i've been working on this on and off for like seven months. please ship this with me
the park they go to for a field trip is jizen park. jumbo mentions the park in chapter 31, when he takes them stargazing. in chapter 83, jumbo mentions something about "touring around". one can infer that he is talking about a road trip with Koiwai. yotsuba's whole north korean thing is based off of a theory i saw on yotsubato's tvtrope page.
EDIT: changed koiwai's name i cANT BELIEVE WE FINALLY KNOW HIS REAL CANON NAME
Koiwai and Jumbo met when they were twelve. On the first day of junior high, in a room full of thirty other excited preteens, the two had been seated next to each other.
Yousuke Koiwai glanced over at the boy next to him. Impressively tall, disheveled hair, wire frame glasses. He watched him stand up and introduce himself. His voice was kind of loud. He said his name was Takeshi Takeda, then smiled and said that he was also called Jumbo.
When lunchtime rolled around, Koiwai pulled out a homemade lunch, ready to eat alone in the classroom. He didn't have any friends at this school yet.
Another student approached his desk. Koiwai looked up.
"Mind if I eat with you?" Jumbo grinned. Koiwai nodded, half relieved and half apprehensive. He didn't like eating alone, but conversations were hard to maintain. Jumbo dragged a chair over and sat down.
"Don't talk much, huh, Yousuke?" Jumbo reached into his bag for his lunch. "Your name is Yousuke, right?" Koiwai nodded, taking a bite out of his rice. Jumbo smiled warmly. He then emptied the contents of his lunch box onto Koiwai's desk.
A bento box, two onigiri, a red bean bun, and one apple. Koiwai gaped at the small feast before him.
"Are you seriously going to eat all of this?"
"Hm? Why not? You want some?" He had already started digging into the bento.
Koiwai resumed eating. "No, it just seems like a lot to eat just for one meal."
Jumbo beamed. Koiwai noticed that Jumbo smiled a lot, and that his voice always got louder when he did. He realized that he himself didn't smile that much.
"I think that you don't eat enough." Jumbo smirked, "Look at how short and thin you are!"
Though Koiwai did not expect Jumbo to make friendly insults so soon after they met, he gave a grin and a friendly insult of his own.
"I'd rather be short and thin than be tall and have such a bad haircut."
"Oi, your haircut isn't even that much better!"
Jumbo rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, visibly excited. He looked over at Koiwai, who was unenthusiastically reading a book.
"Put the book away, nerd. We're going on a hike!" Jumbo moved to snatch the book from him playfully and Koiwai glared at him.
"You know I don't like hiking. I didn't want to go on this field trip anyways." He stuffed his book into his backpack.
"Well, we're here anyways, so loosen up."
Their teacher called the class closer, and introduced to them a cheery-looking park ranger. The mass of middle schoolers set off on their hike, led by their homeroom teacher and the park ranger. Jumbo brought up the rear with Koiwai in tow.
"Why are you so excited anyways?", Koiwai asked as he tied his long hair into a ponytail.
"We get to miss class and play outside and we're gonna have a picnic later. What's not to be excited about?"
Koiwai almost rolled his eyes at Jumbo's grin. They were beginning to walk up an incline, and Koiwai already felt short of breath. He kept his eyes glued to the ground beneath him, picking precariously around the rocks and muddy patches on the trail.
Jumbo was far ahead of him, his long legs and athletic build an obvious advantage. He noticed Koiwai was lagging and jogged back to walk next to him.
"Yousuke, hurry up! We're gonna get left behind!"
"Nobody's gonna leave us behind, just calm down." Koiwai's mood soured further.
Jumbo took Koiwai by the wrist, pulling him along with surprising force.
Koiwai's groan of protest was cut off when he saw Jumbo's foot catch on a stone. The grip on his wrist loosened as the larger boy fell.
Jumbo hit the ground unceremoniously, a stinging pain forming on both his knees and calves and his head ached dully.
He sat up slowly, trying to get a grasp of what had happened. The students in front of him had heard the thud and he vaguely registered them calling for the teacher. Tears prickled his eyes and he made no effort to hold them back as he looked at the bloody gashes on his knees.
Koiwai stood back, shocked. His previous annoyances forgotten, he kneeled by Jumbo's trembling form.
Unsure how to comfort him, he said shakily, "Don't cry! You're tougher than that." Jumbo nodded through his tears and wiped them away hastily.
