Washed Up

A/N: time for some good old fashioned MomoKai fighting.

Authors: Celianna (Momo) & Happiestwhen (Kaidoh)

Rating: T

Events leading up to this log:
- Momo has confronted Ryoma about the prank, which he simply brushed off as saying Momo deserved it, and he was angry with him at the time
- Feeling angry, Momo tidies up Kaidoh's hut and decorates it, even going as far as making them both beds (fashioned out of lots of blankets) and says he'll be living with Kaidoh foreeeeever (to rub it in Ryoma's face)
- They sort of start ignoring each other again, because Momo still feels betrayed and hurt
- Ryoma has a conversation with Kirihara, and tells him about what a crappy friend and homophobe Momo is
- Kirihara tells Momo that he should treat Ryoma better and not be such a homophobe to him, to which Momo asks him if Ryoma called him that, and Kirihara says yes
- Momo is completely angry with Ryoma, tells him to keep the shack he built because it's his now, and he's never moving back in, and he calls Kaidoh out because he needs to punch someone

Date: August 8, 2012

Kaidoh can see his hut growing bigger on the horizon and he speeds up into a sprint for the last couple minutes of his run, which he wasn't even halfway through when he'd turned around and headed back to Momoshiro. He didn't even need to think about it. It isn't even that he's going soft; he kind of is. It isn't that he'll do whatever Momoshiro says; he kind of does. But Momoshiro sounded serious this time, short and blunt—the way he gets when he's really angry about something, with none of the usual rambling playfulness. It made Kaidoh feel serious too.

When Kaidoh nears his hut, he can see Momoshiro sitting outside, and he stops and pulls the towel from around his neck and lets it hang limply from his left hand. He stands there panting for a moment, and then he jogs up.

"You're lucky I was nearly finished, idiot," he says gruffly, not bothering with a real greeting, and swings the towel down against Momoshiro's shoulder.

Momoshiro was lost in thought before Kaidoh snapped him out of it. He glares up at Kaidoh, and he just feel this anger well up in him. It's not Kaidoh's fault, he's got nothing to do with it. But he kept finding out all these things about Echizen—things he's said behind his back, and they definitely weren't compliments—and that seriously pissed him off so much.

Momoshiro stands up and faces Kaidoh.

"Punch me first. It won't feel good if I just punch you for no reason," he says, and he's deadly serious. He needs to get it out of his system, he needs to blow off some steam; Kaidoh's always been a good outlet for him. He always knew what to do when Momoshiro was angry.

That is, to shut up and fight him.

Momoshiro turns the other cheek. "Do it," he says.

Kaidoh narrows his eyes at Momoshiro. "What the fuck is wrong with you," he says, his voice slicing low through the air like a blade. He balls his fingers into fists and throws a punch at Momoshiro's face, but it's half-hearted and a little confused and Kaidoh doesn't really want to hurt Momoshiro. It's more a press of knuckles into his cheek than anything, but it's hard enough to let Momoshiro know that Kaidoh's there and he isn't backing down.

And it really didn't hurt; Momoshiro growls at Kaidoh for not being serious. He's pissed, he wants to fight, and he wants himself to hurt.

"I'm just pissed—now be serious!" Momoshiro knocks Kaidoh's arm away, and then he pushes at Kaidoh's chest. "Just fucking hit me." He stands up straight and brushes the hair out of his eyes. "I'll hit you back, if that's what you're worried about."

The look in Momoshiro's eyes sets Kaidoh's heart pounding and he grinds his teeth as he growls back, "Fine, asshole!" and swings his arm again. This time there's more force behind it and it connects with Momoshiro's jaw with a thud.

And that one did hurt, as Momoshiro's jaw starts to ache and he stumbles backwards with the force as if a bulldozer hit him. It knocks all of his thoughts out, and he's running on pure adrenaline right now. Exactly what he wanted. He clenches his fingers into a fist, and he quickly hits Kaidoh back, right on his cheek, because he's not going to let Kaidoh get away with it.

