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Sakurai was by no means a dense man. Or at least he liked to think he was anything but that. Yet current circumstances stood to show otherwise. Sure he knew that not all had been roses and peaches between him and his partner lately. Though that was seriously hard to tell.
They talked less for one. But then again, his partner was never the talkative type and given how long they had been together, he just assumed it was partially due to them just being like an old married couple. They also spent less time together. They always had different hobbies so private time was limited. Due to differences in schedules, they ate meals together less often and even slept at different times so much so that it seemed like they lived separately despite sharing the same apartment. It did not help that they had been paired up with others during work either, which further lessened the time they had to see each other at all.
Still, he had no idea things had deteriorated so bad until he was forced to watch that goddamn vtr. Had he a mirror, Sakurai was sure that he would see his face drain of color through the full 20 minutes until all that was left at the end of the video was a plain casper white sheet. Satoshi and Matsujun went to LA and Vegas? They had been overseas for two days? Sure, he received the sneakers and cap from Matsujun and noticed the new pillow covers on his living room sofa. But two days? Why didn’t Satoshi tell him? Why didn’t their manager tell him? How did he not notice? They lived in the same darned house! How did he not know?
Sakurai watched the video and focused on keeping a neutral face. Idly, he answered a few prompts and even gave a few of his very own on autopilot. Shock or not, they had a show to film and Sakurai could not afford to mess that up. So even as he raged and cried inside, he merely held back hot tears and furrowed his brows outside as he felt two calm eyes trained on him the whole time.
Then came the part where Satoshi answered what his favorite food was. Sakurai knew that answer at the back of his hand. Even though he often ate out with his little old man, when time permitted, there was nothing more that Ohno liked than his homemade nikujaga – one of the only dishes he learnt from his own mother. Even when they had their occasional quarrels(sometimes over how Satoshi left paint splashes on the carpet again “But it adds to the artistic pattern Sho-chan!” or how Sakurai refused to go out fishing on a lovely summer night “Sho-chan, it’s the best time to fish saba…” “Satoshi, it’s 12 midnight!”), a warm bowl of nikujaga was usually enough to melt his artistic fisherman’s heart all over again.
Yet, it was not nikujaga nor any meat dish that Ohno answered but instead kaki fry – a dish that caused a couple of quarrels on its own. Sakurai did not imagine himself to be a dense man, but even less did he imagine himself to be a forgetful one. He did not forget the nights Ohno and Nino had spent together coming up with Ohmiya SK. He did not forget the uneaten bento boxes that came back just as they left. He did not forget the time after their busy period when Ohno kept eating the same dish because “Nino introduced it to me”. Something shattered deep within him and a hot tear escaped down Sakurai’s cheeks. Even if Ohno could not answer truthfully, neither should he have answered that.
Quickly, Sakurai hid it with a yawn and brushed the rest of his tears away before joining in the chorus of voices of how surprising that was. When his group returned their focus to the video, he sneaked a glance at Ohno only to find a set of calm brown eyes staring back. As their eyes met, a ghost of a smile graced Ohno’s lips before it was gone in an instant and Ohno looked away at the video. With just that, the turbulent storm in Sakurai’s heart calmed. It was not over yet.
However, knowing that Ohno was pissed at him but not to the level that he wanted to break up was pitifully insufficient for Sakurai. If life was a game of 5Ws and 1H, he barely even had enough information to cover “what” when the important answers were those of why Satoshi was angry at him and how to get out of the mess. And while he mulled over the former to no end on his own, the answer to the latter presented itself to him but a few weeks later.
If it seemed ironic that what started on Arashi ni Shiyagare would reach its conclusion by their other show’s filming, Sakurai did not notice it. He was too busy celebrating to care if he did it on VS Arashi or in the middle of Shibuya. It all started with Nino teasing him about the ugly shirt the costume staff managed to dredge out from the dump they call a costume storage for him that day. Honestly, he had just been concentrating on doing well for the cliff climb. There were many problems in the world and while a fight with your significant other was one, falling into a container full of ink-soaked sponges at the age of 33 was another Sakurai desired to avoid.
But when Aiba hopped onto Nino’s teasing and called him “Mum”, Sakurai’s mind snapped to attention.
“Then dinner will be nikujaga alright?” he teased back, hoping Ohno would get the message. Which he did, if his eyes were anything to go by. And so with renewed strength, Sakurai climbed and heaved himself to the top, if only to possibly hear a word of praise at the end of it.
“That was amazing!” Ohno said strongly as he flew down from the peak.
The worries of ink-soaked sponges and distanced partners relieved themselves as once. “Thanks otou-san” Sakurai answered.
It took a few more hours until they finished recording and returned to their greenroom. But once they had and the others left, Sakurai felt a pair of thin arms wrap around him.
“That’s rare Sho-chan.” Ohno said softly.
“Hmm? What is Satoshi?” Sakurai asked as he took the time to examine Ohno’s tanned sea-roughened hands. He had not had the opportunity to do so recently and they seemed worryingly thinner than usual.
“Calling me otou-san during filming.” Ohno answered before swaying the two of them together.
“Eh? That part? Did you like it so much?” Sakurai asked as he followed Ohno’s swaying.
“Mmm.” Ohno answered simply.
Sakurai hesitated a little. “Hey, Satoshi, why didn’t you tell me that you were going to LA back then?”
“Hmm?”
“I mean, did I do something to make you mad?” Sakurai asked straightforwardly. Years have taught him that there was no use beating around the bush with Ohno.
“Sho-chan sounds like he’s in the doghouse.” Ohno said teasingly.
“Well I am…in a way.”
“Hnn. I was jealous Sho-chan.” Ohno said as he stopped swaying. “You have been spending so much time with Masaki lately and everyone at work pairs you two up and even the fans have been going on and on about you recently that I…got affected.”
“Ah.” Sakurai answered unintelligently as he felt Ohno’s nose bury into the nook of his shoulder and start swaying again.
“You know that there’s nothing going on between us right?”
“Yep.”
“And that Masaki and I are just friends?”
“Yeah.”
“And Masaki has his own boyfriend…I mean, they’ve been going steady for 5 years and all now and…”
“Sho-chan.” Ohno asked gently but with enough force to stop Sakurai’s rant.
“Yeah?”
“Is there nikujaga tonight?”