Part 3

Masaki was left staring at his classmate with his mouth open. He couldn’t believe his ears. Was the other truly meaning what he had just told him? Was it the truth? He had tried to put his thoughts in line but every time he closed his eyes he kept remembering the way that senpai was clinging to Sho, touching him in a flirtatious way. He shook his head. Maybe he was overreacting.

“Masaki?” Sho asked once again, worried.

“Sho, I…” Masaki’s voice trembled as he lowered his head. “…really like you… so much that perhaps I-”

Sho could see how troubled the taller boy was and made his heart clench painfully. He hadn’t meant to hurt him, yet he had managed to do so. “I really like you, too… very very much!” he said as he grabbed Masaki’s hands, locking them in his.

“I may have overreacted… Last night, I just thought that-”

“I came to that club only because you would be there… I tried to look good only because I wanted to impress you…! It was just that I got surprised by seeing Okada-senpai… Back at school… I…” Sho’s voice got lower, a soft frown forming on his forehead. “I was more or less ignored. The children, there, are competitive. I had no friends. Okada-senpai was the only one that was there for me… He’s my only friend from Tokyo… I’d dare to say that he’s like an older brother to me… When I saw him, I just couldn’t believe that he was actually there last night… and then he started asking me things, I wanted to tell him everything that has happened. He knew how much I despised the idea in the beginning… as he also knew that I’m not someone who opens up easily or let people close to me. Of course, I met you…”

Sho chucked a bit. “There’s no way I could escape from you but you saw me… that first day… when you spoke back to me in the same tone. I wasn’t the merrier guy out there… and he knew all that. I was enthusiastic to be able to tell him that everything was ok… that I made some new friends… friends who probably are there to last… and that I also met someone who makes my heart jump funnily in my chest… someone that from the first time I set my eyes on him while he was running around the track, made my throat turn dry. I just… I was stupid… I got so into the conversation that I didn’t take notice of the time…” Sho let out a long sigh. “I wish I could turn back time. I really wanted to introduce you to him… but when Nino came to me… I realized that I was stupid… Without wanting it, I had hurt the one I wished never to be hurt… the one who had done so much for me…”

“What?” Masaki felt his heart beating even faster at the sound of the last word. “Don’t tell me that Nino-”

“He told me that you asked him to speak to the Music teacher to allow me to play the piano…”

“I just-”

“That made me feel twice as stupid as I felt at that time.”

“I…” Masaki whispered in a shaky voice. “I should have come and talk to you…” he bit his lower lip not knowing whether he should tell the other or not.

“Why didn’t you come, then, Masaki? Did something-?”

“You seemed so happy… you were glowing like never before, Sho and-”

Sho tilted his head. “And?” Had indeed something happened the previous night?

“Your body language… he was really close… I mean he was almost hugging you… your hand was kept into his and… the way that he was pressing his body against yours to whisper to you… was just… I know… well… we were in the club so he had to be close to you… I may have been overreacting but I kept staring and all I could see in front of my eyes was a couple that was happy. I thought that I had no right to interfere and that you were already-”

Masaki didn’t have the choice to finish his words, as he was pulled into a tight hug, right there, in the middle of the street.

“I’m sorry. He has always been a bit demonstrative and quite… touchy… but I never really paid attention to it… probably because we were just like that since the very beginning but I swear that there’s nothing more behind… We’re just friends! I swear!”

Masaki could feel how desperate Sho’s touch was on his back, making him mirror him, as he hugged him back, closing his eyes tightly. He let his head fall on the other’s shoulder, tightening his grip around his waist even more.

“I thought I had no chance with you… I thought that all those small signs were nothing but my very own imagination. You see… I always tend to see things at the maximum… to be positive, overly, most of the times… so, I thought that this was a way to realize that life shouldn’t be confronted with such an attitude… that I should come down to Earth and-”

Masaki was slightly pushed back by Sho who looked at him straight into his eyes.

“Never! You hear me? Never say that… You’re not someone who needs to come down to Earth! It was this attitude… the passion and the positivity you put into everything you do that made me-” Sho stopped when he realized that the other was sniffing his nose. “Masaki, are you… crying?”

