A raindrop for Yuuki_Nyanmaru!

[stormies]

Title: The Proposal
Pairing(s): Matsumiya (main), Sakuraiba (side, hinted), Ohmiya (one-sided, past)
Genres: AU, romance, comedy, slight hurt/comfort, angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: To avoid deportation, Jun forces his assistant, Nino to marry him.
Warning(s): -
Author's notes: Dear Yuuki_Nyanmaru! Thank you for your amazing prompt. When I saw your Proposal!AU prompt, I knew I had to choose it since it’s one of my favorite movies too. I was planning to write something like this for ages so thank you for giving me the final push! I hope you’ll enjoy it ‘cause I had a lot of fun writing it though comedy is not really my genre so I was relying on the movie a lot in that department, I hope that is okay.

Part 1

People said Jun was a workaholic. That he had impossible standards and expectations. That he was a perfectionist to the point that it made work unbearable for everyone else who was supposed to work with him.

When he was younger, these barely concealed rumors about him made him angry. He used to have a short temper and he tended to snap at his workmates when he caught them whispering. It didn’t help his situation. Through the years, he learned to rein in his temper and just ignore them. Just like they learned to keep their distance from him.

And he was fine this way. He was just fine.

He didn’t mind working on his projects more or less alone, until he needed to brief in his crew. Well, technically, he always had assistants and the current one wasn’t even a complete disaster half of the time, so Jun settled with him for the past three years…

Nino groaned loudly, slapping his hand over the bedside table in search for his screaming phone. When he finally got his hand on the noisy device and made it silent, he squinted at the screen to check how much time he had for sleeping in a bit more.

“Oh, shit!”

He kicked off the sheets and jumped out of the bed on light-speed, almost tripping over his own feet and falling on his face in the process.

“Shit, shit, shit…” he cursed non-stop under his breath. He should’ve left for work half an hour ago at least. He left a bunch of project plans on his desk yesterday to finish up this morning but he wouldn’t be able to do that if he was late. And if he wouldn’t be there before his boss… He groaned loudly. He was so dead…

Not a great way to start a day…

“Hey, Nino! Here!” The barista at Jun’s favorite, fancy coffee shop waved to Nino, holding out two to-go cups for him to take.

“You’re a lifesaver!” Nino threw a flirty wink to the barista as he took the cups before he rushed on to the office.

He even managed to catch the elevator before it closed on his face. Now, he only needed to make his way through the cubicles to his post and he was safe. He was mentally patting his own shoulders for the job well done when…

“You must be kidding me!” He cried out as he collided with someone, spilling coffee all over his shirt in the process. “Can’t you watch where you’re going?” He barked out before rushing on. He needed a change of clothes. Why was he not keeping one in the office? If there was anything that his boss hated more than sloppy work, it was a sloppy attire probably…

“Aiba-shi! I need your shirt!”

“Uhh… Nino-chan, what happened to you?” His friend blinked at Nino’s coffee-soaked clothes with a mix of pity and curiosity.

“That blind intern with the post cart, that’s what happened. Now, shirt!” Nino hissed, looking toward the elevator bay to check whether his boss was coming.

“I don’t know… What will I wear then?” Aiba said pretending to be naïve, spinning around with his chair.

‘Who cares?’ Nino wanted to yell at him because he really, really didn’t have time for Aiba’s little games right now. Any other time, sure, but not today.

“Fine! I’ll pay for your fried chicken next time we go out for lunch just give me that damn shirt!” Nino yelled frustrated. ‘He’ll be here any minute now!’ He thought panicking.

“Deal!” Aiba agreed with a wide grin.

“Good morning, boss!” Nino said, handing Jun the (only remaining) coffee cup while catching the bunch of folders that Jun pushed in his arms. “I heard you managed to convince the management to give us the Storm tour, good job!”

“Next time I need your praise, I’ll let you know,” Jun answered curtly.

Nino just rolled his eyes behind Jun’s back, knowing better than to say anything more. ‘Nice talking to you too, as always…’ he thought as he headed to the door.

“Who is Yuiichi and why should I call him?”

Nino winced but stopped and turned back slowly.

“You shouldn’t. That was my coffee originally…” Nino admitted.

“And I’m drinking your coffee because…?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow, regarding Nino with such cold, disapproving look that made him cringe even after three years of being on the receiving end of that look.

“Because I spilt yours…” He was a grown man in his thirties, he shouldn’t feel like a schoolboy in the principal’s office anymore! Yet, Jun managed to make him feel just like that.

Jun took a careful sip of the cup in his hand.

“You drink unsweetened, cinnamon soy latte. Like me…”

“Yes. It’s like Christmas in a cup,” Nino said honestly. “And no, I’m not drinking it just to have a back-up in case I spill yours! That’d be… pathetic…” Nino added hurriedly, yet a bit insecurely. He did like it, he wasn’t that pathetic, thank you very much!

Jun just snorted at that, obviously not believing a word and turned to his computer. Taking it as his dismissal, Nino headed to the door again.

“Make sure your weekend is free. We have a lot to do for Storm,” Jun called after him.

Nino froze mid-step.

“But… I was going to go home. It’s my granny’s 90th birthday and…” Nino started but his words quickly died on his lips. Before he could find his voice again, the phone on his desk rang and he scrambled off to answer it. “Matsumoto-san’s office… Yes, of course, Chief Sakurai… Yes… Goodbye!... Chief Sakurai is asking for you,” he reported to Jun.

Jun got up from his desk with a barely concealed sigh.

“Come and fetch me in ten, we have a lot to do,” he instructed Nino before marching off to the elevators.

Jun barely slowed down to knock on Sho’s door before entering. Sho might’ve been his superior in the company, but he was also the only person Jun considered as his friend here. They had very similar work ethic that Jun appreciated and it helped Sho to reach such a high position despite his young age which only made Jun respect him more.

“Morning, Sho. I guess you heard about Storm. No need to thank me…” He said jokingly. It was all thanks to his hard work after all.

“Yeah, great job,” Sho nodded his head but he didn’t look as excited as Jun expected him to be. “I know your job requires you to fly around sometimes, but do you remember when we talked about you letting others handle those until your visa application is in progress?”

“Yeah…” Jun said cautiously, not seeing the point of Sho’s little speech.

“But you still went to Seoul last month. The officials took it as breach of procedure and they suspended your visa effective immediately,” Sho finished.

“But it was an emergency! They were…” Jun tried to protest but Sho only shook his head.

“I think the government officials care little about concert emergencies to be willing to make an exception for you.”

It was a long time Jun felt scolded and even when Sho did it so gently, it didn’t make it feel any better. Nor did Jun felt like apologizing for making his job a priority over stupid government procedures!

“This whole procedure is a laughing stock anyway! I’m not even a real immigrant. Just because I was born in LA, I have to go through the same stupid procedure every five years? It’s a waste of time and I don’t have the time to actually do that!” Part of Jun knew that he was throwing a tantrum like a toddler, to the wrong person nonetheless, but the whole situation was irritating. Pointless. It just reminded him every time that he didn’t belong here and he hated the feeling.

“I know, I know and believe me, we’re all grateful here for everything you’ve done. That’s why I talked to the Legal Department already to see if there’s anything we can do to fix the situation. They said you’ll have to re-apply for your visa and you’ll have to leave the country while the review procedure is done. It might take from six to twelve months…”

Jun didn’t like where this conversation was going. He didn’t like it one bit!

“O—Okay. I can work remotely for the time being. It might take some scheduling but it’s manageable. Conference calls, e-mails…” he said, doing his best to look more collected and cooler than how he actually felt. But again, Sho was shaking his head at him.

“Company policy doesn’t allow us to employ anyone who has on-going government procedure…” Sho raised his hand to stop Jun when he saw he was about to erupt once again. “It’s stupid, I know, and I agree with you, but I’m not the one making the rules, nor am I in the position to change it… I’m really sorry but it looks like we’ll have to let you go,” Sho finished and now he did look like he was sorry for it.

“But...!”

Jun’s protest was cut off by the knock on the door and Nino poked his head in with an apologetic smile on his face.

“We’re in the middle of a meeting here,” Sho told him, sending a disapproving look to the intruder.

