jun was a little bit too much to deal with.
“What did you think, Jun?” He started. Sitting on the sofa in his house, he leaned back, staring at the empty white ceiling. “I confessed to Ohno and I lost my parents on the same day. Was this relationship so unforgivable that I received a punishment from God?”
Jun sighed. He knew Nino for years. They were friends since high school even though they didn’t go to the same college together. And he knew how serious Nino’s insecurities could get. Just like that one. He was over thinking.
“Probably,” He replied, making Nino turn at him with an empty stare. “Like mine and Masaki. On the day I confessed to him, it was raining heavily. I fell into a pool of mud, and a homeless man snatched my wallet when I tried to get up,”
Nino saw Jun smiling.
“What I’m trying to say, Nino, there’ll be sunshine after rain,”
“Not for me though.”
“That’s because you never try to open up to someone. Nino, after all these years, you’ve met him again. This is God giving you another chance! And you can totally see he’s making an effort towards you. So don’t lose this chance, you have to face your own fear. Be brave and go, for your own sake.”
Jun was totally right. He was afraid to fall in love. Many people have had to deal with different situations of heartbreak before finally finding their happiness. So, maybe he just needed to face it.
“What if he didn’t feel the same towards me?” Nino asked.
“After that? Believe me, Nino, if I were you, I would just go for it. Because if I didn’t, I would forever regret not taking a step that could lead to my happiness in the future,”
Jun stood from his seat, patted Nino lightly on his shoulder before he left Nino alone in the living room.
Nino sighed. It sounded easy to his ears. But heartbreak was not something he wanted to feel again.
For the countless time that night, he sighed.
***
Ohno had never been so nervous in his life. But when he invited Nino to go with him to the concert the previous day, dropping a hint that it could be their first date, he couldn’t help feeling nervous to enter the café again.
He was ready to move on. For days, he kept asking himself if it really mattered for him to wait for Sho. It had been five years, after all. Sho must have started his life with someone else by then and even if the guy came back into his life, Ohno had made up his mind.
He chose Nino.
Ohno didn’t know when it had started when every dream he had had Nino in it. In those dreams he was happy, enjoying their life together just like a normal domestic couple would. Without him realizing it, every single moment of his life, he portrayed it with Nino in it.
God, he was so madly in love with this guy. Why?
When he entered the café, Nino greeted him with his usual smile. Except, that day it was brighter than usual. He was stunning. His beautiful brown eyes were sparkling, shinier than stars if Ohno had to explain. Nino looked happier than ever.
“Before you order, may I recommend my specialty here?” Nino started. Ohno noticed how shy the guy was when he smiled at him, but judging from Nino’s eyes, he knew the guy had something planned. Ohno shrugged.
“Cafe latte,” Nino said. “No worries. No love potion or poison. It comes with an art,”
Ohno laughed. “I wouldn’t know if you put love potion in it, Nino. It would feel natural,”
Nino blushed. Was Ohno making things absolutely clear here? He wished.
“So-“ he began. Ohno watched Nino’s hand skillfully prepare the drink; stir the cup and the pot containing the creamer in it before pouring them into the cup. “I was thinking about your proposal yesterday,”
Ohno raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Though I have a little doubt-“ he said. Slowly, he pushed the crafted drink towards Ohno, making him smile as he looked at the art.
“Here’s my answer to it,”
It was a simple design. Nothing fancy in it. It was just a heart symbol and 3 letters that spelled YES below it. He grinned. Nino was still the guy who never voiced it directly since years ago. And that made him cute in Ohno’s eyes.
“No. No. No. Don’t get it wrong. That heart means I’d love to go to the concert with you. It has no other meaning,” Hah! A lie that Ohno could see so clearly. Nino was blushing hard, unable to look at him back as he kept staring at his feet, playing with his apron before he made his way back to the register.
Why? He felt his heart beat happily. He felt that his happiness was overflown just by the simple gesture the man made. This was completely different from what he used to feel with Sho. Right then, he realized he just wanted Nino to feel the same.
“So, I’ll fetch you here tomorrow? 3 pm?” Ohno said, unable to hide his smile. Slightly, Nino nodded.
“3 pm, then. I’ll wait,”
This is going to be fine, Ohno thought. He knew it would.
However a few seconds later, they both heard the chimes of the bell at the front door.
It felt like a slow motion. He heard Nino greet the new customer, except, he couldn’t finish-
“Irrashai-“
Ohno turned. By the door, stood Sho.
