Thanks for reading.
ooo
It wasn't something Kaoru advertised, but it was a quiet personal pride of his that he'd never rejected or backed down from a beef. In fact, one of the few who knew this was Kojiro, but Kaoru didn't go shouting it from the rooftops—that was just asking to get challenged to outrageous bets.
It was getting to the point, though, where he thought he might need to break his ten-year streak. Not because of outrageous stakes, but rather, this was just getting too tedious!
"Cherry, I challenge you to a beef! If I win, you have to go out with me!" one of his fangirls declared passionately, fire in her eyes. They had an audience; S was busy tonight, and her proclamation was met with jeers and whistles. Kaoru felt his expression darken. Not again.
"Kaoru, just turn her down," Kojiro muttered under his breath from next to him. "Your streak isn't worth this."
"Don't call me that at S," Kaoru snapped back, crossing his arms across his chest, fingers tapping agitatedly against his forearms. "And this is all your fault, anyway!"
"You could just turn them down," Kojiro protested, voice rising to match his. "Don't put this on me!"
"You're the one who gave them the idea," Kaoru said with frustration.
"You're the one who's letting his pride get in the way of common sense!"
"Oh, like I need you to lecture me on pride-"
"Hey, are you guys going to race, or what?" shouted a bystander from the audience, and Kaoru blinked, remembering the fidgeting girl in front of them and the skaters loitering around. "Some of us want to use the track too, so get on with it!"
Kaoru sighed again. This was the third challenger just from tonight; at this point, he wouldn't have any energy left to race anyone he might actually want to go up against. For the past two months or so, every time he showed up at S, it was these types of challenges nonstop.
"All right," Kaoru told the girl. "But if I win, you can't challenge me or ask me out again. That's my wager. Are you prepared?"
The girl nodded reluctantly, clutching her skateboard tightly. With all the girls challenging Kaoru to races, he'd started making that his wager when he'd started to notice familiar faces amongst his challengers. Maybe, if nothing else, he could finally have some peace after he beat everyone at least once. He gestured for the girl to start the track, not bothering to wait for the start buzzer.
"Kaoru," Kojiro protested, looking frustrated.
"Not! At! S!" Kaoru shouted back, taking a running start after the girl. She wasn't a bad skater, but Kaoru was better—he wouldn't be promising any dates tonight.
ooo
It all started, as many things did, with Kojiro. About two months ago, it had been a normal night at S. Kaoru had been minding his own business when Kojiro came over to say hello, and as always, they'd started bickering. "Stuck up four-eyes," etc., etc., "Muscle-brained gorilla," "Robot maniac," etc., etc., and so on and so forth. The scene was set, unbeknownst to both of them, for disaster.
"Don't insult Carla," Kaoru shrieked; they were at that point of the argument. Nothing got Kaoru quite so worked up as when Kojiro came after his beloved AI skateboard.
"Then stop giving your machine a girl's name, it's creepy!"
"Carla is not a machine," Kaoru insisted.
"You can't pretend she's your girlfriend just 'cause you can't get one!" Kojiro retorted.
"It's not that I can't get one, I just choose not to! Something you wouldn't understand-"
"Sounds like an excuse from someone who can't!"
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"Cherry," a loud, feminine voice suddenly interrupted them. A pretty girl, maybe around eighteen, stepped in front of them, causing both of them to blink in surprise. "Don't listen to Joe! I'll go out with you!"
She was blushing furiously, hands clutched tight in front of her. The sudden cut off of Cherry and Joe's bickering caused several people to look over; she'd also had to shout quite loudly to be heard over their argument. Kaoru was a bit taken aback; it was rare for his fans to approach him like this. She was brave, he'd give her that.
"Don't you think you're a bit young for him, sweetheart?" Kojiro said wryly, giving her an unimpressed look.
"I'm nineteen," she protested, her face getting even redder. "And don't call me sweetheart! I got into skateboarding because I loved watching Cherry skate. I think your skating is very beautiful! I really like you. Please go out with me!"
