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Kojiro bit his pencil absentmindedly while reading his textbook once again. He was supposed to study earlier, but he went skating with Kaoru. So, there he was, eyes and brain tired, repeating some boring stuff he won’t remember in a week. He ripped his eyes off the textbook with a huff of frustration. His house was quiet, that’s why he easily heard quiet knocking at the door. He decided to ignore it, but the sound repeated.
‘Who the hell is knocking at one a.m.?’ he muttered to himself, as he went to the door. He opened it and his breath hitched. His best friend Kaoru was standing in front of him, but something was off. His head was lowered, and he was breathing heavily. His hair was loose, covering part of his face, instead of his usual ponytail. He still had the shirt he was wearing earlier, when they went skating, but it was crumbled and missing all his accessories.
'What...’ Kojiro started but made up his mind ‘Come in’
Once his friend got in and he closed the door, Kaoru started shaking. Kojiro instinctively pulled the other teen into a hug, and he felt slender fingers cling to him desperately. He didn’t ask, he just ran his fingers through that pink hair in calming circles. After a while Kaoru pulled back, keeping his gaze on the floor.
'What happened?’ Kojiro looked at his friend in concern. Kaoru let out a shaky breath and jerked his head up, moving his hair from his face, revealing a nasty bruise and a cut on his cheek.
‘Shit’ Kojiro swallowed. He wanted to splutter out a bunch of questions but decided to focus on helping his friend first.
‘Why don’t you go to my room while I’ll get some ice for you, okay’ he asked softly and lend out his palm. Kaoru nodded and let himself to be led to the bedroom. Kojiro guided him to the door and then quickly went to the kitchen.
He grabbed a pack of ice he always kept in his refrigerator because of skateboarding. He and Kaoru got injured a lot. But that bruise... It didn’t look like one you could get from falling of your board. He shook his head and went back to his room.
Kaoru was sitting on his bed with his head resting on his knees. His eyes were absent, and he was still breathing heavily. Kojiro sat down next to and gently tapped his friend's shoulder, getting his attention. When Kaoru jerked his head up, Kojiro passed him the ice.
‘Thanks’ he murmured and flinched at the cold when he pressed the pack to his cheek, turning his gaze away.
‘Do you want to talk?’ Kojiro asked gently. He saw Kaoru’s hand clench into a fist, nails digging hard into his palm. Kojiro gently took him by his hand.
‘I... I just... I don’t know’ Kaoru spluttered out with defeat in his eyes.
‘I’m here if you do’ Kojiro squeezed his hand ‘But you know, you don’t have to’
Kaoru exhaled slowly and Kojiro observed him carefully. He was trying to act calmly but he was afraid and worried for his friend. Did somebody hurt him? Was it intentional? Is he injured anywhere else? Why the hell is he here at one a.m.? Not that it was unusual for them to hang out late, but they agreed to go home earlier than usual before exams.
‘I think I ran away from my house’ Kaoru spoke after a while. Kojiro felt the urge to ask a bunch of questions, but instead he caressed his hand and waited patiently. ‘My father, he...’
Kaoru paused and bit his lip. He turned his face away and clenched the ice pack harder. Kojiro felt a wave of anger when he realised his friend was stopping himself from crying. Recently, he was determined to suppress his emotions for some reason. He thought that nobody would notice but Kojiro sensed the change immediately.
‘Hey, you don’t have to hold back tears around me’ he whispered but Kaoru just shook his head.
‘I’m fine and I'm not holding back anything’ he said stubbornly and put the ice pack down ‘Although my cheek is freezing already. Thanks for the ice’
Kojiro sighed and laid the pack on a random cloth he had on his desk. He tried to pick the one that had the least grease on it. Normally, he would start a fight with the other teenager, but he had a feeling something serious was going on. So, he just glared at Kaoru, who was fidgeting with his hair.