Their teacher, a plump, strict woman in her thirties, berated Jumbo lightly for his carelessness as she cleaned his cuts with a first aid kit that the ranger had produced from his backpack. She took off his glasses to dress the cuts on his nose, and handed the pair to Koiwai. The rest of the class was watching intently and Jumbo felt his face redden with embarrassment.
Once she was done, she got up and faced the class with a stern look. "Nothing to see here, we're setting off again! And be mindful of the rocks!"
Koiwai faced Jumbo, smiling awkwardly in an attempt to cheer him up. Jumbo sniffed.
"Come on. We're going." Koiwai slid Jumbo's glasses back on to his face with care. "Where did all your excitement go?"
Koiwai wrapped his hand around Jumbo's wrist, and the two set off.
Koiwai waited outside of the high school gym for Jumbo. Basketball practice had ended early, but wrestling club was in the showers. He heard familiarly heavy footsteps and looked up.
"Hey, Jumbo."
"Koiwai! Were you waiting? Did your practice end early or something?"
"Yeah."
"You could've just gone ahead, you know."
"What, you want to get rid of me or something? Is there someone else you wanted to walk home with, hmm?" Koiwai playfully elbowed his arm.
"Dude, you of all people should know I can't get girls."
"Oh come on, don't be so pessimistic. You're super tall and shit. Girls like tall guys." At six feet and nine inches, Jumbo dwarfed everyone at the school. The wrestling club president had taken one look at his height and stocky build and begged him to join wrestling.
While Jumbo was the ace of the wrestling team, Koiwai was a benchwarmer at all of their basketball games. It didn't bother him much, though. Koiwai still had a handsomer face.
"Yeah, but I always freeze up around cute girls. Some of them think I'm scary." The usually cheerful Jumbo's mood had fallen dramatically. Koiwai couldn't find a good response; other than an unconvincing "don't worry about it."
They walked a little while before Koiwai cleared his throat.
"Listen, Jumbo, I kind of have something to say to you."
"What is it?"
Koiwai looked nervous and his tone was solemn.
"While we're on the topic of romance, I, uh, I'm. Uh."
He sighed and looked up at his taller friend.
"I'm gay."
Jumbo's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he quickly recovered. He started snickering, a deep rumble that started soft and grew to a boisterously loud laugh.
"I thought so."
"Wait, you knew?"
"I got the feeling that you were. Once I was at your house and found a gay porn mag under your bed. I didn't tell anybody though, so don't worry."
A deep blush colored Koiwai's face and he looked away, embarrassed.
"Well, that's a relief, I guess."
Jumbo laughed that loud laugh again, and put his arm around Koiwai as they walked the rest of the way home.
The pair had gone through middle school as best friends, had entered into the same high school together, but there, they separated. Koiwai planned on going to a university close to home, Jumbo was going to move two hours away to a different town, where he would help his father start up a flower shop.
The day Jumbo moved, he knocked on Koiwai's door. He'd been friends with him long enough to be able to enter his home unquestioned. He looked around the small house, giving a friendly greeting to his friend's mother. Jumbo tentatively opened Koiwai's bedroom door.
"Koi, you in there?"
He was lying on his bed, headphones plugged in and eyes closed. Any other day, Jumbo would have elbowed him in the stomach and wrestled him awake. Today wasn't any other day; this was potentially the last time he would ever see his best friend of six years.
Jumbo sat on the edge of the bed, gently removing the headphones and nudging his cheek.
"Oi, wake up. I'm going soon. Hey. Koi. Wake up."
Koiwai's eyes opened slowly, and he blinked as his eyes focused on Jumbo. Yawning, he stretched and gave a pained smile.
"Hey."
"I'm moving away and I find you sleeping? You're a horrible friend." Jumbo can't keep the smile off his face, even as he feels slight tears prickling his eyes.
"I'm your horrible best friend, and you know it." Koiwai sits up, and wraps his arms around Jumbo's torso. His cheek touches Jumbo's neck, and he can feel him trembling.
"I'll miss you." Koiwai's words are breathy and hushed.
"I'll miss you too."
"No, I'm really gonna fucking miss you."
"I'm gonna fucking miss you more."
"You wanna bet on it?" Koiwai's arms tighten playfully, but it doesn't stop Jumbo from crying.
They didn't see each other for a year after that day. They'd called each other all the time, joking over the phone, mailing each other small gifts every now and then. They both feared growing apart.
