“You asshole, what the hell were you thinking!” Chloe shouted after smacking Beca across the upper arm, the brunette rubbing at the tender spot as she sat in the back of an ambulance truck having just been patched up by a paramedic.
“I was thinking that my best friends and the woman I’m crazy about had been abducted and I had to rescue them,” Beca replied still rubbing at her arm. Chloe sighed.
“You could’ve died,” she said and Beca simply shrugged.
“So…. It was worth it. You’re worth it,” Beca mumbled eyes downcast, too shy to look Chloe in the eye.
Chloe instantly welled up and her chest did that funny fluttery thing that only Beca seemed to be able to make it do.
Without another word spoken between them, Chloe grabbed Beca by the front of the shirt and pulled her into a deep passionate kiss, before wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling back to look her in the eye.
“You’re still an asshole. But you’re my asshole,” Chloe beamed proudly.
Could I get no.40 for matcha blossom 😅 if it’s not to much Trouble I don’t want you to over work yourself
Aww, thank you, anon! Yes, I’m trying my best to take breaks so I don’t burn out, haha. And this one is so cute!
You’ve got it, anon! Thanks for the ask~
Matcha Blossom #40 “I could hold you forever.”
Also available on Ao3.
Request a drabble here!
The calibration had been off. That was it. A simple error. Frustrating. But not the end of the world.
Cherry sighed and stared up at the night sky above, his back flat on the dirt. He winced slightly as he turned toward his board, which had landed a few steps away. “Carla,” he began.
‘Yes, Master?’
“Make the necessary adjustments.”
‘Yes, Master.’
“Kaoru!” Joe’s voice sounded high and panicked as he approached, audible even over the rumbling of his bike’s engine and the crunch of the gravel beneath its tires. Joe skidded to a halt and dismounted, falling to his knees at Cherry’s side. “Shit, Kaoru! Are you all right?”
Cherry took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m fine.”
Joe looked him over, large hands surprisingly gentle as he searched for any injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked, a bit calmer now.
“Just my pride,” Cherry answered, shifting his gaze over toward his childhood friend as he sat up. “Carla needs a bit more work before she’s perfect, I think.”
Joe simply stared at him before letting his shoulders drop, a shaky breath escaping his lips. “You asshole,” he said and then pulled Cherry into a tight hug. “Don’t scare me like that.”
Cherry blinked and tried to force his way out of Joe’s tight embrace. “Have a little more faith in me,” he wheezed. “I’m not so fragile.”
“You fell off a cliff,” Joe replied flatly, though when he pulled back, his face still showed concern.
Cherry couldn’t help it. He reached up and softly pat Joe’s cheek. “What kind of skater would I be if I couldn’t handle taking a tumble from time to time?” He wet his lips, trying to ignore the heat rising in his cheeks. “But I’m sorry for worrying you, I suppose.”
“You suppose,” Joe echoed with a snort. “All right, let’s get you back home so you can fix your robot girlfriend.” Before Cherry could object, Joe had scooped him up into his arms. “You can ride with me.”
Cherry wriggled in his hold. “Kojiro, put me down!”
“Nope,” Joe replied. “Actually, do you think you’ll be able to sit on my bike?” he asked. “Did you fall on your butt?” He hummed. “That could be pretty uncomfortable.”
As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to be held in Joe’s arms, he didn’t need the other to be going on about -- the rapidly forming bruise on -- his backside.
“Maybe I should just carry you all the way home,” Joe suggested.
Cherry scoffed. “As if you could.” He rolled his eyes. “Put me down.”
But Joe shook his head. “You barely weigh a thing,” he supplied as if giving an explanation. “I could hold you forever.”
Again, Cherry’s face flushed, his ears burning. “Ugh, just shut up and put me on the damn bike.”
Joe laughed and Cherry spent the entire ride with his face pressed up against the other’s broad back.
They were drinking after hours. Joe had brought out the good wine. Cherry’s favorite. It had been a very busy week and it felt good to just...relax.
“Hey,” Joe said suddenly, his cheeks rosy. “Remember that time you totally ate it on that corner?” His eyes were shining. “Before you had Carla all…” He gestured vaguely with his hand. “Perfected or whatever.”
