Chapter Text
Kojiro had always been an excellent son. He wasn't the best in terms of grades, and maybe not in terms of behavior, but... you could say he was a good boy. He wasn't rude, he helped anyone and he always obeyed his parents. Well, at least that was his parents' view of him. But he had a terrible habit of coming back hours late and full of bruises. There was only one thing that Kojiro loved as much as his family and friends; skateboarding.
As usual, he glided along on his skateboard on one of the only flat, well-lit bridges at that time of night. What time was it? Eleven o'clock? Midnight? They never worried about that enough. In that area, so far from the shopping center, they didn't have to worry about officers on the beat or neighbors complaining about the noise. They had marked the place as P.W.G.A.W.O.P. - Place Without Guards And With Old People. That's why the wheels of his skateboard made so much noise, and he at least cared about it.
Removing the acrylic from the stone, the only sound was the laughter of Kaoru, who was leaning against the parapet of the bridge next to Adam. His skateboard was resting loosely on one of the pillars and Adam's went back and forth under his foot as he said something that seemed extremely funny to Kaoru. The pink-haired boy was not the easy type to win over - even though, when he had met him, Kojiro was actually the one who had accepted his friendship. It's not like he was jealous. Of Kaoru? Not at all. They'd been friends since kindergarten. It wasn't some blue-haired boy who was going to get cherry-picked off him, right?
They didn't stay there much longer. The sound of thunder startled them and they had to run home. Adam lived in a mansion in the opposite direction from their houses, and the first one they reached was Kojiro's. His mother greeted them at the door with a smile. His mother greeted them at the door with her usual sermons and gave Kaoru a warm hug.
— Kaoru darling, how you've grown! — Kaoru flashed his best smile, the woman's hair tangling in his ear piercings — oh dear, you and those young people's accessories. Be careful not to regret it in the future.
— I told you, Mrs. Nanjo, I'm not going. — the woman held him by the cheeks and smiled.
— I'll call and tell your father you're staying here. Go wash up and go straight to bed.
— but we're hungry, Mom! — Kojiro threw his arms around his mother's neck dramatically and she pushed him away.
— Come back early then. Wait until breakfast.
The two of them grumbled their way to Kojiro's room. The Nanjo family was considerably simpler than Kaoru or Adam, but the former never seemed to really care. He always used to say that 'money had never paid for the happiness he got from skateboarding' and he felt something similar when he was in that simple house. Kaoru threw himself onto the bed already made for him as soon as he got in, stretching out like a cat. The skateboards had been left in the laundry room on the way to the bedroom.
— God, I'm so broken. — he grumbled.
Kojiro walked over to his own bed, next to where his friend was, and looked down at him. Kaoru was upside down, her hair strewn across the mattress like a wet, pink sea. Her eyes sparkled as she stared back at him. Her beauty was painful.
— I need to ask you something — Kojiro said before he realized he was doing it.
Kaoru stood up, turned upside down and rested his face in his hands with a smile. His hair covered his face and he pushed it away with an exaggerated movement. Painful.
— Say it then.
— I've known you for ages, you know... — he began.
— you know I hate beating around the bush, just say it!
— Do you like Adam? - the surprise on his face was very sudden. If Kojiro hadn't known him well, he wouldn't have noticed his lip tremble slightly as he looked away, him snap two fingers and his cheeks take on a little color.
— What are you talking about? — His voice shook a little. It was all over his face.
— come on Cherry, we're best friends. — His eyes turned to him, uncertain. Were they still best friends?
The seconds it took Kaoru to think of an answer seemed like hours. Kojiro's heart was pounding uncontrollably. There was no point in feeling this way. His whole body burned with anxiety, while he felt as cold as ever.
— What do I do, Koh?
Oh, so I was right.
All the heat in his body went out. The cold passed. His heart even seemed to stop for a moment. He took a deep breath, feeling an emptiness in his chest where he used to feel so full that it seemed to hurt. He shrugged.
— I don't know.
[...]
Kojiro was a few minutes into his precious sleep. But something was bothering him, inside his chest, near that emptiness. He turned from side to side and looked at the window. The moon shone outside, far away and lonely. Sometimes Kojiro felt that way too.
He was startled when the phone rang. The special ring only for friends was probably a sign of trouble. When he saw that it was Kaoru, who never called, especially at this time of day, he knew for sure.
— Kaoru? You know what time... — he cut himself off when he heard the whimpering on the other end of the line. — Cher, what's wrong?
— Koh... - his voice was broken, choppy. The sound could have broken Kojiro's heart into pieces. — Adam, he... — he paused to sob.
— Wait, tell me where he is. I'm on my way there now. — the boy hesitated for a moment.
— on the bridge...
Kojiro had never gotten dressed as quickly as he had that night. He picked up his skateboard and skated so fast to the bridge that he didn't notice the bewildering number of people awake on the way. When he arrived, Kaoru had his back to the parapet, hugging his knees to his chest. It was an automatic action when his feet simply abandoned the skateboard and he dropped to his knees beside it.
— Cher... — the smaller man looked up at him, red and swollen, and threw his arms over his shoulders. Kojiro sat up and wrapped his arms around his friend's waist, bringing him closer. — What happened?
— Adam — the mention of his name made Kojiro's heart pound. If he had done anything to Kaoru... — he left.
That was anything but what Kojiro had expected. Kaoru was still sobbing against his neck, tears running down his shirt. Adam had left? But... where?
— Where? — Kaoru began to shake his head from side to side, refraining from continuing. Kojiro brought him even closer, if that was even possible — hey, it's okay. I'm here, okay? I won't leave you. — Kaoru collapsed. If Kojiro got his hands on that bastard...
It took a few minutes for Kaoru to recover enough to go straight to Kojiro's house. They sneaked into the house on tiptoe so that no one would notice them, and closed the bedroom door behind them. Kaoru sat on Kojiro's bed, hugging himself for comfort. The green-haired boy knelt in front of him, resting his arms and face on his knees.
— you can take one of my pajamas, the blue one you like, and tomorrow when we wake up, we'll skip class, I'll make you a hot chocolate and we'll watch dinosaur movies while you braid my hair. - Kaoru laughed, tears forming in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and put his hand on his friend's cheek.
— you're too good for me. — Kojiro smiled.
— Yeah, you're right, I'm too nice a guy. — Kaoru pushed his face slowly and he fell over, laughing.
— thank you Koh. I really do. — his eyes sparkled as he thanked him, and the smile was so genuine that it made Kojiro's heart skip a beat. A painful beauty.
— Friends are for such things. Best friends, for even more things.
— like what? — Only now did the taller man realize that he could be misunderstood. He felt his cheeks heat up.
— like... letting you win at Mortal Kombat.
— then you're a very good friend, because I always win. — Kojiro opened his mouth, perplexed.
— that's not true! There was that time, last week, that I kicked your ass.
Kaoru started laughing, for real now, and was already making fun of his friend again. Suddenly, everything was fine again, and the world was in order.
[...]