MATCHABLOSSOM WEEK'22 (ENG)

Bonfires and marshmallows.

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.