Work Text:
1. Nino’s Observation
Monday
Sho comes to the office exactly at 8 o’clock, so proper with his crisp navy-blue suit and a striped tie. He brings his backpack. It looks heavy but looks good on his back at the same time. He smells good, as always. He always greets me first on the receptionist desk with his perfect smile. I think he can be a better receptionist than me.
“Good morning, Nino.”
His smile is dazzling. How can I resist smiling back? I know that he’ll grow big in this company. Not as a receptionist, obviously.
Tuesday
Sho comes at 8:05, five minutes late from yesterday. But his suit and shirt are crisp. He wears a plain sky-blue shirt with a dark grey tie and navy blue suits this time. Still smells good. So eager to conquer the day. But he needs a new haircut.
“Morning, Nino.” I bow and smile back.
Wednesday
He looks different this time. Oh! It’s the haircut? No, more than that. He wears a nicer suit and a white shirt with a thin-striped navy-blue pattern. Don’t forget his crimson satin tie. Smells good, better than the other days. Meeting a big client? It seems like it.
“Good morning, Nino.”
“Good morning, Sho-san. Have a big meeting today?”
“Yes. Do I look presentable?”
“Yup. Ganbatte, Sho-san.”
“Thank you!” Another dazzling smile has made my day.
Thursday
Thursdays are slow days. He wears dark brown suits with a mustard-colored shirt and dark red tie. He wanna try a new shade, huh? Still good on him.
“Good morning, Sho-san. Nice shirt.”
“Morning, Nino. Oh, do you notice it? My mom bought it for me.”
“Nice choice.”
“Say that to my mom,” he grins.
I grin back, “Have a good day, Sho-san.”
“You too!” He smiles. The smile plasters on his face for the rest of the day.
Friday
He comes to the office in a hurry. His tie crooks weirdly. Still smells good, but...
“Morning, Nino.”
“Morning, Sho-san. Sorry, you have something...” I touched my right corner of lips.
“Huh?” He touches his left one.
“No, no. Um, there...” I bend forward to wipe his lips with my thumb. He’s flustered. “There’s strawberry jam there,” I wipe my finger with tissue on my desk. I redo his tie too. Reminds me of our job interview back then.
“Ah. Thank you, Nino. I overslept this morning.”
“Yeah, I can see it. Have a good day, Sho-san.”
“You too!” He runs to his department with a smile.
Saturday
Working on a half shift. Rarely see anything interesting on this day. Only coming packages or some employees have their overtime. So, I just play my games while waiting for my shift ends.
“Nino,” I look up from my receptionist desk and see Sho’s face. What is he doing here on the weekend? “I should finish something today if it answers your confused look,” he smiles.
“Oh- A- Yes. You wear casual clothes.” He looks different, better than the last Wednesday. He looks younger and fresher.
“You think I wear suits every day?” Sho chuckles.
“At least that’s your image in my mind,” I laugh, “can I help you?”
He scratches his nape, “Um, yes.” I prepare my note and ready to write. “Can I finish my work here? I’m bored with working in my cubicle.” I’m perplexed.
“You can work in the lounge right there, right?” I point toward the front couch that usually for waiting lounge.
“Technically, yes, but I need a human noise.” Another jaw-dropping moment.
“Okay, this way.” He walks around my desk and sits beside me.
“Thank you, Nino,” Sho grins and spreads all of his stuff on the desk. Is this how he works every day?
He immediately switches to the serious mode. His random clicking and rapid typing on his keyboard accompany me, while my game’s SFX and my random noise comforts him. I check on him sometimes and he’s still in his serious mode. That’s the new side of him I never know. He always looks proper and presentable physically, but this hardworking side isn’t less admirable. Those serious eyes staring on the laptop, his utmost concentration, his frown, and his thinking face are adorable. Makes me wanna work harder. Sho-san is cool!
“Something wrong with my face?”
Shoot! He catches me staring at him. Ah, this is embarrassing. The blush creeps on my face. Stop it!
“Yes- Ah- No, sorry,” I smile shyly to cover my flustered face. Shame on you, Ninomiya!
He just chuckles and continues his work. What a day.
Sunday
Hi, Nino.
Are you free today? A new cafe just opened near my place. Wanna check it out with me?
Sakurai Sho.