"I'm flattered," Kaoru told her after a pause, not gently but not unkindly. "But I'm not looking to date right now."
"Please give me a chance," she insisted, lowering into a bow. Her long hair hung down and hid her face. "I promise my feelings are sincere."
Kaoru felt uncomfortable; he really didn't like when someone he rejected kept insisting. He also didn't want to be cruel to her in front of an audience, though. Without meaning to, he glanced over briefly at Kojiro, who met his eyes. Immediately, Kaoru felt embarrassed; they weren't kids anymore, he wasn't a crybaby who needed Kojiro to back him up anymore. He quickly turned away and opened his mouth to respond, but Kojiro stepped in before he could.
"I don't think Kao- Cherry, I mean, don't kick me," Kojiro inched out of Kaoru's reach. He cleared his throat, but continued gently. "I don't think Cherry would date anyone who can't match his skating. Better luck next time."
"Then, please race me," the girl said, a determined spark in her eyes. She looked at Cherry hopefully. "I challenge you to a beef. If I win the race, please go on a date with me. I'll show you my skating is sincere!"
"Wait, that's not what I meant," Kojiro said, and Kaoru's eye twitched.
The thing was, Kaoru really had never turned down a beef. Not since they'd started S at age fifteen. He'd accepted every bet. He'd risked more than he can remember—his skateboard, his hair, tattoos, piercings, money, humiliation, the list went on. Luckily, he'd won more than not, and as they'd aged, the bets calmed; adults had more to lose, and Kaoru was distant with most of the members of S aside from Kojiro… But back in the day, even before S, he'd even dyed his hair pink because he'd lost a bet to Kojiro. Of course, he'd ended up liking it and kept it, but at the time he'd been horrified he'd lost. He'd worn a hat for days, until one day, he'd overheard Kojiro complaining to a friend that it wasn't fair Kaoru looked good with pink hair when losing the bet was supposed to be embarrassing.
"Let Cherry speak for himself," the girl told Kojiro sternly. "Cherry, do you accept my beef?"
The audience held their breath. The normal chatter had died down to low whispers; no one had ever asked Cherry out so boldly before. Kaoru felt a trickle of sweat down the back of his neck. He knew it was stupid. No one even knew he'd never backed down from a race, except for Kojiro…
…Who was watching him.
No, he wasn't a stupid teen anymore, but it seemed he was just as stupid an adult. And it wasn't like she was asking him to risk Carla. He was an older, more experienced skater—did he want to ruin his streak, over a girl he could almost certainly beat, with stakes that were so tame compared to his delinquent days?
"I accept," Kaoru said, ignoring Kojiro's protests of "Kaoru" and the way the audience exploded. Kaoru sighed. Didn't everyone have better things to do?
ooo
Fast forward two months, and here they were, Kaoru never getting a moment's peace. His sanctuary had been completely disrupted, as girls and boys alike took inspiration and started challenging Kaoru to beefs.
"You know they won't leave you alone until you start saying no," Kojiro sighed as Kaoru approached him. Instead of his usual outfit, today Kaoru had come in nondescript clothes, a dark hoodie pulled up to conceal his pink hair. Kojiro was standing with the kids, who were all chattering excitedly. Kaoru decided to use them as camouflage, hoping he'd be mistaken as another one of the teens as he hunched his shoulders and tugged his hoodie higher.
"Hi Cherry," Reki said brightly, Langa offering a wave. Miya gave him a nod.
"Tell me if you see someone coming towards me," Kaoru greeted them, eyes nervously darting around. "I just want one night of peace. Just one."
"Why don't you tell them no, if it bothers you so much?" Langa asked curiously. Kaoru scowled.
"Kaoru's never turned down a beef," Kojiro tells them matter-of-factly.
"Don't go spreading that around!" Kaoru hissed, giving Kojiro a shove.