Jumbo trimmed the stems of the roses and arranged them carefully in the tall pot on the counter. An entire year after his father finally fulfilled his dream of owning a flower shop, and the business was still going strong. He heard the doorbell ring and looked up, greeting the customer with a smile.
"Hello, welcome to Flower Jumbo, what can I..."
His voice died in his throat, and he gaped. He shuffled slowly around the counter, scissors shakily set down.
"Koi, why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"
Koiwai smirked, setting down the bag in his left hand. "I thought it'd be funny to surprise you."
Jumbo let out a short laugh of disbelief, face almost splitting with his grin. He hugged him tight, crying and shaking.
"You missed me that much, Koi?"
"I think you missed me more. I'm not the one sobbing, here."
"God, it's been too long."
"I know."
Jumbo let go of him, and Koiwai stepped back, smoothing his messy hair and smiling sheepishly. They stood there for a moment, hearts light in their chests.
And they laughed.
"Koiwai! Look!"
Jumbo motioned excitedly to the camper van that was parked in front of Koiwai's home. Koiwai feared the worst as he asked his friend exactly why there was a camper van parked in front of his house.
"It was on sale for so little I just had to get it! Don't you remember that one time you said it would be fun to go touring around Japan? Let's do it! We can go wherever!" Jumbo sounded like an energetic, yapping puppy.
Koiwai blinked.
"That was a joke." Jumbo's face fell.
Koiwai sighed and stepped closer to the camper van, feeling the silence between them stretch.
"Oh, what the hell." He turned towards Jumbo, a grin creeping on his face. "Let's go."
Jumbo downed the rest of his beer bottle and set it down on the small foldable table with excessive force. Koiwai, who was humming softly with his head on said table, jumped at the noise.
Seven empty bottles of beer stood on the table, with Jumbo having just added an eighth. Koiwai laughed softly, stopping Jumbo from taking another bottle from the twelve-pack on the ground.
"Maybe...maybe we should...stop." His speech slurred. "You're driving tomorrow, remember?"
"Whatever...we're only going to Imabetsu tomorrow. Nothing to see there." He complied anyways, and made no move to take another bottle.
The two were halfway through their nationwide road trip and were currently camping in a forest to avoid paying for a motel. They couldn't afford a room, but at least they could afford some beer.
"Koiwai...you're so pretty. You're prettier than any girl I've ever seen. Koiwai. You're pretty. Koiwai, kiss me."
Koiwai's expression did not change. "I've gotten drunk with you...so many times, but you've never said that before." He leaned over the table to kiss him, and almost missed.
Jumbo kissed back with ferocity, bringing up his hand to lace his fingers through Koiwai's hair. They smelled the beer on each other's breath.
The flimsy table was knocked on to the ground, with the bottles clanging against each other as they toppled into the grass, but neither of them cared enough to break the kiss. Without the table separating them, Jumbo lowered Koiwai to the ground, sneaking a hand up his shirt to caress the smooth skin over his ribs.
"And since when were you into guys?" Koiwai rubbed his hand over the front of Jumbo's pants and he moaned.
"Gender doesn't really matter to me when you're touching me like that." He started to slide Koiwai's jeans off.
"You're just gonna fuck me on the grass?", Koiwai breathed.
Wordlessly, the larger man picked Koiwai up, and with strength unusual for a man who had just drunk five bottles of beer, he carried him into the camper van without ever separating their lips.
They woke up piled on top of each other, stark naked and crammed into one of the camper van's bunks.
"..."
"So." Koiwai's voice was hoarse.
"Do you remember what happened...?" Jumbo looked everywhere except at the man who had rolled off of him and was currently facing the wall.
"Yeah. I remember." Jumbo cleared his throat before speaking again.
"Is your...?"
"Is my ass okay?"
"...is it?"
Koiwai sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to walk for a while."
Silently, Jumbo got up from the bed and slipped on the clothes that had been strewn on the floor in last night's haste. He tossed Koiwai's clothes to him, trying to find the words to apologize.
"...sorry about last night."
"Don't be." Koiwai sat up with difficulty, wincing as he slipped on his boxers. "It was worth it."
Koiwai flashed him a grin. He never talked about it again, and Jumbo was relieved.
"So, you want me to pick you up at four tomorrow? Alright, I'll be there." Jumbo stood in Flower Jumbo, holding the phone to his ear and cleaning the window with the other hand.
"Also, I'll be bringing someone else with me." Koiwai sat in a hotel room in Imjin, a South Korean city close to the North Korean border. He had taken a business trip there as a translator for a Japanese ambassador in Korea.
