Work Text:
There was the time Utahoshi Kengo fell in love with Kisaragi Gentarou.
Honestly, it wasn't anything that astounding. Kisaragi had risked his life to try and save him, had talked him down from panic more than once, they'd shook hands in that ridiculous friend-making handshake of Kisaragi's.
Afterwards they'd all trickled back in, Kisaragi and himself last. They left together, walking along in companiable silence until the corner where they split. Kisaragi turned and smiled, clasping his shoulder.
"I really am glad we got to you." For some reason, that smile hit Kengo harder than usual.
'Oh,' Kengo thought, heart pounding. 'I'm in love with him.'
But, as young love does, he did his best to ignore it.
There was the time Kisaragi Gentarou found out that Utahoshi Kengo was in love with him.
Kengo was unusually quiet on the way home, but then again he was too. Somehow it was just a quiet sort of night, after the prom and everything. They'd gotten to their corner and Gentarou was halfway through a 'good night' when Kengo grabbed his arm.
"Walk me home." And well, that was an odd request, but he'd do anything for his friends. Maybe Kengo had something to show him? They arrived, and after a long silence Gentarou once again prepared to say good night, cut off just as he opened his mouth.
"Dance with me?" Now, Gentarou knew he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but there was no way he was supposed to expect that. He stared for a moment, watching as Kengo got redder and looked away. Well, he couldn't just let a friend be embarrassed like that!
"Of course." He held his hand out, smiling, waiting patiently as Kengo hesistated before stepping into his arms.
It was obvious that Kengo was already too embarrassed to do anything big like he'd done with Miu, so Gentarou just swayed slowly, taking them in a couple of lazy circles. Kengo slowly migrated until his face was buried against Gentarou's shoulder, hands clasping tight onto his own.
Kengo eventually pulled away, just barely smiling. Gentarou pumped fists in his head - it was hard to get him happy! Kengo reached up, pulling him in, and kissed him softly.
Wait.
"Good night."
What.
He stared after the other as he quietly stepped back into his apartment, looking not even a little bit like he was joking. And, well, Gentarou may be oblivious, but he knew what that meant.
He just opted to not talk about it as long as Kengo did. It worked well enough.
There was the time that Kisaragi Gentarou realized he was in love with Utahoshi Kengo.
He hadn't thought much about it since then (lies, all lies, the only one Gentarou lied to was himself) but it was still there, in the back of his mind. Kengo liked him - like-liked him, or something.
Gentarou didn't realize he was beautiful until he was there, standing in the white void, reaching for him. His stomach dropped, his chest tightened, and he grabbed on, unable to do anything else.
"Henshin!!"
He came abruptly back into existence, lost momentarily until Kengo's hand connected with his again. Kengo looked wrecked.
"Kengo." He'd been dead. "I felt it." No, wait. Not now. Maybe. "I felt yours, everyone's warmth in my hands." Mostly his. Kengo's. Kengo.
"I see." Gentarou smiled.
"I could feel it at the bottom of my stomach." Your feelings. My feelings. Friendship, love, it was all the same, just levels of the same burning. He realized that now. "In this galaxy, there's no one you can't befriend!" It only took him dying to realize everything. He really was an idiot, he supposed.
"Don't say such nonsense!" And Kengo's facade cracked again, tears slipping through. "More importantly... you're going, right?" Going where? "I know you're an idiot. You're obviously going to go save not just the others but Sakuta too." Gentarou couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah. I'll save all my buds." They would. Together.
"Good. Let's go save them. Using your new power!" They clapped hands again, tears spilling over in Gentarou's eyes this time too. He had to something. Couldn't leave this feeling alone.
Before he realized it he'd pulled himself forward, smashing their faces together. Kengo startled backwards, breaking what should've been an awesome kiss (and not something that was totally aggravating his split lip, ow).
"Kisaragi--" Gentarou grinned. Well, it was good enough.
"After. We have work to do!"
There was the time neither Kisaragi Gentarou nor Utahoshi Kengo admitted their feelings.
Kengo managed to drag Kisaragi back to his apartment after that whole mess, insisting on bandaging him up. Just because he'd come back didn't mean he wasn't still beat up. After a bit of friendly banter on the walk back they both fell silent other than the occasional pained wince from Kisaragi. Kengo's hands eventually stilled, just after smoothing the last bandage over his back.
"...I'm sorry." Kisaragi frowned, tilting his head back into Kengo's lap so he could look up at him.
"What're you sitting around being sorry for?" He grinned, squirming closer. "Nothin' to be sorry about. Without you I'd be..." Kengo winced, shoving his hand over Kisaragi's mouth. He didn't even want to think about it again.
"It was everyone. Not just me." Kisaragi's lips pressed against his hand and he jumped, feeling his face flush as the bastard grinned up at him.
"Everyone was there, but you..." His face wiggled like he was thinking too hard. "You actually pulled me back, with your own hands." He took Kengo's hands and placed them against his face, beaming up at him. "That's important."
"Kisaragi..." He should say something more, he thought, as Kisaragi reached up and pulled him down into an even messier kiss than he'd managed before. Kengo couldn't help but laugh, which made Kisaragi break out too, and that of course broke any tension that was left in the room.
