Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Kojiro arrived home from school, he was greeted by the comforting smell of his mom’s tomato sauce. He kicked off his shoes and ran into the kitchen, slipping and sliding on the tile all the way.

“Mama! I’m home!”

“Kojiro!” Mama wiped her hands off with the kitchen towel thrown over her shoulder and leaned down to pick him up. “How was school today?” She asked as she plopped a kiss on his forehead.

“It was okay. Mama, what are you cooking? Can I help you?” His big eyes were shining with excitement.

Mama beamed with pride at the fact that her son had inherited her love for cooking. “I’m making spaghetti with the sauce Oka-san loves. Of course you can help, mi amore!” Kojiro always laughed when she switched from Japanese to her native Italian. “Go wash your hands and you can help me chop some veggies, okay?”

Kojiro didn’t even nod as he scurried off to the bathroom, splashing loudly as he quickly washed his hands and ran back into the kitchen with water dripping off his tiny fingers. “I’m ready!”

His mother gently dried his hands with her kitchen towel before pulling up a step stool so Kojiro could reach the counter. She grabbed a head of lettuce from the fridge and watched approvingly as her son washed it under the faucet, then set it on the cutting board. Then she rifled through some drawers to find the special children’s knives she had gotten Kojiro for Christmas. He was always fascinated watching his mom chop onions and mince garlic, but Mama had gotten a lecture from Oka-san when she had come home from a shift at the hospital and saw her son handling a large knife. The children’s knives were the best solution to save both Kojiro’s fingers and Mama’s relationship with her wife.

“Now remember what I taught you about cutting properly?” Mama quizzed him.

When Kojiro nodded, his messy green hair flopped everywhere. “Yes!” He held his hands out, left hand in a fist and right hand curled around the handle of the knife. “I hold the knife like this so I can control how it cuts, and use my left hand to hold the lettuce in place. I have to keep my fingers tucked in like this so I don’t cut them off!”

“That’s right! My boy is so smart!” Mama beamed as she took the safety cover off the knife. “We’re going to make salad with that dressing you like, so cut the lettuce about this big.” She held her fingers about an inch apart, and Kojiro nodded with a determined look.

Mama turned around to taste the sauce that had been simmering all day. It needed a little more oregano. As she was rifling through the disorganized cabinet where she kept all her seasonings, she heard a tiny “Ow” from behind her.

Full mom instincts activated, she ran to Kojiro’s side. He had dropped the knife and had a small dribble of blood running down his left hand. Immediately, Mama wrapped his tiny fingers in a clean dishcloth and gently applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

“Mi amore, what happened?” She kept her voice level and gentle so as to not upset her son, who was desperately fighting back tears.

“I started cutting too fast, and I accidentally cut my left hand where I was holding the lettuce.” He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his right hand. Mama unwrapped the cloth and saw a tiny nick on the knuckle of his ring finger, which had already stopped bleeding. She had thought the knives weren’t sharp enough to hurt, but Kojiro had probably gotten careless. He was young but surprisingly strong, as Mama had figured out the hard way while play-wrestling with him.

They walked together to the bathroom to clean off the cut and smear a little dab of antibiotic ointment on it. “How about we use those new Pokémon bandages we bought the other day?” Mama asked cheerfully. Her son’s eyes brightened and he nodded excitedly. He dumped out the whole box and looked through the designs before picking up a Clefairy bandage. His mom wrapped it around his knuckle gently. “Now for the most important part! I’ll kiss it better!” She made an exaggerated smooching sound as she lightly pressed her lips over the bandage, and Kojiro dissolved into a fit of laughter. Much better than the tears he had just been holding back.

When Mama walked back to the kitchen, Kojiro pulled on her apron from behind her. “Even though I got hurt, can I still help?” With a grin, Momma picked him up and hugged him tight.

“Of course!”

This time when Kojiro stood on the stepstool, his mom stood behind him with her arms wrapped around him. She had traded the smaller knife for one she usually used, and let Kojiro put his tiny hands over hers as she chopped the vegetables.

“Have I ever told you how Oka-san and I met?” She asked as they diced tomatoes for the salad.

Kojiro shook his head. His moms were just his moms, as far as he knew. Sometimes the other kids at school made fun of him for having two moms but he didn’t understand why. Both of his moms were great! Why did people think it was weird?

Momma smiled dreamily. “I came to Japan on vacation and while I was making myself dinner one night, I cut my finger. Just like you did!” She poked his side playfully and he laughed again. (In reality, she had actually chopped part of her finger off while trying to cut up a whole chicken. But her son was a little too young to hear details like that.)

“I went to the hospital where Oka-san works, and she was my doctor! She fixed up my finger really good and told me to be more careful in the future. I thought she was the prettiest and smartest person I’d ever met.” (Once again, she had edited the story for Kojiro. Dr. Nanjo had indeed sewn her finger back on, but she had lectured Mama quite sternly during the whole procedure. Not that Mama cared, she had been too enamored with the beautiful doctor.)

“When I got home that night, I called your grandma and grandpa back in Italy to tell them I was staying here. I told them I’d met the girl I wanted to marry!” Mama laughed at the memory. She had always been headstrong and independent, but even she couldn’t believe that her parents had let her stay in a country where she hardly spoke the language and had nothing to support herself.

“Then what happened?” Kojiro asked. Mama hadn’t realized how invested he was in her story.

She resumed chopping with Kojiro’s hands on top of hers. “Well, I got a job at a restaurant near the hospital. I was clumsy and got hurt often, so I saw Oka-san a lot when she fixed me up.” The shiny burn marks and scars from various knives were like a constellation on her tanned arms, a testament to how careless she had pretended to be in order to chase that beautiful emergency room doctor.

“She started coming to the restaurant where I worked, and I made her lots of delicious meals. Then I started taking her out to restaurants I liked, so we could try all kinds of food. At one of those dinners, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”

Kojiro practically had stars in his eyes as he grinned up at Mama. He already knew his moms were the coolest, and this just proved it! “Do you have a scar? From the first cut that Oka-san fixed for you?” Mama slipped off her wedding band so he could see the thin white line around her ring finger marking where her now-wife had cleanly reattached it. “Hey, we got cut on the same finger!” He said excitedly.

“Oh, you’re right! Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life now too,” She teased as she tickled his stomach.

