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The first day Taka was going to be going to the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy; the place where it's said your bright future is guaranteed if you go to, where all students are the best at what they do, that Hope's Peak, yes; he was almost late for his first class. He slammed the door open to the classroom, completely subconsciously, but that lead to all eyes being on him, and the heat he had managed to gather in his face from stress only got worse.
Thankfully, Taka was always quick to recover from embarrassment, and he gave a quick salute to his new classmates and to the teacher. "Apologies for almost being tardy! I assure you, you will all not find it happening again!"
The teacher tried to explain that most teachers and students who hand out tardy slips on the first few days back were rather lenient, given how students (especially students who transferred in from other high schools, like Taka had) would have issues finding their way to their classrooms in a large building they could easily get lost in (again, like Taka had). But Taka wasn't having any of it, simply apologizing a second time before sitting down at the front of the class. He wasn't going to allow himself to accept any extra lenience just because he was new here. After all, from what he understood, everyone else in this class was new here, too!
Thankfully, he needed no such thing, as class started less than a minute later.
However, after a few minutes, someone else came in, and Taka perked up, half-relieved that he wasn't the latest, but mostly just appalled that said... Delinquent (and did his appearance ever fit the role of a delinquent) just walked into class and plopped into a seat near the back, without so much as a word.
After the teacher had given the students an 'okay' to a small period to get to know their classmates, Taka stood up, and promptly walked over to the delinquent in the back, slouching at his desk as he talked to the redhead next to him.
Taka tapped his shoulder to grab his attention, before pulling out his pad of various slips that he had gotten from the principal, pencil in hand. "Name?"
"Huh?"
"Your name!"
The delinquent propped his head up with his hand, giving Taka a bored look. "Nunya."
Taka nodded and wrote that down. He heard the redhead snort. "Last?"
The other boy smirked. "Business."
Taka frowned and erased what he had previously put as his name as the two boys snickered. "This is hardly a laughing matter. Name."
The delinquent rolled his eyes dramatically, gave a look to his friend, then looked back to Taka. "Mondo Oowada. We done here?"
Taka wrote down that name, and how late he was, before handing the slip to Oowada, who simply stared at the paper with a lazy expression of anger. "Uh, dude, I d'nno if you know the rules 'round here, but 'm pretty sure they don't have out tardy slips on the first damn day."
"Watch your language," Taka scolded, narrowing his eyes. "And it's a decision to be made by the person giving out the slips. So, here." He opted to place the slip on the desk instead of waiting for Oowada to take it.
"What the hell, man?! Ya can't give me a break on my first class of my first day?"
"Language," Taka simply stated again, before turning back to walk to his desk.
Taka felt a few flecks of paper being flicked at the back of his neck, and each time, he naturally reached and smacked at the paper like it was a fly, before realizing what was happening and turning to look behind him. Oowada smirked every time, and even had the audacity to give a tiny little wave once.
Eventually, Taka just did his best to ignore it, no longer trying to glare Mondo into submission. It wasn't as if he could give him detention without someone either reporting him or Taka catching him in the act, anyways.
It was his first day, and it seemed like he'd already made an enemy. Looked like Oowada had whatever sixth sense the students at his middle school had that was needed to sniff out the disabled kids to pick on.
"Oh!!"
Mondo glanced up when someone stopped in front of his desk, still during the first month of school. One of his classmates had gotten up to sharpen her pencil while the teacher was out of the classroom to print some worksheets... Fujisaki was her name, wasn't it? He followed her stare down to his wrist, and he jumped a little when he noticed that he had a bi pride pin stuck in his sleeve.
"Aw, hell, how long's that been there?" he groaned, reaching to try and get it out, so he could shove it in his pocket. He knew that would imply to this 'Fujisaki' chick that he was ashamed or some shit, but it was people who stared like she did who made him feel like that, so, fuck her. If that made her feel guilty, good.
"Ah! Wait, no, I didn't-!" She waved her hands in front of her chest, eyes wide and panicked, and Mondo stopped picking at his pin long enough to look at her again with a raised eyebrow, quiet while she tried to talk. He figured he'd scare the chick off if he tried. "I mean, uh, I'm not... I'm not mad, or anything like that!! I like it! Uhm..." She looked down at her hands, fidgeting. "I mean, I have one a bit like it? I guess? Uh, it's not the same exactly, but- it has similar colors! There's no purple... Instead, there's white!" She looked back to Mondo anxiously, with a tiny grin, apparently hoping Mondo would understand.
Mondo furrowed his brow. He was no stranger to the concept of telling someone 'I like your item with your pride flag on it' being code for 'I'm queer too', which meant the colors Fujisaki was describing was probably her own flag, right? He ran vaguely through the ones he knew in his mind. Pink, blue, and white...
"Ah!"
Fujisaki's grin got wider when she saw that Mondo was now smiling back at her. "Hell yeah." He held out a fist for a fistbump. "Me callin' you a chick okay?"
Fujisaki stared at it for a second, before hesitantly bumping it with her own fist with a tiny giggle. "Ah, yes, it is. That's how I prefer to be thought of. Thank you for asking, Mondo."
Before Mondo could call Chihiro her own first name back, and make a joke about 'not being the only queer kid in school', both of them practically jumped out of their skin when they heard the hardass from the front bark out, "Fujisaki, if you are not going to be doing anything but conversing, please return to your seat immediately!"
Chihiro squeaked out of embarrassment, before scurrying back to her own desk, forgetting to even sharpen her pencil like she had originally stood up for. Mondo went to give Ishimaru the death-glare of his lifetime, but he was already turned back around. Mondo huffed, and just started tearing apart a piece of paper to flick at Taka during the rest of the class.
He was probably more pissed off about Chihiro and I’s topic of conversation than he was that we were 'conversing,' he theorized to himself, bitterly.
That incident seemed to spark a back-and-forth, of sorts, between the two boys.
A few days later, basically the second Mondo had thought of it, he had Leon (who was sitting closer to Ishimaru than Mondo was) take one of Ishimaru's pads of detention slips out of his pocket, which Mondo pocketed himself. And, thank fuck, because he could finally curse in class without Ishimaru shoving a detention slip down his throat, so long as he stayed out of earshot of the teacher (who, by all means, could give him detention, too). It visibly drove Ishimaru insane that he couldn't hold his power over Mondo, or anyone else's, heads, and Mondo reveled in it. Best math class ever.
That, though, despite everything Mondo knew about the hardass, made him actually do some shit back. But of course, it was still under the guise of 'following the rules'. But everyone knew Mondo wouldn't park his motorcycle where bikes were supposed to go. Not only was that space for bicycles, not machines, but it was also extremely common for people to fuck with the bikes there, and Mondo was NOT about to risk that with his motorcycle. The spaces where you were supposed to put the bikes were also too small, and would scratch up his motorcycle, for sure. So he kept it parked and chained off somewhere else, where you couldn't easily find it.
So, yeah, when the damn thing was MISSING when Mondo went to ride home, obviously he freaked the hell out. Ran around the school looking like a goddamn freak for a solid while, before he ran into Ishimaru, who, when he heard Mondo barking questions about someone handling a motorcycle, all-too-innocently asked if Mondo had checked where all the bikes were parked. Which Mondo promptly went to. Dragging Ishimaru along, obviously, because that was suspicious as hell.
And confirming Ishimaru’s suspiciousness was his motorbike, haphazardly shoved into one of the bike racks. Mondo actually let go of Ishimaru to check on it, and got exactly what he had feared; multiple deep scratches. And when he turned back to Ishimaru to scream at him, the fucker smiled, but with a tiny glint of mischievousness. "You're welcome."
Mondo had screamed his ears off about that for a solid few minutes, but what was most infuriating was that Ishimaru wasn't scared of him. He just looked at Mondo blankly, occasionally having the gall to ask, "Are you done yet, Oowada?"
After his fourth time being asked if he was 'done', Mondo yelled, "I WILL be done if you tell me why the FUCK ya messed with my EXPENSIVE MOTORBIKE when all I did was fuck with yer PAPER!!"
Ishimaru raised his eyebrow, like it was obvious. "Because you're a coward, Oowada."
Mondo took a breath to explode in Ishimaru's face, but he just kept talking, not done. "That's why you took away my slips. You don't want to deal with the consequences of your actions! You think you are above them, just because your future is supposedly 'set' here! So you don't want to put any effort in! Well, I won't be having it. I won't have you thinking you're above the consequences of your actions, nor above following the rules! So..." He motioned to the motorcycle. "There's your first push to having you follow the rules. And I made sure that this would stick with you! So, I 'messed with' your expensive motorbike so you would remember this lesson. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go home."
And with that, Ishimaru turned on his heels and walked away, posture as straight as ever while Mondo was left practically choking in rage. He couldn't even manage a thought-out insult like Ishimaru could. He just shouted whatever offensive words he could think of at Ishimaru's back until he was out of earshot.
About a month later (long enough that Ishimaru wouldn't connect the two incidents), after angrily contemplating with a (very tired with his shit) Chihiro what would get on Ishimaru's nerves the most the previous night, Mondo managed to get his paws into Ishimaru's backpack, which he had sat down to catch up to a running student. Mondo took Ishimaru’s homework folder out, which he had labelled in 'homework folder' in neat lettering, because of fucking course he did.
But, hell, even Mondo had a conscious. Sometimes. Because even though it was pretty hilarious to watch Ishimaru desperately dig around his backpack when homework was being asked for, it was decidedly less hilarious to watch the kid try to not break down when explaining to his teachers that he swore he had his homework when he came, and then proceed to beg the teachers to punch him as a punishment for 'being a failure'.
By the time the end of the day came around, Mondo was decidedly sick of the whole deal, and had long since gotten even with the other boy. Ishimaru had some of tomorrow's homework already done in his folder (because of fucking course, of fucking course he did), and if he didn't return it now, he'd have to deal with this all tomorrow. So, at the end of school Mondo searched for the hardass in the hall, and, when he ran into him, held out his homework folder to him silently.
Makoto was still gathering his things at his lockers with Leon when he heard two familiar voices rising to a yelling level. Leon groaned, tilting his head back dramatically against the lockers. "The two idiots are at it again."
Makoto laughed awkwardly. "Don't call them that... Although... Yeah, maybe they could lay off."
At this point, everyone in the class was just about sick of Taka and Mondo being at each other's throats. Even when they weren't actively pulling stuff on each other, Mondo was constantly doing tiny things to bug Taka to the point of the already always-on-edge hall monitor constantly being on the verge of exploding. And, in return, Taka leapt at the excuse to give Mondo detention, obviously enjoying when he could. It was... Exhausting.
