(no subject)
Title: Lost Boys
Genre: Romance, (Angst maybe later?)
Pairing: Ryo/Uchi, Subassan
Summary: A story about youth, love, and relationships that mark you for life. Haha, that sounds too epic. Really, it's just the fic where K8 are all orphans.
Disclaimer: Um.. slash XD
Notes: I've been stuck on this fic forever so I apologize if this part isn't as good as the others. I just wanted to get the story moving to try and get out of this writer's block. Ryo is becoming more and more of a cheesy dork when it comes to Uchi. Usually it's not so noticeable because he has scenes with other people so his dorkiness gets balanced out, but in this chapter it's pretty much all Uchi/Ryo so I warn you. And as usual it's un-betaed.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
The next day I was supposed to wake up to sunshine and bird’s chirping. I'd gone to sleep the night before still feeling the warmth of Hiroki's hand in mine and looking forward to new beginnings. It was all worked out in my mind: Hiroki would smile at me, I’d smile in return, then I'd apologize properly and we’d go down to breakfast and everything would be back to normal.
What greeted me the next morning when I opened my eyes wasn’t even close to what I'd expected. I awoke to the shadow of a strange man over my bed and the low murmur of Suzuki-san’s whispering. In my sleepy haze I would’ve easily dismissed the strangeness as a dream except that my dreams lately consisted of nothing but Hiroki and suddenly he was nowhere to be found. That realization threw me into wakefulness and the picture before me sharpened into clarity.
Hiroki was sitting up in his bed listening to Suzuki-san who sat on the edge of the mattress holding his hand. The tall, stiff-looking man in a crisp, black suit stood between our beds overseeing the conversation. My instinct was to distrust the situation so I shifted in my bed as quietly as possible, catching a glimpse of Hiroki’s face, and tried to eavesdrop on what was being said. Hiroki’s face was open with worry and I immediately felt an urge of protectiveness swell up inside me.
“----Detective here needs your help. He would like you to go with him to the station this morning---” Suzuki-san said, her voice gentle and kind, the way one speaks to a scared child.
“We’ve made some headway into the investigation and we need to ask you some follow-up questions. I believe you may be able to confirm some things for us,” the Detective cut in. He spoke bluntly, with the exasperating lack of sensitivity so often displayed by law enforcement.
Hiroki said nothing and instead looked rather blankly between the two adults. Considering he’d had this all thrust upon him after just being woken up, you couldn’t really blame him for appearing out of it. The Detective could've at least tried to come at a decent hour when people were already awake and ready to deal with shit.
“You should be back in a few hours…” Suzuki-san continued. “It shouldn’t take long.”
I rolled my eyes and tried not to scoff loudly. The kid had had enough traumatic experiences, what with losing his family and all. He didn't need people scaring him to death at 6 in the morning.
“Right. So if you could get up and dressed and come with me….”
That's it Detective, make it sound like you're going to arrest him.
“Can you give the kid a break? He just woke-up!”
Sitting up, I glared at the two adults, no longer caring if they knew I was awake or not.
The Detective had the gall to look completely unimpressed at my outburst but Suzuki-san looked amusingly startled as she let out a cry of, “Ryo!”
“It’s ok, Ryo-chan, don’t worry,” Hiroki said, “I was just a little sleepy but I’m awake now so I can go.”
“Of course you’re awake, you were practically cornered.”
“If you’re so concerned about your friend you are more than welcome to accompany us to the police station,” the Detective offered, an amused smirk hanging on his lips.
I regarded the Detective warily. There was no way I’d let Hiroki go with this creep by himself, law enforcement or not.
“Yeah, ok. I will then.”
“Oh, great!” Suzuki-san exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “I didn’t want Hiroki to go alone so I was going to ask Yoko, but he doesn’t arrive for another thirty minutes…..if you go it’s better. Right, Hiroki? Alright then Detective, the boys will get ready and meet you downstairs in a few minutes. Let me offer you some tea while you wait..”
