Title: Date Night
Pairing: Jun/Sho, Ohno/Aiba
Rating: mostly PG-13, except for a scene at the end.
Summary: Aiba Masaki, thirty-five years old, from Chiba sounded perfect. Except that he begged Jun (via Nino) to turn their blind date into a double blind date.
Warnings: ---
A/N: To astrangestorm: you said you weren't in the mood for suffering, so I hope this doesn't make you suffer, lol. If I had to describe the genre of this story, I'd say it's fluff on crack. Sorry if there isn't enough Nino (I tried to sprinkle plenty of him here and there, even if he doesn't appear that much). I hope you enjoy it!
Special thanks to L for supporting me while I was writing this. Couldn't have done without you! And to the mods for being so awesome :D


Nothing went the way it was supposed to be that night.

Jun had insisted that Satoshi came with him to the double date—a double blind date, to be more exact. It was all because the guy Jun was supposed to meet, his roommate Nino's childhood friend 'Aiba-shi', was apparently so shy that he asked if he could bring a friend to their first date.

Looking back, it should have been the sign that things wouldn't go as planned, but what was done was done.

It would be Jun's first date in a long time. He had never had a long-term relationship (his longest lasted around two months, and it was an absolute disaster), and it had been over two years since the last time he went on a proper date with someone. Random hookups at clubs weren't so appealing to him anymore. He was thirty-five. He had finally gained financial stability and independence after years of hard work. Now he wanted to find the same for his love life. He had no idea of where he should start looking, though. Dating apps seemed pointless, most of his friends were straight and married (which meant they didn't know many single, attractive gay men). His sister, who ran a bookshop with him, had tried to get him a date with very little success.

Surprisingly enough, Nino did know someone Jun found interesting enough to set up a date. Aiba Masaki, thirty-five years old, from Chiba. An energetic, sporty, 'stupidly hot' (as Nino put it), animal lover, who was as much into fashion and healthy lifestyle choices as Jun was, and also happened to be one half of the successful restaurateur and food critic duo Cherry Leaf.

A successful restaurateur that was so painfully inexperienced in dating matters that he begged Jun (via Nino) to turn their blind date into a double blind date.

Jun had accepted just because Aiba sounded too good to pass up an opportunity to meet him. However, he had no idea of what to do about the double part of the date.

"Just find someone for Aiba-shi's friend," Nino said. "I doubt he'd bring a girl, he's even worse at talking to women than he is at talking to men, so maybe invite someone who's into dudes too?"

Fortunately, Jun happened to know just the right guy to invite, someone nice, charming and good-looking who would contribute to making a good atmosphere.

(Nino joked that he wasn't coming, no matter how much Jun insisted, because he didn't want to see two of his best friends flirting. When Jun informed Nino that he wasn't talking about him, Nino insisted that "of course it's me! Who else is nice, charming and good-looking out of the guys you know?" Jun rolled his eyes at him.)

Jun was actually thinking about Ohno Satoshi, the only one of Nino's friends he had met personally—it seemed most of Nino's friends preferred to communicate exclusively via social media. He had been the one to help Nino move in with Jun, and they had kept in touch after that. They didn't meet so often, but Jun liked him a lot. And he was one of the few men he would trust to behave during a date.

It wasn't easy to convince Satoshi to do it, but after a few bribes (including the purchase of a pricey fishing rod that Satoshi had mentioned a few times) Satoshi accepted.

Aiba's friend, whose name Jun didn't know, booked a private room at an upscale restaurant called Arashi for the four of them. It was Nino who informed him of the location, his eyes dancing with mirth. "I think I already know who Aiba-shi is taking to the date," he said. "Ah, now I kind of wish I was going with you guys too!"

He didn't elaborate on that, but it should have been Jun's second sign.

(Third sign would be that Aiba had insisted that Jun shouldn't look him up, to keep the blind date truly blind. Nino seemed too amused by it, especially after Aiba's friend got involved. Based on Jun's experience, that couldn't mean anything good.)

