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Kojiro's eyes widened, feeling startled as he heard his phone ringing non-stop. Looking at the time on the clock, he saw that it was one in the morning. Reluctantly he picked up his phone thinking about how comfortable he was sleeping until a moment ago, but when he saw Kaoru's name on the screen, his heart skipped a beat thinking that something bad could have happened to his boyfriend.
“Kaoru? Are you okay?” Kojiro asked hastily as he answered the call.
The first thing Kojiro heard on the other end of the line was Kaoru's sobs, and that only worsened his worry. Kojiro felt something tighten in his chest with the need to be close to Kaoru.
“N-No. I've had a really ugly fight with my parents and I can't stand it anymore, I need to get out of here.” Kaoru explained while sobbing.
The relationship that Kaoru had with his parents, let's say, was not the best lately. And that was worsening Kaoru's anxiety episodes.
“Do you want me to come over?” Kojiro asked worriedly.
“I don’t want to bother you. I'm already being a nuisance by calling you so late. But I needed to hear your voice. I'm sorry.” Kaoru said mournfully.
Kojiro sighed. He hated when the anxiety took over Kaoru's mind and made him think things like that. Kojiro would do anything for Kaoru; and if that meant having to go get him at any hour of the day, wherever he was needed, he would do it without a moment's hesitation.
“Kaoru, listen to me,” Kojiro began calmly, “you are not a nuisance and you never bother me. And I want you to pack a backpack with clothes for the whole weekend because I'm going to pick you up right now, okay?” Kojiro explained as lovingly as he could.
“O-Okay…” Kaoru answered, trying to contain the tears for a moment.
As soon as the call ended, Kojiro put on a sweatshirt over his pajama top, sweatpants, and sneaked out of the house as quietly as possible after putting on his shoes.
Kaoru's house was only five minutes away from his, but he still ran there as fast as he could so as not to keep Kaoru waiting any longer than necessary.
As soon as he arrived, Kojiro texted Kaoru to let him know. He entered the garden of the Sakurayashiki’s and stood under Kaoru's window to help him down. Kaoru had already snuck out of the house a thousand times with Kojiro's help, and this wouldn't be the last time. His window wasn't too high, but he still needed someone's help to get in and out of the house without getting hurt.
Kaoru opened his window and as soon as he saw Kojiro, his smile lit up his features for an instant, though his eyes were still red and puffy from crying so much. He first handed Kojiro his backpack, then climbed onto the windowsill to carefully hang from it. Kojiro stretched out his arms and when he was sure that he would be able to catch Kaoru as he jumped, Kaoru let go and fell into his boyfriend's arms.
Kaoru immediately wrapped his arms around Kojiro's neck and hugged him tightly. Kojiro pulled him against his body and kissed his temple.
“Thanks for coming.” Kaoru said in a whisper.
“Thank you for calling me.” Kojiro replied.
It had taken a lot of time for Kaoru to learn how to ask for help when he wasn't feeling well, but step by step he was starting to get better at it, and Kojiro was very proud of him.
“Did you leave any note for your parents?” Kojiro asked.
“Yeah, I left them one saying that I'm with you and not to worry about me. Though I doubt they will.” Kaoru explained.
When they finally got out of there, Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief.
Kojiro didn't want to tell him at that moment that he was sure his parents would worry about him, because he knew that right now that topic was a tricky thing to talk about with Kaoru.
“Do you want to explain to me what happened?” Kojiro asked.
Kaoru held onto his arm tightly and sighed.
“The school called to tell them about the last fight I had with that second-year brat. I tried to explain to them that it was because I was defending a first-year boy, but they wouldn't hear me out. They were so furious because this is the third fight I got into in the last month, and according to them, I am dishonoring the Sakurayashiki name.” Kaoru explained, visibly upset.
Kojiro was not a supporter of violence, but almost all the times Kaoru got into fights was to defend classmates and other students from bullies, and that, in Kojiro's humble opinion, was not wrong, quite the opposite in fact.
And that was something that it seemed Kaoru's parents were never going to understand. For them, the reputation of the family’s name was more important than the fact that their son always defended the ones that needed it.
