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Title: Zutto Soba Ni Iru Yo.
Author:
hinode91 (Aby)
Pairings: Sakuraiba (main), Matsumiya (side).
Chapter: 3/?
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Genre: Romance, smut, angst (in future chapters), AU.
Summary: Sho Sakurai is the youngest candidate to minister of economy in Japan's history. He's well educated, smart and really rich but he's living a double-life: At night he goes to Ni-chōme, using a fake name to hunt one-night stands.
Masaki who is celebrating his job promotion in the gay district runs into Sho, who tries to hit on him.
But Masaki already knows who he truly is...
Disclamer: I wish I owned them, but sadly I don't.
Banner and beta:
heavenly23 (Estefy) thank you waifuuuu ♡
Plot: From a roleplay I did with
heavenly23 (Estefy) [Not a collab]
The message didn’t come until a week later.
During those 7 days all Sakurai did was try to ignore Masaki as much as he could when they met by chance in the ministry. Masaki had to admit that it was a bit funny to see his panic face every time they run into each other on the corridors, but he was almost sure that Nino’s evil plan didn’t work… and then he received it.
From: The beautiful asshole
Tomorrow, at 12 o’clock in front of the Shinjuku’s LOVE statue.
You better don’t be late or I’ll leave.
Sakurai Sho.
Awww… how romantic, in front of the LOVE statue. Masaki couldn’t help but laughing at it, even when his heart was racing like crazy. He needed to calm down. But it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a date with Sakurai Sho… Ok, it was true that he tricked Sakurai to get it but it was a date anyway.
He spent all Saturday wondering what kind of date Sakurai Sho would prepare. Maybe something really elegant or snob, that kind of restaurant where the amount of food was microscopic. In the end Sho was a bit of a snob himself. He didn’t even know how he should dress – he suspected that Sakurai didn’t tell him intentionally, probably he wanted Masaki to make a fool of himself –, but improvisation was his specialty.
He’d wear something that would make Sakurai regret how he treated Masaki.
Masaki spun around a few times in front of his body mirror, appreciating all his outfit from head to toe.
He chose a “college student” look: a white shirt with a skinny black tie, strategically frayed light jeans, black Converse and a dark gray baseball jacket with leather sleeves. After adding a pair of thick framed black “nerd glasses” the outfit was complete.
He took a pic and sent it to Nino, who replied seconds later with a Line sticker of Cony the Bunny with its thumbs up and a “Slay him, boy! But please don’t wake Jun and I up like this never again. He’s so moody in the morning”. Masaki couldn’t help but laughing at his best friend’s reply and he sent a lot of “lol lol lol lol” before putting the phone on his jacket’s pocket.
He didn’t go by car – the traffic was usually crazy in the center of Tokyo, especially when it was weekend – instead he took the train, and it was worth. He could hear the comments girls – and some adult women too – made about his outfit and that was the shoot of assertiveness that he needed.
The I-land Tower’s surroundings were extremely overcrowded. Every square meter was full of tourist taking pics of the red LOVE sculpture and the impressive skyscraper, shinning under the winter’s sun. It was almost impossible to recognize anyone inside that mass of people… But Masaki spotted Sakurai right away.
He was again on his “night” mode. Well, he didn’t look as magnificent as the night they talked for the first time but the white sweater under a camo jacket and the dark jeans were enough to reduce Masaki’s heartbeat to a crazy mess. He was leaning against a tree, close to the LOVE statue, with the hands buried on the front pockets of his pants and a terribly bored expression. Damn it, he was not even a little excited.
“Sho-chan! I’m sorry for making you wait! This place is super crowded and I…” Masaki started as soon as he managed to reach the tree, but Sakurai cut him off.
“Sho-chan…?” He looked amused but the smile was so slight and it disappeared so fast that Masaki thought he had imagined it “You are late. I told you to not making me wait”
“And you told me you would leave and here you are” this time Sakurai’s smirk was absolutely obvious and Masaki found himself smiling too.
“Come on, before I regret it” Sakurai let out a dramatic sigh and he headed down the street with Masaki hot on his heels “And by the way, who said you could use my first name?”
“Well… you did used ‘Masaki’ a lot so I thought I should use your first name too… But if you want I can use ‘Sato-san’” Sho shuddered at that night’s memories and shook his head negatively “Then I’ll use Sho-chan!”
That idea had already passed by Masaki’s mind but when Sho shivered it came again. What if Sho ran away like that because he didn’t like the time they spent together…? Maybe Masaki wasn’t as funny as he expected and that’s why he behaved like a total asshole… Who wouldn’t want to get rid of a bad partner?
“You are terribly annoying, I don’t know how Oikawa stands you” the man grumbled.
“I don’t know either, but he does” Masaki’s reply took Sho by surprise and his words sounded almost compassionate.
“Probably because you did a good job”
“Ah… thank you!” Masaki couldn’t hide his enthusiasm when he discovered that Sho could be kind too – or at least less harsh – when it didn’t have nothing to do with flirting.
“Forget it” the man shrugged it off and stopped walking so suddenly that Masaki ended up only inches away from him. Their faces were too close but Sho didn’t seem to mind it at all “We arrived”
“Good…” Masaki cleared his throat and stepped back. It was supposed to be his revenge but he felt like Sho was in charge of the situation.
This man’s attitude is so frustrating… I can’t get him at all…
“Please, go ahead” Sho opened the door and held it for Masaki who looked at the place for the first time. It was nothing like he imagined.
