Chapter Text
It had been two weeks and Mondo's brain was absolutely wracked by one particular thought.
Something Kiyotaka, his best friend, had said to him. Mondo was unsure how Taka had really meant it, or if he intended to say it at all. It must've been a mistake, right? There's no way Taka would say something like that so casually.
"I love you, Mondo!" Taka had said—rather enthusiastically—as he waved goodbye to the biker from the front porch of his home. Mondo didn't respond verbally, rather just watched as his friend disappeared into the house and left Mondo waving for a bit too long.
"What the fuck." Mondo muttered to himself, completely thrown off by the exchange of such affection. They were close and all, sure, but they had never said anything like that. Well, at least not in the way Taka said it.
Maybe, just maybe, Mondo was overthinking it.
He just couldn't tell if Taka had meant it in a light-hearted friendly way, or possibly by accident, or.. something else that he was afraid to even think about.
He had only partially come to terms with his feelings for Taka, but he wouldn't dare to imagine that he would feel the same. He knew Taka wasn't homophobic—he was an avid supporter of Sakura and Aoi's relationship—but he definitely couldn't be gay. Right?
The ultimate moral compass, being anything other than heterosexual? It seemed illogical. Or did it? He was certainly different than other straight guys Mondo knew, but was it really possible?
Needless to say, Mondo was confused, and he started to act differently because of it. Things just became uncomfortable, and it wasn't subtle. Taka hadn't mentioned how distant Mondo was being, or how he blatantly avoided him several times. The prefect wasn't perfect when it came to social cues, but he wasn't oblivious to his friend's behavior. Of course, he would assume he had done something wrong, and would take it as a sign to give him space, so that's exactly what he did.
Mondo knew this better than anyone and still.. he did nothing. God damn, he was stupid.
***
"Um, Mondo.. Can I talk to you real quick?" Aoi had asked just as class ended. "Sure, what's up?" Mondo replied.
"Well, it's about Taka.. and you."
Mondo held his breath.
"You guys haven't hung out at all.. or even talked.. recently. I'm worried about it, and Taka seems really sad lately. Did something happen?" The swimmer asked cautiously.
"Ah.. uhm.. y'know, I gotta get goin'." Mondo tried to say as he turned to leave, but the short girl grabbed his arm, stopping him mid step. "Mondo, come on, what happened? Taka is one of my best friends and if you did something to hurt him.. Sakura will beat you up!" Aoi said, determined to find out what happened.
The biker sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He absolutely did not want Sakura getting involved; he could never fight a girl, besides she could definitely kill him if she wanted to. "Listen, it's complicated.. I dunno what's goin' on right now.." He said, unsure of how to explain. "He just.. he said somethin' and it's got me freaked out, alright?" He raised his voice a bit—a nervous habit.
Aoi crossed her arms stubbornly. "What did he say?" She asked. Mondo groaned, trying to act as if he wasn't terrified to tell her. Why was he so scared again?
"He-.. fuck, he.." He paused and Aoi looked unamused. "He said that he loves me.. and shit, I'm not sure what to think 'bout it." Mondo managed to say, looking away from the short girl.
"That's it? Did he, like, confess? Or did he just say he loves you?" She asked. "Confess?! I-I dunno! He just said it and I dunno how to feel!" He shouted defensively. Aoi sighed, "You're ridiculous. Please talk to him, that's such a stupid thing to end a friendship over."
"What am I supposed to say?! It's so weird now.." He was starting to sound kinda desperate, Aoi pitied him a little bit. "Mondo, why do you think it's so weird? Why do you feel so weird about it?" She asked. "Normal friends can say they love each other with no problem, especially when they're so close.. and you two were like.. two peas in a pod!" She paused briefly, "This is just a guess but.. is it weird for you because you like him and you're not ready to accept that?" She asked rather bluntly.
Mondo took a step back, feeling called out. "Why the fuck would you ask that?!" He really tried to not sound obvious, but was failing miserably. "Mondo.. it's okay if you do.." Aoi reassured quietly. "I really gotta go.." The biker said firmly before escaping the confines of the classroom as quickly as he could.
He was starting to feel really shitty, all he wanted was to go home and be away from everyone. He just needed to have time to think, he'd figure it out eventually, right?
Not quite.
Once he got home, his mind just became more cluttered. He paced around his bedroom like an idiot, ignoring the sound of his phone ringing endless. Aoi, Hiro, Sakura, and Chihiro had been calling non-stop, but he really couldn't handle a conversation about anything right now.
