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The GAME OVER sign flashes on the screen as Kaoru beats Kojiro in yet another round of the game they're playing. Kojiro hangs his head in defeat before tossing the controller onto his bed and standing up. He stretches and Kaoru tries not to stare at the patch of skin on his stomach as Kojiro's shirt rides up.
"Not to kick you out but you should probably get going soon," Kojiro says with a sheepish grin.
Kaoru glances over at the clock, noting that it wasn’t even 7pm yet. It was typical for Kaoru to hang out at Kojiro’s house after school, working on homework and playing games before eating dinner with the Nanjo family. Kaoru assumed today would be like any other day so Kojiro’s comment had him confused.
“I’m not staying for dinner?” Kaoru asks hesitantly.
Kojiro throws open his dresser drawer and begins rummaging through it, refusing to look at Kaoru. “I have that date tonight, remember? With Yui.”
Kaoru tries to hide the shock he feels as he stares back at his best friend. Yui? From their class? He pictures the beautiful, popular brunette in his head and feels his heart sink. Kojiro definitely did not tell him about the date. He would have remembered.
“Oh, that’s right,” he lies. Kojiro finally glances towards him and Kaoru forces a smile back at him as he quickly begins to gather his belongings and shove them into his backpack. He throws on his dark green zip-up hoodie, one that definitely belonged to Kojiro at one point. He pauses in the doorway and peeks over his shoulder back at Kojiro, who was in the process of tugging on a new shirt. Kaoru tries not to let his eyes linger again on Kojiro’s toned stomach and quickly averts his gaze. “Well, good luck. Try not to fuck it up, yeah?”
Kojiro lets out a chuckle. “I’ll do my best. See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, see you.”
Kaoru leaves the Nanjo household quickly and knows he should just head on home but decides against it. Instead, he finds himself skateboarding in the direction of the skatepark a few blocks away.
As he skates, his mind races as he thinks about Kojiro on a date with Yui. How he’d be a perfect gentleman and hold the door open for her and pull out her seat. How he’d give her his undying attention, listening intently to her every word and making her laugh. How he’d end the date shyly asking if he could kiss her and she’d say yes. Who wouldn’t say yes to a kiss from Kojiro Nanjo?
Kaoru would say yes. In a heartbeat.
He’s been in love with Kojiro for as long as he could remember. He grew up with Kojiro and has always cared for him but those feelings changed as he got older. They morphed into something deeper, stronger. Kaoru longed to be near Kojiro and often wondered what it would be like to have Kojiro love him back. To be embraced by his best friend. To feel his fingertips on his bare skin. To feel his lips pressed against his.
Kaoru tries his best to push down the thoughts as he skates, something he is intimately familiar with seeing that he has been pining after his best friend for years.
As he approaches the small skate park, he notices someone sitting on top of one of the ramps, legs dangling down. The figure looks vaguely familiar and as he gets closer, he realizes why.
It’s the guy that always drives Adam around. The one who picks him up and drops him off any time they hang out.
Tadashi has been in love with Ainosuke for a long, long time.
He grew up with Ainosuke, always around and pining from a distance. As he got older, the distance lessened and he became Ainosuke’s shadow, always following one step behind the other. His family had worked for the Shindos for generations and he eventually had the privilege to serve Ainosuke-sama himself. To watch over him. To take care of him. To protect him.
Tadashi thought he was being subtle about his pining for the other boy, keeping his true feelings hidden away from Ainosuke. But everything changed one night a few months back when Ainosuke snuck into his bed in the middle of the night. This wasn’t unusual, since the other boy had made a habit of it throughout the years. But this time, this time was different.
Tadashi awoke to Ainosuke sneaking under his covers, plastering himself to Tadashi’s chest and burrowing his face into the older boy’s neck. They never had been this close when sharing a bed, Tadashi always making sure to keep a respectable distance between them. But respectable thoughts were far from his mind as he felt Ainosuke’s lips on his neck, lightly biting near his Adam’s apple. Tadashi tried to calm his breathing and was about to ask Ainosuke what he was doing when the other boy pulled back and captured his lips in a forceful kiss. Tadashi froze for a second, wondering if he was still sleeping because there is no way this was really happening, right? But then he felt Ainosuke roll his hips and he felt the other boy's hardness against him and something inside him snapped. He rolled them over, pinning Ainosuke under him before devouring his lips once more.
