A raindrop for plasticnojidousha!

[stormies]

Title: Ain't it fun.
Pairing(s): Matsumoto JunxNinomiya Kazunari.
Genres: Attempt of rom-com, AU, Slice of life.
Rating: PG13.
Summary: Jun always wanted to get close to his introverted co-worker, and then, they got the opportunity to spend a night together... in a haunted school.
Warning(s): None, I guess.
Author's notes: Well, I really, really, really hope my recipient likes this, since I started with something different, I ended up hating it, and then, I decided to choose this prompt. I must confess that I had a great time writing this story, wishing to, at least, brighten up my recipient's day a little bit with this.

 I want to thank my lovely beta reader for being so nice and patient despite all my silly mistakes. And, I also want to say a big thank you to Stormy Mods again... this was so much fun and I had enjoyed a lot after these rough months without Arashi.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked skeptically, almost laughing due to the absurdity of the situation. I knew the older man meant what he said. The point was that I did not want to take on this responsibility.

Never in my life did I question anything about my work, because from day one, I loved everything related to it. I loved teaching; seeing the faces of my students light up when they received a compliment from me, or discovering their talent in writing poetry or stories, it was one of the things that made me more than happy and grateful for having chosen be a literature teacher.

I had never questioned anything, until today.

I was in the management office, I had finished my work for the day, and before I left the principal asked me to go talk to him, which I did as soon as the bell rang and the students from my last class waved goodbye and left the classroom. I had no idea what the principal wanted to talk about, so I went without any expectation. But now that I had heard his request, I just did not know what to say.

"Of course I'm sure, Matsumoto-sensei. I am also aware that we are dealing with teenagers and that they may be spreading lies to scare their classmates, but I would prefer that an adult who inspires credibility would be the one to provide me this information."

"Thank you so much, Principal Akiyama, it is such an honor to hear these words from you, but I don't know... I'm not sure I'm the right person for this task..." I murmured under my breath, not so convinced.

"Don't tell me you're scared, Matsumoto-sensei?" The principal laughed, so I shook my head, feeling somewhat offended by the comment, but I managed to camouflage it with a forced smile. "It's just silly rumors from the students, I don't think there are any ghosts haunting the school."

So, if you don't believe in it, then why don't you go check it yourself? I muttered to myself, holding back the urge to roll my eyes.

"Not at all, I just don't think paranormal things happen in that building, but if you still want me to, I can make time for it and go check it out."

I know you are probably wondering what is going on here, so let me give you some context. In the school I work at there is an old building that, for obvious reasons, has been out of service for years. As a matter of fact, when I started working here, that building was no longer used. However, a few months ago, someone spread a rumor that strange things were happening and students have attributed it to a ghostly presence. Of course, we teachers were not ignorant of those rumors, but we understood that since nothing startling had happened yet, so it was not like the institute had its own paranormal history now.

Until a girl from senior year claimed that after going there, strange things had started to happen in her quiet life.

Many of the students believed that she only said it to attract attention, while others agreed with her, and since the girl in question was from the class I was in charge of, now the principal had asked me to go check personally if the old building was indeed haunted...

He wants me to do this as if I was kind of a medium or a spiritualist. For the record, I wasn't scared, I just felt off about those things, and when I studied to be a teacher, they never told me what to do if I had to inspect a haunted school one day. Neither that it was a teacher’s duty to inspect one for that matter.

Well, now that you know the situation, we can continue with this awkward conversation.

Principal Akiyama opened his mouth to say something, but just at that moment, the management door opened, and behind me I heard a familiar voice mutter an apology.

"Ninomiya-sensei, it's okay. You can come in; Matsumoto-sensei was already leaving anyway."

I raised my eyebrows and outlined an uncomfortable smile, turning in his seat to look at my coworker, who was holding a book and some stuff in disarray, clinging to his chest. Ninomiya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, outlining a shy smile when he saw us.

I stood up and bowed slightly, walking to the door and muttering a farewell, feeling irritated at the principal for always getting what he wanted. Now, I would have to go to that stupid haunted building to be a paranormal investigator at the expense of possibly losing my life on said mission.

Fuck my life.