“They'll get over it. Now think that you're going to spend the whole weekend chilling with me.” Kojiro said to try to cheer him up.
Kaoru looked at him with concern.
“What if they come looking for me at your house?” he asked, frowning.
It was then that Kojiro had a fantastic idea.
“They won't find us.”
“Where?” Kaoru asked curiously.
Kojiro grinned from ear to ear.
“While camping.”
The next morning, while Kojiro let Kaoru sleep for a couple more hours, he took the chance to prepare their backpacks with everything necessary for that impromptu trip. He made a few bentos so they would have enough food for lunch and dinner; he filled several bottles with water; and took the flashlight, a tent and two sleeping bags from the storage room. He packed warm clothes for himself and Kaoru in case it got cold; snacks and everything else he could think of to survive in the woods for a night.
After waking up Kaoru, preparing breakfast for the two of them, and taking a shower, they grabbed their backpacks and headed to the train station. There they took a train that left them near one of the busiest camping areas in town; and Kojiro hoped it was also safe enough.
When they reached the woods where they were going to camp, Kojiro was glad to see that in the distance there were several families camping as well, and that calmed him down a bit. They set down their tent, unfolded their sleeping bags, and left their backpacks inside the tent.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Kojiro asked.
“Yeah, I'd like to see the lake, I think it's not very far from here.” Kaoru said.
“Well, let's go find it then!” Kojiro exclaimed enthusiastically.
Kojiro intertwined his hand with Kaoru's and the two set off in search of the lake.
Kaoru was right; it was not far from where they had set their tent down. There was no one else around, and Kojiro was very pleased to see Kaoru so relaxed and calm.
Kojiro hugged Kaoru from behind and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“I have a surprise for you.” Kojiro said.
Kaoru turned in the embrace so he could look at him suspiciously.
“What is it?” Kaoru asked curiously.
Kojiro laughed.
“If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise.”
Kaoru put on his best pleading face, knowing he wouldn't have to say anything else for Kojiro to fall for his charms and tell him what the surprise was.
“Okay, okay! I've brought marshmallows to roast over the campfire later.” Kojiro explained with a big smile.
Kaoru always said that the day they went camping he would like to have the true camping experience of roasting marshmallows over a campfire; And what kind of boyfriend would Kojiro be if he didn't grant Kaoru those little wishes he had?
“I love you so much.” Kaoru said, peppering Kojiro’s cheeks with kisses.
“I love you too.” Kojiro answered, grinning and hugging him tightly.
After walking through the forest and collecting firewood for later, they returned to the camping area to eat lunch. Kojiro watched as Kaoru happily ate; feeling how calm his heart was at seeing how carefree Kaoru finally seemed to feel.
They usually spent the weekends skateboarding at Crazy Rock, and while Kojiro loved beefing against Kaoru and other skaters, he also loved spending quality time alone with his boyfriend.
When the sun finally started to set down on the horizon, Kojiro decided to start setting the firewood ready for the bonfire. Kaoru ran for the bag of marshmallows and sat down on a rock next to the logs Kojiro was stacking.
“Don't get too excited yet, I'm not going to turn it on until it's completely dark outside.” Kojiro explained while laughing.
“Okay party pooper.” Kaoru replied with a pout, going back inside the tent and stretching dramatically over his sleeping bag.
Kojiro went into the tent and snuggled up next to Kaoru.
“How are you feeling?” Kojiro asked, stroking Kaoru's hair.
Kaoru closed his eyes and smiled.
“Better, I've been anxiety-free all day. Thank you for taking such good care of me and bringing me here.” Kaoru answered with a big smile, giving him a kiss afterwards.
Kojiro smirked, hugging Kaoru against his body; peppering him with kisses.
“Do you want to have dinner now? When we finish we can light the bonfire.” Kojiro suggested.
Kaoru sat up and smiled widely.
“Yes!” Kaoru exclaimed.
Kojiro laughed. Seeing Kaoru so happy was making his heart feel warm and full of happiness. And if it were in his power, Kojiro would do anything to always see Kaoru like this.
