Silence

Nino never liked to wake up in the morning… never until now… It has been a month since he got to be with a new coworker. Ohno Satoshi, his name. Nino’s lips curved into a smile. Ohno Satoshi… It sounded cute… resembling the person the name belonged to. At first glance, the other looked sleepy, unemotional or more correctly as if he was lost in his own world. The times Nino had caught him daydreaming weren’t few but instead of getting angry or scolding him, he limited himself to a playful remark; a tease. During those times, Nino thought the other looked cuter than usually…

Soon, Nino realized he was waking up before the time he had set his alarm. He wasn’t grumpy, hearing the neighbors trying to get their children ready for school. He wouldn’t frown because he was slammed badly in the overcrowded metro. He wouldn’t get angry, if it was raining heavily. What did all these small things matter when he knew he’d get to see Ohno Satoshi’s cute face smiling and his voice saying good morning at him?  The answer was simple. Nothing.

He looked at the bag he was holding in his hand, smiling shyly. He had bought two coffees, hoping he would get to know the other a little better. Nino had found himself many nights staring up at his ceiling, as he was lying down on his bed, wandering what the other could think so intensively that would make him forget about everything else. He wanted to dive into the other’s thoughts… understand him… and hopefully, make him think of him a little… a tiny bit. I hope he likes cappuccino… he thought, as he pushed the door of his office open. He couldn’t help but gasp surprised. In front of him there was no one else but the sales manager himself.

“Matsumoto-san, good morning.” He mumbled not knowing what to say.

“Ninomiya-san.” The sales manager replied to him with a polite smile before he turned back to the other. “As we said? Ok?” he headed to the door before pausing to turn and look at the two salesmen. “Have a nice, productive day.”

Nino bowed mechanically. Was it his imagination or Matsumoto Jun had been leaning closer than appropriately to his coworker? A frown was covering his forehead. He could feel his heart clenching at the idea. He didn’t want someone as charming as Matsumoto Jun be this close to Ohno Satoshi. No. He didn’t want anyone to be this close to Ohno Satoshi. No one else but him. He gasped. What did I just…? His heart was pounding in his chest, as he turned to look at the other who was smiling at him.

“Ninomiya-kun?”

Nino lowered his head, his grip on the bag tightening. He couldn’t lie to himself anymore… He had fallen in love with Ohno Satoshi… and he had fallen badly.

***

All morning had passed with Nino throwing furtive glances at the man seated at the desk next to him. He had been typing the mails that needed to be sent to the new customers, as asked. There was a pile next to Nino, as well, but he couldn’t concentrate no matter how hard he had tried. The other would constantly occupy his mind. It has been a couple of torturing days since he realized his feelings. He wanted to find the courage and do something. Maybe ask the other for a coffee but every time he was about to do it, something would happen and he would miss the chance. He didn’t know if Ohno Satoshi was single. He didn’t know if Ohno Satoshi would be interested in dating. He didn’t even know if Ohno Satoshi was into men, even if he was single and interested in dating.

He sighed deeply, staring at the PC keyboard. What am I even thinking?

“Ninomiya-kun?”

Nino was still too lost into his thoughts to realize that the other had spoken.

“Ninomiya-kun, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”

It was the second time that Nino looked at the other. Was it his idea or the pair of Ohno’s beautiful eyes were staring at him with concern? He shook his head and cleared his throat. “No. I mean… I’m ok. Maybe a small headache.” He replied in a tiny voice. Why had he to sound so weak? He didn’t want his voice to expose him.

He couldn’t help but gasp when he saw the other taking a painkiller out of his small bag before heading out of the office.

A few seconds later, Satoshi was coming back with a cup of water. “Here…” he said as he gave them to Nino. “And don’t pressure yourself, ok?”

Nino looked at him puzzled. Ohno Satoshi had sounded… concerned, hadn’t he?