The day of their double date, Jun picked up Satoshi on the way to the restaurant. He had spent almost three hours choosing an appropriate outfit, and now he was wondering what Satoshi would be wearing. Jun had only ever seen him in jeans and sweatpants, and old graphic t-shirts that looked too big on him. He wore better clothes for work, but since Nino had assured Jun and Satoshi that there was no need to wear anything formal, there was no way to tell what kind of clothes he'd choose.

To Jun's surprise, Satoshi had actually dressed up a little for the occasion. He was wearing a sweater and some designer pants that he hadn't worn in forever but fit him very well. He even styled his hair a little bit differently from the usual; it didn't look as spiky as it did the last time Jun saw him, and it was slightly longer. The biggest change, however, was the color.

"You aren't blonde anymore!" Jun commented, earning a sheepish smile from Satoshi. "What happened?"

"Got tired of it." Satoshi shrugged. "Nino said that his friend's friend prefers guys with dark hair anyway. And that he's totally my type, so I thought maybe I could try to impress him."

(That should have been sign number four… or maybe Jun was starting to over think everything.)

They got to the restaurant right on time. A waiter guided them to the private room, which was still empty. And around five minutes later, the door opened again.

"Matsujun?"

Jun had to make an effort to keep his mouth shut as Aiba Masaki came into the room. Nino hadn't been exaggerating when he said Aiba was "stupidly hot". He looked like he belonged in a fashion show, with his long legs and extraordinary physique, and there was just something about him that made Jun smile. Perhaps it was Aiba's own bright smile, which Jun noticed after he mustered enough self-control to stop ogling him.

Jun cleared his throat as he stood up. "Aiba-san, it's so nice to meet you."

Aiba giggled. "No need to be so formal! Just call me Masaki or Aiba-chan, if you prefer." Then, noticing Satoshi, Aiba asked for his name right away. And while they were in the middle of their introductions, the door opened again.

"Macchan!?"

Jun's stomach dropped at hearing a familiar voice coming from the room's entrance. No, please don't be him, please don't be him…

When he turned around, he was face to face with someone he hadn't seen in over a decade—someone he would have been more excited to see again if only they weren't on a double blind date. The face was almost the same, just a little fuller than what Jun remembered. The ear piercing was gone, the hair was shorter and neater. There was no doubt it was him, though.

Sakurai Sho, the one that got away and Jun's crush until he was in his early twenties.

(Probably also the reason Jun couldn't keep a boyfriend, at least on some level. Yes, he knew it was stupid to keep pining after someone who wasn't a part of his life anymore, and it was even worse to compare every man he got involved with to Sho, but he couldn't help it.)

(Also, what were the odds!? This couldn't be happening, why did he have such bad luck!?)

Jun didn't know what expression he made, but Sho burst out laughing. "Ah, I just remembered… you hated that nickname, didn't you?"

Sho's round eyes sparkled with mischief, turning into half-moons as he smiled wider.

Damn it, Jun still went weak at the knees when Sho looked at him.

"Still better than 'insect'," Jun replied, forcing a small smile. He was relieved he could take a seat right away because his legs had turned into jelly as Sho laughed again—that breathy, dorky laughter that Jun always loved so much.

(This was no time to be reminded of how attracted he was to Sho! He had come to meet Aiba Masaki, for fuck's sake! He needed to focus!)

"Insect?" Satoshi arched an eyebrow. "You never told me people called you that!"

"It was just me who called him that. He probably didn't tell you because he hates talking about me," Sho said, strong emphasis on 'hates'. Jun glared at him, yet he just continued talking as if nothing happened. "Nino said you pretended I didn't exist for a few years after—"

Jun grumbled. "Sakurai-san, please stop talking."

And Sho did (for like ten seconds), but the damage was done.

Now both Aiba and Satoshi were super interested in hearing everything there was to know about how Sho and Jun knew each other and, most importantly, why Jun pretended that Sho didn't exist for a few years.

(It was something stupid. He was heartbroken after Sho changed his phone number and didn't contact him again, although it was his fault for slowly distancing himself from Sho in the first place after Sho moved in with his first 'official' boyfriend. Nino, who had befriended both of them while they studied at Keio and refused to pick sides during their falling-out, had to witness the whole thing. Jun forbid Nino from uttering Sho's name in his presence, among other over the top things he did to 'get over' Sho. In retrospective, he could see how foolish he had been.)

