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Raphael Hamato used to be sharp. All corners and edges. Raphael Hamato used to suck the air out of any room he walked into. It wasn't necessarily his fault, other students just had a tendency to be scared of him. Business is by no means a small major, but he ended up having the same classes with the same people semester after semester after semester and, well. Word gets around quick.
I saw him at the gym doing barbell squats, someone says. The barbell was flexing under the amount of weight he had on it, and he was barely struggling.
There was also the matter of his facial expression. It was always stark, sharp sharp sharp. Cold and stern and unflinching like a knife, like the pronged weapons someone once claimed to have seen him with, even though weapons are forbidden on campus. Not to mention the days he would come into class with a black eye or his arm in a sling or a million other little injuries. Those days, he was a storm cloud, and his electric green eyes would bore into people, and his classmates would give him a wider berth than usual.
Raphael Hamato used to be a blade. Raphael Hamato used to wield himself against the world. Raphael Hamato used to attack first, so there was never any risk of being hit from behind. Raphael Hamato used to be sharp.
And then he met Casey Jones.
It was a pretty quiet thing on campus, for a while. Most people recognize Casey Jones. Not as many people recognize Raphael Hamato. It didn't even spread to Raph's classmates until someone saw Casey in the campus cafe having coffee with Raphael Hamato and his siblings. And then.
Raphael Hamato started to soften. Raphael Hamato started smiling at his classmates. Raphael Hamato started talking more often in class, breathing life into the room, cracking jokes. Raphael Hamato became warm. Raphael Hamato's edges started wearing down.
The day he came into class, arms wrapped in bandages, spots of blood seeping through and staining the medical white, his classmates held their breath and wouldn't meet his eyes. The professor's hands shook as she stood in front of the class to give her lecture. And then Raphael Hamato cracked a joke. And his electric green eyes seemed warmer, and his shoulders were relaxed, and he was leaning back in his seat in a way that was casual and inviting and soft .
Raphael Hamato is still sharp, sometimes. There are rumors that Silas from the hockey team was harassing him. There are rumors that Raphael Hamato threw Silas across the hockey arena, rumors that Raphael Hamato almost broke Silas's arm. Raphael Hamato is still a weapon. Raphael Hamato still wields himself against the world. But Raphael Hamato doesn't just attack anymore, and he doesn't just attack for himself anymore.
Raphael Hamato is soft because of Casey Jones.
…
Casey Jones used to be wild, chipped teeth and broken bones. Casey Jones had this reputation of being the one to call if you needed something from a locked classroom or the roof of your dorm. Everyone knew he was only in school for the hockey team. He’s the starting center, he won’t get expelled if he’s caught smoking with freshmen in the rink building after hours.
Casey Jones used to be reckless and carefree. Casey Jones used to be driving too fast down winding back roads. He made those choices on purpose, pushing too hard, too far, too fast for even himself to keep up with. People used to whisper about him when they thought he was out of earshot, 'I hear he's trying to get himself killed'. He wasn't. Casey Jones just didn't care too much for living.
Casey Jones used to be fire on ice. He sent opposing centers off the rink on stretchers, holding legs or arms or heads, screaming and crying and bleeding. Casey Jones used to pick fights, drop gloves, snap sticks. The guy who used to wear the mascot suit said he saw Casey Jones smile once, in the locker room before a game, and his teeth were already gleaming with blood. Most people thought he was exaggerating. Some people thought he was underselling it.
Casey Jones used to jump out of trees just for the hell of it. Casey Jones once tweaked his ankle dropping out of a 3rd story classroom window, though if asked, he'll deny it. Casey Jones used to be a lit cigarette directly under a smoke detector. Casey Jones used to be playing road tag down a busy two-way road at 90mph. Casey Jones used to be a wildfire with anger issues.
And then he met Raphael Hamato.
His teammates claim they had no idea the two knew each other until they officially started dating. But they've had conversations where they whisper about that time Raphael Hamato threw Slash and Casey Jones was so smitten, he tripped over the rink barrier. Most people don't believe that story. At least, not the Casey Jones tripping thing. He's known to be pretty graceful.
Nobody has ever asked Casey Jones about Raphael Hamato directly. If they did, Casey Jones would probably tell them that he fell harder for Raphael Hamato than he fell out of that 3rd story window. He'll also say the fall was messier, of course, since he didn't do anything to his ankle that other time.
Since Casey Jones met Raphael Hamato, he's calmed down. Way down. Casey Jones went from being a wildfire to being a lit match. Casey Jones doesn't pick as many fights anymore, on or off the ice. Casey Jones doesn't jump out of trees anymore, unless he's trying to impress Raphael. Casey Jones has learned that actually, living is alright, if he's doing it with Raphael.