A Cyborg Soldier 009 fic.
Pairing: Jet/Joe. Shonen-ai.
Fandom: Cyborg Soldier 009
Written for 30 Kisses. Themes: #5 (Anou sa...), #26 (candy).
Disclaimer: Not mine. Ishinomori's.
Joe Shimamura would always associate his first kiss with chocolate and candies.
Yep, it was for Valentines Day. Normally he'd get two or three chocolates from Mary, Natsumo, and the other girls from the church, and he'd hide them in his schoolbag along with the others coming from some classmates at school - so the other boys wouldn't find and eat them behind his back...
But when he was 16 years old, a certain girl changed this routine. She actually stopped him on his way home and asked him to receive her Valentines gift and eat it in front of her. She didn't seem to care if he liked her or not; all she wanted was to see him eat. He had agreed, and opened the box she gave him...
And when he took the first munch from the heart-shaped chocolate with some odd-looking candy decorations she had given him, the girl suddenly leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. He was so shocked that he insitntively gasped, and what started as a sort-of peck turned in a liplock. But she broke it after less than a minute, bowed quickly and ran away crying, leaving Joe all shocked there - not counting the yells, cooing, giggling and laughter coming from his friends, who had just witnessed the whole dorama-esque scene.
That was one of the most embarrassing experiences in Joe's life. However, it was also sad. Because the girl who gave him both that chocolate and his first kiss was terminally sick, and in fact she died few months later.
Eventually, Joe's life moved on. He continued working with the Father at the church, was later unjustly charged with his mentor's murder, was turned into a Cyborg by the real assassins, and fought against Black Ghost. All of those days, he struggled to keep this memory engraved in his heart, as a way to remind himself that he was still human despite his Cyborg enhancements, that he never lost his heart to the madness around him...
The taste of chocolate would be always associated with showing affections, too. Francoise, his best friend, also like chocolate, thought she'd rather drink it than eat it. She was excellent at making hot chocolate, and would never miss a chance to offer a cup to anybody who was depressed or sad. Chan, the cheerful Chinese chef, was Francoise's "teacher" at such an art, and thanks to him she had even developed her own hot cocoa recipes; sweeter for the likes of Albert, Chang or Frannie herself, semi-sweet for the majority of the Cyborgs, candy bar hot for Joe and GB, a special baby-formula for Ivan (the child was confined to a baby-like body, therefore he had milk as the only thing he could ever consume), and an un-sweetened one mixed with coffee specially for Jet...
Joe wasn't surprised by Jet's choice in chocolate. After all, he didn't coem from the sweetest place in the world. Joe at least was lucky, since he did have friends and the Father; however, as Joe found out by reading some of Professor Gilmore's notes, Jet's life was since early age tainted with blood, sweat and tears. He lost his parents as a child, the majority of his friends died on him, and just before he was captured and made into a Cyborg, he had just killed one of his street enemies - it was that, or dying.
Those things would never be forgotten. Joe knew such a thing real well, since he himself wouldn't be able to let go of his own memories from his past life. Unless something altered his mind, like it happened with Lina and her friends, he would always dream with the years when he lived in the church. That was something so his', so only belonging to him and no one else.
And now that it's Valentines and he's spending the festivity in New York, upon seeing the candy and gift stores all dolled up for the Day of Love itself, Joe is reminded of that special time. How that girl with her days almost finished trusted him with one of her last wishes...
"Joe! Earth to Joe!".
A small hand tugs at his jacket's sleeve.
"Dreamland is falling, Joe, come back to The Real World".
Ah. Jimmy, Jet's neighbor and sort-of adoptive little brother, is now talking to him. Joe, now back to reality, looks at the boy and smiles.
"Uhm, sorry Jimmy. What were just saying?".
"Hey, just come and tell me what I can give to Jenny in Valentines, since she's not that fond of chocolate...".
Jenny. The redhead little girl Jimmy had a crush on. And a person who wouldn't accept a full box of chocolates as a gift...
"Well... instead of something 100 chocolaty? Ano sa... Think about what she would like. What do you know about her food tastes?".
"Hmmmm...". The boy thinks of it for some seconds. Then his face brightens up. "She's fond of sushi, so what about those Japanese-looking candies you brought me? While they do have some bits of chocolate, they compensates with gummy and marshmallows, and she .adores marshies...".
"The Gummi Sushi? But Jimmy... that's a gift I brought for you. You can't give it to someone else...".
But Jimmy is staring at Joe with his cutest pouty face ever. He almost looks like he's gonna cry...
Joe admits his defeat. He doesn't want Jimy to be sad. "Unless I tell you that you can, that is", he grins.
"So it's okay?".
"Okay".
"Yay!", and he hugs Joe. Then they see Jet and Cathy, Jimmy's mother, walking towards them.
"Hi, Jet! Hi, Mom! So good to see you're back from work earlier!", Jimmy says out loud, waving his hands. He then turns to Joe and grins. "If you're gonna tell Jet that you love him tonight, just like you told my mom that you would do... make sure your first kiss tastes of chocolate, kay?".
Joe blushes upon hearing this. "... Yes".
And Joe silently promises to himself that their first kiss will be as sweet as chocolate, hot cocoa, and candy combined.