* * *

The next day, I arrived at school at the usual time and went to the professors’ room to organize the books that I would be using in my lessons that day, when I noticed that the music teacher had arrived too. With a gentle movement, he set his books on the desk on my left side, taking a seat in the folding chair.

"Good morning, Matsumoto-sensei."

"Good morning, Ninomiya-sensei... How are you today?"

"I'm doing great. What about you?" He answered as he rolled up the sleeves of his purple cardigan, outlining a shy smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"Super, getting ready for today. By the way…"

"Hey, I wanted to apologize... "

We both said in unison, laughing as we said to each other, "You can go on," like two dorks. He finally dared to speak first, bringing his right hand to move his bangs out of his eyes.

"Okay, I’ll go first… I wanted to apologize for having entered suddenly when you were talking with Principal Akiyama, I feel like your conversation ended because of my interruption. What I was going to consult him wasn’t that serious."

"Trust me, our conversation wasn't either." I shrugged, downplaying it. "He just wanted to ask me to go check the old building because of the rumors that are circulating among the students."

"Did he really ask you that? And are you going to do it?" He inquired with amusement, turning completely in the chair to look at me.

"I had no choice but to accept because he implied that I was afraid. Why do you ask me?"

"Because he asked the same to me. He told me that I was someone who inspired ‘credibility’ and the truth is that I did not know what to say and he took it as a yes."

Despicable old man, I’m pretty sure he thought he had intimidated me.

I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or to feel insulted, but noticing that there was no trace of sarcasm in my co-worker's words, I decided to ignore what happened with our dumb boss.

"I mean… It's not like I'm afraid, I clarify, it's just that... I don't like those things," he admitted; "I'm not going to deny it. I've always wanted to believe it's a school myth."

"You say go to the abandoned building? Both of us?" I nodded, watching him meditate on it for a few seconds before formulating an answer. "Sounds like a good idea to me, Matsumoto-sensei."

The bell rang at that moments, interrupting our conversation, so we decided to talk about it after class and find a convenient day to do our exploration, give a report to the principal and be able to leave behind this unusual chapter of our working life.

______

"I say we could do it on Friday night, if you don't have any plans... "

"It's okay, Friday sounds good to me, but... at night?" I watched as Ninomiya's eyes widened under his glasses, obviously surprised by my proposal.

We were walking through the school parking lot. I was holding my briefcase, while he was carrying a yellow backpack on one shoulder, which I thought was adorable. The sunrays lightened his dark hair, making him look dazzling.

"And what did you expect? To go there in the afternoon?" I inquired with a laugh, amused by his reaction.

"Yeah, why not?"

"You have watched horror movies, haven’t you? Strange things always happen at night."

"That’s exactly why I don’t want to go there at night… I want to stay alive. Besides, if the building is indeed haunted, it doesn't matter what time we go, we'll going to find out what's going on there anyway."

"Exactly, Ninomiya-sensei! Since the time does not matter, I think that we have to go at night... They say that the spirits manifest themselves more during that time of the day. Also, during the day we are working, we cannot let this interrupt our schedules." I heard him mumble a curse under his breath, raising his hands in submission.

"You're right, let's do it."

"Okay, great. Until tomorrow night, then." I assured with a smile.

"Until tomorrow night."

He stopped in front of his car, opening the driver's door and giving me a smile before waving goodbye and entering, leaving me there, returning his goodbye in the same way, with my heart pounding in my chest and a twisted joy to spend Friday night with the cute music teacher… Even if it was not a pleasant situation at all.

* * *

It was around eight o'clock that night when I arrived at school, wondering if my choice of clothing was too casual. I had chosen black pants and sneakers, a simple white T-shirt, and a black sweatshirt with a white silhouette of Pikachu running right across my chest. Then I remembered that this was an informal task from work, so I didn't have to worry about my appearance.

But the truth was that I did, because deep down, I wanted to get my co-worker’s attention that night.

Before we start, let's get a few things clear. First, I didn't know anything at all about what was going on in the old school building. The students used to say that the ghost of a student who committed suicide a year ago wandered through the corridors, but I did not know why, and I was not interested in asking... But now, I wanted to know what happened, not because I was scared, I clarify, just because ignorance wasn’t my thing.