“I know, I’m really sorry to interrupt, Chief, but there’s an urgent call for Matsumoto-san. They won’t take no for an answer regardless I’m telling repeatedly that he’s otherwise occupied at the moment…” Nino kept babbling as per Jun’s instruction. “It’s about the Storm job, I think…” he added, trumping something up when he didn’t see his boss taking the saving line Nino was throwing at him.

Jun did not take it because the appearance of his assistant gave him the best idea ever!

“C’m ‘er!” Jun hissed at Nino, but he had to repeat it a few times until Nino gathered his courage to actually enter the room. As soon as he was in arm’s reach, Jun grabbed his wrist and yanked him to his side. “Actually… actually there’s something that… I probably should’ve told you sooner…” Jun started turning back to Sho. “But I know the policy, that it’s not really… supported and all but… Ni… I mean Kazunari and I are getting married,” Jun announced, plastering the widest (and hopefully the happiest looking) smile on his face he managed.

Sho looked at him surprised and a bit skeptically.

“You’re… marrying your… secretary?”

“Executive assistant,” Jun corrected. “But yes. Don’t be a prude, it wouldn’t be the first time in history now, would it? Someone dating their subordinate…?” Jun shot him a meaningful glance.

Sho blushed at that. His relationship with Masaki, who was actually working on Jun’s floor, wasn’t really a secret. And though he wasn’t directly Sho’s subordinate, considering his position at the company, almost everybody was under him in the hierarchy, so Jun did have a point.

“You know how it is…” Jun continued. “All those late hours in the office. Long business trips… Something… Something just happened. So… It’s all good now, right? We’re all happy, right? Because we are happy for sure!” Jun rushed on with his words as if he wanted to prevent Sho asking any questions or have time to think about what Jun was talking about, and all the while, holding Nino’s hand in an iron grip so he wouldn’t interrupt him either.

“Okay, it’s alright. Great, actually,” Sho nodded slowly but still regarding the couple with a slight skepticism. “Just make it official so I can get the authorities off my back, okay?” he added strictly.

“Official?” Nino whispered confused.

“Of course! Of course!” Jun giggled and wiggled his ring finger. “Then, we’re heading straight to the office to make it official! Bye then!”

And with that, Jun left the office with the still dazed Nino on his heels…

All the way back to Jun’s office, Nino tried to ignore the whispering and giggling that rippled through the office as they passed it. What wouldn’t he give if he could just shut up the rumor-mills, just this one time! How did they even know about it? What did they know at all when he himself was not clear on what was happening?

“What… just happened back there?” he asked, still clearly shocked while Jun on the other hand was cool as a cucumber, sitting back to his desk to pick up his work where he left it. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“They were about to fire me and to deport me,” Jun said calmly, not even looking up at Nino.

“And, naturally, I have to marry you…” Nino said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Jun sighed and looked at Nino as if he was stupid for not getting it.

“Let’s face it. As soon as I’m gone from here, they’ll let you go too. I’m not high on the popularity list around here and neither you are by association. And if it happens, all those coffees, late work hours, cancelled dates and weekend plans were for nothing. You’ll be out of job and your ambitions to amaze the people by creating the most glamorous shows will be over. So, like it or not, for the time being your fate is bound to mine,” Jun explained calmly. He might have slightly exaggerated the situation regarding Nino, but hard times required hard decisions. He watched as realization dawned on Nino’s face before he continued. “Anyway, it’s not like it will be forever. We straighten out the legalities, and after the minimum required time we get a quick divorce and everyone can go on their own way. Why, were you saving yourself for someone special?”

Nino felt blush spreading on his cheeks.

“I wouldn’t oppose the idea…” he murmured under his breath but part of him started to accept that he won’t be able to worm his way out of this. At least for now.

“You can have that after we’re done with each other. Now, phone!” Jun ordered as the said device started to ring on Nino’s desk …

As Nino put down the phone, a message popped up on his computer screen.

“Nino-chan! Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Matsumoto-san!!!!!”
“And now you’re getting married????”

Nino groaned and considered hitting his head on the table but restrained himself. Instead, he typed a reply to his friend.

“Because it’s none of your damn business!”
“How do you know about it at all????”

“Sho-chan told me.”

‘Of course he did…’ Nino thought but before he could type his reply, another message popped up:

“You have to tell me everything, you know?”
“Did he confess first?”
“Or did you?”
“Who proposed?”
“How’s the sex?”
“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“I told you it’s none of your business!”
“Don’t you have work to do? Just do that!”

Nino typed quickly then just to avoid further disruption, he silenced the chat application before it could blow up with another bunch of emojis from Aiba…

As the obvious conclusion of the morning events, instead of playing rounds of PazuDora and munching an onigiri from the vending machine, Nino found himself at the immigration office during his lunch break.

“What are you doing?” Nino hissed at Jun when his boss, ignoring the long line of other applicants in front of the reception desk, marched straight up to the employee.

“Excuse me, it will take just a minute!” Jun told the woman at the head of the line, flashing a charming smile that would’ve made even Nino blush, if he wasn’t so horribly embarrassed by him. After working for Jun for three years, Nino thought he got immune to the embarrassing behavior of his boss. He was obviously wrong.

“I need you to file this fiancé visa application for me,” Jun told to the office employee, handing in his papers.

“Matsumoto Jun-san?” The mas asked after skimming the papers quickly. “Please, follow me!”

Nino had a bad feeling about this, and it only grew while they waited in that tiny, cramped office. When they made you wait like that, it never meant any good, if you asked Nino.

Jun, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share his feeling about their situation, instead, he was too busy typing away on his phone. Work e-mails. Or urgent to-do lists for Nino, ensuring that he won’t leave the office at normal hours today either.

“Sorry to make you wait,” a skinny, balding man said as he pushed his way into the office, taking the seat behind the desk. “My name is Yamada, I’ll handle your case, Matsumoto-san,” he introduced himself. “So, let’s review step by step what’s going to happen now. There’ll be a scheduled interview. I’ll talk to you separately, ask all the questions that a real couple would know about each other. Then, I’ll check the details. I’ll talk to your friends, families, colleagues… And if things don’t add up, and I think they won’t, you…” he said pointing at Jun. “…will be deported permanently. And you…” he turned to Nino now. “…will have to pay a 250.000 yen fine and serve five years in prison for felony. So… Do you wanna talk to me, Ninomiya-kun?”

Nino, shocked by the dark possibilities, had a hard time finding his voice so he just shook his head.

“No? Really…?”

“Yeah?...” Nino stuttered uncertainly, hating himself for sounding so weak. He cleared his throat. “The truth is… that Jun and I… We shouldn’t have fallen in love but… but it just happened. And we didn’t tell about us in the office because… Because of my big promotion coming up. To project manager. We thought it would seem inappropriate considering… you know… So…” Nino trailed off and smiled, hoping it looked convincing enough.

“I see… And did you tell your families about your secret love?” Yamada asked, still eyeing them critically, obviously not convinced by Nino’s story.

“No. My parents are dead, so it’d be hard,” Jun said quickly. “No brothers or sisters either,” he added.

“What about you, Ninomiya-kun? Your parents are dead too?”

“No, no! His parents are very much alive!” Jun cut in before Nino could even open his mouth. “Actually, we’re going to visit them this weekend. Granny’s 90th birthday. Big family event. Everybody will be there. We planned to tell them there. As a surprise, you know.”

Nino let out a choked-out noise and he could only hope it sounded as an agreement to Jun’s words and not sign of the shock he actually felt.

“And where will this joyous event take place?” Yamada asked.

“At Kazunari’s parents’ house, of course,” Jun answered matter-of-factly.

“Which is where?” Yamada looked at Jun expectantly.

For the first time since this comedy started, Jun looked a bit uncomfortable. Nino had to give him that he still hid pretty well that he didn’t have the slightest idea about that.

“Esashi,” Nino piped in. “Hokkaido.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Nino caught the look on Jun’s face. He was so obviously shocked that Nino was already kissing goodbye to all his savings mentally and prepared his heart to endure a prison sentence in his near future.

“I see, I see. This will be fun!” Yamada mumbled to himself, clearly having the time of his life. “I’ll see you both on Monday at 10 for your interview,” he announced, scribbling the date on a post-it and handed it to Nino. “See you then!”

