Mika said nothing for a long while. The two sat there, gazing off into the distance. Finally he said, “So, when you say you like me, do you mean you like me like me or–”

“Dude, don’t make this any weirder than it already is,” Gen said, and Mika laughed. Gen smiled and pulled out his phone. He brought up his music app and tapped on one of his saved playlists. It was Man With A Mission. As the music started, he set the phone upside down between them, sighed loudly and lay down on the floor, his hands behind his head. “So, why did you want to hang out tonight, anyway?”

Mika shrugged. “Just wanted to, I guess.”

Something in his voice drew Gen’s attention. He stared at Mika, watching as his hair floated around his face as a breeze went by. 

“It’s a school night for you, isn’t it?”

Mika shook his head. “I’m off on Fridays, remember? We just have tutoring in the afternoon.”

Gen stared up at the sky. “So we have some time, then?”

Mika looked down at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Gen sat up and locked eyes with Mika. “I told you something that was hard for me. Can you do the same?” 

“L-like what?”

“Like why you wanted to come out late on a Thursday night?”

“I just–”

“Wanted to, yeah, you said that but I don’t believe you.” Mika was silent. “I can understand if you wanted to wait until tomorrow and we got together for lunch or something before tutoring, but for our first hang out, I guess this felt a bit rushed or something.” He ran a hand through his mohawk. “Like I said, I don’t really know how these things go so…what do I know…” He looked away, hand on the back of his neck.

Mika sighed. “Friends do plan to hang out this way, Gen. Just a ‘hey let's do this’ and nothing else. It’s not like we’re on a date or anything. That takes more planning.”

He looked away, his own face getting warm. He gripped the ledge, hoping Gen didn’t see the blush that crept up his neck. Of course, the hoodie helped to hide it. 

When Gen said nothing, Mika said quietly, “You’re right.”

Gen glanced at him and waited.

“Things were getting a little crazy at home today and I just wanted to get away for a bit.”

“Why not ask your friends?”

“I wanted to hang out with you, not them.”

Gen didn’t have a response to that. Whatever was happening at home, being around people he knew better, that he could act a certain way with, wasn’t going to help. Perhaps it was because Gen was more lowkey than everyone else around him, so he wasn’t being forced to have to maintain some positive attitude. With Gen, he could stay mellow and just be. He folded his fingers in his lap, rubbing the knuckle of one thumb with the other. It felt so weird being that person for someone else. 

“What’s your tattoo of?” Mika asked suddenly.

“Hm?” He looked down, noticing how the right sleeve had rode up enough for his wrist to show. He pushed it up further, exposing his forearm and showing it to Mika. “It’s part of a sleeve,” he said. “It’s not done yet.”

“There’s more?”

Gen nodded. He traced his arm from his wrist to his neck. “Whole arm. But like I said, there’s still pieces missing.”

“Can I see it?”

Gen pulled his arm out of his sleeve, leaving his hoodie on, and pushed up the sleeve on his t-shirt so Mika could get a better view. Mika took Gen’s arm in his hands and examined each piece as he gently rotated it back and forth. It was a collaboration of different elements from different anime, in both color and black and white. He saw images from One Piece and Naruto, manga shots from Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer, and logos from Hunter x Hunter, Attack on Titan, and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, all stitched together with ribbons of fire and smoke. There were several empty spots, obviously where he was waiting to get more work done like he said. His hands continued up Gen’s arm until he reached his neck where the hoodie was bunched. He gently pushed it, forcing Gen’s head to tilt so he could see the one that went to his neck. It was Tengen Uzui’s blades from Demon Slayer tattooed with them crossed one over the other, surrounded in the blue visual that indicated his sound breathing style he used for battle.

Mika couldn’t help but finger the design, noting how intricate in detail it was. Goosebumps appeared on Gen’s skin and he paused. He looked up into Gen’s face, which was much closer to his own, than he thought. He realized then that he had gotten so close, Gen had been forced to lean back on his other arm. His breathing was a little shallow and ragged and Mika could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He also saw how his neck was turning red. 

Gen was staring at him, watching him, suddenly incredibly nervous and shy. Mika was so close, he could feel the warmth of Gen’s breath on his face, smell the peppermint he ate after work, and the spicy scent of burnt oak and bourbon. 

“M-Mika?” Gen’s voice was hoarse and cracked when he spoke.

“Yeah?”

“Do…um…do two guys who are just friends…do they usually get this close to each other?” He already knew the answer to that one, he just needed Mika to back up before he did something he might regret later. Like kiss you. He swallowed hard.

Mika quickly sat back, releasing Gen’s arm. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck then running his hand through his hair as he let it fall to his lap. “Guess I got a little too excited about your tats.” 

Gen was readjusting the hoodie, his hand popping out of the sleeve cuff. “Well, honestly, they aren’t all the ones I have. I have more on my other arm, my back, and my leg.”

“How long did it take you to get all of ‘em?”

“Couple years. Dad wasn’t too thrilled when he saw my first tat on my back. Damn near came unglued. Kana thought it was cool, though.”

“What is it?”

“Surprisingly, not anime related,” Gen laughed. “It’s just a bridge.”

Mika’s eyes widened and he chuckled. “Are those all the piercings you have, at least?”

Gen nodded, relaxing. “So far, yeah.”

“So far?”

“I was thinking about getting my tongue done at some point. Almost did when I got these in.” He pointed at the two small hoops in the corner of his mouth. “Dad told me it was either one or the other, so I just got these instead.”

“What does your dad do?”

“He’s a detective with the city police department. Violent crimes, mostly, but sometimes he helps out with other stuff like domestic violence and sex crimes.”

