writetomyheart | [Team three] Everything

Sorry to be posting late again!

This is just a little something to commemorate the Shounentachi DVD coming out! Warning that this contains spoilers for the Shounentachi movie, including the pairing and author's note below, so please take caution when reading!

While Kuro's time on the screen was extremely short, he played a large part in Kouta's backstory, and I have to admit that I was pretty taken with this pairing. You don't find out that much about them in canon, so I decided to add a bit to their backstory. This is set after the time they were in junior high school together, and before Kuro meets Joe.

"Two birds with one stone, you know, efficiency and that sort of thing," says Kuro, grinning up at Kouta in that somehow simultaneously unbelievably cute and also inexplicably mischievous way that he does. "It's only one extra stop for me to run by the 24-hour supermarket, so I'll just grab it on my way home from work tonight."

Kouta frowns; it's hard to say no to him, especially when he makes that expression, but still... "I don't want you going out alone late at night," he replies, his frown deepening as he considers the issue. "Even if you're on your way... it could be dangerous at that time of night." He knows Kuro is always trying to be helpful, and while he appreciates the thought and knows it's a sign of just how much Kuro cares about him, he also wishes that sometimes, he'd just let Kouta take care of him. Besides, it's his own damn fault that he'd broken the handle off of one of the kitchen cabinets in their tiny, run down little apartment, and it's not exactly like he can't go out himself.

"I'm already going out alone, because if I don't I can't come home from work," Kuro replies, sticking his tongue out at Kouta from where he sits besides him on their dingy little sofa. "Or did you think I was going to teleport home from work at 12 am?"

Kouta sighs; Kuro always makes it so hard to argue with him, which seems to always complicate things beyond the point that Kouta knows how to untangle them. The whole reason they are where they are now, living together in an ancient studio apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo, having run away from their previous lives in Chiba, was because Kouta hadn't listened to what Kuro had said and instead of going to high school like Kuro, had joined a gang at the end of junior high school. Of course, that had ended in disaster when Kuro had gotten hurt by members of Kouta's own gang through Kouta's stupidity and carelessness, and then, with the gang out to get them, they'd had no choice but to run away. It's not that Kouta is unhappy where they are now; in fact, living together with Kuro is the happiest he's ever been, even if they both have to work two jobs to cover the rent, but he can never shake the feeling of guilt that if he had just listened to Kuro at junior high school graduation and not joined a violent crime organization, he wouldn't have had to uproot Kuro's life to begin with, and they'd be in a much better place right now.

But at the same time, he also knows it's not just as simple as doing whatever Kuro says, because ever since they'd first become friends in the first year of junior high and especially now that they're on their own, Kuro has always gone far too far out of his way, sacrificing his own happiness and even his safety for Kouta, and Kouta can't just stand by and let him. If Kouta let Kuro have his way, Kuro would probably be working four jobs while Kouta did nothing, honestly, and while Kouta is always touched by how much Kuro wants to support him, he also knows that it's his job to protect Kuro, now more than ever, after he'd failed so horribly in the past. And so even if he knows it's an unfortunate reality of their situation that Kuro needs to work the late shift at an izakaya to cover their costs of living, but even if he can handle (albeit nervously) the knowledge that Kuro has to take close to the last train home every night to their less-than-great neighborhood, the thought of letting him go out of his way at that time is definitely too much.

And so, "I just don't want you to get hurt," he grumbles, wrapping his arm around Kuro's waist and pulling him closer. "I can go out to the shop while you're at work."

"But you already worked a full shift of construction work today!" Kuro whines, allowing himself to be pulled closer but pouting at Kouta all the same. "You got up at 6 am and you worked all day in the heat and you need to rest!"

"I'm strong, I can handle it," Kouta says, giving him a frown in response, albeit a somewhat facetious one. "Come on, I don't want to spend all the time we have together before you have to go to work bickering about something like this."

Kuro looks dissatisfied, but doesn't say anything for the moment, whining and letting his head fall to rest on Kouta's shoulder. Kouta squeezes him a little in response, hoping that the conversation is over, but after a few moments of silence, Kuro continues, "I just want to support you... you do so much for me already."

And Kouta never knows what to say when Kuro makes that sort of claim, because it feels like Kuro has done everything for him, always, for his entire life, ever since they'd first met in junior high school and Kuro was the only one in his class willing to talk to him until now, so he frowns again, mumbling, "Shut up," in response, which isn't particularly eloquent, but it does sum up how he feels in the moment.

Kuro frowns back, and starts to argue, "But--" but Kouta doesn't want to argue anymore, and so he cuts him off with a kiss, into which Kuro relaxes almost immediately. Being on their own is sometimes incredibly overwhelming, and Kouta almost never feels like he knows the right thing to do, but at the very least, he wants Kuro to know just how much he cares about him, even if he sucks at expressing it in words.

When they break apart, Kuro is still looking a little pouty, and Kouta puts a hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair a little and offering a half-smile in hopes that Kuro will return the expression. But instead, Kuro sighs heavily, looking down for a moment and mumbling, "It's just that you're everything to me..."

But Kouta just shakes his head, moving his hand down to nudge Kuro's chin up to meet his eyes. "Same back at you," he replies, slightly embarrassed but firmly nonetheless, "So you have to let me protect you sometimes too, okay?"

And he's relieved when Kuro breaks into a small smile back at him and nods, "Okay."

Your turn,

ext_4265261!