The second thing is that I was somewhat nervous and not exactly because of entering a building that was possibly haunted by the ghost of a former student, but because it was the first time that I would be alone with Ninomiya-sensei outside work, on a Friday night, doing something that I really didn't give a shit about. Despite that, I found myself looking forward to spending time with him.

And the third and most important thing is that, I know what you are probably thinking and no… I didn’t have a crush on Ninomiya-sensei.

My phone vibrated inside my pocket, alerting me that I had a message from him.

Ninomiya-san:

I'm here. Don't tell me you regretted it?

- Of course not. I'm getting out of the car right now.

With a silly smile, I took my backpack and then got out of the car, sliding my phone into the front pocket of my jeans. I approached the entrance of the old school campus where the latter was already waiting for me. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and gave me a tiny smile that made my heart start to pound uncontrollably in my chest.

Okay, maybe I had a little crush on him.

He was dressed in dark blue jeans, a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his thin elbows, and white converse. His hair was a bit disheveled and his cheeks were flushed, which made me think that he had come walking.

And I couldn’t help to think he looked adorable.

"You didn’t come by car?" I asked by way of greeting. He shook his head.

"I was near here, buying some video games at the store and… I decided to walk. Shall we start now, Matsumoto-sensei?"

"Sure, the faster the better." I nodded, shaking the backpack off my shoulder to open it and extract a couple of flashlights from it. I offered one to Ninomiya-sensei and he gladly accepted it, giving me another one of those bright smiles that made me wonder if he were real.

We walked to the building, which at these hours, looked totally different. I had to confess that a heavy aura could be perceived around the abandoned construction, where some windows were broken and the paint was frayed. The silence around it made everything worse, since it was so deep that it bordered on the terrifying.

We both looked at each other before incoming.

"I think… you should go in first." He said turning on the flashlight, looking around there and then looking at me.

"Of course, if anyone is going to die, it must be me." I grumbled under my breath, pretending to be hurt. I turned on the flashlight, pushing open the worn front door as it illuminated the interior of the structure. Behind me was Ninomiya-sensei, walking slowly; Even though he didn't say anything, I could tell that he was scared, and despite that there he was, next to me. I was grateful to him for his courage.

We walked through the entrance, seeing the uninhibited lockers where the students used to keep their shoes. The surroundings looked messy, the walls with scratches and graffiti on some sides, garbage on the floor, and I spotted some abandoned desks and chairs around. Despite that, it seemed pretty normal to me, it looked like what it was: an old, out-of-order school.

I continued to light up the environs as we continued walking, and a small squeak behind us made us jump. Ninomiya-sensei let out a cry and clutched my sweatshirt with one hand, completely clinging to me. Feeling like a true protagonist in my own story, I tilted my face, using the flashlight to look back.

The sound came from a few rats, which I spotted behind us, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, it’s just some rats."

" I knew that it must have been that, but I still got startled." He answered in a low tone.

"Then let's move on."

"Let's go on, Matsumoto-sensei."

"I'd like to, but you're grabbing my clothes… If you want to be attached to me, you don't have to use the ‘I’m scared’ old trick." The music teacher released me as if he were on fire and rolled his eyes.

"Wow, the literature teacher can make jokes too. Let's see if you can tell me one that will make me laugh this time."

We both looked at each other and smiled, refocusing on the inspection, now going together with him by my side.

"I wasn't kidding, if you want to be close to me, you can." I pointed out in a low voice. More than anything I wanted to resume the conversation so that he would stop being nervous.

"Why is it that I feel like it is you the one who wants to be close to me?" I opened my mouth, pretending to be surprised, seeing him smile.

"Trust me, if I wanted that, I would do it without pretending to be scared."

"So that means you don't want to, I see."

I glanced at him as he bit his lower lip, staring straight ahead as he used the flashlight I gave him earlier. A million questions piled up in my head in those moments. Had he really said that? Was Ninomiya-sensei flirting with me?

There was only one way to check it.

"I didn't say I didn't want to; it is just… I wouldn't pretend to be afraid, I'd just get close to you, or just use my charm." I replied with a shrug, outlining a confident smile.

"I was really scared, Matsumoto. I can feel you’re being sarcastic."

