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When Aiba invited Ohno out for drinks after Shiyagare filming ended, Ohno didn't expect anything too exciting. He looked forward to the usual: drinking with Aiba while talking of nothing in particular, a warm and comfortable time with one of his best friends.
So when Aiba started with, "Leader, save me!" before they'd even ordered their first drinks, Ohno was taken aback.
With wide eyes and a weak voice, Ohno asked, "How?"
"Leader, I know we don't talk about our love lives, I know, but I really need help, okay?"
Ohno was far from immune to a request from an earnest Aiba. "Okay."
Aiba looked like he'd be hugging Ohno in gratitude right then if it wouldn't attract too much attention in a semi-public place.
"Can we go to my place, then?"
Ohno blinked at Aiba. Then a waiter came over to ask about their drink orders, and Aiba stood with great determination.
"I'm sorry, but we're on a very important mission, we have to go."
Dipping his head at the confused waiter, Ohno followed Aiba out, going with the flow since he had the free time anyway, not to mention he'd do anything for Aiba.
*
"Sit down, Leader." Aiba looked almost frightened, and Ohno wanted to reassure him, but it was hard to do when he had no idea what was going on.
He decided on, "I'm sure everything will be all right, Aiba-chan."
Aiba burst out, "I like Matsujun."
Ohno coughed, surprised, but the way Aiba was staring at him with desperate pleading had him working hard to take this in quickly. He cleared his throat and tried, "Ah, I see."
"Oh, Leader," Aiba sighed, dropping down to wrap his arms around Ohno's shoulders. "I knew you'd understand."
Ohno felt like he understood very little, but he nodded against Aiba's shoulder, hoping it would be comforting.
Aiba pushed away, face going from relieved to desperate again. "The thing is, I don't know how to--how to get him to--"
Ohno thought.
"Like you back?" Apparently this was the wrong answer, because Aiba's face fell.
"You think he doesn't already?"
"Ah, he does," Ohno said automatically, then thought about it, surprised to find he believed it. "I think he does, Aiba-chan," he said with more conviction.
"So save me, Leader, please?"
Ohno was pretty sure Aiba still hadn't specified either what he wanted from Jun or what he wanted Ohno to do about it. Still, he tried, not wanting to let Aiba down, plus feeling the mood didn't quite call for any teasing.
On sudden inspiration, he grabbed his sketchbook from his bag and flipped to a blank page. He drew quickly and surely, feeling Aiba leaning over his shoulder to look.
When Ohno was done, he handed it over and pointed to the picture. "How about making this expression? Sort of, what's it called, come--come hither?"
Aiba tilted his head. "Come hither? Do only people over thirty know that one, Leader?"
Ohno chuckled, then tapped on the picture again. "But I think this face would work on Jun-kun, Aiba-chan."
After a moment of trying to match the facial expression Ohno had drawn on his sketch, Aiba shook his head sadly. "Whenever I try to make this expression for photo-shoots, Nino always says I look constipated."
Ohno said hopefully, "That could work, maybe Matsujun would give you some medicine?"
"That's not exactly the gesture I'm hoping for, Leader!"
Ohno saw his opening. "What is, Aiba-chan? Specifically."
Aiba looked a little embarrassed, but he tapped a finger on his lips and said, "Kiss."
"Ah." That did make sense. After a few moments of consideration, Ohno came to the conclusion, "I guess that usually I kiss people first."
Aiba was fidgeting unhappily and barely seemed to hear him. "Matsujun's going to be here in thirty minutes, Leader."
"... What?"
"I didn't want to give myself time to back out, but then I panicked, and I knew you weren't working, so I--but if you don't have any ideas, then I don't know, it's not like he's some person I don't know that I can just, just--"
Ohno interrupted firmly, "I have lots of ideas." He started a numbered list on his sketchpad and willed himself to think of something quickly.
*
Aiba wasn't normally this silly, no matter what anyone thought. It was just that after almost a decade of staving off his feelings for Jun, he was going to act on them. Tonight. For real.
It was making him incredibly silly.
He'd tried the come hither look, which had resulted in Jun asking if he were ill. He'd tried asking for lip balm, which had resulted in lip balm, but not at all in the way Ohno had hoped it would be applied. He'd pretended to get a paper-cut on his lip and asked Jun to kiss it better, but Jun had only laughed.