(And, of course, Sho was more than happy to explain the gist of it to Aiba and Satoshi. Thank goodness he was still unaware of the reason why Jun felt the need to distance himself from him.)

The conversation was cheerful, although Jun tried not to participate much in it. He just ate his food in silence, avoiding to make eye contact with anyone.

It was already the worst blind date ever, and nothing would make it better.

-------------------

Satoshi had a hunch that tonight was an important night. He had no idea why, but he decided to follow his instincts. He put on his best sweater and his lucky pants, spent an hour trying to get his hair right, and even sprayed on himself some of that expensive cologne his sister gave him for Christmas. He was certain something good would happen, and he really thought it'd be with Aiba's friend, whoever he was. It was not like that in the end, but he wasn't disappointed.

Aiba Masaki looked definitely like someone Jun would love to date. Satoshi didn't care much about clothes, but even he could recognize when something was expensive, and everything Aiba was wearing fell into that category. The glasses, the trench coat, the tight jeans and turtleneck shirt. Even his hairstyle looked expensive! It also helped that Aiba was handsome and had the body type to pull off those clothes.

But he didn't look like he was Satoshi's type.

Aiba's friend Sakurai Sho, on the other hand, was definitely Satoshi's type, just like Nino had said. He was attractive and had the most beautiful round brown eyes Satoshi had ever seen. He looked serious at first, but he made the cutest faces when he started getting more comfortable. He laughed loudly, talked a lot, and he seemed to love food more than anything else. He listened attentively when Satoshi talked about fishing and even asked if he could join him someday.

He was perfect, and yet Satoshi decided not to pursue him. And Aiba decided the same about Jun. They both knew they were thinking the same the moment their eyes met after Sho first came into the room and made Jun blush so hard that his ears were red for a few minutes.

We shouldn't get involved in that.

Their suspicion was confirmed when Sho started talking. "I think everything went to hell after the first time Macchan dyed his hair. He got white highlights over here that year," he pointed to the area below his ears, "around the same time his attitude changed."

"It wasn't the highlights' fault," Jun mumbled.

"Maybe. But thanks to you, I hate highlights," Sho replied jokingly. He raised a hand to hide his mouth from Jun's line of view and whispered: "you should have seen how he got after he dyed all his hair light brown, and then when he got a perm!"

Jun rolled his eyes at him. "Are you saying that everything that happened was my hair's fault?"

"Not at all!" Sho snorted. "I do have bad memories associated to some of your hairstyles, though."

Awkward… Satoshi thought to himself, looking at the menu. Right next to him, Aiba was doing the same. They shared a little smile and talked about the food while Sho and Jun continued arguing about hair, most specifically, the fact that Sho also used to dye his hair.

(There was obviously a bigger problem between them, but they didn't address it directly.)

"You should order this one," Aiba said, tapping on the fish section of the menu. "I've had it tons of times, it's delicious."

"I will," Satoshi nodded. He frowned after noticing Sho and Jun were still arguing. "Shouldn't we stop them?"

"Nah." Aiba laughed. "It's fun, don't you think? And kind of cute too."

"Cute?"

"They haven't noticed we aren't paying attention to them anymore. I doubt they even notice we're still here."

Aiba was right. They weren't aware of what they were doing. It didn't change when they started checking out the menu together. Jun, who was normally so cool and collected, was whining and grumbling and glaring at Sho. Meanwhile, Sho looked at Jun like he was absolutely delighted with everything Jun did. Sure, his comebacks were sarcastic, but his expression never changed.

"Ah, man… it's too bad I won't get to date Matsujun after all! Look how focused he is on Sho-chan!" Aiba pouted. "To think Nino and I spent so much time talking about him! He should have told me about this beforehand!"

Satoshi chuckled. "He does know how to keep a secret. It's the first time I hear about it too."

"Well… at least I found out soon enough," Aiba commented, "or this would have been super awkward. Sho-chan and I are together all the time. It wouldn't have taken long before they ran into each other."

"True."

