Chapter Text
Ding ding
“Welcome! Please have a seat, I’ll be right with- YOU?” Kojiro yelled as he turned to greet his supposed customers. Instead, he was greeted by the faces of three hungry teenagers and one pink haired boyfriend.
Kojiro let out a half sigh at the not-unusual sight of the group. The door swung closed, the little bell once again jingling happily, as they entered.
“Hey Joe, how’s it going?” Reki greeted, already making his way to their usual table. Langa and Miya followed suit, Langa nodding at Kojiro and Miya barely looking up from his game. Kaoru took a seat across from them as the three younger ones scooted into a corner booth.
“I’ll take the usual.” Kaoru said coolly.
“You know you’re taking away seats from actual customers, right?” Kojiro pouted, mentally noting if he had already cleaned up the supplies for the food the boys usually liked.
“Yes, because there are so many customers here at 11:59 PM, Kojiro.” Kaoru gestured loosely to the empty tables, some of which already had chairs turned up. Miya let out a sharp laugh at that, not taking his eyes off whatever he was playing. Langa and and Reki peered over his shoulders, watching the scree intently. Kojiro huffed, already making his way to the kitchen.
“There could be, if they didn’t hear about the loud skater gang that keeps crashing this place.”
“It’s ok Joe, we know you get lonely here!!” Reki shouted, Kojiro walking out of the dining room.
20 minutes later, Kojiro left the kitchen with minimal damage to his clean up process, bringing their food to the table. He pulled out a chair, sitting down next to Kaoru.
“So what brings you guys in tonight, other than to ruin my business’ reputation?” Kojiro asked as Miya saved his game and placed it in his lap.
“We were practicing some new tricks. Cherry offered to show us how his skateboard works too and we couldn’t really pass that up.” Langa said, grabbing a fork as he started to eat his pasta. Kaoru smirked at that.
“Yeah it was pretty epic! Makes me wanna learn how to use AI stuff in my own boards.” Reki chimed in, as he began to eat as well.
“I’d be happy to teach you more about ‘AI stuff’, Reki. It’s a hobby of mine I’ve been meaning to devote more time to.” Kaoru glanced sidelong at Kojiro, challenging him to an unknown yet exceedingly familiar fight.
“Aren’t you like, some super rich calligrapher too?” Miya asked, cutting into the fish on his plate and taking a bite. He nodded at Kojiro. “Whatever this one is, it’s good. You should put it on the menu.”
“Yes, yes, I know Kaoru is amazing and talented and beautiful etc. etc. I hear this enough at S, I do not need to be hearing it in my own restaurant.”
“No one here mentioned ‘beautiful’ .” Miya interjected. Kaoru choked back a laugh. Kojiro felt his face flush as he stammered.
“It was an example , Miya.”
“Yeah, an example of how whipped you are.” Reki snorted. The younger boys burst out laughing at that.
Kojiro really was a saint for feeding them without payment. Was he getting payed for this? No, stupid question, he owned this place. He deadpanned as the group continued to laugh, but caught a glimpse of Kaoru looking at him fondly as he glanced sideways.
After one hour and a few more laughs at Kojiro’s expense, the boys finished their meals, deciding they were done tormenting their target of choice for the day. Kojiro cleaned up the last few tables as Kaoru sat at the bar, watching as they left.
“Langa, you wanna come to my place?” Reki asked, holding the door open for the other two boys.
“Sorry man, my mom will be worried if I’m not there tomorrow morning, see you tomorrow though.” He ducked under Reki’s arm, leaving the building. Miya stiffened, almost unnoticeable, before continuing out the door as well.
“ ‘Aight, I understand. See ya, bye Miya!” Reki shouted, taking off on his board into the cool night air.
“Bye” Langa sped off in the opposite direction as the door swung closed.
Kojiro paused,watching through the window as he wiped down the table where they sat at. Miya stood for a moment, completely still like a deer in headlights. All at once, he heaved out what looked like a sigh, posture crumpling a bit. Before Kojiro could even move, the youngest skater had looked up again, dropping his board and skating into the night.
