Chapter Text
Even this close to May, the spring nights are still pleasantly cool. It's too early for Okinawa's steamy summer heat to have set in, and Kojiro will be practically on the other side of the world by the time it's hot and sweltering here. He's researched the weather in Florence, and their dry, sunny summers with winter-cold nights look absolutely bizarre compared to what he's used to.
Kojiro can admit to himself that he's nervous about adjusting to the different weather. To the different language, different bathrooms, different manners and patterns of life. Nervous about falling out of practice skating, while he's deep into an intensive two-year program and won't have time for much else. Skating has become so important to him and Kaoru, so quickly, and it would be an awful shock to come back to find that Kaoru had moved on to something else in his absence, just as quickly.
Distracted, Kojiro fails to keep his board from ramming a crack in the sidewalk head-on, and he swears loudly as he scrambles to leap free and get his feet under him.
Up ahead, Kaoru laughs gleefully at Kojiro's near-wipeout. He's a dark silhouette in the dim urban landscape, streetlights picking up the glint of his piercings but smudging the rest of him into featurelessness.
"What are you doing? Come on," calls Kaoru, kicking off to pick up speed and get even further ahead.
They're not formally racing, but Kaoru vanishing into the distance sets off too many of Kojiro's instincts for him to ignore. He runs back to snatch up his board, and then he's pushing hard to accelerate and catch up.
Kojiro doesn't close the gap by the time they get to the abandoned drive-in, but he's only a few seconds behind Kaoru, at least. He brakes, kicking up dust as he drags his foot behind him. He's got to get new shoes before he leaves for Europe – he's nearly worn through the soles of these ones. One more thing to add to the ever-growing to-do list. His departure date is getting close enough that it feels like he's being dragged along by a riptide, whether he's ready or not.
Really, he's excited about moving halfway around the world and going into debt in order to spend two years having people be incredibly critical of his cooking skills. He's just never been good with looming changes, preferring to look away until the last minute and then jumping off a precipice all at once. Good for skating; a bit stressful for other parts of life.
Instead of braking like Kojiro, Kaoru has slowed to a lazy glide, letting the sway of his body swing him around in wide loops, the gritty rattle of skateboard wheels on asphalt cluttering the night air. A couple of aged streetlights are struggling to light the area, casting down weak sodium-orange light. Kaoru's hair catches the light, a shining banner behind him as he circles around to swoop close to Kojiro, kicking to build up speed.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Kaoru taunts him, whipping past.
The air from his passage lightly brushes Kojiro's cheek. Kojiro turns his head to track Kaoru's path.
"I was going to wait for you to wear yourself out and then see who could land more kickflips in a row," Kojiro calls back.
Kaoru laughs. He leans into a wide curve, bringing him back in Kojiro's direction, and Kojiro glimpses the curve of his smile, nearly lost in the dim light.
"So you admit, you don't stand a chance against me if I'm at full power."
Kaoru is preening as he rolls to a stop in front of Kojiro, smug grin wide, his lip ring a spark in the darkness.
Kojiro shrugs. "Yeah, you're better at some stuff than I am. I'd be an idiot to only take you in a fair fight."
Kaoru's smile falters, and then collapses into a scowl. "Why are you being so weird?"
"I hear lots of people like it when people aren't rude to them. I'm practicing."
"That's never stopped you before."
"Yeah, well." Kojiro looks down at his feet, one planted on his board. He pushes it forward a few centimeters, then pulls it back towards himself. "I'm going to have to get to know new people, aren't I? Picking fights doesn't seem like a good approach."
Kaoru flicks a hand dismissively. "You'll be fine. You've met plenty of new people lately, like – all those other skateboarders we started hanging out with. Ugh, and now you've got me reassuring you!"