As expected of the matron, in one breath she had ushered the Detective out of the room and had settled everything. Hiroki and I couldn’t help but share an amused smile at that; though it quickly turned awkward as the night before made a comeback in our minds. Were things ok between us now? Had I been forgiven? I didn't even know. I felt completely in the dark.
We went about getting ready in silence until I did the smart thing and knocked the contents of my bedside table onto the floor with a clank loud enough to wake the dead. By which I mean Maruyama.
“What’s going on? Why are you guys awake?” he mumbled through a yawn, rubbing his eyes and looking rather confused as I cursed my clumsiness.
“We’ll be back soon, Maru-chan. Go back to sleep,” Hiroki answered.
“Wait. Are you guys friends again?”
“Stop asking stupid questions and go back to sleep!” I snapped.
Hiroki laughed nervously behind me and I had to fight the urge to smack Maru for being so obtuse. But it was early in the morning so I supposed I could cut the guy a break.
“It’s too early for grouchy Ryo-chan!” Maru whined from the bed. He burrowed back beneath the covers and was snoring softly before Hiroki and I were even out the door. The two of us shared a small laugh at Maru’s expense and I suddenly felt more at ease.
On the way downstairs I tried not to think too much about things between Hiroki and myself. There are more important things at hand.
As we neared the kitchen I kept stealing glances in Hiroki's direction. He was nervous, fidgety. He was frowning. My heart went out to him.
"Hey, it'll be ok."
He froze in his tracks. Wide eyes blinked up at me. Then his lips softened into a smile.
“Thank you for coming with me.”
“Anytime.”
That morning I learned that sometimes messy words and confrontations are unnecessary. Sometimes a simple gesture or a heartfelt sentiment is more than enough.
And just like that we were alright again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waiting rooms are like torture chambers. You’d think places would try to make waiting rooms more pleasant considering waiting itself is torturous enough. One does not need the added stress of blank, lifeless walls that seem to mock your plight.
Or maybe I was thinking too much, but it was my first time at a police station like this and on top of it all I had no idea what was going on. Sure, I’d come to keep Hiroki company but the minute we’d gotten to the station the Detective had dragged him into a little room with some other cops and I’d been confined to the most uncomfortable chair I’d ever had the displeasure of sitting on. I'd flipped through every magazine in the vicinity. Even the ones in the bathroom. Yeah. The bathroom was a good change of scene. I'd already been three times and I was eying the door again. No one even looked my way. Weren't they supposed to watch people more closely at police stations? I mean, I could be some delinquent ready to bust out with a gun and go crazy. They hadn't even checked me for weapons! Granted, I hadn't been brought in as a criminal, but still... The criminal justice system was quite disappointing.
If I wasn't out of here soon I was going to implode from boredom.
Some cartoon character stared at me from a poster on the wall about community building and I started to wonder what the hell I was really doing wasting my morning at a police station. Really, I had to be stupid. I didn't even know why we were here. Whatever was going on with Hiroki and the tragedy that had befallen his family was a big mystery. The guy kept a secret better than a dead man.
Everyone at the orphanage was under the impression that Hiroki had told me everything but the truth was all I’d heard was the one comment: “I know who murdered my family and I’m afraid they’ll kill me too.” I hadn’t gone digging for more information because it wasn’t my business but now, after everything, it felt like it was starting to be. I wanted it to be. And surely two hours of waiting in the torture chamber entitled me to some kind of information.
I was contemplating making some kind of scene for pure entertainment value when the door further down the hall opened and Hiroki finally emerged from the stuffy room. I stood up immediately, nearly tripping over myself in my haste. Hiroki and the Detective were a bit further down the hallway so I couldn't hear their conversation but I could read thier body language loud and clear. Hiroki's head was bowed low as the Detective spoke to him -a firm grip on his shoulder- words to which he nodded to in intervals. The rest of him was completely still, like a puppet waiting to be manipulated by its master. He appeared defeated but somehow relaxed. The conversation ended with a handshake from the Detective and soon Hiroki was walking toward me.
“So, how’d it go?” I asked, hoping my voice wouldn’t betray my nervous energy. This wasn’t the kind of experience I was well versed in.