Something simply clicks between them, like it always does whenever they're fighting with each other. Only Kaidoh can make Momoshiro so out of touch with reality, to zone everything out and only focus on the movement between them, on their punches, their breathing—he's only focused on Kaidoh. And that's all he can think about. With each new punch, Momoshiro hurts more and more, but he barely notices. He doesn't want to stop and think, he wants to continue like this until he's knocked out.

Yet he doesn't end up knocked out.

They both end up taking in deep breaths as they lie on the sand of the beach. They've got bruises all over their bodies, and Momoshiro is sure Kaidoh gave him a black eye, because damn, it stings! He's lying right next to Kaidoh, their heads close to each other, staring at the blue sky above them.

"Fuck," Momoshiro curses out loud. He's still pumped and cranky. But at least he's hurting, and Kaidoh managed to calm him down a bit. He was always a good punching bag. "I think I broke my finger, Mamushi. What's your skull made out of? Lead?"

"Don't talk," Kaidoh grinds out grouchily. "Your voice is too loud." His ears are ringing and he cups his hand over the side of his face which stings where Momoshiro punched him. It feels good. He can feel on his body every place where Momoshiro hit him and the aches are weirdly satisfying, even if they were fighting over nothing. That's usually how it is with them.

When Kaidoh's chest rises and falls with each breath he can feel a swelling pain and he's sure there'll be a big bruise there. His heart is racing and he feels angry, but mostly just worn out, like he does after a long run.

He lifts his arm and punches it weakly into Momoshiro's shoulder, then drops it again. "You really are an idiot," he breathes.

"Shut up," says Momoshiro. He knocks his head against Kaidoh, for being a jerk, and to shut up him. The nice thing about Kaidoh though, was that he never asked any questions. Momoshiro could show up covered in seaweed, say 'punch me' and he'd do it—provided he hasn't yet run off with his tail between his legs because Momoshiro looked like the Loch Ness monster.

That's exactly what he needed. No questions, no nothing, just breathing in and out, and lying next to Kaidoh. Don't think of anything. Don't think of that brat. Don't think about the things he's said behind his back. Think about Kaidoh instead. Think about a great witty insult he could use the next time he felt like arguing with Kaidoh. Which is pretty much all the time, so he'd better come up with one soon.

"Your sweat smells sickenly sweet," says Momoshiro. It's supposed to be his clever and witty insult, but instead sounds like some weird perverted thing. But it's true though, Kaidoh's scent has always smelled a little sweet, and when he sweats, it becomes really overwhelming. It's kind of weird how Momoshiro could recognize Kaidoh simply by the scent of his sweat. It's nasty. He should forget about that.

"Not the good sweet kind," he adds.

"What the hell?!" Kaidoh growls. He sniffs the air. It just smells normal to him. Sweaty, but normal. But then, he's never really given much thought to what he smells like, sweating or otherwise. "Don't say that kind of shit… You're gross." He gives a glare to Momoshiro's stupid sweaty body and adds, rather immaturely, "You're the one who smells."

Momoshiro laughs at the pathetic insult. "Are you kidding me, I smell like a bouquet of roses." Mostly because he was still using rose scented shampoo.

"Here, just smell it," he says, and Momoshiro presses his head against Kaidoh's even more.

Kaidoh knocks his head back against Momoshiro's, which makes his ears start ringing a bit again. "I'm not smelling you, moron."

"Whatever." Momoshiro knocks his head right back against Kaidoh's, like they're some two stupid woodpeckers. "I smell awesome. I wish there was deodorant on this island." Actually, Momoshiro is starting to wish he wasn't on the island to begin with.

It was going fine lately, well not exactly perfectly, but Momoshiro was starting to like hunting for food, building shelters, messing around with Kaidoh. And his birthday was really awesome. It really wasn't that bad anymore … not until he found out all the stuff about Echizen.

And great, now he's thinking about it again. Kaidoh didn't knock him hard enough, but he feels like he doesn't have the energy anymore to ask for another one.

"Hey Kaidoh," says Momoshiro. He takes in a long and deep breath. "You don't hate me, right?" He knows Kaidoh doesn't, but then again, he thought he was Echizen's best friend too, and that turned upside down. Then again, this is Kaidoh, he wouldn't really hide it if he hated Momoshiro.