The sound of the door opening interrupted their laughter. At the same time, Mama and Kojiro looked at each other. “Oka-san is back!”

Dr. Nanjo had hardly removed her shoes when Kojiro tackled her into a hug. “Oka-san! Mama and I made a special dinner for you!”

“I love coming home to my personal chefs,” She laughed as she scooped Kojiro up, then gave her wife a kiss on the cheek. “Good thing, because I’m starving. Let’s eat!” All three of them cheered as Dr. Nanjo led the procession into the dining room.

As they sat around the table eating, Kojiro asked, “Can we go to the skate park after dinner? I wanna practice more!”

His moms looked at each other and nodded. He cheered and shoveled another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth, desperate to finish fast so they could go to the skate park sooner.

“You have to remember to wear your safety gear though,” Dr. Nanjo chided, ever the voice of reason.

Kojiro pouted a little bit—all the big kids at the skate park never wore knee pads or helmets. Even though he was young, he was pretty good at skating and hardly ever hurt himself.

She just smiled and rolled her eyes. “You have to bring your first aid kit too, just in case.”

“But mooooom,” he whined as he slid down in his chair for dramatic effect.

An hour later, Kojiro had forgotten the entire argument about safety guard and first aid, happily gliding along on his board in front of his moms.

“Catch up!” He shouted back at them. They had stopped to look at the sunset over the water, painting the sky and ocean pink and gold.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Mama asked him.

Once again, he groaned. “I don’t care, Mama, I just wanna go skating!”

Kojiro felt like he was dragging his moms along with him, but eventually, they finally made it to the skate park. They checked to make sure he had all of his gear on properly and had the pocket first aid kit safely tucked away, then waved him off from a bench on the edge of the park.

He loved the feel of the wind against his skin as he sped downhill. The sound of cement crunching under his board was music to his ears. Kojiro looked at the older kids around the park, amazed by their tricks. He had been trying to copy them for so long, but he was still pretty far behind. One of them did an ollie, a trick Kojiro had been trying to figure out for a while. He studied the way they balanced their weight just right so they didn’t kick their boards out of the way. He could do that much, right?

“You’re not very good at that.”

Kojiro turned around to see who said that to him. Usually the older boys left him alone.

A boy about Kojiro’s age stood behind him with his arms folded across his chest.

“Well I don’t see you doing any better,” Kojiro snapped back, after a second of being in shock.

The boy rolled his eyes and pushed up his glasses. “Fine. I will.” He hopped on the board next to his feet, and did an ollie. Not the best, but better than Kojiro.

Kojiro huffed. “Okay, okay, you’re better than me.” The pink-haired boy smiled smugly, practically begging Kojiro to knock out a few of his teeth. Instead, he swallowed and asked quietly, “Can you teach me?”

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” The other boy grinned. “Were you asking for my help?”

Kojiro stomped his feet. “No! I wasn’t!” Embarrassed, he hopped on his board and skated the opposite direction.

“I’ll teach you if you ask!”

Kojiro turned around for a split second to see a blur of pink and yellow behind him. Was this kid chasing him? Just to bother him more? He kicked off the ground again to speed up.

“Are you running away—Oof!”

Kojiro cheered now, having beaten this random kid at a race he didn’t sign up for. But when he turned around again, the pink-haired boy was nowhere in sight. “Huh?” He quickly turned his board around to see the boy on the ground. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Leave me alone.” He said through gritted teeth, as he began brushing gravel off his palms. He pulled his knees up and inspected them. One of them was scraped pretty badly, with little specks of blood beginning to appear.

Without thinking, Kojiro jumped off his board and ran towards him, kneeling next to the boy. “Here, let me clean it up.” He reached for the small bag around his waist, grateful for once that Oka-san insisted he bring the first aid kit.

The boy slapped his hand away. “I said, I don’t need your help.”

This kid was so annoying. Kojiro was completely prepared to just leave him, when he saw the boy using his dirty hands to brush off his bleeding leg.

“Seriously? You’re gonna get an infection or something,” He huffed.

“No I won’t—Ow!”

While the pink-haired punk was arguing with him, Kojiro had already gotten out an alcohol wipe and stuck it on the boy’s scraped knee.

“At least give me some warning before you do that!”

Kojiro rolled his eyes. “If I gave you a warning, you wouldn’t let me do it.” Despite being annoyed, he was gentle as he wiped the dirt and blood away. Once it was clean, he dabbed a bit of antibiotic ointment on a bandage then stuck it on the boy’s knee.

“Bulbasaur? Really?” The boy asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’s the lamest pokémon.”

The ridiculousness of it all forced a laugh out of Kojiro. “No, he’s cool!”

“No, he’s lame! Also, I don’t want a pokémon that matches your hair!”

“What, like matching hair colors with Clefairy is any better?” Kojiro pointed to the bandage on his own finger. The pink-haired boy opened his mouth to retort, when Kojiro realized something. “Wait, I forgot the most important thing!” He lifted the boy’s leg and pressed a kiss over the bandage. “You have to kiss it better!”

Kojiro could feel himself wilt beneath the golden glare of the other boy, but he forced himself to stand tall.

“That’s disgusting! Won’t that give me an infection?” He yelled.

“No! My mama says it’s the most important thing, and my mom’s a doctor! So she’s smarter than you!” Kojiro stuck his tongue out. “Here, I can prove it!” He grabbed the pink-haired boy’s wrist and ran towards the bench his moms were sitting on. “Hey! Oka-san! When you get hurt, don’t you have to kiss it better?”

Dr. Nanjo looked at her son and the boy he had dragged over. “Well, it can be important for the patient to feel—”

Mama cut her off. “Yes, it’s the only way to make it all better!”

The pink-haired boy looked bewildered. “You have two moms? I didn’t know you could do that…”

“See? I told you!” Kojiro stuck his tongue out at the other boy, who rolled his eyes and huffed. “Also, can he—” He paused and looked at the other boy. “Wait, what was your name?”

“Kaoru.”

“Can Kaoru come over? I need to show him that Bulbasaur isn’t the lamest pokemon!”

Kojiro’s moms looked at each other and both nodded.

Kaoru sniffed haughtily. “Who said I wanted to come over?”

The fire of competition had been lit between them, and Kojiro knew exactly what to do to fan the flames. “You’re just scared my pokemon team is gonna be better than yours,” he smirked.