When the waiter came in, Sho and Jun went silent. After ordering the food, Aiba took control of the conversation. He talked about his interests, and Satoshi could really feel how passionate he was about everything he loved. Satoshi talked about how much he enjoyed fishing, getting enthusiastic questions from both Sho and Aiba. He replied to the best of his ability, trying his best not to bore them out—he did not, and that was a first, so he decided right then that the two of them were officially his new favorite people. When it was Sho's turn to talk about himself, Satoshi noticed that Jun was paying more attention (although he remained quiet). Jun didn't say much, and no one pushed him to keep talking.

"They ordered different things and are sharing now," Aiba whispered in Satoshi's ear. "You think it's a habit?"

Indeed, Jun had taken something from Sho's plate without even asking, and silently offered something from his own in exchange. It was all done swiftly and required zero eye contact.

Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "Want to do that too? I mean, I think it's a little sappy, but I'm all for it if you want."

Between laughs, he and Aiba imitated Sho and Jun. It felt strange to do it with someone he barely knew, but Satoshi felt at ease with Aiba. It was as if they were close friends already despite only sharing a short conversation so far. He wondered if Aiba felt the same way.

"So what do you do for a living?" Aiba asked him. "You already know Sho-chan and I own several restaurants."

Including this one, Satoshi thought to himself.

"And Nino told me that Matsujun runs a bookshop with his sister," Aiba continued, "but you haven't talked too much about yourself."

It was subtle, but Satoshi noticed that Aiba's body language had changed. He was friendly since he arrived. And now, he was displaying something more like attraction towards Satoshi.

Unexpected.

Sho and Jun's situation had worked to break the ice between Satoshi and Aiba.

(Hey, he wanted to look at the bright side!)

"There isn't much to know," Satoshi replied with a laugh. "I have a boring office job. That's where I met Nino, actually. He quit working there a month after I was hired."

"Ah, yes! I remember when he did that! He was unemployed for a few months after that." Aiba rolled his eyes. He was leaning forward, almost into Satoshi's space. "I heard that's when he moved in with Matsujun. That was, what, five years ago?"

Aiba stared at Jun when he said that, but Jun wasn't paying attention. He was poking the cake on his plate with a fork, pouting. Now that Satoshi thought of it, he hadn't said a word in a while.

"Six years," Sho corrected. Jun looked up at him briefly, averting his eyes before Sho could make eye contact. "I remember because we opened our first restaurant—this restaurant—that year."

"Oh, that's right!" Aiba chirped. His focus was back on Satoshi. "Nino told us about it at the inauguration. He took credit for all of it, by the way, can you believe it?"

Aiba then told Satoshi in great detail how it had been Nino who introduced Sho to him, saying that Sho was the only other person he knew that was as interested in gastronomy as Aiba was. They had bonded over it and eventually decided to start working together. One year after they met, they opened Arashi, their first restaurant, on a hot September afternoon. It was such a success that they opened a second one before the end of that same year.

(The more he talked, the closer he was to Satoshi, touching his arm every now and then. He smelled incredible, and his eyes were mesmerizing…)

"Now we're celebrities in Japan's culinary scene," Aiba bragged, "even though Sho-chan can only cook after I give him a detailed diagram and an instruction sheet, and as long as whatever he's preparing doesn't have more than ten ingredients."

The comment made Jun perk up, almost smiling. Satoshi heard him chuckle when Sho started defending himself from Aiba's 'accusations'. He burst out laughing after Aiba told a story about the first time Sho attempted to make cheesecake, which ended with him almost causing a fire in the apartment they used to share.

"You're hopeless, Sho-chan!"

Everyone went silent after that, including Jun himself. Sho's eyes went wide as he stared right at Jun in surprise. The two of them turned crimson red immediately.

"You hadn't called me that since elementary school!" Sho said, lips curving into a smile. Jun looked away without replying, biting his lip. It only made Sho's grin get wider. "You still like Mont Blanc cake?"

Without waiting for verbal assent (although Jun did nod softly in response), Sho pushed his plate towards Jun. The blush on Jun's cheeks didn't go away. He looked adorable when he thanked Sho, and Sho had the goofiest expression while staring at him.