"Don't push me," Kojiro whined. "It's just the kids; they're not going to challenge you to anything crazy."
"Don't tell anyone," Kaoru said, pointing his finger threateningly at each of the children in turn. "Or I will know, and I will find you."
The kids all nodded together rapidly in unison, looking intimidated. Reki clutched onto Langa's arm for good measure.
"Don't scare the kids," Kojiro scolded. "Anyway, at this point, I think the damage is done. Ten years is a good run. Even I've turned down some bets over the years."
"Eh, you have?" Reki exclaimed. Miya and Langa both looked at Kojiro as well, wide-eyed.
"Sure," Kojiro said. "There's some things not worth betting on. One of the reasons Adam and I don't get along is that when we were seventeen, he challenged me to a beef saying that if he won, I had to stop being friends with Kaoru. I wasn't willing to risk it."
"What?" Kaoru blurted out, shocked. The kids all turned to look at him, questioning.
"Why are you surprised?" Miya asked, sounding unimpressed.
"He- You," Kaoru started, looking away in embarrassment. "You never told me that."
Kojiro shrugged. "I turned him down and he moved not long after, so nothing ever came of it. But if you want my advice, kids, don't take bets on people and relationships. It's not fair and it's not worth it."
Kaoru looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling a bit juvenile and embarrassed. Sometimes he forgot that Kojiro could be mature and respectable, in his own way.
It hurt to know that Adam did that, but then, he knew Adam wasn't the same person that Kaoru had thought he was. A skateboard to the face really worked as a stark reminder.
But more than feeling hurt, Kaoru actually felt rather secretly pleased. Not that he'd ever admit it, but he felt deeply glad that his friendship was worth more to Kojiro than his pride.
"I wouldn't have taken the bet either," Kaoru muttered, tugging his hoodie down over his eyes.
"What?" Kojiro asked, not hearing him. Kaoru flushed, not willing to repeat.
"He said he wouldn't have taken the bet either," Miya said, rolling his eyes. "Get your ears checked, old man."
Kojiro smiled at Kaoru, before the second part of Miya's comment registered.
"Who're you callin' old, kid?" Kojiro demanded, smile turning annoyed, reaching out to give Miya a noogie. Miya danced out of the way.
"If Shadow is old, then you're ancient," Miya said, snickering meanly. "What, you think just 'cause you're hot you don't age?"
"You little brat-"
While Kaoru was distracted by the revelation and the bickering, unfortunately, they were approached unnoticed.
"Cherry, I challenge you to a beef!" announced a young man, appearing out of nowhere. He pointed directly at Kaoru. "If I win, go out with me!"
"How did you know I was here," Kaoru groaned. Miya poked his head out from behind Langa, where he'd been using him as a body shield to protect from Kojiro's attempted headlock.
The man snorted. "You're always with Joe, so I was going to ask him where you were! And go figure, here you were."
"Maybe I should start avoiding the lug," Kaoru muttered, rubbing his forehead. He felt the start of a headache.
"Hey, don't do that," Kojiro said, looking offended. Kaoru unwillingly felt a small sting of guilt, but didn't acknowledge it.
"It's your fault, anyway," Kaoru said again. "If you're offended, why don't you fix it?"
Kaoru regretted his sniping immediately when Kojiro got a specific look in his eyes. It was a mix of determined and stubborn, the one he always got before doing a dumb bet or a stupid plan.
"Fine," Kojiro said. He turned to the latest hopeful challenger. "Look, buttercup, I'm the same level as… Cherry. I'll race for him tonight, he's sick of all the challenges."
"What?" Kaoru squawked.
"Fine," the young man agreed. "Cherry's better than you anyway, so I'm more likely to win against you! Bring it on!"
"Cherry is not better than me," Kojiro said with exasperation. "But I accept. And my wager is that you can't ask Kaoru out again after I beat you."
