Disclaimer: I do not own The World Ends With You or any of its properties.

Notes: This was written forever ago as a response to a prompt on tumblr. After deciding to update my FF.N account with something, I decided to have a trial run with this.

Promise

"Yo, man, I've been meanin' to ask you somethin'."

"What?"

"You ain't never . . . you ain't never gonna bounce, right?"

"What?" Neku looked over at Beat, who was staring up at the night sky, both of his arms thrown over the back of the bench they were sitting on.

"You know. You ain't gonna like . . . up and hop on a train and ride it outta Shibuya for good or nothin', right?" Beat looked over to find Neku staring at him, and—seeming to think Neku couldn't understand him—added, "You know, like runnin' away. You ain't never gonna run away or nothin', are you?"

"Where the hell is this even coming from?"

"Jus' answer me." Beat turned halfway to face Neku, looking more serious than Neku had ever seen him look since the Game. "I know things get rough for you—me an' Shiki and Rhyme were talkin' about it the other day—"

"I'm glad you guys find my life so interesting."

"—an' you seem like the type of guy to jus' get up and bounce without sayin' nothin'. So I jus' wanna know that ain't gonna happen."

Neku looked away, his fingers drumming against the bench as he wondered whether or not putting his headphones on would give Beat provocation to hit him. "As interesting as it is that you guys talk about me behind my back, I don't think I need to dignify this with an answer."

"Well, you better diggify it soon, 'cause we ain't leavin' 'til you answer, Phones." Neku looked back to give Beat an exasperated look.

"Seriously? I just said that word, and you still can't say it correctly?"

"This ain't about that. Answer the question!"

"For the love of—no! I'm not going anywhere! If I wanted to leave Shibuya, I would have left by now!" Neku raised one hand and hit it against the back of the bench. "Why the hell is this so important to you? Did Shiki or Rhyme ask you to harass me about this or something?"

"Nah, man, they ain't got nothin' to do with it. They never even talked about you bouncin'." Satisfied with Neku's response—or perhaps a bit put off by Neku's ire—Beat looked away again, settling back against the bench. "This one's all me, yo."

"Okay, fine," Neku said, and he took a deep breath before releasing it, pulling his temper back under control. "Then why were you so insistent about it?"

Beat shrugged and Neku locked his jaw, not appreciating the silent treatment after the interrogation he was just faced with. But before he could push Beat further, Beat pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his short blond hair, letting out a sigh of his own before answering.

"I dunno, man, I guess I jus' . . . you're like my . . . you my best friend, you know?" He looked back over at Neku, his expression still serious, and Neku felt the irritation slide off his own face. "I mean, I got Rhyme, but she's like . . . she's my sister, you feel me? A sister's different than a friend."

"Yeah, I . . . guess I get that." Despite being an only child, anyway.

"So with you, you my . . . you my brotha from anotha motha." Beat lightly punched Neku's arm in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood. "I think I'd be crazy by now if you up an' bounced. So . . . so you gotta stay in Shibuya, aight, Phones? No bouncin', leas' not 'til I can bounce with ya."

Neku was quiet for a minute, wondering whether or not he should make that promise—whether he should take Beat seriously at his word or not. But finally he ducked his head down into the collar of his sweatshirt with a nod. "All right. I promise. I'm in it for the long haul."

"Tha's what I'm talkin' about."

Beat punched Neku's shoulder again, a little harder this time. Neku rubbed at the spot, which was pretty sure was already starting to bruise, and grumbled, "Stop hitting me." But beside him, looking happier than Neku had seen him in about a week, Beat only laughed.