Just start dating already, geez…

"Well, this is a good twist, don't you think?" Aiba whispered in Satoshi's ear. He giggled when Satoshi jumped a little on his seat. "Should we give them a little push?"

Satoshi blinked. "Eh? But…"

"I think I'd like to take you somewhere else."

A hand touched Satoshi's knee, sending shivers all over his body. Aiba gave him what he supposed was a wink (it was a failed wink, but cute anyway) and rubbed Satoshi's thigh for a second.

"If leaving them by themselves helps them clarify whatever it is that's going on between them, that's a bonus."

Satoshi smirked. The lucky pants had worked their charm.

Sorry, Jun-kun, but I think I'll be going first.

-------------------

Jun was sulking on the way home.

Aiba Masaki had left with Satoshi after dessert. He told Jun that it had been nice to meet him, and to send his regards to Nino. He hadn't said where he and Satoshi were going, but the looks they were exchanging told Jun enough.

He did not give Jun his number.

This is so not fair! He was my date!

Satoshi had borrowed Jun's car. Jun gave him the keys, reminding him over and over that he should be careful with it, and went to take a cab. A black Nissan car blocked his path, however. It was Sho, who said he wouldn't move from there until Jun got in. Jun had no choice but to accept his offer of a ride home.

Nightmare. It's a nightmare!

They didn't talk. The awkward silence lasted until Sho parked his car in front of Jun's home. Jun was about to get out when Sho grabbed his hand.

"Stay, please," Sho said. He caressed the back of Jun's hand with his thumb. "I don't want it to be over yet."

"You don't want what to be over?"

"My very much awaited date with you."

Jun snorted. "It was not a date." He freed his hand from Sho's hold and folded his arms across his chest. "I didn't go there to see you. It was Aiba-chan I wanted to meet. He's the one that let you tag along."

Sho gave him a sad smile. "Right. I guess that's true."

"You ruined it, by the way," Jun continued. "If you hadn't said all those unnecessary things, it would have been me leaving with Aiba-chan after dinner instead."

"Would you have preferred that I pretended we were strangers?"

"No," Jun sighed, "but you didn't have to tell them about the Ice Age."

Sho laughed at that. It was Nino who named the period of time between the start of their falling-out and the eventual end of their friendship the 'Ice Age'. Jun didn't expect Sho to remember the term, but he did.

"It was really embarrassing."

"I know. That's why I told them," Sho admitted. "Consider it your payback for ghosting me back then."

Jun clenched his fists. "Excuse me!? It was you who suddenly changed your phone number and never called me again!"

"You avoided me for almost two years!" Sho pointed out. "I thought I had done something wrong and that you didn't want to be friends anymore! Everyone said that you hated me!"

"I didn't hate you, idiot! I was just…" Jun stopped himself before he could say it. He looked down at his lap, feeling his face heat up. Shit, I almost told him.

"Say it," Sho said. "I want to hear why I lost my little brother after all those years together."

Little brother.

Jun chuckled, shaking his head. "It was precisely that," he mumbled. "I was tired of being your little brother, and I knew you'd always see me that way. I bet you still do. You only see me as Macchan, the little insect with huge eyes and a tiny body."

Sho went silent, which Jun took as his cue to leave. He rushed out of the car, with the bad luck that he happened to trip and fall on his face. He yelped out in pain, reaching for his ankle.

"Macchan!"

In a second, Sho was by his side, eyes huge and worried. He helped Jun stand up, rubbing Jun's back soothingly when Jun whined.

"I'm fine." Jun hissed when he tried to walk without Sho's help. He didn't protest when Sho put an arm around him to keep him upright. He wiggled out of Sho's hold once they were in front of the building's entrance. "I can take it from here."

"Not a chance," Sho replied.

"Please…"

"Don't be stubborn. Let me do this."

"Nino is upstairs…" Jun mumbled.

"So? Would it be so terrible that he saw us together?" Sho frowned. He seemed disappointed when Jun didn't deny it. "Fine. I'll leave you in front of your apartment then."

The elevator ride felt like an eternity, thanks to Sho's silence and his refusal to look in Jun's direction. Jun's ankle hurt like hell, so he had to lean against Sho's body for support.