Masaki shook his head negatively to deny it but all went in vain as more tears fell on his face. “No! It’s just that… I… no one has ever said such things to me… I mean… my friends have told me I should become more-”

“You had put me in my place when we first met… you were cold and absolute. You’re not positive without raising some certain criteria, Masaki….” Sho cupped Masaki’s face, holding his cheeks with his palms, making their gazes meet. “I fell in love with you exactly because you are who you are…”

“Sho…” Masaki whispered but before he could open his mouth and say another word, he felt two soft lips locking against his. It didn’t last for more than a few seconds but it was long enough to help him realize what had just happened. Sho had kissed him… right in the middle of the street…

When they broke it, he was left staring the other astonished. “Sh… Sho… we’re in the middle of the st-”

“I don’t care about what the others might say. I just care about you!” Sho repeated fast, in a serious tone, even if he knew that what he was saying wasn’t entirely true. He did care about Masaki the most but it wasn’t, in the same time, that he didn’t care about what others would say…

Masaki chuckled before he cleared his throat. “Stupid…! I know you care!” he mumbled still almost on the other’s mouth as they were still this close to one another. He unlocked himself from Sho’s embrace, this time smiling. “This way is better… and Sho…?”

“Yes?” Sho asked in the same full-of-agony voice.

“I’m in love with you, too!” Masaki whispered.

It was Sho’s time to freeze. “You mean… you…?”

“After everything you have told me I don’t think that I could deny it or…” Masaki lowered his head before he continued “…or you anymore… I-”

Sho grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to the road behind the one that led to the small hill on the north of the small town. From there, they had less chances to meet anyone.

“Sho?”

“I had planned, if everything, went ok, to ask you yesterday night… but since I was stupid, I’ll do it now.” Sho cleared his throat before he looked at the other. “Aiba Masaki, will you become my boyfriend?”

Masaki’s face lit up as he nodded fast. “Yes!”

Sho never let Masaki’s hand go. “Are you… by any chance free, now?”

“Yes. Why?” Masaki asked tilting his head.

“I want us to go somewhere!”

Masaki could sense the determination in Sho’s voice; something that put him in question. “When did you learn the town and its secret spots that well?”

“On our first official date, I want to take you to my favorite places!”

Masaki was left with his mouth agape. “Sho? Where are we going?”

“To the train station!” Sho exclaimed happily as he kept dragging the other by the hand. “We’re going to Tokyo!”

“But I’m in my training pants and-”

“You look beautiful! Let’s go!” Sho cut him off and pulled him once again.

Masaki didn’t have the chance to oppose another time. One and a half hours later, he found himself arriving at Tokyo. He had been here before several times but never had been a fan. The people… the noises… everything was a bit too much for him. Now, though, was different. This time, he was here with Sho… this time it would be the other taking him to all those places he loved… Masaki would discover his Tokyo and that immediately made his heart beat faster than before.

Sho took him to the neighborhood he used to live, to his favorite café, which to Masaki’s surprise was a small, quite place. When they entered there was no familiar greeting like he was used to in Chiba but nevertheless the atmosphere was cozy and rather calm. The two hot chocolates arrived in less than five minutes and Masaki was able to enjoy it while looking out of the window. He could imagine Sho walking fast down the street going to his school… to his cram school…

“Masaki?”

Sho’s voice brought Masaki back to reality. “I was ok… even without friends… but now… now I’m really happy, happier than ever!”

Masaki smiled at him as he searched for the other’s hand to intertwine their hands together underneath the small round table. “I’m happy, as well!”

They didn’t say anything more. They enjoyed their hot chocolates in a comfortable silence. It was then that Sho realized that with Masaki it had always been like this… from the very beginning… which made him feel stupid for not having been clear from the start. He tightened the grip, enjoying the way the other’s hand fitted against his.

They left the café after almost an hour and wandered around the streets. Sho was enjoying Masaki’s never-ending interest and questions… as if his life was the most interesting thing.

“Have you heard of Roppongi hills?”

Masaki thought for a few seconds. “I’ve heard of Roppongi… Nino has been begging Ohno-kun to take us there, by night!” he said muffling a laugh.

