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The calibration had been off. That was it. A simple error. Frustrating. But not the end of the world.
Cherry sighed and stared up at the night sky above, his back flat on the dirt. He winced slightly as he turned toward his board, which had landed a few steps away. “Carla,” he began.
‘Yes, Master?’
“Make the necessary adjustments.”
‘Yes, Master.’
“Kaoru!” Joe’s voice sounded high and panicked as he approached, audible even over the rumbling of his bike’s engine and the crunch of the gravel beneath its tires. Joe skidded to a halt and dismounted, falling to his knees at Cherry’s side. “Shit, Kaoru! Are you all right?”
Cherry took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m fine.”
Joe looked him over, large hands surprisingly gentle as he searched for any injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked, a bit calmer now.
“Just my pride,” Cherry answered, shifting his gaze over toward his childhood friend as he sat up. “Carla needs a bit more work before she’s perfect, I think.”
Joe simply stared at him before letting his shoulders drop, a shaky breath escaping his lips. “You asshole,” he said and then pulled Cherry into a tight hug. “Don’t scare me like that.”
Cherry blinked and tried to force his way out of Joe’s tight embrace. “Have a little more faith in me,” he wheezed. “I’m not so fragile.”
“You fell off a cliff,” Joe replied flatly, though when he pulled back, his face still showed concern.
Cherry couldn’t help it. He reached up and softly pat Joe’s cheek. “What kind of skater would I be if I couldn’t handle taking a tumble from time to time?” He wet his lips, trying to ignore the heat rising in his cheeks. “But I’m sorry for worrying you, I suppose.”
“You suppose,” Joe echoed with a snort. “All right, let’s get you back home so you can fix your robot girlfriend.” Before Cherry could object, Joe had scooped him up into his arms. “You can ride with me.”
Cherry wriggled in his hold. “Kojiro, put me down!”
“Nope,” Joe replied. “Actually, do you think you’ll be able to sit on my bike?” he asked. “Did you fall on your butt?” He hummed. “That could be pretty uncomfortable.”
As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to be held in Joe’s arms, he didn’t need the other to be going on about -- the rapidly forming bruise on -- his backside.
“Maybe I should just carry you all the way home,” Joe suggested.
Cherry scoffed. “As if you could.” He rolled his eyes. “Put me down.”
But Joe shook his head. “You barely weigh a thing,” he supplied as if giving an explanation. “I could hold you forever.”
Again, Cherry’s face flushed, his ears burning. “Ugh, just shut up and put me on the damn bike.”
Joe laughed and Cherry spent the entire ride with his face pressed up against the other’s broad back.
They were drinking after hours. Joe had brought out the good wine. Cherry’s favorite. It had been a very busy week and it felt good to just...relax.
“Hey,” Joe said suddenly, his cheeks rosy. “Remember that time you totally ate it on that corner?” His eyes were shining. “Before you had Carla all…” He gestured vaguely with his hand. “Perfected or whatever.”
Yes. Cherry did remember. “I didn’t ‘totally eat it’,” Cherry mimicked, his face growing warmer. “It was a simple miscalculation. And that was years ago.” He took another sip from his glass. “Besides, you’ve ‘eaten it,’” he used his term, “Far more often than I have.”
Joe narrowed his eyes, but he was still smiling. “Maybe so.” He lifted his glass to his lips, but missed his mouth. “Oops.” He wiped his chin with the back of his hand, the animal. “Guess that’s enough for me.”
“Hmm…” Cherry hummed in agreement.
“Wanna go upstairs?” Joe was suddenly right beside him, his lips brushing against Cherry’s ear as he spoke.
Cherry didn’t answer, his heart hammering in his chest at their sudden close proximity. Blame it on the wine. Instead, he posed a question of his own. “What made you think of that all of a sudden?” he asked and when Joe cocked his head to the side in confusion, he clarified, “Me ‘eating it,’ as you so eloquently put it.”
“Oh.” Joe scratched his cheek and gave a sheepish little grin. “I was just thinking, I could probably still carry you now.” He lowered his hand. “Actually, it’ll probably be a lot easier, since I’m much stronger than back then.”
Cherry gave that some thought. It was probably unwise to let a tipsy Joe carry him up the stairs. But Cherry had downed a few more glasses than Joe had and he wasn’t sure his legs could carry him. And it was only seventeen steps. And Joe was strong…
Without his permission, Cherry’s gaze lowered to Joe’s chest, barely concealed by the button-up shirt. Were those buttons for show? Did he not know how to close them all properly?
“Kaoru?” Joe’s voice broke Cherry from his thoughts. “I can’t let you drive home.”
Again Cherry hummed and then bobbed his head. “I bet you can’t,” he challenged.
“Bet I can’t…? Let you drive?” Joe furrowed his brow.
“Carry me,” Cherry corrected, his head fuzzy and warm. How many glasses had he…? Or maybe it was just having Joe so damn close. “I bet you can’t carry me. I’ve gained several kilos since then.”
At that, Joe grinned, his eyes flashing. “Oh yeah?” he asked, sneaking an arm under Cherry’s knees and using the other to support his back. “So have I.” He lifted him up like he weighed nothing. “See?” he teased. “Light as a feather.”
The flush on Cherry’s face spread down his neck to his chest and he burrowed into Joe’s shoulder to hide it. “Let’s just go upstairs,” he mumbled against the fabric of Joe’s shirt, warmed by his skin. “Before you drop me.”
Joe chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest. “Please, Kaoru.” His voice softened. “I could hold you forever.”
And Cherry couldn’t ignore the way his pulse jumped at that. Stupid gorilla.