Work Text:
“Time to go home!”
“Mama!”
Little Mamoru looked up as the little boy who was playing on the swing next to him jumped off and ran over to their mother who came to the park to pick them up. Mamoru watched as the boy took his mother’s hand and the two of them left the park together to head home.
Mamoru sat on the swing set alone. He knew he would have to go back to his “home” before his teachers started to worry, but there was a slight ache in his heart knowing he didn’t have a family to come and pick him up.
~~~
Mamoru sat on a swing seat, gently swaying his body back and forth to get a little momentum as he hummed a random tune. After finishing up a busy job in the afternoon, Mamoru decided to take a short walk to the park for a break and also gather up some inspiration for GROWTH’s next song. The leaves on the trees were beginning to reveal autumn hues after the end of a long summer, and the crisp air had a slight chill.
Although he wasn’t sitting in the same park as his childhood, the park brought a little bit of bittersweet memories to Mamoru’s mind.
“Mamoru~ found you!” Ken hugged Mamoru from behind.
“Wah! Ken-kun?!” Mamoru almost fell off the swing seat as he turned around to see Ken.
“I’ve come to pick you up!” Ken announced. Ken pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to Mamoru. “You forgot to bring your smartphone with you, again.”
Mamoru blinked innocently as he took his phone from Ken’s hand. “Oh, I was only going out for a short walk though. I didn’t think I would need my smartphone,” Mamoru mentioned with a slight tilt of his head.
Ken placed his hands on his hips and looked at Mamoru. “Mamoru, you should always carry your smartphone with you even on your short oji-san walks.”
“Oji-san walks…”
Ken sat down on the empty swing seat next to Mamoru and started to swing a bit back and forth.
“Kou was about to run out to find you when he noticed that you left your smartphone at the dorm, but I quickly assured Kou that I would go and pick you up,” Ken told Mamoru. “So here I am! Ta-dah!” Ken jumped off the swing and posed in front of Mamoru.
Mamoru laughed and clapped his hands. “I see. I’m sorry to have troubled you to come out and find me,” Mamoru apologized and bowed his head.
“It’s no problem!” Ken smiled. “Come on, let’s go home, Mamoru!” Ken said as he extended his hand out to Mamoru.
Mamoru blinked as he stared at Ken. The setting evening sun shining behind Ken’s back gave him a warm glow, much like the spotlights when they’re performing on stage together.
All the years before that Mamoru sat on the swings when he was a kid watching every other kid playing in the park eventually go home with their parents to their home used to leave a cold ache in his heart. But now, with his GROWTH family, the cold ache in his heart was replaced with a warm, gentle feeling that glowed like the sun.
Mamoru smiled as he took Ken’s hand and stood up from his seat on the swing. But he flinched as he stood up.
“What’s wrong?” Ken asked when he noticed Mamoru frowned slightly.
“Mm-mm! It’s nothing, Ken-kun!” Mamoru shook his head.
“Is that so? We better hurry before it gets dark. You know how Kou and Ryo worry when we’re home late,” Ken reminded Mamoru.
Ken walked ahead, but when he stopped to make sure Mamoru was following right behind him, he noticed Mamoru walked slower than his usual slow pace.
“Mamoru, did you hurt yourself somewhere?” Ken asked.
“Eh? Ahhh…” Mamoru didn’t make eye contact with Ken.
Ken sighed. “Where?” Ken asked as he looked at Mamoru from head to toe for any visible injuries.
Mamoru bit the bottom of his lip and held his hands together as he looked down at his shoes. “My left ankle,” Mamoru finally admitted.
“Does it hurt to walk?” Ken checked as he knelt down for a moment to look at Mamoru’s ankle.
“I think I can manage to get back to the dorm at least,” Mamoru said. He tried to walk, but his balance wobbled before Ken safely caught him. Ken steadied Mamoru’s balance and let Mamoru lean on his shoulder for support.