He'd even done the last thing on Ohno's list, what he suspected was Leader entirely running out of ideas and drifting into daydreams. He'd asked Jun what he thought it would be like if Jun was a hook and Aiba's lips were fish-lips. He was trying to repress that now.
Aiba knew he should have asked Nino or Sho. But then, Ohno was better after all. Ohno had listened entirely without judgment, had given his very best thinking to advice, even if it ended up being ridiculous advice, and he'd resisted any impulse to laugh at Aiba in his fragile state. Aiba didn't think he could have handled anyone but Leader right in that moment before he first told someone he liked... loved Jun. In all the years of feeling like this, he'd never even said it out loud to himself.
"Aiba-chan?"
Aiba came back to himself to find Jun very close, peering at him with a worried expression. Worried didn't translate easily to wanting to kiss. Aiba decided to exhaust even the silliest options on the list and took a deep breath.
"Would you walk me home, Jun-kun? To--to my door?" He dared to meet Jun's eyes and found the expected confusion. Instead of pressing the issue, he moved right to the only idea of Ohno's that he hadn't yet tried.
He tickled Matsujun. He aimed for his ribs, right where Jun was most ticklish, and he must have succeeded, because the next thing he knew he was several feet away and in pain. Jun had hit him right in the face. Accidentally, of course, but now Aiba couldn't even think of kissing, because his mouth was in no shape for it. He was pretty sure Jun had split his lip.
"What the hell were you--Aiba-chan! Are you all right?" As soon as Jun opened his eyes, he was heading for Aiba. He led Aiba to the couch and sat him down, tilting his chin this way and that with a firm hand on his jaw.
Despite the pain, the embarrassment, and the hopelessness of the situation, some part of Aiba went right back to thinking about kissing.
Then Jun let go and stood. "I'll be right back, stay here."
Aiba was still until Jun was out of sight, then scrambled for his phone. Maybe he could get a mail off to Ohno before Jun got back. Now that Ohno wasn't under pressure, maybe some magical plan had come into his mind like--
"Aiba-chan. I told you to stay on the couch."
Aiba hit send even as he nodded, leaving his phone on the counter and heading back over as commanded. Jun patted the cushion beside him, expression strange. Aiba sat, feeling their proximity in his heartbeat, and stared at Jun with wide eyes.
After a moment, Jun cleared his throat. "Did you leave it in there so you could sneak off and check it?"
Aiba's brow furrowed, then the meaning of Jun's words hit him hard in the chest. He'd left--he'd left the list in the bathroom, where his first-aid kit was, except his first-aid kit was now in Jun's hands. And so was the list.
Before he could say anything, Jun kissed him.
It was wonderful. It hurt like hell. It was better than Aiba had even imagined. He parted his lips, feeling too many things at once and wanting more, but then Jun pulled away.
"You taste like blood," he said, looking disgusted and happy.
Aiba laughed, feeling like he was floating. "Your fault."
"You tickled me."
Aiba shrugged, leaning in. "Leader's fault, then."
Jun raised a hand to rest a finger on Aiba's split lip. "If you go gargle with mouthwash, maybe I'll kiss you again."
Aiba considered that, but said, "Now that you've kissed me first, I don't have to wait anymore."
Even if it tasted like blood, Jun let him push him down on the couch and kiss him anyway.
Aiba loved him.
When his phone chirped a few minutes later, Aiba came up for air. He grinned down at Jun, smug and dizzy and elated, then remembered who was probably getting in touch.
"Just one second, Jun-chan! I think Leader had another idea." Still, it was hard to move away from Jun, and Aiba lingered.
"By all means," Jun said, voice husky. His mouth was slick and swollen, and Aiba started to forget anything but--
Jun shoved him off, snickering as Aiba flailed.
"Hurry up, Aiba-chan."
Aiba headed for his phone with what he was trying to make a wounded air, but he couldn't stop giggling. He opened up the message from Ohno and choked.
"What is it?" Jun asked, still reclining gracefully on Aiba's couch, shirt rucked up and face glowing.
Aiba wavered, but decided to bring the phone over and show it to Jun.
Jun read, "'Get naked?'" His eyes slid to Aiba's, and for a moment, everything was still.
Then Jun smirked. "If only he'd started with that one."