Work Text:
It’s a hot summer day, the sound of pencils scratching against paper are accompanied by the buzzing cry of cicadas. Kojiro groans.
“Can’t they turn up the ac?” He leans back in his chair, running his hands through his hair. “If we were skateboarding, we’d be way cooler.”
“And who’s fault is it we’re stuck here, idiot.” Kaoru doesn’t look up from the paper he’s marking. Kojiro can’t help but note that there are a lot of red marks.
“Did I do that badly on the practice sheet?” Kojiro mumbles, and Kaoru rolls his eyes.
“What do you think?” He jots down a couple numbers at the top, circling it like a teacher would. A nice and neat 10/50. “You didn’t even make it to a passing grade.”
“Japanese literature is hard…” Kojiro grumbles, snatching the paper and running his eyes down the page.
“Rather than a question of it being hard, did you even read the book?”
“I did!” Kojiro grimaces. He really did, but it was so boring he didn’t remember any of it. “I don’t get why this one is wrong, though. It’s close enough to what you wrote down, isn’t it?”
“Well that’s because—“ Kaoru’s words slowly drown out as Kojiro rests his cheek on his palm, watching him talk. His words feel like a lullaby as Kojiro watches the way the bright sunlight slants against his pink hair, glinting off the piercings in his ears and lip, lighting his golden eyes on fire. Kojiro could definitely look at Kaoru forever and not get tired of it.
“Kojiro, Kojiro!” Kaoru’s voice suddenly snaps him from his daze. “Did you hear me?” Kojiro scratches the back of his neck.
“Can you repeat it?” Kojiro grins sheepishly, and Kaoru sighs heavily.
“No way. Go ask the teacher later.” Kaoru says. Kojiro shrugs his shoulders. He probably won’t go. Or maybe he will, and try to get another tutoring session with Kaoru. Not that he’d say that. His pencil taps against the desk as he thinks.
“Kojiro, quit spacing out and fill in the worksheet.” Kaoru raps his pen against the desk in front of Kojiro, bringing him back to attention.
“Yeah, yeah, quit being so annoying.”
“Annoying? I’m here because you can’t figure this stuff out, idiot.” Kaoru grumbles, his pen tapping against the other page as he reads, and Kojiro goes back to his worksheet.
“Yeah, cuz the teacher asked you too, right?” The tapping stops and Kojiro looks up. Kaoru’s eyes don’t meet his, looking around the room, like he’s searching for something he can’t find.
“Yeah uh, and because I need someone to race me. Not many people can keep up with me.” Kojiro’s mouth drops open, watching as Kaoru’s cheeks turn the same pink as his namesake. Then he smiles a great big smile.
“Aww, I’m your buddy huh.” He leans forward, laughing. “You’d miss me if you were out skating alone, huh.”
“Shut up!” Kaoru hisses, grinding his teeth. His face is now a bright cherry red, and he rubs the bridge of his nose. “Forget I said anything!”
“No way!”
“Kojiro I’m gonna kick your ass! Now finish your worksheet!” Kojiro continues laughing, leaning back in his seat. After a few moments, he calms down, pulling himself back up in his chair.
“Sure, sure, I’ll finish it, then let’s go skating.” Kojiro smiles as he gets back to work. He doesn’t know if he’ll tell him his feelings, but having Kaoru by his side is enough for now.
“Of course.”