ｐｌａｓｔｉｃ ｔａｓｔｅ || ｊｏｊｉａｎ

ｆａｃｅ/ｆａｃｅ

Joji hadn't had much more trouble since the night Ian called to check on him. For the most part, the man stayed in his bedroom, laying in the dark and thinking to himself. The only times he left were to make ramen maybe once a day for the past week and get water so he didn't die of dehydration. 

It had been a week and every night before Joji fell asleep, Ian called to check on him and see how he was doing. They'd talk for almost an hour, Joji mainly only listening to the others calming voice after coaxing him to talk about his day, and once Ian was convinced that his friend was safe, they'd hang up.

Today's call ended a bit different than usual, though. It was small but, to each other, it meant the world. 

"Jo', you have to go too sleep soon, I don't want you to be all exhausted tomorrow." Ian's smile was almost audible through the shitty overseas iPhone conversation.

"I know, I know. I can't wait to see you, dude. Your flights tomorrow, yeah?" Ian hummed a 'yes' in response before Joji let out a yawn. "Well, I just want you to know I'm gonna hug the shit out of you."

"Good, you need someone to hug. Goodnight, Joji." 

"G'night, Ian. Love you." Joji quipped in his exhausted delusion.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love you too, faggot." Ian chuckled as he hang up, out of breath from what had just happened as it finally clicked in his mind. For the rest of the night, he was unable to stop smiling.

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The next day dragged on slower than anything Joji could remember. He knew Ian left in the morning but he had no fucking idea when he would get to Japan. Regardless, he walked around all the touristy areas near the airport as he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And finally he got a text from Ian.

Ian iCunt: Hey, my flight is gonna land real fuckin soon. Like, fifteen minutes I think. You better be waiting for me."

Joji's face lit up in excitement as he jumped up from his spot on a park bench and ran to the nearby airport to wait for his friend. His feet kept falling over each other and he almost fell flat on his face about four times, but it didn't matter. He hadn't seen Ian in so long that nothing mattered. He just needed to get to that goddamn airport.

He ran almost as fast as his thoughts, people giving him odd looks as he passed them by. Joji made his way to the terminal he was supposed to pick Ian up at and sat down on the uncomfortable chair in the waiting area, unable to stay still. When he saw the plane pull into the airport through the large windows that covered the wall next to him, he got up and started to pace the room. Coming down the walkway, he saw Ian for the first time in months. And damn, did he look exhausted.

As soon as they made eye contact, Ian's face lit up and he ran as fast as he could towards the other. He plowed through people and dropped his carry-on bag, tackling his friend in a warm hug. They stayed there, taking in the glory of the moment as heat rose in Joji's face. Feeling as close to someone as this didn't happen too often for him, in soaking in what he could instantly made it feel as if a weight lifted off his shoulders. 

The two of them dropped their arms to their sides and they walked in a state of silent delight to the luggage claiming area. 

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When Ian walked into Joji's apartment, he didn't know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't this. It was dark and there were clothes and broken glass everywhere. His couch had been flipped upside down and the cushions were nowhere to be seen. The kitchen was worse, though. Food was spilled all over the place, containers had broken open and there was shattered glass all over the floor.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. Watch out for the- the glass." Joji whispered, head dropping in shame.

"No, it's okay. Don't worry, dude. I get it." The taller man said, awkwardly hugging the other.

They walked into Joji's room and sat on the small mattress together in a comfortable silence. Ian looked beside him and saw him playing with his hands, something Joji only ever did if he was nervous.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" He asked, placing a hand on his friends knee in a kind-of-supportive-yet-kind-of-awkward way.

"Yeah, dude, I'm fine." Joji tried to say, words getting caught in his throat as tears threatened to spill.

"I know you aren't, though." Tears were clearly rimming his eyes.

"What makes you say that?" He pursed his lips and clenched his fists to try and keep from showing an emotional response to what was happening.

"It's the reason I flew out to see you, Joj'. I'm not stupid. I know you aren't okay." Ian sighed and wrapped his arm around Joji, allowing him to bury his head in the crook of his neck and cry.

 It was weird at first, as it was clear Joji was trying to hold back, but he couldn't. He let his guard down. He let down the walls he tried to build. He was weak. Vulnerable. Ian could see this, and he wanted to help, but he didn't know how and it frustrated him to no end. He rubbed his back and spoke nonsense words of reassurance to calm him down.

"I-I don't even know what happened, Ian. I just- I don't know- I broke and I hate it because everything is messed up because of me." Joji sobbed as his friend held him close, their legs tangled together in validating attempts of comfort.

"It's okay, not everything is messed up. We can always spend a day cleaning up, right? No different then helping Max clean after a video, we can fix it. We'll go grocery shopping, we'll get new lightbulbs, we can do this." Ian looked over and smiled down at Joji, who had been calming down with the warmth of the other holding him.

"I love you, Ian."

"I love you, too."