The restaurant was called Moyan and it didn’t look snob at all. It was a… totally normal family restaurant. Like his family’s Keikarou. There were black signboards on both sides of the door announcing what kind of curries the offered. Over the door frame Christmas lights were hanging although it was only October.
“Here…?” Masaki stared at Sho completely dumbfounded.
“Yeah, here. This is one of my favorite restaurants. The curry rice is delicious”
Masaki glanced at the door, then at Sho, then at the door, then at Sho… It was impossible.
“Ok, I’m going inside, you can stay here forever if you please” the man snorted and freed the door after entering. Masaki almost got it by the blade when he followed him but managed to dodge it.
“Irasshaimase! Oh, Sakurai-san, it’s been awhile!”
Masaki didn’t know what he should look at first: the owner that was behind the pine wood bar and who was an onee, or the decoration. The walls were covered by shelves full of books and manga, and over the owner’s head a big disco ball was lazily spinning. More Christmas lights decorated the ceiling as well as plants and round hanging lamps. The background music was Hawaiian. It was a weird combination but the soft orange light and the gentle owner’s character made it a nice place. He liked it instantly.
“I’m sorry Hira-san, I’ve been really busy getting ready for the New Year’s elections”
“This kid, always busy” said Hira-san and winked at Masaki, who chuckled at the word ‘kid’ “Take a seat, I’ll take you order now”
Sho chose one of the farthest tables from the door – and the rest of the customers – and got comfortable on his stool.
He looked like a completely different person for Masaki. He was not the perfect politician he knew, neither the man he met at Ni-chōme. It was another face of Sakurai Sho, an extraordinarily normal one.
“You were expecting something like Kozue, right? I would never take you to a place like that” the man placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, his eyes fixed on Masaki. He didn’t exactly know what Sho meant, neither if it was good nor bad that he wouldn’t take him to a fancy restaurant.
“Well… Yes. I was” the boy confessed, making a funny grimace “At least not something so… normal”
“I am normal, you know!?” Sho let out a burst of laughter and Masaki found himself fascinated with the sound. It was deep, as if it came directly from his stomach, and warm. Only when Sho finished laughing he could remember what they were talking about.
“But you aren’t. Normal people is not so interesting” Masaki said honestly.
“So I am interesting” Sho remarked it as if it was a triumph and Masaki chuckled.
“Well I never said you weren’t, I think it’s the other way around, though”
The man was ready to say something when Hira-san arrived to the table and threw two menus over it.
“What do you want to drink kids?” the owner said, sticking a lock of blonde hair from his wig behind his ear, full of resolution.
“Beer” replied both at the same time.
“And for me a zenbu curry with fried egg, please” Sho quickly added after clearing his throat.
“What’s that?”
“It is curry rice with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and grilled cheese” Hira-san said with the monotonous pitch of who has repeated the same thing thousands of times.
“It sounds good! I want one! With fried egg too, please” Masaki flashed his brilliant, light-up-the-world smile and Hira-san seemed completely dazzled. And he wasn’t the only one.
Sho had to admit – to himself – that Masaki was insanely charming and funny.
He didn’t use to talk while he was eating, the food was too important, but that boy couldn’t shut up even for a second and Sho soon found himself actively replying him.
Sadly it wasn’t the alcohol the reason why Sho felt so fucking attracted to Masaki the first day they met. It was the boy in all his magnificence. Especially that smile. Sometimes it was shy, sometimes excited, sometimes playful, but always bright. Of course it was because of his looks too: the pretty face, those doe eyes, the kissable lips, the clothes, the body hiding under them that Sho knew so well…
Both, the food and the drink, quickly disappeared and Sho was stupidly happy because Masaki liked his choice. He wanted to punch himself in the face.
You can’t like someone like him. You just can’t, he reminded himself, especially when he’s blackmailing you.
But to be honest it didn’t feel like a blackmail anymore. That was the problem.
“Then what do you want to do now?” Sho rested his elbow on the table and the cheek on his hand.
“Didn’t you planned it beyond the lunch?” Masaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
Yeah, I was planning to send you to hell. But you are too cute.
“Uhm… I know what I want to do…” the man’s gaze dropped from Masaki’s eyes to his lips and he felt boneless for a moment. Once again Masaki was supposed to have the power of the situation and it didn’t seem like it.
“The zoo! We can go to the zoo!” he replied, almost desperately. He wanted to make Sho feel eager for him, not the other way around. That was Nino’s plan, to make him realize what he lost.
“Seriously? The zoo? Are you…?” Sho was about to complain but his smartphone started to ring and he had to pick it up “Hey Jun, what’s up? Yeah… he’s right in front of me… I’m ok with that, he wanted to go to the zoo anyway” he said ‘zoo’ in a way that made Masaki want to shove the chopsticks up Sho’s nose “Ok, ok, I’ll tell him. See you in a while”
“So…?” Masaki crossed his arms over the table, leaning with his face full of curiosity.
“Your friend Ninomiya, or the leech as I call him, slept again in Jun’s apartment and since we are together they thought it would be funny to meet there. Is it ok for you or you still want to go to the zoo?”
“Sho-chan…” Masaki shook his head when the man called Nino ‘leech’, he was quite right though so he didn’t say anything about it.
“Let’s go to Jun’s house. You didn’t seem too excited about the zoo”
“If I wanted to be excited about animals, I would buy you a pair of cat ears”
When they headed to the street several minutes later, Masaki still was tomato red from head to toe.
“You are finally here” was the first thing Jun said when he opened his apartment door, suspiciously squinting “What were you two exactly doing?”
“Eating at Moyan” Sho shrugged and pushed his friend aside to walk into the house.
