fic for lover_youshould

[nino_mod]

For: lover_youshould
From: :3.

Title: Wicked Little Witcher Vs. Gorgeous Green Goods
Pairing: Matsumiya, Sakumoto friends with benefits part, some Ohba
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Explicit sexual content, swearing, some unethical behavior
Summary: When Jun walks into Nino’s shop of wonderous magic, he has no idea what he’s in for. But then, neither does Nino…
Notes: I do hope that this will be to your liking. I had a lot of fun writing this and I love the characters and their development. So, I hope you have run reading this as well.


The sound of massive bass vibrated through the walls, through the floor, the sharp, blinking lights kept pulsing rapidly in different colors, mimicking the heart-beats of hundreds of people, white smoky air sat in the room, distorting the vision of anyone, who cared to try to make out more than just the shape of the person next to them. Through the speakers a booming artificial voice announced the person responsible for the hard beat and electronic melody that could still be heard clearly, tuned down just a bit to make room for the voice.

“It’s Dj MJ in the house. Let your body take control, leave the world behind… Come on, come on, get up, get up and shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it!”

The voice faded out again, the beat coming back full force as the rhythm changed slightly. Most apparently Dj MJ was having a good time, his body swaying, his arms flying back and forth, twisting knobs, pressing buttons, directing not only the music, but also the huge screen in the background, making colors and patterns dance over it, creating the choreography he was famous for. The music was vibrating, the night almost over, but the dancing mass of people kept the party going on right until dawn.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, next quarter we will be looking to increase general awareness of the new male series products. The motto is going to be “fresh and easy”. We want to sell at least 200.000 in July, a good result would be 300.000. Now, Matsumoto-kun, will you please present the commercial material that will be released by the end of the month?”

There was a long-stretched moment of silence as several pairs of eyes shifted to Jun’s form, sitting in his chair, eyes unfocused, looking out the window.

Ohno cleared his throat. “Matsumoto-kun. Will you, please?”

Upon hearing his name from a slightly raised voice Jun jumped slightly, his body performing a rather awkward move to get him out of his chair.

“Of course,” he nodded quickly as he shuffled hurriedly to the front, standing next to Ohno. “The commercial material. We have posters, CM clips and radio clips. Now, as you can see here…”

Jun presented his material professionally, as usual. He knew his text by heart and didn’t even fully comprehend all of what was going on around him as he worked through his presentation. He didn’t like working like that. He was a professional and he always was one hundred percent into his projects – but he was so awfully tired…

When the meeting was over and they had cleaned up the room, Jun sank back into his chair, sighing deeply.

“Good job, Jun,” Ohno stated.

“Thanks,” Jun mumbled back. “Sorry I was a bit… distracted in the middle. I guess I…”

“Jun, you don’t need to explain yourself to me,” Ohno told his friend and partner. “What you do when you’re not here is entirely up to you. I have to say, though, that I’m worried about you. You had a gig last night, didn’t you? As DJ. It’s not surprising that you’re worn out the day after.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Jun assured him. “It’s not like I do it every night. I’ll just go to bed early tonight and that will be that. No harm done.”

“If you say so,” Ohno said skeptically.

“Please don’t worry too much,” Jun said with a smile.

“Fine,” Ohno smiled back. “Just be sure to have a good rest tonight.”

“Of course,” Jun nodded.

“As a matter of fact,” Ohno mused, “you don’t even have to stay in this afternoon. The meeting went well and I can do the rest of today’s share.”

Jun made a face. “You don’t need to send me home.”

“I’m not sending you home,” Ohno opposed as he rolled his eyes. “I’m offering you an afternoon off after a successful presentation. Only you could find fault in that, really. And if you feel like you have to do something productive today still, apply the night balm before going to bed and test its results on your skin.”

Jun perked up at that. “Oh, the night balm arrived?”

Ohno grinned. “I though you would like that. I brought one of the samples for you.”

Ohno pulled a small jar out of his bag, the surface shining in a stunning blue, the lid and print on the jar of ivory color.

“Looks fancy,” Jun said appreciatively.

Ohno nodded. “You were right about the material, you know. Glass is definitely upscale, but heavy and difficult to take with you when traveling. The Perspex is way more handy and the shiny finish looks just about perfect.”

“It really does look good. But if you don’t mind, I’ll stick with the gel. You know my skin doesn’t react well to stuff that’s not water-based.”

“It’s all just high quality oil, though,” Ohno offered.

“I know,” Jun nodded. He opened the jar to smell at the content. “And it smells light enough. But I just can’t help it, my experience tells me to leave oil-based creams alone. Not because they’re not good, but because my skin just doesn’t like that kind of treatment. I’ll give this to Sho-kun and see how he likes it.”

“Somehow I can’t imagine that guy appreciating this treatment,” Ohno complained.

“You have to look at it this way: He’s the average possible customer. If he likes it, then maybe he’ll buy it.”

Ohno shrugged. “Whatever. Just take it and leave already.”

“Right,” Jun grinned. “Well, then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Be sure to sleep enough tonight.”

“Right,” Jun promised, waving his hand casually as he swept out the door. “See you tomorrow.”

When Jun was definitely on his way home, Ohno pulled out his cell phone and quickly pressed a quick dial.

“Yeah, hi. Listen, I have some news…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Shit, I can’t believe Satoshi called you about this,” Jun complained.

“Yeah, you have a friend who is worried for your health,” his sister said bitingly. “Must be horrible.”

They were strolling around Ikebukuro, since Jun’s sister had asked him to come along and find a new set of coffee dishes. Of course, that had only been an excuse, as Jun had just found out. Satoshi had told her to talk to Jun and try to make him quit working as a DJ most probably. While Satoshi kept claiming that he won’t deny Jun his fun, he also knew how to make things go his way and which strings to pull to give Jun a hard time trying to fight back. But Jun would not have it. He had things perfectly organized and he was not going to give in, no matter what.

“He’s just dramatizing things,” Jun insisted. “I just had a short night the other day and that’s that.”

“That’s not that,” his sister shot right back. “You’re putting too much on yourself. You’re wearing yourself out. You need more rest. And you need to get away from the company every now and then. After your huge success, things keep coming in one after the other.”

“It’s fine,” Jun insisted. “Really, Meg, it’s okay. It’s true that we’re having a big work load right now, we still don’t have enough employees to cover everything and that means that we have to be in every day, but… We both love the company, so we’ll just see it through.”

His sister stopped in her tracks, glaring. “Jun.”

“Megumi,” Jun retorted mockingly, deliberately not halting his walk so his sister was eventually forced to catch up again.

“Jun, if Aeris Cosmetics is really your dream come true, why do you keep going back to Sakurai?”

Jun made a face. “My connection with Sho is not for you to assess. As for my spare time activities, can’t I choose them as I want?”

“I don’t mean to judge,” Meg said immediately. “I just… you seem to be very stressed, is all. And I want you to relax a bit again, you know, take things a bit slower.”

They were walking through a rather quiet little street, which was lined with small cafes and stores that seemed to specialize in feng shui and the like. The shop windows looked pretty, showing off crystals, minerals, incense sticks with beautiful stick holders and expensive looking bowls. It looked beautiful and gave off a calming atmosphere.

“So I’m releasing my stress as a DJ,” Jun shrugged.

“My guess is that you’re using Sakurai more as a stress relief than your DJ booth,” Meg stated. “But ultimately, I don’t think that works out very well.”

“I thought you said you don’t mean to judge,” Jun grumbled.

“I don’t,” Megumi insisted. “It’s just what I’m perceiving. But again, I can’t keep you from doing whoever or whatever you want. But I am hoping that you will allow me at least to try to help in my own way, nonetheless.”

Jun gave her a curious look. Megumi had stopped her walk again and was changing directions towards one of the tiny shops. As she reached out her hand to the door knob, Jun read the sign that hovered over the door. It said “Wicked Little Witcher”. Jun gaped at the sign.

“What… do you want to do in there?” Jun asked skeptically.

“Oh, just come on in,” his sister urged. “It’s a cool shop. I’ve been here several times. The owner is really nice and they’ve got some cool stuff.”

“But I don’t need any of the stuff from in there,” Jun told her.

“Jun, I am really being very accommodating right now, believe me. And you don’t want me to become a pain, you really don’t. So, get your ass in there and let the owner have a look at you.”

Her eyes were piercing, so Jun nodded reluctantly and followed his sister into the shop. The door rang a little bell as they swept through and Jun was surprised as he took a first look around. The shop turned out to be a lot bigger than the outside had let on. There were four rows of shelves and along all the walls there were almost ceiling-high cupboards with loads and loads of drawers. Even so, the interior looked almost cozy, the shelves set together neatly and arranged very carefully. There was a distinct scent in the room that Jun guessed must come from the two big candles that were lit on the counter. Just as Jun was beginning to wonder where the shop keeper was, his eyes caught a swishing movement near the floor. He shifted his gaze and found a cat by his feet, gazing up at him for a second, before continuing to rub snugly against Jun’s leg.

Megumi snickered. “Oh, hello, Captain,” she greeted the cat.

Jun blinked. “Captain?”

“Captain Black Beard,” a male voice announced.

“Ah, Ninomiya-san,” Megumi cheered. “There you are.”

“At your service,” Nino said courteously, bowing his head.

Jun still couldn’t really take his eyes off the cat that seemed to have some intense interest in him.

“I don’t get it,” he muttered. “He’s ginger.”

“Very true,” Nino agreed.

“So, why name him Black Beard?” Jun asked, finally making eye-contact with Nino.

“Captain Black Beard,” Nino corrected Jun. “And why not?”

“Well, because he’s not black,” Jun offered.

“Oh, so a ginger cat can’t be named Captain Black Beard? That’s awfully discriminating, sir.”

Jun blinked at the comment. He took in the form of Nino for the first time. A slender young man with a handsome face. He did not have the soft feminine form that Jun was often complimented for, Nino was rather boy-ish, his face looking almost unnaturally young, his eyes sparkling playfully. He didn’t even try to look appealing and his fashion sense was basically non-existent, but there was a charm to that mindset that hit Jun harder than he would have expected. He didn’t even really see the too long Jeans that had their seams completely destroyed by Nino probably treading on them repeatedly, the shirt with the impossible pattern that made your eyes hurt if you looked at it for too long and the worn-out shoes that looked as if Nino had gone to high school with them already. For a second Jun wondered what kind of attire might be under such a hideous display, but then his attention was drawn away from Nino’s figure as another man came rushing into the room.

“Ninomiya-san, I really think you should reconsider my offer,” the man said.

He was tall and very lean with a very natural looking smile on his face and, Jun noted, as opposed to Nino that guy did know how to dress.

Nino merely rolled his eyes as he turned towards the guy. “I’m sorry, Aiba-san. I’ve told you, I don’t think that what you sell suits my collection.”

“They might not be shiny like most of your things,” Aiba went on, “but I assure you, they are very powerful. You won’t be disappointed. Your customers will be pleased, I assure you.”

“I see where you’re coming from,” Nino grinned, impressed by Aiba’s insistency. “Okay, I’ll give it a go. Hey, cat discriminator, what are you here for?”

Jun gaped at being addressed so suddenly. “I, er… I didn’t really…” he stuttered.

Megumi helped him out. “We wanted to find something for him that will take his stress away.”

Nino nodded, then turned back to Aiba. “You have something for that?”

“Stress relief,” Aiba repeated, nodding eagerly. “Sure, I’ve got just what you need. Hold on.”

He quickly grabbed a suitcase, opened it right on the floor and started rummaging through it. Jun got a glimpse of what was inside and immediately understood what Nino meant. A lot of the things in there were made of wood, others crafted from a dark metal. When looking around the room earlier, Jun had noticed many things with crystals, bright colors, strings and other fancy stuff. In comparison, what Aiba had on offer looked rather plain. It was then that Jun realized that he should oppose to being used for an experiment, but before he could set his mind to opposing what was going on, Aiba grabbed something from his suitcase, a triumphant grin on his face.

“Here,” he offered, holding a small bottle out to Jun. “Bring it home with you. Make a can of green tea. Sencha. One liter. Put it in. Drink all of it, one cup per hour, divided into five cups.”

“That’s… awfully precice,” Jun mutterd.

“If you want a good effect, you need to be accurate,” Aiba told him. “Make sure to do it as I told you.”

“Sencha tea,” Jun recapitulated, “one liter, five cups, one per hour.”

“That’s it,” Aiba confirmed. “Whatever’s causing you stress will be out the window, promise.”

Jun shrugged. “Well, whatever. I’ll give it a try.”

“Perfect,” Nino concluded. “And if you will, report back to me in a few days.”

“O-okay,” Jun nodded. “I will.”

“Okay, come on Jun, I’ll make that tea for you. Let’s get going. Bye, Ninomiya-san, bye dear merchant, bye captain.”

That said Jun’s sister practically shoved him back out the door before he could even say his good-byes – not that he felt too obligated to follow protocol, but it felt weird, being back out on the street felt a bit like being thrown back into reality after visiting a very strange, far-off place. The feeling wore off the closer they got to his place and soon Jun didn’t really think about Ninomiya and his weird little shop anymore. His sister did make that tea, though, and Jun drank it, just as instructed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino shoved a handful of chips right into his mouth, quickly grabbing onto his controller again. He chewed messily even as his fingers swept over the controller skillfully, directing his character over a huge gap without any kind of difficulty.

“Watch out,” he called out, his words muffled by the chips in his mouth. “Guard coming from the right.”

“Got it,” Yamada announced and made short work of the figure in the way of their path.

“Hah,” Nino exclaimed. “Well done. Quick, quick, loot him, before the screen changes.”

“Right, right,” Yamada answered and successfully retrieved a key to a secret door and a number of pearls.

The scene changed shortly thereafter, bringing on a story sequence. As the dialogue kept going on for a while, they relaxed, eating and drinking some more. The visuals were really cool too ,but these things could get lengthy.

“So,” Yamada asked a few minutes into it, “was he hot?”

“Huh?” Nino made. “Who?”

“You know, the guy who bought that bottle from Aiba,” Yamada clarified.

“Why are you asking?” Nino wanted to know.

“Curious,” the other man shrugged.

“Well, he’s handsome as far as standards go,” Nino stated vaguely.

“Oh, that hot, huh?” Yamada grinned.

“Why would I care?” Nino asked, trying to sound dismissive.