Mika tensed slightly, his finger twitching imperceptibly. He grinned, hoping Gen didn’t notice. “Does he like it?”

Gen shrugged. “He doesn’t hate it. He says he feels like he’s able to help people doing what he does. He admits that the system really is fucked, though. He’s seen too many guys walk after committing some really terrible things.”

“What about your m–” He stopped, suddenly remembering she wasn’t in the picture. “I mean…you said Kana did hair or something?”

Gen nodded. “She’s really good, too. She does mine and my dad’s. His isn’t as crazy though.” He chuckled and ran a hand through the ‘hawk. Mika really liked it when he did that. It’s so cute, he thought. Especially when the front bounced back and got in his eyes.

“Bet that saves on money.”

“Oh yeah. Plus, she gets to practice new styles. She has a lot of fun maintaining this. In fact, I need to get a re-dye tomorrow.”

“Are you keeping it the same way? Black and red? Same style and everything?”

“Yep. I have plans for this Halloween so I can’t change it.” 

“But that’s so far away!”

“Perfection takes time, my friend,” Gen laughed. Mika had to laugh, too.

They continued talking and laughing for over an hour, the music playing between them. They talked about music and anime, how neither of them liked sports, what classes they might take next semester, and their grades.

“You’re a freshman?” Gen asked, surprised. “English Lit is an advanced class, though. So is our math class.”

Mika shrugged. “I’m an overachiever, I guess.” He looked out over the city lights. “My mom has always pushed me to do my best, especially in academics. She just wants the best life for me as possible.” His voice tapered off as he leaned back on his hands, his legs crossed. He rolled his head to the side to look back at Gen. “What do you wanna be when you grow up?” The age-old question took Gen by surprise. He had avoided talking about his major at their first session together and it hadn’t been brought up again since then. He couldn’t even think of why.

“I’d like to work on bridges,” he answered softly. He turned his head in Mika’s direction. 

“Why bridges?” Mika asked.

Gen looked thoughtful. “Because bridges can take you anywhere. It used to be that you couldn’t cross a body of water without a ferry or someone to help get you across. In some instances, you couldn’t cross at all. Bridges fixed that. Now, you can cross anywhere, go anywhere, and there’s nothing stopping you.” He paused and gave Mika a crooked grin. “It’s stupid, right? Wanting to build something like that? You’d think someone like me would want to work in music or art or something like that.”

Mika shook his head. “I don’t think that’s stupid at all,” he said. “I think that’s amazing.”

Gen’s cheeks warmed. “Amazing?”

“Well, yeah. So many people our age want to do all the ‘fun’ stuff or start up their own businesses. That’s cool, I guess, but then who would be left to work on roads? Build houses? Be lawyers, doctors, or chefs? Or build and maintain bridges?” He smiled. “Nothing wrong at all with wanting to work with your hands.”

“What about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Alive. “I dunno,” he admitted. “Work with kids in some capacity. Maybe a teacher, or social worker.”

Gen sat forward. Why did he say it like that? And, “Why kids?”

Mika shrugged, sitting forward himself. “I like kids. I have two younger siblings I help take care of and they’re really fun. They have a unique way of seeing things that sometimes puts things in perspective, even the bad stuff.” He suddenly pulled his phone out. “Speaking of…” His eyes went wide. “Oh shit, I gotta get home!”

Gen looked at the time on his own phone. It was eleven thirty. He paused the music and jumped up, grabbing the flashlight. He reached down and helped Mika up without a second thought. It struck him for a second time how small those hands were. It took him a second to let go, his eyes watching as Mika’s hand slowly slipped from his hand into his pocket.

“Let’s go,” he said and led the way out of the building and to the truck waiting outside. They climbed in and headed off. They were quiet on the drive back, Gen noticing a slight tension in Mika as he sat low in the seat, staring out the window. In the reflection, he could see him chewing on his bottom lip.

As they got close to the convenience store, Gen asked, “Do you want me to drop you off here? It’s pretty nasty out there. Do you live far?”

Mika shook his head. “Not far,” he said quietly. Gen pulled into the parking lot, anyway, parking away from the darkened building. He kept the motor running and the music low. He rested his arm on the steering wheel as he turned to Mika.

“You don’t want to go home,” He said, Mika snapped his head around, eyes wide. “Do you?”

Mika swallowed, his eyes wavering slightly. “Wh-what makes you say that?”

“Your lip is chewed raw and your tense as hell. I bet your hands are shaking in your pocket, too.” His eyes followed Mika’s, trying to interpret the small amount of darkness that lay just behind them. “What’s going on, Mika?” he asked, his voice quieter and softer than he expected.

“Nothing,” Mika said too quickly. “I told you, things were just crazy today, that’s all.”

Gen said nothing, just stared, his eyes soft and questioning. Mika was hiding something…something huge, but didn’t want to talk about it. After a moment he sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll drop it.” he sat back in his seat, his head down. “But, um..if..if you ever wanna talk about anything…” he closed his mouth, unsure if that familiar saying would matter.

Mika reached for the handle, unbuckling the seatbelt. “I had a good time tonight,” was what he said instead. “I’ll see you tomorrow? Two o’clock?”

Gen nodded, and gave him a smile and a small wave. “I’ll see you then.” Mika opened the door and hopped out, using the door as leverage. “Hey,” Mika looked up. “I had fun.” Mika raised his hand in farewell, shut the door, and jogged off into the dark. Gen watched him round the corner and disappear. His final thought before he drove off was, I should have made him stay.

-*-