The next afternoon, Mika and Gen were walking toward the library, discussing the last English Lit assignment they had received on Wednesday. It struck both of them that they never once actually talked about their assignments the night before. It hadn’t seemed relevant to the situation. Gen was looking at his phone as they were talking and reached for the door instinctively when Mika put his hand on his arm.

“Hang on,” he said. Gen stopped, glanced first at Mika then the door. There was a paper taped to the glass with a typed up note that read “CLOSED FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. WILL REOPEN MON AT 8AM THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING”

“Well, then,” Gen said as they both stared at the note, unsure of what to do next. “No tutoring?”

Mika gave him a look and pulled out his phone. “Nice try.” He sighed and tapped the screen, thoughtfully. He looked around, thinking they might use the cafeteria, even suggested it. Gen shook his head.

“Too many people,” he said. “And I had to pull someone’s shift this morning so I’m not too excited to be around more humans today.”

Mika tapped his chin with his phone. “We could go to my house, I guess.”

Gen raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t even driven past Mika’s house yet, only to the convenience store he said he lived near. He wondered why the change in heart. “We could go to my house if it’s more comfortable,” he suggested, self-consciously putting his hand on the back of his neck.

Mika slowly shook his head. “My mom doesn’t let me go to other people’s houses much.”

“That’s weird.”

“That’s my mom,” he shrugged. He pulled up his recent calls and tapped on “Mom”. He walked a few steps away to talk to her.

“Mika, what’s up?” she said, sounding worried. She knew he wouldn’t be available until after four when their tutoring session was done. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Um…is Thomas home at all?” he asked quietly.

“He’s gone for the weekend,” she said. “Fishing with the boys or some such bullshit. He left a little bit ago. Why?”

“The library is closed for maintenance,” he said. “I was wondering, can I bring Gen over and we can study there?”

She was silent for a long moment, Mika’s chest getting tight. 

“Please? It’s only for a couple hours, I promise.”

“It’s not that, Mika,” she finally said. After another long pause, she sighed. “Okay, that’s fine.” Mika smiled into the phone. “I want to meet him anyway, especially since you’ll be spending so much time with him.”

“Okay, that’s fair,” he said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. His mother never let him bring anyone over, not even his long-time friends. Whatever it was that made Gen different was enough to allow a break in her rules for the first time.

“I’ll come and pick you up in a few,” she was saying but he told her not to, Gen had his own truck and could drive them. She said okay and they hung up.

He pocketed the phone and turned back to Gen, a grin on his lips. Gen looked up from his own phone, the other hand in his pocket. “Everything good?” he asked.

“Yep. My mom said we can study there. She wants to meet you, anyway.”

Gen’s face blanked. “Why?”

“Because of how much time I’m spending with you, she said. I guess she wants to make sure you’re not some dangerous criminal out to corrupt my innocent soul.”

Gen rolled his eyes and started walking to the parking area, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Innocent soul, my ass,” he said. “I look dangerous, but I’m not.” Not to you.

“I know that,” Mika said. “She doesn’t.” He had to jog a little to catch up, a downside to being short. 

“By the way,” Gen said as they neared his truck. “Did you get in trouble last night? You probably cut it close getting in the door.”

Mika shook his head. “If anything, my mom was impressed you got me home in time.”

Gen opened his door and got in while Mika walked around to the other side. “I didn’t get you home,” he said under his breath. Once Mika was strapped in, Gen asked where to go. Mika directed him to head to the convenience store where they met up the night before and he would guide him from there.

As it turned out, from the school, Mika lived around twenty minutes or so away, definitely a trip. He made a comment about it and Mika shrugged. 

“I take the bus a lot so it’s not so hard on Mom’s gas. No big deal.” He looked at Gen. “How far do you live from school?”

“Ten minutes in the opposite direction,” he said, thumbing behind him. “Kinda nice, I guess.”

“Why did you have to cover this morning?” Mika asked after a little spell of silence.