He lunges, telegraphing the punch to Kojiro's shoulder, so Kojiro has plenty of time to dodge – and to grab Kaoru's wrist when Kaoru shouts in outrage and tries again. Kojiro isn't completely distracted from Kaoru's awkward non-mention of Adam. It's been over a month since he left, but Kaoru is still obviously feeling raw.
Kojiro is happy to be a distraction. Their struggle devolves into graceless grappling pretty quickly, Kojiro giggling breathlessly while Kaoru makes all sorts of annoyed, snarly noises. Their fingers end up interlocked to keep the other person from punching or grabbing, so they're reduced to trying to kick each other. Losing balance as he dodges one of Kaoru's kicks, Kojiro falls and lands on his ass on the asphalt, taking Kaoru with him since their hands are still clasped. He's okay, though he winces in sympathy at Kaoru's pained hiss when he takes the brunt of the landing with his knees.
"Oaf," grumbles Kaoru.
"Maybe if someone hadn't attacked me," protests Kojiro, and then his back hits the ground when Kaoru proves his powers of menace are uncontainable, using their clasped hands to shove Kojiro the rest of the way down.
Kaoru's pointy elbows end up digging into Kojiro's biceps, and his hair spills forward over his shoulder, brushing Kojiro's nose and making him want to sneeze. With his downturned face shaded from the streetlights, it's hard to tell where he's looking, but Kojiro's face goes hot at the way Kaoru is looming close. Kaoru's legs bracket his hips, his hands are still entwined with Kojiro's, and where Kojiro's face isn't covered by Kaoru's hair, he feels little gusts of warm air, Kaoru breathing heavily from their struggle.
All at once, Kaoru releases Kojiro's hands and sits back, bony ass settling onto Kojiro's thighs. He clears his throat.
"I should attack you more often, if it'll shut you up like that," declares Kaoru. He flings his hair back over his shoulder with a toss of his head and finger-combs it into place.
"You got lucky," grumbles Kojiro, slowly propping himself up on his elbows. The pavement is hard and gritty-rough under his arms.
A trace of a smirk flits over Kaoru's face, before he says, "Are you hoping to get lucky when you're in Italy?"
Kaoru punctuates the question with a wriggle of his hips. Kojiro desperately wishes Kaoru wasn't asking that while he's sitting on top of him. His body likes it a little too much, lying down like this with another person's weight pinning him down.
"I'm – Maybe."Kojiro's cheeks flare hotter. He hopes the dim light is hiding his blush.
"I thought you were dating … what's her name, from the basketball club. Fujita?"
"Fujiwara," says Kojiro. "No. We broke up right before graduation."
"Oh." Kaoru stares down at Kojiro for a long moment, then says stiffly, "Sorry."
"It's fine." Kojiro's pulse is fluttering in his throat. They talk about absolutely everything else, but somehow never this. "Neither of us wanted a long-distance relationship. She got into law school, so she's going to be really busy anyways, and I didn't want to miss out if–"
Kojiro cuts himself off with a snap of his jaw, nearly biting his tongue. It's all for naught, though, because Kaoru knows him far too well, and can fill in the gaps.
Kaoru snorts. "Oh, you think you're going to be irresistible to European girls? Don't want to be tied down, when you're swarmed with admirers?"
"It's not that!" Kojiro struggles not to hide his face, since that would only make Kaoru more interested in whatever expression he's wearing. "Just … in case I meet anyone, I wanna be able to, y’know. See what happens."
Kaoru is frowning down at him, like he can tell that Kojiro is leaving something out. He's also still sitting on Kojiro. This was supposed to be a fun night of skating, just like they've done hundreds of times before. Even if neither of them has said the words, they both know they're going to miss each other terribly while Kojiro is away for school, and they've been spending every moment that they can together as the clock ticks down.
He can't say that though, because it'll only remind Kaoru of Adam having left recently. Kojiro misses him too, obviously, but Kaoru seems gutted anew each time Adam is mentioned. Kojiro isn't entirely clear on the details, but he’s noticed Kaoru and Adam slipping away from the rest of the group and returning together often enough that he has a suspicion.
