*Neku shows Joshua all the meme and cat videos he saved and waited all day to show Joshua because "I thought you might like this" and wanted to personally see his reactions*
( fluster him )
It’s not just the fact that Neku had been stockpiling things to show Joshua while he was away all day, but waiting to see him in person to show him is what truly struck his core. Neku had been thinking about him all day. For someone like Joshua who, more or less, feels like an ephemeral figure in the RG, to occupy space in his favorite human’s mind is one of the deepest sentiments he could ever ask for.
And worse yet, Neku’s caught him completely off-guard with this, rendering him a red-faced dithering idiot in his doorway. To save himself further embarrassment over such a simple gesture making him shy as a schoolboy, he crowds himself into Neku’s lap and tucks his head up under his chin where he can’t look directly at him.
A fic based on @abnormallynicehere‘s older au. Their art is fantastic, so you should all give it a look!
Neku groaned and rubbed his temples; he could already feel the impending headache.
He loved Shiki, really he did, but it was way too early in the morning for her bubbly personality. And the ringtone Neku had picked out for her suddenly made him regret every life decision he ever made in his life. “What?”
“Sheesh, good morning to you too, Mr. Grumpy-pants.”
Neku double-checked the time on his phone before he put it back to his ear. “Shiki, it’s like 7:30 in the morning. You know I’m not a morning person.”
“Yeah but you don’t have classes today, and I wanted to catch you before you got too busy!” The excitement in her voice would have been charming if he wasn’t still half-asleep. “You’re free later, right? Can we get together? I wanted to show you and the others something.”
The others – meaning Beat and Rhyme probably. And if they were going, then he probably didn’t have a choice in the matter. “Besides, it just…feels like we should do something today, you know?”
“Why?”
There was a brief moment of silence on the other end of the line. “Neku, don’t you know what today is?”
This was getting dangerously close to something he had a feeling he wasn’t ready for. “Uh…”
“Come on. It’s the five-year anniversary of when we came back to life.”
Oh.
Neku was suddenly a little more awake. He finally sat up in bed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. And it’s been way too long since the four of us hung out together, so…”
Right. Despite his lingering irritation, Neku couldn’t help but smile. “I get it,” he replied. “Usual spot at the usual time?”
He could picture Shiki beaming so easily. “Yeah! We’ll see you there! Thanks Neku!”
Neku couldn’t help but think there was no reason to thank him when they hung up. It wasn’t like he really did or said anything special. This day was kind of a big deal after all, so of course he’d hang out with his friends.
Still. “Five years…damn.” 1,826 days since he was revived, and 1,802 days since he’d seen…
‘No, don’t go down that road again, Neku,’ he reminded himself bitterly. ‘You’re past this. You’ve moved on.’
But goddamn if it still didn’t ache.
Neku glanced out the window. ‘I wonder how you’re doing…’
--
“Look!” Shiki proudly sat Mr. Mew on their shared table.
“Oh, you found your pig,” Neku joked, and promptly received an elbow jab from Shiki in retaliation. It made him laugh anyway. Making fun of Mr. Mew never got old, no matter what Shiki said.
“’s cool you found ‘in,” Beat said in between bites. It was pretty disgusting, and Neku wished desperately that Beat would learn to stop doing that after all these years. Ugh.
He was surprised when Rhyme actually ignored Beat’s bad manners. Instead, she beamed at Shiki. “Yeah, that’s great! Where did you finally find him?”
“So you’ll never believe this-” Shiki cut herself off with a laugh. “He was flopped over in the back of my closet. I don’t even remember going in there with him!”
For a brief moment, Neku wondered if Mr. Mew could still move on his own…nah. That wasn’t possible, not in the RG anyway, right? “Oh, and that’s not all!” Shiki held out her hand and all eyes were drawn to the ring on her thumb.
It looked incredibly familiar. “Hey, isn’t that…”
“Yeah! I finally found the ring Eri gave me!” It was just one of her simple silver bands, but the sentimental value couldn’t be measured in words. Shiki had been beside herself when she had lost it, and she couldn’t look at Eri in the eyes for weeks. “I thought I lost it for good, but you know what? Mr. Mew was lying right on top of it when I found him!”
Huh. Maybe he spoke too soon, Neku mused. “Whoa. That’s like some UG shit or somethin’, ain’t it?” Beat finally had the decency to swallow his food before speaking. “Maybe?”
“Maybe,” Shiki replied with a shrug. “But I dunno. Mr. Mew’s always been kind of weird like that. Whenever something happens with him, I always feel like…”
“Premonitions, right?” Neku spoke up as he sat down his chopsticks. “You told me about them before.”
Beat and Rhyme’s eyes were drawn back to Shiki, and she nodded after a bit. “Yeah. But I think this is a good omen this time. Finding something you lost can never be bad, right?”
Maybe. It was hard to say, but Shiki hadn’t ever been wrong about this sort of thing before. Neku sighed and sipped his drink, quietly listening to Beat and Rhyme asking her questions.
