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“Have you ever thought about how you and me are like Taichi and Yamato?”
The question seemingly came out of nowhere, Satoru’s voice bubbling out with the breeze that swayed gently in the tree above. He laid out underneath its canopy, legs crossed with his foot bobbing in a stream of practically endless energy. A set of sunglasses rested beside him, the temples half-opened and woven through the blades of grass. His cellphone was clutched loosely in his upraised hand, the charms swinging with each movement of his arm. Digimon charms. The crests of courage and friendship specifically.
Silence met his question. Satoru blinked, turning his gaze towards his companion. Suguru wasn’t looking back at him, engrossed entirely in the novel sitting open in his lap. Or so it seemed. He was listening. Satoru could tell by the twitch of his brow, by the subtle flick of his dark eyes towards him. Strands of dark hair spilled over his face, most of it tugged up into his traditional bun. His fingers tapped against the edges of the book’s cover, the beat reminiscent of the love song that Satoru had caught him humming just yesterday.
Pouting, Satoru rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin in his hands as he stared up at his best friend. “Suguru~” he lilted, head tilting to the side. “Answer the question, Suguru.” Those dark eyes slid to him, a slender eyebrow lifting enough to convey his amused annoyance. At least, that’s how Satoru chose to view it.
“I honestly don’t know that much about digimon, Satoru,” Suguru responded after a moment, punctuating his words with the slow turning of the page. “I was always much more of a Pokémon fan.”
Satoru gasped, collapsing onto his side with a hand clutched over his heart. His eyes fluttered shut, his free hand rising to rest dramatically against his forehead. “No! Say it isn’t so! To think, this is how you betray me. How could you have such bad taste in anime?” Suguru snorted and shook his head.
“Y’know, there would be a lot of people out there who would say the same thing about you, Satoru.” Amusement wove through his tone, a smile trembling on the corners of his mouth. His pout returning, Satoru sat up with a huff. His brows furrowed, arms crossing firmly over his chest.
“Uh, no they wouldn’t. Because liking Digimon means I have excellent taste! Unlike those who like Pokémon. Pokémon is obviously just a cash grab, unlike Digimon which-”
“Which is the same as Pokemon…just for people with no friends.” Satoru’s mouth clicked shut, his eyes widening slowly. Because ouch, low blow. No need to come for his throat like that. Suguru turned towards him, finally closing his book, and leaned closer, a sly smirk stretching across his face. “Or…that you’re just a furry.” Satoru choked, sputtering out something incomprehensible in lieu of an actual reply. Suguru sat back, a satisfied smile curving his lips.
“Suguru! I…you…”
“Oh, relax, Satoru. I’m just teasing you,” Suguru said, his eyes twinkling.
Satoru rolled his eyes, shoulders hunching with an aggravated huff. “You say teasing, I say bullying,” he muttered. “So rude, Suguru. So rude.” Suguru laughed, leaning back against the tree trunk. His book now rested beside him, finally closed and forgotten. Satoru glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, the blue of his gaze peeking through the curtain of white, but maintained his pout even as his irritation faded in light of his companion’s continued laughter.
Suguru really had a nice laugh.
“Okay, okay,” Suguru hiccuped, a smile playing at his lips. “What was it you wanted to talk about, Satoru? I’m listening now.” Satoru shook his head, a flush dusting across his delicate features. Alright, now was not the time for those thoughts. Focus, Satoru. His eyes narrowed, his pout deepening.
“And how do I know you’re not going to just bully me some more?” Suguru lifted his hands in an attempt to placate him.
“I’m not going to tease you…not unless you deserve it in some way. Which you usually do.” Rolling his eyes, Satoru flopped back onto the grass. Just for that, he wasn’t going to answer. Serves him right. Bastard. He tucked his hands under his head, fingers interlaced, and stared up at the sky through the cracks in the treetop. What would normally feel far too bright felt manageable under here, in the shade, in the presence of his best friend. A smile curving his lips, his eyes slipped closed. His sunglasses toppled forward into the dirt, forgotten by his side.
A finger poked at his cheek.
“Oi, Satoru. We weren’t done talking. You wanted to talk about Digimon, so let’s talk Digimon. You were saying something about Taichi and Yamato, right?” Satoru’s smile grew, not bothering to open his eyes.
“And here I thought you weren’t listening, Suguru~” he said. He could feel rather than see Suguru’s eye roll, annoyance evident in the lengthy sigh that gusted in his direction. “You get points for paying attention!”
“Oh my god, please shut up,” Suguru groaned out, a hand running over his face. Satoru cracked open an eye to watch him.
“But I thought you wanted to talk to me now!”
“Satoru.” Satoru laughed at the deadpan delivery of his name, shoulders shaking and eyes cinching closed. Huffing, Suguru rolled him over with a shove of his foot, hard enough to choke his laughter, but not enough to actually hurt. Not that Suguru would ever hurt him. Not on purpose. Even though they both knew that he was the only one who could hurt him. Satoru was sometimes comforted by that thought, the thought that there was someone out there who couldhurt him. “Would you please stop being difficult?”