He looked up at me to answer and that’s when I noticed the redness in his eyes and the tear tracks on his cheeks.
“Fine. It was fine.”
“Wanna get out of here?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I know a place I think you’d like.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
-------------------------------------------------------
So I took him to a small, little known park I’d stumbled upon back in the eighth grade on some random day I’d decided to skip school. The park, a mysterious little getaway that I’ve never learned the name of, was a hidden treasure in the middle of the city, a green oasis in a concrete desert of tall, gray, office buildings. Far from schools and apartments it was blissfully free of noisy brats. The business folk the park had seemingly been built for apparently preferred to hide away in restaurants and izakayas in the hours they weren’t confined to their cubicles, for the small park was perpetually empty and quiet. The entire area was outlined by trees and bushes, botanical walls, and you had to walk beneath a canopy of leaves and branches to enter the green clearing. Going to this particular park had always felt like walking out of the real world and into a new dimension where nothing could touch you. That was its draw. I figured if there was anything Hiroki needed it was such a refuge.
That morning we settled against my favorite tree and got lost in the clouds for what felt like hours.
“Ne, Ryo-chan..”
“Hmm?”
We laid side by side, eyes towards the sky.
“I think I’ll come here when I want the world to stop.”
“That’s what I do. Just be careful not to forget your way back.”
“What if I never want to leave?”
“Aw, but we’d miss you.”
“Can you stay with me?”
“Wouldn’t that be like running away together?”
His bright laugh pierced the afternoon, as sweet and melodic as the chirping of the birds up in the trees. I smiled at the sound.
“I guess you can put it that way. You make it sound so romantic.”
“Well, isn’t it?” I teased with a grin. Hiroki’s cheeks flushed pink and he squirmed beneath the rustling of the leaves. Never in my life had I seen a sight more appealing.
“Hiroki, what are you running from?” I asked, propping myself up on an arm and suddenly turning serious.
Big eyes met mine, surprisingly free of uncertainty, and I got the feeling he’d been waiting for me to ask all morning. Even so, it took him a couple of minutes to begin speaking.
“When I was five years old my Father died in a car accident. At twelve my Mother remarried. I didn’t like my step-father. We didn’t get along, but my Mother and sister thought he could do no wrong. I hated that. I made some new friends at school and started skipping cram school and sometimes regular classes. My grades dropped. On our school trip last year we got caught drinking by one of our teachers and I was suspended. It was a mess. You can imagine how angry my parents were….”
He paused and took a deep breath.
“Well, a couple of months ago my friends needed money and they wanted me to steal from my step-father since none of us liked him. I said I wouldn’t do it so they said they would and I didn’t stop them. I just made sure not to be there that day. I-I-I didn’t think that anything worse could happen. They were just going to steal 20,000 yen and leave. I don’t know exactly how things turned out the way they - did, but then one of the guys came to tell me that everything had gone wrong and I ran home and they - my family- all of them , were there and there was blood and-and--.”
A sob broke through and I knew the right thing to do was to comfort him, put my arm around him - something, but my head was still trying to wrap around what I was hearing. Nothing made sense. Things weren't fitting together as expected. I understood what was being said but at the same time I didn't. How could this boy, this sweet boy, keep something like this to himself for so long? Did I know anything about him? Obviously he was so much more than people wanted to see. A lot more than people realized.
Up to that point everything Hiroki was to me had stemmed out of perceptions and instincts; the simple fact that he had made me feel in ways I never had before. The story I was being told was like a slap in the face. An image of Subaru the night before shaking my shoulders and telling me to, "Get a grip!" flashed in my mind with new relevance. Yet, as I stared at Hiroki, tears streaming down his cheeks and shoulders shaking, I knew that nothing, no fact I could ever learn about Hiroki or his past life could never outweigh what I felt instinctively to be true.
So I wasted not a moment longer and pulled him into my arms. Crying didn't have a place in our peaceful haven. I hadn't brought him here for this. It was exactly the opposite.
“Hey,” I whispered into his hair, “You don’t have to finish if it’s too difficult.”