"What? No way! You got married in Korea?"
"Uh, no. Why would you even think that?"
He paused and looked over at the two and a half year old Yotsuba, happily eating a cookie on the desk and spilling crumbs everywhere.
"I kind of...picked up an orphan."
"What?"
"I know, I know, but just listen. I think she's a North Korean refugee."
"What the fuck. What do you plan on doing with her? How the hell did she get over the border by herself? Shouldn't you report this to the government? You're in deep shit."
"I have no idea. But she started following me around and I just felt kinda sorry for her so I just...took her in?"
"Then how are you going to get her back home? It's not like she has papers."
"I don't know, okay? I'm working on it. Just pick us up, please?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Thanks."
Koiwai put the phone down and turned to his new charge. She smiled up at him.
"I was just talking to one of my friends. I think you'll like him."
He had no idea if she could fully understand him, even with him speaking Korean to her, but it didn't matter. He was just content with seeing her smile.
Jumbo stood outside the airport gate, waiting for Koiwai to show up. He checked his watch. 4:36, and the plane hadn't even been delayed.
He perked up when he saw Koiwai walking out, looking tired and with a sleeping green-haired toddler in his left arm, dragging a suitcase in the other.
"Koiwai! You're late, bastard."
"I know, just keep your voice down. I don't want her to wake up again."
Jumbo peered curiously at her as he took the suitcase from Koiwai. He sighed and shifted the girl to his other arm, making her mumble quietly.
"She's cute."
"I know. Her name is Yotsuba."
"Wow. North Korean refugee, huh?"
"Shut up." Koiwai shot him an angry look.
"What? Why?"
"...potential legal trouble may arise."
"Oh. Damn."
Jumbo stared at Koiwai with shocked eyes. Koiwai, a straight-laced former A-student, bringing an orphan home illegally.
"Yeah. I don't want to talk about it, Jumbo."
Jumbo loaded his suitcase in the back of the car as Koiwai sat in the front passenger seat. Neither of them brought it up again.
"Y'know, Koiwai-san, it's been proven that any friendship that lasts for more than seven years is likely to be a friendship that lasts for life." Fuuka remarked, as Koiwai watched his best friend and his daughter race each other to the door of the convenience store. Jumbo had promised to buy her ice cream.
"...okay?" His expression was apprehensive. "Is this about me and Jumbo?"
She smiled, apparently excited. "So how long have you two been friends? More than seven years?"
Koiwai was baffled to see her so fired up over this. Perhaps she wanted a real-life example of the statistic?
"Yeah, way longer than seven years. We met when we were kids." They both entered the convenience store, where Jumbo is giving Yotsuba a boost so that she can see all of the ice cream flavors available.
"So do you think you two'll be friends for life?"
"...I don't know. I honestly never thought about it."
She pulled an exasperated face. "Well, think about it now!"
Yotsuba, having picked out a melon flavored popsicle, looked curiously over at her father.
"Whatcha talkin' about?"
Fuuka smiled at the girl. "Oh, nothing."
Yotsuba had fallen asleep on Jumbo. It was just about her nap time right now, Koiwai hadn't bothered to put her in bed yet. Jumbo was lying on the floor, long legs outstretched and Yotsuba splayed on his torso. Koiwai shifted closer.
"Fuuka told me something weird a couple of days ago." His voice is hushed and he's smiling.
"Hm?"
"She said that any friendship that lasts for more than seven years is guaranteed to be a friendship for life."
"Is that for real?"
"She seems to believe so."
Jumbo sighs softly, and a drop of spit dangles from Yotsuba's mouth.
"We've been friends for sixteen years, y'know."
"I know."
"I don't want to see your ugly face for my entire life."
Koiwai laughs and jabs a knuckle into Jumbo's arm.
The two sit in silence for a while. They watch Yotsuba's steady breathing and the growing spit stain on Jumbo's shirt.
"Did you ever think that your life would be how it is now?"
Koiwai's voice is slightly hoarse when he asks, his tone serious.
"Huh. I guess I always knew I'd end up somewhere like this."
Jumbo pauses before adding, "I just thought I'd be married by now."
They smile. "Me too", Koiwai murmurs, "but marriage really isn't something you should rush."
Another silence fills the space between them, until Koiwai lies down next to Jumbo, arms touching lightly.
"Let's take a nap, too." Koiwai nods in agreement and closes his eyes.
He listens to the sound of their breathing blending together, and smiles.