Yes. Cherry did remember. “I didn’t ‘totally eat it’,” Cherry mimicked, his face growing warmer. “It was a simple miscalculation. And that was years ago.” He took another sip from his glass. “Besides, you’ve ‘eaten it,’” he used his term, “Far more often than I have.”
Joe narrowed his eyes, but he was still smiling. “Maybe so.” He lifted his glass to his lips, but missed his mouth. “Oops.” He wiped his chin with the back of his hand, the animal. “Guess that’s enough for me.”
“Hmm…” Cherry hummed in agreement.
“Wanna go upstairs?” Joe was suddenly right beside him, his lips brushing against Cherry’s ear as he spoke.
Cherry didn’t answer, his heart hammering in his chest at their sudden close proximity. Blame it on the wine. Instead, he posed a question of his own. “What made you think of that all of a sudden?” he asked and when Joe cocked his head to the side in confusion, he clarified, “Me ‘eating it,’ as you so eloquently put it.”
“Oh.” Joe scratched his cheek and gave a sheepish little grin. “I was just thinking, I could probably still carry you now.” He lowered his hand. “Actually, it’ll probably be a lot easier, since I’m much stronger than back then.”
Cherry gave that some thought. It was probably unwise to let a tipsy Joe carry him up the stairs. But Cherry had downed a few more glasses than Joe had and he wasn’t sure his legs could carry him. And it was only seventeen steps. And Joe was strong…
Without his permission, Cherry’s gaze lowered to Joe’s chest, barely concealed by the button-up shirt. Were those buttons for show? Did he not know how to close them all properly?
“Kaoru?” Joe’s voice broke Cherry from his thoughts. “I can’t let you drive home.”
Again Cherry hummed and then bobbed his head. “I bet you can’t,” he challenged.
“Bet I can’t…? Let you drive?” Joe furrowed his brow.
“Carry me,” Cherry corrected, his head fuzzy and warm. How many glasses had he…? Or maybe it was just having Joe so damn close. “I bet you can’t carry me. I’ve gained several kilos since then.”
At that, Joe grinned, his eyes flashing. “Oh yeah?” he asked, sneaking an arm under Cherry’s knees and using the other to support his back. “So have I.” He lifted him up like he weighed nothing. “See?” he teased. “Light as a feather.”
The flush on Cherry’s face spread down his neck to his chest and he burrowed into Joe’s shoulder to hide it. “Let’s just go upstairs,” he mumbled against the fabric of Joe’s shirt, warmed by his skin. “Before you drop me.”
Joe chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest. “Please, Kaoru.” His voice softened. “I could hold you forever.”
And Cherry couldn’t ignore the way his pulse jumped at that. Stupid gorilla.
You took a deep breath, still facing the front door with your suitcase in hand, you murmured out. “Goodbye, Niklaus.”
“Where are you going?” He demanded, the tone in his voice made you smile lightly.
Turning around, you walked towards him. Your hand meeting with his cheek gently, “Maybe we’ll meet again, when we are slightly older and our minds less hectic. And I’ll be right for you and you’ll be right for me. But right now, I am chaos to your thoughts and you are poison to my heart.”
“Hey Bec’s, what does it feel like to have the whole world in the palm of your hand?” Chloe asked curiously as they stood on the balcony of the hotel, staring out over the LA landscape, having escaped the noise of the post Grammy after party happening mere feet away.
Relinquishing her hold on her champagne flute Beca reached down, grabbing hold of Chloe’s left hand and bringing it to her lips, pressing a kiss against the engagement ring sitting prettily on the redheads ring finger.
“It feels amazing,” Beca replied, and Chloe blushed at the meaning behind her words as she stepped into Beca’s arms to embrace the woman next to her.
Because to Chloe, being the heart of Beca Mitchell’s world felt pretty great too.
Could you do 43 with like a panic attack hurt/comfort scenario with joe and cherry please? I just feel like it would fit with cherry having anxiety and stuff 💅
Thank you for your request, anon! I tried my best to fill the prompt, so I hope you like it~ Though, instead of a panic attack, it deals with Cherry having a night terror, which also can happen to those with anxiety.