“It’s almost five! Just how much did you eat!?”
Masaki followed both men, that were still fighting, and took off his Converse at the entrance.
The truth was neither of them wanted to take the train to go from Shinjuku to Ginza and a travel that normally would take 20 minutes took them almost two hours walking.
“Hey Masaki if you were planning to take so much time to come you should have told us. Jun could have fucked me during these two hours instead of waiting for you two” Nino complained as soon as his friend stepped into the living room. His cute and innocent face didn’t fit at all with what he just said.
Masaki was already used to it but it seemed that Jun wasn’t because he suddenly started to cough as if he was about to die.
“Kazu!!” Sho patted his friend’s back, softly laughing at him.
“Come on Jun, give me something to drink”
“So you are Kazu already?” Masaki sat at Nino’s side on the black fluffy carpet that covered most of the living room, whispering while Jun and Sho headed to the kitchen.
“Yeah. It looks like that”
“You have to tell me a lot of things then” Masaki leaned to Nino, waiting for the new and juicy information.
Nino never, ever, spent two nights with the same person since Masaki knew him… and they were friends since kindergarten. His parents' divorce made him think that love was just for fools and decided he would rather spend his life having fun. The fact that he spent already a week sleeping almost every night with Jun… was a little suspicious.
“We fuck like rabbits. What more do you want to know, Aibashi?”
“Holy heaven Nino you are the most subtle person of the universe” Masaki’s burst of laughter was so loud that the sound attracted Jun and Sho. They had a bottle of red wine and glasses on their hands.
“What’s so funny?” Jun asked, placing the bottle on the crystal and steel low table in front of Masaki and Nino, looking at the latter in a way that made Masaki feel jealous.
He wanted someone to look at him like that, as if he was the most beautiful thing that ever existed, as promise, or a hope. But even when he spent all the day with Sho, and it was perfect, he knew he would never be the one. It would end as soon as the day did too.
If he had a crush on Sho didn’t matter.
“Nothing” Nino accepted the glass of wine that Jun offered to him while sitting at his other side. Sho sat close to Masaki – too close – and gave him another glass full of wine “So… how about you two?”
Sho let out a vague sound and shrugged, drinking the half of his glass of wine in one go. The aura around him suddenly became a thick wall again. They were just tenths of seconds but Masaki could feel the change.
He got the message instantly. Better to talk about trivial topics.
“The food was really good, I think I’ll go back to Moyan. Nino you should come with me! They have curry with hamburger steak. I’m sure you’ll love it” judging by the way Nino stared at his friend Masaki knew he got Sho’s hint too, but he wouldn't let it go so easily.
“I see… But I mean, what about the…?” before Nino could finish the sentence Jun cut him off grabbing his arm over the elbow and pulled him up “What are you doing J?”
“You have to help me with the dinner, Kazu” His voice was stiff as he dragged Nino to the kitchen and Masaki thank him internally. Jun was a saint, and his best friend too annoying. The situation didn’t get better when the couple disappeared, though.
Sho was plunged into silence and to cover it Masaki took his glass of wine and drank it in swift sips.
It felt exactly as the night they spent together. All seemed perfect and then… Sho turned into an ice floe. The atmosphere was heavy and suffocating and Masaki couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong. This time it was him who wanted to run away.
You are never good enough Aiba…
“Hey you two. Don’t you want to have dinner or what?” Nino reappeared in the living room with his tiny hands placed on his hips with a motherly attitude.
“Aah… Yes!” Masaki drank the rest of the wine and get up from the floor, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t let that man make him feel down. Sho silently followed them to the kitchen like a sulking kid.
The dinner developed in an awkward silence. Jun seemed like he was about to explode and Nino didn’t stop throwing little glances at Sho and Masaki.
“So…“ Jun cleared his throat and started talking finally. It was obvious that he noticed Sho’s dish, almost completely filled, but he decided to ignore it “What about another dinner someday?”
“What?” His friend tried to cut him off but Jun kept talking.
“We could go to Sho’s house. It’s really big and has a huge garden. It’s perfect for a BBQ”
“Jun… how many times I told you not to invite people to my house without my permission?” the politician’s tone became a warning.
“But you should invite Kazu and Masaki before the cold weather arrives. It would be…”
“NO.” the other three men jumped on their seats when Sho raised his voice and suddenly got up from the chair, clenching his teeth “Why should I invite to my house a guy that threaten me with crushing my career and my life if I didn’t go on a date with him? Tell me Jun. Why? It’s disgusting”
“Disgusting…?” Masaki said under his breath, looking at Sho with his eyes wide open.
“Yes! You are fucking disgusting. Blackmailing people to get a date. Don’t you pity yourself? You are pathetic” he hissed. Jun stood up and grabbed his friend’s t-shirt collar, ready to punch him but Sho pushed Jun away and stared at Masaki, his face a mask of fury “Who do you think you are? You are only a little slut looking for attention and money, aren’t you? But let me clear this. I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. You were just an easy fuck. That’s all baby”
“But I thought…” Masaki voice was shaking so much that he couldn’t almost form the words “I thought we were having fun…”
“Having fun…? Having fun!? You were fucking blackmailing me, Aiba” Sho’s hands hit the table so hard that Masaki shrank on his seat “As if I wanted to spend time with you. You are not worth. You are human trash”
Masaki’s eyes, still wide open, filled with tears that slid down his cheeks a few seconds later.