As expected, Kaoru couldn’t let that go without a retort. The two of them bickered as they skated next to each other, carving through the Okinawa sunset and filling the ocean air with the sounds of their argument.

Chapter Text

It seemed like everything in Kojiro’s life changed when he started middle school. New school, obviously, and with that came new classmates, new uniforms, new teachers. Things were changing at home too. Kojiro’s brother Kotaro was starting kindergarten this year. Kojiro’s cousins, Emi and Eiko, had moved to Okinawa recently and practically lived at the Nanjo house. Eiko was deaf and Kojiro had been trying his hardest to learn sign language for her. Not that Kojiro was bothered, he loved being a big brother.

Besides, none of those changes mattered as long as he had Kaoru by his side. They would be going to the same middle school, and they already spent all of their time out of school together. They still raced on their skateboards every day and spent every Saturday at the skate park together. Kojiro was proud of how far the two of them had come, they were both shaping up to be exceptional skaters for their age. The only change Kojiro didn’t like was that Kaoru was taller than him now. Only by the tiniest bit though, and Kojiro was sure he would catch up as soon as he had another growth spurt.

But before everything was about to change, Kojiro was looking forward to enjoying one last normal weekend with his family. They had always gone camping in the same place, ever since Kojiro could remember. And this year Kaoru had gotten permission from his parents to come camping with them. It was just because Kaoru’s father would be out of town for a show and his mother didn’t want to look after him, but that didn’t matter. The boys would have fun anyways.

Kojiro had just finished helping his moms load their van when the Sakurayashiki’s car pulled up in front of their house. Kaoru hopped out of the back seat, slinging a duffel bag behind him. His mom rolled down the window and called out, “Don’t cause any problems, Kaoru!”

Mama laughed and waved at Kaoru’s mother. “He never causes problems! I promise we’ll take good care of your boy, Sakurayashiki-san!” Kaoru’s mother gave her a perfunctory wave in return before rolling up the heavily tinted window. Kojiro could tell Kaoru’s family didn’t particularly like his own—he was old enough to have seen his moms be the target of harassment from homophobic people on the street, and knew that what Mrs. Sakurayashiki felt wasn’t disgust. She just seemed to think she was a little too good for them, and it certainly looked that way. Especially with her shiny black car parked behind the Nanjo’s van. But then again, Kaoru’s parents didn’t even seem to like each other, so maybe they were just cold people.

Kaoru stuffed his own bag into the trunk and opened the door to get in his usual seat, only to find that Kojiro’s cousin Emi was sitting next to him, where Kojiro always sat. “Hi Kaoru!” She was just a little too loud and a little too excited.

“Hey, that’s my seat,” Kojiro stuck his head over Kaoru’s shoulder to look into the car.

“You can sit in the back with Eiko,” Emi said as she rolled her eyes. “I wanna sit next to Kaoru.”

Kojiro knew his cousin had a crush on Kaoru, she had been fawning over him ever since her family moved to Okinawa. It annoyed him, honestly. He was practically family and Emi couldn’t have a crush on someone who was basically her cousin. (Of course that wasn’t the whole reason, but Kojiro wasn’t ready to admit that to himself yet.)

He waved to Eiko to get her attention, then began signing something to her. She signed something back, and Kojiro huffed. He pulled a small bag of candy from his pocket and held it up for Eiko to see. Her eyes lit up and she scrambled forward.

Within a few minutes, Eiko was happily tucked in next to Kotaro’s booster seat and sharing candy with him, the boys had climbed into the back and were already arguing over something stupid.

“Is everybody buckled in?“ Oka-san asked as she started the car. Once the chorus of children had responded “yes”, she began backing out of the driveway.

Mama turned around to pass out water bottles to each of the kids. “Kaoru, have you ever been camping before?” She called back to him.

He snapped his head towards her, immediately dropping whatever argument he had started with Kojiro. “Uh no, I haven’t.”

“Oh I’m so excited you were able to come with us! You’re going to have so much fun,” Mama said, then excitedly began outlining their schedule for him. She gushed about the beautiful stream by the camping site where they could catch fish and the lake where they always went swimming.

“Last year I scouted out some good places to skate too,” Kojiro whispered to him. “You brought your board, right?”

Kaoru responded with his classic eye roll. “Obviously I did.”

Kojiro grinned. “I think it used to be a school campground, but I’ve never seen anyone there. There’s a covered area with some benches and a small amphitheater too. I bet we could practice some tricks there.”

“How long until we get there?” Emi asked.

Mama laughed. “It’ll be a while, mi amore.”

Kaoru hadn’t traveled often with his family, mostly just to visit his mother’s parents in Tokyo. He wasn’t used to being in a car for so long, especially on winding mountain roads.

“Are you feeling carsick?” The boys had fallen silent a while back. Kaoru had closed his eyes in an attempt to nap, so Kojiro had pulled out his GameBoy. But now his attention was fully on Kaoru, who had been shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Mm, maybe a little bit,” Kaoru mumbled.

Kojiro asked Mama to throw a packet of gum back for them and he offered a stick to Kaoru, who looked at him suspiciously. “Chewing gum helps, ‘cause the mint, uh—Oka-san, why did you say mint gum helps upset stomachs?”

“The peppermint helps relax the muscles in your stomach,” Dr. Nanjo replied happily. That seemed to be enough to convince Kaoru and he tossed the stick of gum into his mouth.

Kojiro handed out gum to his brother and cousins before taking one for himself. “If you want to lay down, let me know. Sometimes that can help with the nausea too.”

Kaoru wrinkled his nose. “I’ll be fine.”

With a roll of his eyes, Kojiro reached out and gently pulled Kaoru so his head was resting in Kojiro’s lap. “Isn’t that better?”

Normally Kaoru objected to everything Kojiro did and said, just for fun. He was loath to admit that laying down did help his nausea, so he didn’t say anything at all. That was the wrong choice, it turned out, as he could feel Kojiro’s smug smile from above him. But when he tried to lift his head off Kojiro’s legs, a hand pressed down on his hair to keep him in place.

“We’ve still got a while to go,” Kojiro said. “You might as well sleep while we’ve got time.”

Of course Kaoru would die before admitting that Kojiro’s lap was a better pillow than the luxe silk ones his mother his mother insisted on buying. He could hardly remember feeling as well-rested as he did when Kojiro gently shook him awake a few hours later. The sun was still high in the sky, filtering beautifully through the canopy of leaves above them.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Kojiro laughed. Kaoru sat up quickly and smoothed down his hair, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the afternoon light. “Want to help me set up the tent?”

