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It had been weeks since Leon had last talked to Mondo. It wasn’t like they fought or anything, yet Mondo was avoiding him. Leon had no idea why he was ignoring him. Had he done something wrong? It was bothering and bugging him. Ever since the day Mondo had brushed him off, Leon's thoughts had been jumbled, and were spinning around and around, like a merry-go-round.
Leon couldn't help but overthink. At first, he blamed Mondo. How could he do that to him? How could he simply ignore one of his bestest friends? The more he pondered, the more he realized his own selfishness. He shouldn't be thinking like that. Maybe there was something wrong with Mondo. Maybe it was something he did.
Leon tried to recall everything he had ever done to Mondo. Was it Leon's endless teasing? No, Mondo would get pissed, but it wasn't enough to make them fall out. Maybe it was the time Leon took a bite out of Mondo's sandwich when he wasn't looking. No, that can't be it either. That wasn't even Mondo's sandwich to begin with. Was it… Wait… That’s right.
A very recent memory had popped up in Leon's head. He and Mondo were at a carnival, having a great time. It was a nice, warm, summer evening. There was a slight breeze, making the temperature perfect for an outing. The two had gone on a rollercoaster, and came out feeling all kinds of emotions. The biker had felt refreshed for some reason. In fact, he wanted to go on the ride at least three more times. The punk, on the other hand, was on the verge of tears, shaking of fear. Although Leon couldn’t stand heights, he willingly went, so he couldn’t blame anyone but himself.
“Man, you shoulda heard the way you were screamin’ there!” Mondo chuckled. He looked at the still shocked Leon. At that moment, noticing his condition, Mondo put his arm around Leon. “You good, dude?” he asked Leon.
“Huh?” Leon snapped out of his state of staring into nothingness. “Yeah… I’m just… Kinda lightheaded. That’s all.” Leon was still pretty out of it after the ride, and Mondo could sense that.
“Let’s just sit down for a bit, yeah?” Mondo looked around, and found a bench. He brought him and Leon to the bench to sit down. Immediately as the two sat down, Leon leaned his head against Mondo’s shoulder, feeling exhausted. He glanced at Mondo for a second or two, and he could see his face turning as red as a tomato.
“Maaaaaaan, my head feels like it’s gonna explode any fuckin’ minute now” Leon groaned.
Mondo got up from where he was sitting. “I’ll get ya some water. Stay right there, ‘kay?”
Leon shot him a thumbs up, and Mondo ran off quickly to get the water he promised his friend. Leon leaned against the back of the rough, wooden bench with crossed legs, the only way he can sit comfortably. The bench caught onto the back of his shirt a bit, but not enough to stop him from getting up. Not like he wasn’t going to get up anyway, since he was already in a comfortable sitting position, and didn’t plan on ruining it. Leon waited patiently for minutes. The minutes turned into an hour. It was getting overwhelmingly hot, and Leon’s head started to hurt again.
"Where the hell are you, Mondo fuckin’ Owada…” Leon murmured to himself, annoyed.
“Hello,” a voice greeted Leon. “May I have a moment of your time?”
Leon turned his head to see someone standing next to the bench, who he couldn't recognize at all. He had never seen this person around Hope's Peak.
“Yo” he greeted back, casually.
The two introduced themselves. Leon couldn't remember the person's name, but that doesn't matter. After the icebreakers, the person cleared his throat.
“So sorry for changing the topic so suddenly, but,” he continued. “Do you happen to be close with Mondo Owada?”
Hearing those words, Leon stopped zoning out and looked up at them. “Yes… Why?” he answered, suspiciously.
“Oh, no reason. I was just curious! We used to be friends, but we kinda stopped talking, you know?” he assured Leon.
“I see.” Leon could sense that this conversation was going in the wrong direction.
“Now, let me ask you,” the person continued. “What would you do if you found out your best friend killed his brother?”
“What?” That question caught Leon off guard. “What kinda question is that, man!?”