Not even waiting for Kaidoh's answer, Momoshiro sighs in relief. "Good. I don't either." He kicks Kaidoh's leg with his foot. "If you do, I'll smother you in your sleep."

"Good," Kaidoh echoes, and tilts his head towards Momoshiro. It's a strange angle since they're not facing each other, but he can look him in the eye this way, so he does. He holds Momoshiro's gaze for a moment before saying, "Obviously I don't."

Then he leans his head back again. "But if you do anything to me in my sleep I'll punch you in the face again."

Once more, Momoshiro laughs heartily. "Like I'd even let you." Well, maybe he would, if he ever gets pissed again. "My face already hurts enough as it is. I'm going to be sporting a black eye later tonight. I wish we had some ice on the island. Everything is so hot and humid, something cold would be nice for once. A cold drink … hmm, sounds good. Maybe some coke. God, I haven't had coke in such a long time. I want some now, in a glass bottle, you know those really cool and expensive ones they only have in restaurants, or on their stupid TV commercials. I can never actually find them at the store. I wonder why? What are they hiding? I want some … actually, I think the ship had a few. They're long gone by now though." Momoshiro finally shuts his trap and sighs; his jaw is starting to ache from talking so much after getting hit by Kaidoh's fist.

"How did people make ice in the medieval ages anyway? They didn't have a freezer back then. Do you think they just waited till winter until there was snow and the water froze over? Probably, huh." Momoshiro groans in frustration, then he turns on his side to face Kaidoh. The sand scratches his cheek, and everything feels itchy and scratchy and annoying. "I have no idea what I'm talking about anymore."

This day is really stupid. Everything is so annoying.

"Then stop talking," Kaidoh replies simply. He can feel Momoshiro's breath against the side of his face, and part of him wants to shove Momoshiro away for being so damn close, but the rest of him just wants to lie there next to Momoshiro for as long as he needs him. Maybe fight him again if he asks. Whatever Momoshiro wants.

"Believe me, wish I could Kaidoh, wish I could." After all, wasn't it his mouth that got him into this mess? This ... this thing with Echizen, and being some sort of homophobe. No matter what he says or does, people are going to call him that forever, aren't they? Well fuck that.

Doesn't being a homophobe mean you're afraid of gay people? Momoshiro looks right at Kaidoh. He's not afraid of that stupid snake, and he isn't of Echizen either—nor anyone else for that matter, and there's plenty of gay people on the island. It's stupid. Echizen is stupid. He should be more like Kaidoh, meaning to shut up. What has he even done to deserve all that stupid talk behind his back?

He treated Echizen as his best friend … nothing more. He never said anything bad about the brat. Not at all. Not even when he confessed to him and kissed him.

It hurts finding out. It really does.

And it's written all over Momoshiro's face; getting punched didn't help. Except make him feel more hurt, and look like some kicked puppy, what with his swollen eye. Right now he's just sad and hurt, and angry at finding out.

Momoshiro wonders if running really does hold all the answers. Kaidoh's always running, it seems to work for him. But he doesn't feel like running. He doesn't feel like doing anything at all, nothing but lie there in the sand, with Kaidoh right next to him, bruised and beaten by him. At least some things never change, and he's thankful for that. He wants to tell Kaidoh to continue being a stupid idiot forever, but that sounds stupid, so instead Momoshiro just calls him an idiot.

"And a running freak, too," he adds. At least that's one person Momoshiro can count on to talk badly behind his back, but never mean it. Kaidoh never means it. Echizen did. It hurts.

It hurts, it hurts.

What is he supposed to do now? Is Momoshiro really that bad of a friend? Should Kaidoh try and knock some sense into him again?

Momoshiro slips his fingers into the sand, clenching it into a fist. "Kaidoh," he starts, slowly and unsure. "What do you do when you want to get something off of your mind?" Getting punched in the face didn't work. If Kaidoh tells him to go running, he might pop a blood vessel.

Kaidoh's eyes narrow as he contemplates the question. "I don't know. Something physical. Running, or doing sports, or working out. Get your body going so you stop thinking so much..."