By now his sobs had died down to sniffles but his tears still soaked into my tank top. A minute later he pulled away -much quicker than I’d expected- and his eyes were dry. He sat back with a resolve I couldn’t help but admire, and continued his story.
“I didn’t want to believe my friends had been the ones to do it so when the police came I didn’t tell them everything. That first night I stayed at my best friend’s house and the guys came over and they said it was an accident and that we had to stick together but I wanted nothing to do with them. They warned me not to say anything cause they’d tell the police it was my fault too, or they’d do something and I was scared. Then a couple of days later social services came and took me to the orphanage. I like it there. Now I don’t want to ever go back to my old life, or my old friends, or my old school. I don’t want anything to do with that part of my life. I don’t want to be that person anymore!”
“You’re not, Hiroki.”
“How would you even know, Ryo?! You don’t even know me!” Hiroki said, voice rising to near hysteric levels.
The truth in that statement stung like salt rubbed on an open wound, but I could still show him he was wrong.
“You’re not.” I insisted. “You’re not because you don’t want to be. In simply wanting to be different you’re choosing to be different. You are who you choose to be.”
Hiroki didn’t look too convinced and I didn't allow him much time to contemplate before I was changing the subject.
“And the police? Is that all over and done with now?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Well, until the trial. I told them everything today. The Detective gave me a good talking to for withholding information, but he also said it’ll be ok. As long as I don’t have to see most of those guys again I think I’ll be ok.”
“Just stay away from your old neighborhood and stick with us.”
“Or I’ll just stay here.”
“Back to that again? You want to run away with me that badly?” I questioned, eyebrows raised in mock surprise.
“You’re the one who keeps bringing it up!” Hiroki protested, arms flailing cutely in a way that brought to mind the image of a fish out of water.
I burst out laughing so hard I nearly toppled over.
“What?! What’s so funny?!”
“YOU!”
“Eh?!!”
The indignant look on his face was too much and that time I did topple over onto the ground in hysterical laughter.
“Hey!” he exclaimed, pouting cutely and crossing over to me with a look that was half perplexed and perhaps mildly offended. “I’m not funny.”
“Nah,” I said, finally beginning to calm down from my spot on the ground, “You’re not funny. You’re cute.”
I winked up at him sexily and watched him turn a deep red. Mentally congratulating myself on a job well done I flashed him my patented Nishikido grin before he could fully recover from the wink. It was nice to see him smiling again. There was still more I wanted to know and say, but for the moment I wanted our escape to be just that.
“You play dirty, Ryo-chan.”
“Oh you don’t know how dirty, baby,” I teased.
“Ahhhh! You’re embarrassing!” Hiroki cried out, burying his face in his hands.
I let out a chuckle and admired the view. How Hiroki could appear so innocent and childish after everything was beyond me. I’d been through my fair share of shit and I’d come out the other end of it a cynical asshole. In that sense he was far stronger than I'd ever been. No way would the same thing happen to Hiroki if I could help it.
And that was when he tentatively peeked at me through his fingers causing my stomach to do all sorts of crazy flips that reminded me with embarrassing clarity just how badly I had it for this boy. The air changed. His hands brushed my thigh as they fell from his face down to his lap and I couldn't look away. He was close now. So close. When had he gotten so close? Our knees were almost touching.
Then it happened.
No fireworks. No fanfare. No angels singing.
No.
In the end it was much more simple than all that.
More like, a natural progression. The next obvious step. The dawn after the night.
Suddenly lips were on lips - soft and wet and oh so sweet. There was Giving. And Receiving. Mouths parted, welcoming, accepting. And fingers wanting to get in on the action too - teasing and grabbing and clutching - until the tide had passed and it was time to breathe again.
And afterwards, it wasn't awkward or strange or embarrassing. I wasn't worried about the next time. Or if there would even be a next time.
Maybe it was the magic of a beautiful summer’s day but...
I smiled.
He smiled.
And nothing had ever been easier.
Just for fun this is Ryo and Uchi in the park :D This is how I picture them in this fic - young, scrawny, a bit scruffy.... Uchi still looks all innocent and cute, not all omgHOT and gasp!manly like he does now.