As soon as they had dinner Kaoru came out of the tent with the flashlight and the bag of marshmallows, jumping up and down with excitement like a little kid.
“Come on!” Kaoru urged him, who had already sat down on the same rock as before.
Kojiro lit a match to ignite the leaves and twigs he had placed under the logs. Slowly, the small fire began to consume the logs as well.
The orange color of the flames illuminated everything around them, giving it a magic atmosphere. Kojiro stared at Kaoru, who was focused on looking at the fire. Kojiro sometimes wondered, after so many years with Kaoru by his side, how could he be so lucky to have him in his life? Many people told them that relationships that start in their teenage years have no future, but Kojiro thought otherwise; he was sure that he was going to spend his whole life with Kaoru. And for moments like this, by the campfire, where Kojiro felt like he was falling in love with Kaoru all over again, he knew he was absolutely right.
Kojiro sat down next to Kaoru and put his arm around his shoulders to pull him towards his body.
“I love you so much.” Kojiro said, kissing the top of his head.
Kaoru looked at him with a sheepish smile before kissing him. Kojiro looked at him lovingly, feeling butterflies in his stomach.
“And I love you too.” he answered, smiling widely. “What?” Kaoru asked, seeing how Kojiro was still looking at him so intently.
“Nothing, just that I feel immensely lucky to have you in my life." Kojiro explained.
Kaoru smiled sheepishly and hugged Kojiro tightly.
“I feel the same. The day I decided to befriend you in kindergarten was the day I made the best decision of my life.” Kaoru said, grinning.
Kojiro smiled, feeling his heart skip a beat.
“Let's roast the marshmallows before we start crying saying sappy things to each other.” Kojiro said, laughing.
“It's your fault for being a huge sap.” Kaoru teased, finally opening the bag of marshmallows.
“But you love me like that.”
“That's true.” Kaoru stated.
Kojiro strung a few marshmallows onto a couple of sticks and handed one to Kaoru. When Kaoru munched the first roasted marshmallow his eyes widened comically. His expression was full of happiness as he chewed on the candy, making Kojiro laugh.
“Is it good?” Kojiro asked.
Kaoru nodded enthusiastically, popping another marshmallow into his mouth.
Kojiro ate one, and although he wasn’t a huge fan of them, he couldn't deny that roasted like this they had a flavor that made them much more appetizing. Kaoru skewered his branch with as many marshmallows as he could, and when they were roasted he tried to put three at a time in his mouth, making his cheeks look like the ones of a hamster. It was so cute, and Kojiro took the opportunity to take as many photos as he could.
As soon as Kaoru got sleepy, Kojiro put out the fire and they went into the tent to change into their pajamas. Kojiro smirked. Knowing Kaoru's sleeping troubles, the fact that he felt like going to sleep so soon remarked how much his boyfriend needed a break away from his family.
“Can we sleep in the same bag?” Kaoru asked with a mischievous smile.
Kojiro rolled his eyes, smiling.
“I don't know if we're going to fit, but yeah.” Kojiro agreed, getting into his sleeping bag.
Kaoru got into Kojiro's bag, and although they were quite tight, at least they fit. Kojiro thought that they were going to break the zipper at any moment now, but as soon as Kaoru turned to hug him and hid his face in Kojiro’s neck, the sleeping bag didn’t matter anymore.
“Can you sing to me?” Kaoru asked in a whisper.
Since they were kids, Kojiro had gotten used to singing a song to Kaoru that always relaxed him and helped him sleep, and the fact that ten years later he was still asking for that same song made his heart pound and flooded his body with a comforting and warm feeling.
“Of course.”
As he sang, Kojiro gently stroked Kaoru's hair until he felt him gradually relax more and more, and when Kaoru finally fell asleep, Kojiro kissed the top of his head and closed his eyes as well, pulling Kaoru gently against his body.
“I love you.” Kojiro whispered in Kaoru's ear before falling asleep.
Maybe it wasn't in his power to protect Kaoru from all the things that could harm him in this world, but he could make his life a little better; a little happier. And Kojiro planned to strive until the last of his days to make Kaoru feel like the luckiest and most loved person in the universe.