He couldn’t see how Jun’s fist impacted on Sho’s face, neither heard Nino calling him things that would have scandalized Satan himself. He just got up and rushed to the front door, the tears soaking his face and shirt. He didn’t even worry about tying the laces of his Converse and left the apartment stumbling.
Of course he knew he was pathetic… Sho wasn’t the first person telling him that after all.
On his way home Masaki bought a cheap and hard vodka. The first thing he did when he arrived to his apartment was opening the bottle, heading to his bedroom. He needed to forget and what could be better than a liter of alcohol all for himself?
He didn’t even bother to undress before lying on his bed, buried between all his cushions. The first gulp seared his throat and he coughed while his sobs became heavier. He still could remember Sho’s words, and those words were way worse than the burning sensation so he took another sip, and another, and another, and another… Soon the bottle was almost empty and Masaki was reduced to a mess of alcohol, tears and snots.
The pain was mixed with self-compassion and guilt. How could he have blackmailed someone to get a date? Sho was right. He was pathetic. His boozy mind concluded that he had to apologize as soon as possible, so even when it was passed midnight he clumsily took his iPhone from his jean’s pocket and wrote a message.
To: The beautiful asshole
I’n so dorry abiut blackmaileing you
I’be beein an asshoe.
Not even ten seconds later the reply arrived. Masaki had to read it aloud to understand it – more or less –.
From: The beautiful asshole
Holy shit Masaki did you type without your glasses
on or are you drunk?
Masaki laugh at the word “glasses” without a real reason.
To: The beautiful asshole
I’m drinkeing a bit of bodkaq
From: The beautiful asshole
That doesn’t sound like a bit… how much is a bit, Masaki?
To: The beautiful asshole
Maive a boyyle
After that there was no reply. Masaki pouted, although his annoyance didn’t last much because his eyes started to feel really, really heavy… And then, out of the blue, his smartphone kicked him out of his rest sounding like crazy.
“Ye–yes…?” he needed a moment to realize that he was holding his mobile upside down.
“Masaki?” Sho’s voice came from the other side of the line and a lazy, drunk smile formed on Masaki’s lips.
“Helloooo Sho-chaaaan…”
“You are really drunk…” Sho whispered, if Masaki would have been sober enough he'd have noticed the worry and the guilt in his voice. But he wasn’t.
“Not really…”
“Yes, you are. I’m going to your home right now”
That completely woke Masaki up. All the alcohol seemed to disappear of his veins.
“NO!” he sat up so suddenly that he felt dizzy.
“I’m going, Masaki. Give me your address, I don’t want to resort to Nino but if I need to do it…”
“Stop…” Masaki cut him off, his voice trembling. Sho remained silent for almost a whole minute and all Masaki could hear was their breathings – Sho’s controlled one and his own fast gasps –.
“Why…? I’m just worr…”
“Stop, please, stop…” Masaki begged, trying to hold back the sobs “Don’t make me think that you care about me… I’ve been stupid, thinking that someone would like me…”
Silence again.
“I can’t like you”
Although Masaki already knew it, it was more painful than it should. Those words dragged too many memories with them. Memories about other time and other person.
“I’m sorry about forcing you to have a date with me, Sho” his voice sounded cracked even for himself “I won’t bother you anymore. I promise”
“Masaki you are not…”
“I said stop it!” Masaki almost yelled, breathless.
“But…”
“That’s all Sho. I need to sleep now. Goodnight” without waiting for a reply Masaki hang up the phone and threw it to his bedroom’s couch.
It started ringing right away but by then Masaki was already fast asleep.
It felt like someone was drilling his head from the inside. Even before he opened his eyes he knew that the headache was monumental. He wanted to throw up too, but his stomach was totally empty.
Why did I think drinking a whole bottle of vodka by myself was a good idea…? Oh yeah, Sho.
The only good part of the great hangover he got was that his head hurt so much he couldn’t even remember clearly what the man said to him the previous day. He knew it was horrible and that made him feel useless and unimportant, though.
“Ngggh… fuck myself…” he mumbled while waking up. Maybe curse himself wouldn’t stop the headache but it was a good relief. He was on his way to the toilet when the door intercom rang “It’s too early for this…”
Actually it wasn’t early at all and Masaki was lucky that he didn’t have to work that Monday.
“Good morning Nishiyama-san…” Masaki greeted his doorkeeper pressing the intercom button. He tried to sound normal but his voice was hoarse from crying so much.
“It’s midday Aiba-san” the man said. Masaki was sure he was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah. Of course. I already knew”
“Indeed, Aiba-san” Nishinoya-san cleared his throat before keep talking “There’s a delivery for you”
“Really? I wasn’t expecting anything… Anyway let the delivery man in” Masaki frowned but waited next to the door. He used to buy clothes on internet but he was sure he didn’t ordered anything lately. It was probably a mistake. When the doorbell rang he opened the door right away “I think you made a mistake. I wasn't expecting…”
“Me?” Masaki froze when he heard that voice.
Right in front of him was Sakurai Sho. With a flowers bouquet between his hands.
It seemed the delivery was, in fact, for him.
★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★
A/N: Well well here is the 3rd chapter!! If you made it to here thank you so much cause it was TOO DAMN LONG, I'm sorry m(_ _)m Sho keeps being an asshole here and Masaki's crush on him only gets bigger and bigger *sighs*
Anyway I hope you like it!
A/N2: Moyan, the zenbu curry and Kozue exist XD
A/N3: There was something more I wanted to say but I can't remember it right now... AH YES. Remember that english is not my native language, neither Estefy's, so ignore the terrible grammar mistakes please m(_ _)m
Comments and constructive criticism are ♡
Author:
hinode91 (Aby)Pairings: Sakuraiba (main), Matsumiya (side).