“No, I don’t know how,” Kaoru grumbled as he climbed out of the backseat.

Mama was standing outside and unpacking one of their two tents. “Mi amore,” she called to Kaoru, “Come help me set this up. It’s not very hard!”

Immediately brightening, Kaoru rushed to her side. “Of course I’ll help!” He turned around and stuck his tongue out at Kojiro, who returned the gesture. Kaoru loved Kojiro’s moms and would do anything for them.

With a bit of difficulty, Kaoru was able to help Mama set up one tent next to the one Kojiro had assembled with annoying speed and efficiency. Kojiro and Kaoru would be sharing a tent with Mama and Kotaro, while Emi and Eiko would share with Oka-san. With sleeping arrangements settled, the kids decided to go swimming in the nearby lake.

Kojiro made sure everyone had put on sunscreen, and that Kotaro and Eiko had their arm floaties on before holding each of their hands and walking into the water with them.

Emi shrieked excitedly as she ran into the cold waves. “Kaoru, aren’t you gonna come in?” She yelled after popping her head above the water.

He was already laying down on a towel with his nose in a book. “No, thank you. I’m not interested.”

“Yeah, don’t you wanna play mermaids with Emi and Eiko? You’ve already got the hair for it,” Kojiro teased. He signed something to Eiko, who laughed and signed back. “C’mon, she said she wants to play with you!”

“I said no,” Kaoru rolled his eyes and flipped the page.

“You’re being boring, Kaoru-nii,” Emi laughed.

“No, I’m being—Agh! Kojiro!” Kaoru sat up and threw his book across the sand. Kojiro had hidden a small water gun in the pocket of his board shorts and was refilling it before aiming it at Kaoru again.

“Why don’t you stop me if you’re so mad about it?” Kojiro grinned devilishly as he unleashed another spray of lake water on Kaoru. With his pink hair drenched, Kaoru dove in to chase after Kojiro and yelped a bit as the chilly water stung his skin.

The rest of the afternoon continued the same way, Kojiro and Kaoru half-trying to drown each other as the younger kids cheered them on. All of them nearly split their sides with laughter when Kaoru plopped a handful of slimy green grass pulled from the lake onto Kojiro’s head, claiming it was some of Kojiro’s hair that had fallen out. Eiko and Kotaro begged Kojiro to throw them off the edge of the dock into the deep water and he happily obliged. That turned into a cannonball competition, and Kojiro and Kaoru were still engaged in a tiebreaker match when they saw Mama and Oka-san walking hand in hand along the beach towards them. The kids only scrambled out of the water after Mama told them she had made curry for dinner.

All the swimming had tired out the younger kids, and they became exhausted once their stomachs were full. Mama and Oka-san took them off to the restrooms to shower and prepare for bed while Kojiro and Kaoru got out their skateboards. With Kojiro’s first aid kit in his pocket and a promise to be back by dark, the two of them took off along a paved hiking path. Kojiro had just barely pulled ahead in their impromptu race when they reached the old campground he had told Kaoru about.

The wide field was relatively smooth, so the boys only spent a few minutes racing around there before they got bored and moved on to the nearby amphitheater. There they were both eager to show off new tricks as they hopped up and down the large steps, and raced along the handrails leading down to the center pit.

Though their skating styles had evolved, their relationship hadn’t changed at all. They refused to explain any tricks, only succeeding after multiple attempts to copy each other. As always they traded the same barbs and veiled compliments, with the addition of some of the new swear words they had picked up as they got older. Kaoru had a surprisingly filthy mouth for the haughty child of two aristocrats. Both of them swore when they realized that darkness had fallen a while ago, remembering their promise to Kojiro’s moms.

They didn’t even bother to officially race back to the campsite, just staying near each other as Kojiro lit the way back with his flashlight. Oka-san only gave them a minor lecture before sending them off to bed. Mama and Kotaro were already asleep when they crawled into the tent, so they tried to be as quiet as possible while they wriggled into their sleeping bags.

Within minutes, Kaoru could hear that Kojiro’s breathing had fallen into the gentle rhythm of sleep. The cloth walls of the tent muffled the loud singing of crickets, but it was enough to keep Kaoru awake. He tossed and turned on the floor—was there a rock under his sleeping bag? Lifting up the sleeping bag showed nothing but the canvas fabric of the tent, but Kaoru was sure there had to be something on the ground beneath him. He fluffed his pillow and shifted onto his side. Then shifted again. And again.

He wasn’t sure how many times he had turned over and over, but sleep still evaded him. Kaoru sighed a little dramatically, a little too loudly. Kojiro stirred next to him.

“Kaoru? You okay?” He mumbled, turning his head towards Kaoru.

“Uh, I have to go to the bathroom.” For some reason Kaoru felt too embarrassed to admit he couldn’t sleep, so he came up with a reasonable excuse.

“Mm, okay,” Kojiro hummed as he flipped back over.

“Kojiro, Kojiro,” Kaoru hissed as he tapped his friend with his foot.

Once again, Kojiro rolled over sluggishly. He lifted his head up and barely squinted his eyes open. “Hey, are you back already?”

Kaoru huffed, then slapped a hand over his own mouth when he heard Kotaro stirring as well. Once the younger boy had settled again, Kaoru whispered, “No, I haven’t gone yet. I don’t know where it is.”

Kojiro stopped in the middle of a yawn. “Oh, right. I’ll go with you.”

“Boys? Are you okay?” Years of being a parent meant Mama’s body was trained to wake up at the smallest sound, and she sat up from her sleeping bag.

“Just going to the bathroom,” Kojiro whispered back. He and Kaoru slipped on their shoes as quietly as possible.

Once outside, Kaoru was amazed by the night sky. He struggled to find a spot in the heavens that wasn’t adorned with shining stars. Thankfully, the stars made it bright enough that he wasn’t bothered by the lack of a flashlight as he followed behind Kojiro, who was still rubbing his eyes as he struggled to wake himself up.

The toilets were only a few minutes away, with small lights that buzzed loudly against the stillness of the night. When Kaoru exited the small building to wash his hands at the sink outside, Kojiro was leaning against the wall with his chin resting on his chest.