Genre: Romance, (Angst maybe later?)
Pairing: Ryo/Uchi, Subassan
Summary: A story about youth, love, and relationships that mark you for life. Haha, that sounds too epic. Really, it's just the fic where K8 are all orphans.
Disclaimer: Um.. slash XD
Notes: I've been stuck on this fic forever so I apologize if this part isn't as good as the others. I just wanted to get the story moving to try and get out of this writer's block. Ryo is becoming more and more of a cheesy dork when it comes to Uchi. Usually it's not so noticeable because he has scenes with other people so his dorkiness gets balanced out, but in this chapter it's pretty much all Uchi/Ryo so I warn you. And as usual it's un-betaed.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
The next day I was supposed to wake up to sunshine and bird’s chirping. I'd gone to sleep the night before still feeling the warmth of Hiroki's hand in mine and looking forward to new beginnings. It was all worked out in my mind: Hiroki would smile at me, I’d smile in return, then I'd apologize properly and we’d go down to breakfast and everything would be back to normal.
What greeted me the next morning when I opened my eyes wasn’t even close to what I'd expected. I awoke to the shadow of a strange man over my bed and the low murmur of Suzuki-san’s whispering. In my sleepy haze I would’ve easily dismissed the strangeness as a dream except that my dreams lately consisted of nothing but Hiroki and suddenly he was nowhere to be found. That realization threw me into wakefulness and the picture before me sharpened into clarity.
Hiroki was sitting up in his bed listening to Suzuki-san who sat on the edge of the mattress holding his hand. The tall, stiff-looking man in a crisp, black suit stood between our beds overseeing the conversation. My instinct was to distrust the situation so I shifted in my bed as quietly as possible, catching a glimpse of Hiroki’s face, and tried to eavesdrop on what was being said. Hiroki’s face was open with worry and I immediately felt an urge of protectiveness swell up inside me.
“----Detective here needs your help. He would like you to go with him to the station this morning---” Suzuki-san said, her voice gentle and kind, the way one speaks to a scared child.
“We’ve made some headway into the investigation and we need to ask you some follow-up questions. I believe you may be able to confirm some things for us,” the Detective cut in. He spoke bluntly, with the exasperating lack of sensitivity so often displayed by law enforcement.
Hiroki said nothing and instead looked rather blankly between the two adults. Considering he’d had this all thrust upon him after just being woken up, you couldn’t really blame him for appearing out of it. The Detective could've at least tried to come at a decent hour when people were already awake and ready to deal with shit.
“You should be back in a few hours…” Suzuki-san continued. “It shouldn’t take long.”
I rolled my eyes and tried not to scoff loudly. The kid had had enough traumatic experiences, what with losing his family and all. He didn't need people scaring him to death at 6 in the morning.
“Right. So if you could get up and dressed and come with me….”
That's it Detective, make it sound like you're going to arrest him.
“Can you give the kid a break? He just woke-up!”
Sitting up, I glared at the two adults, no longer caring if they knew I was awake or not.
The Detective had the gall to look completely unimpressed at my outburst but Suzuki-san looked amusingly startled as she let out a cry of, “Ryo!”
“It’s ok, Ryo-chan, don’t worry,” Hiroki said, “I was just a little sleepy but I’m awake now so I can go.”
“Of course you’re awake, you were practically cornered.”
“If you’re so concerned about your friend you are more than welcome to accompany us to the police station,” the Detective offered, an amused smirk hanging on his lips.
I regarded the Detective warily. There was no way I’d let Hiroki go with this creep by himself, law enforcement or not.
“Yeah, ok. I will then.”
“Oh, great!” Suzuki-san exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “I didn’t want Hiroki to go alone so I was going to ask Yoko, but he doesn’t arrive for another thirty minutes…..if you go it’s better. Right, Hiroki? Alright then Detective, the boys will get ready and meet you downstairs in a few minutes. Let me offer you some tea while you wait..”