His own body aches, and he gets it; Momoshiro needed a distraction. Kaidoh doesn't ask from what, that's not really important, and Kaidoh isn't much of a talk-things-out kind of guy anyway. But physical stuff—that's Kaidoh's thing. That, Kaidoh can do. But they're both already kind of worn out from fighting and Kaidoh doesn't know what other physical things they could do together that wouldn't just be exhausting.

"What do you feel like doing?" he asks, glancing at Momoshiro out of the corner of his eye. Momoshiro just looks kind of deflated, not by the fight, although maybe because of that too. Kaidoh doesn't really know what to do with Momoshiro when he looks like that.

Momoshiro stays quiet for a long time. He doesn't really know what he feels like doing. He's just angry, and hurt, and he wants it to stop. He wants to shake Echizen, so that perhaps answers will fall out of him. But he can't do that.

"I don't fucking know," says Momoshiro. He sounds agitated, but it's not directed at Kaidoh, more so at himself for being indecisive and a spineless douchebag. "Running doesn't sound good. Moving my body even an inch feels like the heaviest thing on earth. Ugh. I hate this." Why didn't Kaidoh have any more suggestions? Is that really how he deals with his problems; running all the time? That seems so lame.

"You're lame, Kaidoh," says Momoshiro. He knock his fist against his shoulder, even if it feels heavy and it aches. Then something pops up in his mind. "Do I make you go running a lot?" Kaidoh did run a lot, and if he says he does it to get his mind off of something … perhaps Momoshiro sometimes was the cause of that?

That'd be weird.

"What?" Kaidoh replies indignantly. "No. Sometimes I just want to run!" His mouth pulls into a frown. "Most of the time," he corrects, then revises it again to, "Almost all of the time." Then he just kicks his leg against Momoshiro's and says, "You're stupid."

"What, what's that supposed to mean," Momoshiro kicks Kaidoh back, "moron. I'm just asking. If you're annoyed with me, just say it to my face. Don't go around and … and … hah. No way, you'd never do that." He lowers his eyebrows and stares with a serious expression at Kaidoh. "Do you talk to other people about me?" In a bad way, he means.

Well, he knows Kaidoh does, probably. That guy can probably never even utter anything nice about him in the same sentence as his name—but that's typical Kaidoh. Not like Momoshiro will be singing his praises as well. But, well, that's no secret at all. And it's not like Kaidoh truly means it, just like Momoshiro doesn't give a fuck about it either. Or at least, he sure hopes so. Kaidoh can't honestly believe his own words whenever he speaks about Momoshiro like that, right? He knows he can be a dumbass, and a moron, and a total idiot. But that's not something you mean outright. It's almost endearing the way Momoshiro and Kaidoh address each other. It's not meant to stab him right through the heart.

It isn't meant to hurt the other. That's their mutual agreement. That's how they've always been like.

In fact, Momoshiro can almost say it with a straight face, that whenever either of them calls the other an idiot, they're just saying 'hey, nice story bro' or something cool like that.

They don't hate each other.

But that's how he and Kaidoh work out. That's not how Echizen works. The brat never says anything, and Momoshiro has never said anything bad about him, aside from a few cute bratty nicknames. He's even apologized to him, several times, from the bottom of his heart, because Momoshiro knows he was acting stupid (it's much easier with Kaidoh, since Kaidoh forgives his stupidity pretty easily), so did he really deserve all those harsh comments behind his back?

The brat he thought so highly of, was doing nothing but calling him a homophobe to everyone else? The shorty he took care of constantly while they were on the island? Saved him from the ship, kept him safe and sound on the island, fed him food, built a shelter?

Did Momoshiro really deserve that pin-pointed stab through his heart?

"Hey Kaidoh," he says, voice low and sad. "Nevermind. I know you just call me an idiot to everyone else anyway."

Kaidoh just hisses. "Yeah," he agrees. He puts his hand over his chest and feels it rise and fall with each intake of breath. It still kind of stings, his whole body does, but he doesn't mind. He turns his head so he can look at Momoshiro again. "I don't think you're a complete idiot, you know."