All cases may differ, so this is based on my experience. Please be aware, there is a scene where Joe witnesses Cherry having a night terror.
#43 “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”
Also available on Ao3.
Link to my master list of Matcha Blossom drabbles
Joe grit his teeth as he took a turn a little too tightly on his bike. He managed to correct himself before wiping out. That was the last thing he needed. It was late. Or early, depending. And he’d been woken up by an alert on his phone. A message from Cherry’s A.I.
Carla 2:25AM: Master slept through his alarm.
Carla 2:38AM: Master’s heart rate is elevated.
If only he’d heard the first one. Joe sped forward. They didn’t live too far apart, but it was significantly farther than the walk they used to take as kids.
When he arrived at Cherry’s, Joe parked his motorcycle and ran to the door, pulling out his spare key. He didn’t trip the alarm. After all, Carla knew he was coming.
He went straight to Cherry’s room. Thankfully, he found him in bed, illuminated by the soft light from his bedside lamp. But Cherry was not sleeping. He’d thrown the covers off, his face flushed and his chest heaving.
Carefully, Joe approached him. “Hey, Kaoru--”
Cherry let out a sharp sound, halfway between a cry and a gasp. He tossed his head to the side, kicking out his arms and legs.
Shit. Joe really wished he’d heard that first message. If he wasn’t such a heavy sleeper, he might have gotten here before--
“N-No…!” Cherry thrashed, one of his legs getting caught in the sheets. He shouted again and Joe quickly untangled him, catching Cherry’s foot before it landed a kick to his chest.
“Kaoru,” he said again, using his other hand to hold Cherry’s ankle to keep his leg still. “Kaoru, it’s Kojiro. You’re having a--” But he was cut off when, with a surprising amount of strength, Cherry broke from his grasp and sat up.
“No!” Cherry screamed at him, eyes wide and unseeing.
Joe knew what was coming. And just as Cherry was about to bolt, Joe wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight and keeping him from jumping up and off the bed.
“No!” Cherry said again, struggling in his hold. “No…no…” He kept trying to break free, but Joe held firm.
“It’s okay,” Joe whispered against Cherry’s temple. “No one can hurt you. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”
Gradually, Cherry’s movements slowed until he was nearly limp in Joe’s arms. But when Joe pulled back, Cherry’s eyes were still open, glazed and blank.
Joe released him, sliding his hands down Cherry’s arms to grip his hands. “Hey, Kaoru,” he said softly, but received no response. “Kaoru,” he continued, wetting his lips. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” There was the slightest twitch of Cherry’s fingers, but nothing more. Joe took a deep breath. “I’m going to tuck you back in, okay?”
Then, every so gently, Joe laid Cherry back down, straightening his nightclothes and pulling the sheets back up to his chin. He knew it was very unlikely for Cherry to have another episode tonight. But he didn’t want to leave. Just in case.
“Carla,” Joe called. “Lights out, please.”
A few hours later, Joe awoke to a finger poking him in the shoulder. He didn’t even open his eyes. “And a very good morning to you, Kaoru,” he said, voice rough from sleep.
“You’re in my bed,” Cherry noted.
Joe chuckled and cracked his eyes open. “Nothing gets past you, huh?”
Cherry swatted his chest. “Why are you in my bed, Kojiro?”
Joe swallowed. Cherry hardly ever remembered it the next day. And Joe almost didn’t want to tell him. But that wasn’t fair. Cherry deserved to know. “You slept through your alarm.”
The hand near his chest shook slightly and Joe reached up to grab a hold of it.
“I see…” Cherry chewed on his lip.
“Carla messaged me,” Joe went on. “But I didn’t get it until your vitals were all…” He gestured vaguely, still holding Cherry’s hand in his. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
Cherry nodded and then shook his head. “No, it’s fine, I--” He wet his lips. “I didn’t...hurt you, did I?”
Joe placed Cherry’s palm against his chest. “A big, tough guy like me?” he teased. “Never.”