Chapter: 3/?
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Genre: Romance, smut, angst (in future chapters), AU.
Summary: Sho Sakurai is the youngest candidate to minister of economy in Japan's history. He's well educated, smart and really rich but he's living a double-life: At night he goes to Ni-chōme, using a fake name to hunt one-night stands.
Masaki who is celebrating his job promotion in the gay district runs into Sho, who tries to hit on him.
But Masaki already knows who he truly is...
Disclamer: I wish I owned them, but sadly I don't.
Banner and beta:
heavenly23 (Estefy) thank you waifuuuu ♡Plot: From a roleplay I did with
heavenly23 (Estefy) [Not a collab]Chapter 3
The message didn’t come until a week later.
During those 7 days all Sakurai did was try to ignore Masaki as much as he could when they met by chance in the ministry. Masaki had to admit that it was a bit funny to see his panic face every time they run into each other on the corridors, but he was almost sure that Nino’s evil plan didn’t work… and then he received it.
From: The beautiful asshole
Tomorrow, at 12 o’clock in front of the Shinjuku’s LOVE statue.
You better don’t be late or I’ll leave.
Sakurai Sho.
Awww… how romantic, in front of the LOVE statue. Masaki couldn’t help but laughing at it, even when his heart was racing like crazy. He needed to calm down. But it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a date with Sakurai Sho… Ok, it was true that he tricked Sakurai to get it but it was a date anyway.
He spent all Saturday wondering what kind of date Sakurai Sho would prepare. Maybe something really elegant or snob, that kind of restaurant where the amount of food was microscopic. In the end Sho was a bit of a snob himself. He didn’t even know how he should dress – he suspected that Sakurai didn’t tell him intentionally, probably he wanted Masaki to make a fool of himself –, but improvisation was his specialty.
He’d wear something that would make Sakurai regret how he treated Masaki.
★★★
Masaki spun around a few times in front of his body mirror, appreciating all his outfit from head to toe.
He chose a “college student” look: a white shirt with a skinny black tie, strategically frayed light jeans, black Converse and a dark gray baseball jacket with leather sleeves. After adding a pair of thick framed black “nerd glasses” the outfit was complete.
He took a pic and sent it to Nino, who replied seconds later with a Line sticker of Cony the Bunny with its thumbs up and a “Slay him, boy! But please don’t wake Jun and I up like this never again. He’s so moody in the morning”. Masaki couldn’t help but laughing at his best friend’s reply and he sent a lot of “lol lol lol lol” before putting the phone on his jacket’s pocket.
He didn’t go by car – the traffic was usually crazy in the center of Tokyo, especially when it was weekend – instead he took the train, and it was worth. He could hear the comments girls – and some adult women too – made about his outfit and that was the shoot of assertiveness that he needed.
The I-land Tower’s surroundings were extremely overcrowded. Every square meter was full of tourist taking pics of the red LOVE sculpture and the impressive skyscraper, shinning under the winter’s sun. It was almost impossible to recognize anyone inside that mass of people… But Masaki spotted Sakurai right away.
He was again on his “night” mode. Well, he didn’t look as magnificent as the night they talked for the first time but the white sweater under a camo jacket and the dark jeans were enough to reduce Masaki’s heartbeat to a crazy mess. He was leaning against a tree, close to the LOVE statue, with the hands buried on the front pockets of his pants and a terribly bored expression. Damn it, he was not even a little excited.
“Sho-chan! I’m sorry for making you wait! This place is super crowded and I…” Masaki started as soon as he managed to reach the tree, but Sakurai cut him off.
“Sho-chan…?” He looked amused but the smile was so slight and it disappeared so fast that Masaki thought he had imagined it “You are late. I told you to not making me wait”
“And you told me you would leave and here you are” this time Sakurai’s smirk was absolutely obvious and Masaki found himself smiling too.
“Come on, before I regret it” Sakurai let out a dramatic sigh and he headed down the street with Masaki hot on his heels “And by the way, who said you could use my first name?”
“Well… you did used ‘Masaki’ a lot so I thought I should use your first name too… But if you want I can use ‘Sato-san’” Sho shuddered at that night’s memories and shook his head negatively “Then I’ll use Sho-chan!”
That idea had already passed by Masaki’s mind but when Sho shivered it came again. What if Sho ran away like that because he didn’t like the time they spent together…? Maybe Masaki wasn’t as funny as he expected and that’s why he behaved like a total asshole… Who wouldn’t want to get rid of a bad partner?
“You are terribly annoying, I don’t know how Oikawa stands you” the man grumbled.
“I don’t know either, but he does” Masaki’s reply took Sho by surprise and his words sounded almost compassionate.
“Probably because you did a good job”
“Ah… thank you!” Masaki couldn’t hide his enthusiasm when he discovered that Sho could be kind too – or at least less harsh – when it didn’t have nothing to do with flirting.
“Forget it” the man shrugged it off and stopped walking so suddenly that Masaki ended up only inches away from him. Their faces were too close but Sho didn’t seem to mind it at all “We arrived”
“Good…” Masaki cleared his throat and stepped back. It was supposed to be his revenge but he felt like Sho was in charge of the situation.
This man’s attitude is so frustrating… I can’t get him at all…
“Please, go ahead” Sho opened the door and held it for Masaki who looked at the place for the first time. It was nothing like he imagined.
The restaurant was called Moyan and it didn’t look snob at all. It was a… totally normal family restaurant. Like his family’s Keikarou. There were black signboards on both sides of the door announcing what kind of curries the offered. Over the door frame Christmas lights were hanging although it was only October.