... Wait, were 'those two idiots' getting closer?
That was answered when Mondo and Taka both turned the corner to the lockers, and Mondo pointed at Makoto, who flinched. "MAKOTO! We need to ask ya a favor!!"
Makoto looked helplessly to Taka, who nodded curtly. "Yes! We need you to be our witness to me finally defeating this-" He shifted his gaze to Mondo, irritation obvious. "- heartless brute."
"Witness?" Makoto echoed, with a small, nervous smile.
Leon snickered, hit Makoto lightly on the shoulder, and said, "Good luck, my man," before shutting his locker and leaving.
"We've finally decided to settle this like men," Mondo said, glancing at Taka with a smirk. "We're g'nna throw the fuck down! And you've..." He looked back to Makoto. "Gotta be our witness!"
Makoto's nervous smile got a bit wider and nervously chuckled. "Uh-" He started to object, but he was basically already roped in against his will, as solidified by Taka grabbing him by the wrist and taking him down to the bathhouse on the first floor.
Makoto ended up having to leave before the sauna contest was over, but that didn't mean he wasn't still concerned about the two. Both of them were stubborn to a fault, and he wouldn't put it above either of them to stay in there until they passed out, or got hurt even worse than that, just to win. So, when class came the next day, Makoto scanned the halls for the two of them, before going to class. Where there was also no Mondo or Taka...
His worry grew at that, but it lasts for less than a few minutes. Because, the next people who came into class were Mondo and Taka. ... With their arms around each other's shoulders affectionately... Laughing... Calling each other their 'bro'.
... It was... Unexpected.
But it was way better than the two constantly being ready to bite the other's head off.
Taka had never had a friend like Mondo before; a friend who desired his presence, and liked to hear his thoughts and see him happy, instead of merely tolerating his presence to be nice. (Or using him, Taka's mind helpfully provided, but he pushed the thought away as soon as it came. He doesn't like to think about the boy who he waited for in the library at all, much less compare his soulbrother to him.) He'd never met anyone who found his autistic traits... Charming, or good, instead of something to be 'put up' with, either. Mondo had quipped more than once that it was real good that Taka loved pressure, because Mondo typically crushed his friends with his hugs. Mondo didn’t passive-aggressively shush Taka when he lost control over his voice's volume, because Mondo got just as loud when he was excited, too. And, when Taka caught himself bouncing on his heels and flapping his hands out of excitement and immediately apologized for it, Mondo asked why he was apologizing, because if it made Taka happy to bounce in place and flap his hands, then Mondo didn't care.
He wondered if all of that comes with having a real best friend, or if Mondo is just... Special. Perhaps it was both. Mondo feels special to Taka, and, in turn, Taka feels everything and more for Mondo.
Mondo had grown up with friends his whole life, basically. Even during the years where he wasn't particularly close with anyone in school, he had his brother. And even after... That no longer applied. He had his gang. But all of them had his something-or-whatever complex about 'if I show a singular emotion, I will die on the spot'. Leon was better than his gang in that department, but not by a significant amount. Chihiro was different in that she was a gal, so she wasn't as pressured to keep up tough appearances. But she was also shy, and sometimes got frightened by Mondo, so he felt the need to constantly hold back, and saw her as kind of a little sister more than someone he stands equal grounds with.
It was kind of funny that one of the things that infuriated Mondo about Taka back before they were bros was that Taka wasn't scared of him, even when Mondo was actively trying to be terrifying. But when they were buds, that's what made them equals. Taka was tough, and could take anything Mondo can throw at him, and they both knew it; he was like Mondo's gang members, in that way. But unlike the gang, Taka wore his heart on his sleeves. He was strong as all hell, but he was unashamed, and didn't seem to care about the social rules of what boys 'are' and 'aren't' allowed to do. Taka praised him unabashedly to others, and leaned his head on Mondo's shoulder when he was tired, and would rush to cling to Mondo's arm when it was free.
That was refreshing to have. Someone who he could see as an equal, but who still was open about how much he cared for Mondo.
Taka had recently announced it had been a month since he and Mondo had become friends, the first time he and Mondo played video games together. Taka didn't have video game systems of his own, and, whenever he came over to Mondo's dorm, he wanted to study. But, just this once, he'd let Mondo convince him to put down his studying early in order to try a racing game, and, thankfully, Mondo spared him of embarrassing himself too badly by choosing a more easy and cartoony one to start with.
That didn't mean Taka was any good at it though. And, during one of the short periods he was in the lead, he got hit with a shell, which made him huff with frustration. "GO-LLY!"
Mondo exploded into scream-laughter beside him, going from sitting on the floor to plopping onto his side, apparently abandoning this round. Taka followed suit, looking away from the screen to furrow his brows at Mondo. "What?" Mondo let out a distinct scream, before going right back to laughing.
It took a few moments for Mondo to catch his breath, and even then, he was still talking in between chuckles. "Ohhh, Gooooddd. Oh, Gooddd. I'm sorry, bro, I totally fucked up that round, but holy SHIT. I've never heard 'golly' as an expression of anger before..." He rubbed his face, in between chuckles. "I dunno why that got me so bad, but I've never skipped laughin' and went straight to screamin' like that."
Taka laughed back a little bit now. "Well... It was apparently 'golly' that did it."
"Yeah," Mondo chuckled. "Goddamn..." He sighed.
Taka patted his hands across his knees happily upon realizing the implication that this meant Taka was the only one who could make Mondo laugh like that, smiling so hard it hurt.
"You really don't care about social rules, huh, bro?" Mondo asked Taka a couple months later, walking for one class to another. Taka could hear the stutter in 'care', knowing he probably wanted to say 'give a shit', but Taka had at least managed to make him tone down his cursing on school grounds. He didn't care if Mondo cursed outside of that, as long as it wasn't against the rules.
Taka bit his lip and his eyebrows furrowed. Had he said something odd in their conversation? "Is that bad?"
"Nah!" Mondo waved his hand dismissively. "It's cool. Like, one of my favorite things about ya."
Taka's step bounced a little bit more at that. "Well, growing up autistic, you learn that you're never going to please everyone fairly quickly," Taka replied simply, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
"You're autistic?"
Taka half-paused in his step, before continuing, not wanting to be late for class. "Were you not aware?"
Taka thought that Mondo didn't look... Upset. But it was hard to tell. His eyebrows were raised. "Obviously not."
"Ah!" Taka chuckled. "Sorry! I had assumed that you had figured it out before you and I realized we were soulbrothers!" He looked away, but still tried to smile. "My fellow students in middle school figured it out by themselves, and they bullied me quite severely for my differences. Along with... Ah, well, I'm sure you've heard of my grandfather!"
Mondo gave him a look that Taka is pretty sure means that he didn't know what he meant. Taka made a mental note to explain it later, once they weren't surrounded by other students.
Mondo shrugged. "This is probably shitty to say, but what I thought autism was is real different from what you are. Ya know, the stereotypical thought of a kid confined to a wheelchair who can only talk in grunts 'nd shit."
"Autism causes social, communication, and behavioral challenges, but not intellect nor function of one's body! It is also a very wide spectrum! So that is very inaccurate!"
"Apparently. But hey, you can totally teach me, right?"
Mondo's lips curled into a grin when Taka felt himself light up. "Yes!! I would be honored to teach you anything you would like to know, bro!"
Although Mondo's grades would have an outsider thinking otherwise, Taka learned that Mondo was a very fast learner. With things he actually cared about learning.
While learning about autism from casual conversation about it with Taka, Mondo almost immediately started to ask Taka if he could touch him instead of doing it himself, which Taka had never had anyone do, except for his father. He'd also laid off teasing Taka about wearing the same outfit every day, and, after a while, stopped looking at him oddly whenever Taka covered his ears in public. He even offered once, after they were out of the offending loud store in question, and Taka had taken his hands down, "Ya know they make headphones that makes everythin' go quiet? Wouldja be down for somethin' like that?"
As Mondo learned about Taka, Taka learned about Mondo.
Even though he knew he should be paying attention to his friend, Taka found his gaze wandering around Mondo's room as the other talked. He'd never been in here before, to Mondo's apartment; only to his dorm. But now, he found himself glad that Mondo had invited him there over the break, although it was quite a messy place.
After glancing around for a while, Taka's eyes seemed to settle on a flag that was hung above the head of the bed, where the two boys sat. (Well, Taka sat. Mondo laid.) He wondered if it was a country's flag, but he's sure he would recall such a simple design. Pink, a smaller stripe of purple, then blue. Besides, he was fairly sure Mondo was Japanese like he was...
"Bro, can I give you a pro tip?"
Taka straightened up at hearing his nickname, and looked back at Mondo. "Go ahead!"
"If you stare at people's pride flags with that perma-glare thing ya have goin' on, they're gonna think you're planning to hatecrime 'em."
Taka bristled in his spot, and started stuttering out apologies. "I'm so sorry, bro! I wasn't... I didn't know that was what it was!! It's... Not rainbow, is it? It wasn't something I recognized, I didn't know that you liked- that you were- ah-"
Mondo smirked, but put Taka out of his misery by interrupting. "I know yer not actually gonna do that. If anythin', the law would stop ya. Was a joke. Also, it's not the rainbow 'cause I'm not gay, dude."
"Oh." Taka pretended to know what that insinuated.
Apparently, he wasn't convincing, because Mondo clarified, which he was somewhat grateful for. "I'm bi, by the by."
Taka furrowed his brows, trying to recall if he knew what that meant. "You're... Two...?"
"Yup! That's how old I am!" Mondo laughed at his own joke, and Taka laughed a little bit with him. "Nah, for real, it's short for bisexual."
"I'm terribly sorry to have you continue to clarify, but-"
"It's no prob. S'when you like dudes, or chicks, or basically anyone."
Taka frowned, concerned for his friend. "Bro, there's no need for that! I know that you're on a 'losing streak', as you refer to it, but there is no need to feel desperate!"
Mondo's eyes narrowed in anger, and that surprised Taka enough to make him jump a little. He wasn't afraid; Mondo wasn't scary to him. He was just caught off-guard. He'd almost forgotten how Mondo looked when he was angry. "I dunno, bro," Mondo replied, his voice dripping with irritation, "Personally, I think it's a little desperate of you to wanna date any chick that comes around. Because that's apparently how it works now."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend-!"
Mondo closed his eyes and sighed. "S'fine, bro. I know yer not bein' shitty on purpose or nothin'. Now stop tryin' so hard, you’re giving me secondhand exhaustion."
Taka wasn't homophobic! He was accepting of everyone. Just as a good prime minister should be! But something about what he learned about Mondo made him... Woozy.