“Because,” Yamada explained, “if he comes back to you all grateful and flustered, asking you how he can repay you, there’s a good chance he’ll get to his knees, if you play it right.”

“If I played like that, I wouldn’t have had a sex draught like this,” Nino told his friend.

“Maybe it’s time to play your cards right, then,” Yamada suggested.

Nino merely shook his head, though. “Even if I tried, a guy like that wouldn’t steep as low as me.”

Yamada rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. You’re quite a bit of a hottie yourself, no need to be so low on self-esteem.”

“But I’m a fraud,” Nino sighed. “He looked like a more than decent guy. I can’t compare.”

“You could stop being a fraud, of course,” Yamada offered.

“And do what?” Nino asked. “The shop’s running perfectly. Customers keep coming back and I’m time and time again amazed at the stories they tell me of how good my charms work on them, how different their lives are now that they can buy their luck in a bag in my store. If people searched the net just a bit, they’d find half my stock in online stores in mass discount. I just check them out and if they’re nice and shiny, I write a label and sell them. And again, people buy them and they insist that they work so well, it’s almost insane. No, scratch that, it is insane. I mean, how can you insist these things work ,when they’re just online junk?”

“But then again,” Yamada mused, “people keep telling you how much you help them. So, strictly speaking you’re not really a fraud. You might not buy your items as magical stuff, but you sell them as such and maybe that’s how you put your own magic on them.”

Nino gave Yamada a weird look. “That… is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I live off the gullibility of people who need aid. No matter how you look at it, that’s just not right. But then, I haven’t learned anything of significance and I have to make a living somehow. And it might be ugly, but ultimately I do, somehow.”

“Now all you need to do is get laid,” Yamada grinned. “So, just give it a shot. When that guy comes in, hit on him. Worst that can happen is that you won’t get laid.”

“Well, I could,” Nino mused. “But then, I doubt the guy will be too happy. Aiba’s stuff is just plain-looking, nothing miraculous about it, really. I can’t see how anyone would find anything spiritual about it, really.”

“Just wait and see,” Yamada suggested. “Oh hey, scene’s over. I’ll check the items, you check the map.”

“Gotcha,” Nino agreed, grabbing his controller.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was half past twelve. The most-hyped crowd was waiting outside and Jun could already feel his heart-beat going up in anticipation. In just that moment a piercing voice caught Jun’s attention.

“Matsumoto!”

Jun sighed. “In here, Sho-kun.”

In stormed a sour looking Sakurai Sho, waving with a sheet of paper with lots of scribbling on it.

“What is this?” Sho wanted to know.

“My set list,” Jun answered evenly. He knew what would be coming. He had been hoping to avoid Sho until his act of the night was finished, but then, that was just his rotten luck.

“No, it’s not,” Sho told him. “This is not what you sent to me last week.”

Jun got up from his seat, facing Sho.

“I know,” he said. “I made some changes since I sent you a sample. Minor changes, mind you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sho barked at him. “You can’t just do that. You keep doing it and it’s more than annoying.”

“Dammit Sho, relax, will you,” Jun bit right back. “It’s just a small number of songs, just two blends. And it’s almost exactly the same length. It’s off by no more than a few seconds.”

“The point is, you can’t just change things last minute, simply because you feel like it.”

“Why not? It’s not affecting anyone?”

“If I allow changes, everybody wants to direct their own parts and probably spontaneously,” Sho explained. “And I can’t have that.”

“Why not?” Jun shrugged. “Sounds fun to me.”

“Yeah,” Sho sighed. “And that, exactly, is the problem. You think entertainment is fun. But it’s not. Entertainment is not fun. Not for us. Not for those working to entertain others. For us entertainment is business. And in business you can’t just do whatever you want when you want to do it. We have a submission date for a reason, you know. And I can’t have you being out of line all the fucking time. People will come and complain to me. So, please respect the rules.”

Jun sighed. He knew he would have to sweet-talk Sho and maybe sweet-cock him too a bit later, but for the time being, all he wanted to do was to get out on stage and party.

“You have made your point, Sho-kun,” Jun stated firmly, trying to looks as sincere as possible.

“Well, good,” Sho nodded. “Now, get your ass out there and don’t show it to me again before 3am.”

That said Sho stalked off, going about his business. Jun knew that they had very different ideas when it came to how to go about their work, but Sho was a pro to boot and despite the fact that to him it was a business to earn money with he knew entertainment and he lived entertainment, if only when he turned on the switch. And just on cue, Jun could hear Sho’s voice through the microphone, heating up the crowd.

”Hey, party people!!! How’re y’all doin’?

The crowd cheered and Jun didn’t stay in the room to hear the rest of Sho’s performance. He headed out and got ready to get out on stage and perform.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Just to be clear,” Sho said as he administered the fly on his jeans, “this doesn’t give you a right to do whatever you want when you perform.”

“So,” Jun grinned sexily, “you mean that the fact that you can do whatever you want with my hole doesn’t work in my favor that way?”

“Jun, I know you only keep giving me these sex treats so I’ll let stuff slip. And I… am weak when it’s about you, so I play along. But there’s no need to point it out to me.”

“Aw, but Sho-kun. You’re such a strong, tough guy,” Jun crooned. “And I think I need not remind you that it was you who refused to delve in. I know I offered.”

“Yeah, well, you’re into that weird monogamous thing,” Sho commented. “I didn’t want to get myself into something like that.”

Jun sighed. “Sometimes you just can’t be helped,” he stated as he fished a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pants. He ignored Sho’s disapproving look, lit his cigarette and dragged on it. “You know you keep sabotaging yourself, don’t you?”

“Well, everyone does that kind of thing every now and then,” Sho answered. “What about you? Is your college friend going to bitch at you again when you’re late for work tomorrow?”

“I’m never late,” Jun defended himself. “Sometimes I’m tired, but I’m never late. He’ll live with it. And besides, I got that miraculous tea that my sister bought for me today. It’s supposed to take my stress away.”

“Oh my, don’t tell me you won’t be needing me for that anymore, then?” Sho mocked.

Jun chuckled. “I know it’s stupid. But my sister believes in this stuff. She keeps visiting that shop and she’s totally crazy for that shop keeper and his cat. And well, it can’t make things worse, right? So, no harm in doing her the favor of playing along.”

“You’re a cute little brother, there’s no doubt about hat,” Sho grinned.

“And we’re back to business, I see,” Jun commented.

He collected his clothes and put them on as neatly as he needed to past three in the morning to crab a cab and get home. Before he could get out the door, though, Sho pulled him back, wrapped his arms around him tight and kissed him ardently, taking Jun’s breath away, reminding him why he kept coming back again and again.

“Always a pleasure making business with you,” Sho grinned, giving Jun’s ass one good slap before letting go.

“You’ll get the new set list by the end of next week,” Jun said, trying to keep his voice even.

Then he got out to get that cab and grab about two hours of sleep before he had to head to the office for his daily business again. Jun liked working with Ohno, he really did. Just sometimes he had to admit that keeping the balance between serious business man and nightlife DJ wasn’t exactly easy. Of course, there was no way he would give up on his nightly pleasures, but neither would he even think about disappointing his friend. Even though it might be difficult at times, Jun managed to go about his life alright. And he sure enjoyed it. Who cared, if it was stressful sometimes?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino re-organized his “make it a boy” charms, when the door to “Little Wicked Witcher” flew open and a familiar young man stormed in.

“What did you do to me?” Jun demanded.

Nino blinked, then gasped as Jun grabbed his by the shirt and shook his form intensely.

“I asked you,” Jun said bitingly, “what you did to me? What… kind of curse have you put on me?”

Nino managed to free himself, panting slightly.

“What are you talking about?” Nino wanted to know.

“You sold us that… whatever it was,” Jun barked out. “I drank it as instructed and now…”

“What?”

“No matter what I do, no facial cosmetic works on my face,” Jun explained irritatedly. “Just look at it, it’s disastrous. And even the camouflage won’t do anything.”

Jun pointed at his face and Nino could see some scars and a slightly whitish color that he hadn’t seen on the man the other day. It was nothing to lessen Jun’s beauty, if anything, in Nino’s opinion it only added character to Jun’s features, but apparently Jun felt differently about it.

“Well,” Nino muttered, “for what it’s worth, you’re still looking pretty nice like that.”

Jun’s eyes flared with anger. “Do you think this is funny? I have a business to run. A cosmetics business. How do you suggest I sell that kind of stuff, when it’s obviously not working on me? It’s hard to explain to a possible distributer that things will be fine and the products are top-notch and as long as customers don’t get themselves cursed they can expect astonishing results.”

Nino frowned at that. “Hey, I don’t curse people.”

“Well, what do you call this, then?” Jun insisted.

Nino bit his lip. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Are you… sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Jun bit out. “I was perfectly fine and everything was normal – until I drank that… whatever it was. Next morning, things were like this. So, obviously you did this. Now tell me how to undo it.”

Nino shook his head. “I don’t even know what’s going on. I… look, I don’t... You must be… you must be imagining things.”

Jun gaped. “Why would I make stuff like that up?”

Nino sighed. “I’m not saying that. But look, you folk just… you always imagine these things. I’ve never had anyone blame stuff on me before, but well, I guess it makes sense that you can imagine bad stuff too. Maybe you are just like that. But really, you’re not cursed, believe me.”

“How do you suggest that?” Jun wanted to know.

Nino sighed. “Because… because the things that I sell are just…”

“Just what?!” Jun demanded impatiently.

“It’s just online junk,” Nino finally blurted out. “I buy cheap shit online, arrange it neatly and write on a label what it’s supposed to do. There, happy?”

Jun was so shocked, he let go of Nino. He still didn’t take his eyes off the man, though.

“What… you’re a fraud?” Jun asked in disbelief.

“Oh, come on,” Nino dragged out, rolling his eyes, “you don’t really think that there’s that magical elixir that will give you the happily ever after, do you? I mean, if I can make people feel better about themselves, isn’t that a deed as well?”

“No,” Jun answered with a deep frown. “If you’re making shit up, then you’re frauding people.”

Nino looked straight at him. “Okay, fine. You’re right. So, I’m a fraud. But see? When I’m a fraud, I can’t have cursed you. It’s impossible.”

“But that drinking stuff did it,” Jun insisted.

Nino was about to retort something, but then he halted, a thought coming to his mind.

“Aiba,” he muttered.

Jun blinked. “What?”

“It was Aiba’s mixture.”

Nino’s eyes were open wide, he kept shaking his head in disbelief as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“But no… It’s not possible. Even if I haven’t bought from that guy before, it can’t… I mean, he can’t… there’s no such things as…” He looked at Jun again. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No kidding,” Jun assured Nino. “So, let’s find that Aiba guy and ask him about this.”

“Fine,” Nino agreed. “I’d like to hear what he has to say as well. I mean, I’m still not quite there yet, but… you really have no reason to make stuff up, so… let’s go.”

Nino had taken about thirty minutes looking for Aiba’s business card. Nino had a rather… loose organization in his office. Ultimately he found it and with it in hand Nino and Jun set out to the address that was listed on it. They didn’t really talk much as they were on their way. While Nino absolutely found interest in Jun, it wasn’t exactly good timing asking the man about his hobbies or the like. At least the way wasn’t too long and after a short ride with the subway and then four more bus stops, they were there. At first Nino thought that the address was wrong, as he couldn’t find a business sign on the door of the building, but then they was a small sheet of paper that was attached to the door, directing them around the corner and to the underground floor. As they checked the scene, they found an outdoor elevator and as they got in, a label next to the B2 button said that “Gorgeous Green Goods” had an office there. As they arrived on the floor, there was a long hallway, a small door, and then they stood right in front of a counter, a small sign hanging right over it, saying “Gorgeous Green Goods”. There was nobody there and there was no bell.

Jun gave Nino an inquisitive look, but Nino just shrugged, craning his neck, trying to see behind the small counter.

“Aiba-san?” he finally called out. “Are you there?”

For a few seconds nothing happened. But then, just before Nino wanted to try again, Aiba’s form came rushing from the back of his “shop”. He was beaming at the sight of Nino and Jun.

“Oh, hello, there. Ninomiya-san, you didn’t have to come down here. You could have called and…”

“Oh, we had to come here,” Jun interrupted him.

His face must have betrayed his annoyance, because Aiba frowned almost immediately.

“Is something wrong?” he wanted to know.

“You can say that,” Jun nodded.

He then went to explain the drastic change he had noticed after drinking the concoction that Aiba had suggested to him, making it very clear how unaccommodating the situation was for him. When Jun was done Aiba gave him a good long look, then shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t really know what to say now,” Aiba stated. “You know how the spells work, right?”

Jun shook his head. “What are you even talking about?”

Aiba shifted his attention to Nino. “You don’t submit the disclaimer to your customers? That’s not very wise.”

“What?” Nino gasped. “I don’t even… I just sell charms, figurines and herbal teas.”

“What disclaimer?” Jun wanted to know.

“That the spell unfolds in a very unique way,” Aiba explained. “You can never know how it will show its effect. When there’s a need, the spell will see to it, but there’s no knowing how it’s going to happen. I’m sorry, if you don’t like the effect, but…”

“No, you don’t understand,” Jun cut him off again. “It’s not that I don’t like the effect. This is ruining my life. For real. It will take down our entire business. So, do something about it.”

Aiba looked remorseful, but he still shook his head. “I can’t,” he said simply. “The spell has taken effect. For it to wear off, the need has to be fulfilled.”

“Wha- you’ve got to be kidding me,” Jun burst out. “What does that even mean?”

“Well…” Aiba mused. “What was the spell supposed to do again? Wait, stress relief, right?”

“So?” Jun shrugged.

“So, as soon as your life isn’t filled with as much stress anymore, the effect will wear off,” Aiba explained.

Jun made a pained face. “But I can’t wait for things to just fall into place. I have to get new contracts signed. If I don’t the business will be done for.”

Aiba tilted his head slightly, inspecting Jun.

“Is that business stressing you out?”

“That’s not the point,” Jun barked.

“I think it is,” Aiba retorted. “If that business is the cause of your stress, it seems the spell has unfolded to bring it down to take the stress away from you.”

“But… that can’t happen,” Jun said stubbornly. “My friend has his entire money invested in our business. I’m in there too. If it… if we fail now…”

“I am truly sorry,” Aiba said sincerely. “Most of all, because apparently you weren’t informed about the possible effects. But then, it seems that you were in a certain need and at the very least, the spell will work in favor of fulfilling it.”