As expected of the matron, in one breath she had ushered the Detective out of the room and had settled everything. Hiroki and I couldn’t help but share an amused smile at that; though it quickly turned awkward as the night before made a comeback in our minds. Were things ok between us now? Had I been forgiven? I didn't even know. I felt completely in the dark.
We went about getting ready in silence until I did the smart thing and knocked the contents of my bedside table onto the floor with a clank loud enough to wake the dead. By which I mean Maruyama.
“What’s going on? Why are you guys awake?” he mumbled through a yawn, rubbing his eyes and looking rather confused as I cursed my clumsiness.
“We’ll be back soon, Maru-chan. Go back to sleep,” Hiroki answered.
“Wait. Are you guys friends again?”
“Stop asking stupid questions and go back to sleep!” I snapped.
Hiroki laughed nervously behind me and I had to fight the urge to smack Maru for being so obtuse. But it was early in the morning so I supposed I could cut the guy a break.
“It’s too early for grouchy Ryo-chan!” Maru whined from the bed. He burrowed back beneath the covers and was snoring softly before Hiroki and I were even out the door. The two of us shared a small laugh at Maru’s expense and I suddenly felt more at ease.
On the way downstairs I tried not to think too much about things between Hiroki and myself. There are more important things at hand.
As we neared the kitchen I kept stealing glances in Hiroki's direction. He was nervous, fidgety. He was frowning. My heart went out to him.
"Hey, it'll be ok."
He froze in his tracks. Wide eyes blinked up at me. Then his lips softened into a smile.
“Thank you for coming with me.”
“Anytime.”
That morning I learned that sometimes messy words and confrontations are unnecessary. Sometimes a simple gesture or a heartfelt sentiment is more than enough.
And just like that we were alright again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waiting rooms are like torture chambers. You’d think places would try to make waiting rooms more pleasant considering waiting itself is torturous enough. One does not need the added stress of blank, lifeless walls that seem to mock your plight.
Or maybe I was thinking too much, but it was my first time at a police station like this and on top of it all I had no idea what was going on. Sure, I’d come to keep Hiroki company but the minute we’d gotten to the station the Detective had dragged him into a little room with some other cops and I’d been confined to the most uncomfortable chair I’d ever had the displeasure of sitting on. I'd flipped through every magazine in the vicinity. Even the ones in the bathroom. Yeah. The bathroom was a good change of scene. I'd already been three times and I was eying the door again. No one even looked my way. Weren't they supposed to watch people more closely at police stations? I mean, I could be some delinquent ready to bust out with a gun and go crazy. They hadn't even checked me for weapons! Granted, I hadn't been brought in as a criminal, but still... The criminal justice system was quite disappointing.
If I wasn't out of here soon I was going to implode from boredom.
Some cartoon character stared at me from a poster on the wall about community building and I started to wonder what the hell I was really doing wasting my morning at a police station. Really, I had to be stupid. I didn't even know why we were here. Whatever was going on with Hiroki and the tragedy that had befallen his family was a big mystery. The guy kept a secret better than a dead man.
Everyone at the orphanage was under the impression that Hiroki had told me everything but the truth was all I’d heard was the one comment: “I know who murdered my family and I’m afraid they’ll kill me too.” I hadn’t gone digging for more information because it wasn’t my business but now, after everything, it felt like it was starting to be. I wanted it to be. And surely two hours of waiting in the torture chamber entitled me to some kind of information.
I was contemplating making some kind of scene for pure entertainment value when the door further down the hall opened and Hiroki finally emerged from the stuffy room. I stood up immediately, nearly tripping over myself in my haste. Hiroki and the Detective were a bit further down the hallway so I couldn't hear their conversation but I could read thier body language loud and clear. Hiroki's head was bowed low as the Detective spoke to him -a firm grip on his shoulder- words to which he nodded to in intervals. The rest of him was completely still, like a puppet waiting to be manipulated by its master. He appeared defeated but somehow relaxed. The conversation ended with a handshake from the Detective and soon Hiroki was walking toward me.
“So, how’d it go?” I asked, hoping my voice wouldn’t betray my nervous energy. This wasn’t the kind of experience I was well versed in.