After Mondo came out to him officially, he started to mention it casually in conversation, apparently comfortable talking about it now that the initial push was out of the way. But whenever Mondo brought it up, Taka found himself naturally looking away, or wanting to change the subject before someone overheard. How can he manage to talk about it so casually, Taka wondered, If, each time he does, he puts himself in danger?
Taka didn't hate Mondo for it, or even dislike him for it. They were soulbrothers, after all, and Mondo liking boys felt small compared to that. (Even though it still felt very big.) Taka didn't care, but he feared about the people who would. He feels a strange pulsing and pulling feeling in his chest whenever Mondo talks about it without a care; jokes and mentions liking the same gender without any hesitation. Taka was scared Mondo would one day misjudge a person, mention liking boys casually, and get seriously hurt for it.
Even people who were heterosexual and just made a simple mistake were hurt, because they were perceived as queer.
(Taka worried that Mondo wouldn't have a bigger, stronger adult happen to come by to stop his assailants if he was hurt, too.)
It wasn't unusual for Mondo to simply open Taka's door, walk in and plop down onto his bed, so Taka didn't flinch from where he was at his desk. "Hello! Please do not plop on the bed! What is it I can help you with?"
Mondo, who had chosen to fall down face-first, rolled over, groaning. "Fuckin'... Struck out again."
Taka tilted his head a bit. He felt like it would be inappropriate to ask for the gender of the person, even though he was dying to know and it was the first thing that came to mind. Instead, he turned his chair to face his bed and he offered, "Oh, I am sorry! You'll find someone eventually, bro, don't worry."
Mondo just covered his face and groaned for an extended period of time, which Taka was pretty sure meant that he was upset but didn't have the right words.
Eventually, after a long while of back-and-forth to get his spirits up, Mondo sat up, and swung his feet off the side of Taka's bed. "Bro, why do you never complain to me 'bout this?"
"About what?"
"'Bout romance and shit, dude! Like, do you never ask anyone out, ever? Or do ya just not tell me?"
Taka replied, not even having to think about it, as he had asked himself why he hadn't wanted a girlfriend a thousand times over, and he landed on the same answer. "It would be a distraction from my schoolwork! Once I have graduated, then I will pursue a romantic relationship!" Hopefully, he'd want one by then.
Taka paused, considering adding that unspoken addition, as well. He remembered what had happened in elementary... But Mondo was kinder and safer than those students were. So, he added on, hesitantly, "And I don't find the idea of having a romantic relationship very... Appealing."
"God, wish that were me," was all Mondo replied with.
Mondo hadn't pushed him. He hadn't done anything to insinuate Taka said anything unusual to him at all. But Taka felt a sharp feeling of urgency flicker in his chest, so he added on further, "Maizono would be a good significant other," and the feeling faded away.
Mondo rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Bro, everyone likes Maizono."
Taka grinned back. "Well, then it surely must be for a reason!"
"'Surely', ya say, like ya don't even know why you like her yourself." And the tone is still teasing and light, but Taka feels that flickering urgency come back instantly.
"I mean...!" Taka struggled for a moment, trying to put why he liked the idol into words. "She would make a respectable wife! She is kind and attractive!"
Mondo's playful tone drops a little, and that just makes the flickering become painful. "Dude, that's not how crushes work. It's a feelin' in yer gut, not based off of who would make a good wife."
"Well, if I am married to a gambler like Celeste, or someone intimidating like Oogami, I wouldn't be seen quite as respectable myself when I run for prime minister, would I?"
"Ya sure as hell wouldn't, bro, but that isn't how it works. Ya don't consciously choose that shit. Ya can't help if ya like Celeste, Oogami, Maizono, or whoever."
Taka felt his voice raising subconsciously. "Well, that's how it works for me! And I'm simply not ready to even pursue having a girlfriend. I'm focusing on schoolwork! And you should be, as well!"
Mondo could probably sense Taka was very much done with this topic. "Eh, it would make sense. Yer so focused on your goals 'n shit, wouldn't put it past ya to have it affect your feelin's."
Taka felt like he could breathe again.
(Somehow, he got the vague, very frightening feeling that he was never going to be 'ready'.)
Speaking of the goddamn devil, with that whole, 'You can't choose who you like, it just happens,' shit.
Mondo realized it on Valentine's, because of course he did. He had been moping that he hadn't gotten any chocolate to Taka basically all day, because all this holiday did was make him was feel like shit, like always. And, when he had asked to hang out with Taka after school, Taka declined, which was to be expected, what, with Mondo complaining basically all day.
What was less expected was when Taka showed up at Mondo's door that evening, with two baggies of homemade chocolates, declaring them 'friendship chocolate'. Which was so stupidly sweet. Pun intended.
But, even still, before Taka could eat his own batch, he had to sort them. Taka always sorted multiple pieces of food with varying sizes from smallest to biggest and ate them in that order. Mondo wanted to roll his eyes and tease him about it, but bit his tongue, instead opting to silently sort Taka's chocolate with him so he could get to eating faster. He hated to see Taka look stressed. More than he usually looked stressed.
When everything was all sorted, Taka clapped his hands together with a wide grin. "Excellent!! Now, I can begin! Thank you, bro!" He turned his gaze to Mondo, then down to the unopened baggie in his hand, and his eyes widened. "Oh! Be careful! You haven't gotten your chocolate out yet. It may melt!"
Mondo blinked, and glanced down at his own chocolate. Damn. He had managed to completely forget about his own treats when he saw Taka looking kinda overwhelmed. Didn't even think to eat some before helping.
Mondo replied, "Oh, yeah, right," his voice a little bit quieter than usual.
Ah, hell. He's a little bit in love with his best friend, isn't he?
It was just Mondo's fucking luck that he was stuck with feelings for his 'soulbrother' who wanted to work in goddamn politics. But, thank God for small favors, he had a queer friend to scream about it to. Right after a healthy dose of 'I'll fucking kill you if you tell anyone'. Which he promptly did as soon as he came home that day.
"It's not FUCKING fair, Chi," he complained over the phone, burying his face in his free hand. "Why does he gotta be so FUCKING dorky and considerate and CUTE and AGGRESSIVELY straight! Girls have all the fuckin' luck, SHIT! I'm such a dumbass..."
Chihiro giggled on the other line. "You couldn't exactly choose who you fell in love with, though, right? It's not your fault..."
Mondo huffed, because she was right, she was echoing what she had told Taka, and that made it even more unfair.
And it is 'who he fell in love with', Mondo realized. It wasn't some crush. He'd had crushes. On LOTSA people. Fleeting thoughts about how they were hot or whatever. But he didn't get too upset if they avoided him because he had yelled and scared them off, when he was actually trying to flirt and failing. And Mondo did care if Taka avoided him, or didn't talk to him over this. A lot. And he wanted to punch himself for letting himself care so much about this dork, because he was just asking to fall in love with him and get hurt when he did that. If he just hadn't fucking CARED, hadn't fucking...
Ugh.
Mondo also immediately noticed how different it was than from trying to get with a girl. He'd had crushes on boys before. Obviously. But he'd never actually tried to talk to them, because he knew he'd get slugged in the face if he tried to get with the wrong guy. He knew he could take the punch to the face, but probably not to the self-esteem. He had limited resources in that department. So, he'd only actively tried to get with girls (none of whom had punched him so far).
On top of crush versus love (GAG.), there was also a fuckton of other stuff. Asking a chick who he had a crush on out was so easy, because that's what was 'normal'. It was expected for a girl to like boys. So the question was, did she like this specific boy? But a boy he was in love with? A hell of a lot more difficult. He had to think about if Taka liked boys (a solid 'no'), if he was homophobic or would tell other people who were. And even if, even if Taka liked boys, and he liked Mondo, that meant Mondo would have to get past the barrier that was his own goddamn incompetency at romance, AND past the taboo of that sorta relationship.
Flirting with strangers was damn near impossible for Mondo. Flirting with a friend he was scared of losing would be even harder. Flirting when the both of them would be scared to admit that they're actually interested out of fear the other would hate them for it?? Forget it.
There was also the issue of Taka figuring it out for himself, without Mondo confessing it to him. With girls? Not a big deal. That's the way it was supposed to be. It was expected for boys to think girls were pretty. But if Taka figured out Mondo loved him and he had deliberately kept it a secret from Taka, then would he think Mondo was preying on him? Being his friend because he thought Taka was hot, just to stare at him when they were together, and not actually caring about Taka as a person? Mondo knew that wasn't true, because, again, he cared way too much about if Taka would stop being his friend. And, even though he wanted to slam his head into the wall and call himself a dumbass for this, he was, unfortunately, thinking more about holding Taka's hand and petting his hair as they cuddled and flirting with him until his face turned bright red then he was about making out with him, or whatever the fuck. But Taka didn't know about that.
At the very least, Mondo was glad Taka didn't pick up on Mondo's any usual tells. Whenever Taka started to bounce on his heels out of excitement, or did that, adorable, stupid 'ha ha ha' laugh, and Mondo got so nervous and stupid that he started to yell, Taka's voice would rise in volume naturally, to meet Mondo's. Mondo was pretty sure that was one of Taka's autism things. And, again, Mondo thanked God for small favors.
(But just because Taka didn't know what Mondo's yelling meant didn't mean that literally anyone else who witnessed the pair of them didn't. Way too often, now, he saw other people in his class giving him knowing little grins whenever he and Taka put their arms around each other, and it took everything within him to not go and punch the smirks off their faces, because he hated that other people knew he was in fucking love with this little punk.)
Mondo mostly just wished he didn't care this much.
About 4 months of that realization fucking up Mondo's life real good, Chihiro walked up to him at his locker, an excited look on her face. "Mondo, look at what I found!" She held out a piece of paper with a big smile on her face, and Mondo naturally felt himself reflect it, even before he'd even glanced at the paper.
Even as he tried to read over the event, Chihiro swayed from side to side, excited. "Doesn't it sound quite wonderful? It's nearby, too. Do you want to come with me?"
Mondo's grin widened. He'd never actually been to a pride event before. "Aw, hell yeah, Chi! Sounds like a blast!"
He was going to keep talking, but he jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. When he turned his head, he saw Maizono next to him, glancing over the flyer before he could tell her to buzz off.
"Ah!" She smiled up at Mondo. "That seems like fun. Why don't you invite Taka along?"
Mondo gave Maizono a look. He was pretty sure that it's not normal to invite people who aren't queer to a pride event. "I mean, I'd totally be down for invitin' my bro, but... Why this? Don't ya know what it's about?"