“Why am I not surprised?!” Sho whispered, with a small chuckle. “It’s not exactly the same thing! Come!”

“Ok!” Masaki hurried to follow him around, eager to explore everything the other was ready to show him.

Being able to see Sho’s wide smile and excited face as he was showing everything he liked in their way to Roppongi hills that made him realize that indeed, everything looked more beautiful… at least, as presented, from Sho’s point of view.

***

“You were lucky that it was Masaki with you last night! Otherwise, you wouldn’t escape so easily!”

Nino frowned at the sharp tone of the older man. “Oh-chan…, I-”

“Don’t ‘Oh-chan’ me! Ok?!”

“But…”

“Did it even cross your mind that perhaps, Sho-kun, was overwhelmed by seeing a friend? Did it cross your mind that this change in his life wasn’t the easiest one and meeting someone important for him from Tokyo gave him strength?!”

Nino sighed. “I know all that but you should have been there and-”

“I don’t doubt that perhaps they were a bit close. I can’t be certain that there was not the slightest sign of flirtation from that senpai of his’ but this doesn’t equal with Sho-kun being a part, as well. I know that Masaki is a sensitive person…”

“It was more than an hour when-”

“As I also know that you do care about him…” Satoshi cut the younger one off. “But this doesn’t mean that you should go and lecture Sho-kun like this! Nino, do you realize that you have been doing the exact same thing to my cousin? Just because I have been ignoring your attitude towards me, it doesn’t mean that I actually approve it. You should be clear before you go and-”

Nino jumped up from the chair he was sitting on till that moment. “I think I’ll be going!”

“You’re not! You’ve been flirting with me when we both know very well that you don’t feel the slightest romantic feeling towards me and that your only goal is to provoke Jun!”

This time, Nino lowered his head, his hands clenching into fists by each side of his legs.

“Face your problem yourself and then, go to lecture people who are old enough to clear things up themselves! You saw how Sho and Masaki were leaving together earlier, didn’t you? They talked… alone… and from what it seems, they cleared things up and had their way. Maybe you should also do that and-”

“You also do the same! Do you know that?” Nino mumbled under his breath.

Satoshi frowned at hearing the last words. “What?”

Nino didn’t look up at the other. “You also know nothing and yet, you judge… you tell me that I’m wrong… That I’m playing with Jun and that I should be open… I have tried to… but it hasn’t worked… especially when…” he bit his lower lip to stop the sob that was threatening to escape from the back of his throat. “Never mind… Sorry, for having come here, today! I shouldn’t have…”

Satoshi could tell that the teenager was hiding something. His whole composure was giving out a vulnerability, he had never seen before in the other. It wasn’t that he didn’t suspected it but from that to actually seeing it was a different case. He hurried to catch Nino’s arm before the latter left. “Nino, has something happened with Jun?”

Nino said nothing in return making Satoshi realize that something had happened between them.

“Has he rejected you? Has he said anything that hurt you?”

Nino avoided to look into the other’s gaze. “No…”

“Something has happened. When? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was I supposed to say? That Jun almost had a heart attack when he woke up next to me last summer?”

Satoshi looked at the other dumbfounded. Could it…? “You… you have slept together with Jun?”

Nino bit his lower lip, not giving any answer.

“Nino!” the older man shook the teenager softly by the shoulders.

“And what if I have?! It doesn’t matter…”

“But if you have then… I don’t understand… He’s crazy about you…”

“And what if he is not?! He got drunk, after he had discovered that bottle of whiskey you were given as a gift from that friend of yours who moved to Osaka, I think. We had put that stupid bet once Masaki had left for his house. Anyway… the thing is that he made his move and I admit I couldn’t be happier… It was… perfect… simply perfect! I was so happy… but then… when I saw, the next morning, how terrified he was of the idea of us having passed the night together, I decided to present it as a small prank to him… I told him that nothing had happened…” Nino whispered closing his eyes.

---

“Morning, Jun!”