He looked up at me to answer and that’s when I noticed the redness in his eyes and the tear tracks on his cheeks.
“Fine. It was fine.”
“Wanna get out of here?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I know a place I think you’d like.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
-------------------------------------------------------
So I took him to a small, little known park I’d stumbled upon back in the eighth grade on some random day I’d decided to skip school. The park, a mysterious little getaway that I’ve never learned the name of, was a hidden treasure in the middle of the city, a green oasis in a concrete desert of tall, gray, office buildings. Far from schools and apartments it was blissfully free of noisy brats. The business folk the park had seemingly been built for apparently preferred to hide away in restaurants and izakayas in the hours they weren’t confined to their cubicles, for the small park was perpetually empty and quiet. The entire area was outlined by trees and bushes, botanical walls, and you had to walk beneath a canopy of leaves and branches to enter the green clearing. Going to this particular park had always felt like walking out of the real world and into a new dimension where nothing could touch you. That was its draw. I figured if there was anything Hiroki needed it was such a refuge.
That morning we settled against my favorite tree and got lost in the clouds for what felt like hours.
“Ne, Ryo-chan..”
“Hmm?”
We laid side by side, eyes towards the sky.
“I think I’ll come here when I want the world to stop.”
“That’s what I do. Just be careful not to forget your way back.”
“What if I never want to leave?”
“Aw, but we’d miss you.”
“Can you stay with me?”
“Wouldn’t that be like running away together?”
His bright laugh pierced the afternoon, as sweet and melodic as the chirping of the birds up in the trees. I smiled at the sound.
“I guess you can put it that way. You make it sound so romantic.”
“Well, isn’t it?” I teased with a grin. Hiroki’s cheeks flushed pink and he squirmed beneath the rustling of the leaves. Never in my life had I seen a sight more appealing.
“Hiroki, what are you running from?” I asked, propping myself up on an arm and suddenly turning serious.
Big eyes met mine, surprisingly free of uncertainty, and I got the feeling he’d been waiting for me to ask all morning. Even so, it took him a couple of minutes to begin speaking.
“When I was five years old my Father died in a car accident. At twelve my Mother remarried. I didn’t like my step-father. We didn’t get along, but my Mother and sister thought he could do no wrong. I hated that. I made some new friends at school and started skipping cram school and sometimes regular classes. My grades dropped. On our school trip last year we got caught drinking by one of our teachers and I was suspended. It was a mess. You can imagine how angry my parents were….”
He paused and took a deep breath.
“Well, a couple of months ago my friends needed money and they wanted me to steal from my step-father since none of us liked him. I said I wouldn’t do it so they said they would and I didn’t stop them. I just made sure not to be there that day. I-I-I didn’t think that anything worse could happen. They were just going to steal 20,000 yen and leave. I don’t know exactly how things turned out the way they - did, but then one of the guys came to tell me that everything had gone wrong and I ran home and they - my family- all of them , were there and there was blood and-and--.”
A sob broke through and I knew the right thing to do was to comfort him, put my arm around him - something, but my head was still trying to wrap around what I was hearing. Nothing made sense. Things weren't fitting together as expected. I understood what was being said but at the same time I didn't. How could this boy, this sweet boy, keep something like this to himself for so long? Did I know anything about him? Obviously he was so much more than people wanted to see. A lot more than people realized.
Up to that point everything Hiroki was to me had stemmed out of perceptions and instincts; the simple fact that he had made me feel in ways I never had before. The story I was being told was like a slap in the face. An image of Subaru the night before shaking my shoulders and telling me to, "Get a grip!" flashed in my mind with new relevance. Yet, as I stared at Hiroki, tears streaming down his cheeks and shoulders shaking, I knew that nothing, no fact I could ever learn about Hiroki or his past life could never outweigh what I felt instinctively to be true.
So I wasted not a moment longer and pulled him into my arms. Crying didn't have a place in our peaceful haven. I hadn't brought him here for this. It was exactly the opposite.
“Hey,” I whispered into his hair, “You don’t have to finish if it’s too difficult.”
