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“Thank you so much for this,” Josefumi whispered into Yoshikage’s left ear as they walked towards the bright, colourful gates of Yagiyama Banyland, S-City’s one and only amusement park. It was by no means the biggest or best one in Japan, it could never hold a candle to either Disney parks back in Tokyo. Nonetheless, its affordable ticket prices and how close it was to the station made it the go-to hang out spot for local kids big and small.
Josefumi’s breathy words on his bare neck sent a shiver down Yoshikage’s spine. “Stop thanking me so much, it’s getting awkward,” Yoshikage replied with slight irritation as he tried rubbing the goosebumps away. Josefumi giggled, amused by his lover’s reaction as he tried brushing his fingers against Yoshikage’s free hand. He knew they shouldn’t be holding hands out in public, especially in a place like this, but he was so happy he could barely hold back. “Today’s your day, so of course I was going to follow you wherever you wanted to go. Even if it’s, well… here.”
As they approached the ticket booth, a barrage of shrill screams cut through the already impenetrable noise of the crowd awaiting them inside the park’s grounds. The place looked packed, an expected sight for a warm Saturday on the tail end of April. Still, Yoshikage refused to believe this amount of people was the norm, he expected that sort of crowd solely around Golden Week. His wristwatch had just struck 12 o‘clock.
“Why the long face, Yoshikage? I thought you loved being around kids,” Josefumi jokingly inquired with a wide, toothy grin plastered all over his face. For a newly minted 20 year-old, he still acted quite childlike every now and again. Yoshikage raised his eyebrows in fleeting disbelief, only to end up rolling his eyes.
A soft breeze blew up a storm of loose cherry blossoms around them. The way the small pink petals enshrined Josefumi’s profile wherever he was made Yoshikage smile warmly. He just couldn't stay mad at him for long. He truly was one with all plant life, he thought to himself as the gust died down.
“Kids are… okay, I guess. With one child I could deal, no problem. It's the large number of children, all crammed in one place that I find… less than palatable. But that doesn’t matter, because you’re the birthday boy and whatever you say, goes,” Yoshikage insisted before adopting a fairly serious tone and adding, “Now listen to me young man, if you even think of paying for anything today, so help me God, I'll make you bite your fingers off, so don’t even try it. You're the guest and I’m paying.” Yoshikage’s tone was final, and Josefumi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Duly acknowledge, Captain,” he answered while saluting. Josefumi stood back snickering and let his boyfriend handle the whole payment process. To compensate for Yoshikage’s utter ignorance regarding amusement park etiquette, he had drilled him on what to say and ask for when paying for the day. Josefumi was sure Yoshikage had absorbed nothing of what he had said and he’d roll his own way. Yoshikage walked back with annoyance written all over his beautiful face, handed him a nice branded card, and after checking Josefumi was following him, directed his steps towards the park’s entrance. “Babe, I think you got scammed. This is a full-access pass,” Josefumi pointed out after reading the card’s small text. Yoshikage’s reply was a simple shrug, to which Josefumi answered by laughing and bumping into Yoshikage’s back.
“Alright, so where are we going first?” Yoshikage asked while taking in a panning view of the kid-infested attractions. Near the entrance everything looked infant-exclusive, much to his discontent.
“Oof, I’m not sure! This place was my childhood. I made so many good memories here, but most were in rides I don’t fit into anymore, like the miniature train or the kiddie roller coaster,” Josefumi remineced as he tried matching the rides in his fond memories with the current installations. “My mom used to have BanyCard, which served as an annual pass. It’s similar to this monstrosity you bought. She gave it to me when I was especially good for a full week. She even gave me a thousand yen for lunch and dinner,” he explained chirpily, standing as close as humanly possible to Yoshikage. He wanted to hug him so bad.
“Did she make you pay your train ticket here though? Because the roundtrip from Morioh to this S-City and back is not cheap,” Yoshikage asked unimpressed.