Maizono giggled. "Of course I do! And, don't you know?" Her expression turned deathly serious. "I'm psychic."
Chihiro and Mondo froze, and glanced at each other.
"Ahaha! Just kidding!" She playfully shoved Mondo's shoulder. "But I do have good intuition."
Mondo wasn't exactly sure what Maizono was implying with that, but, hey. If he's gonna go somewhere fun, why wouldn't he wanna bring his best friend? Might even be helpful, in the long run. Mondo caught how Taka tended to glance away whenever Mondo mentioned being bi. This might teach him a few things.
Mondo gave a questioning look to Chihiro.
She grinned up at him. "There's no harm in a plus-one."
Taka was focused on eating and studying at the same time without getting crumbs or stains on his textbook when Mondo suddenly exclaimed, "OH, right!!" Taka jumped where he was sitting, and Mondo laughed apologetically. "Sorry, bro! Almost forgot something..."
He pulled out his phone, and started tapping on it. "There's somethin' goin' on this weekend, and I know ya usually study 'til ya drop, but if you wanna come with Chi and I, I'd be totally down to take you!" He held out his phone to Taka, who accepted it and looked at the screen.
It seemed to be the website for some sort of event, and what immediately caught Taka's eyes was the rainbow patterning. Then, his eyes were immediately drawn to the description of this as an 'LGBT+ event'.
Taka’s throat tightened and he felt the urge to hide the phone against his chest, like he was looking at something bad or dirty. He stared at the screen for a moment, no longer really seeing it as his hands shook, before finally managing to look back to Mondo. "Why... Are you asking me, bro?" Even just saying the sentence, with the implications it could hold, made him feel like throwing up.
Mondo's reply was infinitely more simple than any implications Taka had in mind. "What, am I not allowed to bring my bud to a fun event?"
Taka let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He wanted to bring Taka to a pride event because they were friends. And not... That he thought... Anything that could damage Taka's reputation. Or chances as prime minister.
"Right!! Of course!" With relief now washing over him, Taka was able to give his usual enthusiasm to such a request. "Thank you very much for inviting me. I would love to come along with you!"
If it was anyone else, Taka felt like he'd probably hesitate more. But it wasn't anyone else; it was Mondo, and Taka would go anywhere with him.
The day of the event isn't the first time Taka had ridden on the back of Mondo's motorcycle to go somewhere. But it was the first time Taka had done it with Mondo aware of his big loser-crush on him. And oh boy, trying to focus on the road when the person you were in love with was leaning onto your back, and had their hands wrapped around your middle? It was certainly not easy.
They were lucky there wasn't any serious traffic, or Mondo's bi ass would have the two of them in a wreck so goddamn fast.
Taka was surprised to see a group of people at the entrance waiting for him and Mondo, because, as far as he knew, it was supposed to be only Chihiro waiting. Instead, there was Chihiro, Makoto, Aoi, Oogami, and... Togami?
Chihiro immediately addressed Taka's confusion with a nervous little laugh. "I originally only invited you two and Makoto! Given he was the only other openly queer student in our class..." Taka was very much not aware that Makoto was queer, but nobody else seemed surprised, so he didn't ask. "But he knew Aoi would be interested, so he told her, and she invited Sakura... And, of course, Makoto would want to bring his boyfriend along-"
Taka naturally asked, "His boyfriend?", too surprised by that to stop himself, but he was glad at least Mondo had asked the same question with him. Thank goodness, it's not more common knowledge he was apparently oblivious to.
Togami sighed, and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Yes, but I have much to lose if the word gets out, and two very insistent pair of..." He paused, before ending on, "... Sisters who would not take kindly to this information. I simply came because Makoto was going to come, and he said you plebians could keep a secret, so don't prove my trust to be displaced. Understand?" Apparently, the others had gotten this speech already, because he was just looking at Taka and Mondo. Mondo raised his hands in silent defeat, and Taka looked away and nodded.
It was like he thought! Being attracted to the same gender only brought others trouble, it seemed. So why were they celebrating?
Taka glanced around at the group. They all wore bright colors (save for Togami, who was apparently trying to keep the information out of the public eye), and the only pattern that Taka recognized was the one that Makoto, Sakura, and Mondo were all wearing in some form (as a shirt, makeup, and pins, in that order), and that was only thanks to Mondo teaching him. Chihiro was almost wearing the same colors, but there was white instead of purple. Aoi was wearing a different color scheme entirely, with pink and orange.
Normally, he'd ask what each one meant without any shame, but he was worried that, if he had to listen to his classmates explain it, he'd get woozy the same way he did when he thought about Mondo being bisexual. So he didn't, and just followed the group in.
Once inside the fenced-off area, Taka was assaulted by rainbows everywhere, though he had expected that. He glanced around, uncharacteristically silent as he tried to take in his new surroundings while following his classmates. It felt so wrong to Taka, to not be the leader, but he had no clue what the layout of the area was or what the rules were, and so he simply followed the others, half-gripping Mondo's leather jacket sleeve to guide him as he looked around.
There were people selling all sorts of things, mostly with those bright color patterns Taka didn't know the meaning of. Many people here were in incredibly gaudy fashion, but not as many as Taka had expected, based off of what he saw in the media. There were many people here who were dressed simply.
There were many people here... In general.
Aside from the music playing on the loudspeakers, the colorful patterns, and the occasional outrageous dresser, another big facet of this event was petitions getting signed. That made sense to Taka. People who were queer had so many problems; many of which Taka had educated himself on in his research for his future, particularly after Mondo had come out to him. When he was in power, he wanted to be able to make things easier on his bro. (And everyone else, of course.)
Notably, the group stopped when someone told them they were collecting signatures for anybody who wants to legalize same-sex marriage.
Aoi perked up. "Are highschoolers allowed to sign?"
The person hands the clipboard to Aoi, with a pen. "Of course."
In the end, basically everyone in the group wants to sign. But when Makoto tried to hand the clipboard to Togami, he held up a hand. "I cannot afford to have my signature on a political list such as this."
Taka glanced away, cringing as the clipboard continued to be passed around. That's right. In the midst of all of the happy songs and smiling faces, he'd almost-…
His chest was being pulled again, and it hurt a little bit. The same feeling he had when he watched Mondo talk about being bisexual. He subconsciously pressed a hand to his chest, like he was afraid his heart would burst from it.
When everyone was done signing, Mondo handed the clipboard over to Taka, who jumped, not expecting to be included.
He stared at the petition for a few moments. Same-sex marriage? Well... It wasn't going to be like he was going to keep not being homophobic to himself when he runs for prime minister, was he...? He might end up being the one to pass the law himself! For Mondo to marry whoever he wants. Even if the thought made him feel... Upset, for reasons he didn't understand. He wasn't currently in the public eye like Togami was, so he wouldn't be in danger.
Besides, he felt the group staring at him, so he took the clipboard and smiled. "Thank you, bro!" Taka found himself writing his name down uncharacteristically quickly, not taking the care to make his name as neat as he usually did, before giving the clipboard back to the person that had given it to the group.
His face felt hot, and his eyebrows furrowed, and Taka glanced around anxiously. But nobody was looking at them. Everyone else was caught up in themselves, and their own little groups.
... There were men with men. Everywhere. Caught up in each other. Posing for pictures, giving each other kisses on the cheek casually. Taka saw a pair of young boys, too; younger than he was, still having to be here with their parents. One of the young boys had a rainbow pin in...
In... Taka's middle school... Uniform...
Taka's hands naturally went up to cover his ears, and everything that had seemed pleasant before was suddenly too much. Too loud. Too colorful. Too many people. He wasn't sure if his classmates had started to walk forward without him or if they were staring at him, but he had to get out. So he walked, his back straight as ever and his gaze beginning to go fuzzy. He pressed his hands to his ears harder and harder the closer he got to being back at the entrance. He was almost a little afraid he was going to pass out before he could get out, but he managed to make it, promptly collapsing near the entrance with his back to the fence. Even though he was out of it now, though, his head was still pounding like there was loud music playing, and there was something, something pressing down hard on his chest, making it hard to breathe, making his heart race. Even the black from behind his eyelids seemed so bright.
Taka wasn't sure how long he sat like that until he finally felt like he could open his eyes, and, when he glanced to his immediate right, he jumped. "GAH-!"
Mondo, who was sitting next to him, waved nonchalantly. "Sorry, bro, didn't mean to freak ya out. Was just waiting for ya to be up to talk."
Taka sighed and gave Mondo a shaky grin.
"Need a hug?"
Taka immediately pressed his face into Mondo's side instead of answering, and he felt Mondo jump before squeezing him as tight as he always did. Pressure. Firm. Stable. Mondo. Safe.
Taka felt himself untense a bit as the pounding feeling in his head went away, although his heart beating fast stayed. He pressed his face further into Mondo's side. "I am very sorry. You were clearly having fun, and I..."
Mondo wouldn't let him finish. "Ay, don't apologize, you can't help that shit. Should've thought of your sensory stuff before I invited you to a huge-ass, loud-ass event, anyway."
Taka went quiet at that, and just let himself be held in comfortable silence.
He's pretty sure it says something that it took until that moment to realize. It took sitting outside a queer pride event after being overwhelmed by the sight of men being happy in relationships with each other, being held tight and comforted by his best male friend who he felt everything for, with his heart still racing in his chest even after he was calmed, for everything to click into place.
Taka distantly heard himself saying, "I am sorry, but I believe I would really like to go home now." And the whole ride back, Taka was afraid to hold onto Mondo too tight, but too afraid to let go and fall away.
Taka couldn't sleep for a long time that night. He just stared blankly into the darkness, up at his ceiling, his mind brimming with, I'm gay. I'm gay and I'm so, so in love with Mondo. I'm deeply in love with my best friend who is a boy. I'm very in love with Mondo and I am gay.
In the times when his shock from the realization would quiet down enough to let him think, Taka tried to tell himself phrases he had heard at that day's event. That it's okay. He was born this way. That there's something wrong with the people who don't like it, not him. He wasn't wrong. He wasn't broken. He didn't need to be fixed, because he was already normal.
He fell asleep trying so, so hard to make himself believe it.
Fun fact: I thought that the first chapter of this fic was going to be the longest. Now here we are, with a chapter that doubles the word count. Oops.
Also, I have Mondo and Taka call each other 'bro' instead of 'kyoudai' because the concept of these two dorks calling each other 'bro' as they are literally falling in love with each other is INTENSELY funny to me.
Expect the final chapter on the 19th!
