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"What would you do if there were a zombies apocalypse?"
It was a simple question Neito asked. They were on the school's roof, watching the sun go down. They should've gone home, their parents would notice, yet somehow every time, they didn't. It was their escape, which it was an odd place to escape considering that it was a school's rooftop, but maybe it was because they weren't allowed up there that made it feel so freeing.
Hitoshi sat next to Neito, their hands not even an inch away. Both their eyes gazed at the setting sun while their legs dangled from the highest part of the building. "I don't know." Hitoshi answered, his lips pressing together as he sat with that thought. What would he do?
Maybe if he was with Neito, he'd be alright. Having Neito around him would give him a purpose to push to actually live. Without the other, well then, he might hold a gun far too close to his own head, because what's the point in living if you can't fully love someone or something?
Neito gave a laugh, though what Hitoshi said wasn't funny whatsoever. "That's a pathetic answer. Come on, give me a better one." Neito tells, a grin on his lips when Hitoshi looked over to him. He rolled his eyes, sighing. "Well, how do you want me to answer?" Hitoshi asks, a frown on his own lips but it almost just looked like a childish pout. "The world would be ending, Mon cher, what would you do?" Neito asks, using those ridiculous words Hitoshi didn't even understand, he never understood anything Neito said when he spoke in French.
"Well. . . I'm unsure. Where would you be?" He asks instead. Truly, what he would do would be based on where Neito was. He'd like to go and look for him, maybe travel a bit, it depends. Hitoshi wouldn't know until it actually happened.
"I'd probably be next to you." Neito answered with simply, and Hitoshi hates how easily he spoke those words, and now Hitoshi couldn't say the same thing because it'd seem like he's copying. "Well, if you were next to me, I'd probably be protecting you." Hitoshi told, and again, Neito laughed. "More like I'd protect you. You hardly do basic hygiene every day." Neito told, waving his hand like he was gesturing towards the sky.
Hitoshi felt his face warm, looking away from the other as if that'd help his case, but it didn't, and it wouldn't. "Well i could." He muttered.
"Of course you could." Neito stated, leaning his head until he rested it onto Hitoshis shoulder, comfortable.
But what if Hitoshi couldn't? What if Neito got bit, bit so harshly he couldn't say any last words since they would only be turned into a horrible scream or yell. Maybe all he could do would be struggling to breath, grasping at the wound that Hitoshi visualized would be at his neck. Maybe Hitoshi wouldn't be able to protect Neito, but instead doom him. Maybe he forgot to lock a door, to close a window, to do something that'd lead to his Neitos death.
Maybe then, Hitoshi would watch him turn into something people would want to kill, to get rid of instead of thinking about who Neito was, who he is. They wouldn't think about his laugh, his eyes, his smile, his expressions, that look in his eye that he gets when he comes up with a wonderful, awful idea that he would drag Hitoshi with him to do. No one would think about that, only Hitoshi.
A sudden nudge to his shoulder caught him off guard, but it snapped him out of his spiral of doom thoughts. He looked over, seeing Neito looking to him unamused. "It was just a question. Theres no need for you to over think everything." Neito tells, and even if he was right, Hitoshi didn't like it.
He sighed, watching the sun struggle to keep itself seen at this time of day. "What if something like that did happen though? I'm not very strong." Hitoshi pointed out, feeling a gust of wind blowing his hair back. The wind felt nice, warm and comforting, but it only made Hitoshis hair get messier by the second.
"Not strong? You're probably one of the strongest kids at this School, Mon cher. Every straight guy here is jealous of your physique." Neito pointed out, gesturing to Hitoshis body. He was right though. Hitoshi wasn't huge and buff, but he was rather strong. He liked going to the gym at ungodly hours, but he'd rather be doing that then just lay in bed knowing he couldn't be given the grace to sleep, but Hitoshi wasn't talking about muscles.
Hitoshi wasn't strong mentally, and though he acted like he didn't care about the side eyes he got at school, or the scolding words his mother spewed at him, or even how much the teachers clearly loathed having to teach him, but in reality, he did care, maybe too much. He knew he was his weakest with Neito though. Oh, how that boy knew how to make him into a puddle. It gave Hitoshi all the reason to dispose being around the blond, yet here he was with him, every day after school.
It took a few moments until Hitoshi actually spoke again, Neito probably didn't expect it, or maybe he did. "If there were a zombie apocalypse, I would protect, even if you were a flesh eating zombie." Hitoshi told, his cheeks turning into a faint pink, keeping his eyes away from Neito best he could, but it was hard to not gaze at someone with beauty like Neitos.
. . . .
There was just silence. Hitoshi felt like a complete fool for ever speaking. He should've just kept quiet and not reveal such an answer to the blonds silly little question.
But then. . . There was a gentle laugh, which caused Neito to look over, eyebrows raising but then furrowing, unsure how to take the blonds reaction. Was he making fun of him? Or did he feel bad and was trying to lighten the mood? Either option still made Hitoshi feel like an idiot.