As they walked out of the immigration office, Nino was still busy trying to wrap his head around the potential consequences if anything went wrong with this whole charade. Which, Nino was sure, was bound to happen. It was only matter of time.

On the other hand, Jun was undisturbed as ever, spouting out his non-sense orders regarding their flight up to Hokkaido.

“Why aren’t you taking notes?” Jun demanded when he finally realized that Nino was just walking by his side with a dazed look on his face.

“Excuse me, but were you not in that room just now?” Nino snapped back at Jun. Was he for real?

Jun blinked back at him confused for a moment then realization dawned on his face.

“Ah, the promotion? Great idea, really. Genius!” he praised.

“I wasn’t joking,” Nino insisted when he saw that Jun wasn’t taking him seriously. “I’m facing a 250.000 yen fine and five years in prison. That changes things!”

“Fine, fine…” Jun gave in after a long staring contest. “Project manager? Fine. Okay, you’ll have it.”

“Not in five years, right now. Or I’m walking out of here and you can do whatever you want!” Nino threatened. He was fed up with Jun a lot during their normal work hours but today was the first day he seriously considered following his family’s advice of quitting his job, what they told him to do on almost a daily basis.

“Fine, you win. If you do the Hokkaido weekend and the interview, I’ll promote you to PM,” Jun gave in with as little enthusiasm as it was humanly possible.

A satisfied smirk appeared on Nino’s face at hearing this.

“Thank you. Now, ask me,” he said crossing his arms over his chest.

“What?”

“You heard me. Ask me to marry you. On your knees!”

Seeing that Nino was not kidding, Jun looked around quickly before reluctantly kneeling down.

“Marry me, Nino,” he said with an emotionless tone.

“No,” Nino flat out refused. “Ask me like you mean it!”

Jun sighed heavily. The torture he had to go through just to get that stupid visa!

“Dear, sweet, Kazunari! Would you do the honor of marrying me, pretty please?”

“Hmm… Okay! I’m not appreciating the sarcasm, though,” he said. “See you tomorrow at the airport!” He added before turning on his heel, leaving Jun behind. With everything happening that day, he felt entitled to take the rest of the day off. He’ll see more than enough of Jun’s face this weekend anyway. And for the next few years, probably…

Part 2

Nino flipped through the pages of the interview folder as the plane took off. There were a lot of questions! He highly doubted that ‘real’ couples knew all these about each other. He sure didn’t know half of these things about his past partners. But on the other hand, that might’ve been the reason why they all dumped him in the end…

“Well, these are some detailed questions… Good news, I know all this about you,” he said closing the folder. “Bad news, you have four days to learn all these about me.”

“Really? Everything?” Jun asked back skeptically, taking the folder from Nino’s hand. “Hmm… What am I allergic to?”

“Pine nuts. And the whole spectrum of human emotions,” Nino replied without thinking.

“So funny…” Jun snarled back, flipping a few pages. “What’s my hobby?”

Nino held back from rolling his eyes as Jun carried on with his own little interrogation.

“I’m pretty sure it’ll change by Monday but right now, it’s your little bonsai. Before that, it was surfing. Before that photography. Before that…” Nino listed. After all he was the one who signed off all those instruction books and what not when they got delivered to the office for Jun.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Jun cut Nino off, slight pink coloring the tip of his ears. So, what if his interest was a bit diverse? It was not a crime last time he checked. To divert his attention from his embarrassed feelings, Jun flipped a few more pages in the folder.

“’Whose place are we staying at?’ Well, that’s easy. Mine…” he mumbled under his breath.

“And why is that?” Nino asked back, not even trying to hide his offended tone.

“Because I have a 3LDK apartment at Sunrise Building, in Akasaka, while you probably live in a one-room flat in Akihabara, full of games and comics and… figurines…”

Nino wasn’t sure which shocked him most. The barely covered disgust in Jun’s voice or the almost accurate description of his home.

“Whatever,” Nino grumbled turning away. His place was just fine, thank you very much. He had all the things he could need nearby and wasn’t planning on inviting Jun over anyway so, yeah, whatever…

After getting off the plane in Sapporo, for Jun’s greatest distaste, they got on the most cramped and clunky bus for another hour-long ride. By the time they arrived to Esashi’s bus station, the sky started darkening.

“Kazu! Kazu!”

Nino was torn between embarrassment and delight when he spotted his mom and grandma waiting for them, waving a huge ‘Welcome home, Kazu!’ banner. ‘As if I wouldn’t recognize them otherwise…’ he thought and quickened his steps to greet them.

“Welcome home, Kazu,” his mom said and Nino felt slightly guilty when he saw her teary eyes. He knew he should visit more often. It wasn’t fair to them. How many years it had been since the last time he came home? Probably around the time he started working for Jun…

“So, where is he?” His grandma asked with a cheeky grin. “That boy of yours?”

Jun cleared his throat loudly behind Nino who rolled his eyes in answer but stepped aside to introduce them to each other.

“My, my! Aren’t you an eye-candy?” Nino’s grandma cried out in pure delight. “Call me Asuka,” she added on a flirty tone that made Jun blush and Nino groan out loudly.

Before she could embarrass him further, Nino’s mom cut in:

“Granny, be nice! Welcome, Matsumoto-kun, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s get going, shall we?” She said smiling.

They loaded into the Ninomiya family’s old truck and after a while Jun noticed that they were about to leave the town.

“Ehm… I thought we were going to the hotel,” Jun said cautiously.

“Oh, we cancelled your reservation. Family can’t stay in a hotel. You’ll stay with us at home!” Nino’s mom said as it if was the most natural thing to do. It probably was normal in a tight-knit families but Jun couldn’t imagine himself to be included in one.

“Oh… How generous of you. Thank you,” he said politely.

Nino had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep in the laughter that threatened to burst out. Seeing Jun so out of his element almost made it worth going through this hell.

Nino’s fun turned out to be pre-mature, though.

“Mom? What’s this?” He asked when they got out of the car.

The big, traditional Japanese-style house where Nino grew up was completely lit up. Several people were milling around in the front garden. Noises of music and even more people came from inside the house.

“This? Just a little welcome home surprise. It has been such a long time after all. A lot of people missed you, you know!” She said and Nino groaned loudly again. This was one of the reasons why he didn’t visit his family a lot. Not having any free time was another one…

Nino looked over to Jun who seemed to share his feelings about this surprise get-together. Nino hoped to lay low until the actual birthday party but as usual, his mom had plans of her own.

“You forgot to mention you own this town…” Jun whispered to him.

“I do not,” Nino denied. “Granny’s family owned lands here since forever, though… Anyway, let’s get this show on the road! It’s not like they’ll just disappear if we keep standing in the cold,” he grumbled and headed inside, Jun close on his heels.

They could barely enter the house because with every step, someone stopped them to greet them, saying how much they missed Nino.

“Look at that, what the cat brought in…” Someone commented behind their back.

“Hello, sis. I missed you too…” Nino said turning around. One more reason he wasn’t in a hurry to visit more often. He liked his sister, they were family after all but the less time they spent in close range of each other, was the better, according to Nino.

“And you must be Jun-chan,” she ignored Nino’s snarky tone and turned her attention to Jun. “I’m Kaori, Kazu’s sister.”

“Matsumoto. Nice to meet you…” Jun answered rather stiffly. He really didn’t appreciate when people behaved all familiar upon the first meeting.

“So, tell us, Jun-chan, what does a concert director do exactly? Well, except of ordering around and bullying other people, obviously…” She asked with barely concealed malice in her tone.

The people around them laughed out, taking her words for a joke. Not Nino though…

“Would you excuse us for a minute?” He asked, grabbing his sister’s arm, dragging her to the other room. “Couldn’t you wait like ten minutes before pulling this crap, could you?” Nino hissed at her angrily.

“What did you expect? We listened to you complain about that man for three years and now you bring him here for Granny’s birthday?!” She snapped back. “I never thought you’d sink so low… Sleeping with your boss…” she added with obvious disgust.

Nino felt his face flush with anger and embarrassment. Not only that wasn’t true, but it was also deeply offending. For both him and Jun as well.

