Work Text:
Saturday.
Mondo is back to a place he calls home. A room with a stench that permeates through the walls, making the entire apartment smell like the sharp fragrance of hair gel and body spray. A top bunk that was originally his brother’s, now belonging to him after the injuries he faced made it harder to get up there. It’s a place much rougher than the dorm buildings at Hope’s Peak, but Mondo prefers it nonetheless.
He had returned home after the day prior - that Friday was an event planned by Makoto to introduce some of the people they were the closest to, one guest each. Most people brought one of their parents or siblings, and occasionally a friend or two. They went out for dinner, they got to know each other better, and generally Mondo learned a thing or two about his classmates.
Okay, that’s a lie. He didn’t learn a whole lot about most of his other classmates - rather, Mondo learned a lot more about the Ultimate Moral Compass, Kiyotaka Ishimaru. He had sat next to him and his dad, listening to his dad tell all sorts of stories about his son, and vice versa with Taka talking about him. Mondo made sure to be respectful too, distinct from how he usually treated older people.
But I mean, that doesn’t mean anything, right? Just trying to be respectful towards the father of the guy that’s my new best friend. Okay, maybe more than best friends. What’s closer than friends, even? Oh come on… it was just one hour in the sauna. That doesn’t change shit about who I am! I mean, I still like chicks… shit, I can like dudes too, though, can’t I? Can I even like both of them at the same time? How the fuck does that work?
And so, Mondo laid there on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling fan as he reflected on the past day, and his ‘friendship’ with Taka. Of course, his train of thought was derailed the moment he heard the front door open, and the sound of Daiya’s footsteps.
“Hey Mondo, I’m home.” Daiya’s voice echoed from the front door as he swung the door back, making sure it locked properly.
“Sup. Brought back dinner?” Mondo looked down at the table, seeing the bag of fast food. “Oh, c’mon, burgers?”
“Relax little bro, the burger’s for me. I know how much you hate em. I got you nuggets instead.”
That seemed to calm Mondo down. “Mm, how many?”
“20 piece. Figured you hadn’t had much to eat for today.” Daiya took a seat at the table, his leg brace creaking as he sat down. Mondo sat down, pulling the carton of nuggets out. “I mean, you slept past breakfast.”
“Yesterday was exhausting, can you blame me?” Mondo spoke up, opening the carton up and popping one right into his mouth. “...Taka’s dad being a cop was not something I woulda expected.”
“Everybody call him that?” Daiya asked, looking right at Mondo.
“Huh?”
“That nickname. I figured everybody would call him Ishimaru, but…”
“It’s just easier to say, nothing more to it.” Mondo went back to the chicken, dipping one into some ponzu sauce.
“Or it means you’re closer to him than you told me you were.” Daiya smirks, narrowing his gaze.
“The hell are you talking about?” Mondo stopped leaning back on his chair, shifting forward and putting his focus on his brother.
“Oh, come on. I know how you are. I’d expect you to sit by a hot chick over some stuck-up hall monitor.” Daiya chuckled, taking a sip of water.
“Look, it was the only spot left, okay? Sure we’re friends, but that’s not the reason I wanted to sit by him, just no other-”
Daiya scoffed, interrupting him. “Aw, don’t gimme that, we were one of the first to make it to the table. You coulda sat anywhere, and yet you chose him. Plus, you were tryna learn more about his dad. The look on your face when you found out he was more uptight than his son…”
Daiya noticed that Mondo wasn’t responding. He leaned forward, his tone becoming more sincere. “...hey, look. It’s nothin’ to be ashamed of. Just find it kinda funny we’re both bi, y’know?”
“What?” Mondo spoke back up, his eyes meeting Daiya’s.
“Yeah, you didn’t know? I lean both ways too.” Daiya spoke with a somewhat playful tone, chuckling a little.
“And you didn’t tell me this?”
“I figured you either already knew, or that it wasn’t important to bring up.” Daiya shrugged. “Besides, not like I’ve found anyone anyways. Unlike you.”
Mondo scoffs, looking down. “Come on, how was I supposed to know this? I didn’t expect for both of us to be, y’know…”
Daiya nods. “Hey, just how life is sometimes. Don’t take it so hard, okay? Point is… I want you to be comfortable with yourself. Took me a good while to accept that I was too…”
Mondo looked back up, still averting eye contact. “...yeah, but it just feels so odd, y’know? Like, it feels like that’s somethin’ I shouldn’t be able to do, and yet…”
Daiya got up, walking over to Mondo and putting his hand on his shoulder, reassuring him. “It’s perfectly normal, bro.”
“Is it?” Internally, Mondo was questioning a lot. My brother’s got the same sort of feelings about people? I mean, he’s pretty chill about it, but… still, you can do that? It just feels…
Daiya spoke up again. “Yeah. If that’s how you feel, that’s how you feel. Nothing can change that, and that’s normal. Nothin’ to worry about, okay?”
Mondo smiles, getting up and hugging his brother. “...dammit, you got me all sentimental now-”
Daiya chuckles, patting his back. “It’s alright, little bro.” The former biker leader pulled away after a little bit, giving Mondo a light bap to the shoulder. “But out of all people, you chose that guy to have these feelings over?” Daiya smirks, returning to his chair.
“So what if he’s stuck-up, we’ve got a true bond, y’know?” And as the two of them returned quickly to their lunch, they felt a little more comfortable in who they are.