Koi no yokan; love at second sight (v.) A Japanese phrase describing the feeling when you meet someone who you don't love right away, but who you know you will inevitably fall for
The first day Taka was going to be going to the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy; the place where it's said your bright future is guaranteed if you go to, where all students are the best at what they do, that Hope's Peak, yes; he was almost late for his first class. He slammed the door open to the classroom, completely subconsciously, but that lead to all eyes being on him, and the heat he had managed to gather in his face from stress only got worse.
Thankfully, Taka was always quick to recover from embarrassment, and he gave a quick salute to his new classmates and to the teacher. "Apologies for almost being tardy! I assure you, you will all not find it happening again!"
The teacher tried to explain that most teachers and students who hand out tardy slips on the first few days back were rather lenient, given how students (especially students who transferred in from other high schools, like Taka had) would have issues finding their way to their classrooms in a large building they could easily get lost in (again, like Taka had). But Taka wasn't having any of it, simply apologizing a second time before sitting down at the front of the class. He wasn't going to allow himself to accept any extra lenience just because he was new here. After all, from what he understood, everyone else in this class was new here, too!
Thankfully, he needed no such thing, as class started less than a minute later.
However, after a few minutes, someone else came in, and Taka perked up, half-relieved that he wasn't the latest, but mostly just appalled that said... Delinquent (and did his appearance ever fit the role of a delinquent) just walked into class and plopped into a seat near the back, without so much as a word.
After the teacher had given the students an 'okay' to a small period to get to know their classmates, Taka stood up, and promptly walked over to the delinquent in the back, slouching at his desk as he talked to the redhead next to him.
Taka tapped his shoulder to grab his attention, before pulling out his pad of various slips that he had gotten from the principal, pencil in hand. "Name?"
"Huh?"
"Your name!"
The delinquent propped his head up with his hand, giving Taka a bored look. "Nunya."
Taka nodded and wrote that down. He heard the redhead snort. "Last?"
The other boy smirked. "Business."
Taka frowned and erased what he had previously put as his name as the two boys snickered. "This is hardly a laughing matter. Name."
The delinquent rolled his eyes dramatically, gave a look to his friend, then looked back to Taka. "Mondo Oowada. We done here?"
Taka wrote down that name, and how late he was, before handing the slip to Oowada, who simply stared at the paper with a lazy expression of anger. "Uh, dude, I d'nno if you know the rules 'round here, but 'm pretty sure they don't have out tardy slips on the first damn day."
"Watch your language," Taka scolded, narrowing his eyes. "And it's a decision to be made by the person giving out the slips. So, here." He opted to place the slip on the desk instead of waiting for Oowada to take it.
"What the hell, man?! Ya can't give me a break on my first class of my first day?"
"Language," Taka simply stated again, before turning back to walk to his desk.
Taka felt a few flecks of paper being flicked at the back of his neck, and each time, he naturally reached and smacked at the paper like it was a fly, before realizing what was happening and turning to look behind him. Oowada smirked every time, and even had the audacity to give a tiny little wave once.
Eventually, Taka just did his best to ignore it, no longer trying to glare Mondo into submission. It wasn't as if he could give him detention without someone either reporting him or Taka catching him in the act, anyways.
It was his first day, and it seemed like he'd already made an enemy. Looked like Oowada had whatever sixth sense the students at his middle school had that was needed to sniff out the disabled kids to pick on.
"Oh!!"
Mondo glanced up when someone stopped in front of his desk, still during the first month of school. One of his classmates had gotten up to sharpen her pencil while the teacher was out of the classroom to print some worksheets... Fujisaki was her name, wasn't it? He followed her stare down to his wrist, and he jumped a little when he noticed that he had a bi pride pin stuck in his sleeve.
"Aw, hell, how long's that been there?" he groaned, reaching to try and get it out, so he could shove it in his pocket. He knew that would imply to this 'Fujisaki' chick that he was ashamed or some shit, but it was people who stared like she did who made him feel like that, so, fuck her. If that made her feel guilty, good.
"Ah! Wait, no, I didn't-!" She waved her hands in front of her chest, eyes wide and panicked, and Mondo stopped picking at his pin long enough to look at her again with a raised eyebrow, quiet while she tried to talk. He figured he'd scare the chick off if he tried. "I mean, uh, I'm not... I'm not mad, or anything like that!! I like it! Uhm..." She looked down at her hands, fidgeting. "I mean, I have one a bit like it? I guess? Uh, it's not the same exactly, but- it has similar colors! There's no purple... Instead, there's white!" She looked back to Mondo anxiously, with a tiny grin, apparently hoping Mondo would understand.
Mondo furrowed his brow. He was no stranger to the concept of telling someone 'I like your item with your pride flag on it' being code for 'I'm queer too', which meant the colors Fujisaki was describing was probably her own flag, right? He ran vaguely through the ones he knew in his mind. Pink, blue, and white...
"Ah!"
Fujisaki's grin got wider when she saw that Mondo was now smiling back at her. "Hell yeah." He held out a fist for a fistbump. "Me callin' you a chick okay?"
Fujisaki stared at it for a second, before hesitantly bumping it with her own fist with a tiny giggle. "Ah, yes, it is. That's how I prefer to be thought of. Thank you for asking, Mondo."
Before Mondo could call Chihiro her own first name back, and make a joke about 'not being the only queer kid in school', both of them practically jumped out of their skin when they heard the hardass from the front bark out, "Fujisaki, if you are not going to be doing anything but conversing, please return to your seat immediately!"
Chihiro squeaked out of embarrassment, before scurrying back to her own desk, forgetting to even sharpen her pencil like she had originally stood up for. Mondo went to give Ishimaru the death-glare of his lifetime, but he was already turned back around. Mondo huffed, and just started tearing apart a piece of paper to flick at Taka during the rest of the class.
He was probably more pissed off about Chihiro and I’s topic of conversation than he was that we were 'conversing,' he theorized to himself, bitterly.
That incident seemed to spark a back-and-forth, of sorts, between the two boys.
A few days later, basically the second Mondo had thought of it, he had Leon (who was sitting closer to Ishimaru than Mondo was) take one of Ishimaru's pads of detention slips out of his pocket, which Mondo pocketed himself. And, thank fuck, because he could finally curse in class without Ishimaru shoving a detention slip down his throat, so long as he stayed out of earshot of the teacher (who, by all means, could give him detention, too). It visibly drove Ishimaru insane that he couldn't hold his power over Mondo, or anyone else's, heads, and Mondo reveled in it. Best math class ever.
That, though, despite everything Mondo knew about the hardass, made him actually do some shit back. But of course, it was still under the guise of 'following the rules'. But everyone knew Mondo wouldn't park his motorcycle where bikes were supposed to go. Not only was that space for bicycles, not machines, but it was also extremely common for people to fuck with the bikes there, and Mondo was NOT about to risk that with his motorcycle. The spaces where you were supposed to put the bikes were also too small, and would scratch up his motorcycle, for sure. So he kept it parked and chained off somewhere else, where you couldn't easily find it.
So, yeah, when the damn thing was MISSING when Mondo went to ride home, obviously he freaked the hell out. Ran around the school looking like a goddamn freak for a solid while, before he ran into Ishimaru, who, when he heard Mondo barking questions about someone handling a motorcycle, all-too-innocently asked if Mondo had checked where all the bikes were parked. Which Mondo promptly went to. Dragging Ishimaru along, obviously, because that was suspicious as hell.
And confirming Ishimaru’s suspiciousness was his motorbike, haphazardly shoved into one of the bike racks. Mondo actually let go of Ishimaru to check on it, and got exactly what he had feared; multiple deep scratches. And when he turned back to Ishimaru to scream at him, the fucker smiled, but with a tiny glint of mischievousness. "You're welcome."
Mondo had screamed his ears off about that for a solid few minutes, but what was most infuriating was that Ishimaru wasn't scared of him. He just looked at Mondo blankly, occasionally having the gall to ask, "Are you done yet, Oowada?"
After his fourth time being asked if he was 'done', Mondo yelled, "I WILL be done if you tell me why the FUCK ya messed with my EXPENSIVE MOTORBIKE when all I did was fuck with yer PAPER!!"
Ishimaru raised his eyebrow, like it was obvious. "Because you're a coward, Oowada."
Mondo took a breath to explode in Ishimaru's face, but he just kept talking, not done. "That's why you took away my slips. You don't want to deal with the consequences of your actions! You think you are above them, just because your future is supposedly 'set' here! So you don't want to put any effort in! Well, I won't be having it. I won't have you thinking you're above the consequences of your actions, nor above following the rules! So..." He motioned to the motorcycle. "There's your first push to having you follow the rules. And I made sure that this would stick with you! So, I 'messed with' your expensive motorbike so you would remember this lesson. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go home."
And with that, Ishimaru turned on his heels and walked away, posture as straight as ever while Mondo was left practically choking in rage. He couldn't even manage a thought-out insult like Ishimaru could. He just shouted whatever offensive words he could think of at Ishimaru's back until he was out of earshot.
About a month later (long enough that Ishimaru wouldn't connect the two incidents), after angrily contemplating with a (very tired with his shit) Chihiro what would get on Ishimaru's nerves the most the previous night, Mondo managed to get his paws into Ishimaru's backpack, which he had sat down to catch up to a running student. Mondo took Ishimaru’s homework folder out, which he had labelled in 'homework folder' in neat lettering, because of fucking course he did.
But, hell, even Mondo had a conscious. Sometimes. Because even though it was pretty hilarious to watch Ishimaru desperately dig around his backpack when homework was being asked for, it was decidedly less hilarious to watch the kid try to not break down when explaining to his teachers that he swore he had his homework when he came, and then proceed to beg the teachers to punch him as a punishment for 'being a failure'.
By the time the end of the day came around, Mondo was decidedly sick of the whole deal, and had long since gotten even with the other boy. Ishimaru had some of tomorrow's homework already done in his folder (because of fucking course, of fucking course he did), and if he didn't return it now, he'd have to deal with this all tomorrow. So, at the end of school Mondo searched for the hardass in the hall, and, when he ran into him, held out his homework folder to him silently.
Makoto was still gathering his things at his lockers with Leon when he heard two familiar voices rising to a yelling level. Leon groaned, tilting his head back dramatically against the lockers. "The two idiots are at it again."
Makoto laughed awkwardly. "Don't call them that... Although... Yeah, maybe they could lay off."
At this point, everyone in the class was just about sick of Taka and Mondo being at each other's throats. Even when they weren't actively pulling stuff on each other, Mondo was constantly doing tiny things to bug Taka to the point of the already always-on-edge hall monitor constantly being on the verge of exploding. And, in return, Taka leapt at the excuse to give Mondo detention, obviously enjoying when he could. It was... Exhausting.