“Just so you know, he’s one of the most well-known and respected concert directors in the country, if not East-Asia. And you better get used to seeing him ‘cause that’s your future brother-in-law!” Nino spouted the words in her face.

“What?” She asked back, eyes wide in shock.

“You heard me. He’s my fiancé. We’re getting married,” Nino spelled it out for her. “Nice talking to you as always…” he said before leaving behind his still gaping sister.

Just to bump straight into Jun at the doorway.

“That was the way you wanted to announce your engagement?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, shut it!” Nino grumbled, not ready to hear another lecture from his boss too. “You wanted me to tell them, so there you go. Quit complaining about everything!” He said stepping aside Jun. He needed a drink, quickly.

“So… I heard congratulations are in order…”

Nino jumped startled. Why did people enjoy doing this to him? He turned around quickly.

“Oh-chan! I had no idea you were here too…” he said, hugging the man in a bit of a daze.

“Your mom wanted to surprise you,” Ohno chuckled.

Jun cleared his throat uncomfortably beside them which reminded Nino to let go of Ohno hurriedly.

“J! This is Oh-chan, we went to school together,” he introduced them quickly.

“Nice to meet you…” Jun shook Ohno’s hand, his glance jumping between Nino and this ‘Oh-chan’. He had a feeling there was more than simple school-boy friendship, and it caused a weird feeling stirring in his chest. But why was that? Nino and he had a simple business deal, nothing more. Right?

“So, am I late?” Ohno asked curiously.

“Late for what?” Nino asked back confused.

“For the story, of course! Of your proposal,” he said as if that was the most obvious thing. “Did you tell that already?”

“Oh! That!” Nino said, a devious smirk forming on his lips slowly. “No, not yet. You’re just in time actually. J here was just about to tell. His big moment! Am I right, darling?” Nino said loudly.

Before Jun could protest, people around him started insisting on hearing the story so Nino stirred him to the middle of the room for everyone to see. It was petty revenge on his side probably, but he did enjoy seeing Jun squirming uncomfortably under the attention of all these people, trying to come up with a story of a grand proposal. Something grander than Nino forcing him on his knees in front of the immigration office… Nino’s only help was throwing in snarky comments randomly, making Jun trip over his words, but luckily the audience didn’t seem to mind much because in the end Jun still managed to paint a romantic scene that involved a high-class hotel, hundreds of roses and pictures of the two of them posted on every wall…

Nino never considered himself a romantic soul, yet he couldn’t help but feel moved by the scene Jun painted for them. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, least of all to Jun…

“Kiss! Let’s see a kiss!” someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.

It was Nino’s turn to try and fail in protesting. His grandma ‘gently’ pushed him off the armrest of the couch where he sat, straight into Jun’s arms. For some reason, feeling Jun’s arms around his waist made Nino’s cheeks heat up.

“Come on, just kiss me so we can get over it!” Nino mumbled to Jun who seemed equally reluctant, but in the end pressed a quick peck to Nino’s lips just to ‘get over it’ as Nino told him to.

“That’s not a kiss!” Nino’s grandma complained. “Kiss properly!” she ordered them.

“Let’s just do it, so we can get out of here!” Jun hissed at Nino this time.

‘Don’t give me orders here!’ Nino wanted to say but instead he grabbed Jun’s collar, pulling him down for a kiss.

It might’ve been the surprise. Or the heightened emotions. Nino tried to reason later the fireworks that burst behind his closed eyelids the moment their lips collided. The way Jun’s lips caressed his softly… He pulled back, eyes fluttering open slowly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered the cat-calls and awing from the people around them but for some reason, he was unable to tear his eyes from Jun’s. How did he not notice before that Jun had the prettiest eyes… ‘What are you thinking, Ninomiya Kazunari?!’ he thought and took a quick step away from Jun before he did something utterly stupid.

Like leaning in for another kiss…

“And this will be your room…” Nino’s mom said opening the door at the end of the short house-tour.

The guests of the surprise party left an hour or so ago and now they could finally get some rest after an awfully long and event-full day. Jun looked around the room curiously, taking in the pair of armchairs with a small table, the closet and the bed. The one and only bed.

“And where will be Kazunari’s room?”

A question this innocent coming from a grown man’s mouth almost made Nino burst out laughing. Jun really didn’t do much of a good job on pretending to be a couple, did he?

Nino’s mom and grandma were less considerate with their reaction; both of them started giggling at the question like schoolgirls.

“Oh, we don’t have any illusions. As if the two of you not sharing a bed back in Tokyo…” Nino’s mom waved her hand laughing and Jun felt his cheeks flush. “Anyway, we’ll leave you to rest now. Good night!”

“Our rooms are on the other side of the house so feel yourself at home! Good night!” Nino’s grandma chirped, throwing a wink at the young couple before leaving.

“I’m not sharing this bed with you!” Jun said the moment the door was closed.

“As if I want to…” Nino mumbled, stepping to the closet, dragging out the spare futon and spreading it on the other side of the room, as far from the bed as possible.

Upon seeing Nino prepare a separate sleeping place for himself, Jun was relieved. He grabbed his sleeping stuff from his suitcase and fled to the adjoined bathroom to prepare for bed and more importantly, to get a hold of his feelings that were swirling around confused ever since he and Nino kissed.

Why did he get so worked up?! There was no reason to lose his cool right? It was only a kiss. A necessary prop to this marriage charade. Still, it was only a business deal first and foremost! The fact that Nino was not an ugly fellow – actually he was exactly Jun’s type, though he would never admit it to anyone, - was completely irrelevant. Either way, there was no reason for them to share the bed. Or any more kisses. Neither now, nor later! With that thought in mind, Jun poked his head out from the bathroom.

“Are you asleep?” He asked.

The room was darkened already except from the light on the bedside table.

“Yeah,” Nino replied obviously awake, rolling his eyes.

“Close your eyes!” Jun ordered, but his tone was unusually insecure.

“Closed,” Nino said on a bored tone and kept staring at the ceiling. ‘What was he fussing about?’ he thought, just the moment Jun made a dash for the bed. But he wasn’t fast enough for Nino to not see his pajamas. “Oh, my! I didn’t think anything about you could still surprise me! So that’s why you were so desperate to get the Storm project! You’re a fan!” Nino cried out as he caught a glimpse of the Storm concert T-shirt Jun was wearing.

“Shut up! You were not supposed to see this as I should have had a room of my own in the hotel!” Jun retorted, embarrassed that Nino discovered one more secret of his. “Good night!” He said with as much dignity he could muster up at the moment and clicked off the light.

But Nino’s chuckle haunted him in the darkness even minutes later…

For Nino, it felt like he slept for minutes only when the loud ringing of Jun’s phone jerked him awake.

“You must be kidding me!” He moaned pressing his face into the pillow, trying to ignore the irritating noise.

“Huh?” Jun sat up on the bed, still half asleep. “Phone… phone…” he mumbled, searching around the bed for the said object.

“Bag. Front pocket,” Nino grumbled out. “Answer it finally, would you?”

Jun found his phone thanks to Nino’s guidance.

“Hello?... Hello?... I can’t hear you!” Jun was practically screaming in the phone.

“Damn it, Jun!” Nino yelled at him, flinging his pillow in the general direction of Jun’s voice.

Jun seemed to finally get the message as the pillow landed at his feet.

“Wait, wait! I’ll look for a place with better reception!” Jun whispered-shouted to the caller, still too loud for Nino’s taste but thankfully the door was soon closed behind him.

With the disturbance leaving the room, Nino sighed happily and let himself doze off again…

When Nino woke up some time later, Jun was still absent from the room.

“Where did that guy go?” He groaned but pushed himself off the futon and grabbing a hoodie, and he went to search for his ‘fiancé’.

“What is he doing?” the question escaped him before he could stop himself as he joined his mother and grandma at the window, watching as Jun ran around in the garden, waving his arms – his phone, more precisely, trying to get reception, probably.

“I would’ve never expected this boy of yours to be this funny!” His grandma commented giggling.

“That makes two of us…” Nino mumbled barely audible, a soft smile appearing on his lips. If he wanted to be honest, he found this new side of Jun rather charming. A lot more likable than his usual self.

