SK8 the Infinity One Shots (Fluff)

Cherry x Joe

Cherry POV

When one talks about their world-shattering, they tell you of the darkness that ate them whole. How everything went dark. That was not what I experienced as my world shattered.

As Adam's board hit my face I felt everything I thought I knew about him disappear. The world turned into a bright light of nothing but white. The pain not settling in yet as everything was breaking, I had the sensation that I was burning. My head ringing as Adam spoke.

"It was simple. Your skating is-"

"Boring."

The Adam I had known. The Adam I had fallen in love with. He was truly gone. Dead.

I had once loved him. Dearly. Back then, we were nothing more than boys. High school boys that participated in skating. Skating that brought us all together. I was amazed by him. Loved him. And yet. I was nothing more than boring...

I was a fool to believe I could be a weakness to him. That he wouldn't hurt me because somewhere deep inside he still loved me. Even if only a platonic love.

While I didn't love him after I saw what he had become all those years ago. There was still a part of me that did. Still love him.

Hope to get the old Adam back.

I could no longer make any sense of the noises around me. There were so many. Until my body was moving. I wasn't moving. My body was.

I felt safe in a new warmth. Leaning into the muscled body that was now carrying me. The pain starting to settle in. My head throbbing. "Kojiro..."

"I'm here. Shhhh." He stroked my hair, the flaming sensation stronger than the pain.

"I'm not.." it was hard to talk, "I'm not boring.."

"I know. You're not boring. Now stop talking. Okay?"

I don't remember anything after those words.

Joe POV

My focus was Kaoru. I wanted nothing more than for him to be okay. I wasn't good with words. But I had hope the ones I chose did well. His skating always amazed me. Since the beginning. Even if overly calculated.

Back in high school, I loved him. But he loved Adam, which wasn't surprising. Adam was Adam. And I was just me.

Stroking his hair made me smile despite the situation we were in. I couldn't help it. I always wanted to touch his hair. The soft pinkness of it, the femininity of the longness of it. At first I had thought it was just because he reminded me of a girl. But there was no doubt Kaoru was a boy, and while I left that part of my feelings for him in the past, looking down at him, and the worry I held for him. It all reminded me of those feelings I had pushed away.

There wasn't a chance I was leaving him alone. Neither of us had much connection to our family. So I would have to stay with him long enough to be by his side. Once they realized no one else was coming.

Cherry POV

I'm not sure why, but I slept a long time. It was unlike me to sleep for that long. I made sure to enjoy exactly eight hours each night. My body wasn't used to sleeping longer. Leaving my groggy when my eyes eventually did open.

At first I was angry. Though I couldn't feel him holding my hand, it was annoying to see the gorilla holding my hand. Snoring as he drooled on my bedside. But something changed. As I looked at him I saw someone more than just the dimwit I'd known since high school. I saw someone that cared for my general well-being. Someone that stayed by my bedside. Knowing he would have to put up a fight against the hospital staff, assuming that they could only allow my family entrance to my room.

I will admit, a small smile lifted my lips as I thought about the care he had gone through to be there for me. To assure me. And comfort me. He may have been one oversized dimwit gorilla. But he was kind, and he was my dear friend.

Joe POV

I woke to Kaoru's slender fingers in my hair. "If you drool anymore you'll flood the hospital." His voice was soft. No malice or real snicker in his tone as there usually was. As I opened my eyes I met his. They made my heart pound.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

They were golden, and pierced through me. He hadn't looked at me this way in years. This look. This look had made me fall in love with him. Was maybe, just maybe, pulling back.

"Right," I sat up, too tired to fight back as I wiped the remaining drool from my mouth. It was a bit embarrassing for him to see that and, ACK! He probably heard me snoring too.

"Thank you," he was smiling. Kaoru was really smiling at me. ME.

"You would have done the same for me," I hadn't noticed but I held his hand tighter. Not enough to hurt him, but more than a normal grip.

"I know, but. You really," he looked away, but I saw the tear that streamed down his cheek before he could hide it from me. "You really stayed with me. And... just... thank you." If i wasn't mistaken, Kaoru stumbled over his words. He wasn't a man that did that. He was precise, always knowing what he wanted to say and said it. So why did he hesitate? Why didn't his words flow like they usually did?

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

"Kaoru," I leaned over, standing, and placed my other hand under his chin and forced him to look into my eyes. "You deserve everything." I didn't exactly know what I had said. But they were the words I felt needed to be spoken.

His eyes sparkled in the night. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. His lips were soft as I brushed my thumb over them. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. He was. So. Beautiful.

Cherry POV

Suddenly his lips were on mine. It was like he was hungry. The way he kissed me... was so.. passionate. Every part of my body told me not to kiss back, but I betrayed every instinct.

He pulled away, and I looked into his brown eyes. I hadn't realized how beautiful the color red could be. And that a tan really could make someone more attractive. Making my hand against his cheek a stark comparison.

So.

Beautiful.