They stood awkwardly facing each other when they arrived at Jun's apartment.

"Guess this is it, Matsumoto-san."

It was the first time that night Sho didn't use Jun's old nickname. It was also probably the first time since fourth grade that Sho called him by his last name. It made Jun feel sad for some reason. "You can just call me Jun, you know," he suggested.

"Right." Sho pursed his lips into a line. "Have a good night, Jun-san. And sorry about your blind date. I can help you set up a new one to compensate. Ask Nino for my number if you're up for it."

Then he bowed and turned on his heel to leave. Perhaps this time it would be forever.

He didn't want that.

"Please don't go."

It was stupid. Insanely stupid. He didn't even know why he was doing it, but he had gone ahead and said it, and now he couldn't take it back.

Sho stopped on his tracks. He gave Jun a puzzled look over his shoulder. "Did I hear that well?"

Jun covered his face with his hands, grumbling. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Two arms encased Jun in a hug shortly after. Sho hadn't changed his cologne since the last time they had ever hugged. Jun buried his face in Sho's shoulder and inhaled deeply. He couldn't remember a moment in which he felt more at peace than then, between Sho's arms.

"So… I get to stay, but you don't want me to treat you like a little brother, is that correct?" Sho asked, running his fingers through Jun's hair.

"Basically."

Sho hummed. "I can do that, I think. You don't look like my little brother anymore to begin with," he said with a little laugh. "You're so… grown-up now. I think your shoulders are three times broader than I remembered!"

Jun tried to shove him aside, but it was futile. He huffed as Sho circled his arms around his waist. "Your shoulders haven't changed at all. Still the same angle that makes it impossible to rest my head on them."

"You like them," Sho said. "I remember you teased me a lot, but you liked them, didn't you? Same about my front teeth."

"Oh, I like your front teeth a lot more than your shoulders!" Jun grinned. " You were so self-conscious, but I had a thing for them when we were in high school. I wanted you to bite me with those teeth."

"I could do that now if you want," Sho replied.

Jun shook his head. "Too soon, Sho-san. I always save that for the second date," he added with a teasing smile.

Sho's face lit up. "Then you admit we did have a date tonight!"

The triumphant look on Sho's face made Jun roll his eyes at him. He threw his arms around Sho's neck and kissed Sho's cheek. Sho flashed him a sheepish smile, already leaning in to go for a kiss. Jun had his eyes half-closed (and his lips ready) when he heard the door open, making him go still.

"Holy shit, what is this!?"

Of course Nino had come out before Jun could get a proper first kiss from Sho.

That night nothing went the way it was supposed to be. It was too late for it to start going Jun's way, wasn't it?

-------------------

Satoshi loved big bathtubs.

There were rose petals floating on the lukewarm water, sticking to his skin when they came in contact with it. The soap bubbles had long vanished—how long had he been in there anyway? He didn't actually care, it was just an afterthought, one that disappeared with the next wave Masaki's body created.

Yes, he was Masaki now, had been for the last hour or so.

A moan escaped Satoshi's lips. He dug his nails into Masaki's biceps in an attempt to keep it together a little longer. Masaki's husky laughter in his ear distracted him. It sent shivers down his spine, which combined with the growing heat in his groin made a little too much, and he was so tempted to let go. The little tug on his earlobe brought him back, Masaki's firm voice commanding him to wait just for another while, to not give into the pleasure right now, promising it'd be even more satisfying if he did. The way Masaki phrased it was a lot more vulgar, but that was the gist of it.

He whined as Masaki sank his teeth into his skin. He was close too, Satoshi could feel it. The sound of the water splashing became louder and faster. Masaki's hips rotated at a pace that Satoshi forced himself to match, but it was becoming way too much.

Their screams echoed in the walls when they finally allowed themselves to fall over that edge and surrender, when their bodies received the intense reward for waiting until they reached their limit.

"That was the best fuck of my entire life," Satoshi admitted out loud, sending Masaki into peals of laughter.

They got out of the water for a while, kissing and giggling, hands all over each other as they waited for the bathtub to get refilled with clean warm water. This time there were no bubbles, no petal roses, just the two of them, a bottle of champagne and a plate with various miniature desserts.

