Chapter Text
Kojiro was, by mostly everyones standard, handsome. Such that almost every country he travelled to the people adored him. When training in culinary school he spent holidays in night market food fairs in the Mediterranean. He was conversational, could be taking someones order one minute and talk about the specific brand of Vermouth he'd drink for the rest of his life for an hour.
But if Kojiro was universal in his charm, Karou was ethereal. Karou's skill with the brush was as matched as Kojiro's with culinary skill, but the way he interacted with people was so skilfully classy that few people could match the elegance he held conversations. Karou could walk into any room and there would be people that would turn and a hush would fall over the room.
Kojiro noticed this for the first time when Karou suprised him in Barcelona. He says 'suprised' lightly, Karou was there on business but that resturant, at that time, well he would've had to do a bit of digging for that.
"Karou?" Kojiro knew it couldn't have been anyone else, he was unmistakable even from a distance. He didn't seem too much older, maybe the silver peircings were gone but it was him.
"Kojiro." Karou nodded slightly with a grin, "Nice to see you again, I've missed you." His voice was lighter than before, not in pitch but held a newer quality. Unburdened perhaps? Whatever that sounded like. But knowing Karou...
"Who wouldn't? You couldn't ever get a face like this anywhere else." Karou grinned... there werd no insults, no exasperatded sounds... had he forgotten what this was like?
"You're still the same Kojiro,"
"What, handsome?"
"No, painfully humble." There it was. There was an uneasy tone to Karou before, but he was back now; in all his glorious nature. Kojiro examined him; not in the disingenuously way he'd look at the women behind the counters to make them feel special, but the samd way he'd looked at him years ago.
"These are new," Kojiro ran his fingers down a fine strand of chain that dangled from Karou's ear adorned with smooth shapes that mimicked blossom petals. Karou's eyes flicked from panic back to serene.
"The cherry blossoms? They have their own charm." Kojiro held himself back from saying something devastatingly character-breaking.
"Where'd they come from?"
"A client. I worked for a jeweller temporarily and they designed this pair for me as a farewell." Kojiro found themselves facinated, the multitudes of candles and tealights that filled the room filled the petals with shades of pink that flooded Karou's hair with mystical shades of... cherry blossoms. "You don't usually show interest in these things Kojiro."
"Just taking notes on what I can get the next lucky lady."
"Charming." A lull. They'd never suffered one before. There was banter, mainly name-calling, but they'd never suffered a minute of silence.
Karou wouldn't have clasified it as a lull. He was, for what felt like the first time in a while, home. Calligraphy paied well, and the upcoming development on his AI system was quickly being perfected for his scheduled. But he wasn't on his schedual, this was Barcelona.
"What time do you get off work?"
"1... this place is most lively at night."
It was 11pm. But Karou had spent too much time pondering whether or not to go find him, he had a matter of days left here.
"I'll meet you out front,"
"No, meet me at the beach... where the market stalls are usually."
"Okay then. 1pm, the beach"
"Do you have your board on you?"
Karou hesitated... the answer was yes but it wasn't the one Kojiro was accustomed to. It'd be too much change for one night.
"No, who brings a board on a business trip?"
"I'll bring two. See you there."
~~
Karou wasn't really suprised that he hadn't seen Kojiro. It was 1:10am and he was glad he'd taken a siesta otherwise he'd be curled on the sand.
But, views like these were strange. Boats of unimaginable size, docking into port with a strange array of coloured crates stacked in lines to the right, and behind him eternally winding streets of sandstone. But no Kojiro.
"Karou." There he was
"You're late." Karou flipped his head back to find Kojiro sitting on a picnic mat behind him, two wine glasses and a bottle between them.
"You're usually more observant than that."
"I would be if you hadn't kept me up this late."
"Oh I'm sorry is it past your bedtime?"
"Gorilla,"
"You're back" Kojiro's voice broke, his breathing trembled with some sort of... relief? Karou didn't want to snap back at him, this was home and he knew it.
"Kojiro_"
"Come, drink with me." It was a request, not a demand. A request Karou wasn't dumb enough to deny. Scuttling back onto the picnic rug, he waited for Kojiro to pour their glasses.
"What are we celebrating?" Karou asked as he picked up his glass. A rosé? Kojiro usually didn't drink rosés?
"I don't know. You tell me?" Silence drifted, as Karou took in the atmostphere. The waves slowly rocking against the sand, the salt, the sounds of sleeping cities.
"Home."
"Home?" Karou wasn't usually sentimental, the existence of other people living around him usually was of little consequence unless they were clients but here...
"For finding a home away from normality."
"We never settled for normal Karou."
"I suppose not."
There's a echoing of clinking glasses as both of the men take a sip. Karou looks at peace... no more than that he looks calm. It was a rarity, seeing him away from his persona of prestige, class and stubborness that would make him unforgettable.
"Karou." His response was just a little sound, his words caught in the back of his head. "Why are you here?"
"On business, selecting the materials for a new project. There's a specific metalworker__"
"No, on this beach. In that resturant. Waiting."
"I missed seeing you." Karou took a second to recollect their thoughts. "Not in the 'I need you' and its all about me sense. I needed to make sure that you were okay, still enjoying what you do. Seeing you working is... you've achieved so much. And I'm proud of you"
A pause
"I'm proud of you Nanjo Kojiro."