"I didn't agree to this," Kaoru said loudly, to be heard over the excited chattering of the kids.
"Didn't Joe just say not to bet on people's relationships?" Langa muttered; meanwhile, Reki and Miya were debating whether Kaoru would allow it or not.
"Aw, Kaoru, you're sick of these challenges—let me take this one, I felt like racing anyway. Don't you trust me?" Kojiro said, sounding unusually sincere. He looked right in Kaoru's eyes, earnest. It threw Kaoru off.
"I- I- You-" Kaoru stuttered. He'd like to credit his stutter to rage, and no one was allowed to tell him otherwise. He quickly recovered. "Fine! But only because I'm tired. And don't lose, doofus."
"Ha! In your face, Reki," Miya crowed, while Reki groaned. Langa patted his back consolingly. "Now pay up!"
"God fucking dammit," Reki swore. Langa's pats intensified.
"Language," Kaoru and Kojiro spoke at the same time, before meeting eyes awkwardly. Kaoru made a face.
"Don't lose!" Kaoru said again, pointing at Kojiro this time, threatening him much as he did the kids earlier.
"Yeah, yeah," Kojiro agreed, unintimidated.
There wasn't too much of a wait before it was their turn; in the meantime, Kaoru made sure his hood stayed up. Luckily, between the sweater and the fact that Kaoru's and Kojiro's bickering had been quieter than usual—avoiding attention—they hadn't drawn much notice. The camouflage of the teens helped, too; Kaoru stuck with them to watch the race.
Kaoru watched them line up at the start line, a bit anxious despite himself. Kojiro wouldn't lose deliberately to prank him, right? He'd take it seriously, right? He crossed his arms, a habitual nervous response, tapping his fingers along his elbows.
"I didn't think you'd let him race for you," Reki commented, his arm slung casually around Langa's shoulders. Langa's expression was unperturbed, barely seeming to notice, seeming anticipatory and studying Joe and the challenger. Kaoru felt a small pang; Adam had often slung an arm around him and Kojiro, back in the day.
"Don't remind me," Kaoru said, shaking away the memory. "I already regret it."
"Will you really date the guy if he wins?"
"I did agree to the terms," Kaoru said reluctantly, before reassuring himself. "But as long as Kojiro doesn't mess around, he'll beat this guy. He may be a brute, but he's a powerful skater."
"You really have a lot of faith in his skating, huh?" Reki asked thoughtfully. "I guess even though you're rivals, you still respect each other."
"Rivals," Miya snorted.
"I'm sure he won't mess around," Langa said quietly, watching Joe. "He looks really serious."
Sure enough, when the buzzer went off, Kojiro took off at his fastest, getting a running start. Kojiro usually didn't go full speed right off the bat since he skated multiple races a night, making it necessary to conserve energy. But it seemed Langa was right, and Kojiro really was taking this seriously. Kaoru let out a huff of relief.
…It wasn't much of a race, in the end. Even after taking an insurmountable lead, Kojiro didn't slow down. Tonight's challenger was an average skater, and hadn't even reached the factory when Kojiro crossed the finish line.
"Told you I could handle it," Kojiro called out as he walked over to where they were standing.
"Took you long enough," Kaoru retorted.
"That was so cool," Reki interrupted, hands clasped in front of him. Langa nodded along. "You left that guy in the dust!"
"Obviously," Miya said condescendingly. "It's not like they're even on the same level. It was barely even worth watching."
"Well, I suppose your race was passable," Kaoru groused, and Kojiro gave him a sweet smile. It made Kaoru's stomach feel funny. He told himself that smile made him want to puke. He might be lying to himself, but again, no one was allowed to tell him otherwise.
"It was so cool," Reki said again reverently. Kaoru scowled, thinking between Kaoru's praise and the kid's hero worship, Kojiro's head was going to get even bigger than it already was. Kaoru decided to course-correct.