"I don't think this'll work out," he managed as he caught his breath, still grinning like a loon. Kisaragi just grinned back.
"I can fix that." He sat up and swung around, straddling Kengo and planting himself firmly in his lap. Kengo's mouth went dry, heart once again captured by that damned smile. Kisaragi slung his arms over his shoulders, leaning close.
"Better?" Kengo's hands twitched. This still didn't feel real.
"...yeah." Kisaragi almost pouted, and Kengo smiled again, hesistating one more moment before sliding his hands around Kisaragi's waist. No more bandages, he thought. Not with Cosmic. They would protect him. He would protect him.
Kengo started the kiss this time, as Kisaragi obviously had no idea what he was doing. Minutes later he remembered how he'd survived as Fourze in the first place - Kisaragi was a quick learner in everything except academics. Kengo was out of breath and, if the panting was anything to go by, so was Kisaragi.
He still wasn't sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Can I stay the night?" He'd never heard Kisaragi so quiet. The heat in it crept down his spine and settled low in his stomach, choking him with its strength.
"Yes," he whispered. 'Stay forever,' he meant.
There was the time Utahoshi Kengo broke Kisaragi Gentarou's heart.
Kengo's entire explanation felt wrong. No -- he felt wrong.
He wouldn't even let them try to stop him.
Was this all he amounted to, in the end?
Gentarou wouldn't let it end like this. Kengo wasn't a sample, he was--
His friend. And more. He had to--
"Friendship, huh? I will store that in my memory. An irrational being like yourself would surely be of interest to the Presenter."
Gentarou swore that his heart shattered, the pieces exploding outwards and robbing him of breath, pain stabbing through his chest.
"Is that really so? What about your memories of me, Yuuki, or the Rider Club?!" Something, anything. Kengo... please. "Are you really just a sample?!"
"That's right. When the Core Child awakens, it loses all human emotion." There's no way. There had to be something--- ah.
"Then... why were you looking at the Earth from the moon before?"
He wouldn't give up that hope.
There was the time when Kisaragi Gentarou saved Utahoshi Kengo.
That idiot was ruining the whole thing. Every word found the cracks in what he'd hoped was impenetrable armor and stabbed like a knife to his core.
"Be honest with your feelings, Kengo!" He shattered.
"But... It's too painful unless I do this." Even he could hear the waver in his voice. He-- he wouldn't cry. Shit. "I'm a sample!" Damnit, damnit, damnit. "So I should act like a sample!" What do you want from me, he screamed in his head. Why are you so...
"I..." He dropped. It all hurt too much. "I don't want to leave you guys either." He wanted to stay, forever. To continue these idiotic school days and the fights and the everything until he turned to dust. "But... this is fate. I can't defy it."
He was pulled up and wrapped in an embrace he never wanted to leave. This was where he belonged, he wanted to yell. The Presenter didn't need him.
"Get going, Kengo." What? He was crying, too. Kengo never meant to...
"But... as a human." He handed over the Fourze driver, and Kengo couldn't even think. "You'll represent all our friends. Stick your chest out and go! Go be the Presenter's bud." He couldn't... idiot. Always thinking about friends. "And then... wait for us. Because we'll use our own power..." Alwaays optimistic. Always there. Always... "To see you."
"Parting is the broken bone of the heart. It may hurt now, but it'll be stronger when mended!" He was crying. They both were - full, hard tears. That was the truth of it. Neither of them wanted to let go, but they had to. "We're... we're buds!" Kengo knew. Knew what that meant. Knew it meant everything. "Always!" He wanted to kiss him until neither could find the breath to cry. "Always."
Yuuki sang for him. And cried, too. He hadn't realized how powerful this friendship could be.
"Kisaragi." And he turned and smiled at him, and Kengo knew he could never truly leave. His heart belonged to Gentarou, and it would stay with him regardless of where this body went. "Let's go."
His name was the last on his lips when he died.
There was the time when Utahoshi Kengo wrote a letter.
The letter. The damned letter.
Gentarou knew what it meant.
His heart belongs to you too, Kengo. Always.
He's sorry he never told you.
There was the time when Kisaragi Gentarou told Utahoshi Kengo that he loved him. Finally.
Gentarou didn't care how it happened. He had Kengo back. And this time, he wouldn't let him go. Not alone.
"Ah, Kengo did it too!" He was like... Kengo again.
Well, he wasn't going to take the chance.
"Kengo." He looked puzzled, but turned anyways. Gentarou thumped his chest twice, and pointed at him. Kengo grinned, opening his mouth to say what he thought Gentarou was going to say.
"You'll befriend everyone, I kno--"
"I, Kisaragi Gentarou, love you, Utahoshi Kengo!!!"
Kengo stared. Yuuki stared. Half the school stared. It was still worth it, when Kengo finally laughed and did the same motion back.
They might have kissed. Yuuki might have made some rather girly noises. Some people were surprised, other people less so. Ryuusei might have laughed at them.
They were together again, and that was all that mattered.