“Satoshi?”
Nothing could describe what Ohno felt at that moment. It was all messed up. Especially when he saw a beautiful woman next to Sho, hand in hand. And in Sho’s other hand, was a cute little girl who looked just like him.
***
His heart was shattered. He wanted to open up to the man again, to give him a chance. But when he saw how Ohno looked at Sho when he entered the cafe that morning, Nino knew, he wouldn’t stand a chance anymore.
Ohno loved Sho. He had it in his eyes that Nino didn’t even bother to ask. And it hurt him thinking about it, especially when words from five years ago echoed in his head again.
5 years weren’t a short amount of time. It needed to end.
“Nino-“ Jun called the guy. Watching Nino like this; giving up, it saddened him
“I give up-“ he said, sighing. “It’s just a silly college crush, after all. It has almost zero possibility to happen,”
“But-“ Jun replied after a brief minute of silence. “If you have a crush on someone for almost 5 years, Nino, it’s not a crush. It’s love.”
Silence.
“Are you really going to give it up? Think about it. I don’t want you to come to me 20 years later and say you regret-“
“This pain is too unbearable, Jun. I just want it to end.”
“Think wisely-“
“I did.” He said, sounding determined. “I’ll leave Tokyo once it’s over,”
Jun shook his head.
***
The concert was fun. He felt like a jerk for not being able to enjoy it well when the inside of his head felt like a wired mess.
He loved Ohno. So much. Spending time with Ohno was something he had always looked forward to let alone the thought to spend his whole life with the man. But how could he enjoy it, when he couldn’t get the thought of Ohno loving someone else out of his head.
He was being silence throughout the day. No matter how interesting the topic Ohno tried to initiate, he couldn’t bring himself to get hype too. Surely, Ohno noticed that.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing-“ Nino replied, shrugging.
Nothing. Ohno remembered that very same word coming from Sho’s mouth five years ago. He had asked Sho if the guy had anything to say as he looked restless during their final day in college. Sho said nothing, when it was everything.
“How are you?” Sho had asked him when they finally met again.
“Surviving, and moving on,” he replied coldly. “I see you’re married,”
There, a pang of guilt hit Sho. He was wrong, he knew. Leaving Ohno alone without any explanation.
But he was scared. He had thought that what was between him and Ohno wasn’t serious. Was it love? He wondered. But he never had Ohno in his vision when he was planning for his future. And when he heard that Nino confessed to Ohno and was rejected, he was terrified.
Ohno was serious, but he wasn’t.
Hence he thought it was better to leave Ohno without a single explanation. Hoping that Ohno would have moved on by the time they would meet again.
But he was wrong. Ohno had not moved on. He had people to check the guy for years. And that was when he met Matsumoto. In secret, they made a plan.
But he was selfish. Damn selfish. When he heard it from Jun, about how Ohno was slowly moving on, making an effort towards Nino, a little jealousy hit him. Not because he loved the guy, but because he knew Nino.
“I’m sorry-“
“Why?” Ohno asked, annoyed. “Is it because you’re married or because you left me hanging?”
“I-“ Sho paused. He knew he was being selfish. For a brief moment, he glanced at his wife. She was beautiful and he knew he would never regret marrying her. They were happy and he knew he wouldn’t turn his back.
However, it took him this long to realize that Ohno was someone in his life. The guy was someone who taught him love. He showered him with one and made him believe that he deserved it when he didn’t. He didn’t deserve Ohno.
“What did you have in your mind, Sho?” Ohno asked. “When you decided to leave me, what did you have in your mind?”
Sho bit his lips.
“Did you even love me? At least a little bit?”
“Satoshi-“ he sighed. “I thought we were just playing,”
Ohno’s eyes widened.
“I never planned my future with you in it. I thought it was just a silly college-boy love,”
Ohno chuckled bitterly. Hearing those words from Sho, sure, he felt wasted. But at the same time, it felt like a big burden had been lifted up from his shoulder. He had been freed from his past.
But Sho needed to know. Sho needed to know that he never thought it was a joke. He loved the guy for real. He loved Sho sincerely. However, it was no longer Sho in his heart.
It was Nino.
“Well, thank you for telling me that,”
“Satoshi-“
“I loved you seriously before, Sho. But, now, I have someone that I want to make happy. Just because I was blinded before by my love towards you, doesn’t mean I want to be blinded forever. He deserves love.”
