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“Kaoru!” Joe yelled over the noise of S. It was especially crowded tonight. “Ready for our beef?”
“Shut up you absolute buffoon!” Cheery hissed at his green haired counterpart as he walked over. He was alone today, which was unusual, but maybe he had sent his harem to go watch the race that was about to take place. “You know not to call me that in public.”
“Fine, Cherry. Remind me what the bet was again?” Joe looks Cherry in the eyes and cherry freezes. Only for a second though. Even though they've been dating for almost three months, Kaoru is still getting used to the way that Joe looks at him. It's so full of love and it makes him feel an emotion he doesn't even know how to describe besides warm. Kojiro makes him feel warm, and he's not used to it, but he likes it.
Kaoru punches Joe’s shoulder and hisses “Don't look at me like that you dimwit! But when you lose, you can make me my favorite and buy wine.”
“And when I win?” Kojiro asks, smirking and stepping a little closer to Kaoru. “What do I get?”
“I'll cook for you.” Cherry looks away and waves a hand at Joe. He loves his boyfriend, but showing any sort of affection in public, or at all really, makes him uncomfortable, so he does the opposite. Everyone thought they were rivals until they noticed that the two boys hang around each other at S, even though there is plenty of room to be apart, and now people don't quite know what to make of them. That was okay with them, though. What matters is that Kaoru and Kojiro both know that there is no malice behind their words.
Joe laughs. “What do you think that I’m joking? I'll have you know I can cook some food for myself.”
“It's not that, I'm just worried about the poor kitchen that you'd be using. Carla would have to call the fire department.” He laughs more, which irritates Kaoru. But only a little bit. After all, when you joke like this all the time, someone will most likely get their feelings hurt every now and then. Almost nothing really bothered Joe, though. They both knew their limits.
“I'll show you, you useless-”
“Really?” Joe cuts him off, still giggling to himself, “You would lose just to show me you can make a decent dinner?” He gets closer to Cherry, so his lips almost touch Kaoru’s ear and no one else will hear him. “How cute of you.”
Cherry’s face turns a deep shade of red. It's a good thing he was wearing his mask, or people could see the pink shades he turned when Loniro complimented him. That was another thing he wasn't exactly used to. It's not like Kojiro never compliments him, but words seem to mean a lot to Kaoru, and same goes for actions. Kojiro was always thoughtful of his feelings, even when Cherry wasn't quite sure what his feelings were exactly.
“I would never let you win, you stupid bunch of muscle. You must not have a brain if you think I would lose a race to you on purpose.” Cherry huffs and walks to the starting line. “Hurry up, Joe. Or are you scared?”
“I’m never scared of racing you Cherry.” Joe takes his place at the starting lights and they start. Red. Yellow. Yellow.
Green.
The race is on.
______
The race was so close most people didn't know who won at first, but when the instant replay came on, it showed that Cherry had won the beef.
“Looks like the brute lost to me again.” Cherry said, sounding smug. “I think you owe me something”
“I let you win, I don't want you to burn down my kitchen” Joe said as he walked over to Cherry again, board in hand. “And besides you know i'll cook for you any time.” He added with a wink.
And Cherry just let out a huff. As he turned and walked away he said, “Well what are you waiting for. Let's go.”
Kojiro chuckled and jogged until he caught up with Kaoru, “What do you want me to make?”
“Hmm..” Kaoru pretends to think, but they both know what he wants. Asking me a formality at this point. “I'd like some carbonara.”
“Of course, Kaoru” Joe smiles at Cherry, expecting him to throw a come back at him, but Cherry stays quiet. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all Kojiro.” Cherry really was tired, but that's not the only thing that's really bothering him. Sure, he might come off as confident, and for the most part he is, but when he is in a relationship he can be very insecure. He's not easy to live by any means, and he knows it. He hopes Kojiro knows he’s trying his best.
“Okay if you're sure that's all, but if you need anything, I'm here for you.”
“Thank you.”
That scared Joe a little bit, because Cherry never really thanks people unless it's business related. However, he drops it because he knows pushing won't get him anywhere.
They continued back to Kojiro’s restaurant in silence. He unlocked the door. “You can go and sit down anywhere you want and I'll go make the food.” Joe smiles and to Kaoru, his smile is so bright the sun couldn't compete with him. There is nothing warmer and brighter than him.
Cherry walks in wordlessly and sits down, and Joe heads for the kitchen. The smells of the food make Cherry feel even hungrier and a little more tired, so he leans over onto his propped up hand and doses off slowly to the sound of Joe humming quietly and his favorite food on the stove.