Oh …

Momoshiro lowers his gaze, opting to stare at the crook of Kaidoh's neck. He feels himself becoming a bit bashful; he's never heard Kaidoh say something like that outright. Not without Momoshiro forcing him to say stupid things like that. It's weird, sort of strange, kind of new—but this heavy weight pressing down on him evaporates a little bit. Dissolving into thin air, and being replaced with a tiny smile.

Heh.

"Is that so," says Momoshiro. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. He knows what Kaidoh means; doesn't he always? "You're not the biggest idiot I know either." Which is true, he knows some really shitty people.

But he really rather likes Kaidoh.

Kaidoh snorts. He twists a bit in the sand, stretching himself out, feeling his muscles pull and relax. He brings the back of his hand up and rests it over his eyes.

"This is so stupid," he mutters, but it's how they are. He's used to being stupid together with Momoshiro, saying things that don't really mean how they sound, but mean a lot to him. It's easy and familiar and comfortable; Kaidoh likes it.

"You're stupid," is Momoshiro's standard reply. But he's grinning at Kaidoh. He can always count on Kaidoh's honesty, or well, he can always count on Kaidoh saying one thing, but meaning another.

For a few seconds, Momoshiro says nothing, and instead continues to lie there in the sand with Kaidoh. He listens to the ocean right behind them, calm and serene. It's kind of disgusting and unbefitting of the situation, with two bruised and beaten guys lying next to each other.

Then Momoshiro shifts from his position—his entire body aches, and his eye really hurts, but he rolls and rolls over, until he stops right next to Kaidoh. He flips his body and arches it above Kaidoh, then sits down onto his waist, and his hands reach for Kaidoh's top. That snake certainly didn't hold back on his punches, as every single fiber in his body is screaming whenever his muscles move. But. There's something else there that was also there on the day of his birthday, and subsequent days after that.

"Kaidoh," Momoshiro says with a bit more energy. He lowers his face down at Kaidoh, his hair almost touching his bandana. "I really want some chocolate strawberries right now." Momoshiro looks a bit serious for a second, until his cheekbone rises and he laughs. Food would cheer him up, most definitely, but so does Kaidoh's bewildered face.

Kaidoh huffs and glares up at him. Momoshiro's so close that it's kind of hard to glare at him without going cross-eyed, but he's used to them being in each other's faces like this. It's a little weird when Momoshiro isn't glaring at him too, though; just looking at him. Staring, really.

"Yeah, well, too bad," Kaidoh says, sounding as irritable as he can from this position, "because I told you I don't have any chocolate."

"Hmpf." Momoshiro leans back this time, straightening out his back and looking around them. "Someone's gotta have chocolate, right? I really want some now … of course I'd want a burger more, but that's even more impossible than getting sweet delicious chocolate." He turns his head back at Kaidoh, grinning once more (it actually hurts his eyes to smile this wide), clenching his grip tighter at his shirt. "If I get some chocolate, you'll make me some, right?"

Kaidoh better make him some chocolate covered strawberries. Now if only they had whipped cream too! That'd be awesome.

"Hey, how do you make whipped cream?" asks Momoshiro. Isn't it from like milk or something? Well … they had a goat, didn't they?

Kaidoh's mouth stretches out into a thin line. "I think you just, uh … need cream … for you to whip," he says flatly.

"Oh … how do you make cream?" Momoshiro scratches his cheek, feeling stupid.

"I think it's a part of the milk," Kaidoh replies. "Just … mixed in with it or something." At least, he's pretty sure he's heard that before, maybe when he was at a petting zoo.

"Heh, you sound like you don't know either." Momoshiro chuckles and pushes his fist against Kaidoh's chest. "Idiot. I guess I can go ask Tachibana, he'd definitely know. And hey—maybe we can make a cake! You said you'd make one for me." Actually no, Kaidoh said he didn't want to, but Momoshiro doesn't care.

Momoshiro closes his eyes and imagines a chocolate cake with strawberries. Moist soft angel cake, covered in a thick cream of chocolate, with strawberries dipped around on the top, each decorated with a little bit of whipped cream. That sounds so utterly good right now. Hmm …

Kaidoh looks up at Momoshiro's stupid, happy face. "Food is all you ever think about, isn't it," he says, his voice low and deadpan.