... Wait, were 'those two idiots' getting closer?
That was answered when Mondo and Taka both turned the corner to the lockers, and Mondo pointed at Makoto, who flinched. "MAKOTO! We need to ask ya a favor!!"
Makoto looked helplessly to Taka, who nodded curtly. "Yes! We need you to be our witness to me finally defeating this-" He shifted his gaze to Mondo, irritation obvious. "- heartless brute."
"Witness?" Makoto echoed, with a small, nervous smile.
Leon snickered, hit Makoto lightly on the shoulder, and said, "Good luck, my man," before shutting his locker and leaving.
"We've finally decided to settle this like men," Mondo said, glancing at Taka with a smirk. "We're g'nna throw the fuck down! And you've..." He looked back to Makoto. "Gotta be our witness!"
Makoto's nervous smile got a bit wider and nervously chuckled. "Uh-" He started to object, but he was basically already roped in against his will, as solidified by Taka grabbing him by the wrist and taking him down to the bathhouse on the first floor.
Makoto ended up having to leave before the sauna contest was over, but that didn't mean he wasn't still concerned about the two. Both of them were stubborn to a fault, and he wouldn't put it above either of them to stay in there until they passed out, or got hurt even worse than that, just to win. So, when class came the next day, Makoto scanned the halls for the two of them, before going to class. Where there was also no Mondo or Taka...
His worry grew at that, but it lasts for less than a few minutes. Because, the next people who came into class were Mondo and Taka. ... With their arms around each other's shoulders affectionately... Laughing... Calling each other their 'bro'.
... It was... Unexpected.
But it was way better than the two constantly being ready to bite the other's head off.
Taka had never had a friend like Mondo before; a friend who desired his presence, and liked to hear his thoughts and see him happy, instead of merely tolerating his presence to be nice. (Or using him, Taka's mind helpfully provided, but he pushed the thought away as soon as it came. He doesn't like to think about the boy who he waited for in the library at all, much less compare his soulbrother to him.) He'd never met anyone who found his autistic traits... Charming, or good, instead of something to be 'put up' with, either. Mondo had quipped more than once that it was real good that Taka loved pressure, because Mondo typically crushed his friends with his hugs. Mondo didn’t passive-aggressively shush Taka when he lost control over his voice's volume, because Mondo got just as loud when he was excited, too. And, when Taka caught himself bouncing on his heels and flapping his hands out of excitement and immediately apologized for it, Mondo asked why he was apologizing, because if it made Taka happy to bounce in place and flap his hands, then Mondo didn't care.
He wondered if all of that comes with having a real best friend, or if Mondo is just... Special. Perhaps it was both. Mondo feels special to Taka, and, in turn, Taka feels everything and more for Mondo.
Mondo had grown up with friends his whole life, basically. Even during the years where he wasn't particularly close with anyone in school, he had his brother. And even after... That no longer applied. He had his gang. But all of them had his something-or-whatever complex about 'if I show a singular emotion, I will die on the spot'. Leon was better than his gang in that department, but not by a significant amount. Chihiro was different in that she was a gal, so she wasn't as pressured to keep up tough appearances. But she was also shy, and sometimes got frightened by Mondo, so he felt the need to constantly hold back, and saw her as kind of a little sister more than someone he stands equal grounds with.
It was kind of funny that one of the things that infuriated Mondo about Taka back before they were bros was that Taka wasn't scared of him, even when Mondo was actively trying to be terrifying. But when they were buds, that's what made them equals. Taka was tough, and could take anything Mondo can throw at him, and they both knew it; he was like Mondo's gang members, in that way. But unlike the gang, Taka wore his heart on his sleeves. He was strong as all hell, but he was unashamed, and didn't seem to care about the social rules of what boys 'are' and 'aren't' allowed to do. Taka praised him unabashedly to others, and leaned his head on Mondo's shoulder when he was tired, and would rush to cling to Mondo's arm when it was free.
That was refreshing to have. Someone who he could see as an equal, but who still was open about how much he cared for Mondo.
Taka had recently announced it had been a month since he and Mondo had become friends, the first time he and Mondo played video games together. Taka didn't have video game systems of his own, and, whenever he came over to Mondo's dorm, he wanted to study. But, just this once, he'd let Mondo convince him to put down his studying early in order to try a racing game, and, thankfully, Mondo spared him of embarrassing himself too badly by choosing a more easy and cartoony one to start with.
That didn't mean Taka was any good at it though. And, during one of the short periods he was in the lead, he got hit with a shell, which made him huff with frustration. "GO-LLY!"
Mondo exploded into scream-laughter beside him, going from sitting on the floor to plopping onto his side, apparently abandoning this round. Taka followed suit, looking away from the screen to furrow his brows at Mondo. "What?" Mondo let out a distinct scream, before going right back to laughing.
It took a few moments for Mondo to catch his breath, and even then, he was still talking in between chuckles. "Ohhh, Gooooddd. Oh, Gooddd. I'm sorry, bro, I totally fucked up that round, but holy SHIT. I've never heard 'golly' as an expression of anger before..." He rubbed his face, in between chuckles. "I dunno why that got me so bad, but I've never skipped laughin' and went straight to screamin' like that."
Taka laughed back a little bit now. "Well... It was apparently 'golly' that did it."
"Yeah," Mondo chuckled. "Goddamn..." He sighed.
Taka patted his hands across his knees happily upon realizing the implication that this meant Taka was the only one who could make Mondo laugh like that, smiling so hard it hurt.
"You really don't care about social rules, huh, bro?" Mondo asked Taka a couple months later, walking for one class to another. Taka could hear the stutter in 'care', knowing he probably wanted to say 'give a shit', but Taka had at least managed to make him tone down his cursing on school grounds. He didn't care if Mondo cursed outside of that, as long as it wasn't against the rules.
Taka bit his lip and his eyebrows furrowed. Had he said something odd in their conversation? "Is that bad?"
"Nah!" Mondo waved his hand dismissively. "It's cool. Like, one of my favorite things about ya."
Taka's step bounced a little bit more at that. "Well, growing up autistic, you learn that you're never going to please everyone fairly quickly," Taka replied simply, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
"You're autistic?"
Taka half-paused in his step, before continuing, not wanting to be late for class. "Were you not aware?"
Taka thought that Mondo didn't look... Upset. But it was hard to tell. His eyebrows were raised. "Obviously not."
"Ah!" Taka chuckled. "Sorry! I had assumed that you had figured it out before you and I realized we were soulbrothers!" He looked away, but still tried to smile. "My fellow students in middle school figured it out by themselves, and they bullied me quite severely for my differences. Along with... Ah, well, I'm sure you've heard of my grandfather!"
Mondo gave him a look that Taka is pretty sure means that he didn't know what he meant. Taka made a mental note to explain it later, once they weren't surrounded by other students.
Mondo shrugged. "This is probably shitty to say, but what I thought autism was is real different from what you are. Ya know, the stereotypical thought of a kid confined to a wheelchair who can only talk in grunts 'nd shit."
"Autism causes social, communication, and behavioral challenges, but not intellect nor function of one's body! It is also a very wide spectrum! So that is very inaccurate!"
"Apparently. But hey, you can totally teach me, right?"
Mondo's lips curled into a grin when Taka felt himself light up. "Yes!! I would be honored to teach you anything you would like to know, bro!"
Although Mondo's grades would have an outsider thinking otherwise, Taka learned that Mondo was a very fast learner. With things he actually cared about learning.
While learning about autism from casual conversation about it with Taka, Mondo almost immediately started to ask Taka if he could touch him instead of doing it himself, which Taka had never had anyone do, except for his father. He'd also laid off teasing Taka about wearing the same outfit every day, and, after a while, stopped looking at him oddly whenever Taka covered his ears in public. He even offered once, after they were out of the offending loud store in question, and Taka had taken his hands down, "Ya know they make headphones that makes everythin' go quiet? Wouldja be down for somethin' like that?"
As Mondo learned about Taka, Taka learned about Mondo.
Even though he knew he should be paying attention to his friend, Taka found his gaze wandering around Mondo's room as the other talked. He'd never been in here before, to Mondo's apartment; only to his dorm. But now, he found himself glad that Mondo had invited him there over the break, although it was quite a messy place.
After glancing around for a while, Taka's eyes seemed to settle on a flag that was hung above the head of the bed, where the two boys sat. (Well, Taka sat. Mondo laid.) He wondered if it was a country's flag, but he's sure he would recall such a simple design. Pink, a smaller stripe of purple, then blue. Besides, he was fairly sure Mondo was Japanese like he was...
"Bro, can I give you a pro tip?"
Taka straightened up at hearing his nickname, and looked back at Mondo. "Go ahead!"
"If you stare at people's pride flags with that perma-glare thing ya have goin' on, they're gonna think you're planning to hatecrime 'em."
Taka bristled in his spot, and started stuttering out apologies. "I'm so sorry, bro! I wasn't... I didn't know that was what it was!! It's... Not rainbow, is it? It wasn't something I recognized, I didn't know that you liked- that you were- ah-"
Mondo smirked, but put Taka out of his misery by interrupting. "I know yer not actually gonna do that. If anythin', the law would stop ya. Was a joke. Also, it's not the rainbow 'cause I'm not gay, dude."
"Oh." Taka pretended to know what that insinuated.
Apparently, he wasn't convincing, because Mondo clarified, which he was somewhat grateful for. "I'm bi, by the by."
Taka furrowed his brows, trying to recall if he knew what that meant. "You're... Two...?"
"Yup! That's how old I am!" Mondo laughed at his own joke, and Taka laughed a little bit with him. "Nah, for real, it's short for bisexual."
"I'm terribly sorry to have you continue to clarify, but-"
"It's no prob. S'when you like dudes, or chicks, or basically anyone."
Taka frowned, concerned for his friend. "Bro, there's no need for that! I know that you're on a 'losing streak', as you refer to it, but there is no need to feel desperate!"
Mondo's eyes narrowed in anger, and that surprised Taka enough to make him jump a little. He wasn't afraid; Mondo wasn't scary to him. He was just caught off-guard. He'd almost forgotten how Mondo looked when he was angry. "I dunno, bro," Mondo replied, his voice dripping with irritation, "Personally, I think it's a little desperate of you to wanna date any chick that comes around. Because that's apparently how it works now."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend-!"
Mondo closed his eyes and sighed. "S'fine, bro. I know yer not bein' shitty on purpose or nothin'. Now stop tryin' so hard, you’re giving me secondhand exhaustion."
Taka wasn't homophobic! He was accepting of everyone. Just as a good prime minister should be! But something about what he learned about Mondo made him... Woozy.