“And how do you suggest I explain this to my partner?” Jun asked. He shook his head. “Come on, there must be something you can do. Can’t you prepare another spell to counter this one?”

Aiba shook his head. “If spells worked that way there would be little point to them. If you could simply undo a spell by creating a new one that merely goes something like `make that spell go away´ then hardly any spell would ever take effect. It doesn’t work that way.”

“So, this spell will now inevitably destroy what we’ve built?” Jun asked, still unwilling to belief what was happening.

“If the products need to work on your face in order to sell the stuff, then it probably will,” Aiba confirmed. “Once again I am sincerely sorry about this. Ninomiya-san, I’m sorry to say this, but you are being quite careless, giving spells to people without telling them what they do.”

“He doesn’t really sell spells to people,” Jun bit out. “Not usually, that is. He just pretends to have magical stuff, but it’s really just cheap junk and he thinks up what the charms are supposed to do himself and then sells everything. He’s just making things up.”

Aiba’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you… you aren’t even running an actual magic shop?”

“That’s what he told me,” Jun continued.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Nino burst out. “This is insane. I mean, how was I supposed to know that such a thing as actual magic is out there? I just tried to make a living. Dammit, I knew it would be troublesome to buy from a local distributer. Just why did I think I have to save shipping costs? This is so fucked up.”

Jun actually felt sorry for the guy for a split second. After all, in a way his business was on the brink too, much like the one Jun was running with Ohno. Learning that there was actual magical stuff out there was obviously a shock for Nino.

Before they could collect their thoughts, they got interrupted. A young woman came down the stairs and let her gaze wander through the room for a moment, before focusing on Aiba.

“Aiba-san,” she greeted the shop keeper, “I’m sorry to come in unannounced like this. But I really need my perfect hearing back. It’s very important and it can’t really wait.”

Aiba sighed. “It seems like today I am a bearer of nothing but bad news.”

The young woman blinked, but looked rather wary. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry,” Aiba said, “but your perfect hearing went out yesterday. Cancellation period for the trade ended five days ago and yesterday I sold it to someone.”

The young woman looked devastated. “Oh no. What am I gonna do now?”

“Well,” Aiba stated, “I can’t refund you the beautiful singing voice… but I’ll let you know as soon as a perfect hearing comes in.”

“But… it could take ages for another one to come in.”

“Who knows?” Aiba encouraged her. “I’ll make sure to be on the look-out for one and hey, I got yours, didn’t I? So, why should it be unlikely that I get another one? I’ll give it my best.”

“Thank you,” the young woman said. “The thing is, I was accepted with a scholarship, after all. They had told me that I won’t get one, but because of my exceptional performance they decided to add another seat to next year’s class. But now I need to be exceptional, so…”

“I understand, of course,” Aiba nodded. “Congratulations on your scholarship. I’ll absolutely try to find something for you in time.”

“Thanks,” the young woman smiled, but her eyes were still shining sadly.

“Wow, this magic stuff really doesn’t make things any easier,” Jun commented. “Why do people even deal with it?”

“Because it can do things that you could not do by yourself,” Aiba explained. “Look, you’re having a tough time, I get it, but ultimately you will see that things will turn out for the better for you.”

“Well, I sure can’t see that right now,” Jun retorted. “But seeing how you can’t help us with this…”

“I’m sorry,” Aiba said yet again. “But do let me know if things change, yes?”

Jun merely shrugged and was already on his way back up the stairs when he halted, noticing that Nino was still looking at Aiba.

“I want to know more,” Nino stated firmly. “Tell me about the magic that you sell. I want to buy it. For real. I want to sell the real thing to people.”

“Are you nuts?” Jun burst out. “Look at what that spell is doing to me. And you want more of that?!”

“But you said it yourself,” Nino argued. “I’m being nothing but a fraud.”

“No, you were right,” Jun opposed. “Making people feel better about themselves is a deed. You should stick with it.”

“But I don’t want to,” Nino insisted. “I mean, I thought it up, but thinking that I can do this for people, that I can make it real… I want that.”

“Very well,” Aiba agreed, beaming at Nino. “How about I drop in some time this week and we talk a bit? You know, about what you want to sell and how we can make agreements with customers.”

“Sounds good to me,” Nino nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”

Aiba waved at them, as they finally left together, Nino determined to take on new paths and Jun quite depressed, thinking about what he could do to make things work out somehow despite the stupid spell that was working him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jun wasn’t even sure how they had ended up in his apartment, but there they were, him and Nino, sitting on the floor of his living room, at his low table that had several boxes of Chinese food sprawled all over it. They had eaten their full and actually shared a nice chat.

“This sucks so bad,” Nino sighed, shifting uncomfortably. “I mean, it’s like I’m ruining things for you.”

“Huh?”

“Well, with your business,” Nino explained. “I mean, I sold that spell to you and I did not tell you what it might do.”

Jun smiled at him. “I guess you acted a bit irresponsibly. But I know you didn’t mean any harm. I mean, I didn’t expect it to work either. In fact, I was joking about it with a friend. So, I was just as ignorant as you, really.”

“And… have you told your friend about the spell by now?” Nino asked.

“Oh… no,” Jun muttered. “Since it’s always dark when I’m there nobody can see that the make-up isn’t working.”

Nino tilted his head slightly. “So… you’re working at night?”

“Well, not every night,” Jun explained. “But I have that… well, I do it as a side-job, you could say. I’ve been doing it every since senior high and I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“So… you’re actually working two jobs?” Nino asked.

“Kind of,” Jun confirmed. “Well, the nighttime job is not an everyday thing.”

Nino bit his lip. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”

Jun eyed him for a moment, then he smiled. “It’s okay.”

Nino felt a warm tingling sensation in his chest, one that he hadn’t felt in a while – and he panicked. Then he sighed inwardly. Of course, it was only natural that he would fall for the man whose life he’d just ruined. Jun would be delighted, of course. Who wouldn’t want to get hit on by a person they despise? After all, that was what Jun must have felt towards Nino. Of course, it had been Aiba’s mixture that had done the trick, but Nino had handed it to Jun readily and without a warning. Jun must have been feeling awful. But then, there was nothing Nino could have done about it.

When Nino realized that he had been staring at Jun for way too long without saying anything, he averted his gaze, no knowing what else to do. He felt bad for being unable to help Jun. He felt bad for feeling passion for Jun, when the man so very obviously had a number of other problems at hand. He felt bad for… He felt bad. Nino felt really, really bad. And he deserved it. He knew he did and he didn’t much mind. He was used to being miserable, it happened a lot to him, but seeing Jun like that, knowing he was probably feeling those very same things made him feel even more uncomfortable.

I’m really sorry,” Nino muttered. “About all this.”

He didn’t look at Jun, he feared seeing Jun’s anger and frustration and knowing that he had caused these feelings made his guts twist painfully.

Jun nodded his head slowly. “I know you didn’t mean any harm.”

“But it’s my fault…” Nino kept going, an unexpected pain burning in his chest.

Jun laughed, the sound settled right between bitter and mirthful.

“Yeah, it’s your fault that you’ll have to keep looking at my face the way it is.”

Finally Nino turned his head to look at Jun.

“I really don’t know what could be wrong with looking at your face the way it is. It’s…”

He blushed, averting his gaze again. There was no point in letting himself delve into those beautiful eyes. How could they ever look at him gently after what he had done?

“If you’re going to present me with a compliment, do it properly,” Jun urged. “I can’t stand half-hearted shit.”

“You’re taking advantage of how guilty I’m feeling,” Nino accused the other man. “Making me say things…”

“Not gonna force you,” Jun shrugged.

Nino bit his lip. He was debating with himself about what he should do. Obviously Jun had already noticed that Nino held an interest in him. So, there wasn’t really a point in trying to hide it. At the same time he knew very well that words spoken out loud made things much more real and did he really want things any more real? Then again, Jun was facing a very gloomy reality at the moment, but he coped with it admiringly well. Not only with dignity, but also without throwing accusations at Nino for ruining his life. Well, at least not anymore, even though he still had reason to.

“It’s beautiful,” Nino breathed into the room.

Jun turned to blink at Nino, who mustered all of his courage to look back at the other.

“Huh?” Jun made.

“Your face,” Nino said more clearly. “It’s beautiful.”

Jun grinned lopsidedly. “I can’t believe you’re actually hitting on me.”

“T-that’s not it,” Nino tried to back-paddle. “Just… you seem to think that you’re not handsome like this… and that’s just not true.”

Jun considered Nino for a while, then a small smile came to his lips.

“Thanks,” he said honestly. “I’ve had people tell me I should get permanent make-up so they don’t have to look at me like this. It’s nice to hear something different.”

“Who would say such a thing to you?” Nino burst out.

“People with high standards?” Jun suggested. “It’s the reason why my friend and I started researching cosmetics. We both wanted to have something that would make us… well, look appealing, I guess.”

“Well, I don’t really know your friend,” Nino muttered, “but you do look appealing. That’s just for the record, mind you. I can’t stand it when people who are gorgeous like you talk like they are less appealing than myself.”

“So, it seems we share a sentiment,” Jun mused. “Or rather, two actually.”

Nino blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Jun smiled at him. “It seems we both tend to think lesser of ourselves than others. And it seems we also both think that the other does not see their own appeal.”

Nino was so taken aback he couldn’t even react. He merely stared at Jun, eyes slightly widened, unable to move, or say anything.

Jun chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll have to tell Satoshi that I can no longer promote our products. Best not delay it too much, so why not do it now?”

He got up from the floor, arranging his clothes.

“Wait,” Nino burst out, stumbling to his feet as well. “You… you can’t simply throw something like this at me and then just… go on about your business again.”

“Oh, I thought, since you didn’t seem like you were going to do something about it, might as well proceed,” Jun teased.

“I didn’t… I can do something,” Nino claimed.

“Sorry, mate,” Jun grinned. “Missed the chance. You may try again some other time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nino complained. “When’s another time?!”

Jun gave a theatrical shrug, his eyes shining mischievously. “Who knows?”

“Hey, that’s so not fair,” Nino muttered.

“Yeah, well, sometimes life’s just like that,” Jun shrugged.

For a second Nino wondered if Jun had merely led him on as a kind of pay-back, but when he saw Jun wink at him, he knew that Jun had no such thoughts in mind.

“But well, you can come to the office with me and help explaining what’s going on to my friend.”

“How do you suggest we do that?” Nino asked.

“Slowly,” Jun suggested. “It’s a lot to take in. And Satoshi is not the most skeptical person on earth, but this is going to be a tough one.”

Nino nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I mean, I work in a supposedly magical shop and even I could not believe it at first.”

“Well, let’s et going,” Jun suggested.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino felt awfully impressed by the office of Aeris Cosmetics. It was located on the top two floors of one of the highest buildings in Shiodome. All fronts to the outside were made of glass, offering the most amazing view he had ever come across. One of the main office rooms held nothing but a huge wooden desk with at least thirty seats and a huge screen at the head wall. Nino was still busy staring when a man he didn’t know joined them. Nino figured that it must be Jun’s partner and braced himself right away. On first sight he immediately understood why Jun was “the face” of their company. While nicely built (at least as far as Nino could tell through the outlines of the man’s suit) the man appeared not as outgoing as Jun, a bit reserved, if not unaccommodating. His smile was genuine as he greeted them.

“Jun, so good to see you,” Ohno said happily. “Are you feeling better?”

He hugged Jun enthusiastically and Nino could not help feeling a bit envious of how that guy could so simply get physically close to Jun.

“Well… a bit,” Jun answered vaguely upon being released.

“That’s good to hear,” Ohno nodded. “When will you be back to work?”

“”Ah, you see…” Jun muttered, but then broke off, not knowing where to begin.

“Look, why don’t we sit down first?” Nino suggested.

Ohno looked at him and bowed his head slightly. “My apologies. Of course, please, have a seat. So, are you Jun’s doctor, or something?”

“Not… exactly,” Nino retorted.

“This is Ninomiya Kazunari,” Jun introduced Nino. “We… met the other day.”

They all took seats at the back end of the desk. Ohno looked expectantly at Jun and Nino, his eyes glittering mirthfully and Nino once again felt guilty for what they had to tell the man.

“Okay,” he began carefully, “here’s the story. Please hear us out. I know it’s gonna sound very… disturbing, but please listen to all of it. So, Jun to my shop the other day, together with his sister…”

Ohno did listen to the entire story, not interrupting Nino once, hearing all of what had happened and what they had found out. And, of course, also all about the consequences that came with these changes. When Nino had finished his tale, both he and Jun looked expectantly at Ohno. For a long minute non of them spoke. Finally Ohno shifted slightly.

“So, summing things up,” Ohno recapitulated, “that… concoction that you sold to Jun was supposed to take his stress away. And then, that other guy, Aiba-san, who made the concoction, he explained to you that his magic can unfold in many ways and so it just happened to unfold in the way that no make-up will work on Jun’s face any longer, making it impossible for him to sell our products. However, the effect is supposed to wear off as soon as his stress problem is solved. Is that correct?”

“That’s basically it,” Jun nodded. “Satoshi, I’m so sorry. I don’t… Had I known that things would be like this, I never would have… I know it’s incredibly hard to believe. If you wish to, you can test it. You can try to apply concealer on my face. You’ll see it for yourself. I just… I can’t tell you anything else.”

“Jun,” Ohno said gently. “I believe you, of course.”

“You… you do? Even though the story is so messed up?”

Ohno nodded. “First of all, you’re sitting here without any make-up. I know how much you hate leaving the house `bare-faced´. You would not do that willingly. Second, why would you make something up in case you wished to leave the company? I do hope that I don’t have it wrong, but I feel like we can cope with anything by just being open and honest with each other. You should feel no need to lie to me. If, however, you did feel that need, here’s my third point: Why think up something as… unlikely as this? If you could make up anything in the world, why choose something that would be so hard to believe? Doesn’t make much sense, does it? So, the only conclusion that I can get from all of that is that what you’re saying is true.”

“Okay,” Nino sighed in relief. “So, that’s that, right? You believe us.”

“Yes, I do,” Ohno nodded. “So, Jun, have you come here to tell me that you will resign?”

“It seems like I won’t have much of a choice,” Jun stated.

His voice sounded even, but Nino could see the storm whirling in his eyes and he was pretty sure that Ohno saw the same thing, feeling with his friend.