Ohno saw Sho bit his lips. He completely looked speechless.
“This time, I won’t choose you,” he said, leaving the cafe, wishing he’d never meet Sho ever again.
But during the date, Nino was treating him the same way Sho had treated him. There were things in the man’s head that needed to be told, but Nino chose to keep them to himself. And he knew it would just ruin everything he had been working on.
Nino’s face was glowing under the full moon. He was so beautiful to Ohno’s eyes. So beautiful that Ohno had to stop him from entering his appartment, making him face him.
“Ohno- I just-“ Nino wanted to say something. But that could wait.
Slowly, he pulled the guy towards him. He knew he was rushing this, but he wasn’t a guy who was good with words. Saying I love you would sound cliché at that kind of moment. Hence, he leaned in and his lips brushed lightly on Nino’s lips.
But the kiss wasn’t returned. And when he pulled back, he saw how empty Nino’s reaction was.
“Nino, I’m-“
Nino sighed.
“If you have something to say, Nino, I think this is the best time for you to say it,” Ohno tried to provoke the guy to speak.
“I just feel that maybe, it is better for you to go with Sakurai. You’ve been waiting for years. And now he’s here,” Nino said. From his tone, there wasn’t a sign of playfulness in the man’s words. And that worried him.
“He has a wife,”
“Who cares?” Nino snapped. “You love him. He loves you-“
“He doesn’t! Nino, you need to listen to me,”
He was desperate. Nino had been misunderstanding him all along and he wanted Nino to know, to understand whatever he was thinking was wrong. He gripped the man by his arms, making Nino face him directly. His eyes stared into the man’s own; wanting Nino to understand that whatever he was going to say was the truth. He opened his mouth to start an explanation, but as he stared deeply into the man’s eyes, he noticed how tired the man was. Tired of waiting. And that scared him knowing that at that point, it would be impossible to convince the man that he loved him more than everything. He dropped the explanation he was going to say and simply went with-
“I love you,”
Shockingly, that made the situation worse, “I’m not your last resort!” Nino retorted angrily. “I’m not someone for you to take because your previous lover has started a new life without you! God, you’re unbelievable!”
He tried to leave but Ohno grabbed his hand in hope of stopping him, so he yanked off the man’s grip.
“Nino- wait!”
“You really don’t understand, do you?” Nino continued, gritting his teeth in annoyance. “I don’t need your pity or any feeling of guilt from you. Five years weren’t a short amount of time and I got used to not falling in love. And then you appeared and I thought ‘hey, it’s not bad to give him another chance’, but you’re just making my life miserable! And you- you’re uncertain. You’re still hanging to your past, waiting and waiting and you keep on waiting! I refuse to wait more because I’m so fucking tired of it,”
There, he lashed out. Too much. He didn’t need Ohno to tell him anymore lies just to make things look like it was his favor. It was time to move on, and Ohno- god- he loved this guy. So much. It never changed, but growing. But to think that Ohno never chose him, waiting and hoping for Sho, he just couldn’t live with this guy.
He was afraid. What if sometime in the future Sho decided to come back and Ohno would choose Sho over him again? He wouldn’t be able to bear that.
It should stop before it happened.
Ohno knew he messed up. He was given almost two months but never made up his mind. He could see the frustration on Nino’s face, before the guy sighed and decided to go into his own house.
Why couldn’t he say it before? Why was it too hard for him to say it to Nino before Sho appeared again? If he did, maybe things wouldn’t be as complicated.
He knew he loved Nino. He had planned his life, picturing Nino in it. But how could he change the thought that Nino had of him?
“Nino,” he called. Looking at the way the man’s body slouched as he made his way into his house, Ohno knew something was burdening the man. Something unspeakable because that’s the way Nino was. That scene from years ago kept replaying inside his head, spreading sadness and guilt inside him.
When Nino stopped walking, he continued. “Do you still love me?”
Nino turned, facing him. His face was blank. His eyes were empty. When he started to speak, he sounded soulless.
Not the usual Nino.
“I had enough. Opening my heart to someone only to have them breaking it all over again,”
Slowly, he made his way back to Ohno, cupping his face with his trembling hand. When Ohno tried to speak, he shushed him by putting his finger on the man’s lips.
“I wish you happiness with Sakurai. Make effort.”
He said with a weak smile, before he stepped back to close the door of his own house, fast enough as he refused to take a look at the man again.