One of the things they had discovered that they had in common was their massive love for anything sweet. It was actually when they started feeding each other, jokingly at first, that they ended up in Masaki's bathtub like this. Not that Satoshi complained.

"So… had fun tonight?" Masaki asked, his mouth full. He looked so silly it was hard to believe he was the same man that mere minutes earlier had Satoshi seeing stars.

Satoshi nodded. "I did."

"Good!" Masaki grinned. "Because I was hoping we could do this again someday. If you're okay with it."

"I am."

They kissed again. Masaki tasted like chocolate and cherries.

(And they had a repeat of what they did earlier right there, only that a lot harder, noisier and involving more swear words this time.)

Much later, when they were lying side by side on Masaki's king size bed, they asked the same question almost simultaneously.

"And what now?"

They had known each other for a few hours. And while that had not been a problem in the bathtub, it didn't mean things would flow just as easily outside of it.

"For starters… you could give me your number." Masaki reached for his phone, which he had left on the night table. He had so many things there that it took him a while to find it. "I might not be here tomorrow morning when you wake up, so better be safe than sorry. I'd hate not being able to reach you."

He shoved the phone into Satoshi's hand after entering his password. "Give yourself a good nickname," he said with a grin. "Sho-chan is 'Candle Sho' because he was obsessed with aromatherapy candles back when we lived together and someone at his old job called him that, so it stuck. And Nino is 'The Good-Looking Guy" because he's a little shit who's too full of himself—in the best way."

After considering his options (and poking fun at the absurdly elaborate, bordering on ridiculous, nicknames Masaki had in his contact list such as 'Mickey-lover Kazapon', 'Sho's Best Kouhai Fuma' and 'Aniki Sho's Bestest Best Kouhai Ueda'), Satoshi chose 'Captain' as his nickname. Masaki said it was perfect.

They didn't discuss anything else. The night ended with them cuddling and talking about all the pastry chefs Aiba knew and planning how soon they could drop by their shops together. Masaki mentioned he'd be interested in going fishing with Satoshi, preferably before winter started. They could invite Sho too, but maybe leave Jun and Nino out of it—the former would do something stupid like trying to throw Sho overboard if they had a discussion, the latter always got seasick in small ships.

They planned their next meeting, even after admitting that neither of them were the type to stick to plans.

It really was all so… easy.

"I wonder how Jun-kun is doing," Satoshi mumbled.

"If Nino's reports are to be trusted, he'll go out on a date with Sho-chan again when they're both fifty." Masaki showed him the texts Nino was sending in quick succession.

Nino had caught Sho and Jun when they were about to kiss. He had teased them so much that he ended up sparking an argument between them. He only regretted it because he hated seeing Sho and Jun talk in that tone to each other. It brought him flashbacks, he said.

Luckily, it seemed they had been able to solve things quickly. Nino said that Sho had 'let Jun win', although he wasn't entirely sure what they were discussing in the first place. Then, Sho checked Jun's ankle and started panicking when he saw how swollen it was. Jun insisted it wasn't so bad, they argued again, and in the end, Sho had forced Jun to stay still while he put some ice on Jun's ankle. He also lectured Jun.

"Help me, Aiba-shi, he's trying to make me join his side now," Masaki imitated Nino's voice, laughing as he read out loud Nino's panicky texts. "J is glaring at us and his eyebrows look thicker and more terrifying than ever! And Sho-chan is ignoring the danger of the situation because he wants to take 'proper care' of J's ankle, but he has no idea what he's doing and… oh god, he just said that he wants to stay the night and take J to the doctor tomorrow morning! Help, help, help!"

"You think it's true that Sho-san would freak out this much about a sprained ankle?"

"He would." Masaki nodded. "He's a mother hen, it's his instinct. And Matsujun looks like the type who wouldn't want to make a big deal out of something like that."

"It's going to be a long night over there, huh?" Satoshi chuckled, scooting closer to Masaki. A slender arm wrapped around Satoshi's body. Masaki's chest vibrated as he laughed. This close, Satoshi could feel it too.

Shaking his head, Masaki turned off his phone and tossed it away. "You have no idea."