“I see,” Ohno sighed. “Well, I can’t say that I like the thought.”

“Neither do I,” Jun told him. “But with things the way they are…”

“You’ve always been a creature of the night. I’m sorry that you were facing so much stress and work loards.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jun opposed. “I just… I really don’t know… I did want it.”

“Just not as much as your music,” Ohno said with a smile. “I know. You always loved music the most. It’s okay. I understand. There is, however, one more thing I want to ask of you.”

“What’s that?” Jun wanted to know.

“Where can I find Aiba-san?”

Jun and Nino both blinked.

“Huh?” Nino made. “Why would you want to see Aiba?”

“Are you kidding me?” Ohno said urgently. “That guy can work magic. I mean, look at what he’s done to Jun. Just think about all the possibilities. Concealer that will not merely cover the rings under your eyes, but actually make them disappear. Body lotion that will make you feel warm in the winter. Bath bombs with love potions in them. The possibilities are endless.”

“Wait, you… you want to create magical cosmetics?” Jun gasped. “Have you not heard what that stupid tea did to me?”

“I have,” Ohno nodded. “It does just what it’s supposed to do. You might not like the effect right now, but I do imagine that you will like the outcome. Furthermore, there might be a way to, you know, control the effect a bit better, by being more specific about what the magic should do. I can’t know that, of course, which is why I would really like to speak to Aiba-san. Maybe we can find an agreement?”

“Well,” Nino dragged out. “I guess you could talk to him. As a matter of fact, I want to see him too. I wish to discuss how I can sell his products more successfully.”

“Sounds good,” Ohno decided. “Let’s go together and see what he can offer.”

“Are you two serious?” Jun burst out. “That magic stuff is… weird. Who knows what else he’s got in stock.”

“We should go and find out,” Ohno insisted. “I want to know more about it.”

“And maybe he’s got magic for me too,” Nino mused.

“For you?” Jun asked, blinking.

“Yeah, something like… a charm that will keep me from missing opportunities,” Nino suggested. His eyes were on Jun and his tone was suggestive. “Or one that will give me an opportunity.”

Jun instantly knew what Nino was talking about and he blushed, once again cursing that stupid spell for revealing his face so openly.

“If he sells you something like that, I’ll kick him,” Jun pouted. “I’ll kick both of you. But well, if you must see him, I’m coming, just to make sure you two won’t buy anything weird.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Ohno agreed. “We should all go together.”

“It might be a good idea to give Aiba a heads-up about our visit this time, though,” Nino suggested. “I imagine it would be difficult for him having all of us just strolling in.”

“Good thinking,” Ohno agreed. “You should make an appointment.”

Nino nodded. “I’ll call him right away.”

“You can use the office down there,” Ohno offered. “Do make yourself at home.”

“Thanks,” Nino nodded.

With that he got up and on the way to the small office already grabbed for his phone. Jun looked after him with mixed feelings. When his gaze wandered back to Ohno, he saw his partner – well, ex-partner to be accurate – grinning at him.

“What?” Jun asked defensively, knowing very well that the blush was still visible on his face.

“He’s cute,” Ohno stated simply.

“He cursed me,” Jun reminded his friend.

“I would not call it a curse,” Ohno mused. “And as soon as you’re back to your old relaxed self, you can even put on your precious make-up again. Good to know I won’t lose you as a customer, at least.”

“You’re being awfully relaxed about all this,” Jun told him. “It’s like you’re no even bothered by it.”

“I am,” Ohno told him. “But well, it’s not like it can be helped, right? And your friend over there is really quite charming. Takes your mind off things. Just what you might be needing right now…”

“Okay, stop,” Jun urged. “Stop saying things like that. I still don’t know why I even gave him a lead in the first place. I just… Guess I was just feeling disturbed, or something.”

“So, you let him get close,” Ohno pondered. “Even though all of this happened because of him. Doesn’t that mean that you like him?”

“No,” Jun said stubbornly. “He just… Maybe he does have a certain charm and I fell for it. But only for a moment.”

“And he let it slip,” Ohno concluded. “Now I see why he wants magic from Aiba-san.”

“It’s not going to happen,” Jun insisted.

Ohno considered his friend for a moment, then he smiled.

“Jun-kun, love is a spell of its own. You can’t know how or when it will take effect and you can’t dodge it, try as you might.”

“Which is why you want love potion bath bombs?” Jun inquired.

Ohno shrugged. “Hey, asking won’t hurt.”

Jun chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “You’re really… unique.”

They heard a noise from the other end of the room and turning their heads found that Nino was on his way back to them.

“Sunday,” Nino announced. “He said he can meet us then. Ohno-san, give me your mail address, I can send you all details, including Aiba-san’s number.”

“That would be awesome,” Ohno cheered. “But there’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Satoshi.”

Nino gaped. “What?! No. No way. I can’t. We only just met a few minutes ago.”

“Well, whatever you’re comfortable with,” Ohno suggested.

“Satoshi is an easy-going guy,” Jun explained. “He doesn’t like to be addressed formally.”

“I see,” Nino nodded. “I’ll… think of something.”

“Very well,” Ohno nodded. “Now, do me a favor and get Jun home safely, will you?”

Jun shot Ohno an angry look, but said nothing to oppose.

“Sure, you can count on me,” Nino assured Ohno. “And we’ll be seeing you on Sunday, then.”

“Perfect,” Ohno agreed.

With that they parted. Jun felt relieved, but at the same time also a bit guilty. Even though it was strictly spoken not his fault, Jun was leaving his friend alone with a massive amount of work. But then, he could once again concentrate on other things, which was also a bit exciting. Nino felt a bit torn. He thought that Jun was still too pre-occupied with all of the changes to deal with Nino. Of course, he wanted to be close to Jun, but he didn’t want to bug.

“I can just go home,” Nino suggested in a low voice. “If you want to… you know, be alone for a while, or something.”

“Are you a man who backs out of his promises?” Jun asked. He had meant it as a joke, but when he said it out loud he realized that it came out rather bitingly. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” he amended quickly.

“No, you’re right,” Nino cut in. “I’m a guy who keeps doing things half-heartedly. Opening a magical shop, but not caring to actually research true magic. Suggesting that I like you, but then not doing anything about it… And the list is long, really. That’s just me. I guess I am like that.”

Jun looked at Nino, seeing the sadness in his eyes and he couldn’t help the feeling that he wanted that sadness to go away. He flashed an encouraging smile at Nino.

“Well… you can break the spell by keeping your word. Just do what you told Satoshi you would.”

“Break the spell, huh?” Nino chuckled. “Okay, let’s see if we can do it.”

It was in the evening hours that they arrived back at Jun’s place. They hadn’t spoken much during their ride, but the silence between them had changed from an awkward, tense atmosphere to a relaxed mood. As they stood in front of the building, neither of them really knew what to do. Nino was wondering if he should make a move, but then it felt like he would force things and he did not want to do that. Jun had suggested he could give it a shot, but was it really okay?

“Congratulations,” Jun suddenly said out of nowhere.

Nino blinked. “Sorry?”

“Well, you did it,” Jun explained. “You kept your promise. Even though you wanted to back out, here you are.”

“So I broke the spell?” Nino asked.

His heart was hammering in his chest. Suddenly there was that pre-kiss tension all around them and he had to suppress the urge to stupidly hop around in joy. But really, there was no way he’d let such a chance go to waste again. He just had to make sure that he wasn’t imagining things.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Jun mused. “But it would be great.”

“You think?” Nino asked.

They shifted slightly closer to each other, eyes locking.

Jun nodded. “Yeah. It would mean that spells can be broken. Then maybe I could break the one that’s keeping a hold of me too.”

“I hope you can,” Nino whispered.

Gathering all the courage he could muster Nino moved his arm slightly, touching his hand to Jun’s and hooking his pinky around Jun’s fingers. When his hand was not batted away, he slowly stroked his thumb over the back of Jun’s hand. It was then in the exact same moment that Jun closed his fingers around the hand that was playing with his that Nino’s other hand came up to Jun’s face, cupping it ever-so-lightly, estimating the angle and then he leaned in, touching his trembling lips to Jun’s plush ones.

Their kiss was a bit awkward at first, one pair of their hands still holding onto each other weirdly, their bodies still too far apart to allow a comfortable position. They eased into it slowly, though, facing each other better, entangled hands letting go to find a neck and a waist. Nino couldn’t help himself, he hummed his approval, loving the feeling of their lips playing and their bodies linking loosely. They kept the kiss going for a long while, not delving in too deep, but merely enjoying the closeness, the intimacy of the moment. When they drew back Nino felt his lips tingling pleasantly and he smiled. However, when his eyes met Jun’s the awkwardness came back. What to do next? Should he suggest coming up to Jun’s apartment? Should he say his good-nights? He could see a similar debate in Jun’s eyes and felt equally disappointed and relieved.

“It’s been a very long day,” Nino finally stated.

“That much would be true,” Jun chuckled nervously. “And an exciting one at that.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Nino nodded. “I’m very glad we spent the day together.”

“I’ve got to admit, having you around felt… good,” Jun said shyly.

“I liked that kiss a lot,” Nino suddenly blurted out.

“Me too,” Jun chuckled.

“I’d like more of that.”

“Noted,” Jun said playfully.

That said he first winked at Nino, then gave him a delicate peck to his cheek.

“Good night,” he whispered.

“Good night,” Nino answered, a bright smile on his face.

He watched Jun slipping through the door of his apartment building. He actually kept looking at he door for about another two minutes, basking in the feeling of joy that was filling up his entire body. Only when he noticed the disapproving look from an elderly woman from one of the lower floors, he slowly shuffled away, making his way home, all the while wondering what the following day might bring, but having an inkling that it might be something good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The bell of Nino’s shop rang loudly, announcing a customer.

“Welcome,” Nino called out, even as he was rummaging behind his counter. “How can I help you today?”

“Well, there’s this guy, you know,” Jun began and Nino recognized his voice immediately and shot up from behind the counter, while Jun kept going. “I think he likes me. He kissed me too. But somehow it seems that he’s holding back for some reason. Anything you can help me out with?”

Nino beamed at the sight of Jun.

“You know, maybe he didn’t want to push you,” Nino stated. “Gentlemen tend to be non-invasive.”

“Charming as that might be,” Jun retorted, “if he keeps being a gentleman only, I might need to find someone else for the invasion part.”

Nino blushed furiously at that. “What are you saying?”

“Basically I’m letting you know that I want to proceed from where we left off,” Jun stated.

“Well, call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t get naked on first dates,” Nino shrugged.

“We weren’t even dating,” Jun retorted.

“All the more reason to be… a gentleman,” Nino answered.

“Aw, come on, you thought about it,” Jun dared him. “I know you did.”

“Might have,” Nino shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean I’d got for it. At least not like that.”

“I would have invited you,” Jun offered. “And I’m pretty sure you understood that.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I didn’t want to rush it. Maybe… maybe I was afraid you’d regret it. Then, what?”

Jun looked straight at Nino. “I… wow, that’s actually cute. Thanks.”

“Welcome,” Nino said with a nod.

Silence stretched between them once again. It was not uncomfortable, but there was a bit of tension in the air.

“Just for the record,” Jun finally got going again, “I wouldn’t have. Regretted it, I mean.”

Nino looked back at Jun, a grin forming on his face.

“How do you know? Maybe I would have been awful.”

Jun snorted at that. “Yeah, well, I can’t say that’s not a possibility. But I got to know you as a man with qualities, so the thought wouldn’t keep me.”

“Good to know,” Nino chuckled. “But why don’t we leave this discussion for later.”

“Oh,” Jun made. “You have something else you wish to discuss?”

“As a matter of fact, there is something,” Nino nodded. “I’ve been thinking… You know, about your situation.”

“And?”

“Well, it was just a thought, but what if… what if the fact that the make-up doesn’t work anymore does not necessarily mean that you need to stop with the cosmetics stuff.”

Jun blinked at that. “Huh?”

“Well, the spell is supposed to make sure you won’t be so stressed anymore. And your main problem is that you’re working two jobs. What if… what if it didn’t matter which one you quit?” Nino suggested. “If it’s your choice, which one would it be?”

Jun stared at that. He had not thought of something like that at all. To him, since the spell had “manifested” itself on the make-up, it had been obvious that the cosmetics had to go. But Nino had a point. If he could reduce his stress in any other way, that might work out just as well. And suddenly there was an entirely new question for Jun to answer. What did he actually want to do with his life? Was it most important to support Ohno and work to accomplish their vision? Or was it more important to pursue his personal creative goals?

“I didn’t think of this either,” Nino explained. “Not at first. But then, when I tried to piece everything together… well, somehow I shuffled up the pieces and I ended up thinking that we had it wrong. Or at least not entirely right.”

“It’s definitely a thought to be considered,” Jun mused.

“Sorry, is this bothering you?” Nino asked.

“Well, of course, it’s bothering me. This means that it’s actually my decision. If I let down my friend, it’s not because things just happened to be that way, but because I made the choice. That’s… bothersome.”

“Sorry for bringing it up, then,” Nino said silently.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Jun told him. “It’s a good thought. It’s a needed thought.” He sighed. “But just what am I gonna do now?”

“I cannot tell you that,” Nino sighed. “I don’t even know what you do for your night job.”

“Do you want to see?” Jun asked.

Nino nodded eagerly. “Sure. How can I?”

“I’m gonna work at a club Saturday night,” Jun told him. “Come and see me.”

“Sounds good,” Nino smiled. “Tell me when and where.”

“I’ll send you the address,” Jun offered. “As for the when, Sho-kun likes to put me in some time after midnight.”

“Sho-kun?” Nino asked.

“He owns the club,” Jun explained. “We’ve been…” he halted, not knowing how to introduce the idea of Sho to Nino – not after their kiss from the previous night. “We met in Senior High,” Jun tried carefully. “And we… stayed in touch.”

Nino interpreted the situation accurately, though.

“Are you two an item?” he asked directly.

“No,” Jun answered quickly, shaking his head. “No, we’re not… no such thing. Just…” Jun sighed. “You might not like the idea, but… I don’t know, we just click that way somehow. You know, it’s just… casual. When there’s nobody else, when we’re… in the mood. We’ve never been an item, as you put it. We’re not looking for a partner in each other. It’s just fun. No strings attached.”

