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“Just so we’re clear here, your idea of a good end to this was scaring the shit out of me,” Nanba dryly said as he looked up at the insurmountable rainbow in front of them.
Maybe he was a little ungrateful sounding. He forgot how exciting a first date could feel, even if they were sort of working backwards. They lived together and were inseparable to the point Hamako asked when the wedding was. Then came the first kiss, which was fueled by a few too many drinks and some alone time in the parklet with the persimmon tree next to their favorite bar. Then came Ichiban bringing him a bouquet of roses and an invitation to a night on the town and, to his credit, it was actually kind of romantic. It was just a shame that the nice dinner, a round of darts and whiskies, and some cash wasted at Cosmoworld’s arcade would be tarnished by Nanba inevitably blacking out or hurling on the massive ferris wheel.
“It’ll be fine, I think it’s still shorter than that building in Kamurocho you said you’d skydive off of!” Ichiban said, putting an arm around his shoulder.
“Yeah but that was hypothetical, and for a million yen.”
“You’ve got me by your side?”
“That...might actually make it worse.”
“I got it.” Ichiban pulled two slips of paper from his trouser pocket. “I already bought the tickets and you’ll make me sad if we don’t get on!”
The dumbfounded Nanba’s jaw slacked at that move. “This reeks of Saeko’s doing, but it’ll work.”
Ichiban followed him through the maze of velvet ropes leading to the gate and they made their way into one of the gondola cars, lit up with soft pink lights. If he didn’t know any better he thought Ichiban would have planned for them to end up in a car this sickly sweet to cap off their date. Ichiban insisted he took the seat facing the bay and not the line of skyscrapers, and once the wheel started to turn Nanba dug his nails into his legs.
“See, it’s not so bad right?” Ichiban tried to reassure.
“I think as long as I look out and not down I can manage.” With a gulp and a small amount of courage Nanba turned to look at the bay, filled with the twinkling lights of passing ships and cars traveling on the shining steel bridge. The moon wasn’t quite full but was still a rusting yellow and cast a wide reflection in the water. He always had that feeling of insignificance and smallness hovering over him, but in this moment it was almost peaceful. “It really is nice out tonight.”
Ichiban pointed at a crowd of red and gold lights near the coast, his finger touching the window and leaving a smudge. “Chinatown looks even crazier from up here. I think I can even see parts of the dragon, and the gate! Can we see Mount Fuji from here?”
“Do...do you have any sense of distance? We aren’t even facing the right way.”
Their car came to a stop at the top with a shake, and Nanba’s meager life flashed before his eyes until the rocking stopped. Ichiban left more streaks on the window as he dragged his finger up and down another bunch of colorful signs. “So that makes this part Isezaki Road, then?”
“Yep. Which means if you look down a bit, now that we’re a little higher, that part where the lights thin out is the river.”
“Aw, I guess the bar district isn’t as well lit as the rest of the city or we could see Survive.”
“I think we’ll manage.”
Nanba missed being able to see stars, like how he could in his childhood town, far away from the major cities where all the homes were single-leveled surrounded by tall grass. Then again the height of excitement back then was a Virtua Fighter machine in their train station, let alone the fact they even got to have a train station.
“Hey, Nanba,” Ichiban asked with a small waver in his voice.
“Hmm?”
“Can I hold your hand?”
He snickered. “I never thought you’d be the type to get so nervous about all this. We already swapped spit, you know.”
“I mean without your gloves on! It’s not the same, you know?”
“Oh, r-right.” It made him feel a lot more naked than he was willing to admit, as he peeled the wearing black knit from his right hand. Even under the soft glow of the gondola’s lights he could see the noticeable tan lines that stopped at his first digits. He was lost in how defined the creases had gotten and the small nicks from fights, and how time wasn’t kind to someone who always worked with their hands, but Ichiban still took it greedily in his own. He was as firm as his hold on the grip of his baseball bat, to the point Nanba could feel the other man’s heartbeat through it. Or maybe that was his own thumping away and deafening him.
They looked aimlessly at the night horizon, hand in hand. Nanba leaned on the side of their car with his head on his forearm, and Ichiban slotted his head on his shoulder. Their hands grew slick and clammy but Nanba wouldn’t have separated them for the world. Hell, he was even dreading the downward spin of the ferris wheel that would end this moment, and just wanted to savor this feeling in their fuchsia-lit capsule forever.
Ichiban gave his hand another little pulse. “Do you think we’ll see the Millennium Tower before we land?”
“I’m...I’m buying you a map of Japan someday.”