______
Kojiro shakes his boyfriend awake gently and sits down on a plate full of carbonara. It's fresh and soft ribbons of steam rise off the plate. “You better eat it while it's fresh, it is better that way.”
“It smells delicious, maybe you are good for something” Kaoru’s voice doesn't have its usual edge, and Kojiro knows that's his way of showing his appreciation. That's how he’s always been, and he wouldn't want him to change for the world.
They eat for a few minutes in the quiet restaurant until Joe realizes he forgot to bring out the wine. “Hold on just a second, I forgot the wine.”
Cherry nods and continues to enjoy the food that Joe made him. He always makes every dish perfectly and with passion. He loved his career choice, and it really showed.
A moment later Joe walks in and pours them both glasses of wine. They talk some and eat quietly some, quietly laughing about old jokes and getting into small joking arguments, just like they're used to. Kaoru is on his fifth glass of wine but Kojiro had decided to stop after his first because someone had to be able to get them back to their apartment safely later. Kaoru is not great with directions most of the time, anyways, since he relied heavily on Carla for boring daily things like directions to places, setting timers, making and checking appointments with people, and other things along those lines.
When they were done with their dinners, the conversation somehow made its way to Joe’s tattoos.
“Yeah, I was thinking of maybe getting another one. They’re fun to get, even if they do hurt a little immediately.” Kojiro explained.
“Maybe you should get a heart with my name tattooed in it.” The pink haired man suggested in a monotone voice. Cherry looked serious. He didn't laugh like he usually would after he suggested that.
Joe blushed slightly at that idea. “Maybe I will.”
“Kojiro, I was joking. What if we didn't work out? What if you get stuck with a tattoo of something you don't want?”
Joe considers it. “We're not breaking up. I mean come on, we're practically married, just haven't had the ceremony. Plus I could always cover it up with something if that's what you're so worried about.”
“Wow, you could just erase me that quickly huh?” Get rid of my name the second something goes wrong?” This time Kaoru was tearing up a little. Sometimes he got emotional when he had too much to drink.
“No, it's not like that. I'm sorry I upset you. I don't know if i could really bring myself to get rid of it, even if something did happen, which it's not going to.” Kojiro stands up and kisses Kaoru on the cheek affectionately. He knows Kaoru can also sometimes be a little hesitant to physical affection in any form, and tries to be careful of that. “Let's go home, Kaoru.” He smiles.
Kaoru smiles back. His eyes aren't on the brink of spilling over anymore. Whoever Kojiro smiled at him like that he felt happy and loved.
______
The next morning, neither of the two men had to work so they usually slept in. However, when Kaoru woke up, Kojiro was gone. He had gone looking all over the apartment but he had no luck finding Joe. He guessed he went grocery shopping or went to clean the restaurant. He didn't think they cleaned up yesterday.
Cherry decided to settle on their comfortable sofa with a few pillows, a blanket, some lit candles, and a book he had been meaning to read for a while. He was cozy and content, not really worried about his boyfriend. He had a feeling wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he was safe.
______
Cherry was about forty pages into the book he had started when he heard How rattle the keys into the lock. He shut his book and went to stand by the door to greet him. “Hello, Kojiro.”
The sight of Cherry and his sudden greeting caught Joe off guard. “Morning.” Joe said, regaining his composure, “How have you been?”
“I've been good so far. Just started a book I have been wanting to read for a while. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, well it was kind of a surprise for your birthday.” Kojiro says, scratching his neck with
one hand and putting the other on his hip, letting out a small laugh. With his arms in that position, Kaoru could see a small bandage patch on his left rib cage.
“Kojiro what did you do? I see a bandage, are you hurt?” He asks. slipping closer to inspect what he thought was a wound.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Koji-”
“I really mean it I’m fine. It's just a small part of your birthday present, that's all. But if you're so worried I guess I can show you now. It's still fresh though.”
“Okay.” Kaoru answers simply, wanting to see what was under the bandage.
Joe undoes the small bandage, and takes it off. Cherry is actually speechless.
“Kojiro, is that for me?”
“Yeah. I hope you like it…”
“I love it. You have great taste.” He smiles to make sure his point gets across to Joe, who can be rather dense sometimes.
On his ribcage was a new tattoo. There was a cluster of cherry blossoms, and to Kaoru, this meant the world. It means that Kojiro really was in this for the long haul, that he would be there through thick and thin, better or worse. He loves Kojiro, and Kojiro loves him. And that means a lot more than words ever really could.