Nino really did not like the thought. For a second he wondered how you could feel jealous like that after sharing nothing but one kiss, but there he was, already wanting to head to that club and tell that Sho guy that from now on, he had better keep his hands off Jun, because he was taken now. Not that Nino and Jun were anything close to a couple just yet. But Nino was determined to work on that and so it would be good to set things straight right away. He tried to come across as casual as possible, though, fearing that for Jun it might be a turn-off if Nino was too uptight.

“So, before, when you were talking about that guy, you actually meant to say you’ve been fucking,” Nino muttered.

“No,” Jun opposed. He looked a bit annoyed. “I wanted to say that we’ve been friends for a long time, but then it hit me that friends didn’t really cover the entirety of it and that it wouldn’t be good to be secretive about these things. But I didn’t want to upset you. So I hesitated, wondering how to put it.”

“Sorry,” Nino mumbled, looking remorseful. “I didn’t mean to downplay it, or something.”

“It’s okay,” Jun stated, but he didn’t really mean it. His head was too full with so many different things to try to handle Nino and their… whatever it was at the moment. “Listen, I…”

Jun broke off when he felt something rough along his hand. He jumped, looking at the chair next to him to find a ginger cat sitting on it, looking at him with big yellow eyes.

Jun smiled. “Oh, hey there, Captain. Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

Jun petted the cat thoroughly, chuckling when he kept brushing his head against Jun’s hand insistently, craving more attention.

“Looks like you have a fierce opponent concerning my affection,” Jun joked.

“Oh no, that’s not how it works,” Nino opposed. “You see, he can charm you so you will come back and then I’ll step in and make you mine.”

“Is that a plan?” Jun asked.

“Not the worst I’ve ever thought up,” Nino grinned.

“He sure is charming,” Jun gave him, gracing the Captain’s ginger hair. “But you’ll have to do better than that.”

”I’ll remember that,” Nino said with a wink. “Oh and I’ll totally come to that club. I’ll… I’ll do better.”

Jun grinned. “Very well. I’ll let you in on the details as soon as I have them.”

Once again Jun found himself in a weird situation. Nino and him had kissed the night before and it had been a good kiss. Even so, it didn’t feel right to lean in and kiss Nino in that moment. Just why did things keep getting so awkward with Nino? In the end, Jun went for a friendly wave, even though he felt incredibly stupid as he did it.

“See ya,” was all he said before he quickly swept out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, how’s business going?” Jun asked.

“Well, I’m coping,” Ohno answered. “For now, at least. I do need a new partner, though.”

“I’m really sorry about this,” Jun muttered.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” Ohno waved him off. “I know you’re having other problems right now. Oh, and since we’re talking about it, how are things progressing with your new friend?”

“We weren’t talking about this at all,” Jun told his friend, “and he’s not my friend.”

Ohno sighed. “Why do you keep making things so complicated. He’s cute. And he’s charming. And he’s totally into you. So, what are you waiting for? Just… go for it. He’s a neat guy.”

“You’ve seen him once,” Jun argued. “And I’ve met him just a few times myself. You don’t know the first thing about him.”

“I can just tell,” Ohno shrugged. “He’s a decent man.”

“Oh yeah?” Jun sneered. “He takes people’s money pretending to sell magic, when in reality all of his stuff is just useless junk. How does that sound?”

Ohno thought about that for a moment. “Sounds like he’s a decent guy in trouble. Sometimes, when you’re in trouble you don’t make good choices.”

Upon hearing that Jun instantly felt guilty.

“Satoshi,” he began carefully, “as a matter of fact, I… I might not have to quit the company.”

Ohno blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s something that Nino said,” Jun explained. “He suggested that possibly, if I give up either one thing that’s keeping me so busy, the spell will wear off.”

Ohno took the information in, nodding slowly. “So, you’re saying that it’s either the company or DJxMJ. You have to choose one of them. Is that it?”

“It’s not like I know for sure,” Jun muttered. “But it feels that way, yes.”

“And… have you thought about what you want to choose?” Ohno asked.

“I have,” Jun told him. “But… I honestly haven’t decided yet. I’m sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be sorry,” Ohno said with a smile. “You should choose from the bottom of your heart.”

“Thanks,” Jun smiled back. “You know that I love the company, right?”

“Of course, Jun,” Ohno said firmly. “I know. I also know how torn you’ve been feeling. So, try to find happiness, okay?”

“I will,” Jun promised.

“And bang Nino,” Ohno added with a grin. “That should lower your stress-level a bit further.”

Jun rolled his eyes, but there was a grin on his face as he got up to get them another cup of coffee.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The noise already hit Nino before he went through the door. A deep bass seemed to vibrate through the entire building. Nino looked at the club. It had a good number of spots, catching attention and a neatly organized line. It looked like an absolutely top class club and of course Jun was performing at such a place. Nino checked his clock. Almost midnight. Jun had suggested Nino should come around 1am, because the ticket would be less expensive, but of course Nino wanted to get to see as much of Jun as he possibly could. So he was early. He took one more deep breath before approaching the short line in front of the door. It took about two minutes until he got to the front.

“Ah, one ticket, please,” Nino said.

The guy standing at the door considered him, then shook his head.

“Sorry, no more guys.”

Nino blinked. “What?”

“We’re already having too many guys in there,” the man told him. “Try again tomorrow.”

Nino shook his head. “No, you don’t understand…”

The man merely rolled his eyes. “Just tell her something came up. Girls love mysterious guys.”

“No, seriously,” Nino said agitatedly. “Listen, I…”

“Kennichi-kun,” another man called out to the one standing by the door. “We have a code C back here. I’m thinking there’s another one running around with the stuff. Have a look around, will you? I’ll take over here for the time being.”

“Okay, boss,” the man nodded and disappeared.

Nino’s guts twisted. “Boss”. Did that mean…?

“So…” the man mused, checking the clip board, “the list says our male female balance is a bit off. I’m afraid we’re not excepting more lads tonight. It’s not like we want to do that, but when you’re being honest you don’t want to get rubbed up against dick, do you? So, save all of us trouble and come back tomorrow, yes?”

“I…” Nino muttered, still unsure what to do. But then he decided to go all in. “Jun invited me,” he said firmly. “He said to come and see him perform.”

The man looked surprised for a moment, then he took in Nino’s form, head to toe.

“You are… Sho-kun?” Nino asked. When the other man frowned Nino bowed his head just slightly. “Sorry, I don’t know your full name. Jun just said Sho-kun. He said this is your club.”

“That much would be true,” Sho retorted.

“So… will you please let me see Jun?” Nino asked. “I came all the way out here and I… I promised. And I have a way of backing out of stuff when things aren’t going smoothly, but Jun has kind of inspired me to try to change that. So it would be really bad if I didn’t show tonight. And it’s honestly not easy to ask you like this, knowing that you… you and Jun are… close. But I really want to see him.”

Sho considered him for another moment, then he chuckled.

“It’s Sakurai Sho,” Sho offered readily. “And you are…?”

“Ninomiya Kazunari,” Nino introduced himself.

“Alright, nice meeting you,” Sho said with a nod. He looked around the street. “Okay, you know what, we’ll shut down until we’ve managed everything. Do come in, I’ll lock up for now.”

Sho put a sign up in front of the door, then shut it tightly. Inside the club the noise was a great deal louder, but Nino tried to ignore it for the main part.

“Will you just wait for a minute?” Sho asked. “I just want to check if we have that code C under control by now.”

Nino shook his head. “What’s a code C?”

“Oh, it stands for crack,” Sho explained. “We use the codes so the visitors won’t notice anything. But seriously, this is quite troublesome. It’s our first case this year and I want to make sure it’s gonna be the last one this year at least. But don’t you worry, I’ll be right back with you.”

“Uh, I can just… go in and…”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Sho waved him off. “Jun could have told me he was inviting a… friend. But since he did invite you, naturally you will be watching from the backstage area. I’ll be back in a minute,” Sho promised.

With that he rushed off. A few minutes later Kennichi came back. He didn’t even look at Nino as he walked by and opened the door again. Nino felt a bit lost, not knowing what to do. He looked around and heard Sho’s voice coming from further back.

“No, idiot, you don’t call the police here,” Sho yelled out. “Get those stupid junkies out of here. Bring them to the station, or something. Call the police there. And for goodness sake, tell them when you call that you took their drugs away, so they can’t run off with them.”

“Right, boss.”

Nino saw another guy rushing off towards he back. Then Sho came back. He approached Nino with a smile.

“Sorry about this,” Sho stated. “This really usually does not happen. It’s very important to deal with these things immediately, though.”

Nino chuckled. When Sho merely raised a brow Nino shrugged as if he knew he was going to be lame.

“Deal with it…” Nino quoted.

Sho inspected Nino for a second, taking in the incredibly bad pun.

“I can see how Jun likes you,” he stated. “Come on, he should be on any minute. This way.”

Nino followed Sho through a narrow hallway. The noise grew stronger still and then Nino could see flashing lights and the additional noise of a partying crown filled his ears. It was close to deafening, really. But then, he really did want to see Jun. So, Nino bore with it. And then there he was. Jun got on stage, an intro announcing him. Nino bit his lip. Jun looked so incredibly cool, mixing his music, pushing buttons, adjusting speed, bass and other things, blending rhythms and seemingly all at the same time.

“He’s really good,” Sho practically yelled into his ear.

Nino nodded, still at awe, but also reminded of how fucking loud the set-up was.

“Want to change to my office?” Sho suggested.

Nino turned to give the man a skeptical look.

“Come on,” Sho urged. “You’re here. You saw him. But you don’t look like you’re having fun here, so how about you relax a bit?”

Sho did have a point, Nino found, so he nodded. Sho nodded back at him and motioned for Nino to follow him. They went through a number of hallways, then ended up in a small, narrow office. The noise was bearable back there.

“Take a seat,” Sho offered. “Do you want something to drink?”

Nino considered the question for a moment. “Do you mean alcohol? Or is Calpis something to drink too?”

“Calpis coming right up,” Sho announced.

He went to the small fridge in the room and took out a bottle, handing it to Nino.

“Thanks,” Nino chirped. “For everything.”

“Oh, not a problem,” Sho waved him off. “I’m just surprised. I hope I’m not ruining anything, but Jun never said that he was seeing someone.”

“Well,” Nino muttered, “we haven’t really… we only kissed once. And that was only a few days ago, so…”

“Oh, I see,” Sho grinned. “Jun’s trying to make an impression. Mind you, he hasn’t made an effort in forever, so, lucky you.”

“So… you don’t mind?” Nino asked carefully.

Sho looked at Nino with a sympathetic smile. “So Jun told you about our… arrangement?”

Nino nodded, averting his gaze.

“I don’t know what Jun has told you,” Sho said calmly, “but there’s nothing for you to be worried about. We’re fuck buddies, nothing more. And we’re only doing stuff when there’s nobody else in the picture.”

“That is what Jun told me,” Nino stated. He looked back at Sho. “Do you really not want to advance Jun?”

Sho chuckled, shaking his head. “We fuck well, but in a relationship we would kill each other. Really, no worries.”

“And… you can stop doing it?” Nino asked. “Just like that?”

“Well, not saying I’m not gonna miss it,” Sho admitted. “But hey, love comes first. It’s been like this way too long already, really.”

“How so?” Nino wanted to know.

They kept chatting for a while. A long while, actually, because at some point they got interrupted as Jun showed up, all sweaty-faced and looking tired.

“Oh, there you are,” Jun burst out, trying to look annoyed, but unable to fully conceal the joy over finding out that Nino had actually come. “What are you doing, sitting around in here.”

“He’s entertaining me,” Sho grinned. “If you don’t mind sharing your friend.”

“But I do mind,” Jun told him. “Nino’s my friend. Find yourself another one.”

“”Well, since you’re done now, I expect you two want to be alone,” Sho stated, already getting up.

“As a matter of fact,” Jun told him, “I would like to have a word with you, Sho-kun. Privately, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, er…” He eyed Nino for a moment. “No… no, I don’t mind.”

“Nino, will you give us a second?” Jun requested.

“Sure,” Nino nodded.

He had found Sho to be a cool guy and he trusted Jun in a way he could not explain and that was kind of scary, but he simply couldn’t help it. So, he left the room, leaving the other two to their talk.

“So, what do you want to discuss?” Sho wanted to know. “I take it you’re not interested in after-work activities tonight?”

Jun chuckled. “No, thanks. There is something else I need to talk to you about. You don’t need any details, but… I need to change my life circumstances.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Sho nodded. “So… are you quitting?”

Jun shot him an annoyed look. “Wow, you sure sound like you’re gonna miss me.”

“Look, I’m just being realistic,” Sho shrugged. “You cannot keep doing this forever.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jun sighed.

“So, what are you going to do?” Sho asked.

“Tomorrow… tomorrow I’ll attend and important meeting,” Jun said vaguely. “I’ll decide what I want to do then. I just wanted to let you know that… you know, that I might… not continue to perform here at the club.”

“Understood,” Sho sighed. “Well, whatever your do, take care.”

“Of course,” Jun chuckled.

“Well then, go and get laid,” Sho urged.

Jun frowned. “What do you mean?”

Sho grinned at him. “Oh, come on. You wanted to be all cool for your new friend. And for the record, that Ninomiya-guy is really decent. He’s also very interested. So, go and get him.”

“As if I needed you to tell me what to do,” Jun muttered.

“Call me any time, if you need support,” Sho grinned.

Jun made a disgusted sound and left a laughing Sho back in his office. As he got out he found Nino standing in front of the club.

“Hey,” Nino offered.

“Hey,” Jun answered stupidly.

“You… you were really cool tonight,” Nino stated.

“Thanks,” Jun chuckled.

Once again, things were just downright awkward. In that moment, though, Jun realized that it was awkward, because it mattered. If Nino turned him down, he would feel hurt. That’s why it was hard on him to make a move. But then, there was no point in beating around the bush any longer.

“Hey, do… you want to come back to my place?” Jun finally asked.

Nino blushed. “Sure,” he mumbled. “That would be cool.”

“Alright,” Jun nodded. “Let’s go.”

Once again they rode together in silence. Once again it was weird. They just sat it out, though, silently agreeing that things wouldn’t get better with stupid small talk. Even though it was early in the morning and they shared a taxi the ride seemed to take forever. When they finally arrived at Jun’s place, they just quickly swept into Jun’s apartment, discarded shoes and jackets and moved to Jun’s living room.

“So…” Jun dragged out.