2. Muse
Sho’s been sitting on the couch frowning, typing, deleting, typing again, frowning again, for hours. Groaned, he rubbed his eyes and laid his head on the backrest to have a quick break.
“Writer’s block?” I squeezed his shoulders from behind. He opened his tired eyes and just hummed weakly. “Coffee?”
He took my hand and kissed my palm, “No, thanks.”
“Eat something then. Your mouth hasn’t munched food for hours, that’s why the idea doesn’t come out.” I squished his cheeks playfully. “I’ve cooked something for dinner.”
“Eh? Dinner?” He checked the wall clock and apparently lost the track of time. “Okay, then.” He put the laptop down from his lap and stood up.
When he walked to the dining room, he halted his step and ran back to open his laptop. Sho typed something furiously. A sudden idea struck his brain. The idea he waited for has come, finally. His eyes lit, his smirk turned into a full and proud smile. A new masterpiece has born. The soon-to-be Newsweek article.
“Yes!” He threw a fist in the air and stretched his back.
“Sho-chan...” I bent forward in front of him and cupped his face gently.
He looked up with a repeated blink and puzzled expression. “Hm?”
“You have something on your face.” I examined his lips, nose, and eyes. Those black eyes, with a bloomed iris, full of excitement after completing whatever he worked on for the past hours.
“Huh?”
I kissed his lips with my eyes opened, anticipating his full-blown eyes. “It was me.” I smirked and left him flustered. “Come on, eat the food before it gets cold.”
He stood up abruptly and almost knocked his laptop off.
3. Special Souvenir
Sho, Nino, Aiba, Ohno, and Jun were in their favorite izakaya. They went there after work after Sho messaged them, ‘Let’s meet at the usual place after work. I have something for you guys.’. Sho bought a rather big goodie bag. He just went home from his business trip.
“Why do you assemble us here?” Jun asked.
“I wanna give you guys a special souvenir,” Sho answered smugly.
“Is that really special?” Nino joined the conversation.
“Of course!” Sho exclaimed.
“Oh, ‘kay.”
“Ninooo,” Sho sulked and Nino only giggled.
“What’s the souvenir? You chose it yourself?” Aiba peeked into the goodie bag. No clue. Sho wrapped them neatly in a polkadot gift wrapper.
“Yeah. With all of my heart.”
“Oh, that’d be special then.”
“.... I’ve said that, Aiba-chan,” Sho dead-panned and Ohno only chuckled.
“Oops, sorry.”
“Okay, sorry for the wait. First...” Sho paused to take something in the goodie bag, “it’s for Aiba-chan!”
Aiba beamed, “Can I open it?” Sho nodded and Aiba opened the souvenir quickly. “A tiger t-shirt! This is great! I love tiger very much! Thank you, Sho-chan!”
Aiba hugged Sho so tight until Sho couldn’t breathe, “Ah- Aiba- Yeah, yeah, I know- You’re welcome.” Sho took the second gift, “Next, is for Riida, our manager.”
Ohno took Sho’s gift and tilted his head, “Eh? But you gave me the snack box this afternoon.”
“That’s a souvenir for my manager. This is for my Nii-san,” Sho smiled.
Ohno opened the gift carefully, “Oh! A new pair of beach sandal. Thank you, Sho-chan. I love the color- Eh? Dolphins?” Ohno found dolphins pattern on his sandal.
“As expected of you, you definitely recognize the dolphins.”
“Try it, Riida,” Nino said. Ohno took off his shoes and wore the sandal.
“Looks good,” Jun nodded and praised the new look. “It isn’t lame.” Sho pouted as everyone laughed hard.
“How do you know my size?” Ohno was curious.
“Secret,” Sho winked.
“Well, thanks again, Sho-chan.”
“Anytime, Nii-san.” Sho took the third gift, “This for Jun-kun.”
Jun unwrapped the gift, “An eco-bag?”
“Multifunctional shopping bag. You can use it for your bento box, when you’re going to a gym session, or shopping. It’s easy to fold and waterproof,” Sho explained the gift fluently.
Jun checked the material and smiled, “Oh, you’re right. I like this kind of fabric.”
“It has some pockets in there and I try my best to choose the best pattern for you.”
“Well, it’s a bit lame...” Jun said plainly and Sho pouted, “just kidding, I love it. Thanks, Sho-kun.” Jun patted Sho’s shoulder and grinned.