***

“Have you finished with this morning’s stuff, Ohno-kun?” Nino asked his coworker trying to sound as normal as possible. He had decided to take the risk and try.

“I have to call Matsuyama Hiroki-san to confirm the time for our appointment. Why?”

“I was about to go for small coffee break and thought to tell you…”

“Ah… I…”

“It’s ok! Not big deal! Really!” Nino hurried to reply fast, faking a smile. He had been wanting to drink this coffee with the other.

“It’s just that Matsumoto-san has asked me to see him in his office. I think it’s about the customers interested in life insurance programs.”

“Ah…” was all Nino could say. “See you later…, then…” he mumbled before vanished from the office.

He was staring at the coffee getting ready in the small kitchen on their floor, trying to ignore the small clenches he felt in his chest. Matsumoto Jun… again… or maybe it was just him. He had poured the coffee into his mug and was about to go to the smoking area near the entrance when he caught a glimpse of Ohno entering Matsumoto Jun’s office. Why must I have fallen for you?  

“Ninomiya-kun?”

Nino turned his gaze to his side. “Sakurai-kun. It’s been a while.”

“Were you heading to the smoking area? I’d gladly have one break myself.”

“Of course.” Nino replied. Maybe it would be good to talk with the other man. They had started working the same year in the company but Sakurai Sho had quite early shown his potential, leading him to a fast climb up the hierarchy. Now, he was a supervisor for the new employees.

“So, what is it that’s been troubling you? Because there certainly is…”

Nino smiled, lowering his head. The other had always been good at reading people. It’s one of the charm someone needs in order to be successful in sales; adjust to each customer so that they can be convinced they really need the product.

“I’m a bit tired…”

“Is something to do with Matsumoto?”

Nino looked bewildered at the other. “No. No.” he replied in an admittedly strained way.

“Look, if that’s the case, I could talk to him, you know. He’s good at his job but sometimes, I know he can be a bit too excessive with his requirements.”

Nino was about to deny it one more time when he heard laughs outside. Behind the glass there was Matsumoto Jun with Ohno Satoshi. He bit his lower lip. The other was laughing. He’d say it was cute, just like everything else on him, if it wasn’t that he had been laughing while being with the manager.

“They seem pretty close…” Nino whispered without even realizing he had uttered those words.

“Matsumoto told me that they know each other from high school, Ohno Satoshi being his senpai.” Nino frowned. “He told me he found it funny how the roles were reversed, now.”

Nino threw his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray before heading to the door. “I must go back. I have appointments all evening. See you, Sakurai-kun.” Without waiting for a reply he hurried to the elevator. As the doors opened, he saw Ohno Satoshi along with Matsumoto Jun walking ahead of him.

Shaking his head, he hurried to his office, leaning against the door. You may be his senpai… you may be just that… but it’s with him that you are laughing…

That day, he couldn’t come to look at the other; not when the latter entered in the office after the small break, neither when he left for the appointments. Nino knew that his friend would lecture him but couldn’t help it. He was a coward; a coward who was afraid of being rejected.

***

Nino had been enjoying his ramen when he saw from the corner of his eye someone standing in front of his small table at the company cafeteria.

“Could I join you, Ninomiya-kun?”

It was him. It was Ohno Satoshi.

“Of … of course…!” he stuttered flustered. He cursed himself inside. He hated when he would be like this.

The other sat on the chair in front of him.

Seeing him from this close, Nino could see his face in more detail. There were some small imperfections in his face but in Nino’s eyes, it was these imperfections that made the other look even cuter.

It was only when Ohno Satoshi asked him if he had something on his face that he realized he had been staring at him like an idiot.

He let out a shaky smile before he cleared his throat. “Is it curry rice?” He asked as he pointed at the other’s plate. He cursed himself inside once again when he heard the small chuckle. “Is it curry rice?” Obviously, it is, stupid!

