EVERLASTING [matchablossom one shots]

ii. romance novel [pt. 1]

The sun was beginning to set on the crowded streets of Okinawa outside the floor to ceiling windows of Kaoru's calligraphy shop.

It had been a hard day's work.

He had an influx of new orders come in since it was nearing Valentine's day, and people wanted to get gifts for their loved ones. Not only did he get a ton of orders that he had to process, but he was busy at work with tasks he'd already received. His workspace was surrounded with scrolls, each of them with beautiful strokes of ink forming kanji that each stood for compassion, or devotion, or love. But that wasn't even the worst of it.
A newly-married couple had flown all the way from Tokyo to get a large canvas done by Kaoru for their bedroom. Instead of just getting a single, symbolic word, like he usually made, they'd asked for a quote. Or rather, a lyric. They'd wanted their canvas to say "To you, I'll give the world", a lyric from an American song by the singer Fleetwood Mac.

It disgusted Kaoru.

All of the people who had come in and out of his shop today were so obsessed with each other that it seemed as if nothing else in the world mattered.

But in truth, Kaoru only felt this way because he longed for it too. Ever since his high school days it was something he'd searched for. And he knew exactly where to find it. The days they'd spent together skating down boulevards recklessly, without any other care in the world except for each other... those were the days he wanted back. The days spent with Kojiro.

But now, the two of them have separate lives. Lives that don't intersect, and aren't together like they once were. The only times their paths truly cross are at S. Where they can be their true selves again as they once were when they were younger.

The only problem for Kaoru was if Kojiro didn't see him the same way he once did.

The same way he did when they'd skate next to each other in the setting sun, holding hands and staring deep into each other's eyes, not caring about any bumps in the road ahead of them, both metaphorically and literally. And if Kojiro didn't want that back, then Kaoru would never again be able to feel that joy that he longed for.

He packed up the last of his work and locked up his shop for the night.

He decided that he'd take a stroll down the town to clear his mind. It was winter, so there was a cool breeze blowing through the city and the leaves of it's trees, although it was still a mild temperature in the afternoon. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle of the city, he felt a calm wash over him during his walk. He let the road take him wherever, and eventually settled on stopping at the library.

He walked up the long steps, and opened up a side of the double doors. Upon entering the building, he noticed there were few people here. In this day and age, people can get any book on their phone, he thought, if they even read them at all. He gave a kind nod to the clerks at the front as he walked past them and to a section of novels. The library had big signs over the shelves that alerted the patrons as to what genre the books on each shelf were. Kaoru briefly skimmed through the murder mystery aisle, and made his way to the fantasy section. He really didn't plan on checking out anything, but he did find a few stories that piqued his interest. As he was flipping through the pages of a novel he had picked up, he turned the corner to go to the next aisle but was abruptly stopped by the back of a tall figure (whom he had bumped into by not paying attention to his surroundings).

"My apologies!" said Kaoru nervously as he adjusted his glasses.

The man turned around, "Oh, no worries," he said with a kind smile as he was turning his attention from the shelf in front of him. "Wait- KAORU?!"

He should've known that the only person stupid enough to block his path would be the one and only Kojiro Nanjo.

"Maybe if you weren't such a big, dumb, gorilla of a man you wouldn't have been in my way!" Kaoru said, crossing his arms and looking off as if he'd taken great offense from the situation.

"Hey, no need to get mad considering it was you who ran into me."

"Well I didn't run into you, I bumped into you! And if your damn muscles weren't so much bigger than your brain, maybe I wouldn't have bumped into you." Kaoru added a good deal of emphasis to the "bumped", to show how big the difference was from "running" into him.

"Don't act like you aren't a fan of em', Pinky."

Kaoru kept his arms crossed and rolled his eyes dramatically. He fought for his life to hold back the blush that was beginning to form on his cheeks. The only thing he could say to respond was "Such a stupid nickname" under his breath.

"Anywho," Kojiro said, reaching up and placing a book back on the shelf. As he did Kaoru got a whiff of the sweet scent of his cologne, the cinnamon aroma lingering in the air as he dropped his arm back down and shifted the books in his hand to it. He watched intently as Kojiro wrapped in his arm and held them close to his chest, as if he was making it easier to carry them although Kaoru knew well that the matcha-haired man would have no problem carrying them anyway. As Kojiro spoke, Kaoru broke out of this trance. "I never knew you were a romance fan."

"What?!?" Kaoru had truly woken up from his daydreaming now.

"I mean, we are in the romance section. You must've been looking for a nice read here." A smirk was forming on the taller man's face.

"I do not waste my time with such frivolous fantasies. As someone else who runs their own business, you of all people should know."

"Frivolous, huh?" Kojiro shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "Way I see it, love is motivating. The characters in these books wake up every morning with true joy once they've found their lover. Their soulmate. I find it inspiring." As Kaoru looked at the books Kojiro was now motioning to in his arm, he noticed that all three were romance novels. "And as a business owner, I know how important inspiration and motivation are."

Damn him. Damn Kojiro for having such a way with words.

This time, Kaoru had no wise crack or witty remark to come back with. "So you're a romance fan?"

"Yup." Kojiro smiled knowing he had won their verbal sword-play. "I like a ton of genres, especially action and adventure, but every now and then I get into these periods where I just exclusively read romance. I dunno why, but I like the 'happy for them, yet sad for myself' feeling it gives me. You know what I mean?"

Kaoru knew exactly what he meant.

"I guess I can see what you're trying to say." Kaoru finally decided to give the man some grace.

Kojiro glanced out the window behind them. Kaoru didn't miss the muscles in his neck as he turned his head.

"Hey, it's getting late. Whaddya say we... I dunno, get some ice cream? Maybe take a walk by the beach?"

"What, is that one of the lines from one of those books you're holding?"

Kaoru swore he could see a faint tint of red dusting Kojiro's cheeks.