Rules Were Made to be Broken

‣ scene 14 [face the facts]

Kiyotaka spent the first ten minutes of the ride to the rental office in silence.

He was being, and had thus far been, unfair to Mondo, and it was beginning to make him feel awful.

Sure, he was annoyed by the interruption to his routine and Mondo's overly familiar nature, but the trucker hadn't actually done anything wrong. Mondo had helped him out several times, was always willing to offer a listening ear and friendly advice, and was nice to him and eager to see him every time they ran into one another. And how had Kiyotaka repaid that kindness? By going out of his way to reorganize his schedule just to remove him from his life.

Maybe it would be alright to be acquaintances. Friends, even. Kiyotaka had never tried being friends with someone he was attracted to before, but... maybe that would go away when he got more used to being around him. It was Mondo's fault for being so blindingly handsome in the first place. Obviously.

He thought about changing his schedule back to what it had been before. He'd get more sleep that way, and he'd probably start running into Mondo again. And maybe that was okay. It didn't have to be anything more than that. He could treat Mondo the way he'd treat anyone else, and things would be okay.

Kiyotaka decided to strike up a conversation in order to seem at least a little bit more friendly, and he happened to know just what to say.

"Fujisaki."

Mondo reacted right away. He grinned so wide that a dimple appeared in the cheek that Kiyotaka could see. Kiyotaka inhaled a sharp, irritated breath through his nose at the sight of it. Mondo just insisted on getting more attractive by the minute, even when it should have been impossible.

"So ya really do know her? I thought maybe she just recognized ya from the office that one night, since she hasn't said you're real close or anything."

"Did she really just happen to run into you in the park?!"

"She did. Honest. I thought she was hittin' on me for a second because she asked me about my biceps outta nowhere." He paused to laugh, rather fondly, at the memory. Kiyotaka was amazed— apparently Mondo was really fond of Chihiro. "But I told her she was barkin' up the wrong tree, n' then she explained that she just wanted a workout buddy. ...She's in really bad shape, honestly. Must not get out much. But she's tryin', and we're gettin' there. It's actually kinda fun to train somebody."

Kiyotaka chuckled and shook his head. Imagining the two of them hanging out together was strangely amusing. Mostly the difference in size.

"She's very nice," Kiyotaka said softly. "She's the only one in the office that really gives a damn." That last bit came out more sincerely than he had meant it to. Mondo gave him a quick pat on his leg that was likely supposed to be sympathetic.

"Yeah, she's... quite a gal." He said that with a slightly odd note in his voice that Kiyotaka didn't understand. "Speakin' of your coworkers, though, have ya quit your shitty job yet?"

Kiyotaka groaned, suddenly remembering exactly what it was about this man that drove him insane.

"Won't you just drop it already?! I've got no other choice!"

"I'm only kiddin'," Mondo laughed. "Mostly, anyway. ...But tell me, why do all this shit for your parents? It's obviously makin' ya miserable."

Kiyotaka inhaled a shaky breath and frowned. Mondo's expression softened. He gave his forearm, resting on the glove compartment, a gentle squeeze, stroking it with his thumb. Kiyotaka couldn't help the way that his skin prickled. When was the last time that someone had given him a hug? He couldn't remember, but for just a moment, he really wanted Mondo to hold him. As gruff as he was, there was a distinctive softness to him that Kiyotaka hadn't missed.