“Here we are,” Nino commented needlessly.

“Er… do you want a drink or something?” Jun asked.

He was freaking out a bit, suddenly panicking, wondering if he had condoms at home.

“No, thanks,” Nino smiled shyly.

With both of them not knowing what to say, silence spread between them again.

“Uh, dammit,” Nino burst out suddenly. “Just why are things so awkward with you?”

Jun chuckled. “I know what you mean. It’s so… bothersome. But at the same time, I can’t get enough of you. Just looking at your face makes me happy. Okay, now I sound weird. Sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Nino assured him. Then he sighed, though. “But… maybe this is not a good idea, after all?”

Jun’s heart sank. “What do you mean?”

“Well, when things work out, aren’t you supposed to… you know, feel all heated up and just grab at each other, being unable to keep your hands off the other person, because you just want them so bad that you can’t help it? It doesn’t seem to be like that between us. So, maybe it’s not quite right.”

“I don’t know,” Jun mused. “Passion’s all fair and well. But I think there’s more than one possible approach. And I rarely do things the way I’m supposed to. So, why don’t we just… I don’t know, why don’t we just do what we feel like doing and see how it works out?”

“That’s still not very romantic,” Nino complained.

“Well, we can’t have everything,” Jun shrugged. “Do you want to have sex tonight?”

“I do, just… No, you know what? You’re right. We’ll do this our way.”

“Sounds good,” Jun grinned.

With that he wrapped his arms around Nino and kissed him deeply. Their kissing had worked well, so that was a good starting point. And Jun was not disappointed, Nino’s lips were plush and soft and they tasted unexpectedly well. While Jun raveled in their kiss Nino’s mind was suddenly filled with a million things. He felt totally freaked out about what he was doing, what he should be doing, what he should not be doing…

But then there was a hand sliding underneath Nino’s shirt, feeling up the warm skin of his small and making him jump slightly at the feeling. For a second Nino felt annoyed with himself for giving away how long it’s been for him, but Jun’s hand only stroked him more delicately, as if telling him that it was okay, that there was no pressure. Finally Nino relaxed, being able to enjoy Jun’s tender touches along with their tongues’ delicate play. He leaned into Jun’s form, feeling their bodies fit together and damn, did they fit well. Jun was about the perfect height, being about an inch taller than Nino, giving him the feeling of being safe in Jun’s arms while still not feeling inferior due to bodily short-comings. Of course, some regions yet had to be explored in more detail. Nino did not get an opportunity to start feeling nervous again, though. Jun took the next step, pulling away from their kiss and leaving Nino’s lips in favor of his neck, attaching his lips to it and kissing and nipping lovingly.

“Ah,” Nino sighed.

He felt his knees going weak for a second, but Jun was right there, for him to hold onto, to lean against, to feel his chest up, even if it’s through the fabric of Jun’s designer shirt, to rub his body against with an urgency that would have embarrassed him again, if Jun did not answer with equal enthusiasm. The friction between them caused an all new kind of tension between them that Nino grew very vividly aware of after no more than a minute. He cursed inwardly. They weren’t even half-naked yet and there he was, all hard and needy, most probably going to come before Jun touched his hand to Nino’s crotch. How could he ever please Jun the way he was used to?

“Fuck, Nino,” Jun whispered against his ear. “We haven’t even started yet and I already want you so bad it hurts.”

He pulled back a bit to look into Nino’s eyes. His hand that was not exploring Nino’s back was playing with the hair on Nino’s neck and the smile on his face was just about as breathtaking as having Jun’s lips on his skin.

“I can’t even remember the last time I got hard in my pants,” Jun continued. “What are you doing to me?”

It was in that moment that Nino realized that he was not alone. Jun felt just as lost, just as agitated, just as excited as he did and just for a second Nino wanted to cry, needing to relief the joy he was feeling. He couldn’t remember when last he had been with someone who saw him as an equal – let alone someone as gorgeous as Jun. Maybe it was like that because Jun too knew the feeling of being bashed, or maybe Jun saw something in him that Nino did not see – Jun had mentioned something like that before. The reason did not really matter, though, because the understanding of Jun’s feelings gave Nino a peace of mind he had not known he was lacking. Suddenly he was not some stupid freak getting lucky by being allowed in Jun’s bed. He was an object of desire, a wanted, a chosen partner. Jun had picked him very deliberately.

“Anything,” Nino breathed. “Everything. I’ll do everything to you.”

The fact that he didn’t make much sense didn’t matter at all. Jun was only too happy to have Nino’s hands getting more urgent, not only prying under his shirt, but pulling at it, shoving it up, showing that he wanted the thing off. And Jun obliged, helped along, ridding himself of the fine fabric. Once the shirt was gone, Nino took a moment to look at Jun’s naked chest. A grin came to his face.

“Mine,” he said, his voice vibrating with delight.

“All yours,” Jun offered.

And Nino did not have to be told twice. His fingers found Jun’s warm skin, stroking it lightly, but in an urgent pace that had Jun chuckle.

“If that’s already making you cheer, just wait until you see the rest,” he teased.

“Yeah, I’ll get to that in a minute,” Nino announced. “But first…”

He took a step back and ripped his own shirt over his head, exposing his naked skin to Jun. Seeing Jun’s appreciative look gave Nino yet another boost. He closed the distance between Jun and himself again, his arm coming around Jun’s waist easily, pulling him close and sliding his hand down over the light curve of Jun’s hip and grabbing at Jun’s ass playfully, making the man gasp in surprise. When Jun merely melted against him, making their naked chests touch, Nino realized that there was a pretty good chance that he could actually lay Jun. The thought thrilled him so much, he brought his second hand down on Jun’s unoccupied buttock, giving it a little smack before groping it boldly, making Jun groan.

Next thing Nino knew, Jun’s hands made their way right to the fly of his jeans, ripping it down unceremoniously and plunging right through the opening, really feeling Nino for the first time.

“Damn,” Nino cursed.

His dick twitched and he knew he wasn’t going to last.

“If you don’t let off, I’m gonna blow right into my pants,” Nino told Jun.

“Now, if that’s not a worthy memory,” Jun grinned.

He started to pull Nino, moving his hand as much as it would through the small hole at the front of his pants and to Nino it didn’t even matter that the angle was off, that the tugging felt a bit rough, that Jun’s nails were digging slightly into his hip when they met it. All Nino could think of was Jun and how he jerked Nino off enthusiastically and how his cock hadn’t been touched by a hand that was not his in way too long and how good it felt to have the anticipation of what would happen next, the sensation of his balls being stroked in an angle that he could never manage himself. Nino’s hips began to move against Jun’s insistent hand, rubbing, thrusting, needing more.

“You look so hot,” Jun said in a hushed voice. “So horny… I bet your pants are gonna be so wet.”

Nino moaned at the suggestion. He knew it should feel embarrassing, but he was already too far gone to care. If Jun wanted to see him come in his pants, if he would stroke him to orgasm the way he did right now, then he would show Jun just what he wanted.

“Faster,” Nino gasped. “Damn, I’m gonna come.”


His eyes closed involuntarily as the sensations washed over his body. HE could feel the heat spreading through his body, his muscles tensing and he knew, just a few more strokes would do it.

“Yeah, like that,” Nino urged. “More. More.”

Jun stroked him with intent, fast and steady and Nino was already on the brink when Jun’s fingers tightened around him just a tab bit more, triggering his nerves just right and that was it. Nino gasped, eyes shut tightly, while his mouth stood open and his dick twitched once, twice, oozing come, smearing his boxers and dirtying Jun’s fingers.

His breath came out in pants as he enjoyed the feeling of release. Jun held him close, kept his hand around Nino’s cock, playing a bit with the come he had drawn from his lover.

“Damn, you’re so cute,” Jun said, giving a loving peck to Nino’s cheek.

“I just jizzed in my pants and I must look like an idiot,” Nino chuckled.

“Cute,” Jun insisted playfully.

“Well, I am glad you feel that way,” Nino grinned at Jun. “You can be pretty cute too. But right now, all I see is that fine body.”

That said Nino carefully wiggled Jun’s hand out of his pants and his hands around Jun’s hips again. Before Jun could protest, Nino slid to his knees, his fingers eagerly working open Jun’s fly.

“You should clean up first,” Jun suggested, but did nothing to stop Nino’s advances.

Jun’s jeans were opened within seconds and Nino pulled them down over the man’s hips along with his boxers, revealing Jun’s very prominent hard-on.

“No, seriously, it’s gonna get dry and it’s gonna be gross,” Jun tried again.

Nino merely grinned up at him, though, before sticking out his tongue at Jun. He then brought that tongue to the warm skin of Jun’s cock. Nino’s hand found the base of the shaft, stroking it lazily, learning its texture.

“So smooth,” he muttered.

“Dammit,” Jun cursed.

When Nino looked up he saw Jun biting his lip, his cheeks flushed deeply, waiting for Nino’s next move. And, of course, Nino would not disappoint Jun. He leaned forward and licked Jun’s length up and down several times. It tasted musky, but not bitter at all like he had experienced before. If anything there was a slightly sweet touch to it that was not unpleasant at all. Of course, sucking dick was still a deed, but doing it for Jun was a deed done with pleasure. Nino gave it his everything, working his way up Jun’s length, licking around the head and, knowing how much of a turn-on it was, he looked straight into Jun’s eyes as he closed his lips around the shaft.

“Oh god, Nino,” Jun moaned. “Don’t stop. Never… never stop again.”

Nino chuckled lightly, but kept right on track, sucking Jun off as best he could. It was a skill that former lovers had praised him for. So he hollowed out his cheeks as he sucked and loosened his lips when sliding back down. His right hand gave stimulating twists to the base of the dick he was blowing, while his left hand massaged Jun’s balls gently. Another long moan was drawn from Jun’s lips. His slim, long fingers tangled into Nino’s hair, stroking it appreciatively, then urging Nino to move faster.

“You’re so good,” Jun mumbled. “So good. So good. Fuck, Nino, suck me off.”

Nino hummed around Jun’s dick. He made to go for gold, but Jun pushed him away slightly, even though he still whined a bit as he did.

“I want it all,” Jun panted. “But I’m afraid I only have one load ready tonight.”

“That’s okay,” Nino muttered against Jun’s dick.

He let off, but mouthed slow, sensual kisses up and down the pulsing flesh.

“How would you prefer to finish, then?” he asked playfully.

“Well, since you’ve been so attentive, you get to choose how you want me,” Jun offered.

“On your back, right on this couch, with your legs wrapped around my waist,” Nino said without a second’s hesitation.

Jun chuckled. “My, my, someone’s having a vivid imagination.”

“All I know is that I want you, right now, just like that,” Nino panted.

His breath was warm against Jun’s skin and Jun shuddered.

“Very well, then,” Jun agreed, his voice dark and deep and vibrating right through Nino’s entire body and straight to his cock. “Come here.”

In the end it wasn’t as simple and quick as Nino had hoped, preparations, applying a condom and finding a good position did not come as smoothly as he might have wanted, but ultimately he was granted his wish. He was buried deep in Jun’s body, plunging into his lover’s tight heat again and again, pushing, driving both of them towards the edge, Jun’s legs rubbing against his sides sinfully. Their bodies were tangled together, hands holding onto sweaty skin, breathless lips mouthing against necks and cheeks. Jun was urging Nino on, whispering sweet nothings to him.

“Nino,” Jun sighed. “Oh god, it’s so good.”

“You feel so good,” Nino agreed. “So warm, so tight.”

“More,” Jun moaned.

Nino groaned, he loved the way Jun urged him, how he said dirty things to make Nino go faster, harder, give Jun more.

“Yeah, tell me what you want,” Nino demanded.

“I want you to fuck me hole,” Jun panted out readily. “Good and hard.”

Nino picked up his efforts. “Like that?” he asked.

His hips moved urgently, giving a number of slow, hard thrusts that made Jun mewl and gasp his name.

“Fuck,” Jun cursed. “Just like that.”

He rolled his hips up, meeting Nino’s thrusts readily urgently. After a few tries he got the angle right and Nino’s dick brushed his prostate and a flash of pure pleasure cursed through his body, making it shake.

“Oh yeah, there it is,” Jun moaned. “Right there, right there. Keep going, baby.”

“Fuck, Jun,” Nino cursed.

His hips drove into Jun faster, more urgently, seeking, going for the release they both wanted so bad.

“Yeah, fuck me,” Jun urged. “Fuck me hard.”

Nino sighed, their slick bodies moving together. He buried his face in Jun’s neck, inhaling his heady scent, being certain he had never smelled anything so arousing in his life. His tongue came out, getting a taste of sweaty skin and Jun’s body arched, tilting his hips just a tad bit further and then they were both falling apart, their movements growing sloppy, their faces turning ugly as they strived for it, further, further…

Jun hit it first, his body shaking deliciously as he came hard, moaning his pleasure and spraying his come over himself and Nino. After holding back as long as possible, so Jun could come, hearing Jun, feeling him fall apart made Nino lose control as well. His hips bean to jerk along with his arms and legs and he could barely hold himself up as he hit home one last time and his dick pulsed deliciously inside Jun’s body. As soon as the wave of his orgasm subsided Nino collapsed on Jun, unable to move as much as another inch.

“Just a minute,” he muttered apologetically.

Jun merely chuckled, stroking Nino’s sweaty hair lovingly.

“Take your time,” he offered easily, even though Nino was pretty sure he was barely feeling his legs by then.

Even so, they stayed like that for a few moments, until Nino found the strength in his arms to roll off Jun. The other man attended to him lovingly, Getting rid of the condom and wiping Nino clean.

“I told you that it’s gonna dry up,” Jun mock-scolded Nino.

“Sorry,” Nino mumbled. “You’re just so hot, I couldn’t help it.”

“I’ll accept the compliment,” Jun offered. “But I’m not gonna have that kind of mess every time we have sex.”

“I’ll be less messy,” Nino promised.

As soon as Jun had finished his cleaning efforts to his personal satisfaction, he grabbed Nino and insistently dragged him off towards the bed room. At first Nino complained, but then he followed Jun readily and not a minute later they were snuggled up together beneath Jun’s covers, cuddling up and stroking skin lazily. Nino couldn’t remember ever feeling so calm, so… satisfied. It didn’t take long for the fatigue to take over his body and he drifted off into a very restful sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Okay, so here we are,” Nino commented needlessly.