By now his sobs had died down to sniffles but his tears still soaked into my tank top. A minute later he pulled away -much quicker than I’d expected- and his eyes were dry. He sat back with a resolve I couldn’t help but admire, and continued his story.
“I didn’t want to believe my friends had been the ones to do it so when the police came I didn’t tell them everything. That first night I stayed at my best friend’s house and the guys came over and they said it was an accident and that we had to stick together but I wanted nothing to do with them. They warned me not to say anything cause they’d tell the police it was my fault too, or they’d do something and I was scared. Then a couple of days later social services came and took me to the orphanage. I like it there. Now I don’t want to ever go back to my old life, or my old friends, or my old school. I don’t want anything to do with that part of my life. I don’t want to be that person anymore!”
“You’re not, Hiroki.”
“How would you even know, Ryo?! You don’t even know me!” Hiroki said, voice rising to near hysteric levels.
The truth in that statement stung like salt rubbed on an open wound, but I could still show him he was wrong.
“You’re not.” I insisted. “You’re not because you don’t want to be. In simply wanting to be different you’re choosing to be different. You are who you choose to be.”
Hiroki didn’t look too convinced and I didn't allow him much time to contemplate before I was changing the subject.
“And the police? Is that all over and done with now?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Well, until the trial. I told them everything today. The Detective gave me a good talking to for withholding information, but he also said it’ll be ok. As long as I don’t have to see most of those guys again I think I’ll be ok.”
“Just stay away from your old neighborhood and stick with us.”
“Or I’ll just stay here.”
“Back to that again? You want to run away with me that badly?” I questioned, eyebrows raised in mock surprise.
“You’re the one who keeps bringing it up!” Hiroki protested, arms flailing cutely in a way that brought to mind the image of a fish out of water.
I burst out laughing so hard I nearly toppled over.
“What?! What’s so funny?!”
“YOU!”
“Eh?!!”
The indignant look on his face was too much and that time I did topple over onto the ground in hysterical laughter.
“Hey!” he exclaimed, pouting cutely and crossing over to me with a look that was half perplexed and perhaps mildly offended. “I’m not funny.”
“Nah,” I said, finally beginning to calm down from my spot on the ground, “You’re not funny. You’re cute.”
I winked up at him sexily and watched him turn a deep red. Mentally congratulating myself on a job well done I flashed him my patented Nishikido grin before he could fully recover from the wink. It was nice to see him smiling again. There was still more I wanted to know and say, but for the moment I wanted our escape to be just that.
“You play dirty, Ryo-chan.”
“Oh you don’t know how dirty, baby,” I teased.
“Ahhhh! You’re embarrassing!” Hiroki cried out, burying his face in his hands.
I let out a chuckle and admired the view. How Hiroki could appear so innocent and childish after everything was beyond me. I’d been through my fair share of shit and I’d come out the other end of it a cynical asshole. In that sense he was far stronger than I'd ever been. No way would the same thing happen to Hiroki if I could help it.
And that was when he tentatively peeked at me through his fingers causing my stomach to do all sorts of crazy flips that reminded me with embarrassing clarity just how badly I had it for this boy. The air changed. His hands brushed my thigh as they fell from his face down to his lap and I couldn't look away. He was close now. So close. When had he gotten so close? Our knees were almost touching.
Then it happened.
No fireworks. No fanfare. No angels singing.
No.
In the end it was much more simple than all that.
More like, a natural progression. The next obvious step. The dawn after the night.
Suddenly lips were on lips - soft and wet and oh so sweet. There was Giving. And Receiving. Mouths parted, welcoming, accepting. And fingers wanting to get in on the action too - teasing and grabbing and clutching - until the tide had passed and it was time to breathe again.
And afterwards, it wasn't awkward or strange or embarrassing. I wasn't worried about the next time. Or if there would even be a next time.
Maybe it was the magic of a beautiful summer’s day but...
I smiled.
He smiled.
And nothing had ever been easier.
Just for fun this is Ryo and Uchi in the park :D This is how I picture them in this fic - young, scrawny, a bit scruffy.... Uchi still looks all innocent and cute, not all omgHOT and gasp!manly like he does now.