Nino had tried to start a conversation now that he had such a chance but all he could think of, was phrases like “Today’s sunny…, isn’t it?!” So, he chose to remain silent. At least, this way, he didn’t embarrass himself. He kept trying to think of something but before he could come up with anything interesting, the other had already finished his lunch.

“See you in the office, Ninomiya-kun!”

Nino was left looking at the other’s back as he was walking away. He had lost a chance to actually talk to him… again.

***

Tonight, Nino had decided to grab the opportunity. He looked at himself in the mirror, making sure he looked nice. He had always been bored to go to the annual party of his company but not this time. This time, he hoped he would get to come closer to the coworker that had stolen his heart. You can do it! he murmured in an attempt to cheer himself up. He had to find the courage… because he couldn’t help it any longer. He had fallen way too deep.

“Ninomiya-kun! Didn’t expect you this early. You usually appear in the last hour.”

“I thought for once to try something different. Has everyone arrived or…?”

“Only Tanaka and Yasuda are yet to come.”

“Oh…” Nino mumbled not really interested in any of them. The only name he cared about was Ohno Satoshi. “I’ll go to get a drink. See you later, Sakurai-kun.” He smiled at the other before going to one of the waiters he had spotted at the other side of the room.

A couple of minutes later, Nino saw him. Even though he was wearing a pair of trousers along with a shirt on top, he looked classier; perhaps because he didn’t wear one of his usual blue suits but a dark grey one. He took a heavy breath before he walked to him.

“Ohno-kun. Good evening.”

“Ninomiya-kun! Hello. You look great tonight.”

Nino felt his cheeks getting hotter. It was a simple statement, fitting the basic rules of good behavior… which meant it could mean nothing… yet to him it meant everything.

“Thank you… You, too, look great, Ohno-kun.”

The other smiled at him, looking straight into his eyes without saying a single word. They remained side by side sipping their wine. Nino couldn’t bear the silence between them. Why would always have to be this silence whenever they were alone?

“It’s… it’s been a hectic week, right?” he asked hoping not to have sounded too weird.

Satoshi threw him a glance before nodding. “Yes. It’s been a little crazy… but thankfully, it’s over now!”

“Yes…” Nino opened and closed his mouth like a fish. His mind was trying to find something more to say in vain. Nervously, he brought his glass of wine to his lips. He needed to somehow cover for his nervousness.

“Ninomiya-san. Satoshi-kun.”

Nino bit his lower lip harshly. So, for Matsumoto Jun, Ohno Satoshi it’s Satoshi-kun. “Ex…excuse me. I… have a call to make.”

Nino bowed and walked away fast. He had seen it; the wide smile on Satoshi’s face when the manager had called him Satoshi-kun.  He was close at the entrance when he turned around and looked at them. He didn’t know what they were talking about but whatever it was, it must be interesting… or at the very least, pleasant to his coworker… because the smile on Satoshi’s face had turned even wider.

He looked at his half-empty glass of wine. What was he doing there? It’s not like he would miss the opportunity he had been hoping for… there wasn’t one in the first place. 

He picked up his phone quickly dialing up his friend’s number.

“Masaki? It’s me. Could you meet me in our usual bar? I’m feeling like drinking some beer, tonight!”

***

“I don’t understand why you’re here sulking when you could have seized the opportunity to ask him out.”

Nino sighed, his gaze locked on his beer. “I… We have never exchanged something not work related stuff. We have had lunch together… I have tried to find a topic of conversation, something interesting but no matter how much I try, I can’t come up with anything. And he… he never speaks himself. I don’t know… There’s always a heavy silence between us.”

“From what you’ve told me, he’s not someone bubbly. Maybe he’s being shy!”

