To anyone who's reading this, thank you! Also tw for panic attack and self-harm, you have been warned!

"If being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side."

-Swingin Party, Lorde

Gakuhou just came home after checking on the construction site of his new cram school. He placed a few take out boxes on the table before walking towards Gakushū's room to invite him for dinner.

Ever since he reunited with his first two students, he began to reconsider his parenting with his only son. At first, he just didn't want him to turn out like Ikeda. But by judging the way he raised Gakushū, he feared the possibility of that happening wouldn't be too far off.

Surprisingly, the boy wasn't in his room. It was already 7 'o clock in the evening, yet he still wasn't home. Nonetheless, he still expected him to arrive soon.

To pass some time, he began to arrange the table. He transferred the food from the take out boxes into plates and placed the cake in the center. Today was his late wife's birthday, and he was planning to have a surprise dinner celebration with his son.

He watched the news while he waited patiently, that until minutes turned in to long, tedious hours.

He glanced at the wall clock in their living room, it was past ten o'clock. He's been calling Gakushū several times for the past two hours, but the boy wasn't answering any of his calls. He was about to head out and find him for himself, quickly putting on his coat and grabbing his keys from the countertop before he headed straight to the front door.

He twisted the knob and pulled the door open, only to find Gakushū leaning against the doorframe by surprise. Gakuhou couldn't help but blink in disbelief, his son was in such a disheveled state. He tried his very best to calm himself down, "Where have you been?" He asked.

Gakushū could barely even hold himself up, he slowly tilted his head up to meet his father's gaze before he began to laugh uncontrollably.

Gakuhou raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he was beginning to lose his patience. Still, he waited for the response to his question. His son reeked of alcohol and that put him further to the brim.

"It's... none... of 'yer biz... ness," Gakushū replied gibberish as he panted in between words.

Gakuhou's fist acted before he could even think. The next thing he knew, Gakushū slumped onto the ground with a loud thud after his father punched him in the face. That should've brought him back to his senses.

It's as if the alcohol wasn't enough to disorient him already, that hard punch further worsened it. He saw a few droplets of blood fall on the ground, and with some rigorous effort, he managed to regain his composure by propping himself up against the wall.

"Congratulations on that, I'm sure mom would be happy." He spat before he went past Gakuhou and locked himself inside his bedroom.

Gakuhou was appalled by what just happened. He looked down at his very own hands, his eyes unsteady, wide open in shock.

Where did that promise to himself go now? He was just... trying to change, he was just... trying to be a good parent... for once. But upon seeing his son act that way, it was almost... unimaginable. He never once thought that Gakushū was even capable of being so... unruly. He didn't want Gakushū to end up with the same fate as Ikeda, but because of what he just did, that probably isn't far off from happening.

The following morning, Gakuhou was by the door to Gakushū's room, knocking relentlessly but receiving no answer. After what happened last night, he clearly understood why. He finally decided to turn the knob and push the door open, "Look, I'm sorry about last night..." He apologized, only to find that his son wasn't there anymore.

The weekend finally came, and Karma couldn't help but laugh to himself. Asano had put so much effort into his outfit.

Gakushū was wearing a beige trench coat, with a white shirt and a pair of black, straight-cut pants underneath. He also wore brown oxford shoes and a black beanie, then a gray plaid scarf was loosely wrapped around his neck, matched by a pair of black leather gloves to keep his hands warm. A faint blush on his nose complemented his pale skin that made him look so... delicate. Karma just watched him approach in silence, noticing a trail of golden Gingko leaves slowly fall from behind.

It was almost... scenic.

Meanwhile, what the delinquent wore was of stark contrast to his. He wore nothing but a black puffer vest with a gray sweater underneath, matched by a pair of bleach-washed denim jeans, then a black baseball cap and some worn-out sneakers.

Gakushū waved his arm as he neared in, to which Karma took a few seconds before he could respond. "Hey." He waved back.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Asano asked casually.

"So smartass, do you know how to skate?" Karma asked back.

Gakushū raised an eyebrow as he mulled it over, "Well... yeah... I've skated several times already."

"Teach me then." Karma briefly replied. Well, that was pretty straightforward.

"You've never gone skating before?" Gakushū asked back.

Akabane simply shook his head in response.

Gakushū smirked and playfully said, "If you insist."

"So... how do you put these on?" Karma asked as he held up a skating boot, observing it in sheer curiosity.

"Let me help." Asano readily replied as he knelt down in front of Karma, helping him wear and tie the skating boot. "How does it feel?" He asked afterward, "Not too tight? Not too loose?" He added.

Karma raised his chin as he contemplated while he tried to tap his feet on the ground to check for the fit of his skating boots, "Alright, I guess." He muttered.

"Can you try standing up?" Asano suggested.

Karma did as he was told, his legs all wobbly, stance wide and awkward as he tried to find his balance.

"You'll be fine." Gakushū chuckled, "Just hold my hand." He said reassuringly as he held out his hand to Karma, to which other readily took.

Alas, they finally stepped on the ice, and Gakushū couldn't help but look at the smile gradually forming on Karma's face. His eyes beamed, mouth agape, as he looked around the skating rink in complete astonishment.

His reaction was so innocent and pure as if he was a kid, and within that moment, Gakushū forgot how wild and reckless they were just a few days ago.

"So... how do I move?" Karma simply asked.

Still holding his hand, he instructed him carefully, "You shift your weight on one foot and glide."

Although he was slightly apprehensive about it, Karma did as he was told.

"You're doing great!" Gakushū complimented. From there, Karma was beginning to loosen his grip. Then eventually, he finally let go of his hand as he glided forward on his own, "I see you're a fast learner." He added as he followed Karma from behind.