“Here…?” Masaki stared at Sho completely dumbfounded.
“Yeah, here. This is one of my favorite restaurants. The curry rice is delicious”
Masaki glanced at the door, then at Sho, then at the door, then at Sho… It was impossible.
“Ok, I’m going inside, you can stay here forever if you please” the man snorted and freed the door after entering. Masaki almost got it by the blade when he followed him but managed to dodge it.
“Irasshaimase! Oh, Sakurai-san, it’s been awhile!”
Masaki didn’t know what he should look at first: the owner that was behind the pine wood bar and who was an onee, or the decoration. The walls were covered by shelves full of books and manga, and over the owner’s head a big disco ball was lazily spinning. More Christmas lights decorated the ceiling as well as plants and round hanging lamps. The background music was Hawaiian. It was a weird combination but the soft orange light and the gentle owner’s character made it a nice place. He liked it instantly.
“I’m sorry Hira-san, I’ve been really busy getting ready for the New Year’s elections”
“This kid, always busy” said Hira-san and winked at Masaki, who chuckled at the word ‘kid’ “Take a seat, I’ll take you order now”
Sho chose one of the farthest tables from the door – and the rest of the customers – and got comfortable on his stool.
He looked like a completely different person for Masaki. He was not the perfect politician he knew, neither the man he met at Ni-chōme. It was another face of Sakurai Sho, an extraordinarily normal one.
“You were expecting something like Kozue, right? I would never take you to a place like that” the man placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, his eyes fixed on Masaki. He didn’t exactly know what Sho meant, neither if it was good nor bad that he wouldn’t take him to a fancy restaurant.
“Well… Yes. I was” the boy confessed, making a funny grimace “At least not something so… normal”
“I am normal, you know!?” Sho let out a burst of laughter and Masaki found himself fascinated with the sound. It was deep, as if it came directly from his stomach, and warm. Only when Sho finished laughing he could remember what they were talking about.
“But you aren’t. Normal people is not so interesting” Masaki said honestly.
“So I am interesting” Sho remarked it as if it was a triumph and Masaki chuckled.
“Well I never said you weren’t, I think it’s the other way around, though”
The man was ready to say something when Hira-san arrived to the table and threw two menus over it.
“What do you want to drink kids?” the owner said, sticking a lock of blonde hair from his wig behind his ear, full of resolution.
“Beer” replied both at the same time.
“And for me a zenbu curry with fried egg, please” Sho quickly added after clearing his throat.
“What’s that?”
“It is curry rice with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and grilled cheese” Hira-san said with the monotonous pitch of who has repeated the same thing thousands of times.
“It sounds good! I want one! With fried egg too, please” Masaki flashed his brilliant, light-up-the-world smile and Hira-san seemed completely dazzled. And he wasn’t the only one.
★★★
Sho had to admit – to himself – that Masaki was insanely charming and funny.
He didn’t use to talk while he was eating, the food was too important, but that boy couldn’t shut up even for a second and Sho soon found himself actively replying him.
Sadly it wasn’t the alcohol the reason why Sho felt so fucking attracted to Masaki the first day they met. It was the boy in all his magnificence. Especially that smile. Sometimes it was shy, sometimes excited, sometimes playful, but always bright. Of course it was because of his looks too: the pretty face, those doe eyes, the kissable lips, the clothes, the body hiding under them that Sho knew so well…
Both, the food and the drink, quickly disappeared and Sho was stupidly happy because Masaki liked his choice. He wanted to punch himself in the face.
You can’t like someone like him. You just can’t, he reminded himself, especially when he’s blackmailing you.
But to be honest it didn’t feel like a blackmail anymore. That was the problem.
“Then what do you want to do now?” Sho rested his elbow on the table and the cheek on his hand.
“Didn’t you planned it beyond the lunch?” Masaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
Yeah, I was planning to send you to hell. But you are too cute.
“Uhm… I know what I want to do…” the man’s gaze dropped from Masaki’s eyes to his lips and he felt boneless for a moment. Once again Masaki was supposed to have the power of the situation and it didn’t seem like it.
“The zoo! We can go to the zoo!” he replied, almost desperately. He wanted to make Sho feel eager for him, not the other way around. That was Nino’s plan, to make him realize what he lost.
“Seriously? The zoo? Are you…?” Sho was about to complain but his smartphone started to ring and he had to pick it up “Hey Jun, what’s up? Yeah… he’s right in front of me… I’m ok with that, he wanted to go to the zoo anyway” he said ‘zoo’ in a way that made Masaki want to shove the chopsticks up Sho’s nose “Ok, ok, I’ll tell him. See you in a while”
“So…?” Masaki crossed his arms over the table, leaning with his face full of curiosity.
“Your friend Ninomiya, or the leech as I call him, slept again in Jun’s apartment and since we are together they thought it would be funny to meet there. Is it ok for you or you still want to go to the zoo?”
“Sho-chan…” Masaki shook his head when the man called Nino ‘leech’, he was quite right though so he didn’t say anything about it.
“Let’s go to Jun’s house. You didn’t seem too excited about the zoo”
“If I wanted to be excited about animals, I would buy you a pair of cat ears”
When they headed to the street several minutes later, Masaki still was tomato red from head to toe.
★★★
“You are finally here” was the first thing Jun said when he opened his apartment door, suspiciously squinting “What were you two exactly doing?”
“Eating at Moyan” Sho shrugged and pushed his friend aside to walk into the house.