“Umm, maybe? In retrospect, I think she instructed me to try getting pity rides on the bus that stops by the entrance, and only handed me the card when she wanted to get me out of the house for a full day. Oh well, I still had fun, so I’m not tainting my nice times with her negligence and shitty parenting,” Josefumi concluded, choosing not to dwell on bad stuff if only for today. Yoshikage swiftly grabbed and squeezed Josefumi’s arm, trying to give his beloved some much needed silent moral support. Unable to contain the resulting feelings, Josefumi imitated Yoshikage’s speed and kissed him quick and light. And before Yoshikage could complain, he tried distracting him by asking, “Hey, you’re a man of the sea, so… wanna try riding the Pirate Ship?”
***
“That was amazing, I screamed my head off!” Josefumi cried out over the screams of the current coaster riders. He was jumping all around, all kinds of jazzed, his blood still filled with adrenaline. “I always wanted to ride the Corkscrew and the Cyclone, but they wouldn’t let me go in alone, even when I was tall enough,” he recalled, skipping like a puppy all around Yoshikage. “Did you like it, Kira-san?”
“I think… I… might throw up. Stay clear,” Yoshikage replied less than enthused. He was splayed on the bench outside the Corkscrew’s queue, covering his eyes with his forearm. He looked a mess, sounded barely conscious, and felt dizzy as hell. “I don’t think roller coasters agree with me, Josefumi. I’m sorry. The first one was rough, but survivable. The second nearly killed me, and I don’t think I can go on a third one. Go on without me, love.”
“Oh no, I refuse. I’m not riding anything without you,” Josefumi quickly shut down Yoshikage as he knelt by his side. Trying to be supportive, he pressed down on Yoshikage’s knee and rubbed his thigh. After getting a ghastly look from Yoshikage, he stopped at once and put both hands in the air feigning innocence. Still very much overly excited and with a hint of cheek in his voice, Josefumi reassured his lover by stating, “But don’t worry, we’re not missing out on much by skipping the Sky Jet. I’ve ridden it, it’s lame. Would you like to stop for another meal now, or maybe ride something more… mellow? There’s gotta be a slow ride that won't jostle us around like scrambled eggs.”
“I wish we had gone through the coasters before having lunch. Now, I can–” Yoshikage sat up and covered his mouth with both hands in panic. Josefumi started, frozen and terrified. Yoshikage then breathed deeply in and out for nearly a full minute. And only when he finally shook his head and let go did Josefumi sigh with relief. “I was going to say I can taste the ramen we had clawing its way back up my throat,” Yoshikage finished saying as he patted Josefumi’s head. The birthday boy was pouting, his chin on Yoshikage’s lap. “C’mon, stand up. We agreed on it, didn’t we? No big displays in public.”
“I’m sorry,” Josefumi mumbled as he stood up and offered his hand to Yoshikage. He gracefully took it, and minding his footing, he roused himself. Most of his nausea was gone by then, so he tried livening Josefumi’s mood up before they moved on to the next ride.
“Don’t be,” Yoshikage whispered into his ear as he stood on his tippy toes to reach it. The words tickled Josefumi and made him blush a bit, so he covered the affected ear and broke into a shy smile. “I blame this damned park and its lack of dark rides. Why doesn’t it have a Tunnel of Love or some other indoor ride so we could make out in it?!” Yoshikage inquired very loudly. Blushing a shade darker, Josefumi let out a nervous chuckle. “Is that one open? It looks pretty stable and slow to me,” Yoshikage glared as he raised his arm point blank at the ride on the very back of the park without even checking what it was. But Yoshikage knew, a mess of metal that big never went unnoticed.
“Oh, the Ferris Wheel? I think so, I can see it turning from here,” Josefumi especulated as he shielded his eyes from the sinking sun. The day had flown past him, and they still had to pick up his birthday cake on their way back to Morioh, so he mentally noted this would probably be the closing ride. “Yeah, Ferris Wheel is nice and slow, a good cooldown attraction. Let’s go ride it. It might not be dark, but up there no one can really see us, right?”