“Come on, collect your boyfriend, would you? We have a whole day planned for him,” his mom said with a wide smile. “You’re welcome to join us too!”

“I’ll pass, thank you. I planned on getting nostalgic with my old games,” Nino declined firmly but headed out to grab Jun as he was told to.

“Good morning, fiancé!” he called Jun as he approached him, hands tucked firmly in the pocket of his hoodie.

“Ah, Nino, there you are!” Jun turned toward him quickly, breathless, cheeks pink from the cold and exertion. It was a very pretty sight. “The reception here is horrible,” he informed him.

Nino snorted out a laughter.

“What did you expect? You can use the landline later.”

“Later is no good. I have to make tons of calls. I need to check my mails too,” Jun protested.

“There’s an internet café in the town, you can check your mails there. But as I said, it will have to wait. The girls have the whole day planned for you. Consider this as your engagement vacation. Go with them sightseeing, shopping or whatever. Work can wait,” Nino said pointing at the house behind him. “Now, boyfriend, before they think we’re fighting…” he said with a cheeky grin. Nino curled his fingers onto Jun’s coat lapel then tiptoed and pressed a quick, rather chaste kiss on Jun’s cheek. “Come on, let’s get going!” He chirped and headed back to the house and for some reason he felt quite proud to be able to kiss Jus once more…

“Mom told me you wanted to talk to me,” Nino said as he approached his sister who was tending to the vegetables behind the house.

“Did she?” Kaori asked back. “More like she wanted me to apologize to you. According to her, I was rude to you and Jun-chan yesterday. So, I’m sorry.”

Nino was surprised to hear this, but he wasn’t one look the gift horse in the mouth.

“Apology accepted. Thank you,” he said honestly, reaching for one of the tools on the ground to help her.

“But you know!” She said suddenly after working silently for a few minutes. “I just still don’t get it! How can you do this? I know you’re a lazy bastard, you ran away from your family just because working on the fields is hard, but sleeping with your boss on top of everything? I never thought you’d be so much after that good for nothing father of ours…”

“I’m not like him! You know nothing about Jun, or me, or our relationship, so just back the hell off!” Nino snapped at her, throwing the garden scissor from his hand. “You know what, apology not accepted!” He added before stomping off. He should’ve just stuck with his games as he planned, he thought fuming…

In any other case, Jun would’ve enjoyed a day full of sightseeing, playing tourist and shopping, but today was an exception for a lot of reasons. First, there was nothing much to see at such a tiny town as this was. Secondly, the company made him feel quite on the edge. They were weird. Fussing over him as he was Nino’s fiancé... Well, okay, theoretically he was that but it’s not like they should establish a relationship too, nor did he and Nino planned on a happily ever after. It felt like the theme of the whole day was ‘welcome to the family’ and it freaked the hell out of Jun…

Under the excuse of having to use the toilette, he escaped through the back door of the restaurant where they were having lunch. He was not planning an actual escape, he was more well-mannered than that, but he sure needed a breather before he said or did something he would regret later on.

“They can be a lot to handle sometimes but they’re nice people…”

“Ah, Ohno-san…” Jun turned to the other man who seemed to have the same idea as he did. He thought he spotted him earlier in the restaurant but he didn’t have the chance to approach him for a chat. Though he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to or not. But now he couldn’t avoid talking to him. “Yeah, they’re nice,” he agreed.

“But of course you knew that already. Being engaged to Nino and all,” Ohno added with a small chuckle.

He shouldn’t ask, really, Jun knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. Not after he saw the two of them together the day before. Nino’s face the moment he saw Ohno was…

“Ehm… Ohno-san, did you and Nino…?” Jun trailed off, suddenly unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“Did we date?” Ohno asked back with a soft but sad smile. “No, he never looked at me that way. I asked him out but he said he was leaving this town, which I’ve never wanted to do so… This place was always too small for his ambitions, so I wasn’t surprised. It would’ve been a waste if he stayed here,” Ohno seemed to rather think aloud than talking to Jun. Which Jun was kind of grateful because he had no idea what to reply if Ohno expected some kind of reaction from him. After all, he couldn’t admit that everything Ohno said revealed a whole new side of Nino that he didn’t know until now.

“Though, that time when his father…” Ohno continued his aloud musings.

“What about his father?” The question escaped Jun before he could stop himself. He did notice that Nino’s dad was missing and no one seemed to even mention him. It got him curious.

“Oh, there you are, Jun-chan!” Nino’s grandma appeared next to them suddenly before Ohno had the chance or will to answer Jun’s question. “Come on, the night is still young!” she said cheerfully. “You come too, Satoshi-kun!”

By the time Jun came back home, he wanted nothing but a hot shower and sleep. It was exhausting to keep up the image of a fiancé in love when everything during the day only reminded him how he knew nothing about Nino.

As Jun got out of the shower, he realized he only had a small towel with him that was barely enough to cover his private parts. He cursed at his carelessness but in the end he decided that it was safe to leave the bathroom. The room must be empty since Nino was nowhere to be seen since they returned…

“I see you’re feeling at home…”

Later Jun would totally deny that he’d shrieked when he heard Nino’s voice. He did rush to the bed though – almost losing his towel in the process – grabbing the quilt from there to cover himself from Nino’s view.

“What are you doing here?” He yelled at Nino, his face burning with embarrassment.

“I planned on going to sleep, what do you think?” Nino retorted, leaving his spot near the doorway where he stood slightly frozen since he spotted Jun emerging from the bathroom almost nude. He tried to act cool but that was quite some body his boss was hiding under those pricey, designer clothes he loved to wear. Was he to be blamed if he was shocked?!

“Did you not heard of ‘knocking’?” Jun asked, pressing the blanket closer to his body. What was he freaking out for now? He considered himself more mature than this. Seeing Nino being so calm about the situation only made Jun feel more embarrassed about his own reaction.

“This is my room too. And in case you’ve forgotten… We’re engaged,” Nino threw a meaningful look to Jun before heading to the bathroom.

“Fine, fine! Whatever! Go shower or something, just get out of here!”

The only answer Jun got was the door shutting behind Nino.

By the time Nino finished bathing, Jun was in bed already, but he kept the light on the bedside table on for him. Nino was surprised to see that Jun even prepared his futon for him. He couldn’t hold back the soft smile that appeared on his lips. ‘You do have a soft side, don’t you?’ he thought fondly as he settled down to sleep.

“So…” Jun spoke up suddenly just when Nino was about to ask him to turn off the light. “What happened to your dad?”

In an instant, Nino felt all the happy feelings drained from him like any time that man was mentioned.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that question is not in the folder,” he said snappily, though it probably was there. Maybe not like this but people about to get married usually know about each other’s family situation, don’t they? But not even the upcoming interview or the threat of a prison sentence was enough for Nino to willingly dive into that topic.

Heavy silence settled on the room for a while and Nino started to feel guilty for snapping at Jun. It wasn’t his fault, after all. He had the right to ask and Nino himself should stop being so damn sensitive about it too.

“My parents died when I was sixteen. Car crash. Not long after they’ve sent me to Japan for high school. They were second generation Asian-Americans so we had no relatives here, but they thought it was important that I got to know my Japanese heritage. Obviously, they thought the best way for that was sending me to school here for three years on my own. And if I learned to look after myself in the process then…Well, two birds with one stone I guess…” Jun wasn’t sure why he was telling Nino this now. He didn’t want his pity, for sure. But maybe he wanted him to see that he wasn’t the only one with a messed up family background.

“Why didn’t you go back?” Nino asked. For some reason, he didn’t like the thought. If Jun would’ve returned to America, they would’ve never met probably. It caused a heavy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach but he tried to ignore it, because it acknowledging would mean… ‘No! No! It would mean nothing!’ he thought fiercely.

“I had no remaining family there either and it seemed more troublesome. With school and everything… Also, I actually quite liked it here, so I stayed,” Jun said with a little chuckle. His teenage-self thought staying in a foreign country meant he could immerse himself in an adventure instead of facing the cruel reality of being left alone in the world.

Nino felt sorry for Jun. There was such deep sadness in his voice despite pretending not to care about his past that it broke Nino’s heart, and he wanted to comfort him somehow. He knew better than to voice these feelings of his though. Jun was a prideful man and they weren’t even friends, so, on what basis would Nino even speak up?