After Mondo came out to him officially, he started to mention it casually in conversation, apparently comfortable talking about it now that the initial push was out of the way. But whenever Mondo brought it up, Taka found himself naturally looking away, or wanting to change the subject before someone overheard. How can he manage to talk about it so casually, Taka wondered, If, each time he does, he puts himself in danger?
Taka didn't hate Mondo for it, or even dislike him for it. They were soulbrothers, after all, and Mondo liking boys felt small compared to that. (Even though it still felt very big.) Taka didn't care, but he feared about the people who would. He feels a strange pulsing and pulling feeling in his chest whenever Mondo talks about it without a care; jokes and mentions liking the same gender without any hesitation. Taka was scared Mondo would one day misjudge a person, mention liking boys casually, and get seriously hurt for it.
Even people who were heterosexual and just made a simple mistake were hurt, because they were perceived as queer.
(Taka worried that Mondo wouldn't have a bigger, stronger adult happen to come by to stop his assailants if he was hurt, too.)
It wasn't unusual for Mondo to simply open Taka's door, walk in and plop down onto his bed, so Taka didn't flinch from where he was at his desk. "Hello! Please do not plop on the bed! What is it I can help you with?"
Mondo, who had chosen to fall down face-first, rolled over, groaning. "Fuckin'... Struck out again."
Taka tilted his head a bit. He felt like it would be inappropriate to ask for the gender of the person, even though he was dying to know and it was the first thing that came to mind. Instead, he turned his chair to face his bed and he offered, "Oh, I am sorry! You'll find someone eventually, bro, don't worry."
Mondo just covered his face and groaned for an extended period of time, which Taka was pretty sure meant that he was upset but didn't have the right words.
Eventually, after a long while of back-and-forth to get his spirits up, Mondo sat up, and swung his feet off the side of Taka's bed. "Bro, why do you never complain to me 'bout this?"
"About what?"
"'Bout romance and shit, dude! Like, do you never ask anyone out, ever? Or do ya just not tell me?"
Taka replied, not even having to think about it, as he had asked himself why he hadn't wanted a girlfriend a thousand times over, and he landed on the same answer. "It would be a distraction from my schoolwork! Once I have graduated, then I will pursue a romantic relationship!" Hopefully, he'd want one by then.
Taka paused, considering adding that unspoken addition, as well. He remembered what had happened in elementary... But Mondo was kinder and safer than those students were. So, he added on, hesitantly, "And I don't find the idea of having a romantic relationship very... Appealing."
"God, wish that were me," was all Mondo replied with.
Mondo hadn't pushed him. He hadn't done anything to insinuate Taka said anything unusual to him at all. But Taka felt a sharp feeling of urgency flicker in his chest, so he added on further, "Maizono would be a good significant other," and the feeling faded away.
Mondo rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Bro, everyone likes Maizono."
Taka grinned back. "Well, then it surely must be for a reason!"
"'Surely', ya say, like ya don't even know why you like her yourself." And the tone is still teasing and light, but Taka feels that flickering urgency come back instantly.
"I mean...!" Taka struggled for a moment, trying to put why he liked the idol into words. "She would make a respectable wife! She is kind and attractive!"
Mondo's playful tone drops a little, and that just makes the flickering become painful. "Dude, that's not how crushes work. It's a feelin' in yer gut, not based off of who would make a good wife."
"Well, if I am married to a gambler like Celeste, or someone intimidating like Oogami, I wouldn't be seen quite as respectable myself when I run for prime minister, would I?"
"Ya sure as hell wouldn't, bro, but that isn't how it works. Ya don't consciously choose that shit. Ya can't help if ya like Celeste, Oogami, Maizono, or whoever."
Taka felt his voice raising subconsciously. "Well, that's how it works for me! And I'm simply not ready to even pursue having a girlfriend. I'm focusing on schoolwork! And you should be, as well!"
Mondo could probably sense Taka was very much done with this topic. "Eh, it would make sense. Yer so focused on your goals 'n shit, wouldn't put it past ya to have it affect your feelin's."
Taka felt like he could breathe again.
(Somehow, he got the vague, very frightening feeling that he was never going to be 'ready'.)
Speaking of the goddamn devil, with that whole, 'You can't choose who you like, it just happens,' shit.
Mondo realized it on Valentine's, because of course he did. He had been moping that he hadn't gotten any chocolate to Taka basically all day, because all this holiday did was make him was feel like shit, like always. And, when he had asked to hang out with Taka after school, Taka declined, which was to be expected, what, with Mondo complaining basically all day.
What was less expected was when Taka showed up at Mondo's door that evening, with two baggies of homemade chocolates, declaring them 'friendship chocolate'. Which was so stupidly sweet. Pun intended.
But, even still, before Taka could eat his own batch, he had to sort them. Taka always sorted multiple pieces of food with varying sizes from smallest to biggest and ate them in that order. Mondo wanted to roll his eyes and tease him about it, but bit his tongue, instead opting to silently sort Taka's chocolate with him so he could get to eating faster. He hated to see Taka look stressed. More than he usually looked stressed.
When everything was all sorted, Taka clapped his hands together with a wide grin. "Excellent!! Now, I can begin! Thank you, bro!" He turned his gaze to Mondo, then down to the unopened baggie in his hand, and his eyes widened. "Oh! Be careful! You haven't gotten your chocolate out yet. It may melt!"
Mondo blinked, and glanced down at his own chocolate. Damn. He had managed to completely forget about his own treats when he saw Taka looking kinda overwhelmed. Didn't even think to eat some before helping.
Mondo replied, "Oh, yeah, right," his voice a little bit quieter than usual.
Ah, hell. He's a little bit in love with his best friend, isn't he?
It was just Mondo's fucking luck that he was stuck with feelings for his 'soulbrother' who wanted to work in goddamn politics. But, thank God for small favors, he had a queer friend to scream about it to. Right after a healthy dose of 'I'll fucking kill you if you tell anyone'. Which he promptly did as soon as he came home that day.
"It's not FUCKING fair, Chi," he complained over the phone, burying his face in his free hand. "Why does he gotta be so FUCKING dorky and considerate and CUTE and AGGRESSIVELY straight! Girls have all the fuckin' luck, SHIT! I'm such a dumbass..."
Chihiro giggled on the other line. "You couldn't exactly choose who you fell in love with, though, right? It's not your fault..."
Mondo huffed, because she was right, she was echoing what she had told Taka, and that made it even more unfair.
And it is 'who he fell in love with', Mondo realized. It wasn't some crush. He'd had crushes. On LOTSA people. Fleeting thoughts about how they were hot or whatever. But he didn't get too upset if they avoided him because he had yelled and scared them off, when he was actually trying to flirt and failing. And Mondo did care if Taka avoided him, or didn't talk to him over this. A lot. And he wanted to punch himself for letting himself care so much about this dork, because he was just asking to fall in love with him and get hurt when he did that. If he just hadn't fucking CARED, hadn't fucking...
Ugh.
Mondo also immediately noticed how different it was than from trying to get with a girl. He'd had crushes on boys before. Obviously. But he'd never actually tried to talk to them, because he knew he'd get slugged in the face if he tried to get with the wrong guy. He knew he could take the punch to the face, but probably not to the self-esteem. He had limited resources in that department. So, he'd only actively tried to get with girls (none of whom had punched him so far).
On top of crush versus love (GAG.), there was also a fuckton of other stuff. Asking a chick who he had a crush on out was so easy, because that's what was 'normal'. It was expected for a girl to like boys. So the question was, did she like this specific boy? But a boy he was in love with? A hell of a lot more difficult. He had to think about if Taka liked boys (a solid 'no'), if he was homophobic or would tell other people who were. And even if, even if Taka liked boys, and he liked Mondo, that meant Mondo would have to get past the barrier that was his own goddamn incompetency at romance, AND past the taboo of that sorta relationship.
Flirting with strangers was damn near impossible for Mondo. Flirting with a friend he was scared of losing would be even harder. Flirting when the both of them would be scared to admit that they're actually interested out of fear the other would hate them for it?? Forget it.
There was also the issue of Taka figuring it out for himself, without Mondo confessing it to him. With girls? Not a big deal. That's the way it was supposed to be. It was expected for boys to think girls were pretty. But if Taka figured out Mondo loved him and he had deliberately kept it a secret from Taka, then would he think Mondo was preying on him? Being his friend because he thought Taka was hot, just to stare at him when they were together, and not actually caring about Taka as a person? Mondo knew that wasn't true, because, again, he cared way too much about if Taka would stop being his friend. And, even though he wanted to slam his head into the wall and call himself a dumbass for this, he was, unfortunately, thinking more about holding Taka's hand and petting his hair as they cuddled and flirting with him until his face turned bright red then he was about making out with him, or whatever the fuck. But Taka didn't know about that.
At the very least, Mondo was glad Taka didn't pick up on Mondo's any usual tells. Whenever Taka started to bounce on his heels out of excitement, or did that, adorable, stupid 'ha ha ha' laugh, and Mondo got so nervous and stupid that he started to yell, Taka's voice would rise in volume naturally, to meet Mondo's. Mondo was pretty sure that was one of Taka's autism things. And, again, Mondo thanked God for small favors.
(But just because Taka didn't know what Mondo's yelling meant didn't mean that literally anyone else who witnessed the pair of them didn't. Way too often, now, he saw other people in his class giving him knowing little grins whenever he and Taka put their arms around each other, and it took everything within him to not go and punch the smirks off their faces, because he hated that other people knew he was in fucking love with this little punk.)
Mondo mostly just wished he didn't care this much.
About 4 months of that realization fucking up Mondo's life real good, Chihiro walked up to him at his locker, an excited look on her face. "Mondo, look at what I found!" She held out a piece of paper with a big smile on her face, and Mondo naturally felt himself reflect it, even before he'd even glanced at the paper.
He took it into his hands, and gave it a quick glance over, the most obvious thing about it was the title, in a big font: 'Rainbow Pride'.
Even as he tried to read over the event, Chihiro swayed from side to side, excited. "Doesn't it sound quite wonderful? It's nearby, too. Do you want to come with me?"
Mondo's grin widened. He'd never actually been to a pride event before. "Aw, hell yeah, Chi! Sounds like a blast!"
He was going to keep talking, but he jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. When he turned his head, he saw Maizono next to him, glancing over the flyer before he could tell her to buzz off.
"Ah!" She smiled up at Mondo. "That seems like fun. Why don't you invite Taka along?"
Mondo gave Maizono a look. He was pretty sure that it's not normal to invite people who aren't queer to a pride event. "I mean, I'd totally be down for invitin' my bro, but... Why this? Don't ya know what it's about?"