An uneasy feeling began to stir in Kojiro’s gut.
Kojiro furrowed his thick brows as he stood up, flipping up the final chairs and walking back to Kaoru, who was currently drinking the last sip of his glass of white wine. Immediately, he took notice of Kojoro’s demeanor.
“What’s wrong?” Kaoru asked, setting down his glass with a clink. Kojiro picked up his glass and leaned over the oak-wood bar, placing it in the sink on the other side.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Kojiro gave a small smile as Kaoru held out his hand. Kojiro pulled him up from the seat. “Let’s go home.”
——
Kojiro sighed as he opened the fridge, illuminating the kitchen. He filled a glass of water, glancing back to look at the time. 4:42 AM It blinked back, the blue glow of the LEDs casting over the marble countertops. He shook his head as he took a sip from the now full glass.
He had not slept a single minute since they had arrived home, which was quickly becoming a matter of annoyance. Since he started spending most nights at Kaoru’s place, Kojiro found that he had been blessed with near perfect sleep. Although the arrangement had been made with Kaoru’s sleep troubles in mind, Kojiro found that he too benefited quite a bit from sleeping next to his boyfriend.
Except for tonight, of course.
Kojiro tried to push his annoyance out of mind, knowing that it, on top of everything else, was not going to be helpful in the sleep department. He hadn’t been able to find peace of mind since the restaurant, the unsettling feeling in his stomach refusing to let him rest. At least there was no S tomorrow, not like he could skate on no hours of sleep. Maybe he could get his staff to sub in cooking if he called in sick for work.
The kitchen light flicked on, stopping Kojiro’s thoughts in their tracks. A sleep worn Kaoru stood in the doorway, hair undone and a robe pulled over his body. He adjusted his glasses on his face.
“What are you doing up?” Kaoru asked, still blinking away tiredness.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Kojiro took another sip of water before placing the glass on the counter. Kaoru walked over, taking a seat at the counter across from Joe.
“I have a medical reason. You sleep like a log unless somethings on your mind.” Kaoru looked up at him, smiling softly.
Even half asleep, he was always right on the nose. Kaoru was too smart for his own good.
Kojiro groaned, leaning down against the countertop so he had to look up to meet Kaoru’s eyes. It would help to talk it out, even if it was stupid.
“I have this feeling in my gut. A bad one.”
“A bad feeling? Not bad food, like the resta-”
“No not like the restaurant in LA.” Kojiro let out a chuckle as Kaoru smiled one of his private smiles, reserved only for inside jokes between them. Kojiro’s face dimmed again as he continued to speak.
“I’m worried about Miya… which is kind of stupid, we saw him tonight, he’s fine! So then why…” Kaoru nodded as Kojiro trailed off, encouraging him to keep going. Kojiro let out another deep sigh.
“I mean, don’t you even wonder? I got started thinking tonight after the boys left. How does Miya even come out with them? Reki and Langa are 17, so it makes sense for them to stay out late. But Miya, he’s 13! Either his parents don’t care enough to set curfews, or he sneaks out every night- both of which aren’t great options.” Kojiro stood up fully as he continued. “And how does he do his school stuff, professional skating, and S. Where is the time there? Something has to give unless he’s not getting any sleep at all. And have you seen what he eats? Barely anything except for fish, which is pretty low calorie! I mean, he’s growing, he needs to eat actual food!”
A weight seemed to drop off Kojiro’s shoulders as he said this, dreariness taking its place. Kaoru stood up, rounding the counter and bringing his arms around Kojiro into a comforting hug. Kojiro quickly reciprocated, pressing his face into the crook of Kaoru’s neck.
“You’re so good at worrying about others, Kojiro.” Kaoru pulled him closer. “I understand your worries about Miya, though. He’s so young, and your concerns are valid.”
Kojiro made a noncommittal noise, unmoving from his position.
“I know we’ve only known the kids for a couple months but… I just want to make sure he’s ok, you know?”
“I know. We’ll keep an eye on him, make sure he’s doing ok. For now though…” Kaoru pulled back, looking at what was now a very tired Kojiro. “... let’s get back to bed.”