Kojiro could hear exactly two things in that moment. Karou's breathing, and his own heartbeat which ricochet in his ears so loudly he felt them go red.
"You're saying you don't need me?"
"Ape," Karou muttered taking a long sip of his wine.
"Wait. Not so fast, I don't want you at my room drunk."
"Who said I'm staying at your place?"
"I want to make you breakfast" And that was the least most honest thing Kojiro had said all night.
~~
There was no suprise that they skated to his appartment. But where the streets of Okinawa are smooth and usually flat, Barcelona was rough, worn down by the amount of foot traffic due to markets and shopping districts in the area. So, it wasn't a board Kojiro was accustomed to. It was an off-road longboard, sturdy thick wheels which needed no push to keep it going. It took a bit of learning for even Kojiro to handle it, but it became second nature quickly.
"Why are you here?"
"With you?"
"No, in Barcelona?" Karou asked, geninely interested in what Kojiro was up to.
"Well, as much as I do dream of an Italian resturant back in Okinawa and it is my speciality, a good chef should know at least the tricks of the trade from other places."
"What other places have you been?"
"Oh, you know." Kojiro's smug face only adds to his whole posture while skating. His hands through his hair, loose shirt; one thing is for sure the muscle he'd amassed back in Okinawa had at least doubled. Gorgeous, by all accounts. "Paris, Amsterdam, London, Athens. I do plan for Australia and India but they're further out."
"You travel pretty often then"
"Only during holidays. I never want to stop learning and wherever I go people are happy to teach me."
"You've always been lucky like that."
"Like what?"
"Loved learning. Its admirable." Karou was being genuine. And it seemed, now was Kojiro after talking about food enough.
"Why thank you, I'm happy you see me as an inspiration." Karou chuckled.
"Always happy to help that ego." Karou rolled his eyes, but the smile lingered.
"Hey Karou."
"Yes Kojiro?"
"Thank you."
"For what."
"Coming here." Kojiro sighed. "I missed you too."
~~
"Welcome to the appartment." Karou didn't know exactly what to expect, but he wouldn't havr guessed this. The appartment was just below ground level, a few skylights at the back and completely open plan. A few plants, all Kojiros clothes neatly hung on a rack anf everything was... clean.
"It's_"
"Small, quaint. I get by."
"I was going to say nice. Its quite nice."
"It reminded me of home." Home. They kept saying it, thinking it yet... perhaps they were finding it. The light hit the edge of Karou's earings again, hues of pink speckling the walls. His hair had not even changed shade, it was the same soothing colour that had sailed past him during races.
"You keep looking at them."
"What?"
"The earings." He wasn't entirely wrong. But it was the rest of them. "Come here, you can look at them." Karou moved his hand to take them off.
"No, you don't have to I'll just..." Kojiro ran his fingers along it again. Little beads sat in the center of clusters and... Karou smelt of vanilla. His hair sat in ringlets at his shoulders, on his cheek and reminded Kojiro of everything he had been missing.
"Kojiro."
"Mmh." Kojiro was barely paying attention, eyes taking a while to truly grasp that he was here.
"I'm going to honestly warn you. No one has put me in this situation in a while and..." Karou didn't know how to finish that sentence but he didn't need to. Kojiro's hand was resting just below Karou's scalp, intertwined with his hair. And Karou... not terrified, but his breathing was sharp.
"I didn't mean_"
"It's okay, I just wanted to_"
"You're not seeing anyone?"
"No. You?"
"No." Kojiro softly let go of Karou and sat on the edge of his bed holding out his hand for Karou to join him. Karou's fingers hover over his hand before taking it and sitting next to him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes I... I didn't prepare myself for this today." A lie, he'd spent a week trying to prepare himself for seeing Kojiro but nothing could've truly prepared him.
"To see me?" Karou hated this, vunerability. "For the record. Every time I start a new job, I remeber you coming to my apprentice job in Okinawa; sitting there not even wanting to be served, just to do your homework. And I want, so desperately, for you to be in my restaurants again, being you: sucessful and stubborn and you.
And... I imagine you sitting there, getting clients and organising jobs while I get the pleasure of knowing you."
"Kojiro_"
"I promise that to you. Soon." Karou, for the first time in a while, felt like he was worth more than the ethereal persona he'd created. "You do inspire me. Don't go thinking this is one sided. If anything you inspire me more."
"This isn't a competition Gorilla."
"I know. Just... food for thought." Kojiro nestled his head in Karou's shoulder and rested his eyes. Karou hands tingled, but his rough breathing began to smoothen. Kojiro's hair was incredibly soft, his hands in his covered in calluses and his breathing could replace the lullabies he used to sleep.
Karou drew circles in his Kojiro's hair with his fingers, feeling the strands twist around his fingers as he watched him fall into a slumber.
~~
Karou didn't stay for breakfast. Kojiro found a note "Sorry, my flight out was at 5am this morning," which he knew, he knew Karou was in Barcelona, he knew he had been here for a week, he didn't know if Karou wanted to see him.
On the bedside table, a single chain strand of cherry blossom earings.
Kojiro swore he was going to give them back before he finished culinary school.