“I’m being serious!” Cherry’s fingers spasmed, but he didn’t remove his hand. “I hate it. Not being in control. Not...remembering.” He frowned.
“It sucks,” Joe finished for him. “I wish I could make it go away.”
Cherry sighed. “The alarm had been working.” His gaze shifted over to Carla, still in sleep mode and charging by the wall. “I must have been exhausted if I slept through it.”
Joe hummed before leaning in closer and pressing their foreheads together. “Well, if it ever happens again, I’ll make sure not to sleep through the first text message.”
At that, Cherry snorted. “You? Please.” He rolled his eyes. “You sleep like the dead.” He drew back. “Besides, you live farther away now, so it’s probably inconvenient for you to come all the way here just to...tuck me back in.” The rest was left unsaid.
“I could always sleep over,” Joe suggested. “Not all the time, but on nights when you’re especially worn out?”
Cherry actually looked like he was thinking it over before he sighed. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
Joe raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so I’m your first emergency contact, but having me spend the night is out of the question?” He shook his head. “And you’re not asking. I’m offering.”
Cherry eyed him suspiciously, as if waiting for Joe to tell him it was just a joke. But, after a moment, he seemed convinced. “First of all,” he began. “You’re not my first emergency contact. Carla is--”
“Doesn’t count--”
“--and secondly, if you’re really fine with dropping whatever you’re doing to sleep here on occasion, I suppose that’s fine.” He finished with yet another sigh.
“See? Was that so hard?” Joe asked.
“Yes,” Cherry answered immediately and then cracked a smile. A soft one. “Thank you. For coming over last night.” He moved closer and ducked his head under his chin, pressing his cheek to Joe’s chest. “You’re a good man.”
Joe grinned and wrapped his arms around Cherry, giving him a squeeze. “That’s why I’m your number one, right?”
There was a puff of warm air against his skin as Cherry laughed. “Number two,” he corrected.
Ahh, the make me matchablossom fic was so good! Kind of love stories that play to the challenging nature of their relationship. It’s kind of similar, but I’d love to see you do 47.”Go on, I dare you” for them too. Thank you!!
Thank you so much, anon!! I’m sorry it took me a bit to get to your request (I had a few Matcha Blossom ideas that popped into my head and demanded to be written first) But, after watching episode 9.5, I know exactly what I want to write for this one~ I hope you like it!
Matcha Blossom #47 “Go on, I dare you.”
Also available on Ao3.
Link to my master list of Matcha Blossom drabbles
Joe fell to his knees in shock as the two girls he’d been chatting with walked away. All because Miya had somehow convinced them that he was his dad. No, that wasn’t it. Plenty of girls would fall for a young, single father. They’d walked away because Miya had told them something else.
The middle schooler in question had already grabbed Reki, Langa, and Shadow and taken refuge in the ocean waves before Joe had a chance to scold him. Smart kid. The mastermind, on the other hand, was still relaxing in the shade of his umbrella. And Joe was about to retaliate.
“You put him up to it, didn’t you?” Joe said as he towered over Cherry’s languid form.
Slowly, golden eyes blinked open, Cherry’s gaze lazily meeting Joe’s. “What are you going on about?” Cherry squinted up at him before slipping his eyes closed once more.
“Miya,” Joe clarified. “You told him to do that.”
Cherry let out an annoyed little huff before looking up at Joe again. “Told him to do what?”
Oh, so that’s how it was going to be. Cherry was going to play dumb. “Bet you thought that was real cute, huh?” Joe sneered at him, arms folded over his chest. “What’s the matter, Kaoru?” He tilted his chin up. “Jealous?”
Cherry furrowed his brow. “What nonsense are you spouting?” he asked and then reached for his glasses from the table beside his beach chair. Once they were on, he regarded Joe. “If you’re going to interrupt my nap, the least you could do is try to make sense.” He smirked. “Or has being out in direct sunlight for too long fried what remained of your brain cells?”
Joe gaped at him. That pompous… First, he interrupted what was turning out to be a very pleasant conversation with those girls and now he was going to pretend like it hadn’t happened?
