1.1 | louder than bombs

- 22 -

"This one day," a giggle slipped past Cairo's lips, his face already twisted in mirth from what he was about to say.

"Blue, as usual, was being his idiotic self when we were in-," he paused, brows furrowing in an effort to remember the incident, "in Japan, was it? I don't remember but anyways!"

Jaemoon looked at Cairo with curiosity, the two sitting by the shore of the lake they first stopped by. Jaemoon leaned against the trunk of a shrivelled tree, its branches looking like monstrous claws. Cairo sat between his legs, nestling close to Jaemoon to steal some warmth from the Captian's parka.

"It was the last day in our itinerary, so we were just planning on hanging around- oh yeah it was Japan- in Osaka. So we wanted to take a bus to our last stop and guess what?" Cairo beamed at Jaemoon.

Jaemoon concluded that Cairo really liked talking about his escapades with Troy. He didn't mind that at all though. He understood that the two were connected by the hip since they were born, quite literally seeing how they never went more than a day without the other from all the stories he's heard so far. Moreover, he was grateful for what Troy did during the attack. He always would be.

"There was this pregnant woman standing by the far end and Blue noticed that. So he walked all the way to the back to offer her his seat but-" and he dissolved in another fit of giggles, the sweet sound tickling Jaemoon's ears and heart with warmth.

Cairo took a deep breath. "Instead of saying suwatte which means sit, he went and said 'Dozo sawatte kudasai' which meant 'Go ahead and touch me!' And what's more is the tone he said it in. Poor Blue just wanted to sound cheerful and kind to the locals but her husband thought otherwise. Let me tell you, he was a huge man. Needless to say, Blue walked about with a black eye for the next few days."

Jaemoon let out a laugh at that, wounding his hands tighter around his boyfriend.

"Is Damaris talented in such things? How is it that he always ends up messing stuff?" Jaemoon asked in good humour. Of course, he knew how hard-working and serious the grey-head is when needed but he just couldn't wrap his head around just how goofy the man can be when he wasn't serious.

"Oh, I'm past questioning that, I've come to believe that it's just how he is." Cairo jested, though his tone made it evident just how much he loved his best friend.

And Jaemoon caught that. "He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

Cairo leaned his head back against the Captain's broad shoulder while his lips tipped up with a smile. "More than he knows. You know, he was the first one I came out to," he looked down, fiddling with his fingers before continuing.

"I was a wreck that day. I was denying it for so long that it all came back crashing down on me one night," Jaemoon burrowed his head in Cairo's neck, the action drawing a sober chuckle from the medic. "I didn't know what to do, what to think even because it was all too much. A person who is very close to me, he was homophobic."

Jaemoon stilled at that, drawing in a sharp breath but he didn't move a muscle. Cairo moved his hand to thread his fingers through his Moon's dark tresses to ease his tension. "I was in Blue's room that night, sobbing my heart out from when Mistah Blue showed open disgust during the dinner when he was talking about how he got to know that his colleague was gay. We were at Troy's house for dinner that night- I honestly can't remember a time we were all not together."

"Mistah Blue?" Jaemoon asked in a small voice.

"Troy's dad. I had a problem pronouncing 'R' when I was young. That's why I call him Blue, Troy I mean. And the name stuck for their family since the three of them have such bright blue eyes." Jaemoon nodded into Cairo's neck, mumbling a small apology for interrupting before asking him to continue.