"Well, even if it was passable against a nobody like that, your skating is still highly inefficient," Kaoru started to scold. "You could be better if you just paid more attention to your entry angles. What was that turn coming around the last bend? You were just showing off-"
"You're just allergic to having fun," Kojiro said. "Skating isn't about calculations, you've got to skate with some passion! Loosen up a bit-"
"The time to loosen up isn't when my dignity is on the line," Kaoru argued, raising his voice. The kids started turning their heads in sync with the argument, like they were following a tennis match.
"Hey, I won!" Kojiro said irritably. "Your dignity is just fine-"
"That doesn't mean you should play around!"
"I wasn't playing around!"
"Cherry," a new voice yelled; the challenger had finally crossed the finish line. More than a few heads turned at the shout. Whispers started up as other skaters heard the name and noticed who he was talking to. "That race doesn't count! I want to face you, directly! This guy has no right to skate for you."
"You couldn't beat Joe, what the hell makes you think you can beat Cherry?" Miya shouted back, incensed, pointing at Kaoru to emphasize his point. "You already lost, loser! Stop wasting our time!"
"Goddammit," Kaoru muttered, seeing the attention they were garnering. He gave up and lowered his hood, shaking out his hair. No point in the disguise now. He caught Kojiro staring; he raised an eyebrow in question and Kojiro looked away hurriedly.
"Why are Cherry and Miya allowed to swear, when I'm not?" Reki whined, pouting. "Miya's like, twelve!"
"I just turned thirteen, slime!" Miya said.
Addressing the challenger, Kaoru spoke over the children, cutting off all complaints. "You agreed to the terms. Joe agreed to the terms. I agreed to the terms. Accept your loss gracefully."
"You accept the beef from everyone else who asks you out, why not mine?" the guy shouted. "No one else had to face Joe to get a date with you!"
"You agreed to the terms," Kojiro repeated in Kaoru's defense, resentment coloring his tone. "I beat you, so you have to give up on Kao- Cherry. Your new challenge is invalid because you're violating the terms of your own beef."
"Who are you to race for Cherry?" the man demanded, face going red. People in the audience were snickering at his misfortune. "Cherry doesn't even like you!"
"That's enough," Kaoru interrupted, snapping his fan against his hand with a crack. Kojiro looked ready to murder the guy. Kaoru glared at the challenger, and the man wilted. Kaoru put a bit of venom into his voice. "Get. Lost."
Finally, the man wisely tucked tail and ran.
"Cherry, you're really scary," Reki observed, looking slightly traumatized, perhaps having flashbacks to when Kaoru chewed him out for addressing him publicly by the wrong name.
"I wish I could do that," Miya said admiringly.
"Maybe when you're older," Langa told him, smiling angelically. "Right now you're too small."
"I am not small!" Miya shouted.
"Shorty, shorty, shorty," Reki started chanting, the epitome of teenage boy maturity. Langa gently scolded Reki, as though he weren't the instigator of the whole thing. Kaoru sighed.
"If the kids think you're so scary, I must be the bravest man alive," Kojiro mused. "You glare at me all the time."
"Or you're the stupidest," Kaoru smiled sweetly.
"You little-"
"Cherry," another new voice cut them off, a woman running up to them. Really, he and Kojiro couldn't even have a proper squabble anymore without someone interrupting. They'd just gotten rid of the last interloper! "I want to race you! Please date me if I win. I'm willing to race Joe, too!"
"No, race me," another woman ran up, elbow checking the first.
"No, me!" a man this time.
"No, me!"
"I should've stayed home," Kaoru groaned, watching a small crowd gathering, arguing over who'd race Cherry first.
"Why don't you just race them all at the same time?" Langa asked curiously. Kaoru blinked.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Kojiro asked.
"Probably because you're a moron," Kaoru told him reflexively.
"You didn't think of it either! Who's the moron now, moron?" Kojiro started, already riled up.