“Answer the question.”
“No, seriously, who the fuck asks that kinda shit!?” Leon was very obviously confused. That confusion had faded as soon as he looked to his right. In front of his eyes stood that same best friend, Mondo. His expression was a mix of fear and pure disappointment, almost as if he had seen something devastating, which seemed to be the case. Leon called out to Mondo. “What the hell is this guy talking about, dude!?”
Mondo stayed silent. He couldn't even say anything, other than, “Just take the damn water…”
“Huh?” Leon was even more confused and was starting to get a little pissed off. “Mondo, wait!” But Mondo didn't wait. Instead, he just ran away. Fast. Faster than a cheetah.
“Oh, oops!” the so-called “acquaintance” interrupted. “Did I say that too loud?”
Ignoring the person, Leon shot up and ran after Mondo. The run seemed endless, and eventually, Leon lost him. “Fuck… I lost him.”
Ahh, so that's what happened. After remembering all of that, Leon couldn't help but cry. It was his fault. He should've just gone with Mondo. Maybe he could've avoided that situation altogether. He could have stopped talking to that person who claimed to be one of Mondo's old friends. He could've done anything to avoid that situation, yet he stayed. What a terrible friend he was to Mondo, who cared for him and helped him when he was feeling down. It may have been just a few weeks, but Leon missed Mondo a lot, in fact. He missed teasing him, and he missed those angry reactions from Mondo, which then turned into laughs.
Tears kept falling down his face, yet Leon kept wiping them away quickly. He brought this on himself. He shouldn't be crying, so why was he? It was his fault. If only he knew how to fucking think for once in his life. Maybe then he wouldn't have been here, sobbing like a little bitch.
Those little cries were soon interrupted by a knock at his door. He quickly wiped away the remaining tears with his sleeve and downed a bottle of water. He then went to answer the door. Outside was his friend, Taka. That's right, Taka came over to Leon's dorm to help him with math.
“Hello, Leon!” Taka greeted him cheerfully. But that cheerfulness transitioned into worry. Although Leon was trying to hide it, Taka could tell that he was crying. Leon's eyes were still a little watery, and he was sniffling. Unless he had allergies, there was definitely something going on with him.
“Yo, Taka,” he said, dryly. Usually, he would be more enthusiastic, but he didn’t have the energy to do so.
“Leon?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah."
“You don’t sound fine.”
Leon stayed silent for a bit. “I-it's just,” he paused, eyes watery again. “It's just allergies… Yeah…” He bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling. Taka walked up to Leon and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you sure?” He didn't answer. Instead, Leon suddenly turned around and hugged Taka tightly. Taka did the same. “Do you… Wanna talk about it?”
Leon didn't reply with a yes or no. Instead, he went straight to the point. “Is Mondo ignoring you, too?”
“No… In fact, we just talked before I came here.” Leon let go of the hall monitor and looked down at the ground.
“Great, he hates me…”
“No, he does not! What even happened?”
“Um…” Leon paused for a moment. “From what I remember… Mondo and I went to the carnival last Saturday and we went on this ride and I got real dizzy so he went to get me some water but then some guy came up to me and they used to be friends with Mondo and they asked me a weird question and next thing I know, I see Mondo running away and..." Leon was speaking very fast, taking breaths in between. "And... yeah.”
“Oh, I see…” Taka thought for a moment. “Have you tried talking to him?”
“Yeah, I texted him but he left me on read”
“I mean in person”
“Well, no”
“Well, then go talk to him!!!”
“But he’ll prolly, I dunno, ignore me again”
Taka sighed. “Leon, I don’t mean to be rude, but crying in your room by yourself won't solve your problem with Mondo. You can’t say he’ll ignore you, when you haven’t even tried to meet up with him. It’s just a waste of time, and doing nothing but whine about it will make it worse, for sure”
“You’re right,” Leon agreed with Taka, but there wasn’t really any way to contact Mondo, since anytime he tried to text him, he was left on read. “How the hell am I supposed to contact him? He’s not answering shit.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Taka offered.