It's with a memory of Kaoru and Adam coming back to the rest of the group with their clothes rumpled and wearing dazed expressions flitting across his mind that Kojiro frantically blurts out, "Fujiwara has two little brothers. We didn't have much privacy."
Kaoru snorts. "Right, because you'll have so much privacy in whatever cheap place you rent with a bunch of other students."
"At least it'll be a possibility! I'm just sick of waiting, I don't want another two years to go by before–"
Kojiro cuts himself off again, because he and Kaoru have never compared experience. It's embarrassing, with how much chocolate Kojiro gets on Valentine’s Day, to admit that he’s already turned down so many potential opportunities.
Kaoru is obnoxiously clever, though.
"I'm sure you don't actually need to go all the way to Europe to lose your virginity."
Kojiro thinks he might burst into flame right here. His whole body is hot, his blush spilling down his throat and chest and making him press his legs together – only that makes him more aware of the way his cock is half perked up. Memories of the few times he and Fujiwara had been able to do more than chastely kiss float to the surface of his mind, as well as his many fantasies of what his first time might be like.
"No guarantees I’ll manage it there. I'm going to be some weird foreigner who barely speaks the language," Kojiro manages, his tongue feeling too-thick and clumsy.
"All the more reason to do it before you leave. Not that you need to talk to anyone to get them interested, with your height and your stupid handsome face," adds Kaoru scornfully.
"With who? And where?" Kojiro fires back.
In spite of Kaoru's preferred insults for him, Kojiro isn’t an idiot, and he’s devoted a huge amount of effort to trying to engineer the time and privacy for he and Fujiwara to have sex, to no avail.
Kaoru clicks his tongue in annoyance. "There's no one else around. This is as good a place as any."
Kojiro opens his mouth to ask who, exactly, he's supposed to have sex with, if there's no one else around. And then leaves his mouth hanging open when Kaoru grabs the swell of his dick through his pants.
Kaoru squeezes, the firm grasp of his fingers cradling Kojiro's cock, and then releases him to stroke his palm along the growing ridge.
"Kaoru!" hisses Kojiro, once he finally regains control of his tongue.
He can't seem to lift his arms to push Kaoru away, staring as if hypnotized at the fleeting, shadowed glimpses of Kaoru's hand over his crotch. He's half-expecting Kaoru to stop and laugh at him, mocking the way Kojiro's dick is swelling in response to what was obviously a prank.
Kaoru does no such thing. He unbuttons Kojiro's pants, unzips the fly, and then yanks impatiently at Kojiro's waistband. Without thinking about it, Kojiro hurriedly digs his heels into the pavement and lifts his hips – he doesn't want Kaoru to tear his pants. Except Kaoru snags his underwear too, and Kojiro's bare ass lands on the rough pavement. He flinches – and then nearly bites his tongue as he snaps his jaw shut to hold back a shout.
Slick heat tugs at the head of Kojiro's cock, lighting up every nerve and surging electric along his limbs as he rockets to a gasping, trembling edge of pleasure. It almost feels like coming, only it keeps going, electrifying Kojiro's whole body.
Kaoru pulls off his cock with a wet slurping noise, his lip ring tracing a bright line of sensation along Kojiro's dick.
"There. Technically no longer a virgin."
Kojiro lies panting on the pavement for a moment before he can lift his head enough to see Kaoru, who's sitting back on his heels and looking smug.
"Are you … going to keep going?" asks Kojiro plaintively. His dick, starting to feel cold with Kaoru's cooling spit smeared over the head, twitches as if in protest.
Kaoru laughs.
"I'm not that much of an asshole."
Without another word, Kaoru bends his head back down – and Kojiro strains to see him in the dim light, although probably it's for the best that he can't see Kaoru's lips wrapping around his cock in addition to feeling it, because he's already struggling not to lose control of his entire body. The stroke of Kaoru's tongue vibrates through him like a struck bell, and Kojiro realizes that he's whining through his clenched teeth, low and pleading.