A small groan was heard by Nino’s side causing him to let out a small chuckle. He couldn’t believe the events of the previous night. He had gotten used to the usual shy side of Jun… not that he wasn’t any better. He may not look like it, because he liked to talk a lot, to be social, but deep inside he was just as shy as his friend. A shy smile appeared on his face. No… not friend… lover… Jun was, now… Finally! His lover! The determination in the other’s eyes when he had approached him was just leaving no room for denial or anything and Nino couldn’t be less happy to give himself to him.

“Nino?” the other’s still raw, from the sleep, voice, was heard.

“Hey!” Nino whispered getting closer to the other just to be met by fear, an indescribable question that was lingering on the other’s face. ‘Jun?’

“Oh God! We… we didn’t do… uhm… anything? Right? We didn’t…”

‘So, it goes that way…’ Nino bit his lower lip before he broke into loud laughs. He had to play it off… He had to because he didn’t want to cause pain to the other as well as not more to him. Perhaps, the other indeed didn’t remember or simply wasn’t ready yet…

“I knew you’d fall right into my trap!” Nino ruffled Jun’s hair playfully. “You have been sleeping like a cute little pig from the moment you finished that one glass of whiskey! As if you could handle alcohol!”

Jun, though, was staring at some blank spot in the room, not saying anything. “It’s… better this way, right?” his voice was trailing away as he uttered these words.

“There’s nothing to worry about, J! C’mon get up!” Nino said sliding off the bed without looking back at the other. What for?!

What he hadn’t taken notice, though, was Jun’s similarly sad gaze.

---

“I thought that it was the best not to say anything. It was obvious that he didn’t want it to have happened. In the beginning, he was even avoiding me… always sitting by Masaki… being more hesitant when I went close to him. I thought he didn’t want me… that he had gotten frightened by the whole thing but then, when he listened to me calling you Oh-chan made me realize that I had his full attention… like before… that was making him feel jealous… so, I tried harder… while I couldn’t help but not get angry with him… perhaps it was the alcohol to blame… but it was eating me up… So, I thought that maybe if I played it tougher to get, then he’d-”

“You were provoking him to-”

Nino continued while keeping his head lowered. “…man up and say that-”

“So, it hadn’t been a dream… it has happened…” a familiar voice cut Nino off the same way he had done so with Satoshi.

Both Nino and Satoshi turned around and met Jun who was standing a few meters behind them.

Nino’s eyes bulged when he saw his classmate before he started running away before Jun or Satoshi could stop him.

“Nino! Nino!” Jun kept calling him but Nino never slowed down.

He kept running. It was a matter of time, though, before he started panting. He knew he couldn’t match his classmate… He wasn’t Masaki and soon, it was proven as he was left out of breath.

“Kazu!” a hand gripped his left arm turning him around and pulling him to the back side of the garden of his cousin’s house, so that they couldn’t be seen.

Nino’s heart skipped a beat. Kazu…? Jun had called him Kazu…

Jun was also breathing heavily his cheeks being flushed. “Why… why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Me? But you… you were shocked… If only you could look at yourself… How was I supposed to-?”

“I was afraid that I had used you… or even worse, force you into-” he let out a shaky sigh. “I didn’t want it to happen like this… That was the reason why I was shocked… but then you laughed it away as if it was a prank… I didn’t know what to believe… I thought there was a chance I had dreamt of it… You know… They do say that when someone really wants something, he may dream of it… especially when you’re drunk like I was that night.”

“Then why? Why did you never come and tell me that you liked me? That you don’t like it when I call your cousin ‘Oh-chan’?”

“Because I thought that…” Jun sighed, lowering his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking… The truth is that I was feeling… afraid… and confused…”

Nino felt tears building up in his eyes. “We’re both stupid, aren’t we? Masaki had told me to be the one to speak but he didn’t know… he didn’t know that I was afraid of rejection… mostly because of that morning… when-”

He didn’t have the chance to finish his words as he was pulled into a kiss. The moment their lips met, his hands found their way up to Jun’s nape, massaging the skin softly, as he tilted his head to give the other more access.

“So… where does… this leave us?” Nino asked once they broke it in a need of air.

“To the beginning…, Kazu!” Jun mumbled onto Nino’s lips before locking them again with his. They fitted perfect for each other.