‘Fine’ Kaoru sighed, breaking the silence ‘There’s something about me that’s... Different from most people’
‘Hard not to notice’ Kojiro snickered, pointing at his long, pink hair and multiple piercings.
‘It’s not like that!’ Kaoru bridled but then took a deep breath and calmed down.
‘I’m gay’ he whispered, averting his gaze and biting his lip.
Something in Kojiro twitched when he heard those words. Not because he was homophobic or something. Because of the tone in which Kaoru had said it. Embarrassed, humiliated, disgusted. Like it’s a sin or a crime.
‘Okay. And?’ he asked carefully.
‘You’re not... Mad?’ Kaoru turned to him abruptly with wide eyes ‘Disappointed?’
‘Why would I be?’ Kojiro frowned ‘Fuck, you could say that you fell in love with a robot and I still wouldn’t care. I’m your friend not because of who you kiss, but because of who you are’
Kaoru exhaled slowly and buried his face in his hands. Kojiro shifted closer to him and put his palm in his hair, gently brushing his fingers through those soft pink strands.
‘My parents got mad’ Kaoru mumbled ‘Especially my father’
Kojiro gritted his teeth. Of course. How could he think of any other reason for his friends' bruises and bad mood. It wasn’t the first time Kaoru’s father hit him. The other teenager always brushed it off, justifying his parents' actions, but Kojiro knew how hurt Kaoru was after every ‘innocent’ slap that he ‘deserved’. But the conflicts at the Sakurayashiki household never escalated far enough for somebody to move out.
‘They’re assholes’
‘They’re not’ Kaoru jerked his head up, knocking Kojiro’s palm away ‘They’re right! Most of the time...’
‘Kaoru, come on! They are horrible. They hurt you repeatedly and yet you still want to pretend everything’s fine!'
Silence from Kaoru’s side was enough for an answer. He hid his face once again. Kojiro sighed and nudged him with his shoulder.
‘You can crash here tonight’ Kojiro murmured gently.
‘Thank you... For everything’
‘No problem. I’m always there for you’
Kaoru propped his head on his knees and smiled lightly ‘Why were you up anyway?’
‘I was trying to study’ Kojiro nudged his head in the direction of his desk covered with books and notebooks ‘For the test next week’
Kaoru’s smile dropped and he exhaled with frustration ‘Fuck... I forgot about that’
‘Don’t even think of studying right now’ Kojiro glared at his friend who sheepishly played with his hair ‘We both need to rest’
‘Probably’ Kaoru admitted and took off his untied shoes ‘Wait... Are your parents going to mind?’
‘They’re not here. And even if they were, they would allow it’ Kojiro quickly added, noticing Kaoru’s wide eyes ‘They adore you. I’m pretty sure my mother loves you more than me’
‘That’s not true’ Kaoru huffed, although Kojiro could see a faint blush on his cheeks.
‘Whatever. Go to sleep’ Kojiro rolled his eyes and stood up, only now releasing the other teenager’s hand.
He went to the closet and took one of his bigger shirts and tossed it to Kaoru. He turned to his desk to clean up a bit to let his friend change. Kojiro was already wearing pyjamas so after a while he just flipped the light switch and the room went dark.
It was not the first time they were sleeping in the same bed together. It was also not the first time they had a sleepover in Kojiro’s house. His bed was big enough to fit both of them. Nothing unusual from those years of friendship. So why did that time felt different? Kojiro couldn’t name what he was feeling, but when he slid under the covers and touched Kaoru’s arm it felt... Somehow embarrassing. Almost intimate.
‘Goodnight Pinkie’ Kojiro felt a knee hit his ribs and he hissed.
‘Goodnight dimwit’ He hit Kaoru’s arm with his fist in return.
Kojiro shifted a bit and felt Kaoru curl up next to his side. Half-asleep, he put an arm around his friend. Kaoru twitched, surprised but exhaled with relief. Kojiro quickly drifted to sleep listening to Kaoru’s steady breathing.