Leon thought for a moment. “Uh… Nah.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah… If I see him, I'll talk to him myself. Like you said, there's really no point in staying here in my room and crying over him if I don't talk to him. Thanks, anyway, bud.” Leon smiled slightly at Taka.
Taka looked at him for a moment and smiled back too. He patted Leon on the back and left the room. “Feel better, Leon. I wish you luck!” And with those words, he shut the door to Leon's room. Damn, he forgot to tutor him. Whatever, that didn't matter.
By the time Taka had left, it was evening, close to nighttime. Leon lay down on his bed and shut his eyes, just for a quick nap. Napping was something that would always calm him down when he felt anxious, angered, or sad. It was a way he could just simply run away from his own problems. Surely a nap would relax him.
Leon ended up sleeping the whole night. So much for a nap. He woke up the next day. He forgot why he had taken a nap, but he did sleep like he didn’t have a problem in the world. To him, it was just a normal Saturday, although it felt like there was something important he had to do. He couldn’t figure out what it was though. Oh well, surely it’d come to him randomly. He got up from his bed and yawned while stretching. He then walked to the closet, looking for his outfit for the day: a button up and baggy pants.
After getting ready, Leon went outside. He barely went on walks, but he wanted some fresh air. Plus, it was eight in the morning, so there was no point in doing anything, since Taka was probably busy and the rest of his friends were asleep. As he strolled through town, he admired all of the scenery. The birds were chirping and the sky was a nice, crystal blue. Leon told himself that he should get out more often. Maybe go on a walk with Taka, if he could, that is. Leon is the type of person to wake up late, but he decided to make an effort to wake up earlier once in a while.
Leon looked back up to see what was in front of him. What- No wait. Who he saw was…
“Mondo?”
It was in fact Mondo walking out of a pet store. As soon as Leon called out his name, he froze and turned to look at him with that same, terrified expression. The eye contact between the two was intense and lasted for a few seconds, until Mondo turned from Leon and started to sprint.
“Wait, Mondo!”
Leon ran after the biker. It felt like deja vu. It felt like that day at the carnival. It felt like they were running for hours, even though the chase lasted a few minutes. Suddenly, Mondo tripped and fell over on nothing.
“Shit,” he muttered in pain. Leon finally managed to catch up with him, breathless. The two were panting from the amount of running they'd done.
“You… Okay, man?” Mondo gave Leon a look.
“Yeah…” He tried to get up, but fell back down. How could one trip hurt his leg that badly? Leon tried to help him up. “I'm fine! I don't need help!”
“Yes, you do, dumbass!” Leon was clearly annoyed. Seriously, who did this guy think he was? Leon yanked Mondo by the arm. Mondo grabbed onto his shoulder for support before managing to stand on his own two feet.
“‘Kay, guess I'd better go now… Thanks,” Mondo tried to walk away, but his twisted ankle and Leon stopped him from doing so.
“MONDO! DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME!!!”
Mondo stopped and slipped again, this time catching himself.
“Fine.” Mondo sat down against the wall and put his leg out. Leon sat down next to him. He seemed pissed off, but also sort of nervous. "The hell do you even want with me? Don't ya hate me or somethin'?"
“What?” Leon was confused. Hate? Why would Leon hate one of his best friends? “What the hell are you talking about, man!?”
“I dunno, I just-” Mondo didn't look at Leon. He just looked at his scraped knee. “The way you were just… Lookin’ at me… And- And I-!” Mondo was getting louder and louder, which was a nervous habit of his. His hands became sweatier as he grabbed his pant leg. His breath became shaky, almost as if he was about to cry.
Leon, a little surprised, put his arm around Mondo's shoulder and patted it slightly. “It's okay, man. You don't need to tell me anything. Just, calm down.”