A devilish little idea sparked in Kaoru’s mind. He got as close as he could to Kojiro without touching him, then spoke loudly and directly into his ear. “Are you sleeping?”

Kojiro jumped in shock, but Kaoru didn’t have time to laugh at the fear on his friend’s face before their foreheads smacked together loudly.

“Ow!” They both cried out at the same time.

“Well I’m not asleep anymore,” Kojiro snapped at Kaoru.

“Your skull is so thick, I think you gave me a concussion,” Kaoru grumbled as he rubbed at the red mark beneath his bangs.

“It’s your fault, idiot!” They scuffled a bit in the yellow ring of light from the flickering fluorescent bulb on the building behind them. But the light suddenly went out with a small pop and they stopped instantly.

“Kojiro!”

“Why are you yelling my name? Is this my fault?”

“I don’t know! It probably is, somehow!”

“Whatever, let’s just head back.” Kojiro began stomping back towards the campground, with Kaoru running after him.

Once they arrived back at the tent, Kojiro made an exaggerated shushing gesture at Kaoru before unzipping the door and crawling into his sleeping bag. Kaoru slipped in behind him and tried to zip the tent, but a strand of his hair got caught in the zipper and he gasped a bit when he pulled it tight.

“Shh!” Kojiro cried out, louder than the sound Kaoru had made. He jumped up and began untangling Kaoru’s hair.

“Kojiro-nii-san? You okay?” Kotaro had woken up and was blinking his heavy eyes at the silhouettes of the older boys at the door.

“Yeah buddy, of course. Go back to sleep,” Kojiro whispered quietly as he tugged Kaoru’s head free of the zipper.

Kotaro stared up at them still, rubbing his eyes but too curious to lay back down. Kojiro settled back into his sleeping bag and scooted it towards his brother as Kaoru followed him.

With a smile, Kojiro leaned over to ruffle his brother’s hair. “You gonna be able to sleep okay?” When Kotaro grinned and nodded, Kojiro kissed his forehead. “G’night buddy.”

Kaoru waited until the song of crickets was louder than the rhythmic breathing of the others in the tent. Lying next to Kojiro, he kicked a foot out and felt it connect with Kojiro’s leg. “Ow,” he mumbled sleepily.

“I can’t sleep and it’s your fault,” Kaoru hissed. “You hit my head and pulled out my hair.”

With a small grunt of effort, Kojiro sat up with his eyes still closed. He leaned closer to Kaoru, who stared blankly back at him. Was he going to headbutt Kaoru again?

Unexpectedly, Kojiro smoothed back Kaoru’s pink bangs and gently kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry. Go to sleep now, okay?” He rolled over and resumed snoring almost instantly.

Kaoru rubbed his head. “Huh?” He asked, half to himself and half to Kojiro. He tried to connect the dots in his mind, but nothing made sense. He shook his head as if to clear it, and gently brushed a finger to the spot where Kojiro’s lips had been just a few minutes ago. He must have thought Kaoru was Kotaro, that was the only logical explanation. With a final shake of his head, he let his head drop onto his pillow. He fell asleep before he even had time to think, finally tired and comfortable.

Next to him, Kojiro shifted uncomfortably in his sleeping bag. Why had he done that? He hoped his act had been convincing enough to trick Kaoru.

Chapter Text

Kojiro had always planned on confessing to Kaoru after their high school graduation. From the moment he realized his feelings were more than a fleeting childhood crush, he had been trying to plan the perfect confession. After the graduation ceremony, they would skate to the park by the beach, the one where they first met. Kojiro could finally tell him all of the thoughts that had occupied his head and his heart ever since they met as children.

(He had briefly considered confessing at the abandoned mine they had turned into a racetrack, but that plan was quickly thrown out when their simple races evolved into the spectacle they had started calling “S”. Kojiro daydreamed about challenging Kaoru to a beef—as themselves, not as Joe and Cherry Blossom. No more hiding behind their personas or the guise of casual friendship. When he finally beat Kaoru, he would stand at the finish line and pour out his heart.)

As it turned out, all those years of planning were very fragile because everything was crushed to pieces by one person.

Ainosuke Shindo. Thanks to him, high school graduation had come and gone without Kojiro confessing to Kaoru. Or even really speaking to Kaoru, for that matter.

The three of them had been so close, practically inseparable. But Kojiro had always known that Kaoru felt something special for Ainosuke, something between hero worship and infatuation. Of course Ainosuke didn’t feel the same way—Kojiro didn’t think Ainosuke was capable of the type of love he demanded from others—but he was happy to lead an adoring Kaoru on. Even worse was that he knew how deeply Kojiro had fallen for Kaoru and he knew how to exploit it. Ainosuke loved competitions, but only if he was guaranteed to win and Kojiro was an obstacle in the conquest for Kaoru’s heart. He wasn’t sure when Ainosuke started to wedge himself between Kaoru and Kojiro but by the time he realized, the gap between them was already too large.

Not that Kojiro didn’t try everything to keep Kaoru. He tried so hard to keep things the way they used to be, but it hurt to see that Kaoru’s interest in him had waned. His breaking point was the day he and Ainosuke skated home together (Kaoru had been sick that day, Kojiro remembered because he had been planning to bring him soup after school). Ainosuke had suddenly flipped his board around and nearly ran into Kojiro who had been following behind him. Second place as always.

“You’re in love with him.” Ainosuke said it as a fact, so obvious he didn’t even have to say Kaoru’s name. Kojiro didn’t know how to respond. “It’s a little pathetic, isn’t it? How you’ve been pining after him, knowing that he’s never thought of you that way.”

Kojiro balled up his fists. He knew Ainosuke played dirty as Adam in their skate races, but he never thought he’d get the same treatment from his friend. “It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t feel the same way. Being his friend is enough for me.”

“You know his family don’t like you, right? Even if he wants to be your friend, his parents might try to keep him away from you. It just doesn’t look good to have someone like you hanging around with people like us.” Their family backgrounds had never mattered, especially considering the way Ainosuke and Kaoru were actively trying to rebel against the strict social hierarchy their parents had been forcing on them their whole lives.

“Who cares about that?” Kojiro stammered. “If Kaoru wants to be my friend, I know it’ll work out for us.”

Ainosuke snorted. “Now that’s even more pathetic! If you want something that badly, you have to fight for it.”