“It’s almost five! Just how much did you eat!?”
Masaki followed both men, that were still fighting, and took off his Converse at the entrance.
The truth was neither of them wanted to take the train to go from Shinjuku to Ginza and a travel that normally would take 20 minutes took them almost two hours walking.
“Hey Masaki if you were planning to take so much time to come you should have told us. Jun could have fucked me during these two hours instead of waiting for you two” Nino complained as soon as his friend stepped into the living room. His cute and innocent face didn’t fit at all with what he just said.
Masaki was already used to it but it seemed that Jun wasn’t because he suddenly started to cough as if he was about to die.
“Kazu!!” Sho patted his friend’s back, softly laughing at him.
“Come on Jun, give me something to drink”
“So you are Kazu already?” Masaki sat at Nino’s side on the black fluffy carpet that covered most of the living room, whispering while Jun and Sho headed to the kitchen.
“Yeah. It looks like that”
“You have to tell me a lot of things then” Masaki leaned to Nino, waiting for the new and juicy information.
Nino never, ever, spent two nights with the same person since Masaki knew him… and they were friends since kindergarten. His parents' divorce made him think that love was just for fools and decided he would rather spend his life having fun. The fact that he spent already a week sleeping almost every night with Jun… was a little suspicious.
“We fuck like rabbits. What more do you want to know, Aibashi?”
“Holy heaven Nino you are the most subtle person of the universe” Masaki’s burst of laughter was so loud that the sound attracted Jun and Sho. They had a bottle of red wine and glasses on their hands.
“What’s so funny?” Jun asked, placing the bottle on the crystal and steel low table in front of Masaki and Nino, looking at the latter in a way that made Masaki feel jealous.
He wanted someone to look at him like that, as if he was the most beautiful thing that ever existed, as promise, or a hope. But even when he spent all the day with Sho, and it was perfect, he knew he would never be the one. It would end as soon as the day did too.
If he had a crush on Sho didn’t matter.
“Nothing” Nino accepted the glass of wine that Jun offered to him while sitting at his other side. Sho sat close to Masaki – too close – and gave him another glass full of wine “So… how about you two?”
Sho let out a vague sound and shrugged, drinking the half of his glass of wine in one go. The aura around him suddenly became a thick wall again. They were just tenths of seconds but Masaki could feel the change.
He got the message instantly. Better to talk about trivial topics.
“The food was really good, I think I’ll go back to Moyan. Nino you should come with me! They have curry with hamburger steak. I’m sure you’ll love it” judging by the way Nino stared at his friend Masaki knew he got Sho’s hint too, but he wouldn't let it go so easily.
“I see… But I mean, what about the…?” before Nino could finish the sentence Jun cut him off grabbing his arm over the elbow and pulled him up “What are you doing J?”
“You have to help me with the dinner, Kazu” His voice was stiff as he dragged Nino to the kitchen and Masaki thank him internally. Jun was a saint, and his best friend too annoying. The situation didn’t get better when the couple disappeared, though.
Sho was plunged into silence and to cover it Masaki took his glass of wine and drank it in swift sips.
It felt exactly as the night they spent together. All seemed perfect and then… Sho turned into an ice floe. The atmosphere was heavy and suffocating and Masaki couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong. This time it was him who wanted to run away.
You are never good enough Aiba…
“Hey you two. Don’t you want to have dinner or what?” Nino reappeared in the living room with his tiny hands placed on his hips with a motherly attitude.
“Aah… Yes!” Masaki drank the rest of the wine and get up from the floor, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t let that man make him feel down. Sho silently followed them to the kitchen like a sulking kid.
The dinner developed in an awkward silence. Jun seemed like he was about to explode and Nino didn’t stop throwing little glances at Sho and Masaki.
“So…“ Jun cleared his throat and started talking finally. It was obvious that he noticed Sho’s dish, almost completely filled, but he decided to ignore it “What about another dinner someday?”
“What?” His friend tried to cut him off but Jun kept talking.
“We could go to Sho’s house. It’s really big and has a huge garden. It’s perfect for a BBQ”
“Jun… how many times I told you not to invite people to my house without my permission?” the politician’s tone became a warning.
“But you should invite Kazu and Masaki before the cold weather arrives. It would be…”
“NO.” the other three men jumped on their seats when Sho raised his voice and suddenly got up from the chair, clenching his teeth “Why should I invite to my house a guy that threaten me with crushing my career and my life if I didn’t go on a date with him? Tell me Jun. Why? It’s disgusting”
“Disgusting…?” Masaki said under his breath, looking at Sho with his eyes wide open.
“Yes! You are fucking disgusting. Blackmailing people to get a date. Don’t you pity yourself? You are pathetic” he hissed. Jun stood up and grabbed his friend’s t-shirt collar, ready to punch him but Sho pushed Jun away and stared at Masaki, his face a mask of fury “Who do you think you are? You are only a little slut looking for attention and money, aren’t you? But let me clear this. I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. You were just an easy fuck. That’s all baby”
“But I thought…” Masaki voice was shaking so much that he couldn’t almost form the words “I thought we were having fun…”
“Having fun…? Having fun!? You were fucking blackmailing me, Aiba” Sho’s hands hit the table so hard that Masaki shrank on his seat “As if I wanted to spend time with you. You are not worth. You are human trash”
Masaki’s eyes, still wide open, filled with tears that slid down his cheeks a few seconds later.
He couldn’t see how Jun’s fist impacted on Sho’s face, neither heard Nino calling him things that would have scandalized Satan himself. He just got up and rushed to the front door, the tears soaking his face and shirt. He didn’t even worry about tying the laces of his Converse and left the apartment stumbling.