They started regularly hooking up after that. But only when Ainosuke initiated it. When he’d sneak into Tadashi’s room late at night when the house was still quiet and beg Tadashi to fuck him. How could Tadashi deny him? He couldn’t deny the boy he’s been pining after since he hit puberty.
But it was just sex. Ainosuke made that abundantly clear when he’d sneak back out of Tadashi’s room after he was satisfied. And when Ainosuke would brag about his latest skating partner the next day, the one who could finally become his Eve, while Tadashi stood by silently and attempted to bury his feelings of jealousy.
The same thing happened before he showed up at the skatepark today. Ainosuke had dragged him into one of the libraries in the manor for a quick fuck before he left Tadashi to go meet up with another potential Eve.
Tadashi went back to his room and debated on staying in to wallow in his self-deprecation and jealousy, but instead grabbed his skateboard and threw on a red hoodie Ainosuke left in his room one night before leaving the mansion. He skated for an hour, trying his best to drown out his racing thoughts, when he stumbled upon a small skatepark along the water. The sun was beginning to set and he didn’t see anyone else around when he climbed up onto one of the ramps and dangled his feet, finally resting after skating for so long.
He wasn’t there long before another boy startled him, interrupting Tadashi who had been lost in thought thinking once again about Ainosuke.
"Uh, hey. Mind if I join you?" Kaoru shouts up to the brunette, voice filled with apprehension. He sees the other boy flinch slightly and he glances over towards Kaoru quickly before looking away again. He just gives a small nod, his gaze returning to the calm water of the ocean that the skatepark overlooks.
Kaoru climbs up onto the halfpipe and sits down beside the other boy, dangling his own feet off of the ramp. He sets his board beside him next to the other boy’s skateboard, noticing how worn the other’s board was. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Kaoru decides to peek back over at the brunette before he speaks up again.
“Sorry, I feel like I should know your name but I don’t,” Kaoru says, finally filling the void. “You’re a friend of Adam’s, right?”
Kaoru watches the boy's eyes slightly widen at the mention of Adam before his face turns emotionless once more.
"Not… exactly a friend. But yes, I know him.” The boy finally turns to face Kaoru, meeting his gaze, and forces out a polite smile. “My name is Tadashi.”
“Kaoru,” he replies with a small smile. “Adam usually just calls me Ch-”
“Cherry,” Tadashi quickly interrupts. "He talks about you and Joe quite a bit."
Kaoru nods. “You say you’re not his friend. Are you his chauffeur? I’ve seen you drive him when we hang out. I always figured he was rich, based on his school uniform, so him having a chauffeur wouldn’t be surprising.”
Tadashi lets out a laugh. "His family is very, very rich. My family works for his. I'm in charge of organizing Adam's schedule and driving him where he needs to be."
"So, you're like his assistant?" What teenager has an assistant?
"Something like that, yes."
"And what's that like? Working for Adam?" Kaoru feels himself blushing, wondering if he is being too invasive. "I'm sorry I'm being so nosy. You don't have to answer."
"It's alright," Tadashi responds with a small chuckle. "I know he can be… hard to get to know sometimes."
"You're right," Kaoru agrees.
"It can be difficult at times, that's for sure. He’s stubborn to a fault, can be very obsessive, and is very grouchy in the morning.”
“I can imagine,” Kaoru replies with a laugh.
“But Ainosuke is also passionate. Eccentric. Charismatic.” A small smile overtakes Tadashi’s face before he composes himself again.
“He is all those things, it’s true,” Kaoru agrees. Tadashi peeks over at him and raises an eyebrow, curiosity written all over his face. “Kojiro- Joe, always teases me, saying I have a crush on Adam. Which I don’t, by the way. Joe is the one I have a crush on, that idiot. I’ve liked him for years and I just-” Kaoru eyes widen at the words that just escaped his lips and he looks at Tadashi in panic. “I didn’t mean to- Shit, sorry.”
“It’s alright,” Tadashi replies with a kind smile.
Kaoru nods and continues.