Mondo turned his head to look at Leon, who was grinning slightly. Mondo didn't try to push away. Instead, he leaned his head onto Leon's shoulder, teary eyed. “Fuck… I dunno why I gotta be cryin’ like this… hah…” He chuckled and sniffed a bit. “I say I'm a real man yet I'm leaning on someone's shoulder like cryin’ like a lil’ bitch.” Mondo looked up at Leon, and immediately realized what he was doing. He shot up, blushing intensely. “S-sorry…”
“It's okay, man,” Leon said, grinning a little more. “You good now?”
“Um… Yeah. Thanks,” he said, awkwardly. He couldn't help but notice Leon's little smile. It was… kinda cute. The two stared at the other brick wall in front of them, until Mondo spoke again. “Hey… Uh… Sorry ‘bout the carnival shit. I shoulda just… I dunno… Told ya straight up how I felt. But… I dunno… I just saw your face after what he said and… I thought you were just… Disgusted with me.”
“Well. I didn't even know what the crap he was on about… So…” Leon paused. “Who even was that guy?”
“Um… Long story. But he used to be a pretty close friend of mine, but then we fell out. Guess he's still salty ‘bout that.”
“Oh… I see…” Leon paused again. “What about that question he asked?”
“Oh. Uh."
“You don’t need to talk about it if you don't wanna”
Mondo looked at Leon. Huh, he didn't expect that. Usually, Leon would pester him into telling him what was up. Mondo sighed. “Nah, now I hafta tell ya this. Wouldn't be fair if I didn't.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. I owe you, for not really communicatin’ and shit.”
“Well, okay then.”
Mondo took a deep breath. “‘Kay, so. Remember Daiya?”
“Your brother?”
“Mhm, yeah. Y'know how he's dead now and shit. Um. I remember when he was the one leading the gang, and soon it was my turn. People were just talkin’ shit about me tho, so there's that.” He sighed. “I just… wanted to prove I was good enough. I was strong enough to lead a gang, just as good as Daiya. I've always lived under his shadow. I just wanted to prove I was just as worthy as him. So, the day he was ‘bout to retire, I challenged him to a race. I thought it'd be a fun lil’ race to show I was capable of leading a gang. To prove ‘em wrong. But… I drove into traffic, nearly got hit. And…” Mondo paused again, looking at his knee again. “You can tell how that went.”
Leon looked at him in utter shock. “Mondo, I'm sorry-” “Nah. It's fine. It was my fault anyway.” He smiled a bit, but it was more out of pure disappointment. “He said not to blame myself… But… That’s all I can fuckin’ do…” His smile slowly faltered into a frown. “It's all my fault. If it weren't for my stupid ass, he woulda been alive. Maybe… He woulda been… happy.” Tears started flowing again, more than before. “I got what I wanted… Right? I'm strong, right? No. I'm not…”
“Mondo-”
“Was it all really worth killing my own brother? I'm horrible. I can't even keep his promise. He said not to blame myself, yet I'm cryin’ here, doin' exactly what he told me not to do.”
“Mondo-!”
“It shoulda been me. Maybe it woulda been fine if I was… just dead.”
“MONDO, SHUT UP WILL YOU!?”
Mondo stopped. “I'm… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…” More tears fell from his eyes.
“Sorry that was…” Leon felt the tears welling up in his eyes too. “Fuck, bro.” And with that, he took Mondo's hands with his own and held them. Mondo looked down at both their hands. He let go of Leon's, and pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around Leon in a hug and put his head on his shoulder.
“It's just… I miss him… so fuckin’ much” He kept sobbing. “Why'd I have to be such a dumbass and pull some reckless shit?! He was such a good person… He helped me with so much… Like helpin’ me figure out that I was… well… trans. He's the reason I even got on a bike in the first place” He grabbed onto the back of Leon's shirt. “It shoulda been me.”
Leon hugged him back. “Y'know, Mondo.” He sighed a bit, his breath shaky too. It seems like he was also fighting the urge to let those tears loose. “It… kinda upsets me that you're sayin’ that”
“My bad.”