Gen rolled his eyes. “The new girl called in. Not unusual, just way too damn early.” He ran his hand through his mohawk. “I got the call around five-thirty to be there around seven. I didn’t get to sleep until after one or two.”

Mika’s eyes went wide. “And you’re still okay?”

Gen laughed. “I took a nap after work, it’s fine. Plus,” he reached for the coffee can in the center console’s cup holders and shook it, the last bit of liquid slapping the sides before he decided to finish it off. “Liquid joy,” he said, tossing the can in the back. 

“As long as you don’t fall asleep in the middle of our session,” Mika said, shaking his head. “Is that a new hoodie?” 

Gen ran a hand down the front of his hoodie, one that was thinner than the one he usually wore. It was black with an image of Ichigo’s Hollow mask from Bleach. He shook his head. “I’ve had it, it was just too cold to wear it till now.” He pointed at Mika’s hoodie. “That one fits better.”

Mika looked down at his own hoodie, blue with the Naruto Akatsuki symbol on it. A Christmas gift from his mom. It was definitely not as big as the one he usually wore but it was still very comfortable. “Thanks,” was all he could think of to say.

They lapsed into another silence, LiSA’s “Crossing Field” playing in the background. 

They talked about Sword Art Online for a bit, both agreeing it was unfairly maligned. About that time, the convenience store came into view. Mika directed him to turn right at the street just up from it, then left at the next road. Gen followed his directions and drove slowly into a quiet lower-income neighborhood that had definitely seen better days. Chain link fences surrounded dead yards full of broken toys and barking dogs, and the houses were rundown, some desperately in need of repairs.

This was definitely a neighborhood his dad spent a lot of time in back in his beat days. Probably still got calls to come out this way. In his peripherals, he saw Mika slump down a little in his seat, giving one final direction to turn right and then pull up to the third house on the right. 

The house was blue stucco with a garage door that hadn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in years. He parked in front and shut off the engine but Mika made no move to get out. 

He kept his eyes out the window as he said, “Please don’t judge it too harshly.”

Gen shook his head. “Why would I?”

“Because it’s ugly and probably a mess. Remember, I have two younger siblings. Like, little kids, so they make a lot of messes.” Plus there are holes in the walls…

“Mika,” Gen said, touching his shoulder. Mika slowly turned his head to see a reassuring grin on the older boy’s face. “It’s fine. Stop worrying so much.” Just then the front door opened and a woman about Mika’s height walked out. She was slender with blonde hair pulled over one shoulder, her arms holding a little girl, also with blonde hair. A little boy peeked out from behind her legs. He had brown hair and all three of them were fair skinned. Gen glanced from them to Mika, who was darker than all of them. 

Up until this moment, he hadn’t really paid any mind to the fact that he looked Asian, but with bright blue eyes.

Mika seemed to catch on to this in Gen’s confused look. “My dad was Japanese,” was all he said, before opening his door and jumping down.

Gen stared at the small family for a moment. “Huh,” he said and got out his own door. He walked around the truck, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He approached slowly, his nerves on high alert. He just knew Mika’s siblings would run away crying and his mother would pull Mika away, telling Gen to leave or she’d call the cops. It wasn’t the first time mother’s rounded their kids up around him.

He was surprised when she extended her hand, a genuinely pleasant smile on her pretty face. “You must be Glen,” she said, her eyes bright like Mika’s.

“Gen, yes ma’am.” he took her hand and shook it gently. Her hand was small and seemed fragile in his own large hand. 

“Gen, of course,” she corrected herself. “I’m Jolene Calhoun, Mika’s mother. You can call me Jo. She bounced the little girl on her hip. “This is Anabelle, and that’s Benjamin.”

“Is your name Genya?” Benjamin asked, his eyes wide with amazement as he took in the tall young man with the black and red mohawk.

“Ben, seriously?” Mika said, giving Gen an apologetic look. “Be nice.”

He pointed at Gen while he frowned at his big brother. “But he looks like Genya from the show!”