They kept kissing until they both felt their lungs begging them for some air. They remained close to one another, letting their foreheads rest against each other. “J?”

“Jun… Call me Jun…” Jun whispered on Nino’s lips.

Nino gulped but nevertheless looked up into the other’s eyes. “Jun?”

“Yes…?”

“I’m sorry…”

Nino smiled, hugging the other tighter, letting his head rest on the crook of his neck. “No, I’m the one who needs to ask for forgiveness…”

“Or maybe you’re both idiots for being scared of something you shouldn’t!” Satoshi’s voice startled them both, making the older man to chuckle. “Sorry for the interruption but Jun, aunt is here, looking for you!” Jun sighed, slightly disappointed. “C’mon lover boy! Till minutes earlier you weren’t able to admit you were dying for this little brat over here! You have all the time of the world to catch up with the lost time… Now, come!”

“Jun, say something to your cousin… he just called your boyfriend little brat!” Nino whined having found his usual behavior back.

Satoshi rolled his eyes as he knew that the other wouldn’t allow his inner, well-hidden, sensitive side remain visible for any longer.

Jun cleared his throat. “Let’s… go…”

Nino whined. “Again? Even after having asked for mu forgiveness you continue on being like this? You won’t stand up for your boyfriend who was just-”

Satoshi couldn’t hear anymore as he entered back to the house but even like this he couldn’t hide his smile. He hadn’t known something like that had taken place between these two; he couldn’t imagine it but what mattered is that these two were indeed made for each other as it was just proven by seeing them like this…

***

1 month later…

Masaki stopped his steps outside the music hall. He came to find his boyfriend, once he had finished with his training. From the moment, he stepped into the corridor, he could hear melodies reaching his ears, making him smile widely. It had been two weeks since Sho had started playing after the club had finished with their activities. Even if Masaki didn’t know much about music, he could tell that Sho was a gifted piano player. His playing was more hesitant in the beginning with occasional false notes meeting the right ones… but now, everything sounded more powerful than ever. He could feel the passion… He had been right. Sho had to continue playing.

He leaned against the half-closed door, seeing from the corner, Sho’s back as he moved his fingers on the white and black keys. The smile grew only bigger when he heard Sho’s frustrated whine before he stopped playing, obviously angry for having made a mistake Masaki couldn’t catch.

Always a perfectionist…

He walked closer to him, until he pressed a soft kiss on the top of his head. “Why did you stop? I really liked it…”

“Masaki! You came!” Sho whispered happily before he turned his attention to the piano. “I have to play the last three parts in a staccato mode yet I-”

“I don’t know what staccato is” Masaki cut his boyfriend off. “…but what I know is that I didn’t want the melody to finish…”

“You like Rachmaninoff?!” Sho asked in an enthusiastic tone, Masaki had never heard before. In his eyes, he looked like a kid that had just discovered someone who liked the same anime.

“I like you playing the piano… so I don’t know if it was the melody itself or you, playing this melody…!”

Sho felt his ears getting red from embarrassment. “Masaki…”

Masaki laughed before he ruffled the other’s hair. “Keep playing. I’ll just sit here and wait for you!”

Once again, Sho started pressing the keys, his eyes getting focused on the sheet music. Masaki couldn’t do anything more than sit and admire his boyfriend… the same way Sho was admiring him when he was running at the track. The truth was that they didn’t share many things in common but it didn’t matter because they were completing one another, and that happened in the most natural way.

***

“This is so beautiful! You were right, Masaki!” Sho exclaimed as he saw the night view from up the hill. The sky was filled up with small hand-made lanterns. It was the biggest event that took place at the end of the local fair. It was three weeks before the schools would close for the summer vacation. He had never been a fan of such fairs before but this was undoubtedly beautiful.

“Oh… how cute lovebirds!” Nino’s voice reached Sho and Masaki’s ears, making them turn their gazes to him.

“While you’re not!” Masaki pointed out.

Nino was sitting between Jun’s legs, his back leaning against his boyfriend’s torso, as the latter’s hands was keeping him close to him. Nino limited himself to utter something that sounded like an ‘mmm’.