Him calling Kaoru “something” made Kojiro’s blood boil. Before he could think, he had punched Ainosuke square in the face.

Smarmy asshole that he was, Ainosuke’s eyes were gleaming. “That’s it! That’s the kind of passion you need!”

Kojiro took a step back in shock. Who was this person? What had happened to the charismatic boy they had met during their first year of high school?

Ainosuke casually wiped the blood blooming from his lip with one finger, admiring the way the redness shined in the light. “But even with that, I don’t think you’ll get very far with Kaoru. It sounds cruel, but I’m just being realistic,” he said in a patronizing tone. “It’s for the best, really.”

When Kojiro responded only with a blank stare, Ainosuke laughed once more before blowing a kiss to Kojiro and skating off. Kojiro wasn’t sure how long he stood there, trying to process the mixture of hurt and confusion that was clawing its way up his throat. It was dark by the time he found his way home and shut himself in his room.

If Kojiro’s fallout with Ainosuke was like an explosion, his fallout with Kaoru was more like a candle burning itself out. Ainosuke infuriatingly acted like nothing had happened, making it almost impossible for Kojiro to tell Kaoru about their—how to describe it? Fight? Kojiro hadn’t fought back aside from that one punch. Was argument the right word? The one time Kojiro had tried to bring it up, Kaoru harshly shut him down and claimed he was just jealous that Ainosuke was a more skilled skater who also recognized Kaoru’s talent.

He eventually started coming up with excuses to avoid spending time with Kaoru and Ainosuke. Kojiro was popular, after all, and he had other friends. Just not ones that meant as much as Kaoru. Worse than making up excuses was the times that Kojiro didn’t even have to lie about being busy—he just wasn’t invited anymore.

S provided some sense of normalcy for him. The rift was between Kojiro and Kaoru, not Joe and Cherry Blossom. Joe was a pillar of the S community and he couldn’t just stop showing up. He just stayed with the growing crowd of people fawning over him, and he couldn’t complain about the attention. Kaoru occasionally made snide remarks about Joe’s fans when they passed each other, but the words themselves were no different than the quips they had always traded. The lack of affection was what stung.

If you had told Kojiro that he would spend his final semester of high school at an underground skating competition that he had organized, he would’ve laughed. But he still would have found that more believable than the idea of not having Kaoru by his side.

And so high school graduation had slipped away without a confession. They had been holding S more often now that they didn’t have to worry about assignments, Kojiro playing the role of observer now. Content to have the attention of everyone but the person he wanted most.

But now that typhoon season was upon them, S was cancelled until the storms cleared away. Kojiro had started exercising more often, to clear his mind. But there was only so much he could do inside before he got distracted. He’d spent the rest of his day making pasta from scratch, training his large hands to fold the tiny pieces of dough into every shape he could think of. Without thinking, he had made a cherry blossom shape and then squished it with his thumb as soon as he realized.

Over the background noise of whatever drama was playing on the TV, Kojiro’s phone chirped. Kojiro nearly threw himself over the couch trying to get his phone off the coffee table. It was embarrassing and yeah, maybe a little pathetic how much Kojiro hoped every notification on his phone was from Kaoru. But it wouldn’t kill him to hope, even though it sometimes felt like it would.

The text was from Mama, reminding him to stay safe during the storm. He sighed and set his phone back down. His eyes drifted aimlessly towards the TV, only half-paying attention to the drama. When he heard a knock on the door he assumed it was just something happening in the show, but it picked back up a moment later. Who in their right mind would be out in this weather? Maybe his moms had ordered something and a dedicated mailman had braved the weather for them, he thought as he turned off the TV and stood up.

When Kojiro opened the door, he locked eyes with the second-to-last person he wanted to see right now, the person he wanted to see more than anything else.

Kaoru gulped but quickly pulled himself together, collected and too cool for everything. “Is Dr. Nanjo here?”

“Jesus, Kaoru, what happened to you?” Kojiro grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him inside. In the light, the damage to Kaoru’s face was much more obvious. The blood covering the left half of his face dripped from a large cut over his forehead, one eye was surrounded by a dark bruise, and his lip was swollen.

Still avoiding eye contact, Kaoru flipped his wet ponytail as if nothing was wrong. “It’s nothing. I was just wondering if Dr. Nanjo was around to clean me up.”

Kojiro wanted to look away—he was mad at Kaoru right now and it hurt to see his closest friend looking so awful. “No, Oka-san isn’t here. She’s at a medical conference for the weekend, Mama went with her.”

The muscle in Kaoru’s jaw tightened, then he winced at the pain that had caused. “I see.” He looked down at the floor, where he had left a sizable puddle below his feet. “Well, then. I’ll just see myself to the nearest hospital.” He turned around, shoes squeaking loudly.

Instinctively, Kojiro reached out to grab his wrist. “What the hell is going on? Did he—?”

Kaoru wrenched his hand away. “Nothing happened. I fell off my skateboard. It’s fine.”

“Bullshit!” Kojiro yelled back. “You wouldn’t do that. You’re better than that.”

Neither of them moved for a moment, both holding their breath. Kojiro took a deep breath, and lowered his voice to a gentle whisper. “You don’t have to tell me what happened. Just let me help you.”

“Well, I suppose I’m not really in a position to turn down help, even from you,” Kaoru said with forced pride. The look in his eyes as he turned back to Kojiro was enough to express his appreciation. He stepped out of his wet shoes and followed Kojiro through the apartment. The kitchen smelled amazing, clearly Kojiro had been cooking something.

“Where’s everyone else?” Kaoru asked.

Not looking back, Kojiro responded, “The girls are at their house tonight, and Kotaro is visiting our dad.”

He made his way towards the bathroom with Kaoru trailing awkwardly behind. He tossed a towel back to Kaoru. “You can go in my room and borrow whatever clothes you want, probably not a good idea to stay in those wet clothes.” Kojiro was far too focused on gathering first aid supplies from the cabinet, very pointedly not looking at Kaoru.

A few minutes later, Kojiro knocked gently on his bedroom door before entering. He ignored the way his heart squeezed at the sight of Kaoru wearing his shirt and sweatpants. He ignored the fact that Kaoru was sitting on Kojiro’s bed like they always had, but it felt like nothing they had experienced before. He pulled the chair from his desk and placed it in front of where Kaoru sat, the tray of first aid supplies on the nightstand next to him.