“I’ve never told anyone about that. About my crush,” Kaoru says softly.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Anyways.” Kaoru takes a deep breath. “Adam is… different. I really don’t have a crush on him. But I do admire him. I have since the first day I met him. He’s always so authentically him. Always himself. So free, so full of life. I’ve never met anyone else like him.”
“Neither have I,” Tadashi replies. His gaze focuses back onto the water, a distant look in his eyes.
“Is he like that at home?” Kaoru asks curiously and Tadashi pulls his eyes away from the ocean after a moment.
“No,” Tadashi replies with a sad smile. “His home life is… rather complicated. Ainosuke-sama has a lot on his shoulders and his family has a lot of expectations for him. But when he is on his skateboard, he can finally be himself. Finally let go and just be . I’m grateful that he has the two of you to share that side of himself with.”
Kaoru nods. “I’m glad too. I haven’t known him very long but he’s a good friend. And awesome at skateboarding.”
“Of course he is,” Tadashi replies and throws a smile towards Kaoru. “I taught him.”
"No shit?" Kaoru stares back at Tadashi, wide-eyed for a few moments before he forces himself to stop his gaping. “Sorry, I hope that didn’t come off as rude.”
“It’s alright. I started teaching him when he was seven.”
“No wonder he’s so good.”
They fall into a comfortable silence, Kaoru picking at the sleeves of the oversized green hoodie he’s wearing and Tadashi fiddling with his skating gloves.
“So, Joe, huh?” Tadashi asks with a smirk.
Kaoru groans in response and buries his face in his hands.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Tadashi reassures him.
“No, it’s fine,” Kaoru says, lifting his head and giving Tadashi a smile. “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone about it.” He takes a deep breath and continues. “Kojiro… he’s my friend. My best friend. I’ve known him since we were in kindergarten. He’s been there for me through it all. Breaking my leg in sixth grade. Getting my piercings. My parent’s divorce.”
“And you don’t think he could feel the same way?” Tadashi asks gently.
“There’s… there’s no way,” Kaoru replies, shaking his head. “When Kojiro likes something, he goes after it. Whether it’s learning a new skate trick or a girl he’s crushing on. If he liked me, he’d…” He sniffs and continues. “He’s on a date right now with a girl from class.”
There’s silence between them before Tadashi speaks.
“Ainosuke is meeting someone tonight. A guy who he’s been spending time with lately skating.” Tadashi frowns as he speaks.
“And you don’t like that Adam’s meeting him because you like him,” Kaoru states.
Tadashi nods in response.
“I know how hard that is, having feelings for someone you can’t have,” Kaoru says. He pauses a second before speaking again. “Hey, listen. Uh. Do you wanna text sometime? I don’t wanna come off as weird. It’s just… I don’t have many friends and you’re the only one who knows about Kojiro so maybe…”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
Kaoru digs his cell phone out of his pocket and flips it open before handing it to the other boy, who quickly adds his number to Kaoru’s contacts. He stuffs the phone back in his pocket and grabs his skateboard.
“I should probably get going before it gets too dark,” Kaoru says before he stands and stretches. “It was nice to properly meet you, Tadashi. If you ever wanna just talk or just skate sometime, let me know. You’ll get your ass kicked but it’ll be fun, I swear.” Kaoru throws him a cheeky grin.
Tadashi lets out a quick laugh and stands beside him, grabbing his own board. “I’d like that. Although you’ll be the one getting your ass kicked.”
“You’re on.” Kaoru puts a fist out towards Tadashi. After a brief hesitation, he receives a fist bump in return followed by the biggest smile Kaoru has seen on his face yet.
It suits him.
Kaoru mounts his board and glides down the ramp effortlessly before he begins skating off. He doesn’t get very far before he turns around and shouts up to Tadashi.
“Hey, what kind of dog does Adam have?”
Tadashi looks back in confusion before skating down the ramp and joining Kaoru. “Come again?”
“His dog. What kind is it? I’ve heard him mention wanting to get home because he misses his puppy when we’re hanging out but I always forget to ask about it.”
Tadashi doesn’t answer, just shoots a smile at Kaoru before skating off.
“Oh… kay,” Kaoru says to himself with a chuckle before taking off in the opposite direction.