No, it's not all he thinks about, but it's definitely a good distraction, so Momoshiro stops fantasizing about the food, his eyes open and serious. He look straight at Kaidoh, as if he's secretly challenging him.

"It's not," he says. Because it's true. There's a reason he came out here. "It'd be nice if it were true though." Momoshiro sighs then he finally heaves himself off of Kaidoh and sits next to him. "So, you baking me one or not? A real one!"

"Moron," Kaidoh says grumpily. Meaning yes, probably.

"That's a yes, right?" asks Momoshiro for confirmation.

"That's an, 'I'll think about it'," Kaidoh replies in a low, disgruntled tone as he stubbornly tries to hold onto some shred of his pride. He's not going to just roll over and do whatever Momoshiro asks of him. Well, no, he probably is, but he has to at least pretend to put up a fight first.

"I want to ... uhh, help too. I'm probably just as good as you are—if not better—and two hands are better than one, right?" Momoshiro shows his hands, happy and open, at Kaidoh, lying down, serious and grumpy. Ass. He shoves his knee against Kaidoh's elbow.

"Don't look like it's the end of the world baking a cake with me, asshole."

No, it's not the end of the world. Kaidoh could think of worse things he could be doing. Anything that doesn't involve Momoshiro, for example.

He props himself up on his elbows and scowls, or tries to anyway. "Fine, whatever," he says in a tone that's annoyed and long-suffering, in spite of the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "We can make your stupid cake."

Momoshiro eyes enlarge, and he happily turns his head around to face Kaidoh with a big smile. "Really?" he asks. "You can't take back your words now. I'll punch you if you do."

Standing up from the sand, Momoshiro offers his hand to Kaidoh. "Come on, instead of going back to run, let's go check on our garden, see if the strawberries are doing fine." It's one way to keep his mind off of backstabbing best friends, so Momoshiro hopes Kaidoh will go along with his suggestion.

Kaidoh takes Momoshiro's hand and lets himself be pulled up to his feet. His bruised muscles protest as he stands and brushes himself off.

"Yeah," he says. "Sure." He doesn't feel like he could go back to running now anyway even if he wanted to.

Lingering a second or three for too long, Momoshiro slowly slips his hand away from Kaidoh's, he keeps it hanging by his side, and it feels heavy. Everything feels heavy on him. He sort of wants to reach out for Kaidoh's hand again, because he didn't feel heavy at all. It felt kind of pleasant, almost.

"Hey uhm," Momoshiro starts. He looks up at Kaidoh, and wonders what he was trying to say, but he feels kind of messed up. He shakes his head. "Never mind, let's go see it. I can taste test one strawberry, right? It won't make me sick?"

Kaidoh snorts. "Okay. One." He gives Momoshiro a flat, reluctant look, as though this is a big hassle for him. It isn't, really. That's just how he looks at Momoshiro most of the time, like he's a pain in the ass to put up with. And he can be, but Kaidoh stopped feeling like he was merely tolerating Momoshiro a long time ago. If that's all it was, he'd be off running now instead of standing there thinking about how Momoshiro's palm had felt as it slid against his when Momoshiro had pulled his hand away. Damnit. No, that's definitely not all it was.

"Don't choose one that still looks really white or green and you should be fine," Kaidoh says, and knocks his fist against Momoshiro's shoulder. Even though he doesn't put much force behind it, his knuckles still kind of sting on impact, and it's the same place he'd punched Momoshiro before during their fight, so he's sure Momoshiro feels a sting too.

"Okay, okay! Ass." Momoshiro rubs his shoulder.

Kaidoh pulls his arm back again. "Well, you can choose whichever one you want," he adds, a little quieter. "I mean, since they're yours and all."

"Heh." Momoshiro leans closer to Kaidoh, before flipping his arm over his shoulder and pulling him in a (sort of painful, for him) headlock."Well, maybe one or two are yours."

He pinches Kaidoh's cheeks (where it hurts!), chuckles at him, then runs like hell.