“Or maybe he’s not interested. I have caught him talking with Matsumoto Jun several times and his eyes are always shining… He’s never done that with me. Just like tonight. If you saw them together… They looked as if-”

“And that’s why you left? Or more correctly fled away?” Masaki cut his friend out. “Because he was having a conversation with Matsumoto Jun?! I didn’t know I had such a coward for a friend! You’ve been judging his actions without any actual proof. You told me they know each other since high school. Why do you jump into the worst conclusions? You’re making assumptions, Nino!” Masaki drank more of his beer avoiding his friend’s gaze. “Besides, you told me, didn’t you? “I can’t come up with anything.” Why is it ok when you cannot come to talk to him normally but when it’s him, it isn’t?! He has looked concerned about you in the past. He even did some of your work when you had caught the flu.”

Nino was about to speak when he felt his phone buzzing. It was an unknown number that was calling him. He replied the call, assuming they were calling the wrong person. What was certain is that he didn’t expect to listen to his voice.

“Nino… I… think… I love you… Just wanted you to know.”  and then… the usual beeps…. The call had ended.

Had… Ohno Satoshi called him Nino? Has he just told me that… he… loves me? Nino couldn’t believe his ears. How had the other got his personal number?! There was only one person from work who had it. Everyone else had the one he used at work.

He looked at his screen, noticing he had received a text from Sakurai Sho.

From: Sakurai Sho

Matsumoto asked me to give him your

personal number. Obviously, a specific

someone didn’t like to see you gone from

the party…

He couldn’t believe it… He was left staring at his phone. A specific someone wanted him to have stayed… But…

“I think you should go!” Masaki’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Nino looked at his friend frowning. He had made him come and now…

Masaki winked at him. “Go! The beer is on me!”

“Thank you!”

Nino got out of the small bar and made a signal to the first taxi he found. Twenty minutes later, he was back at the place where the company party had taken place only to find it closed.

“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath, his hands clenching into fists at each side of his legs. He was angry…

“I was hoping you’d come.”

Nino gasped. He knew that voice. He turned around slowly. “Oh… Ohno-kun…”

“I’m sorry for the call… It’s just that I couldn’t hold it inside me anymore. I wanted you to know.”

“I thought… I thought that you and Matsumoto-san-”

Satoshi let out a small laugh. “I used to be his senpai in high school.”

“But…” Nino lowered his head, his voice turning lower. “But you were always smiling and laughing whenever you were with him…”

“Because I was talking to him about you…” Nino was taken aback from the other’s last answer. What? “I was telling him how cute I thought you were…”

“But… I could never come to talk to you… normally… I mean…”

“I couldn’t either.” Satoshi replied as he made a few steps closer to Nino. “In the beginning, I was angry with myself but seeing you struggle in the very same way made me realize that I wasn’t the only one… and that gave me courage… because I concluded that there was a chance you liked me the same way I liked you.”

“So, you mean you were ok with this silence that always seems to be present between the two of us?”

Satoshi smiled as he intertwined their fingers together. “Yes…” he whispered as he rested his forehead against Nino’s. “Because it’s exactly this silence that reflects how much we’re compatible…”

“I don’t think I-” Nino didn’t have the chance to finish his words. Two lips came to claim his, leading him into the sweetest kiss he had ever tasted.

***

Nino smiled, looking at the sleeping figure of his lover, on his side. He got off the bed to prepare breakfast. In the five years of being together with the other, there had been way too many times where they’d eat or even spend an entire evening in complete silence. It didn’t matter to him anymore… Back then, he couldn’t understand what Satoshi truly meant with his words, but now, he thought he could. The silence was the very proof that they didn’t need words in order to express themselves… Just a glance… a small touch… a smile… were enough. Maybe because just like Satoshi had told him, they were meant to be.

THE END

A.N. Minna a small surprise with an Ohmiya OS, inspired by the small stories of Satoshi’s famous drunken late night call to Nino some years ago (“Nino-chan aishiteru yo!”) and Nino’s reveals how they will usually remain silent when they’re together in the dressing room! :)  I know it’s nothing too serious but I wanted some cute Ohmiya! ^^

I hope you enjoyed it and as always, comments are <333!!!

See you soon,
Andy