“It might be sprained. Here, I’ll carry you, Mamoru!” Ken held out his arms open.
“Carry? Isn’t it embarrassing?” Mamoru was worried.
Ken laughed in a cheerful tone. “It’s not embarrassing, don’t worry,” Ken assured Mamoru.
“But I’m tall and heavy,” Mamoru pointed out.
“I’ve been working out with running and muscle training, I can handle it!” Ken wasn’t fazed.
Ken didn’t lower his arms and was serious, so Mamoru allowed himself to be carried by Ken. At first, Mamoru thought Ken was going to carry him on Ken’s back. Mamoru let out a surprised noise when Ken picked him up princess style.
“Mamoru, put your hands around my neck so I can support your weight better,” Ken instructed, but Mamoru didn’t seem to hear Ken. “Mamoru?”
Mamoru wanted to hide his embarrassed face in his hands, but his muscles were frozen stiff.
“This is definitely embarrassing,” Mamoru confirmed.
“Mamoru, did you put on a bit of weight from eating Kou’s pancakes this morning?” Ken couldn’t help asking a teasing question as he carried Mamoru back to their dorm.
“See?! Put me down!” Mamoru got flustered.
“Whoa! Don’t move around, you’ll fall!” Ken kept his balance and grip so he didn’t drop Mamoru. “I won’t tell Kou or Ryo, relax. You know, you should go jogging with me if you’re worried.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up, I’d slow you down, Ken-kun,” Mamoru doubted.
“Then, we can go on one of your old man walks together,” Ken brought up a different idea. “I’m always curious how you come up with songs for GROWTH.”
“Ken-kun, I prefer to call them my walks of inspiration,” Mamoru corrected, but he let the old man comment slide. “Then, where would you like to go, Ken-kun?”
“Hmm, I’m fine going anywhere with you, Mamoru,” Ken wasn’t picky. “It’ll be like traveling on an adventure or journey, like the songs you write.”
“I’ll do my best to think of any interesting places to take you, Ken-kun!” Mamoru decided.
“So, is it a date then?” Ken dropped another teasing question.
“Ehh?! A–a date?!” Mamoru became so flustered, he leaned back too much and–oops.
“Wait–Mamoru!” Ken tried to recover their balance but it was too late. They both fell towards the ground, but luckily they landed on soft grass. Ken was on his back with Mamoru right on top of him still in Ken’s arms.
“Ahhh! I’m sorry, Ken-kun! Are you hurt?” Mamoru got up first and looked down at Ken to make sure he was okay.
Ken started laughing again. “You’re the one who’s hurt, Mamoru. I have to make sure you’re alright first! I’m a knight after all who protects the princess!”
Ken sat up and checked Mamoru’s ankle to make sure the sprain didn’t get any worse. When he looked up at Mamoru’s face, Ken noticed that Mamoru’s face was really red.
“Mamoru? Are you alright?” Ken started to worry when Mamoru wasn’t saying anything.
“I–knight–princess…!” Mamoru seemed caught off guard.
Ken smiled as he picked out some loose leaves out of Mamoru’s hair. Mamoru was being cute. Even though Mamoru sprained his ankle and needed to be taken care of, Ken was glad to share these moments with Mamoru.
“Here, Princess Mamoru, only a little bit more until we return to GROWTH’s kingdom,” Ken knelt in front of Mamoru and held out his hand.
Mamoru put his hand in Ken’s hand and Ken smiled bright like the sun.
“Somehow–how should I say this–it kind of feels like you’re proposing to me, Ken-kun,” Mamoru said his thoughts out loud.
“I have to ask for Kou and Ryo’s blessings first,” Ken told Mamoru. “Kou is your designated guardian after all, and Ryo is our lovingly strict mom.”
Ken laughed at the image of asking Kou and Ryo for Mamoru’s hand in marriage and what their reactions would be like. But that would be another story for later in the future, after Mamoru’s leg recovers so they can practice dancing together.