“What’s wrong?” Cherry asked, picking up his drink and taking a sip. “Was I right about the sun?” He chuckled.
Joe snapped out of it. “Listen, we could go back and forth all day--”
“I doubt it.”
“Or you could just go ahead, save us all a little time, and admit that you were jealous?” Joe finished.
“Jealous?” Cherry raised his eyebrows. He looked around. “Jealous of what?”
“Of those--!” Joe growled and ran a hand down his face. “Didn’t you send Miya over to scare off those girls because you were jealous?”
Now, Joe had known Cherry for a long time. And he was pretty damn good at reading him, after all these years. But even with as much as they teased each other, Cherry would not keep it up for this long without gloating about his successful prank. So, Joe was beginning to think that Miya had acted alone with his little Mama and Papa routine.
However, it was too late. He’d already let Cherry know about it. And now he was going to tease Joe for a completely different reason. “Miya scared them off?” Cherry questioned, taking another sip of his drink before setting it back down. “What did he do?”
Joe found himself suddenly very interested in the way the waves crashed against the sand. “You know, the water is perfect. You’re wasting our beach day sitting over here,” he pointed out.
“Changing the subject,” Cherry noted. “It must have been really embarrassing, then.” Joe turned back just in time to see Cherry grin wide. “What? Did he pull off your swim trunks and that was what sent them packing?”
Joe narrowed his eyes. “He did not,” he answered. “And if he had, why would that send anyone ‘packing’?” he quoted.
“Aside from the whole indecent exposure issue,” Cherry began. “I’m sure the girls would be a bit...disappointed.” He smirked again and reached for his drink, but Joe caught Cherry’s arm, getting into his personal space.
“You’ve never been disappointed,” he said, voice low. He eased his grip to brush his thumb along the smooth skin of Cherry’s inner wrist. “You gonna deny it?” he asked, speaking directly into Cherry’s ear. “Go on, I dare you.”
Even in the shade of the umbrella, the blush that tinted Cherry’s cheeks was completely obvious. To Joe, at least. “You need to cool your head,” Cherry hissed at him before trying to pull his arm free.
Joe thought about that for a moment. Then he gave Cherry a wicked grin of his own. “You’re right, Kaoru,” he agreed and, before giving the other enough time to react, he hauled Cherry up and over his shoulder. “I think you should join me,” he said.
“Kojiro!” Cherry screeched, kicking his legs and waving his free arm. “Put me down this instant!”
Joe laughed. “Oh, I’m about to,” he sang, bringing them closer to the water.
“If you drop me, I swear--”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get deep enough so you won’t hit the sand,” Joe went on and then unceremoniously tossed a screaming Cherry into the ocean. It was beautiful, really.
Half a second later, Cherry reared back, his hair soaked and hanging in his face and his yukata clinging to his body like a second skin. If he wasn’t sputtering sea water and giving Joe the deadliest, most murderous glare he’d ever received, Joe might have taken a moment to appreciate the way the wet fabric accentuated every curve.
But, as it was, Cherry was already on his feet and splashing his way back onto the shore. “I’m going to kill you,” he snarled.
And it was then that Joe realized he probably should have come up with what he planned to do after throwing Cherry into the water. Well, it had sort of been a heat of the moment thing, anyway.
“Kids!” he called over his shoulder as he took off, relying on his speed to save him. “Let’s head to the hotel!”
Could you do 20 for matcha blossom please these docs are curing my depression istg
Aww, thank you, anon! I’m glad you’re enjoying them~
I went the sick!fic route with this one. I hope that’s okay!
Matcha Blossom #20 “I’ll protect you, no matter what...even if it kills me.”
Also available on Ao3.
Request a drabble here!
Cherry was not some fragile thing. He just wasn’t as...robust as a certain thick-headed gorilla he knew. But even so, when Cherry needed help, he wasn’t so stubborn as to not ask for it. If it was completely necessary, that was.
So, the fact that Joe hadn’t even messaged him to alert him to his current condition was...troubling. Especially considering Cherry wouldn’t have even known about it if he hadn’t shown up at Sia la luce unannounced, as usual, breezing through the dining room to sit in his favorite spot by the bar. It wasn’t until he’d been seated for a few minutes -- without a single word of greeting from his childhood friend -- that he grew suspicious.