“When I was a kid my father left us and this town for another woman. He took all the family savings with him too. As it turned out, he rather took his inheritance in money than in farm lands… I can understand the lack of appeal in farm life but I hope that’s the only trait I share with that man…” Nino said after being silent for a while, trying to find enough courage to speak about his own issues. “Mom took it really hard. People talk in such a small town like this, you know. But I think we were lucky that Granny actually liked mom more than she liked her own son, so we weren’t driven out from here after he left us. Granny must’ve always known how my father was so it wasn’t much of a surprise for her than it was for everyone else. Anyway, that’s it. The shameful past of the Ninomiya family!” Nino tried to joke with the story but even after all these years, anger and bitter pain burned his chest just from thinking about his father.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Jun said gently.

“Of course not! I was awesome even as a kid!” Nino said bragging, not knowing any other way to handle Jun’s sudden kindness.

Jun snorted at that comment.

“I’d bet all my money that you were a brat.”

“I still am. According to my sister,” Nino said flatly, yet his comment made both of them burst out laughing…

Part 3

The next morning. Jun woke up on his own and he felt completely rested which didn’t happen in ages. It was even more surprising, considering how late they stayed awake with Nino, talking about anything and everything; sticking to much lighter topics than their broken families though. He got a glimpse of yet another side of Nino he didn’t know.

He found out that he was an avid gamer on every device there was (it wasn’t much of a surprise to Jun since he always suspected it, Nino just had that face); that his passion for music didn’t end with his career in concert production but he played several instruments and even fiddled with music writing too (Jun made a mental note to make him play something for him one day, maybe something of his own creations); or that before he chose this path for himself, he seriously considered becoming a pro baseball player (which did surprise Jun, not only that they shared the love for baseball but that Nino was interested in any outdoor sports at all, being such a homebody now). Yet the most shocking face was, that after this long talk Jun only wished to hear more.

He sat up a bit and peered at Nino’s futon. Relieved to see that Nino was still sleeping, Jun was about to slip out of bed and tiptoe to the bathroom to make himself more presentable, when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

“Good morning! Room service for the happy couple!” Nino’s mom called from the other side of the room.

Jun froze for a moment, staring at the door with wide eyes, trying to avoid full-blown panic.

“Nino!” he hissed at the still sleeping man. “Nino, wake up!” he repeated a bit louder and just to be sure, he threw a pillow at Nino.

“Wha…?” Nino jerked up, blinking at Jun confused after pushing off the pillow from his face.

“Your mom’s at the door!” Jun whispered at him, but Nino’s sleep clouded mind seemed to have a hard time processing those words. “Come up here, right now!” Jun added pointing at the bed next to him.

“Hello? I’m coming in!” Nino’s mom’s voice came from outside and this finally ignited Nino’s engine too. He scrambled up from the futon, hastily pushing it under the bed to be out of sight. Jun grabbed his arm, dragging him to his side, pretending to be cuddling.

“Good morning!” Nino’s mom entered with a tray loaded with coffee and some pastries.

“Mom! It’s way too early!” Nino protested but Jun chided him quickly.

“You shouldn’t have bothered with it but thank you…” he said, aiming for a much peaceful approach. He tried to distract himself from how perfectly Nino fit in his arms but it was hard, yet, just to be on the safe side, he pulled away from Nino, pretending to want a closer look on the breakfast tray.

“Ah, you’re all up, great!” Nino’s grandma barged in dragging Nino’s sister along too. “Did you tell them?” She asked from her daughter-in-law.

“Told us what?” Nino asked suspiciously and he sat up too, eyeing his family warily. “What’s the meaning behind this commotion so early in the morning?”

“Well, we talked about it and… We decided you should have a wedding ceremony here, tomorrow! This way we all can be part of it. Everyone’s gonna be here for Granny’s birthday anyway. It would be perfect!” Nino’s mom said excited.

Both Jun and Nino paled a little at the idea. No wedding ceremony was supposed to happen. It was not in the plan. A simple registration of marriage then a quick divorce were all that should happen.

“What?” Nino asked back, his mind too blank to form a proper sentence. Maybe his ears were playing tricks due to the early hour…

“No, no we can’t do that! It’s Granny Asuka’s birthday after all! We don’t want to take your big day…” Jun started, trying to find a good excuse to derail the idea of the wedding ceremony.

“Oh, who cares about that? I had enough birthdays already. But I’d like to be part of my one grandson’s wedding before I die. It would be a dream come true for me!” the old woman insisted.

Jun and Nino exchanged a glance, both uneasy to say anything. It was not included in their deal, and especially it wasn’t part of the weekend plans. Jun gave a barely noticeable nod to Nino. It was his family, so it only seemed fair if he had the final word on this matter. Jun would go along with whatever Nino decided.

Nino was torn. A wedding ceremony with all his family present would make this all too real and that was the last thing he wanted. But… His grandma looked okay but what if she wasn’t? What if she was sick? She was 90 after all and Nino had been away for so long! What if they didn’t tell him something?... Seeing that Jun was letting him make the decision, Nino was suddenly flooded with appreciation for him.

“Okay then, if you insist…” he consented finally, flashing a smile to them, but Jun could feel him tensing by his side.

“Yeah, I always wanted a destination wedding!” Jun added cheerfully to divert the attention from Nino.

“Really? It’s fate then! I’m so happy!” Nino’s grandma cheered happily.

“Leave everything to us! We’ll take care of all the preparations!” Nino’s mom added with the same enthusiasm. “Come on, we have no time to waste!” She said and started to usher out the other women, already listing all the tasks they needed to take care of.

Kaori was the last one to leave after sending one last contemplating look to the couple…

As soon as the door was closed…

“Oh, my! What have we done? They’ll find out that we’re lying… Granny will have a heart attack! I’m going to kill her… They’ll freak out… They’ll be so angry… I…” Nino rambled panicking.

“No, no, Kazu, don’t panic, everything will be fine,” Jun said quickly and before he noticed what he was doing, he pulled Nino in his arms, rubbing his back comforting him. “They’ll never find out. Everything will be just fine. And before you know it, we get our quick divorce and everyone will be going on their own way, okay? Just calm down…”

Nino felt his breathing slowly calm down as panic slipped away under Jun’s gentle touches and soothing voice.

“Yeah, you’re right. You’re right…” he mumbled nodding slowly, before he reluctantly pulled back from Jun. “Everything will be fine…” he repeated, sending a bright, grateful smile to Jun.

Jun felt his heartbeat pick up at the earnest expression on Nino’s face. He quickly got out of bed and stepped to the breakfast tray that was left on the low table next to the bed.

“How about coffee? A cinnamon soy latte, right?” he asked joking.

“Ha-ha, so funny!” Nino replied but nodded his acceptance.

Jun poured out the coffee and handed it to Nino together with the pastry plate. Still, the restless feeling that started to vibrate under his skin didn’t cease at all. He had to go. He had to get out of this room! He stepped back from the bed and hurriedly grabbed for his clothes. He had to go… He had to go…

“J, you okay?” Nino asked with a frown on his face as he watched his boss. He had never seen him this jumpy before.

“Yeah, yeah! Everything’s fine. Perfectly fine! I just… I’m going for a walk. I need the exercise, yeah, exercise…” he blabbed before he rushed to the bathroom.

Nino was still blinking confused when a few minutes later Jun re-appeared and left the room in a whirlwind.

“Okay….” he mumbled into his coffee. Had everyone gone crazy this morning or what?...

Jun stomped out of the door and headed to the little forest behind the house. Just a few minutes ago, he had Nino in his arms, comforting him, telling him everything will be fine and now, as if Nino passed on his panic to Jun, he was freaking out.

“It’s just a business deal. Nothing else… Our interests fall in the same direction, so we help each other out… I want a visa, he wants a promotion. It’s a win-win situation…” Jun kept repeating like a broken mantra.

For a while he followed the wide path through the woods until it ended, leading him on a clearing. Not feeling himself ready to return just yet, he kept walking up and down on the clearing.