They were standing at the corner of Aiba’s magic shop. Jun and Nino had gotten up early and had breakfast together, exchanging small kisses and caresses all along the way. So much so that they actually found it hard to stop when they left the house. They did try to keep their new relationship secret, but Ohno knew the instant he saw them that they had hit it off, so they did not downright lie about it and admitted to having taken the next step. Ohno was truly happy for them, too, which was very helpful. Nino was overjoyed that Jun’s closest friend supported them. Nino’s gaze wandered towards Jun, who shot him one of his wonderfully bright smiles, paired with a playful wink.

Yeah, let’s get going,” Jun decided.

Ohno looked around the place. “I have to admit that this is not what I expected.”

“I know what you mean,” Jun nodded. “But you will understand once we meet Aiba-san. Let’s go.”

The three of them made their way down the stairs and Aiba was already waiting for them at the counter of his little shop.

“Good morning,” Aiba greeted them cheerfully. “So, Nino already told me that there’s a lot to discuss today. Do come in and make yourselves at home.”

As sweet as Aiba’s invitation was, the limited space left little room for comforts. They all followed Aiba to the far back of the shop where he had prepared a small table with several seats. Jun and Nino sat down quietly next to each other.

“Ah, this is Ohno-san,” Nino introduced Ohno. “He wanted to come and… actually, I’m not entirely sure, but he insisted to come along.”

“Well, Ohno-san, you’re…” Aiba broke off as his and Ohno’s eyes met.

They stared at each other for a moment and Jun had always thought that moments in which even the surrounding people could hear the fire sparking between two people was something that only ever happened in romance movies, but right then and there both Nino and him witnessed how Aiba and Ohno obviously fell in love at first sight.

“You’re… welcome here, of course,” Aiba finally managed to mutter out.

“Thanks,” Ohno mumbled, cheeks flushed as he took a seat as well, looking incredibly embarrassed.

Jun couldn’t help chuckling, but Nino was right there, ramming his elbow right between Jun’s rips and shutting him up effectively.

“So, er…” Aiba tried, but he was apparently still disoriented, not quite over the sight of Ohno, and so his voice drifted off.

“Well,” Nino took over the conversation again, “first of all, we wanted to know if maybe the spell that’s affecting Jun right now can be lifted by something other than him quitting his day job. Like, if he can make his own choice about what he wants to do, as long as the need is fulfilled.”

Aiba seemed to think very long and thoroughly about the question. Or maybe he kept catching a glance at Ohno’s hair, Nino wasn’t sure.

Finally Aiba nodded, though, his eyes focusing on Jun. “Of course, the spell is supposed to help you find a more balanced life. You can seek your own way of doing that.”

“Just fantastic,” Jun sighed.

“Please,” Ohno smiled at Jun, “don’t feel obligated towards me. It’s okay to follow your heart.”

Jun shook his head angrily. “You don’t get it. The reason why I keep torturing my body like that is that my heart is torn. I love our company. I’m passionate about what we do. But I also love music. I love the beat and… and the show and… everything. I could not make myself quit either one, that’s why things are the way they are now. Or rather, the way they used to be. But if I have to choose, it’ll break my heart. I love these things equally. How can I choose one?”

“Well, you’ll have to make a choice,” Nino said sympathetically. “It can’t be helped.”

“No,” Aiba opposed, though. He frowned at Jun. “You really mean that?”

Jun nodded firmly. “I enjoy everything that I do. I just feel like I don’t have enough time for all of it. And I feel that I’m not a partner that can support Satoshi the way he needs it. But I do want it. And the club stuff… The moment I get off work, I rush home to my desk to get some new arrangements done. When I’ve finished a set-list, I feel so accomplished. When I hear the crowd cheering to my songs, it’s truly joyful. Then, when I’m on the way home, I google interesting herbs and plants and when I find something that intrigues me, I’ll research it for possible uses in our cosmetics… It’s an endless circle and I don’t even feel like stopping it.”

“That’s weird,” Aiba mused.

“What is?” Nino wanted to know.

“Well, a spell is supposed to help you sort your stuff out. To admit things to yourself that you might have been hiding from. But Jun… you seem very much at peace with yourself. You might well tire yourself out, but you one hundred percent know what you’re doing it for and if you could help it, you wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t,” Jun confirmed.

“That… that’s not how the spell’s supposed to work,” Aiba stated. “Something’s not right.”

“Okay, now you’re scaring me a bit,” Jun told him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Aiba admitted. “Are you very sure you followed my instructions?”

“Hey, it is working,” Jun reminded Aiba. “Just not the way we want it to.”

Aiba shook his head. “What we want is not important,” he explained. “But the spell is supposed to bring you relief, but make you stressed out even more than before.”

“Maybe there’s something you haven’t considered yet?” Ohno suggested to Jun.

“Or maybe Aiba-san’s magic is not as good as he claims,” Nino teased. “That charm you gave me as a sample sure did not unfold in any noticeable way.”

“I felt that charm with you so you could do research on it, as you told me you wished to,” Aiba stated.

“What better research than trying out its magic?” Nino shrugged.

Aiba looked slightly alarmed at that. “Don’t tell me… you made a wish on that charm?!”

Nino shrunk back a bit. “You never said that I couldn’t.”

Aiba sighed. “You really don’t know the first thing about magic, do you? Who in their right mind would make a wish on a charm that was given to them randomly and without defining the qualities of the wanted spell? I did not trade the spell to you, so it could not unfold properly.”

“Okay, then,” Nino dragged out. “So it did not work out, because we did not… define, whatever.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Aiba said agitatedly. “The fact that you own a half-baked spell… and then giving one to Jun… the magic must have mixed together in an unbecoming way. That’s why Jun’s having such problems with his spell.”

Jun gave Nino a sour look. “So you did curse me, after all.”

“I didn’t know I was doing anything,” Nino tried to defend himself. “I never… I want you to be happy.”

Jun sighed. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. But you did blame Aiba, when it’s really your fault.”

“Well, Aiba-kun keeps bitching at me about how I’m not explaining spells to customers, but he never once told me about how his stuff works.”

“You own a fucking magic shop,” Aiba burst out. “I was assuming you’d know how magic works. Well, lesson learned, I’m always gonna check the license of a shop I want to deliver to from now on.”

Nino blinked. “License?”

“Oh dear,” Aiba sighed.

“Well, what are we gonna do now?” Jun asked into the room. “What am I gonna do now? I’m stuck with this… distorted spell.”

“That is indeed unfortunate,” Aiba muttered. “Okay, let me… let me see the effect of the spell. Maybe I can think of something, then.”

Jun shrugged and grabbed a tube of concealer from his bag that he still kept carrying around. He took a fair amount of it and smoothed it all over his face. Not only Aiba, but everybody else in the room was staring at him.

“What?” Jun shrugged. “I told you it’s not working.”

“But Jun,” Nino muttered. “I mean, I’m not an expert, but…”

“What?” Jun demanded.

“Jun, it’s working,” Ohno breathed out.

Jun stared. “What do you mean?” he asked irritatedly.

“I mean your face is perfectly smooth,” Ohno clarified. “The concealer works perfectly.”

“But…” Jun shook his head, shocked. “I tried many times. For hours.”

“It’s working perfectly now,” Aiba assured him. “There’s a mirror over there, take a look.”

Jun jumped up and took a look at himself in the mirror. Not a single flaw could be see non his face. He gaped.

“But… how?” he gasped. “I mean, what happened?”

Aiba bit his lip. He turned towards Nino. “What was your wish?” he asked.

“Huh?” Nino made.

“The wish that you made on the charm,” Aiba repeated. “What was it?”

Nino blushed furiously, averting his gaze.

“Why is that important?” he wanted to know.

“Stop being childish,” Jun urged. “Just say it.”

“Well, I…” Nino began carefully. “I thought that if I really had a charm that would work… if it could really make a wish come true, I will wish for true love.”

It was Jun’s turn to blush furiously. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered.

Aiba nodded in understanding. “So, the spell was supposed to bring Jun into your life. Thus Jun’s problems. Well, since the unfortunate condition is over now, it appears that your spells have… blended somehow… and fulfilled both your wishes.”

“Just fantastic,” Jun bit out. “Of course, the world just has to know that we fucked.”

“It’s not about fucking,” Aiba corrected Jun. “It’s about love.”

“Whatever,” Jun mumbled. “But even though the misplaced spell went away, what about what my spell was supposed to do?”

“It might have taken on another effect,” Aiba mused. “One that you haven’t noticed yet – just as you haven’t noticed that the make-up is working again. Try to think if there’s something that has been different.”

Jun thought really hard, but couldn’t find anything of significance.

“It’s hard to think after a night as short as the last one,” Nino joked.

“Speak for yourself,” Jun grumbled. “I’m perfectly well-rested.”

“Oh, come on,” Nino dragged out. “You slept for about two hours. But well, I guess you were high on… endorphin, or something. You even got up to make breakfast at about five.”

Jun merely shrugged. “I was feeling hungry, not tired. And I didn’t hear you complaining about getting poached egg for breakfast.”

“Hey, you could hand me a bowl of basic cereal and I would feel joyful,” Nino smiled.

“How many hours did you sleep?” Aiba asked Jun.

“Two to three,” Jun answered. Then he blinked. “Wait, do you think…? Maybe that’s what changed?”

“Well, we can’t verify it now,” Aiba stated, “but it would make sense. Maybe the spell developed into making your body need less sleep, so you won’t have problems doing everything that you love.”

“So, physical treats can be changed by magic as well?” Ohno asked eagerly.

“Oh yes,” Aiba nodded. “Many people even trade certain treats. Just a while ago a young woman came to trade in her perfect hearing for a singing voice. Sadly she later said she needed the hearing back, but I had already given it to someone else… But yeah, these things are basically my everyday business.”

“I’d like to hear more about that,” Ohno stated. “Much more,” he added with a wink.

This time Nino did not nudge away Jun’s chuckle, but Ohno was unimpressed, still focusing on Aiba.

“But since you mentioned it, if you’re still looking for a perfect hearing, I have one on offer,” Ohno said.

Everybody blinked in surprise.

“You have perfect hearing?” Jun asked.

Ohno nodded. “I do. It was found out when I was in Junior High. But I never pursued the art of music, so… it’s kind of a waste if I keep it when someone else is obviously in need of it. So, I’ll trade it.”

Aiba beamed at Ohno. “Really? Thank you. My customer will be so happy. That’s awesome.”

He got up and hugged Ohno tightly. After a moment of joy their hug turned slightly dirty as Aiba grabbed for Ohno’s butt and Ohno slipped a hand under the hem of Aiba’s shirt.

“Oh my god, guys,” Jun burst out. “Keep it decent, at least until you know each other’s first names.”

“Masaki,” Aiba gasped out.

“Satoshi,” Ohno answered willingly.

That said the two of them engaged in a heated kiss.

“Okay, now, this is awkward,” Nino commented. Jun grunted his agreement, then turned slightly as he found Nino’s gaze on him. “Do you think it would make things better or weirder if we kissed too?”

Jun groaned and got up.

“I’m out,” he announced and quickly left, Nino right on his heels.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino wrinkled his nose slightly. He turned around in bed, frowning slightly as he noticed that it was empty but for himself. He didn’t even have the time to actually miss Jun’s warmth beside him when the sound of the mixer almost made him jump out of bed.

“Dammit, Jun,” Nino called out, annoyed, “stop making so much noise so early in the morning.”

“I want fresh orange juice,” Jun called back.

Nino sighed. “Some of us need more than two hours of sleep, you know.”

“Right. Sorry,” Jun called back. “But I’ll make you French Toast, just as promised.”

“As long as you serve it in about two hours, we’re cool,” Nino let his lover know.

Their relationship had developed very neatly. They were already living together, they had a smooth daily routine and Nino had been welcomed like into a family among Jun’s friends. Jun was very attentive too. He cooked for them, he kept their apartment clean and tidy and he let Nino keep his gaming gear in the living room. Close to perfect. Nino cringed slightly, when the mixer made itself heard again.

“Sorry,” he heard Jun’s voice again. “Needed to beat the eggs”.

Yeah, close to perfect. Nino smiled, snuggling into the sheets and trying to catch some more sleep. They both had a lot to do that day. They were finally finished with moving all of Aiba’s stuff to the “Wicked Little Witcher”, which Nino and Aiba would be running together from now on. Then they would have a meeting with Ohno at his office to discuss the new product line of Aeris Cosmetics, for which Jun would prepare some visuals during the morning. Once they were done working, they would all meet up with Sho for dinner. Nino never would have thought it would turn out like that, but he had come to really like Sho, he was a cool guy with lots of good traits. He also had a way of keeping Jun from overdoing things that could be helpful in various situations. And Nino was very happy that Jun had Sho to work with as club DJ. He could always be sure that Sho would watch out for Jun. So he knew he would feel at ease when after dinner Sho and Jun would proceed to Sho’s club for a night of club work. Nino knew that Jun would not come home before 3am, but it was okay. Jun kept doing his DJ acts once about every two weeks and it made him happy and even though he hardly slept, Jun kept Nino company during all other nights, wrapping him in his arms and keeping him warm. What more could Nino wish for?

As if on cue, Jun came in and crawled into the bed next to Nino, hugging him close and nuzzling his neck.

“Sorry for waking you,” Jun muttered apologetically.

“Ungh,” Nino grunted. “Don’t do it again.”

“Okay,” Jun promised.

He started to Kiss Nino’s shoulder-blades and Nino very much liked where Jun was going, so he hummed, letting his lover know that he enjoyed the treatment.

“The positive effect of getting up early,” Jun mumbled against Nino’s skin, “is that you can squeeze in a little fun before getting out of bed.”

Nino grinned. He turned around, facing Jun.

“I’m all for fun,” he announced.

That said he kissed Jun passionately, feeling their love and passion mix in a way that he could only call fulfilling. His life was so much better since he met Jun – or maybe since he met Aiba. Not that it really mattered. He wouldn’t want to miss any of them from his life and he loved all of them. Well, admittedly he loved the way Jun’s tongue was exploring is upper body the most. He stroked his fingers through Jun’s hair appreciatively, signaling that he wanted more. And Jun always gave Nino his everything. Being together the two of them always developed their very own magic that worked on them in the most incredible ways and Nino would always hold it dear, that magic spark that was brightening up Nino’s very soul, making it sign in joy together with Jun’s, off-key, but joyfully.