***
Five days without Ohno appearing in the café made Nino wonder if he had made the right decision. Would he regret it in the future?
Sometimes when he was alone, he couldn’t help screaming out of frustration. He knew he never stopped loving the guy, yet, why was he pushing the guy away when it was obvious that Ohno wanted to start all over again.
Sho came again to the café the last few days. Instead of looking for Ohno, he was looking for Nino. The conversation was dry at first, until Sho made it clear to him.
“I love my wife,” Sho started.
“I don’t think I need to know that,” Nino replied, annoyed.
“You do. Because by knowing that, you’ll know I have no intention to go back to him,” Nino rolled his eyes. Bullshit, he thought inside his head.
“And you need to know that Ohno is determined. I just wish you could love him like you always did,”
God! Why is everything so complicated to him?
The sound of the bell chimes woke him up from his own thought. His mood was in a bad form today that he didn’t even have the mood to greet the customer. But then he noticed that it was Ohno.
He was annoyed, mad and frustrated. How he wished to disappear by now, going anywhere possible but not here in the same place as Ohno.
But Ohno didn’t look happy either. In instant, his anger subsided, replaced by curiosity. He let Ohno take his usual seat in front of him, allowing the guy with his usual habit to stare at him like a creep, before he gave the man a fishing magazine that he stored under the counter.
Ohno however, took his hand instead.
“Matsumoto told me about your plan. You want to leave.” Ohno said. “Nino, I’m sorry,”
He wondered what Ohno was apologizing for. The things that happened between them were so damn confusing. Him with his insecurities and Ohno being loyal towards Sho, was it really necessary for Ohno to apologize to him?
“Things happened too fast between us that I thought it was fine. But I was completely wrong.” Ohno said with sadness obviously shown in his voice. “I was just….desperate. I need you to know that my choice isn’t the same as before. I choose you, I want you. But I just- messed up everything,”
Nino shrugged.
“You told me that this restaurant was your everything. I just- if this restaurant is your happiness, I will feel like a jerk for making you leave this place just to avoid me. So, don’t go,”
“You will then?” Nino snapped. Out of his expectation, Ohno nodded. “Why?”
“I want you to be happy,”
“How does you leaving make me happy? I’m losing a customer here,”
Ohno sighed. This was harder than he expected. Of course, sooner or later, he needed to tell the guy, but before he told the reason behind his decision to leave, Nino needed to understand the reason behind it.
“I have always wanted to find out the answer-“ He started again. Noticing that frown on Nino’s face, he clarified. “- From Sho. I just needed to know why he left without an explanation. But then, when I met you again, those answers from Sho seemed to be no longer what I’ve been looking for. Before I knew it, I started planning my life with you in it.”
Nino felt his heart flutter.
“Five years, I walked aimlessly, searching for an answer. I lived with my past hanging to me. I was jobless. But then I meet you again, and all I could feel is hope. You are my hope, Nino.”
He tried to look for Nino’s reaction, wondering what Nino would think about him while hearing all of his rant. Neutral. Not a sign of boredom or annoyance. Not even a sign of interest. Still, he continued.
“I didn’t have a job, within the past five years. My head was occupied by my own frustration. But you, you just made me want to be responsible for myself, and for you. That’s why, I started to look for one,”
“And you landed one?”
Ohno nodded.
“Isn’t that great? Ah, I get it now. Now that you have one, spending your time here is a waste of time,”
Quickly, Ohno shook his head.
“I got the job. But not here in Tokyo,”
“Huh?”
“I will be sent to Singapore. They have a new firm there and they want me to learn from there,”
Nino eyes widen. This was shocking!
“When?”
“Tomorrow,”
“For how long?”
“Five years. It’s stated in the contract”
Nino bit his lips. Somehow, five years gap really plays an important role in his life.
“I see... I’m going to miss you then. You and your weird fishing books.” He replied, trying to hide the sadness building inside his chest out of nowhere.
“You’re going to throw them all?”
“It’s only you who read them,” Somehow, hearing this, Ohno chuckled.
Silence.
“I love you,” there, Ohno said it again. Though Nino looked startled by the sudden confession, he could see the man was holding himself from saying the same.
“You do?” Nino asked instead.
“I do. I really do. If I could go back in time, I’d go back to the day when you confessed. I’d definitely say yes. That is my biggest regret now,”
For some reason, Nino just shrugged.