Satoru peeked at him over his shoulder, fluttering his eyes at him. “Oh, but here I thought you liked when I was difficult,” he purred, thoroughly delighted by the blush that darkened Suguru’s face. His lips peeling back, Suguru shoved him once more with the foot still lodged in his side, sending him back into furious giggles.
“Will you please get back on topic, asshole?!”
“There was a topic?” Groaning, Suguru’s fingers pinched at the bridge of his nose and his eyes closed.
“Let me guess,” Suguru ground out, his words edged with aggravation. “You wanted to talk about how you’re just like Taichi, the main character who’s the strongest in the whole show, and that I’m just like Yamato, his best friend companion who’s really just around to make Taichi look better.” Satoru, rolling onto his back, leveled an unamused stare at Suguru, one eyebrow rising towards his hairline.
“…Wow. You just told me you never watched Digimon without actually telling me you never watched Digimon. Like wow. You got everything wrong. That’s impressive actually. I didn’t know you could be so wrong about something.” Heaving a sigh, Suguru’s head lolled back to stare up at the interlocking branches making up their cover. Not like that hid the blush on his cheeks. Grinning, Satoru nudged his thigh with a finger. “No need to be embarrassed! It’s cute you don’t know something!”
“And tell me, Satoru,” Suguru hissed through clenched teeth, his patience finally reaching its limit. “Where exactly were you going with this conversation then, if I’m so wrong?”
“Well, since you asked…” Satoru began, leveling himself into a sitting position once again. “First off, Taichi really isn’t the strongest in the chosen group…None of them really are. Hikari is the closest one, but even she would be squashed alone. That’s the whole point of the show, Suguru!” Suguru’s dark eyes found him once more, the annoyance flecked within flavored with fondness. His embarrassed flush was fading bit by bit and the sharp twist of his lips eased into something softer, something more relaxed.
“And which one of us is Taichi and which is Yamato?”
Satoru grinned, rocking backwards as his hands clutched at his ankles to balance himself. The wind rustled overhead, toying with his hair as it breezed past them. “Neither of us actually!” Suguru lifted an eyebrow, clearly not following. Silly Suguru, did he really have to spell out everything for him? “Does it really matter? They’re strongest when they’re together. They make the most overpowered Digimon ever because of their bond.”
Suguru softened further, the lines creasing around his eyes smoothing. He reached out and snagged Satoru’s arm to tug him back upright. Satoru sucked in a breath, his eyes widening, as that hand trailed down and slid over his own, their fingers lacing together. His heart pounded in his chest, the air thinning with each shallow breath. Heat rose to his cheeks, matching the warmth blooming over his hand. But he couldn’t stop staring at Suguru, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the practically liquid gaze leveled at him.
“Stronger together, huh?” Suguru mused, his lips barely moving. Satoru swallowed hard, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips.
“Y-yea,” he whispered, nodding.
For a moment, neither moved, afraid to shatter whatever this was that they both felt growing between them. Then, finally, a soft smile drew across Suguru’s face and he pulled back, his hand withdrawing in a hesitant slide. Satoru’s hand twitched, the skin feeling oddly cold, and he nearly protested.
“Then I suppose it really doesn’t matter, so long as we’re together.” Satoru sucked in a slow breath at the soft murmur of Suguru’s words, feeling each as if they were a warm embrace. He bit down on his lower lip, willing his heart to slow and his hands to stop trembling. But Suguru just kept staring and he still found he lacked the energy or the willpower to avert his own gaze.
“R-Right…Exactly!” A laugh, the sound pitched slightly high in his mild hysteria, burst from deep in his chest, and he stretched a smile across his features. “A-and that’s why Digimon is so amazing! Do you see now, Suguru?”
Suguru paused, blinked, and then snorted, leaning himself back against the tree once again. “Sure, Satoru. Sure.” And he picked up his book, fingers easily sliding between the pages to open it once again.
Just like that the tension was broken, air slipping back into the vacuum between them. Satoru released a breath, flopping back down onto the soft grass. That had surely been…something. His heart still thudded against his ribs, his hands still trembled against the ground.
Note to self, never bring Digimon up around Suguru again.
Between them, his cellphone sat, his charms intertwined in each other.
Like two halves of a single whole.
JJKJJK
Satoru thought back on that conversation frequently in the years that followed, but none more so than the night that Suguru walked away and didn’t look back.
He stared at his phone, nestled in his palm, and the charms that dangled over his hand. They swung separate, now, both charms cracking and faded with age and misuse.
Satoru tried not to think about it too much.
“Then I suppose it doesn’t matter…so long as we’re together.”
But that didn’t stop Suguru’s words from echoing in the emptiness of his thoughts, in the emptiness of his chest, long past when the sun rose the next morning. The light was cold, indifferent, as it glinted off his sunglasses.
Maybe it was time to switch to the blindfold more permanently.
With a sigh, he stood pulling the charms off his phone with an easy tug. They clinked when they dropped to the floor, but he didn’t look down, instead shoving his phone into his pocket and moving towards the door.
Digimon was for kids anyway.