"Hey... Smart-ass... how do I turn?" Karma gulped nervously, calling for Asano's help as he was about to hit the boards.

It was too late by then.

Karma fell on his butt with an audible thud that made Gakushū somehow cringe. He leaned down towards Karma, offering a hand to help him pull himself up. What he didn't expect was Karma pulling him down on the ice with him.

"What the hell was for?!" He exclaimed. Karma ignored his complaint as the delinquent drowned in laughter. "Oh, so you think this is funny?" Gakushū glared at him in utter annoyance as he stood up on his own, leaving Karma who still sat on the ice.

He crossed his arms as he watched the redhead struggle to stand back up again. He began to laugh in hopes of spiting him, but he didn't realize what was about to come. Karma was able to quickly move close to him through his knees, thereby pulling him back towards the ice again with him.

Both of them lost their balance badly that their backs fell flat on the ice. If Gakushū were to be honest, being annoyed about this would be an understatement. This was beyond embarrassing, they look like total idiots in a public skating rink for god's sake.

Karma held his stomach as he burst out in laughter. He then turned his head to the side and spared him a glance, then after a few blinks, Gakushū joined in on the laughter.

It almost felt like they were back in the abandoned 3-E building again.

Later on, the pair were back strolling along the Gingko tree-lined walkway by the riverbank with barely any people around. They still had an ample amount of time, it was just five-thirty in the afternoon anyway.

Light snow fell among the golden leaves, and Karma opened his palm up as he began to speak. "Thanks for coming around, I really had-" he abruptly stopped as loud sirens can be heard from the vicinity.

Gakushū waited for Karma to resume speaking as the sounds finally began to fade in the background. But having heard nothing from him at all, he looked sideways only to find his face turning pale, fear-stricken.

Karma just stood there... frozen. His eyes bulging out wide, lips slightly parted as his breath sped up steadily. He raked his fingers through his hair and clutched his head tightly.

What was happening to him?

He was now hyperventilating as he crouched and began looking everywhere hysterically.

Asano took a step back, he now clearly recognized what this was, but he was clueless on how to handle it. It was his first time seeing someone have a panic attack, let alone deal with it.

"What's... wrong?" Asano hesitantly mumbled in fear. He just wasn't entirely sure if he was doing this right. "Karma?" He called as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder in efforts of snapping him out of it. "Karma?" He called even louder.

Soon enough, Karma's eyes brimmed with tears. "It's them again... it's them again... it's them a-" he repeatedly murmured in paranoia, it was downright crippling. He lifted one of his sleeves up rashly, revealing a plethora of scars lining his entire forearm. His nails sunk in deep as he fought to calm himself down, but his efforts were downright futile.

This was more than enough to frighten the boy standing right in front of him, who could only do so much but stare in shock.

"N-no, Karma, please don't do that to yourself... please don't." Asano gulped, his voice shaky as he covered his mouth out of fear. He was too afraid to touch Karma, it might just worsen this whole situation further.

He just didn't anticipate any of this, the idea of Karma appearing so vulnerable out in the open... it just never once crossed his mind.

But now was probably the time to return him the favor.

Gakushū frantically took off his gloves in response and threw them away to the ground as he held Karma's hands tight to prevent him from hurting himself, "No one else is here, but I am. I'm here, Karma. I'm here." He said before he tried to shake him out of it.

"N-no!" Karma protested, biting his lips, eyes quickly moving from left to right. "They're here... they're..." his voice trailed off when Gakushū shushed him.

"No one else is here, but I am. I'm here." He interlocked his fingers with his, holding their hands up for Karma to see. "See this? Look, I'm here." He earnestly reminded him again, "Karma, listen to me. I'm here, okay? I'm here."

Fortunately for him, Karma eventually calmed down the moment their gazes met.

"Y...you're here?" Karma's voice cracked, his lips trembling as he gasped for air.

Gakushū let out a warm smile in relief, "Yes, I'm here." He held his hands even tighter as he repeated himself, "I'm here."

Karma let go. He could only do so much but cover his mouth and stare in disbelief as the tears fall on his cheeks in silence.

"I'm here..." Gakushū whispered as he finally wrapped his arms around the boy to further calm him down.

Gakushū really wasn't the type to console people. He felt awkward, but he stayed right there with him anyway.

"I'm sorry," Karma sniffed, "I just... I didn't know what's gotten into me..." He averted his gaze to the ground as soon as he got back to his senses, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm-" Karma repeatedly apologized.

Gakushū cut him off and shushed him again, rubbing his back as he kept reassuring him, "It's alright... It's alright..."

He didn't know what else to say, he didn't know if he was even helping, the two of them were a pair of fragile minds after all.

Since then, the two haven't said a word to each other. As always, Karma began walking away like nothing ever happened, but Gakushū found himself tagging along nonetheless. He dreaded the tension in the air so much, but he knew that he just had to be there.

They soon found themselves inside an empty convenience store, eating some instant ramen on a table by the window, a slow-burn wait while the sun is sinking below the horizon.

They were both preoccupied with mixing their ramen cups, but Karma couldn't resist staring intently at him.

"Thank you... for helping me out back there..." he started out of nowhere. Finally, someone talked.

Gakushū titled his head up in response and met his gaze, "You... wanna talk about it?"

Karma silently shook his head before he prodded his fork playfully in his cup.

Gakushū nodded, "Okay."

Golden Gingko leaves rustled in the wind as the nights are getting longer, colder. And just like before, they still had no plans of going home. It was getting darker outside, and the stars are nowhere to be found.

It doesn't matter though.

Just like the stars on a cloudy night, they may fade for a while or the city lights may prevent you from seeing them, but in the end..

They're still there.

Thanks for reading! Kindly let me know what you think, have a nice day ahead!