“Called in sick,” Cherry muttered to himself as he climbed the steps to Joe’s apartment. One of the servers had timidly approached the bar and informed him as much. “He could have at least sent a text.”
It wasn’t like Joe had bailed on him, exactly. This wasn’t a date, for heaven’s sake. But Cherry did tend to swing by after work and Joe… Well, Joe never missed work. Never got sick, actually. So, he must have been feeling particularly awful if he’d abandoned his staff -- That wasn’t true. The assistant manager was plenty capable -- but Cherry had overheard the regulars wistfully sighing when they received the news that the head chef was out for the evening.
Cherry shook his head as he reached the door, his fist raised and poised to knock. He rapped once. Twice. And by the third time, he was annoyed. Annoyed and...something else.
“Kojiro!” he called, knocking again.
What if...what if something had happened? What if Joe had tried to take a shower and go to work and slipped and hit his head? Once when they were in high school, Cherry had gotten a fever so awful that he could barely move, but he didn’t want to miss class -- despite his appearance, his attendance record was flawless -- and he’d done the exact same thing. If Joe hadn’t caught him…
“Kojiro!” he tried again, but received no answer.
Perhaps Joe had tried making himself some soup. Maybe he’d burned himself in his weakened state. Or he’d fallen asleep while it was simmering and it boiled over. Or what if the heat was too high and the kitchen had caught fire?
Cherry shook the ridiculous thought from his head. Joe was grace under fire, though some wouldn’t believe it. Every time Cherry was sick, including the time he’d passed out during fifth period, Joe had always been there to take care of him. In fact, his soup -- his grandpa’s recipe -- was a cureall.
Still, Cherry was...concerned. So, seeing as Joe still hadn’t shown himself, he reached under the mat for the spare key and made to unlock the door, but rolled his eyes as he jiggled the knob.
“Idiot ape,” he muttered as he let himself in. “Leaving the door unlocked.”
But that only worried him further. Was Joe in such a state that he’d wandered out? Or maybe he had someone over?
Something acrid bubbled in Cherry’s belly at the thought. Was Joe playing hooky? Had some girl come over the night before and stayed? Anger swelled in his chest. To think, he was worried about him!
But even as that thought crossed his mind, deep down, Cherry knew that wasn’t the case. Joe was a frivolous, flirtatious, and feebleminded oaf, but not when it came to things he took seriously. Like his career.
So, taking a deep breath, Cherry padded down the hallway and opened the door to Joe’s bedroom. It was dark inside, but the light pouring in from the hall illuminated a lump on the mattress, covered in the duvet and surrounded by wadded up tissues. There was an open bottle of cold medicine on the nightstand, the measuring cup stained, but empty beside it.
Well, at least he was present enough to take medicine.
“Kojiro,” Cherry called again, softly this time.
A large, hand clawed its way out from beneath the comforter, drawing it down to reveal a mess of curly hair and a flushed face. “...Kaoru?”
Cherry bit back a fond smile. “Yes, it’s me.” He drew closer and took a seat on the edge of the mattress.
“You came?” Joe blinked up at him with bleary eyes.
“Yes,” Cherry said again. “Even though you neglected to tell me you were sick.”
Joe had the decency to look sheepish. “I conked out after I called the restaurant,” he confessed. “What are you doing here?”
“One of your servers informed me of your condition, so I came to check on you,” Cherry replied, heat rising in his own cheeks at the admission. He covered it up with a jab. “And here I thought idiots like you couldn’t catch colds.”
Joe chuckled and then coughed into his fist. “S’not a cold,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’m dying.”
Cherry rolled his eyes. “You’re not dying.” He moved closer, pressing a palm to Joe’s forehead. “I am surprised, though,” he added. “As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never gotten sick.”
Joe nodded, closing his eyes and nuzzling against Cherry’s cooler hand. “I overdid it at work,” he admitted. “We had a health inspection and then not one, but two--” he paused to sniffle, “--food critics and then…” he trailed off with a deep, shaky breath. “Lots of call-outs. Must be going around.”