“The last one...”
“It must be extra special for me, right?” Nino smirked.
“Say no more, Nino. Everything for my partner-in-crime.” Sho gave the last gift for Nino, “Here.”
Nino weighed the gift with his hand, “Oooh, it’s light and feels soft. What is it?”
“Just open it,” Sho smiled.
Nino opened the gift. “Sho-chan,” Nino frowned and paused, “are you kidding me?”
“What’s that? Show us, show us!” Aiba peeked on the gift and laughed until he fell backward from his stool. Ohno and Jun helped him getting up then peeked at the gift. They laughed as aloud as Aiba.
Sho chuckled and said, “No, I’m deadly serious. I know you will need them.”
“But- No- Not in five dozen. I’m not a Doraemon maniac!” Nino yelled. “Is it your revenge for the camo stuffs I gave you on your birthday?”
“No, it isn’t.” Sho said no but he nodded enthusiastically as he covered his mouth to hold his laugh. ”You always complain about stretched out socks. I just give you a solution as your partner-in-crime.”
Ohno laughed, “Sho-chan, that’s too many!”
Jun cackled so hard until he cried, “Ah, my stomach hurts...”
“But not with Doraemon on them, Sakurai,” Nino just wanted to hit Sho’s face with the socks.
“But you love Doraemon, right? It’s a special edition, you know?” Sho laughed.
“Y- yes, I love Doraemon but-” Nino paused and sighed, “okay, never mind. Thanks a lot for the socks, Sho-chan. You’re my bestest friend ever.”
Sho hugged and patted Nino’s shoulders, “You’re very welcome, Nino. It’s not like you wearing them on your head, right?”
Nino sighed again, “Whatever.”
4. Chip and Dale
ARAFES 2020 recording would start tomorrow. Arashi had the last rehearsal before the recording day. They finalized some moves, section, and tried the lighting from the penlights. All staffs were busy setting and organizing the penlights while Arashi and the sound team rehearsed the final setlist.
After the rehearsal, Arashi walked back to their green room while discussing some details. Sho didn’t join the conversation tho. He sauntered while memorizing some moves, drowning in his own mind. He passed the room where the staffs were blowing balloons with helium. He snapped back from the trance and looked at the inflated balloons. A wild idea came to his mind…
“Excuse me, can I have the balloons? I just need two of them.”
“Eh? It’s okay, tho. But what for, Sakurai-san?”
“I just wanna try something tomorrow.”
“Oh… okay. What color do you want?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Okay, just take them, Sakurai-san.”
“Thank you!”
“Good luck for tomorrow!”
“Yeah, you too.”
Sho brought the balloons to the green room. Other members were doing their own thing, not noticing what Sho had in his hands. Sho watched them one by one and his choice went to Nino who was playing his game. Sho sat next to Nino with a suspicious grin on his face.
Sho nudges Nino’s side with his arm and whispered, “Nino, Nino, look what I have.” Nino didn’t budge and kept playing his game. Sho nudged him again, “Nino, you must see this.”
Nino tsk-ed and paused his game, “What?”
“I have two balloons.”
“Then?”
“These aren’t ordinary balloons. These are helium balloons.”
“So?”
Sho took a glance to make sure that Jun didn’t hear them, “I wanna suck the helium and talk in high pitch for MC tomorrow.”
“But why do you have two balloons?”
“These are for me and you.”
“ME?!”
“Shhh!” Sho twisted his head quickly to check the other. Jun took a glance and lifted his eyebrow. Sho grinned sheepishly and shook his head, “No, hehehehe, we’re just joking.”
“What if Jun is mad?” Nino replied.
“It’s MC talk, it’s fine. We don’t sing on MC part. I really wanna try this since forever. Will join me? Please…”
Nino sighed, “Okay… which part?” Sho gave Nino the widest Totoro grin.
-
ARAFES 2020 filming was doing smooth, with only some minor adjustments to make. Sho hid the balloon near the stage so he and Nino could take it before MC started. The last song before MC on the second part was In The Summer. The light was out after they sang. With a minimal lighting, they took the balloon and inhaled the gas in it. Jun didn’t recognize their doing because he thought that they took a drink bottle. The light went back and…
“YAY!” Sho yelled with his high-pitched voice.