Jo smiled at Gen. “I’m sure you’ve guessed they’re all huge anime fans.”

Gen nodded, his own nervous grin breaking through. “Yeah, I noticed. I am, too.” He looked at Mika and his smile changed to one more reassuring and amused. “To be fair, it is where I got the idea for this.” He pointed to his hair, eliciting an excited laugh from the little boy.

“See, I told you!” he ran inside, Jo following after, Anabelle’s bright blue eyes still focused on Gen’s face, no trace of fear within them. She had a thumb in her mouth and she gave a tired sigh.

Mika stood in the doorway, hesitant to follow. 

“They’re nice,” Gen said. 

Mika turned his head, his eyes dark. “Please,” he said softly. “Don’t judge us by what you see here.”

Gen’s brow furrowed. “Why would I?”

Mika turned away and led him inside. Gen entered the house, his eyes adjusting to the difference in light, gently closing the door behind him. At first, he had no idea what Mika was so worried about. The living room where they entered was clean enough, a few toys scattered about but nothing major. Mika led him through to the dining area where the table was covered with some dishes, probably left over from lunch, and marked up with little doodles and crayon marks. The kitchen counters were cluttered but not to such a state he would make a comment about it. 

It was when Mika moved to put his bag on the kitchen table that he saw it…the broken chair against the wall…that had a huge hole in it. His eyes scanned the rest of the dining area and living room on the pretext of just admiring the house. 

There were holes and stains all over the place. Is that a…blood stain? 

“Are you hungry, Gen?” Jo asked from the kitchen. “I can fix you guys something to snack on while you study.”

Gen put a hand on his stomach and looked to Mika, taking his cues from him, since he had no idea how to respond. He was hungry, but wasn’t sure if he was allowed to accept the offer. Mika nodded.

“Just a snack tray is fine,” Mika said. “We’re gonna go to my room and get started.”

Jo’s head whipped around so fast, her hair smacked into the fridge. “Keep your door open,” she said firmly.

Mika rolled his eyes as he grabbed two sodas from the edge of the counter. He reshouldered his bag and led the way down the adjacent hall. “Yes, ma’am,” he sighed. Gen followed him down the narrow hallway where he turned at the last door on the left. He kicked open his door which was already ajar and they walked in.

Gen’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. It was so much brighter here than the rest of the house. The bed was neatly made, his desk was organized with a gaming chair behind it. His computer was set up in the corner of it with enough room to put his text books in the center. The floor was bare, except where a small table rested in the middle. His short bookshelves were filled to bursting with manga, the tops covered in anime memorabilia, CD’s, and a giant stereo. Posters covered the walls, and there were a few stuffed characters lined up by his pillow.

Mika sat down on the floor next to the table and started taking out his textbooks and notes for algebra. He glanced up at a still bewildered Gen who was doing his best not to weeb out. And here I thought I was the otaku!

“Are you gonna stand there like a gaping fish or can we get started?” he asked.

Gen snapped back to reality and dropped to the floor across from Mika who was in the process of tying his hair back into a thick ponytail. It was the first time Gen had seen Mika’s hair up. He didn’t even know Mika had bangs!

Mika’s eyes went from his books to Gen’s face. “What?” he asked, noting how Gen was looking at him, as though he was seeing him for the first time, his eyes somehow softer, taking him in.

Gen’s head shook slowly from side to side, his eyes never leaving his face. Without even thinking, he said softly, “You’re beautiful.”

Mika froze, his face flushing.

“I mean…your hair…your hair is beautiful!” Gen tried to save himself but was drowning fast. “I’ve just…I’ve never seen you with it up before.” He covered his face with his hands, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I like it,” he mumbled into them.

Mika said nothing for a long minute, trying to find words, any words. Gen thought he was beautiful? 

“Your hair is always covering your face,” Gen finally said, peeking out from between his fingers. “It took me by surprise. I’m sorry.”

Mika shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He swallowed and said, “Thank you. No one’s ever called me that before.”