With a soft hum, Cherry nodded. Joe was awfully warm. Perhaps it was more than just a cold, after all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his spare band, placing it around Joe’s wrist. “Carla,” he said and his own wristband illuminated.
‘Yes, Master?’
“Read Kojiro’s vitals,” he ordered.
‘Yes, Master.’ The other band glowed softly. ‘Temperature high. Temperature high.’
“I thought so…” Cherry sighed.
‘Skin temperature thirty-nine degrees Celsius. Approximate core temperature thirty-nine point four degrees Celsius. Heart rate one hundred and sixteen beats per minute.’
“What is this?” Joe asked, eyeing the wristband.
“Continue to track, Carla,” Cherry said instead of answering. Then he looked at Joe. “Why didn’t you call me?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Joe groaned, rubbing his face. “I told you, I fell asleep--”
“You always take care of me when I’m sick and you thought I wouldn’t do the same?” Cherry narrowed his eyes. “You think I’m incapable?”
Joe furrowed his brow. “...no?”
Cherry sighed. “I’ll go fix you something to eat.” He made to get up, but Joe caught his wrist.
“Kaoru,” he said and then winced, bringing a hand to his throat. “You should leave.”
The anger from earlier began rising again, but for a different reason this time. “I can heat up a can of soup, Kojiro!” he snapped. Of course, Cherry wasn’t entirely sure Joe had any in his cabinets. He was a ‘from scratch’ kind of guy. Maybe Cherry could run to the store and--
“No, I mean…” Joe swallowed. “I don’t want you to get sick, too.”
Cherry fixed him with an unimpressed look. “You’re just thinking about that now?”
Joe shook his head. “No.” He wet his lips. “I didn’t fall asleep right after calling work,” he said. “I could have messaged you. I wanted to,” he added, looking up at Cherry with large, watery eyes. “But I didn’t because…I didn’t want you to catch it.”
There was a beat that passed then, as Cherry digested what Joe had said. He was definitely sick. Joe was typically more honest than Cherry on the regular, but he was being extra honest. Sickly honest. Like Cherry tended to get -- or so Joe would always inform him afterwards.
“I’ll be fine,” Cherry promised. “I’ll make sure to take some supplements after I leave.”
Cherry bit back an aggravated growl. “Didn’t you just tell me to leave?”
Joe blinked. “Oh.” His lips curved up into a smile. “Yeah, I did.”
“Then--”
“But I don’t really want you to leave, Kaoru,” Joe interrupted. “But you should.”
Cherry wanted to pull his hair out. Was this how he acted when he was sick? Had he shamelessly voiced every thought as it occurred to him?
“I wanted you to come, but I didn’t want you to come,” Joe said again. “Because Kaoru gets sick so easily…”
“I do not--”
“So, I’ll protect you, no matter what,” Joe vowed, his face completely flushed and his eyes cloudy. “Even if it kills me.”
‘Heart rate elevated.’
“Yes, Carla,” Cherry said, without glancing at his wristband. “That’s because of his fever.’
‘Apologies, Master. Not Kojiro’s. Yours.’
Cherry’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. That damned gorilla… “I’m going to see what you have to eat,” he said through clenched teeth, finally pulling his arm free from Joe’s weakened grasp. “If there’s nothing I can heat up, I’ll run to the convenience store.”
Joe cocked his head to the side, giving Cherry a dopey smile. “Okay.”
“I’ll be back shortly,” Cherry informed him, standing up.
“Kaoru?” Joe called just as Cherry reached the doorway.
He looked back over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“Then you’ll stay?” he asked, voice raspy.
The corner of Cherry’s lips twitched as warmth blossomed in his chest. “Yes,” he said. “Someone has to make sure you take your next dose of medicine.”
3 for Midotaka and 46 for MatchaBlossom for the drabble prompts please? (I've recently gotten into sk8 too and I haven't seen much content about them yet) thank you! 💕
Thank you for the asks! Sk8 is so good. I’m really enjoying it so far~
I managed to keep the MidoTaka short, but the Matcha Blossom ran long, haha. I hope you like them!! And thanks again~
MidoTaka #3 “Make me.”