"There's too many of them, anyway," Miya cut them off before they could get started, gesturing at the still-growing crowd. "It'd be too dangerous to have that many on the track at once."
"So make it a tournament!" Reki jumped in excitedly. He smacked Langa's arm with enthusiasm, exuberant with his own idea. Langa nodded along, humoring him.
"Hm," Miya said, considering. "That might work. Make them fight each other instead of Cherry."
"Hey, everyone," Reki bellowed, before Kaoru could say anything. Reki cupped his hands around his mouth, projecting his voice. "Cherry is no longer going to accept personal challenges asking him for a date! Instead, there's going to be a tournament!"
"Add that anyone who participates only gets one shot," Kojiro nudged Reki, rolling with the turn of events easily. "No challenging Kaoru after the tournament."
"Anyone who participates only gets one shot," Reki announced obediently. The kid had a set of lungs on him; even those in the back of the crowd were listening attentively. "After you participate in the tournament, you can't challenge Cherry for a date again!"
"Reki, make sure to say that the winner only gets a chance to race me," Kaoru said urgently. Although ridiculous, the number of challenges was also getting ridiculous, so maybe they needed a ridiculous solution. So he was not completely opposed to the tournament idea, but they really should have planned this out better before announcing it.
Unfortunately, with Reki pausing to listen to Kaoru, the chatter of the crowd had raised to a loud din. Everyone had stopped listening. Reki shouted as loud as he could.
"The winner gets the chance to race Cherry," Reki said to the crowd, but his voice was lost to the wave of voices.
"The winner gets to go out with Cherry!" came from the crowd.
"If I win, I can be Cherry's girlfriend!" another voice.
"It's not just for girls, right? He'll go out with a guy too if we win?"
The news had already taken a life of its own. To Reki's credit, he did try to shout over the crowd a few more times, but to no avail. This, however, wouldn't save him from Kaoru's wrath.
"Re-kiii," Kaoru said slowly, drawing out the vowels with menace.
"Ahhh!" Reki said, taking one glance at Kaoru's face and making a break for it. He grabbed Langa's hand, pulling him along; Langa let himself be dragged. "Langa, runnn, he's going to kill me!"
Kaoru took a deep breath and reminded himself he was an adult, and would not chase after a child. He was cool, collected, dignified…
"The kid was just trying to help," Kojiro said, nudging his shoulder, watching the kids run off to play. "It's not a bad idea, he's just reckless."
"I know," Kaoru sighed. "Anyway, thinking about it another way… if the tournament is only for a chance to race me, people might not see the point in participating, and choose to keep challenging me to one vs ones instead. I suppose I should wager at least a date. It'd probably be worth it to get back to normal at S. What's one date compared to weeks of aggravation?"
Kojiro made a face, his hands clenching into fists. "Is your streak that important to you? You'll go out with someone you don't even have feelings for, just for your pride?"
"You go out on meaningless dates all the time," Kaoru sniped back.
"You're not like me," Kojiro said, not rising to the bait. Kaoru peered at him out of the corner of his eye. Kojiro actually looked… concerned. It unsettled Kaoru, a bit.
"Usually you tell me that's a bad thing," Kaoru said testily. "Didn't this whole thing start because you told me I couldn't land a girl?"
"I-" Kojiro frowned, eye brows furrowing, as they did on the rare occasions the brute put a genuine effort into thinking something through. Kaoru would never admit it, but it was, just a bit…cute. Probably because it reminded him of when they were children, before Kojiro was so annoying. Kojiro used to furrow his brow just like that whenever he did homework.
"Don't strain yourself," Kaoru said dryly.
"It's not that," Kojiro said. "Look, I know we argue a lot, but it's not serious, right? I don't actually want you to change. And if you never find a girl, that's fine."
"Well, that's a relief," Kaoru said ironically. "Since you know very well I prefer men. You are the one who noticed and brought up… well, you know."