“It’s a business deal… No need to get distracted by… smiles or… or late-night talks or… kisses… They’re irrelevant. Yeah… Keep focused, Matsumoto! Get married, get the visa, get divorced. Marry, visa, divorce…”

Someone cleared their throat, making Jun whirl around.

“Nino!” ‘He didn’t hear me, did he?’ Jun thought anxiously.

“If you’re done consulting with your friends about whatever it was….” Nino said waving around, indicating that he indeed caught Jun talking to himself, but probably didn’t understand his words at least. “I thought we could go to town. To the internet café. You wanted to check your mails…” Nino reminded Jun of their conversation from the day before.

“Oh, yeah… Sure, let’s go!” Jun agreed quickly, surprised that he had completely forgotten about it. About work all together, which was a first. He felt like the previous morning happened a lifetime ago. Yet Nino remembered. He remembered that it was important for him… Jun was not brave enough to dwell more about the topic so instead he just hurried after Nino without another word.

“So, you just enter your tokens here, and you can use the computer. It reminds you when you’re about to run out of time and then…” Nino explained, not that Jun actually needed an explanation, he wasn’t completely helpless, but Nino was kind of cute, taking himself so seriously. But now he suddenly fell silent, his words cut abruptly.

“And then what?” Jun asked looking at Nino, but he only stood there next to him, frozen, staring out the shop’s window. Jun followed his gaze. “Oh…” He found the reason behind Nino’s sudden change of behavior as he spotted Ohno passing on the street, heading out fishing if his clothes were anything to go by.

“Just get more tokens!” Nino said quickly. “I’ll wait outside!” He added but was already heading to the door as he was speaking…

Jun watched as Nino approached Ohno but then he quickly turned his eyes to the computer monitor when he saw Nino moving closer to hug the other man. There might’ve not been any feelings involved in the past, but Jun was sure that wasn’t the case anymore… He quickly pushed that thought aside, too painful to think about any longer, so instead he focused his attention to the e-mails that finally started to load in.

“Damn it…” Just one day off the grid and his inbox was already overflowing. No time to waste on his assistant’s love life. It wasn’t his business after all. They had a business relationship only.

A few hours later Jun exited the small internet café. He answered all his e-mails, even refreshed his inbox at least a dozen times until he ensured that there was nothing else left for him to do, so he settled the bill and exited the shop. He found Nino sitting on a bench across the street, waiting with a soft, affectionate smile on his lips. Jun was sure he had a pretty good guess what (or who) put him in such a good mood.

“Finally!” Nino stood up when he saw Jun coming closer. “I started to wonder if I’ll have to forcibly remove you from that computer,” he said jokingly.

“Sorry, I got carried away a bit,” Jun apologized as they started to walk back. ‘Don’t ask! Don’t ask! Don’t ask!’ “So… Are you happy to see Ohno-san again?” He asked, unable to stop himself. Was he really this stupid?! He couldn’t believe himself.

“Hmm?” Nino, although surprised, hardly seemed bothered by Jun’s rather intruding questions. “Yeah, I guess. It has been a long time.”

At this Jun only nodded, not knowing what else he should say. Why did he even bring the topic up? Oh, yeah, because he was stupid…

“Kazu! Jun-chan!”

They turned back and found Nino’s mom and grandma catching up with them.

“Jun-chan! Come with us!” Granny Asuka said happily, grabbing his hand.

“Huh?” Jun looked at the two women confused, then at Nino, hoping for some kind of help or explanation, but Nino seemed to be equally lost.

“Where are you taking him?” Nino asked stepping after him but his mother waved him off.

“Wedding preparations. You’re not needed, son,” she said cheekily before they ushered Jun away.

“It’s supposed to be my wedding too!” Nino called after them slightly offended but decided to stick around, just in case they would let go of Jun soon so he wouldn’t have to walk back to the house all alone…

Jun soon found himself in a dress shop, clothed in a white tuxedo with Nino’s grandma walking around him, stitching pins into the coat here and there.

“Ehm… What is this about?” he asked tentatively.

“Well, we thought you probably didn’t bring clothes that were suitable for a wedding. Luckily, Granny here is an amazing seamstress, she’ll make this fit you just perfectly!” Nino’s mom explained with a wide smile.

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you,” Jun nodded his head. “But shouldn’t Kazunari be here too? What about his clothes?”

“Oh, he can wear his suit from his coming-of-age ceremony. That boy didn’t grow an inch since he was sixteen!” Nino’s grandma said jokingly, and Nino’s mom laughed with her.

Jun couldn’t help but chuckle too hearing this affectionate teasing. ‘Families are like this, aren’t they?’ he wondered and suddenly he felt really lonely.

“Hey, Jun-chan!” Nino’s mom came a bit closer, looking unusually shy out of a blue. “I thought… Maybe we could go and visit you two during New Year’s. What do you think?”

Jun couldn’t think at all for a moment. Visiting for New Year’s? When was the last time he didn’t spend New Year’s alone? He usually used that three-day holiday to declutter and clean his apartment. No visiting relatives.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Great idea. Or… We can come visit you…” he replied before his mind actually registered what his mouth was blabbing already.

“That would be lovely!” She said with obvious tears in her eyes but a bright smile – so similar to Nino’s – lit up her face.

Jun just nodded. He felt both touched and embarrassed at how these people opened their home and their heart to him without hesitation just because they believed him to be in love with Nino…

Not much later he was free to go. As he left the shop, he felt the restlessness from the morning return. His steps got quicker and quicker until he was almost running. Passingly, he registered that Nino was lounging on the same bench as before, but he couldn’t get his feet to stop. Not with all the emotional turbulence raging in his chest.

“Hey! J, wait up!” Nino called after him as he jumped up and started jogging to catch up with him. “What’s up with you?” He asked, slightly panting, trying to match his pace with Jun’s which was quite a challenge for his much shorter legs.

“Just… don’t talk to me!” Jun snapped at him.

“You can’t really expect that of me when you’re running around like a maniac and…” Nino protested.

“I forgot it!” Jun burst out.

“What?” Nino almost tripped over his own leg in his surprise. What was Jun talking about?

“I was alone since I was 16 and I forgot, okay? I forgot how it is when you have a family who cares about you and say stuff like ‘How about we go visit you during New Year’s?’ and I said ‘Yeah, sure, or why don’t we come and visit you?’… Don’t you know that your family loves you?” Jun asked suddenly.

“Yeah, I know,” Nino said, barely following what Jun was talking about.

“You know it. You know it and you’re still willing to put them through this? What will they think when they find out? What will you do then? Your mom will be crushed and your Granny… She’s gonna have a heart attack for sure and…”

Worked up as he was and blinded by his own monologue, Jun tripped on the uneven terrain of the road and fell down with a painful cry.

“J! Are you okay?” Nino kneeled down next to him, reaching for the injured leg carefully. “Let me take a look…” he murmured softly. “I think it’s a slight sprain only, nothing that a little ice can’t cure. Let’s see if you can step on it…” Nino said after examining Jun’s leg and helping him up. “How is it?”

“Not too bad…” Jun said curtly, his pride hurt more than his ankle and it made him silent.

“Good. Now listen to me:” Nino said, cradling Jun’s face in his palms, forcing him to look at him. “Everything will be fine. You just said so yourself this morning. We’ll get a quickie divorce before my family even has the chance to find out, okay?”

Jun just nodded silently and then they continued their way back, on a much slower pace this time…

As they approached the house, they saw that Kaori was waiting for them on the porch.

“I have to talk to you both,” she said sternly. “And you can’t tell mom about it!” She added before heading to a nearby side building, Jun and Nino obediently following.

Only to find a smugly smirking Yamada waiting for them inside.

“What are you doing here?” Nino asked irritated just by the sight of the man.

“Told you I’ll do some follow-up!” He said and looked like someone who had just won the lottery.

“He called yesterday to ask about you and told me that you’ll be going to jail if it turns out to be a scam which he thinks it is. So, I thought it was the best if he came up here,” Kaori explained calmly.

“Best for who? For what?” Nino asked, not even trying to hide how annoyed he was over his sister’s meddling.

“You see, your sister here is a very persuasive woman and I’m willing to offer you one last deal: if you give me a statement here and now that this is a scam, he will go back to America and you can remain a free person,” Yamada said calmly. His grin showed that he was confident that Nino would take the deal, so he raised his recorder in Nino’s direction.

