"C'mon kid, one more!"
It was a Saturday afternoon. Most of the students of Hope's Peak were lazing around, enjoying their free time, but Chihiro and Mondo were in the gym, training.
Chihiro grunted as he gently lowered the weight and sat up. "Thanks again for training me, Mondo," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"It's really no problem, kid. You don't have to keep thanking me." Mondo patted Chihiro's shoulder and smiled. He felt almost like an older brother when he was around the kid. He was protective and caring towards him, something he didn't feel like towards many others.
Chihiro smiled back at Mondo, then walked over to his bag to pick up his water bottle. Mondo watched him move, but blushed slightly and looked away when Chihiro bent over. Something about the fact flustered him. I wonder why that is?
Chihiro looked back over to see the normally cool and collected gangster fiddling idly with the drawstrings of his sweatpants. That's odd, he thought, I've never seen him look so... vulnerable.
Mondo looked back up to see Chihiro watching him expectantly. "Hit the shower, kid. That's all for today."
When Chihiro left, Mondo was left alone to his thoughts. What was that all about earlier? Why did it seem so intimate to watch the kid bend over? He'd never felt that way, even when he saw Sayaka bend so far over she flashed her panties last week. And Chihiro was wearing sweatpants! What was so different about this kid?
Then, he remembered that he had felt this way before- towards a girl in middle school. He had a huge crush on her for months. Sure, Chihiro was a pretty convincing girl, but he knew that he wasn't one- so why did he still feel this way? Was it possible he had a crush on a boy?
Mondo wandered back towards the locker room, lost in thought, but froze when he opened the door to find Chihiro standing there, wrapped in only a towel.
"I- I- the- uh- sorry," Mondo stuttered, closing the door as quickly as possible, hoping Chihiro didn't notice the fact that he was blushing.
But he did. Does Mondo have a crush on me? No, that can't be possible, I'm just a weak little kid and he's, well, him.
Chihiro dressed quickly and left the locker room, planning to ask Mondo what that was all about. But when he walked up to the boy to ask, he was immediately interrupted.
"I don't think I can train you anymore."
The hacker's chest fell. "But you're the strongest guy in school... I want you to train me."
Mondo blushed and stared at the ground. "But I think I might, I dunno, have a crush on you, or something."
Chihiro turned bright red and squeaked. "A crush!? M-me!?"
"Yeah, sorry if it creeps you out. I can make Leon train you instead, so that you're more comfortable."
Chihiro stared up at Mondo for a moment, then smiled. He stepped closer and stood on his tippy toes so that he could kiss the taller boy gently.
"I wouldn't want anyone else."