Comments

[astrangestorm]

This was quite a mixture of fun ideas! I like Jun's "double work life" of cosmetic maker by day, DJ MJ by night. I like that Nino was a fraud but came to understand and be aware of real magic by the end. The twist with the spell simply giving Jun the ability to survive on less rest and thus continue with both of his chosen jobs made me laugh - it's a very Jun solution!! The love at first sight Tennen was cute too :)

[yoru_no_hikari]

I know I am back extremely late for this. Finally I made it.

Thank you for commenting, I'm so happy this story was well-perceived. :D

Jun being a workaholic just came naturally somehow. ^^" The thing is, when I started out with the story, the plan was to make him quit the cosmetics thing. But Jun just didn't want that, so the story needed another way to develop and you put it very nicely, Jun found his own way out and it couldn't be more characteristic of him. ^^"

The idea of Nino running a magic shop that didn't sell actual magic hit me as hilarious when I thought it up. I like how interested he is, though. Curious and willing to learn new stuff, working to be more sophisticated, I like that a lot. And it's a good thing he's got Aiba to help him with it. ^_~

The Tennen thing just happened, right on the spot. I think it's nice how their chemistry was right from the very first second. Their love story would be an interesting one to tell as well.

Again, thank for commenting, I'm glad you found it interesting. :D

[piggywhale]

This is truly wonderful! It's funny, sexy, mysterious, magical, and smutty, all in one fic. 💕 I kept guessing what was going on with Jun and how the magic went wrong(?) with him. Only to found out that it's Nino's wish that came into equation and made everything more complicated for Jun. Poor guy, he had to struggle with the decision to choose between jobs and feel sorry about that, when in fact he didn't have to. *rolling on the floor laughing and doing 'oh, Jun, poor you' at the same time* 🤣

I like the work-crazy, a bit overly serious Jun here so much. He seemed so commited to everything that he did. And Jun being a developer/marketing man for a cosmetic company that he AND Ohno started?!? Wow.. I can't tell you how much this idea entertains me. Love it!!

Nino is so lovable here. I love that he didn't think much. Hahaa. See how much fun we got from Nino not thinking? :D He had quite a few numbers of cheesy but effective pick-up lines too. Gotta give it to him 💛 I particularly like his interactions with Sho. Sho was so intimidating and it's such a power play but it turned out so well. Bless them!

Special thank for making Aiba the REAL magician. Aiba going all serious when explaining the complications of magic and how they work is such a big plus 💚 It amused me every single moment that Aiba went 'what? You don't know that? But it's so basic.' on Nino. So hilarious! Role reverse FTW 😆 And Aiba/Ohno at the end. 😂 They just couldn't wait, could they? LoL

This is very entertaining and very fun. I really appreciate it! Thank you, Anon!

[yoru_no_hikari]

Thank you so much for your kind comment and I apolopgize for being so late with this response. m(__)m

Isn't it a wonderful idea, Jun and Ohno running a beauty business? ^^" I'd buy everything they sell. Well, for the story, I thought it would be the most plausible team, seeing how Jun keeps referring to how he wanted to mask his blemished skin.

Nino got into things a bit carelessly, really, didn't he? Opening up a magic shop, but not knowing anything about magic. But then, I think he kind of grew into what he was doing gradually and once he learned that there was more to it, he grabbed right on, which is really cool. I thought a lot about the relation between Nino and Sho. It needed to be well-balanced, even with Sho having a strong stand with Jun. I think they did well, Sho welcomed Nino very warmly and he very honestly wants Jun to find happiness with his significant other, so they worked very well with each other. I do htink that they will become very close friends. ^^

Aiba struck me as the most likely to be accomodating to the idea of actual magic and doing research on it too. The fact that he is a professional seems only too given. Aiba is very keen on things he enjoys, he knows a lot about them and it shows that he loves what he's doing. Haha, yeah, and he can't believe Nino can run a magic shop without knowing anything (or having a license XD ). I think he will be very helpful with Nino going all "real" with his business. ^^

Thanks a lot for reading, I'm so happy you enjoyed it. <3

[kinoface]

Dear Anon-san, I am back and have finally gotten a chance to read this! I enjoyed it so much!!

I love the introduction of DJ MJ, followed by the reveal that Jun is actually a dedicated businessman who has his DJ gigs on the side. Of course he would!! And Ohno as his partner, aahh it's so good.

I love that Ohno and Jun's sister team up to help him out. They just want what's best for him! So do I!!

And of course Nino the smartass who sells these potions and trinkets he doesn't really believe in vs. Aiba whose magic is the real deal -- such a good combo! I love that when Jun comes back to Nino in anger, Nino is just as surprised as he is!

The whole idea of Jun having to figure out what "less stress" means for him is a great twist, and the solution he ended up with is so perfectly him. And watching him and Nino grow closer and develop feelings for each other, and then embrace those feelings, was wonderful.

LOL and the Tennen bit at the end was excellent. I was definitely super happy to see one of my favorite non-Nino pairs make its way in here!!

Overall, this was really cute and fun and had some great characterization. Thank you so much for writing this for me!! I look forward to finding out who you are so I can thank you again! :D

[yoru_no_hikari]

First off, I need to spologize, because I'm really late. I'm so sorry about that. m(__)m

Yeah, well, of course Jun needs something on the side. I mean, he'd get so bored with nothing to do besides a full time job. ^^" It is a good thing that Ohno and also Jun's sister look out for him. <3 Jun can be a stubborn little brat, so he needs a nudge in the right direction every now and then. ^^

Nino being the owner of that magic shop was actually the idea that got this entire story started. ^^ The second thought, right after that, was "How cool would it be, if Nino only made things up, not even believing in magic, only to find out that by chance he actually sold some to Jun and having absolutely no idea what to do about it?". So yeah, that's how it all started off. Poor Nino. ^^" And poor Jun, of course, being the victim of such poorly communicated magic. XD But then, it was for the best, ultimately.

I really like the development of feeling between Jun and Nino too. They haven't known each other for a long time and their first real involvement is that Nino did something that just might ruin Jun's life... and yet, they both grow those feelings. In a way, it shows how blind love is. Even the fact that Jun is troubled because of Nino doesn't make the feelings go away. They grow, in spite of everything, and Jun accepts that very early on. Somehow that development feels very real, because feelings of love come randomly, with no warning and they don't follow reason, they don't need any special input. Love is not earned, it doesn't need to be deserved. It makes me happy that Jun and Nino find joy in their developing feelings. <3

Yeah, Tennen. ^^ It happened really on the spot. The moment they were in the same scene, that spark was created and it was a joyful one so I was happy to give them an off so they can be happy too. ^^

I'm really glad you enjoyed this. I had a lot of fun writing it, it felt very warm and joyful. Thank you for the prompt that helped creating this story. And thank you for your kind comment too. ^3^

[learashi]

Nino finding out that real magic exists and being so surprised when he runs his own magic shop is just priceless.
The love at first sight between Ohno and Aiba was hilarious. They started making out about two minutes after meeting? Bahahahaha.
Poor, poor Jun. Although he is lucky in many ways. The friends with benefits with Sho for a start. They have such a mature approach to this and Sho really cares about Jun's welfare.
Nino, who doesn't even believe in magic wishes for true love?
And the best thing is that he actually finds it.
Thanks for writing.

[yoru_no_hikari]

I am so late for this. I apologize for that. ><

Ne? It was such a hilarious thought. I shared it with some friends, like "imagine, Nino runs a magic shop, but he just made it all up, but then, by chance, he sells actual magic to someone, but something goes wrong and Nino totally can't believe it and has no clue as to what to do". That's how all of this started, really. ^^

Somehow Tennen are the secret heroes of this story. ^^" I got so many comments on them. They really are hilariously cute, though. XD

Jun does feel torn, from the very beginning. He wants to enjoy everything that's important to him, but he doesn't really know how to go about it. He manages, but only just, which is not a solution on the long run. I'm happy that Sho came across as a supportive character. He's so strong, I was afraid he'd appear intimidating, but he really is kind and yes, he absolutely wishes for Jun to be happy. <3

Haha, well, I guess Nino will have held the charm over a glass (or two?) of beer and gone something like "if there's anything that you can actually do, you ugly piece of wood, then present me with a handsome, funny, sexy guy. *second's pause* Nah, didn't think you could." Something alons those lines. XD

But well, how does the saying go "better be careful what you wish for". ^^" But then, getting Jun as a lover semms like a pretty good deal, ne? ^^

Thank you for your kind words. I truly appreciate them. <3

[nicefinalbeam]

I really enjoyed the way you explored the properties and rules of magic in this fic. The idea that a spell was trying to find stress relief for Jun - but wasn't just going to offer it to him, had to push him into figuring his life out? I really enjoyed that - and the twist at the end of actually keeping both jobs was great :D Nino having wished for love is ADORABLE and I'm glad he found it. I also really liked that sex for them wasn't just jumping at each other, they had to ease into it and it started a little awkwardly lol That's much more realistic honestly!

Thanks for the fun read :)

[yoru_no_hikari]

Thank you for reading this and also for commenting, of course. <3 I am so sorry that I came back so late, my sincerest apologies. m(__)m

I do like approaches that are not too established yet. This one was a lucky shot, though, as it came to me easily. ^^ Jun's "double life" was definitely exhausting him, so he needed a solution. Naturally, things get complicated when you buy magic from a shop that doesn't even understand the concept of magic. ^^" Good thing that Aiba helped them through it. ^^

Yeah, that's me too. Easy-going smooth smut is just not my cup of tea. ^^" To me too, if it's awkward at some point, it's so much more real. And well, they did have fun. ^_~

Again, thank you for commenting. I'm happy you enjoyed this. :D

[reveetoile]

First of all: I love the name of Nino’s little shop XD And I don’t even know why but it made me laugh
Poor Jun with all his problems. But nobody should wish for anything without thinking of what might actually happen. Every thing that gets fulfilled has a setback. So the easy way out Is mostly the hard way. I love that there is conflict now in Jun’s life because of that and that he has to think about what he actually wants to be happy
Nino is so insecure and feels so bad. I feel kind of sorry for him. But he and Jun seem to get along well with each other and might help each other out :D
And their first kiss. It was so lovely in all its awkward glory
The ending was great. They are such a great couple and I am happy that everybody is happy now :D

[yoru_no_hikari]

First off, thank you for reading and for writing me a comment. I am truly sorry I am here so late with my response. ><

Haha, I actually thought about the name of the shop for a long time. It ended up being named that because I wanted to put a bit of Nino's character into it. ^^"

Yeah, wishes are actually a lot more complicated than people think. Jun could have been more curious as to how that spell was going to work. But then, mainly people don't really believe in magic like that. Poor Jun, being thrown into such a situation, though. ^^" I did feel bad for him.

I felt bad for Nino too, because naturally he didn't want any harm to come to Jun and seeing him suffer was hard on Nino. And on top of that, he falls for Jun too. Poor baby. ^^" But he made his way through it all pretty well. <3

I really liked their first kiss. It felt weird and right at the same time and I think it was the same to them and that's why it fits so well. Does that make any sense? ^^" Anyway, I think it was just so cute. And their awkwardness afterwards. XD They are just so lovely. ^^

I'm glad they got their happily ever after. I'm also glad that you liked this. Again, thank so much for reading!! <3

[berrybuttboy]

I read this a while ago but didn't get to actually comment. This is so lovely!

Jun is so Jun here, his problem is... Very Jun. Especially the solution!! I laughed a little when he noticed that he couldn't use make up... Horrible, poor Jun.

And Aiba! Oh I loved him, and also, I loved how you had made the magic work. I would be so intrigued to read more about this magic!

Then there is sweet little Nino! I couldn't stop awwwing when I reached the end and found out Nino's part in Jun's problem... Can I just hug Nino forever? Please?

Also props for Tennen!! LOVE. Also the fact that Ohno just gives his perfect hearing away just like that made me go awwwww. This story is very cute, thanks for sharing, Author-san!!

[yoru_no_hikari]

Thank you for reading and also for your comment. <3

I am pretty late too, I need to apologize for that. I'm not usually this late with my responses. ><

Yeah, Jun is not Jun when he's not working. ^^" And in this setting, not being able to wear make-up was definitely his worst nightmare. Poor him, really. He had absolutely no idea what that spell was about. ^^" Good thing he has such awesome friends and wonderful helpers. :D

Aiba was a strong character, who helped me a lot to develop thins into a positive direction, I'm very thankful for that. He was always so nice and helpful, even though Nino apparently fucked up and had nothing to offer to solve the matter. Well, not that Nino had any bad intentions - he simply didn't know better. ^^"

I liked Nino's devotion to "make things right", really. He was very determined and I think that is actually something that Jun sparked in him, Nino never having had any big ambitions, but was leading a rather simple life with simple needs. Having Jun around changed a lot for Nino and he wanted to make Jun happy again. Little did he know that Jun would make him happy too. ^_~

Yay, Tennen. ^_^v They were so well-perceived, it makes me want to write them a story as main pair. ^^ But really, they connected so well, it was downright awesome. <3

Thanks again for reading and for your kind words. I'm really happy that you liked it. :D

[(Anonymous)]

This is a wonderful story! First of all, I love that Jun has his cosmetic brand together with Ohno, and works at a DJ. Both jobs fit him so well. And how Ohno and Jun's sister are plotting together to stop him from overworking.
What I loved the most though is the initial attraction between Nino and Jun when they met first, and even when Jun found out that he is 'cursed' thanks to Nino and the tea, there still is this attraction. I wonder if it's because of the charm Nino used or because the charm brought them together and they were really destined for each other. The whole love story between these two, going from various stages of awkward and yet also cute was lovely to read.
I'm also glad that the Sho and Nino meeting went well. Sho is a powerful character after all, and had an affair with Jun. It seems like Sho and Ohno have their support for Jun in common. Both of them reacted so well, when he told them he might need to quit one of his jobs.
What I love about this is that both Sho and Ohno reacted almost too understanding, while Nino was the one who understood how difficult the decision truly was for Jun <3
The Ohba love on first sight was HILARIOUS by the way, and so adorable! The part with the first names *LOL* In general Aiba was a great character. I love that he wasn't the clumsy,somehow dumb guy, but instead very knowledged (and Nino the one who had no idea *lol*)

Thanks for this story, Anon. It was such a nice ride to read this! ♥

[lilly0]

I forgot to log in. It's my comment :-)