“Do you know what it would be great?” Jun asked unaffected by the little bickering that had just taken place between the other three.

“What?” Nino asked, his voice immediately changing into a naughtier tone.

“To go on vacation all together this summer!”

“Baby!” Nino exclaimed enthusiastically. “That’s one great idea!”

“I thought that maybe we could go to the small house we have at my father’s village by the sea! It’s nothing luxurious… on the contrary… but there are two rooms where we can have futons… and the beach is just ten minutes away by foot!”

“That would be amazing, Jun! What do you say, Sho-chan? Or you have your summer school-”

“I do… but I don’t plan to study each and every day of our summer vacation!” Sho replied before pecking his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I think your cute boyfriend made you lose your sense of studying, Sakurai!” Nino teased him just to gain a supposedly angry smack on his arm.

“Brat!”

“Don’t mimic Oh-chan, Sakurai! Jun…! Say something!”

“This time, I’ll have to agree with Sho but it was that side of yours that attracted me to you the most in the beginning!”

“For such a shy person, you’re quite a challenger!”

Jun muffled a laugh. “And you for such a brat, you’re quite sensitive!”

Nino cleared his throat not being able to find a proper word to answer back, gaining the chuckles of his friends.

“Hey!” he whined with a pout.

“Challenger, brat, shy, sensitive… I can only say that you’re perfect for each other!” Masaki whispered before he leaned closer to Sho enjoying the warmth of his body. “Like me with my Sho-chan!” he whispered gaining a soft chuckle from Sho.

“Of course, we are, Masaki!” the latter whispered right into Masaki’s ear.

“So, we’re going?” Sho asked to bring the subject back to the excursion.

“I’ll talk to my parents once we go back home. I’m sure there won’t be any problem!” Jun replied.

The two couples stopped talking to enjoy the view. They were sitting at the upper part, of the hill where they were pretty much alone.

Sho moved a bit so that he could hug his boyfriend properly. He had never told Masaki that the latter had been partly right over Okada. When he had got back to Chiba from his first date with Masaki, the other admitted that he was indeed liking him, leaving him surprised. In the past, perhaps, he would have been happy… but definitely, not anymore… not when he had found his Masaki. He had told his senpai that he always counted him as one of his best friends, if not the best, but till there.

When his parents had announced him that they would move to Chiba, he had felt angry… angry with everything and everyone… Now, though, after several months, he got to realize that he had no reason to be angry… On the contrary, he had to be grateful. He somehow felt closer with his family in this small house of theirs… he slowly started feeling proud of his father wearing his worker uniform… making him an even better role model than before, when he was wearing his expensive suits. He found out that in the simplicity, there was more fulfillment… more happiness.

He had been able to make new friends… He had found the person for whom his heart was beating faster than ever… He could smile and laugh wholeheartedly… and above all, he didn’t have to give up his dreams… He was feeling free to create his own path in life, as if, now, he was given more opportunities, when in the past there was only one path. This small town in Chiba had proven to be a small treasure… with so many beautiful sights, interesting spots… just like Masaki had told him from the very beginning.

Somehow, he felt complete. At this thought, he could only smile. He leaned closer to Masaki’s ear. “Masaki?”

“What, Sho-chan?” Masaki whispered back.

“I love you!” he said bringing their intertwined fingers up to his mouth to kiss them.

Now, he was sure. He was happy.

THE END

A.N. Sooo minna this is the last part!!! Finally, this fic is completed!!! ^^ Sakuraiba cleared things up and we also got to know what had happened between Matsumiya and why Nino was behaving like this! I didn't want to make it heavy or anything... it was more like misunderstandings that came along with alcohol and the uncertainty of two teenagers! :) What matters, is that now they're together!
I also mentioned the truth about Sho's senpai, in order to show that Masaki had up to a point right for feeling like this!!
I wanted some fluffy scenes at the end! So, I hope you liked them!!! :)

Yuki, dear, I hope this didn't disappoint you!!! ^^

I wish everyone Happy New Year!! All the best!

See you in 2018!

Lots of kisses,
Andy <3