“YAY!” Nino joined with the same pitch.
“YAY YAY YAY!”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Eh? What’s that?” Aiba laughed and asked.
“Wait- what- what did you do with your voice?” Jun put his hand on his waist.
“We wanna have some fun!” Sho replied.
“No, it’s just him. He forced me,” Nino tried to dodge the responsibility.
“Nino, your voice is going back. Suck the gas again,” Sho nudged Nino’s arm.
“No no no no. where do you get the balloon?” Jun asked Sho as he held Nino’s arm while holding his laugh.
“I got from the staff.”
“You ask the staff to give you balloons, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“And now you guys are having fun because your voice change, right?“ Jun shifted his gaze to Nino.
“No- he-”
“Nino, I know you always follow this old man’s silly wish.”
“Because it’s interesting,” Nino just grinned and nodded.
“Yeah, and it’s fun! I don’t wanna have fun alone!” Sho defended his idea.
“So, you drag Nino into your silly request?”
“It isn’t silly if it works! Right?” Sho searched for Ohno and Aiba’s support as he sucked the last helium in his balloon. As expected, they nodded.
Jun sighed and chuckled, “Well, I guess I can’t be angry if your voice is like that.”
“I should try it too, Jun-kun. It sounds funny!” Aiba walked backstage to get a balloon.
“Aiba-chan, no. Don’t follow them.”
“It’s not that it gives you disease. Staff-san, can we get 3 more balloons?” Ohno asked to the staff through the mic.
“No- Riida-”
“Someday we should release a helium version for a single, right, Sho-chan?” Sho’s high-pitched laugh echoed at the empty stadium.
5. The Cutest Excuse to be Late for Work
Sho’s alarm blared out in the morning. Today was a big day since he would do a big presentation. But…
“No… I wanna sleep more…”
He never learnt his lesson.
“Ah! I’m late! I’m late!” He ran to the sink to brush his teeth and wash his face. No time for taking a bath. Good that he had showered yesterday. As he grabbed his energy drink, he hurried to wear his work outfit and wore his shoes.
45 minutes remaining before his presentation.
He dashed to the train station with his all might. He needed 20 minutes on the train to commute then walked for 5 minutes.
“Come on, come on, train, I’m late…” His leg tapped on the platform as the train arrived. No, he never learnt his lesson.
25 minutes remaining.
Touch down. Now he should walk, or run, to go to his office or his presentation would fail.
“Yosh… Let’s go!” He ran—okay, not run—but slid his body between the crowd in the station. He didn’t have to run if he woke up earlier.
The road was empty. Time to do another dash. He ran—finally run—like his plan he’d made this morning on the train. But…
“Stop! Stop running! Wait!” He heard someone yelled from across the road. It was a rather small man with a big white fluffy dog. The man almost ran out of breath and gripped his dog’s leash while the dog was running happily. What a contrast. Sho decreased his speed and checked the traffic before running across the street to meet the pair.
“May I help you? But I’m getting late so I’m sorry if I can’t do much…” Sho asked the breathless man.
The man still panted heavily but has calmed down. “Sorry for disturbing… This boy… tried to follow you… when he saw you running.”
Sho chuckled and ruffled the dog’s fur. The dog darted out his tongue and Sho scratched behind his ear. “Oh my… what a cute boy. Don’t make your hooman run that fast, okay? It’s okay, I ran because I’m late- OH MY GOODNESS! I’M LATE! Sorry, I should go now. I have a big presentation to do! Bye!” Sho was ready to run across the street when the man asked for something.
“Wait! What’s your name? I’m Nino and he’s Kumo.”
“I’m Sho! See you!” Sho waved to them before running across and continued his dash with Kumo’s barks as his background sound.
15 minutes remaining.
The unexpected and unplanned occasion almost ruined his day, but good that he could handle it. He prepared the materials and set his laptop in the meeting room. Soon, the board of directors came in before taking their seat.
“Sakurai-kun, your face looks red. Are you okay?” asked one director.
Sho just grinned, “I’m okay, sir. Just had a small running match with a cute dog and his owner when I was on the way here.”
“Ah, what a good thing to start your day. It’s good for your blood flow, right, everyone?” the rest of audience hummed and nodded slightly.
Sho sighed in relief while hoping that he would meet them again, sans being late next time.