“No, it's okay. It's just… what would I do without you?” He chuckled a bit. “I dunno how to explain it, man. You just make me… happy. I feel like I don’t hafta worry about anything when hangin’ with you. And… I missed you. A lot.”
Mondo’s face turned slightly more red. “Same man.”
“I’m glad you’re here. And, honestly, you’re so strong for putting up with all of this crap.” Mondo pulled back to look straight at Leon.
“You don’t need to lie to me, man. You saw me at the carnival.”
He looked down. “I ain’t strong. I’m just a pussy, who can’t even express his own feelings. Instead, I just take it out physically. And I hate it.”
Leon put his hands on Mondo’s shoulders. “Listen, Mondo. Remember when Chihiro told us his secret? About how he wanted to be stronger?”
“Yeah.” “Well, the same goes for you. Like I told Chihiro… Mondo, you’re… Mondo.”
“No shit, dude”
“I genuinely don’t give a fuck about what you think about yourself. Whether you’re weak or strong, you’re still… Mondo. And I love you for being Mondo.”
“But-”
“No,” he interrupted Mondo. “You can say you’re weak all you want, my point still stands. Think of Daiya, he’d want you to believe in yourself, man. He'd want you to be strong. It hurts me to see you like this. Sure, you caused his accident, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay here and blame yourself for it. Just accept it, move on, and try not to do it again. I know it doesn’t sound that easy but…” Leon felt like he was blabbering on, but his points had the same intent. He looked at Mondo. “I know you’re capable. Hell, not even just me. Taka, Chihiro, Hiro, and the rest of our friends. We know you’re strong. We believe in you. We love you, and we’ll continue to do that. And I’ll keep knocking that into your head, even if I grow tired of it.”
“Well… I…” Mondo could see himself crying again, but it wasn’t out of sadness this time. The tears were more happy. He hugged Leon again, tighter this time. “Fuck, man, you don't gotta say all that..."
“I mean that all, by the way. I know that I’m always joking around you and stuff, but this time, I’m serious. For once. Damn, what's happening to me?”
Mondo chuckled a bit. “God” He put his forehead on Leon’s shoulder, sniffling. “I love you, Leon. I love you… So fuckin’ much.”
Leon smiled. “You too, man.”
“Oh yeah… I've been meaning to tell you something” Mondo said, wiping his tears. “I- Um… I” Mondo was starting to get nervous again, his voice growing louder.
“Awwww, is little Mondo nervous again?” Leon asked teasingly.
“N-no… It's just… I like you, idiot!"
“Awww I like you too!”
“No, I'm bein’ deadass”
“Oh.” Leon started to blush a lot. He was stupid. Like, really stupid. “My bad, gang.”
“Nah, it's fine. You don't gotta accept my confession.”
“To be honest, I kinda like you too” Leon ran his hand through his hair as he said that with an awkward grin.
“Sweet. So…” Things were getting awkward, which was understandable. Imagine crying and venting to your own crush, and then confessing to them minutes later.
“Yeah, I'll go out with you,” Leon grinned teasingly.
“I didn't even- Nevermind” Mondo sighed, smiling a bit. He pulled back and gave Leon a kiss on the cheek.
Leon's face turned even more red. “What was that about?”
“I dunno.”
The two got up from where they were sitting. Mondo's leg had felt a little better by then, but he still needed help walking. He used Leon as support, and they both headed home, although, Mondo limped a bit. On the walk, Leon looked to Mondo.
“Hey, Mondo?”
“Yeah?”
Leon stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled up his pinky.
“Promise me you'll stay strong. No matter what. If anything happens, you don't need to beat yourself up for it. Got it?”
Mondo looked back at him. “Yeah. Got it.” He took Leon's finger in his and shook it. It was truly a promise that he would keep. Not just for Leon, but his older brother, Daiya, too.
“Let's be together, no matter what, Mondo.”