Ohno never expected a return from it. He thought he never expected it. He thought he was strong enough to leave with Nino knowing he loved him. But when Nino just kept silence, wiping the same glass for the next five minutes, a rush of sadness filled him. Maybe this was what Nino felt when he said it last time.
“Say Nino- if,” he sighed. There was bitterness down his throat. But he needed to say it. “I know you still love me. And I know it was me who was the reason why you refused to open up to me again. But if, within the next five years you can finally open up to me, willing to let me love you, will you make me my favorite coffee the next time we meet?”
Nino didn’t respond to that. Instead, he kept doing his job, cleaning the final glass on the rack before he started making a handcraft coffee.
“What is your favourite coffee once again? I’m confused,” Nino asked.
“Cappuccino,” a smile crept on Ohno’s lips when he saw Nino nodded in acknowledgment.
“So, within these five years you’ll be gone, no phone call?” the guy asked.
“It will be expensive-“
“What about LINE?” Nino asked again.
Ohno smiled when he noticed the guy smiled back. A little hope for him start to arise
“Every day. I promise,”
Nino grinned smugly.
Ohno didn’t realize it when Nino finished with the handcraft coffee before he pushed the cup towards him. For one last time, he saw the man blushed, a shy smile on his face before he chuckled as their eyes met.
“My treat. Come back safe, ok?” he said, pointing at the cup. Ohno couldn’t help smiling too when Nino, who was too overwhelmed with his own feeling left to the kitchen.
Crafted on the cappuccino was a heart symbol and letters that spelled “I WILL”. His smile grew even wider when he saw it.
He didn’t have to wait for five years then. He got his answer now.
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just here to let you know that I've read it and I really really liked it. But I have no time to leave a lengthy comment sadly. So I will come back on the weekend :D
Ah XD Reveetoile is my DW-Account. Kirasebi is my LJ-Account. I hope you aren't too confused
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The beginning seems to be so bittersweet. With Ohno reminiscing about his past crush and love for Sho and the pain that even after so long it hasn’t vanished yet. It has to be hard to be in love for that long time. Especially when your lover leaves you without saying a word. Then I have to say thank you so much for making Nino and Jun (!) owners of a coffee and book café. I love that XD They are so relaxing. And I like to imagine them owning one and yeah… I just like cafés XD
Then there is Nino. Nino who tries to be so normal to Ohno and he hopes that Ohno didn’t remember him. I can feel his surprise and shock and even hurt when he sees Ohno walking into his café. His kind of safe heaven and not knowing how to react.
I like that Ohno seems to order silly things regularly and that Nino is fed up with it but also has fun teasing Ohno about it. (and that Nino obviously knows Ohno’s real normal order by heart of course XD) The banter seems to be so normal and cute.
I also imagine that Nino might bring him from time to time new innovations just to make Ohno smile in surprise or something like that. Even when they weren’t together yet. The slow realisation of Ohno that he is indeed falling for Nino is so sweet.
The revelation that on that one day Nino didn’t only lose Ohno but also his parents hurt so much. The poor boy he must have been devastated. I am just happy that he didn’t break under all this stress and sadness but found something he wanted to do.
I also like the small glimpses of the Matsumiya friendship. I can only imagine how close they are in reality and I like that Jun always comes in between when he thinks Nino does something that isn’t good or when he thinks Nino is about to deny/hurt himself. And I was so happy that they finally went on a date :D I liked the idea with the answer through the art on the café lattes XD
It’s so like Nino not to say things outright.
It was so bad when Sho came back and Nino thought that Ohno still loved him nd didn’t wait for Ohno to explain anything. I am so happy that they were able to talk in the end and that Ohno didn’t give up on Nino >< so all was good in the end (even if I wanted to hurt Sho when you wrote that he kind of looked for him just to talk and then meet with him at the café and make everything so bad ><)
And it is so sad that they will have to be alone for five more years :( The ending is slightly hopeful because they said they loved each other but also so sad that Ohno leaves. But I think that they will be happy and lovely dorks when Ohno final comes back.
So thank you again for this story anon :) it was great
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I like how even though there's understandable awkwardness between them, particularly on Nino's side, it doesn't get in the way of them being really cute together. I loved all of their cafe interactions. And I really loved Nino's cappuccino art for Ohno at the very end - so precious!
Thanks, anon, this was lovely.
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(Anonymous) 2017-07-08 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)