“Ready?” He asked as he soaked a towel in warm water, waiting for a nod from Kaoru before he began wiping the dried blood off his face. Kojiro laughed softly at the way Kaoru winced. “You always do that. Don’t you expect it to sting a little bit? We’ve done this so many times.”

Those words echoed in the room. Kojiro had stopped for a second, but he shook his head a little and continued cleaning the blood away.

“Why didn’t you go with Kotaro to visit your dad?” As soon as he asked, Kaoru wanted to take the question back. He knew Kojiro had a difficult relationship with his father, who had wanted to remain an anonymous donor for Kojiro but suddenly changed his mind when Kojiro’s brother came along.

Kojiro’s hand stuttered for a second as he wiped off the blood that had dripped down the side of Kaoru’s neck. “They have more fun when it’s just the two of them,” he said in a strained voice.

Once again, uncomfortable silence took charge of the room. The only sound was the raindrops beating a steady rhythm on the window.

“What exotic destination are your parents off to this weekend?” Kojiro asked in a stilted attempt to fill the gap in the conversation.

Kaoru snorted. “Now that I’ve graduated high school, they have no reason to stay together. Not that they’ll get divorced, the family would frown upon that. Mother moved back to the house in Tokyo. Father is staying in Okinawa until I take over the business, then he’ll retire. Ow! Be careful with that!” He swatted at Kojiro’s hand pressing a cotton pad to his forehead, but his hand was easily captured by Kojiro’s other large hand.

“Don’t. I have to hold pressure on it to get the bleeding to stop. Head wounds love to bleed, you know.”

“Fine, but be gentle. You’re making it hurt worse,” Kaoru grumbled.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Kojiro quipped, “Okay, princess. I’ll be delicate with you.”

That made Kaoru’s face flush against his will. He hoped Kojiro didn’t notice, but given the proximity of their faces, he knew it was practically impossible.

Mercifully, Kojiro said nothing as he threw away the soaked cotton pad and poured some disinfectant onto a new one. For several minutes, the only sound was Kojiro tossing used cotton pads into the trash can and Kaoru’s gentle hisses at the disinfectant stinging on his cuts. Once the biggest gash on his forehead had stopped bleeding so profusely, Kojiro began preparing a pad to tape on his forehead.

“You’re really gonna take over the calligraphy business?” He asked carefully.

Kaoru shifted his head, but Kojiro quickly grabbed his chin and held it in place. He was practically frozen in place, still holding his breath until after Kojiro moved his head back to check that the bandage wasn’t crooked.

“Well, it’s expected of me. I’m lucky they’re even letting me go to university first.” Kaoru leaned back and squeezed his eyes shut.

“You’re gonna do great. I mean, you’ve already got great handwriting,” Kojiro joked half-heartedly and Kaoru responded with a half-smile. His lip was still swollen and it would’ve hurt to smile wider. At least, that’s what he told himself.

“But really, you’ve got good ideas. I mean, I don’t really get how you’re going to combine AI with calligraphy, but you are annoyingly smart so if anyone can figure it out, it’s you.” Kojiro gulped, as if to swallow back any more honest words. “Your program is electrical engineering, right? Genius bastard.”

Kaoru wasn’t sure what to say and chewed on his lip out of reflex, then pain shot through his body like lightning. He cried out a little bit but managed to stifle the sound quickly, then tried to play it off like it wasn’t painful at all.

“Maybe not that smart,” Kojiro snorted.

Silence fell between them once again as Kojiro alternated cold and hot packs over Kaoru’s black eye. After a few rotations, Kaoru finally spoke again but it was barely a whisper.

“Are you really going to Italy for culinary school?” He couldn’t look his best friend in the eye because he knew his face would betray his emotions.

With an almost pained smile, Kojiro nodded. He motioned for Kaoru to hold the hot pack himself so Kojiro could begin disinfecting his split lip. “Yeah, I am. It’s a really good program, and surprisingly affordable. Plus Mama’s side of the family is there, so I won’t get lonely.”

Kaoru felt his heart squeeze a little at that. He would be lonely without Kojiro, but it apparently didn’t go both ways. He desperately tried to change the subject and not think about the way Kojiro’s fingers were so gently ghosting over his lips.

“Remember the summer I went with your family to Italy? It was so hot the whole time, I thought I was going to melt.”

Another flutter of Kojiro’s fingers over Kaoru’s lips. “You really are so delicate,” he laughed fondly. “But yeah, I could never forget that trip. You wanted to spend all our time in those musty old museums and churches.”

“The museums were the only places with air conditioning, and the cathedrals were beautiful works of architecture! Which you would know if you had an eye for beauty!” When Kaoru saw Kojiro opening his mouth to respond, he cut him off. “And that does not mean all those girls you flirt with!”

Kojiro gently pulled on Kaoru’s lip with the warm towel. “I wasn’t talking about the girls,” he whispered quietly enough that Kaoru wasn’t sure if he had heard him right.

“Anyways,” he cleared his throat and spoke at a normal volume, “Your lip is split a little bit. I really think it needs stitches, Kaoru. C’mon, let me take you to a hospital.”

Kaoru crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child. “No. I’m not going to a hospital.”

Kojiro rolled his eyes. “You were willing to go earlier.”

“Fine! I’ll leave then!” Kaoru threw his hands up in frustration and tried to stand up, but was stopped by Kojiro’s hand on his shoulder pressing him down.

Kojiro rubbed the spot between his eyes where he could feel a tension headache coming on. “Alright, we’ll have to make do with butterfly bandages. Let me just take your lip ring out first.”

“No.” Kaoru jerked his head away. “It stays in.”

When he was in one of these moods, Kojiro knew arguing wouldn’t get anywhere so he just began cleaning the area a little more thoroughly so the piercing wasn’t at risk of getting infected.

“My grandparents loved you, y’know,” Kojiro turned the conversation back to the very neutral topic of their Italy trip. “I’m sure they’d love if you visited.”

Kaoru couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Kojiro’s wrist—annoyed that his long fingers couldn’t wrap all the way around Kojiro’s large arms—and looked directly into his eyes for the first time that night, golden eyes burning Kojiro’s soul.

“They would love if I visited?” His voice was deadly calm, the unspoken question ringing in Kojiro’s ears.

Would you want me to visit you?