He sat on his bed and sighed. "Man, this fuckin' sucks." He said to himself before the sound of knocking caught his attention. "Shit.." He got to his feet and made his way to the front door. "Please don't be Taka, please God." He silently prayed to whatever God that was out there before he cautiously opened the door.
Unfortunately, God was not on his side today, because the person standing in front of him was none other than Kiyotaka himself.
"Hello." The prefect said. There was a short pause before he bowed deeply, "I'm so sorry for whatever I have done to upset you, please forgive me." Mondo let out a sound of surprise and stared at him with his mouth agape. "Okay okay! Just stand up, ya don't have to apologize." He said, panicking slightly.
Taka slowly stood up, making eye contact. "Please tell me what I did wrong so I don't make the same mistake." Mondo felt terrible now, he completely overreacted and Taka was blaming himself. "Taka.. You didn't do anything wrong. Ya wanna come in?" Mondo asked carefully.
The biker stepped aside and he entered slowly. After removing his shoes with care, he followed Mondo to his bedroom and lingered near the doorway.
"Man, I'm sorry.. I'm makin' such a big deal out of nothing."
"I don't really understand what's going on.."
"I don't know if ya remember.. but a couple weeks ago I dropped you off at yer house and.. what ya said really threw me off.." Mondo tried to explain, but he was being far too vague.
Taka didn't say anything, but he looked like he was thinking hard. "What did I say..? Th-that I love you?" He questioned. "YEAH! Ya never said that before!" Mondo shouted nervously. "I haven't..? I apologize. Did it make you uncomfortable?" The hall monitor asked, his eyebrows scrunched up with worry.
"No, I just.." Mondo started, sighing as he made an internal decision. "Okay Taka, I need to tell ya something, but I didn't plan for this so I'm just gonna come out and say it.. Okay?" Taka nodded.
"Okay.. uh I.. I like you! Or whatever.." Mondo said, clearly embarrassed. "I like you too, bro!" Taka responded, looking a bit confused. "No.. Taka ya don't understand, I like you.. Not in a bro way.." Mondo clarified, watching as the other's expression changed. "Oh! Oh.. is this a joke?" He asked in an accusatory tone.
"No! Why would I joke about somethin' like that?!" Mondo asked, becoming increasingly flustered. "I just don't understand.. Why would you like me? Out of all the talented girls and boys at Hope's Peak?" Taka was staring at the floor now. "Because they're not you, Taka. You're just.. different, you're special." The biker said, doing his best to keep the volume down.
They stood in near silence, the only noise filling the room was the barely audible sound of Taka shifting from side to side on the hardwood floor. "Um.. I have to go." The prefect eventually said, keeping his eyes down as he turned and exited the room. Mondo followed close behind, "Do you want a ride home?" He asked, sounding just a bit overbearing.
"No thank you, I can walk." Taka declined politely as he put his tall boots back on, lacing them perfectly. "I apologize for my sudden appearance." He said, standing up once again. "Goodbye, I hope to see you at school." His voice sounded so forced and monotonous, it made Mondo's stomach drop.
After another pause for God knows what, Taka left and Mondo felt dread consuming him whole. "Holy shit, what did I do..?" He asked aloud, "This is bad.." He groaned pathetically and dragged himself back to his room. Conveniently, his phone was ringing and he gave no further thought as he answered.
"Mondo! My man, you finally pick up." Hiro's relaxed voice came through on the other line. "Listen, I'm worried about Taka. He's been so down.. What's goin' on?" Mondo sighed deeply, "Yeah well I'm pretty sure I just made it a lot fuckin' worse."
Hiro tsked, "Well all I can say is to fix it before Takaaki finds out, y'know how he is." Mondo cringed at the sound of his name, "Yeah that would be bad.. Can you help me though? I dunno how to deal with this shit."
"What even happened?" Hiro questioned. "Jesus fuck.. He said he loved me and I've been freakin' out about it.. and then I fucked it up even more by confessin' to him.'' Mondo explained, his frustration coming through very clearly. "Oh, I didn't know you played for that team, cool." The clairvoyant said lightheartedly. "Hiro I swear to God.. Can we focus on something that isn't that?"
Hiro chuckled on the other side of the line, "Sure thing, man. What do you need me to do?" Mondo exhaled slowly, "Shit, I dunno. Maybe, check on him when he gets home? Try to figure out what the fuck is goin' on because clearly I can't." Hiro hummed, "Alright, I'll see what I can do." And with that, he disconnected.