Rules Were Made to be Broken

‣ scene 12 [night ride]

"So, listen, Taka... If ya just tell me the truth, I won't judge ya. Do you have a drinking problem, or what?"

"I told you not to call me that!" Kiyotaka snapped. He was glaring out of the window at the quickly-darkening sky and not thinking about what Mondo would look like on a motorcyle in that jacket. Or maybe in just the jacket. ...God dammit. "And as I already told you, Oowada, the car seized up without any prompting from me. It's just a coincidence."

"Whatever ya say. ...I told ya to just call me Mondo, though."

"Why should I obey your requests if you're just going to ignore mine and call me whatever you like?!"

"But you're the one who told me to call ya Taka."

"When?! I have no recollection of that!"

"Of course ya don't. Y'said the only thing you could remember was the edge of my diamond tat. ...I like Taka better for ya, though. 'S cute. N' you're cute."

Oh. Kiyotaka flattened, slightly, in his seat, moving his gaze forward to stare out of the windshield.

He really didn't remember much of anything about the night that they'd met. Maybe that explained why Mondo was so overly familiar, why he acted like he knew what Kiyotaka was thinking... because, perhaps, Kiyotaka had told him a great deal more about himself and his thought processes than he should have.

Deep down, he had always liked being called Taka, but no one had called him that in years. Not since his parents had started hating him. So it had always felt like a strange thing to ask for. But he'd apparently asked Mondo, so... the man knew a lot more than he was letting on.

...Wait, did he seriously just call me cute? Kiyotaka shook his head to dismiss that thought. He had been hearing things. Or Mondo had been making fun of him. Probably the latter, since he seemed to so enjoy getting a rise out of him. ...In more ways than one.

"...Y'gonna quit bein' grouchy now, or do I have to stop so you can take a nap?" Mondo asked. He seemed like he was only half-joking. Kiyotaka must have looked very plainly tired.

"Where are your cigarettes?" Kiyotaka asked, dodging the question. The little shelf near the ashtray was empty. Mondo smiled.

"I don't keep 'em with me on off days so I won't get tempted."

"Off days?"

"Yeah. I'm down to one every other day."

"Oh. That's... That's good. That's great, actually."

Mondo nodded, clearly proud of himself. Something was kind of endearing about that. He didn't try to dismiss the compliment, and that was fair and made sense, because he'd earned it. It was a kind of authenticity that very few people had. It was nice that he was genuinely proud of his own progress.

"When did you start wearin' glasses?"

"A-Ah." Kiyotaka took them off and put them away in his breast pocket as soon as he realized. "Just a couple of weeks ago. My eyesight is starting to go, but I don't need to wear them all the time... Just for things like reading and driving."

He couldn't help but blush. He didn't like wearing the glasses. He was already self-conscious about his eyes and his strong brow, and the frames drew even more attention to those problem features. For some reason, Mondo frowned at their absence.

"...I like 'em. They suit ya," he insisted. Kiyotaka snorted and shook his head.

"Don't bother."

Mondo snickered.