“My thoughts precisely,” Yoshikage agreed, now fully awake and re-energised by the prospect of some privacy. He bumped into Josefumi, an action that had apparently emerged as their substitute for hand holding or locking arms, and started walking into the crowd. Josefumi quickly followed suit, jogging after him.
“This is so weird, you’d think your balance would be perfect after spending all that time onboard ships,” he wondered out loud as he rubbed his palm on Yoshikage’s back as they walked. He kept at it until they reached the moderate queue of couples and families waiting for their turn on the Ferris Wheel. Once they joined, Yoshikage had to swat Josefumi’s insistent hand off him. When the birthday boy sulked again, he just shot him a stern look.
“They’re very different types of forces. Roller coasters exert acceleration and G-forces on the body, which is very extreme on the human form. On the other hand, motion sickness, or seasickness, has more to do with visual and motion coordination. They’re nothing alike. In fact, I’d say their only similarity is that you eventually get used to them,” Yoshikage tried to explained as simply as possible, and still failing to do so.
“Heeh, interesting. You’re so smart,” Josefumi concluded, still a bit confused. They reached the top of the line soon after their exchange, and after flashing Josefumi’s full-access card, like they had done all day long, they boarded the green gondola. This was not a happy accident, but a calculated move by Yoshikage. He refused to board the yellow one, so they let the couple behind them take over it, and then got the green one. “So smart, and so… particular,” Josefumi added while the ride manager secured the door behind them. Josefumi thanked the guy with a gesture and turned to his beloved with the intention of cuddling. Yoshikage’s face was still as impassive as ever, so Josefumi tried to negotiate, “It’s getting a bit chilly, huh? The wind and such. And the higher we get, the colder it’ll be. So I don’t think it’d be weird if we scooted together. To conserve heat and all that. And even if we’re not really up high enough to… Huh, Yoshikage what’s wrong?”
Josefumi stopped talking when he noticed Yoshikage's hand squeezing his to the point it was nearly shattering it. As the wheel turned and they slowly rose, Josefumi approached Yoshikage’s face only to realise his facade was frozen in fear. Eyes wide open, lips trembling slightly, and jaw so tightly shut he could hear his teeth grinding. Sweat beaded his forehead and ran down his neck. Apparently, he’d been holding in his breath since the wheel resumed its movement. “I–I think… I’m no go–good. No good with heights… either,” Yoshikage managed to whisper, as he grasped Josefumi’s arm with his free hand so hard it would later leave a bruise.
“Wha– How? You were just doing fine, or um well, better than this, on the Corkscrew!” Josefumi exclaimed, feeling about half as distressed as his partner. Yoshikage really wasn’t built for amusement parks, every ride seemed to want to kill him. “Hey, come here. Maybe try closing your eyes and, um, breathing?” Josefumi said, almost negotiating with him. Yoshikage’s answer was to hyperventilate. “I don’t understand. How could you deal with the roller coasters before?” Josefumi wondered as he used his free arm to drag Yoshikage’s paralysed body closer to his, trying to shield it and maybe regulate his rapid breathing. His hand hurt an awful lot, but his touch seemed to be keeping partially sane at the moment.
“It’s not– It’s, GAH. Different? Before, I also– Now… slow, horrible,” Yoshikage tried to articulate, his voice trapped in his chest. His jugular vein was popping noticeably from his pale neck, its fast beating reflecting his runaway pulse. Dread sharply stabbed at the pit of his stomach the higher their gondola rose. And as much as he wanted to close them, his eyes remained painfully open. “I’ve never– I–”
“Shhh, stop trying to explain. It’s fine, so you have vertigo, babe, it's all okay. C’mere,” Josefumi interrupted, as he finished dragging Yoshikage into his embrace. He purposefully shoved his face against his chest to obstruct his view of their high surroundings. This actually appeared to work, as Yoshikage’s breath steadily faltered until it became a series of soft sighs and pants. He had also managed to close his eyes, shutting them harder than needed.