Kaoru and Kojiro both grimaced at the mention of Kaoru's dark past. Never had there been a crush he regretted more than his ill-fated early teens. Adam really was a disgusting stain.
"We never really talked about it, aside from that… one time, when we were in high school," Kojiro said slowly. The one time being when Kojiro had said he knew about Kaoru's crush on Adam, and asked if he wanted to talk about it. They'd had a fight about it, because needless to say, Kaoru did not. "I don't know. You might've liked both. You've never really shown an interest in anyone since, man or woman."
Kaoru tensed. No, they'd really never spoken about it, and there was a very good reason for that. It was a reason Kaoru tried very hard not to even think about, and barely acknowledged even in the deep recesses of his own heart. Kojiro liked his women, so there was no reason for Kaoru to waste time moping about stupid impossibilities. Kojiro was there, and that was what mattered. No matter in what capacity, Kojiro has always been there, and Kaoru wasn't going to do anything to change that.
But for Kojiro to say that Kaoru had never shown interest in anyone…
Every muscle in Kaoru's body felt high strung. He felt frozen. He thought they'd had an unspoken agreement. How dare Kojiro bring this up, because the thing was…
The thing was…
Kaoru never acknowledged The Problem, and Kojiro never acknowledged The Problem either. But Kaoru knew Kojiro knew, and Kojiro knew Kaoru knew he knew, and they never spoke about it.
In fact, Kaoru was so incensed that Kojiro was bringing this up, it forced him to be blunt with himself.
Kaoru liked Kojiro. Kaoru had liked Kojiro for a very, very long time.
And Kaoru knew that Kojiro was aware of this crush, because Kojiro had noticed Kaoru's crush on Adam before Kaoru had noticed Kaoru's crush on Adam. And if he'd noticed about Adam so early, how could it be that Kojiro hadn't noticed Kaoru's crush on Kojiro when it had been years upon years?
"Don't mock me," Kaoru said venomously, and Kojiro blinked, seeming to realize there was some real rage in Kaoru's glare.
"Sorry, sorry," Kojiro said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm not mocking you. Some people are asexual, you know. Maybe you're somewhere on the spectrum. It's not a bad thing. I shouldn't have made fun of you for not being able to get a girl." He gestured to the crowd, smiling wryly. "It was always just teasing. I think we can both see how popular you are."
"I'm not upset about that," Kaoru said waspishly. "Are you seriously playing dumb right now?"
Kaoru was very obviously upset that Kojiro was pretending like he didn't know about Kaoru's feelings. But then again, once he thought about it some more, he'd actually be even more upset if Kojiro admitted that he did know about his unrequited feelings, and then they had to talk about it. Ah, he really hadn't thought this through. Shit.
"Kaoru, if you're mad, just tell it to me straight," Kojiro said, exasperated. "You know I don't want to fight for real."
"…I'm not mad," Kaoru said, calming himself. He decided it was still Kojiro's fault for starting this conversation at all, but he probably just spoke without thinking, and wasn't being deliberately malicious.
"You're obviously mad," Kojiro said, annoyed. "Just tell me!"
"I'm not mad," Kaoru said again angrily.
"You just said that like you were mad!"
"I did not!"
"Did so!"
"Agh," Kaoru said, throwing his hands up. He put Carla down, and started skating away. "Forget it! Tonight is a lost cause, I'm out."
"Kaoru," Kojiro called. "You're still coming to the restaurant tomorrow, right?"
"Don't call me that at S," Kaoru shrieked back, not bothering to answer the second question.
It was a stupid question, anyway. Kaoru always came to the restaurant on Fridays; why would tomorrow be any different?
ooo
I watched the Japanese dub and not the English dub, and I think it shows. From the clips I've seen, the English dub seems to have more of a (as soon as we're off screen we are making out *passionately*) vibe, meanwhile the Japanese gave me much more of a (years of painful mutual pining) vibe. Lol but I didn't see the whole English dub. Let me know what you think.