Maizono giggled. "Of course I do! And, don't you know?" Her expression turned deathly serious. "I'm psychic."
Chihiro and Mondo froze, and glanced at each other.
"Ahaha! Just kidding!" She playfully shoved Mondo's shoulder. "But I do have good intuition."
Mondo wasn't exactly sure what Maizono was implying with that, but, hey. If he's gonna go somewhere fun, why wouldn't he wanna bring his best friend? Might even be helpful, in the long run. Mondo caught how Taka tended to glance away whenever Mondo mentioned being bi. This might teach him a few things.
Mondo gave a questioning look to Chihiro.
She grinned up at him. "There's no harm in a plus-one."
Taka was focused on eating and studying at the same time without getting crumbs or stains on his textbook when Mondo suddenly exclaimed, "OH, right!!" Taka jumped where he was sitting, and Mondo laughed apologetically. "Sorry, bro! Almost forgot something..."
He pulled out his phone, and started tapping on it. "There's somethin' goin' on this weekend, and I know ya usually study 'til ya drop, but if you wanna come with Chi and I, I'd be totally down to take you!" He held out his phone to Taka, who accepted it and looked at the screen.
It seemed to be the website for some sort of event, and what immediately caught Taka's eyes was the rainbow patterning. Then, his eyes were immediately drawn to the description of this as an 'LGBT+ event'.
Taka’s throat tightened and he felt the urge to hide the phone against his chest, like he was looking at something bad or dirty. He stared at the screen for a moment, no longer really seeing it as his hands shook, before finally managing to look back to Mondo. "Why... Are you asking me, bro?" Even just saying the sentence, with the implications it could hold, made him feel like throwing up.
Mondo's reply was infinitely more simple than any implications Taka had in mind. "What, am I not allowed to bring my bud to a fun event?"
Taka let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He wanted to bring Taka to a pride event because they were friends. And not... That he thought... Anything that could damage Taka's reputation. Or chances as prime minister.
"Right!! Of course!" With relief now washing over him, Taka was able to give his usual enthusiasm to such a request. "Thank you very much for inviting me. I would love to come along with you!"
If it was anyone else, Taka felt like he'd probably hesitate more. But it wasn't anyone else; it was Mondo, and Taka would go anywhere with him.
The day of the event isn't the first time Taka had ridden on the back of Mondo's motorcycle to go somewhere. But it was the first time Taka had done it with Mondo aware of his big loser-crush on him. And oh boy, trying to focus on the road when the person you were in love with was leaning onto your back, and had their hands wrapped around your middle? It was certainly not easy.
They were lucky there wasn't any serious traffic, or Mondo's bi ass would have the two of them in a wreck so goddamn fast.
Taka was surprised to see a group of people at the entrance waiting for him and Mondo, because, as far as he knew, it was supposed to be only Chihiro waiting. Instead, there was Chihiro, Makoto, Aoi, Oogami, and... Togami?
Chihiro immediately addressed Taka's confusion with a nervous little laugh. "I originally only invited you two and Makoto! Given he was the only other openly queer student in our class..." Taka was very much not aware that Makoto was queer, but nobody else seemed surprised, so he didn't ask. "But he knew Aoi would be interested, so he told her, and she invited Sakura... And, of course, Makoto would want to bring his boyfriend along-"
Taka naturally asked, "His boyfriend?", too surprised by that to stop himself, but he was glad at least Mondo had asked the same question with him. Thank goodness, it's not more common knowledge he was apparently oblivious to.
Togami sighed, and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Yes, but I have much to lose if the word gets out, and two very insistent pair of..." He paused, before ending on, "... Sisters who would not take kindly to this information. I simply came because Makoto was going to come, and he said you plebians could keep a secret, so don't prove my trust to be displaced. Understand?" Apparently, the others had gotten this speech already, because he was just looking at Taka and Mondo. Mondo raised his hands in silent defeat, and Taka looked away and nodded.
It was like he thought! Being attracted to the same gender only brought others trouble, it seemed. So why were they celebrating?
Taka glanced around at the group. They all wore bright colors (save for Togami, who was apparently trying to keep the information out of the public eye), and the only pattern that Taka recognized was the one that Makoto, Sakura, and Mondo were all wearing in some form (as a shirt, makeup, and pins, in that order), and that was only thanks to Mondo teaching him. Chihiro was almost wearing the same colors, but there was white instead of purple. Aoi was wearing a different color scheme entirely, with pink and orange.
Normally, he'd ask what each one meant without any shame, but he was worried that, if he had to listen to his classmates explain it, he'd get woozy the same way he did when he thought about Mondo being bisexual. So he didn't, and just followed the group in.
Once inside the fenced-off area, Taka was assaulted by rainbows everywhere, though he had expected that. He glanced around, uncharacteristically silent as he tried to take in his new surroundings while following his classmates. It felt so wrong to Taka, to not be the leader, but he had no clue what the layout of the area was or what the rules were, and so he simply followed the others, half-gripping Mondo's leather jacket sleeve to guide him as he looked around.
There were people selling all sorts of things, mostly with those bright color patterns Taka didn't know the meaning of. Many people here were in incredibly gaudy fashion, but not as many as Taka had expected, based off of what he saw in the media. There were many people here who were dressed simply.
There were many people here... In general.
Aside from the music playing on the loudspeakers, the colorful patterns, and the occasional outrageous dresser, another big facet of this event was petitions getting signed. That made sense to Taka. People who were queer had so many problems; many of which Taka had educated himself on in his research for his future, particularly after Mondo had come out to him. When he was in power, he wanted to be able to make things easier on his bro. (And everyone else, of course.)
Notably, the group stopped when someone told them they were collecting signatures for anybody who wants to legalize same-sex marriage.
Aoi perked up. "Are highschoolers allowed to sign?"
The person hands the clipboard to Aoi, with a pen. "Of course."
In the end, basically everyone in the group wants to sign. But when Makoto tried to hand the clipboard to Togami, he held up a hand. "I cannot afford to have my signature on a political list such as this."
Taka glanced away, cringing as the clipboard continued to be passed around. That's right. In the midst of all of the happy songs and smiling faces, he'd almost-…
His chest was being pulled again, and it hurt a little bit. The same feeling he had when he watched Mondo talk about being bisexual. He subconsciously pressed a hand to his chest, like he was afraid his heart would burst from it.
When everyone was done signing, Mondo handed the clipboard over to Taka, who jumped, not expecting to be included.
He stared at the petition for a few moments. Same-sex marriage? Well... It wasn't going to be like he was going to keep not being homophobic to himself when he runs for prime minister, was he...? He might end up being the one to pass the law himself! For Mondo to marry whoever he wants. Even if the thought made him feel... Upset, for reasons he didn't understand. He wasn't currently in the public eye like Togami was, so he wouldn't be in danger.
Besides, he felt the group staring at him, so he took the clipboard and smiled. "Thank you, bro!" Taka found himself writing his name down uncharacteristically quickly, not taking the care to make his name as neat as he usually did, before giving the clipboard back to the person that had given it to the group.
His face felt hot, and his eyebrows furrowed, and Taka glanced around anxiously. But nobody was looking at them. Everyone else was caught up in themselves, and their own little groups.
... There were men with men. Everywhere. Caught up in each other. Posing for pictures, giving each other kisses on the cheek casually. Taka saw a pair of young boys, too; younger than he was, still having to be here with their parents. One of the young boys had a rainbow pin in...
In... Taka's middle school... Uniform...
Taka's hands naturally went up to cover his ears, and everything that had seemed pleasant before was suddenly too much. Too loud. Too colorful. Too many people. He wasn't sure if his classmates had started to walk forward without him or if they were staring at him, but he had to get out. So he walked, his back straight as ever and his gaze beginning to go fuzzy. He pressed his hands to his ears harder and harder the closer he got to being back at the entrance. He was almost a little afraid he was going to pass out before he could get out, but he managed to make it, promptly collapsing near the entrance with his back to the fence. Even though he was out of it now, though, his head was still pounding like there was loud music playing, and there was something, something pressing down hard on his chest, making it hard to breathe, making his heart race. Even the black from behind his eyelids seemed so bright.
Taka wasn't sure how long he sat like that until he finally felt like he could open his eyes, and, when he glanced to his immediate right, he jumped. "GAH-!"
Mondo, who was sitting next to him, waved nonchalantly. "Sorry, bro, didn't mean to freak ya out. Was just waiting for ya to be up to talk."
Taka sighed and gave Mondo a shaky grin.
"Need a hug?"
Taka immediately pressed his face into Mondo's side instead of answering, and he felt Mondo jump before squeezing him as tight as he always did. Pressure. Firm. Stable. Mondo. Safe.
Taka felt himself untense a bit as the pounding feeling in his head went away, although his heart beating fast stayed. He pressed his face further into Mondo's side. "I am very sorry. You were clearly having fun, and I..."
Mondo wouldn't let him finish. "Ay, don't apologize, you can't help that shit. Should've thought of your sensory stuff before I invited you to a huge-ass, loud-ass event, anyway."
Taka went quiet at that, and just let himself be held in comfortable silence.
He's pretty sure it says something that it took until that moment to realize. It took sitting outside a queer pride event after being overwhelmed by the sight of men being happy in relationships with each other, being held tight and comforted by his best male friend who he felt everything for, with his heart still racing in his chest even after he was calmed, for everything to click into place.
Oh.
Oh, no.
Taka distantly heard himself saying, "I am sorry, but I believe I would really like to go home now." And the whole ride back, Taka was afraid to hold onto Mondo too tight, but too afraid to let go and fall away.
Taka couldn't sleep for a long time that night. He just stared blankly into the darkness, up at his ceiling, his mind brimming with, I'm gay. I'm gay and I'm so, so in love with Mondo. I'm deeply in love with my best friend who is a boy. I'm very in love with Mondo and I am gay.
In the times when his shock from the realization would quiet down enough to let him think, Taka tried to tell himself phrases he had heard at that day's event. That it's okay. He was born this way. That there's something wrong with the people who don't like it, not him. He wasn't wrong. He wasn't broken. He didn't need to be fixed, because he was already normal.
He fell asleep trying so, so hard to make himself believe it.
Fun fact: I thought that the first chapter of this fic was going to be the longest. Now here we are, with a chapter that doubles the word count. Oops.
Also, I have Mondo and Taka call each other 'bro' instead of 'kyoudai' because the concept of these two dorks calling each other 'bro' as they are literally falling in love with each other is INTENSELY funny to me.
Expect the final chapter on the 19th!