"You do realize that's basically telling me you like me." Neito suddenly said, pointing a finger at Hitoshi teasingly. His face was pink, his ears red, but he only made a scene out of it to bring the attention off himself, and it worked. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Oh please, no friend says something like that so passionately." The blond stated, shrugging his shoulders simply like he had no care in the world about it. "They could." Hitoshi tried to argue, but Neito just shook his head, clearly not into the idea of listening.
Hitoshi decided that now would be a good time to make his great escape as he began to stand up, but an arm slung around his shoulders, pulling him right back down where he wasn't even an inch apart from the blond. "I hope you can protect, Hitoshi, considering you'd make it your life's goal when the world is ending." Neito states, not trying to be quiet, not trying to be loud, but he was clearly happy.
The part of Hitoshis night that night, was the kiss to his cheek he received from the blond. It was quick, it was small, but it had Hitoshi giddy all night.
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The next day, Hitoshi made his way over to Neitos house. His parents weren't home, and the maids could careless as long as Hitoshi didn't make a mess. It was the weekend, and few times did Hitoshi get the opportunity to go over to the blonds house to hang out freely.
In Hitoshis hand was a small lunch box. He didn't remember packing a lunch, but he knew it was for Neito. For a small lunch box, it sure was offly heavy. Thankfully, he was there before he knew it. He didn't even knock, like he owned the place now.
He twisted the front doors handle, walking inside. "Neito, I brought you some lunch." Hitoshi called out, the place echoing his voice throughout the hall. The workers and maids were nowhere to be seen, maybe it was their off day, Hitoshi didn't know their schedule. "Neito?" He called out again. Where could he be?
He closed the front door, walking more towards the living room area that was nicely furnished and well cleaned. Neito liked things to be clean, Hitoshi knew that. He tried to keep himself clean, but he remembers Neito stating he like how liked the dirty look on him, as long as he was physically clean that is.
"Nei-"
Hitoshi was about to call his name again, but there Neito was, now standing beside Hitoshi, he didn't even hear him. Before Hitoshi could tell the blond, he took the lunch box and Hitoshis arm was relieved to be free of holding that heavy thing.
"I got you lunch, or well, in guess that's desert." Hitoshi explained, huffing a small, awkward laugh. Was his voice deeper than normal?
Neito didn't say anything, just looking over the cherry pie he was brought, and picking it up even if the cherries juice oozed out on his arm, staining his white button up shirt. He took quite the bite, it making a mess on himself.
It should've been odd, the way Neito was so messy with the pastry, and it should've been odd the way the pie seemed to never end since the blond just kept grabbing and eating, not caring for what got on him or his clothes. Even with all of that, Hitoshi just smiled, occasionally moving his hair to the side so he wouldn't get his soft, blond hair messy too.
"I didn't know you liked cherry pie so much, I'll make sure to bring some every day. It'll keep you full for a bit too." Hitoshi stated, but still, there was no response, just the sound of Neito eating, and the sight of rest all over him. He looked nice in red, the way it slightly splattered on his face when he bit into a juicy cherry and the way it ran down his arm, all the way to his elbow. He was pretty sight.
Hitoshi was convinced that no matter how Neito looked, whether he was so skinny his bones could easily break, or if he was so fat he could hardly walk, or if he was in between both, that Neito would always look beautiful. Many may call him crazy, but Hitoshi knew people just didn't understand their love. Neito was happy with his cherry pie and Hitoshi was happy to provide him with such.
The conversation they had on the roof top yesterday was quite the motivator, with the grace of Neito's hair flowing in the steady wind, or the boisterous noise that would leave his smile and turn into the beauty of a laugh, and of course, Neito's bold move of the kiss of his cheek, his lips soft and delicate, though for it just being a day, they sure did get dry.
Though. . .
The conversation they had on the roof top wasn't yesterday. In Hitoshis mind, they were both still alive and teenagers, but that conversation on the school roof happened ten years ago when they 15. Who knew a conversation so long ago could still play perfectly in Hitoshis lost mind.
When it was closer to summer that year, the apocalypse had started, and Hitoshi was too late. When he went to the others house, he was bit, and so was everyone inside, except everyone inside weren't zombies, they were mostly eaten before they could even turn. It was a gruesome.
It was a horrific sight of blood and bodies, the smell even worse, yet Hitoshi felt responsible. He made a promise, even if he didn't say it was specifically, but he felt he still had to keep his word, but in the long run, he lost his mind doing so whilst he did so.
The number of screams, the pleas, the sight of Neito, he somehow just broke along the way. Gone was Hitoshi as he was now replaced by a man who seeked the validation of his boyfriend, and who loved him possibly too much.
But he wouldn't be a good boyfriend if he didn't go out if his way to keep the house clean and go fetch him a cherry pie? Neito also seemed to love blood oranges and pomegranates. Hitoshi loved seeing him content, even if it wouldn't be for long.
Though, maybe one of these days all the people would be gone, and it'd just be him and Neito left. If that were the case Hitoshi couldn't go to the bakery or the store, he'd have to make it himself and hope that he would be just as delicious as all the other cherry pies he'd given his one and only.
Though maybe it wasn't even cherry pies that Neito liked.
Or maybe the pie wasn't quite cherry, but rather something bloody.