“Kazu, unhand my lucky item,” Midorima said, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his lips. “I have to sit in on a surgery today.” They had already graduated and Midorima was well into his residency at Todai hospital, but he still insisted on following Oha-Asa daily.
Not that Takao minded. In fact, he fully supported his boyfriend’s weird obsessions. All of them.
Still, he was so fun to tease.
Takao grinned. “Make me.”
Midorima’s eyes widened behind his glasses. Then he glared. “Kazu…”
“Listen, I’m about twenty centimeters too short to play keep-away,” Takao offered. “So, let’s just end this quickly, Shin-chan.”
A long exasperated sigh. “What do you want, Kazu?”
Takao bit his lip, holding his boyfriend’s lucky item behind his back and blinking up at him through his bangs. “A kiss?”
Midorima raised an eyebrow. “Just a kiss?”
“Mhm.” Takao closed his eyes and puckered his lips, waiting. However, instead of the chaste peck he was expecting, Midorima roughly pressed their lips together, pulling Takao against him and deepening the kiss.
When they broke apart, Takao found himself dazed and empty-handed.
“Thank you, Kazu,” Midorima said, holding up the small fan. “I’ll see you tonight after work.”
Takao nodded dumbly and waved as Midorima left their apartment. He’d lost, in a way. Since his boyfriend had gotten one over on him. But in many other ways, he’d won.
Request a drabble here!
Matcha Blossom #46 “I’m in love...shit.” | Ao3 mirror
It was a late night. They’d been extremely busy, which was good. But that meant that no one was able to do their side work until after hours, which slowed down closing, which kept Joe from finishing his inventory and getting to input his order until nearly one in the morning.
He did not have his usual visitor tonight. He’d sent Cherry a text earlier, letting him know they were swamped. And even though he hadn’t replied, Joe knew he’d at least seen it. He was so tired that he didn’t have the energy to be offended at being left on ‘read.’ He just typed a quick, ‘Finally done,’ before walking toward his bike.
However, just as Joe was about to head home, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that Cherry had messaged.
‘Come over.’
That was rare. Joe usually played host to his childhood friend at his own restaurant and then the two parted ways. Sometimes, he’d crash at Cherry’s after ‘S’ races, just because he was bored and it was fun trying to come up with recipes with the few things the other had on hand -- honestly, did he even go grocery shopping? -- But never just randomly like this. Well, not since high school, probably.
‘Miss me?’ He typed back, adding a winking emoji before sending.
Kaoru is typing… ‘Die.’
Joe chuckled and started to respond, but Cherry sent another message.
‘I want pizza.’
Oh, was that so? That sounded pretty good actually. Well, not take-out pizza. Joe had grown up with his Italian grandfather and no one in his family could stand the chain store stuff. He didn’t feel like typing anymore, so he called. Cherry picked up on the second ring. “Did you order it already?” Joe asked.
Cherry was quick to reply. ‘Are you an idiot?’ Joe snorted at that. ‘Like I’d order something you hate.’
Joe laughed. “It’s kind of hard to eat pizza without ordering it,” he supplied.
A scoff came over the line. ‘Obviously, you’re going to make it.’
Ooh, Cherry was being feisty tonight. Cute. “I’ve already locked up and even if I hadn’t, the truck doesn’t come until the day after tomorr--”
‘I have the ingredients already,’ Cherry interrupted. ‘Just get your overly-muscled ass over here.’ A pause. ‘I’m hungry.’
Cherry had gotten the ingredients? Cherry had gone shopping? He’d gone shopping with Joe in mind, knowing that he couldn’t stomach Japan’s poor excuse for pizza? Something warm blossomed in his chest. “Okay.”
‘I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.’ The call ended.
Joe stood there, dumbfounded, the heat from his chest spreading up his neck to his face. He swallowed. “I’m in love…” Then, realizing what he said, that this was Cherry he was talking about, he cursed. “Shit.” Then he got on his bike and rode off toward Cherry’s house, his body still pleasantly warm.