Kaoru sucks properly, the slick tug of his mouth sparking bright and searing along Kojiro's nerves, and Kojiro sags back down, pavement cool and gritty under his palms. It's not enough to distract him, though – Kaoru's mouth is incredible, pulling weak, breathy cries from his lips. Kojiro's heels scrabble across the ground – he's not even trying for purchase to push up into Kaoru's mouth, but he can't keep still. Each molten stroke of Kaoru's mouth has Kojiro delirious with pleasure, until all at once his body snaps tight.
Kaoru's mouth vanishes right as Kojiro starts to spill – and later, Kojiro will realize what it means about Kaoru’s prior experience, that Kaoru knew when to pull off. In the moment, Kojiro barely notices the lack, Kaoru coaxing him through it with hot strokes of his tongue up the underside of his pulsing cock, fingers looped around Kojiro's cockhead and milking him through it.
Wrung dry, Kojiro lies gasping on the pavement for a long moment, heart hammering in his chest. He can't string a single coherent thought together, not until the chill starts to sink into his skin and stirs him to action. He works his underwear and trousers back up, and then heaves himself up to a seated position.
Belatedly, Kojiro realizes that he's probably made a giant mess of his school shirt – but when he glances down at himself, he's clean. He looks up to find Kaoru fussily cleaning his hand with a wadded-up stack of tissues that he’s retrieved from his bag.
Oh. The fingers around the head of his dick weren't just for the sake of his pleasure. Kaoru's so smart.
Without meaning to, Kojiro drops his gaze to Kaoru's crotch. Did Kaoru enjoy it? Or was this just some kind of strange favour, a going-away gift to make Kojiro more confident as he heads overseas to foreign lands?
It's too dark to tell until Kaoru stands up to dispose of the tissues. He's silhouetted against the dim yellow light as he turns, the tented front of his school trousers obvious for a fleeting moment.
While Kaoru strolls over to the trash can, Kojiro sits on the ground, coldness seeping through the seat of his trousers, and tries to prod his orgasm-stunned brain into action. He wants to reciprocate, somehow – but, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth, he isn’t confident that he'd be able to suck Kaoru's cock. A handjob seems paltry in comparison, but Kojiro's not sure what else he can offer.
It's hovering on the tip of his tongue as Kaoru returns – Thanks, that was amazing. Should I get you, too? – but Kojiro stares up at Kaoru's shadowed face, only the glint of his lip ring giving a hint of the shape of his mouth, and he can't quite get the words out.
"Did I manage to actually suck your brain out your dick, or are you going to do something other than sitting there the rest of the night?" asks Kaoru, silkily smug.
That spurs Kojiro to scramble to his feet, any notion of offering to touch Kaoru instantly forgotten. One of his knees wobbles as he stands, his body crying out for him to lie down and curl up for a nice nap.
"Was this your evil plot, all along? Steal my virginity, wear me out, and then easily beat me at skating afterwards?" Kojiro asks as he goes over to pick up his board from where it had rolled away from the empty building they'd been tucked in the shadow of.
Kaoru doesn't say anything. When Kojiro turns back with his board in his hands, he's now the one with the streetlights at his back, and Kaoru is unmasked by illumination. There's something still and searching in his expression – but just for a moment, before his lip curls.
"I'm grateful that you recognize my superiority, at sex and at skateboarding," says Kaoru loftily.
He plants a foot on his deck and pushes off, swinging in a wide, lazy arc to circle around Kojiro before shooting off into the night. Determined not to be left behind, Kojiro drops his own board to the ground in a clatter of wheels and chases after him. His body feels heavy and unsteady, and he's exquisitely aware of every shift of his clothing around his still-sensitive dick, but he manages to keep the bright banner of Kaoru's hair in sight the whole way home.