Well, whoever the omen was directed at, hopefully they’d appreciate it.
--
Neku probably should have learned by now to trust Shiki’s instinct.
The scramble was as busy as ever, and it was a miracle Neku had even seen him at all. Or maybe it wasn’t…
He only saw him for a brief second, but to Neku, it felt like time had stopped. Those eyes, that smile – Neku cold never forget them for the rest of his life, no matter how hard he tried. “J-!”
But as soon as the second was over, his target was swallowed by the crowd of people. Neku knew he did it on purpose, the bastard. A second wasn’t nearly enough time, but now…
No. Not again. He wasn’t getting away that easily. “JOSHUA!”
He broke away from his group of friends, ignoring their surprised calls to him, and dashed through the crowds. People yelled, some might have even gotten knocked over, but Neku ignored them too. This was way too important.
The bastard kept walking, but Neku didn’t give up. Finally, he managed to grab a thin and familiar wrist, and the both of them stopped in their tracks.
The people around them stared, and neither moved. But eventually, slowly, Joshua turned to face the other with a small smile. “Hello Neku.”
Neku felt his heart lurch. He looked – and sounded – exactly the way he remembered. “It…it is you…”
The crowd had started moving again, and Neku could faintly detect Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme all behind him. Right now though, all he could focus on was the one he hadn’t seen in five whole years.
Joshua hummed, and then looked Neku up and down. “You’ve certainly gotten taller,” he said, tone bordering on amusement.
That was all he had to say? Seriously? “I-” Neku wanted to be mad. He wanted to be so goddamn pissed at the asshole who vanished for five years, then suddenly reappeared like nothing ever happened.
But…he couldn’t. Instead of anger, all Neku felt was relief. “You-”
Without warning, Neku pulled Joshua’s wrist forward before tightly wrapping his arms around him. He felt Josh freeze in his hold, like he was expecting something else. Hitting probably, but Neku couldn’t bring himself to do that either. “Oh?” Josh’s soft voice carried through the crowd of people. “A public display of affection, Neku? How unlike you.”
Neku only held him tighter. “Shut up, you asshole!”
A small chuckle rang out. God, he’d even missed that annoying laugh of his too. Neku felt himself start to tremble, despite his grievances. “Neku, are you…crying?”
He was. Neku realized this was the second time he cried in front of Joshua. He hated it. “No…”
With another laugh, Joshua finally started to relax in Neku’s hold. Slowly he rose his hands up to rest on Neku’s back, and Neku sighed in relief. He was here, he was real.
A full fifteen seconds passed with neither man letting go nor saying anything. Finally, Joshua shifted, and one of his hands fell back to his side. “Are you going to let go of me?” He asked.
Neku wondered if Josh could feel how fast his heart sped up at those words. “If I do, are you just gonna vanish again?”
On his back, Joshua’s remaining hand twitch, like Neku had struck a nerve somewhere. Good, served him right for all he put him through. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What the hell do you think it means?” Neku pulled back but kept his hands on Josh’s shoulders. He couldn’t let him go, not yet, not until he was certain. His eyes were red and puffy, and dried tear streaks stained his cheeks, but he was determined if nothing else. “You’re smart. Use your brain.”
Joshua didn’t look amused, but eventually he sighed. “Fine. We’ll talk later.”
“Why not right now?”
“Well I do have a city to run, Neku,” Josh replied with a smug smile, one that make Neku’s heart do flips. “I’m not even supposed to be here right now, but I did want to congratulate you on five years.”
So he remembered. For some reason that made Neku happy, and the mental image of Mr. H tracking down the runaway Composer only made it better. “Thanks,” he said, and he truly meant it. “So I’ll see you soon then? When you’re not so busy?”
“Yes.”
“Promise me, Josh? You won’t disappear for another five years, right?”
Joshua was quiet for far too long, and Neku almost feared the answer. But eventually, Joshua’s smile turned sincere, and he nodded. “Promise. I won’t disappear without warning again. You can expect to hear from me soon.”
That was all he could ask for. Reluctantly, Neku let his hands drop from Josh’s shoulders. “Okay.”
“Don’t look like such a kicked puppy. I said I’d be back soon, didn’t I? You can at least take my word on that.” For now, that was all Joshua seemed to be able to say. If Neku didn’t know any better, he almost looked shaken up, and that honestly made him feel pretty damn proud.
Josh gave a small wave and faded back into the crowd. Against his better judgement, Neku believed him. Damn that charming smile of his.
For the Avatar vibe, I would say they wisdom of Uncle Iroh but also his ability to be easy to talk to. I kinda wanna bet you like tea as well ;3c
I am really loving that people think I’m Iroh because obviously he is one of the best characters in the whole show. Also I like being perceived as the wise person I am not that wise but it sure is nice people think I am lol
I do like tea, I have tea every morning, tea is great
Joh!! There’s only two and a half weeks until neo releases! I absolutely cannot wait! As far as characters… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you draw Sho? I’d love to see how you depict that feral tiger man. *hands you a donut. hands you a donut. hands you a-*