Of course he knew he was pathetic… Sho wasn’t the first person telling him that after all.
★★★
On his way home Masaki bought a cheap and hard vodka. The first thing he did when he arrived to his apartment was opening the bottle, heading to his bedroom. He needed to forget and what could be better than a liter of alcohol all for himself?
He didn’t even bother to undress before lying on his bed, buried between all his cushions. The first gulp seared his throat and he coughed while his sobs became heavier. He still could remember Sho’s words, and those words were way worse than the burning sensation so he took another sip, and another, and another, and another… Soon the bottle was almost empty and Masaki was reduced to a mess of alcohol, tears and snots.
The pain was mixed with self-compassion and guilt. How could he have blackmailed someone to get a date? Sho was right. He was pathetic. His boozy mind concluded that he had to apologize as soon as possible, so even when it was passed midnight he clumsily took his iPhone from his jean’s pocket and wrote a message.
To: The beautiful asshole
I’n so dorry abiut blackmaileing you
I’be beein an asshoe.
Not even ten seconds later the reply arrived. Masaki had to read it aloud to understand it – more or less –.
From: The beautiful asshole
Holy shit Masaki did you type without your glasses
on or are you drunk?
Masaki laugh at the word “glasses” without a real reason.
To: The beautiful asshole
I’m drinkeing a bit of bodkaq
From: The beautiful asshole
That doesn’t sound like a bit… how much is a bit, Masaki?
To: The beautiful asshole
Maive a boyyle
After that there was no reply. Masaki pouted, although his annoyance didn’t last much because his eyes started to feel really, really heavy… And then, out of the blue, his smartphone kicked him out of his rest sounding like crazy.
“Ye–yes…?” he needed a moment to realize that he was holding his mobile upside down.
“Masaki?” Sho’s voice came from the other side of the line and a lazy, drunk smile formed on Masaki’s lips.
“Helloooo Sho-chaaaan…”
“You are really drunk…” Sho whispered, if Masaki would have been sober enough he'd have noticed the worry and the guilt in his voice. But he wasn’t.
“Not really…”
“Yes, you are. I’m going to your home right now”
That completely woke Masaki up. All the alcohol seemed to disappear of his veins.
“NO!” he sat up so suddenly that he felt dizzy.
“I’m going, Masaki. Give me your address, I don’t want to resort to Nino but if I need to do it…”
“Stop…” Masaki cut him off, his voice trembling. Sho remained silent for almost a whole minute and all Masaki could hear was their breathings – Sho’s controlled one and his own fast gasps –.
“Why…? I’m just worr…”
“Stop, please, stop…” Masaki begged, trying to hold back the sobs “Don’t make me think that you care about me… I’ve been stupid, thinking that someone would like me…”
Silence again.
“I can’t like you”
Although Masaki already knew it, it was more painful than it should. Those words dragged too many memories with them. Memories about other time and other person.
“I’m sorry about forcing you to have a date with me, Sho” his voice sounded cracked even for himself “I won’t bother you anymore. I promise”
“Masaki you are not…”
“I said stop it!” Masaki almost yelled, breathless.
“But…”
“That’s all Sho. I need to sleep now. Goodnight” without waiting for a reply Masaki hang up the phone and threw it to his bedroom’s couch.
It started ringing right away but by then Masaki was already fast asleep.
★★★
It felt like someone was drilling his head from the inside. Even before he opened his eyes he knew that the headache was monumental. He wanted to throw up too, but his stomach was totally empty.
Why did I think drinking a whole bottle of vodka by myself was a good idea…? Oh yeah, Sho.
The only good part of the great hangover he got was that his head hurt so much he couldn’t even remember clearly what the man said to him the previous day. He knew it was horrible and that made him feel useless and unimportant, though.
“Ngggh… fuck myself…” he mumbled while waking up. Maybe curse himself wouldn’t stop the headache but it was a good relief. He was on his way to the toilet when the door intercom rang “It’s too early for this…”
Actually it wasn’t early at all and Masaki was lucky that he didn’t have to work that Monday.
“Good morning Nishiyama-san…” Masaki greeted his doorkeeper pressing the intercom button. He tried to sound normal but his voice was hoarse from crying so much.
“It’s midday Aiba-san” the man said. Masaki was sure he was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah. Of course. I already knew”
“Indeed, Aiba-san” Nishinoya-san cleared his throat before keep talking “There’s a delivery for you”
“Really? I wasn’t expecting anything… Anyway let the delivery man in” Masaki frowned but waited next to the door. He used to buy clothes on internet but he was sure he didn’t ordered anything lately. It was probably a mistake. When the doorbell rang he opened the door right away “I think you made a mistake. I wasn't expecting…”
“Me?” Masaki froze when he heard that voice.
Right in front of him was Sakurai Sho. With a flowers bouquet between his hands.
It seemed the delivery was, in fact, for him.
★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★＝＝＝★
A/N: Well well here is the 3rd chapter!! If you made it to here thank you so much cause it was TOO DAMN LONG, I'm sorry m(_ _)m Sho keeps being an asshole here and Masaki's crush on him only gets bigger and bigger *sighs*
Anyway I hope you like it!
A/N2: Moyan, the zenbu curry and Kozue exist XD
A/N3: There was something more I wanted to say but I can't remember it right now... AH YES. Remember that english is not my native language, neither Estefy's, so ignore the terrible grammar mistakes please m(_ _)m
Comments and constructive criticism are ♡
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