“Come on, Kazu! Take the deal!” Kaori urged him, barely sparing a glance to Jun who only stood there not saying a thing.

Nino felt his anger reaching its boiling point. How dare she question him? His words. His actions. His feelings! She had no right to intervene like this!

“You want a statement? Fine! I’ve been working for Matsumoto Jun for three years. We started dating six months ago. He asked me to marry him. I said yes. See you at the wedding!” Nino spat out the words then took Jun’s hand and dragged him out the door.

“Are you sure about this?” Jun asked whispering when they were out of earshot.

“No, not really,” Nino admitted honestly.

“You know, I’m very appreciative but…” Jun started but Nino cut him off.

“You’d do the same for me,” he said, with such deep conviction that he surprised even himself.

Jun said nothing and they walked inside the house silent.

They didn’t let go of each other’s hand for a moment.

Part 4

The next day the lawn in front of the Ninomiya house was decorated in white. Flowers and ribbons. Lanterns hanged around the porch for the evening celebration. Chairs lined up in front of a low stage for the happy couple to say their vows. It was all very beautiful and romantic. Even Nino who was probably the least romantic person in the world had to admit that, as he stood on the stage waiting for the guests to take their seats and for Jun to come and take his spot by his side.

He never thought it was possible, but he was anxious. Like… excitedly anxious. It was weird. Why would anyone be excited about an arranged, forced marriage? A business deal? ‘It’s not excitement, silly, it’s only stress…’ he tried to convince himself. But stress didn’t explain why his breath hitched the moment he spotted Jun in a white tuxedo walking down the aisle.

“We gathered here on this joyful day to…”

The master of ceremony barely started to speak when Jun raised his hand to stop him.

“J! What are you doing?” Nino asked with a whispered tone, dread already settling in the pit of his stomach.

Jun only spared him a glance that only strengthened Nino’s fear but quickly turned around to face the guests and cleared his throat.

“Hello, everyone! I have something I need to say. A confession, actually…” he started, fiddling with the hem of his coat sleeve. “I’m actually American-Japanese and my visa has expired. And since I didn’t want to leave this beautiful country of yours, I forced Kazunari here to marry me. Threatening him to ruin his career if he wouldn’t comply. The funny thing is, ruining one’s life is easy only until you get to know how amazing they are…” Jun said honestly, looking at Nino’s family with a sad, apologetic smile. “Your family is amazing. This was all my doing so please, do not resent Kazunari for this,” he then turned back to Nino. “This was a business deal and you held up your end but the deal is off now,” he told him curtly before he lost his courage and left the stage with quick steps. “Give me ten minutes then you can take me to the airport…” He threw the words in Yamada’s direction when he spotted him sitting in the last row, leaving behind the confusedly murmuring crow of guests…

Nino needed an eternity – at least it felt like that for him – to fend off the thousand questions from his family, apologizing again and again, promising a proper explanation at a later time until he could finally excuse himself to go after Jun. But by the time he got to their room it was empty. Only Jun’s white tuxedo was the sign that he had been there.

There was a note left on the bed.

‘Nino! I’ve made the arrangements for your immediate promotion. You’ll take over the Storm project from me. I’ve always known that you’d make an amazing job on your own and I hindered your progress on purpose because I didn’t want to lose the best assistant I could ever get. I’m sorry for that. For everything. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and I wish you all the best. Jun’

“I can’t believe it!” Nino cried out angrily, clenching the paper in his hand.

“Crazy day, huh?” Ohno asked walking in the room with slow, careful steps. “You know people will talk about this day forever,” he said jokingly but gave up quickly when he saw that Nino was not in the mood. “So? What are you going to do now?”

“What’s there for me to do? He decided everything on his own, just like always! This guy was a pain in the ass for the past three years and just now when… He does this just now?” He asked with another frustrated cry, crumpling Jun’s letter in his hand. “’Wishing you all the best…’” he recited the words from the letter mockingly. “Don’t joke with me!”

Ohno observed him with a gentle smile for a moment before speaking up:

“And now you’ll let him go just like that?”

Nino stared at him for a moment like he didn’t understand the words he was speaking. Then the next moment he sprinted out of the room…

“Mom! The car keys!” Nino ran to his mother who was standing at the entrance hall with his sister and grandma.

Some of the guests left already while others took advantage of the already prepared buffet tables but Nino couldn’t care less. They were welcome to do whatever they wanted as long as none of them stood in his way.

“Here, but… What are you going to do, Kazu?” she asked, pity and concern mixing in her eyes.

“Going after him, of course!” Nino grabbed the keys and rushed to the car, barely registering that his family not followed him to see him off but to pile into the back of the car with him.

“Why are you doing this, Kazu?” Kaori asked frustrated. “You were complaining about him for years and now he even tried to ruin your life! He almost got you in jail!” She argued, not being able to understand her brother’s actions.

“Oh, silly girl!” Their mom chided her. “He chases him because he loves him!”

“And Jun-chan wouldn’t have left unless he felt the same!” Granny Asuka piped in cheerfully. “You were just too busy being judge-y to see the signs…”

All the while the women were chattering about their feelings, Nino said nothing. What could he say anyway? He barely dared to entertain the thought that they might be right. All these speculations were pointless if he was not able to stop Jun from leaving.

When they finally reached the Sapporo airport and rushed through the door, the sign on the board just flipped over, announcing that the last plane of the day heading for Tokyo just took off…

“I’m so sorry, Kazu. I had no idea…” his sister murmured, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Jun finished boxing the last of his personal belongings in the office. It all happened much faster than he expected. He did nothing but packing and boxing since he returned from Hokkaido but somewhere in the depth of his heart, he was even grateful for this. The sooner he was gone from Japan, the sooner he could try to forget about everything…

“Hey, Aiba-kun! Hey!” Jun left his former office and approached the young man. Was it him or everyone here was only chatting and having coffee like they had no job to do? Either way, it was not his business anymore, Jun reminded himself. “Aiba-kun! Would you send the boxes in my office to this address, please?” He asked the other man when he was finally willing to pay attention to him, and handed him a note.

“Sure, Matsumoto-san but…” Aiba trailed off uncertainly.

“But what?” Jun snapped impatiently.

Aiba pointed behind him and Jun turned around confused.

“Nino…” he breathed out, his heart jumping in his chest almost painfully. “What are you doing here?” He wasn’t supposed to be here. Jun was not prepared to face him now.

“I need to talk to you,” Nino said slightly panting.

“Well, too bad. I have a plane to catch to LA so…” Jun said, trying to skirt around to the elevator.

“Oh, would you stop and shut up for just one moment?” Nino yelled at him, effectively stopping Jun and shocking him into silence. “Until one week ago, you were driving me so crazy that if anyone would’ve asked if I minded if you got hit by a cab or something, I would’ve cheered for it. But then we had this little trip to Hokkaido and everything changed. When we kissed, and when you told me about your parents… And when you tried to seduce me by flashing the goods…”

“I was not flashing anything!” Jun tried to protest, embarrassed flush coloring his cheeks. He looked around hoping no one heard that, only to notice that the whole office stopped to even pretend to work and instead was openly listening in on their conversation.

“I said shut up, J! I’m not done talking yet… After all this, all that happened, you had the audacity to leave me standing in front of all those people, making me chase you across the country just to be able to tell you that I love you. And that you have to marry me because I won’t let the man I love get deported without a fight. Got it?” Nino walked closer as he talked until they stood toe to toe, looking more determined than Jun ever saw him before.

“I can’t…” he whispered shaking his head. “You know… it’s not by accident that I was alone all this time. I’m fine with it. I’m comfortable this way.”

“Liar,” Nino said silently but Jun just kept shaking his head.

“I’m scared…” he admitted finally.

“Me too,” Nino answered with a ghost of a smile then fisted his hands onto Jun’s shirt and pulled him down into a kiss.

Jun didn’t need much persuasion as he returned the kiss willingly, happily.

“You should’ve gotten down on your knees, haven’t you?” Jun asked, whispering onto Nino’s lips when they broke the kiss.

“I take that as a ‘yes’,” Nino said with a grin.

“Okay…”