Until he saw them again, Kojiro hadn’t realized how much he missed looking into Kaoru’s eyes. His voice wavered as he responded, “They’d be miserable if you didn’t.”

I’ll be miserable if you don’t.

Both of them fought back smiles, and Kaoru released his hold on Kojiro’s wrist. Kojiro took a breath to steady his hands before gently placing the butterfly bandages on the corner of Kaoru’s mouth.

Another breath of silence. “Kojiro, I’m—”

“I know. You don’t have to say it.”

Ever determined to get his way, Kaoru spoke over him. “This is the only time I’ll ever say this, so listen well.” Kojiro raised his eyebrows as Kaoru sighed.

“I’m sorry. You were right.”

Two things Kojiro thought Kaoru Sakurayashiki was incapable of saying. Somehow, the moment reminded him of the time he and Kaoru had gone to a petting zoo in elementary school (everything with Kaoru was memorable, but Kojiro treasured the memory of a goat chewing on Kaoru’s hair more than some other moments with him). The apprehension of waiting for a wild animal to decide if it’s going to trust you or bite you. Just as he had then, Kojiro held his breath.

“He…Ainosuke told me I wasn’t good enough for him. That I could never be enough.” The ever-proud Kaoru, crumbling like cherry blossoms after their brief bloom. “You tried to tell me that he would do this, and I chose him over you. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll kill him for doing this to you,” Kojiro’s voice was a whisper because he knew if he didn’t control it tightly, he would be yelling. “I’ll kill that bastard, I swear—”

Kaoru clapped a hand over his mouth and looked straight into his eyes again. “He’s not worth it, Kojiro.” He sniffed and looked over his shoulder. “I was the one who started it, anyways.”

The air was clear, despite the gloom hanging over both of them. Holding back tears, Kojiro began to laugh in relief, and Kaoru joined him after a few moments. They let the darkness dissipate with the joyful sound, both happy to hear each other’s laughter.

“Y’know, I was actually making carbonara before you came over,” Kojiro said once they had lapsed into comfortable silence again. “Are you hungry?”

As if on cue, Kaoru’s stomach growled loudly. “I suppose I could eat,” he said nonchalantly as Kojiro dissolved into laughter again.

“Let’s go,” Kojiro stood and offered his hand to Kaoru, who stayed firmly in place on the bed.

Raising the eyebrow that wasn’t bandaged, Kaoru asked, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Kojiro scanned the metal tray covered in first aid supplies—he had cleaned, disinfected, and bandaged all of the cuts, applied antibiotic ointment on them as well. “Uh, I don’t think so?”

“Hmph. I see. If it was important to you, then you wouldn’t forget it. Well, that’s fine. Let’s eat,” Kaoru began to stand up but Kojiro placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

“What are you talking about?” Kojiro was genuinely confused. First aid lessons had been drilled into him since before he could remember, it was unlikely he had forgotten anything but was now a little paranoid he may have skipped some key step.

“Like I said, you wouldn’t forget anything important. I suppose I’ll heal just fine without it,” Kaoru said haughtily as he twisted his ponytail over his shoulder.

He was shocked by the sound of Kojiro’s laughter like music once again filling the room. “Kaoru, do you mean—?” He caught his breath in between laughs. “I mean, that was just when we were little kids. Obviously it doesn’t—”

Kaoru stood up sharply. “I know.”

Suddenly, he felt Kojiro’s warm hands on either side of his face, feather-light touches on the injured left side of his head. “Kaoru.” His face was just a little too close. “Are you sure?”

“If you insist.” They had known each other long enough for Kojiro to understand that was Kaoru’s way of saying please.

Kaoru closed his eyes and felt the first delicate press of Kojiro’s lips over the cut on his forehead. Then, even lighter over his eyelid. The warmth of his lips felt better than the hot pack that had soothed the ache earlier.

Kojiro silenced a laugh at the way Kaoru tilted his face up ever so slightly, eager but unwilling to admit it. The touch of their lips was like the brush of butterfly wings, barely tickling the torn skin.

“You don’t need to treat me like I’m fragile,” Kaoru murmured against his lips before pressing their mouths together again, more forcefully this time. He could feel Kojiro’s laugh as a rumble in his chest.

“Kaoru, wait.” Kojiro pulled back, placing a thumb over Kaoru’s lips to stop them chasing after his own. “I’m serious about this. About you. I’m—I’ve been in love with you. Ever since we were kids.” He sighed and cupped Kaoru’s uninjured cheek with his hand. “I need to know you’re serious about this too. I can’t lose you again.”

“If I could’ve stopped myself from falling for a gorilla like you, don’t you think I would have?” Kaoru whispered as he turned his hand to place a kiss on Kojiro’s palm. “I was too far gone by the time I realized.”

“So then Ainosuke was—”

“A distraction. I couldn’t imagine you would ever feel that way about me,” Kaoru said before pressing his mouth to Kojiro’s again. “We don’t need to talk about him right now. I don’t want to taste his name on your lips ever again.”

Kojiro let himself melt under the warmth of Kaoru’s lips locking with his own. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed—it felt like infinities, but it would never be enough—when Kaoru’s stomach rumbled and they broke apart with a laugh.

“As much as I’d love to keep going, we better get some food in you,” Kojiro managed to say between laughs. “My kisses heal everything, but my food isn’t bad either.”

Kaoru made an impatient sound as he let his face rest in the crook between Kojiro’s neck and shoulder. He placed one more searing kiss there before saying, “At least we’ve got the rest of our lives to do this.”

Kojiro grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled back to look into Kaoru’s golden eyes. “The rest of our lives? Kaoru, do you really mean it?”

Crystal-clear moonlight had broken through the clouds and streamed through the window, illuminating the beautiful blush on Kaoru’s cheeks.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t,” he mumbled.

Kojiro laughed and hugged his best friend close, their hearts beating in time with each other. “I’m yours.”

Kaoru huffed but wrapped his arms around Kojiro’s broad shoulders. “My idiot.”

“But I’ll always be your idiot, right?” Kojiro asked as they pulled apart and began walking towards the kitchen.

“Why do you always insist on asking questions you already know the answer to?” Kaoru rolled his eyes as he reached back to hold Kojiro’s hand.

“Why do you insist on being so annoying when I’m trying to have a moment here?”

“I wouldn’t have to be annoying if you weren’t so stupid.”

“I’m stupid for you, baby.”

“I hate you so much.”