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The summer festival is perhaps Kojiro and Kaoru’s oldest tradition. They’ve gone together every year since they met without fail, no exceptions. It didn’t matter if they had to bail on a romantic partner, fly home from another country, or ditch an internship with a master calligrapher; summer festival is sacred. Every year they put on yukata, purchase a traditional mask, and spend the evening competing at games and sampling food before closing the night out with the fireworks.
It’s Kaoru’s turn to pick the game, the loser having to buy food of the winner’s choice. The shooting game. Of course he’d pick that one, the AI residing in his contacts would ensure his victory. Within mere seconds of being handed the toy rifle, he’s shot down a grand prize with ease. Not that he even cares about the prize, which he hands off to the nearest interested child. His real reward is rubbing it in Kojiro’s face, which he does. Gleefully.
“You’re awfully smug for a cheater. I know you’ve got your robot eyes in.”
“Her name is Carla and they’re contacts, not eyes. Anyways, open your wallet. I’m in the mood for something sweet.” The request makes Kojiro groan. The pink fiend was no doubt planning on ordering some monstrosity to feed his sweet tooth from hell. Kaoru hooks arms with him, dragging him through the crowds to his intended destination. The contact makes Kojiro’s heart turn backflips in his chest. Internally, he reprimands himself for feeling this way about the gesture. There’s no way Kaoru means anything by it, he’s just… Being Kaoru. Wonderful, breathtaking Kaoru, who has no idea the effect he has on his best friend.
At the stand, Kaoru gestures intently at various tubs of colored sugar. It makes no sense, all cotton candy tastes pretty much the same. But Kaoru’s always been one for aesthetics. When the one-way train to cavity town is prepared Kojiro reluctantly forks up the cash for it. Kaoru grins contentedly, tearing off a chunk of his massive rainbow cloud.
Kojiro shudders, “I don’t understand how you eat that crap. It’s literally a mountain of technicolor sugar.”
“And it’s fucking delicious,” Kaoru mumbles, mouth stuffed with the sweet treat. “It’s getting close to the fireworks show, we should head to our spot.” Kojiro nods carefully. Kaoru was still eating and the crowds had gotten dense, people might bump into him if he wasn't careful. On the other hand, they really should start heading to their spot early in order to preserve the secrecy of it. Kojiro takes a deep breath, he knows an easy solution, but it’s going to make his heart pound a hole through his chest. Carefully, he slips an arm around Kaoru’s waist. He stiffens for a moment, then relaxes into the touch and leans in towards Kojiro.
Fuck. This was going to be a long walk.
They make their way to their spot, a semi-secluded area they had discovered in middle school. It’s up on a hill overlooking the normal viewing area and has an arguably better view of the fireworks display. The hill is visible from down on the field but the access point is hidden in an odd spot, so they’ve been able to keep the location a secret all these years. He expects that Kaoru will pull away from him once they escape the masses, but he doesn’t. He lets Kojiro hold him all the way up to when they sit down.
From their vantage point, they can see everything: children playing, couples on dates, families enjoying the festival. It’s like they’re at the top of the world. A hush settles over the crowd as the first firework rises into the air. Bright golden sparks scatter across the sky, shimmering like fairy dust as it fades to black. For the next fifteen minutes, fireworks paint the night in brilliant hues, exploding through the darkness to spread a rainbow across the stars.
“It’s so beautiful,” Kaoru breathes in wonder. Kojiro looks over at him, his wide smile, the gleam in his eyes, and the colors that dance across his face.
“Yeah...Beautiful.” The unspoken words weigh heavy on his tongue. "You’re beautiful," he wants to say because he is certain that the world will never be able to show him anything more beautiful than Kaoru Sakurayashiki. But he can’t bring himself to say it out loud. A few years back the words would have come out easily, naturally, as if he was born to say them. Nowadays he gets caught up in his love for the other, afraid of crossing a line and sending Kaoru running for the hills. It’s foolish to trip up on two words he’s said countless times before, he knows that. But this ache in his chest, this yearning hadn’t been there back then. The sentiment had changed. From “you’re beautiful, you’re my best friend” to “you’re beautiful, more than anything else in the universe and I want to be yours.”
They stay after the fireworks to look at the stars like they always have. It’s Kojiro’s favorite part of the event. Everything else fades away and it’s just him, Kaoru, and the stars. Kaoru loves space, every year he speaks at length about the stars, planets, and everything else in the night sky. It’s wonderful seeing him so happy, Kojiro looks forward to it. The glow on Kaoru’s face is like nothing else. Minutes pass, and besides pointing out a few constellations, Kaoru doesn’t say a word.
“It’s way too quiet, you’re usually blowing my mind with your astronomy facts right now. What’s wrong?” It’s masterful the way Kojiro reads him. From the rise and fall of his chest to the slightest twitch of his brow, every movement Kaoru makes writes a story in a language that only Kojiro understands.
“Almost every element in the human body was made in a star, billions of years ago.” Kaoru sighs heavily, looking towards the heavens with a devastating expression. “I think about those stars sometimes, the ones that died so I could live. Who am I, that stars should sacrifice their light for me to exist? The way I am now, even with my career taking off the way it is, I don’t think I was worth it. I don’t think I ever could be.”
“Kaoru, look at me. You are worth it. You’re worth every star in every galaxy blinking out into darkness. Honestly, I’m surprised there are any left at all; it must take a lot of stardust to make someone as special as you. Even if you never touched a brush to paper, you would be worth it. ” Kojiro’s voice is so serious for such saccharine words. His gaze is intense; as if he’s trying to burn into Kaoru’s soul how much he matters, how very much he is worth so he never doubts himself like that again. “Those stars didn’t die to make some world-famous master calligrapher. They died to make you, Sakurayashiki Kaoru. Someone who is driven, smart, passionate, creative, and so much more. Someone who shines brighter than they ever could. For them, it’s an honor to be a part of you, I’m sure.”
He cracks a small smile, golden eyes shining with tears. And then Kaoru does the unexpected. He scoots closer and embraces Kojiro, pulling them both down until they’re laying across the grass. “Thank you, Kojiro,” he mumbles into the crook of his neck. Kaoru shifts positions so he can look up at the sky again, but remains curled against him. Kojiro’s hand hovers above his shoulder, afraid that if he makes contact then this will all disappear like some kind of mirage. Kaoru notices and tugs his hand down to wrap around him. Now fully settled, he begins to point out various celestial beings, speaking softly about their names and whether Kojiro should recognize them from years past.
“Shooting star,” Kaoru points a finger at the bright streak of starlight, tracing its path across the sky. “Make a wish.”
Kojiro reaches deep down to his heart’s greatest desire and closes his eyes tight, putting all his energy into the wish.
“I can feel you tensing. What are you wishing for that’s so serious?” Kaoru mumbles against Kojiro’s chest, right over his heart.
“If I tell you, it won’t come true. This one—it’s important to me.” He raises a hand, gently carding his fingers across Kaoru’s scalp. “You’ll just have to trust me that it’s something good.”
In another life perhaps he and Kaoru had been binary stars orbiting around each other. Maybe they had died together, fallen to Earth, and stayed together through innumerable lifetimes until becoming Nanjo Kojiro and Sakurayashiki Kaoru. It could be that they’ve always been each other’s side, since the very beginning. But if wishing on a star is worth anything at all, they’ll always be together. For when that shooting star came by, two people, two souls forever intertwined, made one shared wish.
“I’ll always be by your side—so please, stay with me. For always and forever.”