Day: 1

Challenge: Holding Hands

Pairing: GaoSuku (Gao x Tasuku)

Characters: Gao, Tasuku and Drum.

Word Count: 915

Author: Well, if anyone bother to check my profile status that I updated, then I don't need to explain. Yes, I have a goddamn Writer's block. I have dozens of ideas clouding my mind constantly and can't seem to concentrate on one thing. As stated in the summary, Memories is an OTP Challenge I took up in Deviantart. Sadly, it will be not be updated daily nor follow the normal rules of finishing a prompt each day, which will kill me. Yes, I have been gone for three months and hasn't spoken much except hunting in Wikias and Tumblr. I'm travelling and spending quality time with my family. I can't exactly blame them, because of my exams and writing, I was holed up in my room and been absent around their presence. So because of my guilty conscience, I decided to reduce my time on my laptop to an hour or two a day or never. I don't regret what I have done. You have any other questions, feel free to shoot them to me in PM. And PEOPLE, remember Jackknife Dragon will have screen time in this week's episode (51), watch out for him. Anyway, enjoy.

Beta by: icecreampuff.

Tasuku tried to ignore the numb feeling on his shoulder, reminding himself that Gao was only looking out for his safety. But the thought fleeted into his head a couple of times, interrupting his train of thought.

They were flying in the dead of the night. Lights flickered at the corners of his eyes, casting a light sheet of white over his vision. Buildings and skyscrapers stood silently, silhouetted by the light from the new moon.

He winced at a hard squeeze on his shoulder when Gao had to manoeuvre them through a maze of structures, momentarily seeing himself reflected off the glass panes, the grimace on his face visible but unseen by his companion, who was too busy concentrating on his current task. Gao's flying wasn't that bad, only a few bumps and sudden jerks,if you can call that good. And he couldn't forget that Gao had just received his buddy a few months ago and activated his buddy skill to save both his and his buddy's life. He was a true beginner, although he never once lost a match.

"Gao-kun." A pair of golden orbs turned to him—a soundless question. "Can you let go of my shoulder?" Tasuku threw in a forced smile, a habit he learned from one of his instructors during his training.

"What?" Gao was taken aback. "No!"

Tasuku shrugged the hand off, only to earn a hard yank at his arm. He gritted his teeth at the stinging pain. His grip was powerful, almost unbreakable. If only he had paid close attention to self-defense class. "Gao, let go. You're going to break my arm," he said, dropping his honorifics.

Gao shot him a look. "If I let go, you're going to end up with worse than a broken arm."

"I have been flying for a quarter of my life, maybe ten times longer than you have. I'm not going to fall." Tasuku gestured to his feet. They planted themselves on the glowing sun. "I can just use your shoulder."

"You nearly fell off!"

"Because you spaced out."

Gao put on an irritated face. "Why do you think I'm holding you as tight as possible?

"Gao," he hissed. "I don't know if you noticed but you have an iron grip. As in, it's painful. I'm losing feeling in my arm and now my shoulder is useless."

The one thing Tasuku hated about himself was that sometimes emotions overwhelmed him to the point of fainting. Without realizing, he had let his perfect mask slip, exposing the child he was under the facade. When the city lights melted into a lush forest, an expanse of clear liquid greeted him. He checked himself by the lake, the light from Gao's buddy skill reflected back his stressed form, dark circles beneath hollow eyes, a pale face that got paler as they neared their destination. The frustration about the absence of his buddy and free time spent lying down on his bed staring at the ceiling for hours until his suspension was over had him tossing and turning in bed.

It was too much to bear. Everything precious to him taken away in one night.

He didn't want to admit how useless he was. Now it was his turn to stand by the sidelines and let the adults handle the matter. At times he found himself questioning his goal.

The world of adults had rules that needed to be obeyed. Takihara's words sounded in his head. They were haunting. Not a whisper that escapes into the wind, but more like a paper stuck to his forehead.

He didn't know how much more he could take.

It felt like he could snap anytime.

"Hey." Hot fire shot up his arm. Not the painful kind, but rather a sensation that made his heart race at an unbelievable speed. He opened eyes that he didn't recall closing and craned his neck to meet Gao's intense stare, a worried frown creasing his forehead. "It'll be fine. Everything."

The reality of their holding hands dawned on him. He had never been so close to anyone before. It made him want to pull away and grip tighter at the same time.

He didn't have the time to decide, because he was tugged closer. Closer to the feel of another body heat pressed to him. He was about to protest. Such proximity was foreign to him, and he knew his ears were red. "Gao, wha—"

"Like this," Gao whispered into his ear. He felt the strong grip on his hand tighten, as if Gao was afraid he was going to disappear. "I don't want to ever lose you."

He froze, unable to process the words. Gao's expression wasn't one of the joyful splitting grins he was used to seeing. He held a serious, determined manner.

Suddenly Tasuku understood the message: You are not alone. I'm always here.

There was a tingling feeling in their intertwined hands, but it wasn't uneasiness. It was more than that. Something...that was home. He found himself clutching back desperately. It didn't help matters with their goal—to find Disaster's lair and blast them to bits.

Neither did the fact that Gao was watching him closely with a confused look. "Tasuku-senpai, your face is red," he pointed out.

There was snickering from behind. Tasuku directed his weak glare at Drum, face going even redder, if that was possible. "Shut UP."

The last thing he wanted was for the entire population of Dragon World to know about something this embarrassing.