"But I didn't say anything!"

"I know… You want me to be part of your fan base, but with the students, you already have enough." From the tone of his voice, I could tell that he was joking. "They're all crazy about you, you shouldn’t be that greedy."

"I'm very flattered to know that, but to be honest with you, I'll pass. I think my tastes do not match with ‘my fans’ exactly." I answered while I looked inside a classroom, not surprised to see nothing but trash and rats.

"That is a surprising detail… Would you mind telling me what your tastes are then? You know, just out of curiosity."

"Why do I have the impression that you are going to use it against me?"

"Maybe yes, maybe not... I think you'll have to risk it to find out."

He shrugged and winked at me, walking down the long hallway and leaving me standing there, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. It was the first time that we were alone like this and we were talking about something other than work. It felt weird, because I was afraid of making him uncomfortable, but what the hell? It wasn’t like I was going to end up crucified for having a more personal talk with him.

"First of all, they must be full age."

Ninomiya-sensei turned to me scowling, obviously confused. I knew he wasn’t expecting me to talk about my preferences.

"What did you say?"

"I prefer them to be full age… with dark hair, slim silhouette and angelic appearance, even if only on the outside." I added as I walked towards him, reducing the distance between us, outlining a smile when noticing the difference between our heights and seeing how he looked up to meet my eyes. "I like it when they know how to use sarcasm, and if they wear glasses you can consider it a plus… and last but not least… I prefer them to be the same sex as me."

"Are you aware that you could lose your fans if they know that last thing? Wouldn't you mind losing them?" He asked in a low tone, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all, Ninomiya-sensei. I can't lose something I didn't know I had… and now, shall we continue?"

He nodded and we continued through the zigzagging corridors, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. At this point, we were convinced that it was nothing more than a story made up by the students to scare each other and that this exploration would be fruitless. Although I could not deny that I was enjoying it. Ninomiya-sensei was so close to me that I could feel his hand brush against mine and the scent of his cologne flooded my senses.

"I also like men." He said out of nowhere, walking by my side without looking at me. "Especially those who always have their heads stuck in a book that you would never imagine someone with their looks would read, like, for example, The latest guide on how to keep your bonsai alive."

"I also like men who play the piano during their spare time, when they think that no one is looking at them." I answered without looking at him, trying to suppress a smile.

I could see the look Ninomiya-sensei gave me, his thin lips curving into a shy smile, and I could swear he was blushing.

"Those men who look at you and make you forget everything else... to the point you must remind yourself that you are in front of other people and that you must act normally, because otherwise they will think that you are in the clouds."

"Do you want to leave this stupid exploration in this junkyard and go get some dinner? My treat."

"I thought you would never say that." He answered with obvious relief, speeding up his pace to get out of there. Between jokes and laughter, we left the old building behind us, agreeing that the place was only infested with rats and that the ideal was to prohibit students from approaching there to avoid contagion of any disease. We turned off the flashlights and I put them back in my backpack, stopping to look at the music teacher before speaking again.

"If you don't like these things, if you were afraid to go in there, then why you accepted to come tonight?"

"Because I knew you were coming anyway." He confessed, shrugging.

"So I was right… you used the excuse of being scared to get close to me." I raised an eyebrow, laughing when I saw how he rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just shut up and kiss me? It's what I deserve after getting into that shithole for being with you—"

I did not let him finish the sentence.

I took him by the cheeks and leaned over him, linking our mouths in a slow, sweet and magical kiss. I slid my thumbs down his smooth cheeks slowly, while our mouths brushed each other, seeking to discover each other, to know each other, to savor each other, leaving behind our prejudices and doubts.

Ninomiya kissed me back eagerly, bringing his arms around my neck and eradicating the distance between our bodies, to such an extent that I could felt him shudder when my tongue entered into his sweet mouth, running around it slowly until finally meeting his, both caressing each other with an unhealthy slowness that made us sigh.

With some difficulty, I parted from him seconds later, giving him a sweet peck before grabbing one of his small hands. A lethal smile curved his lips, making me want to kiss him right away, this time until leaving him breathless.

"You're right, you deserve me to take you out to dinner, and to give you more than one kiss."

"Then I’ll look forward to it, Professor."