Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rokuta hums joyfully alongside Hokusai, their hands interlinked as they walk through the park nearby the Suiseki residence.

Usually Ryu is Hokusai's walking buddy but not today.
He is busy riding out his assigned punishment by Yohei. Too many broken glasses while cleaning up so he’s in charge of cleaning before opening for the rest of the week.

It’s as ambitious as it is futile and Yohei knows it, but still consequences are drawn and he forbids Ryu from going out.

Ryu apologises in his own way. Says that since Hokusai came all the way he should take Rokuta instead, who just so happens to be visiting too.
Apparently they too had plans that fell through.

Hokusai doesn’t know Rokuta all that well yet. But he’s always open to finding new friends and really, the way Rokuta’s eyes light up and he looks like a cute little puppy eager for a walk, are very similar to the way Ryu usually greets him at the door, so he has no problem with the substitution.

As soon as they are out the door Rokuta took a hold of his hand.

Hokusai was surprised that he can’t deny but he had slipped in so smoothly and it felt so natural. 

Rokuta was taller than Ryu but smaller than Hokusai, their shoulders almost lined up and it wasn’t uncomfortable the way their arms swung between them.

He was also a busy chatter, talking about food and his day, how he had woken up too late and in a panic only to realise that the time was off.
How Itsuki- his teammate- made the best breakfast pancakes but only on the weekends.
How hungry he was and that he was looking forward to early lunch.
He jumped from one topic to the next without much break but Hokusai didn’t find it irritating or noisy.
Even though Rokuta has a loud voice, the timber is nice. Bright and clear. Hokusai thinks that his raps probably reflect that.
He balances well with the low voice of high voices of his other two teammates. Even though he’s only heard them briefly in a preview.

Iori makes a point of knowing everything about anyone, prepared for all eventualities. Even this one.

Either way, Hokusai doesn’t mind listening. He liked listening to other people talk, even more so when they were this excited about living and doing things.

He was really enjoying himself, all the way up to the point where he started noticing that Rokuta’s grip on his hand was tightening.
It wasn’t all that obvious at first, could have passed as him being nervous, but he didn’t seem that way.
Increasingly Hokusai’s gloves creaked under the strain and the metal embellishments started to push into his skin uncomfortably.

He glanced over, but Rokuta was walking along quite happily. No indication at all of exerting all that much force, yet to Hokusai it felt like his hand was being crushed under a carpress.

“.. it hurts” He finally mutters softly, stopping in his tracks.

He feels awful about having to say anything at all, but the pain is getting too much. Too overpowering to ignore.

Rokuta startles, it’s clear in his eyes- wide and panicked.

His hand tightens even more still before the pressure releases and Hokusai is left with a dull throbbing.  

“I'm sorry so sorry!” Rokuta rushes out but Hokusai notes that he doesn't let go entirely.

“I’m really strong, you know! I can bend frying pans with my hands and all but…” He trails off with a downtrodden look. “I can’t control it very well.”

“It’s ok.” Hokusai assures him and he doesn’t have to force the smile that comes onto his lips. 

Rokuta glances up at him unsure.

“It’s ok now.” Hokusai holds up their interlocked hands between them to show. He wriggles his fingers, bringing some blood flow back to them and it actually feels alright. He might have bruised a bit but nothing’s broken.

“Sorry.” Rokuta repeats again guiltily.

Maybe because Hokusai is so used to it that he defaults to doing it but before he can stop himself he finds his other hand on top of Rokuta’s peach blush coloured hair. It feels familiar in a sense.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt much anymore.” He strokes over the bouncy waves and tilts his head with a smile. The tension eases out of Rokuta’s face and he smiles back at him hesitantly.

“You kinda reminded me of someone…” He admits as Hokusai lets his hand fall back. “When you do that and when we walk.”

Rokuta looks at his feet as he talks and it feels like he’s lost somewhere, deep inside his own head, hearing and seeing things that no one else can.

“Who?” Hokusai asks finally when the break stretches on.

“I don’t know.” Rokuta admits and his head flips up. He’s quick to change gears. That part is very like Ryu. He drags Hokusai along and they start walking again.

“I don’t know but it’s kinda been there the whole time. I remember walking with someone like this and we always held hands. It felt like it does now.”

Hokusai remains silent as he listens.

“It feels good. Your hand.” Rokuta grins at him before swinging his arms out and pulling Hokusai with it, maybe too much power here too but Hokusai is starting to understand when to expect it.

“Warm and big!” Rokuta laughs. “You’re like a bigger brother!”

Hokusai can’t help but chuckle, to most of his family he is, though he usually doesn’t feel much like it. In a sense he is the middle child but there are way more older brothers in the Suiseki.

“I have brothers.” He confirms.

“Ah- right.” Rokuta pulls his left index finger up to his chin in thought. Hokusai’s eyes are briefly distracted by the shiny goat head on his middle finger, refracting the afternoon sun.

“Reo-kun and Satsuki-kun was it?”

Hokusai nods.

“Then you know what I mean.” Rokuta announces satisfied. “Itsuki-nii’s not really the type to hold hands, but we’ve been together for a long time, he sometimes let me hold onto his clothes.”

“Reo does that too.” Hokusai confirms, remembering the many times Reo had hung onto his coat or dragged his arm along. He always let him.

They stay silent for a moment, both lost in their own memories.

Rokuta picks up again first. “It’s a shame Zero couldn’t come out to play.”

Hokusai agrees with a hum.

“Are you two…close?”

“We take lots of walks.” Hokusai answers slowly. It’s the truth. If he had to say he considers Ryu a dear friend but there is denying that they carry a certain distance between them. Ryu is a mystery, which Hokusai enjoys but it also means that he’s hard to grasp.
Even when they hang out, sometimes Hokusai feels like Ryu isn’t quite there, or not really himself.

“Do you think if I do that, I can become close to Zero too?” Rokuta asks hopefully and how could Hokusai deny such a look.

“I’m sure you can.”

“That would be nice.”

They spend a long time talking.
Rokuta complains about being hungry a lot and Hokusai wonders if it’s a trade off to being that strong, if his body is burning double the calories by doing even just small tasks.
He fishes out a candy from his pocket.
A drip of water on a hot stone- it evaporates instantly- but Rokuta’s face lights up, he chews it happily and thanks Hokusai over and over again.
It’s truly adorable.
Apparently Rokuta tends to carry candy too- just in case- but it almost always gets snacked on right away.

By the time they make it back to the bar the sun is starting to dip below the rooftops.

Hokusai notes that his hand remained unclenched and pain free ever since.

“Thanks for today.” Rokuta comes to a halt in front of the door and faces Hokusai. “I’m so hungry now…” He looks drained, like he might keel over any moment and Hokusai is ready to catch him if he does, but instead Rokuta catches his other hand in his.

“Let’s walk again some time.” He smiles widely, his cheeks slightly flushed. “Maybe at night. I really like walking at night. There’s so many nice spots you don’t really notice during the day.”

Hokusai nods and squeezes his hands. “I would like that.”

“Hm.” Rokuta’s fingers slip from his and he finds that after all this time, his hands finally being empty doesn’t feel right anymore. He wills himself not to hold on longer and lets Rokuta open the door.

The jingle announces his arrival and he calls inside.

“I’m starving! Do you have any fried chicken?”