“A–acrophobia,” Yoshikage whispered into his chest after a moment of relative silence. He just had to correct him, hadn't he?
“Sure, Yoshikage, whatever you say,” he consoled him, caressing his neck. He could still feel his lean body trembling like never before, and as much as he was worried sick, he was also oddly happy. Yoshikage had never shown emotions this raw and unfiltered, it felt like seeing his soul for the first time. “Hey, we’re halfway there. Do you want me to describe the scenery for you? It’s pretty nice today, the sunset…” Yoshikage weakly nodded as he let go of Josefumi’s captive arm. With a sigh of relief, Josefumi stretched his hand a bit to test if it still was alive, while Yoshikage used his now free arms to surround Josefumi's neck.
Josefumi kept speaking about the sunset and how tiny the crowd looked until the ride was over.
***
“So much for being discreet,” Yoshikage mumbled through his hat, which was fully covering him from his forehead to his chin. He was too ashamed to show his face to anyone at the moment. He was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear, but sinking into his bed or the bathtub was not an option at the moment. “Couldn’t you carry me in a less conspicuous way?”
“Stop being dramatic. You could not stand on your baby deer legs, so how else was I supposed to get you out of the gondola, if not like this?” Josefumi inquired as he carried Yoshikage bride style into the station’s platform. The stationmaster had given them a one-time green pass on the Express line back to Morioh, courtesy of Yagiyama Banyland. The administration was horrified to see a healthy (and wealthy) guest nearly pass out on their midlest rides, so they moved mountains to make sure their ride home was a comfortable one. “I can’t believe they let us ride for free, I’m never going to escape these pity-rides,” he sighed, equal parts upset and shocked.
“Sorry, I ruined your birthday,” Yoshikage whispered, sounding choked up.
“Don’t you dare say that, dummy, you did nothing of the sort. It might sound cruel, but I really had a great time overall. The kid rides before lunch were neat, and the roller coasters were even better. Even the food was good! And this scare you gave me, I… kinda liked it? I love having an excuse to show off and treat you gently, y’know,” Josefumi admitted with a laugh. His words made Yoshikage reemerge from behind his sailor hat with a mean look on his face. “Are you angry now?”
“No, I’m not. I only…” Yoshikage started his complaint, when a machine on the furthest side of the platform caught his eye. “Hey, how long do we have before the train arrives?”
“Umm, about 15 minutes. Do you want to sit or do you want me to keep carrying you around as punishment?” Josefumi replied, checking the timetable behind them.
“None of that, thank you. I want a commemorative picture. Let's get into that photobooth,” he suggested pointing straight at it. It was not a purikura by any means, just a regular machine meant for passport and resume pictures. “I guess we can also make out in there, between pictures…” he finished suggesting coily, crowning his words with a lewd smirk.
“The machine’s not gonna like having two grown men sitting side by side inside it,” Josefumi especulated as he walked towards it anyways.
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll sit in your lap. You offered to carry me all the way home, didn’t you?” Yoshikage clarified, still smiling. “I’ll carry the cake when we pick it up, and you carry us both,” he concluded and planted a sloppy kiss on Josefumi’s cheek once they entered the booth. It looked like he was already feeling a bit better, Josefumi noted.
“Fine,” Josefumi accepted, putting up no fight whatsoever. As Yoshikage’s attention was centred on waving his IC card over the sensor and getting the machine to do its thing, Josefumi sneaked a kiss too, except he aimed for the lips. Yoshikage giggled into it, as the camera flashed on them. Between shots, Josefumi tried catching his breath. Yoshikage gazed back at him, his eyes filled with pure love; those were the eyes that only looked at him and had a tight grip on his heart. How could he ever say no to their owner?