Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jin “Jiji” Enjoji is a funny guy, really - a very, very fun guy to be around. Ask anyone you know, and they will probably say, “Oh, yeah, that guy?  Funniest guy I’ve ever met.” And then they’d probably burst out laughing and recite some odd story of a funny face he made or a poorly timed joke that had everyone doing the ol’ knee slap and cackle. “He’s fun to be around!” Some would say. “I’m sure all the ladies love his sense of humor!” Others would call out. And they’d all surround him with smiles and pats on his back, laughing with him.

But mainly laughing at him.

Back when he was a kid, every yearbook he ever owned had a single page with “Class Clown” printed on the top in goofy letters. In the center of the page would be different iterations of “The Funniest Guy in Class” or “The One Who Puts a Smile on Everyone’s Faces” just above a photo of him. The photos they submitted to the yearbook committee were quite unflattering and always taken at an odd angle that made him look… not particularly human but just weird enough to look at that it made you laugh - he’s still quite haunted by a photo of him bent over a trash can throwing up glitter from a prank one of his friends pulled on him. Jiji never knew where his fellow students and teachers got those photos from, as these days, everyone has a phone to snap embarrassing moment or two. But it was okay, he tried to tell himself, at least he can make people smile!

And a smile was worth a thousand demeaning thoughts in his mind.

Throughout the years, Jiji had gotten pretty used to making himself the butt of every joke. He didn’t mind allowing friends and strangers to point and laugh at him for the simplest things. Oh! There was this one time - it’s funny, really - when he and his friends were walking home from school together, and he tripped on a broken piece of sidewalk. He slipped into the road and face-planted on the asphalt right as a truck approached. A resounding sound of honking came from the truck, the vehicle barely had any time to stop as his friends started to double over with laughter, wiping away their giddy-filled tears. Jiji was wide-eyed, staring down the truck with pale features as the screeching tires barreled his way, barely managing to stop inches from his nose.

“You should’ve seen your face, Jiji!” One of his friends hiccuped out, their laugh all-encompassing his splitting mind. He almost got hit by a truck… and it was funny! Oh, he must’ve really got them this time! He’s such a clutz and that’s funny! He got such beautiful smiles out of everyone, and that made up for the fact he could’ve died, right?

…right?

Oh, that makes him think of another time! Coincidentally, it had been the after-effects of that one glitter prank one of his buddies had gotten him with - a carton of milk a week expired with white glitter mixed all in it. He got horribly sick from the milk, his stomach aching as he barely managed to make it home before throwing up in one of his mother’s rose bushes. Once inside, Jiji found a note from his parents saying they were visiting family out-of-town for the weekend and wouldn’t be back till Sunday night. Which… was fine, he can take care of himself until then. He just needed some good ol’ rest and some electrolytes and he’d be back on his feet for school Monday morning! 

However, after that horrid milk and glitter combination, his stomach wouldn’t settle, his whole home suffering from the smell of vomit. Luckily, there had been no fever so Jiji was only slightly grateful. If his friends knew how bad he was suffering from a little prank, they might have cracked a smile or two at his expense, which is fine! He can laugh along with them!

At some point, the Kito family popped by for their monthly rent. They were not kind with their visit, banging on his front door like maniacs. There was a moment of fear that ran down Jiji’s spine at the thought of them actually breaking the door down, but they didn’t and Jiji appeared in the doorway, greeting them weakly. The rent money had been left with him in his parents’ note before they had departed on their trip, so he shakily handed it over to the greedy family before him. While it was enough money for the month, it was not nearly enough for the Kito family.

Maybe it was his hunched over figure or the demeanor he was wearing that was quite laughable, but Jiji guessed that it was quite amusing to the Kito family. Pokes and prods left a sting on his ribcage where Naki Kito’s sharp fingernails found themselves. “Look at how sick you look! You look like a drowned rat!” Her shrill laugh sounded as if it was an octave higher than anything else in the world at that moment. Naki’s family joined in, their symphony of cackles making Jiji’s already fragile brain strain. But he smiled in the face of it, because it was oh so nice to make someone laugh. 

It was completely fine! Really ! He must’ve looked really funny at that moment in his soiled pajamas with vomit caking his mouth and tired eyes! He is a funny guy, right?!

At least… he thought so . No, he hoped so.

It’s just that… if he’s not funny , then no one would want to be around him. He remembered the years before finding his funny bone where he’d been nothing but someone who was desperately lonely and left completely alone . By being the butt of the joke, the friend you can laugh with about everything, that one person in your life that can always make you smile , Jiji had been able to surround himself with people who loved him - loved to laugh at him - and he loved them for it, with a strained smile and all.

Except that single mentality he’d been carrying with him for years was starting to crumble all around him, he had realized too late. Not everyone likes the class clown who took away from instruction time during class time. Some find his sense of humor moronic like Ms. Seiko, stupidly naive as Turbo Granny had described him once or twice. Aira had all but turned away from him multiple times when he’d been doing too many goofy faces - the first two had been funny, but she had grown tired of the next five. Momo had all but pulled him aside a few times to get him to stop trying to ‘lighten the mood’ by timing his poorly aimed jokes during a serious moment. And Jiji could laugh it off, rub the back of his neck sheepishly and apologize for his behavior in the moment which usually got a positive reaction out of those he cared about - sweet, beautiful, perfect smiles .

“You’re a good kid, Jiji.” Ms. Seiko would pat him on the back. Turbo Granny would nod his way as her way of acceptance. Aira would smile at him, thank him for his apology, and then continue on like nothing had happened. Momo would elbow his side, tell him to lighten up - how ironic - and start poking fun at him. They were all happy with him again, that’s good.

Well, all except Okarun, or rather Ken Takakura - Jiji isn’t allowed to call him Okarun, at least not yet…

Takakura had been immediately on edge with Jiji from the first moment he’d met him - maybe even before Jiji had even laid his eyes on the other teen. Whatever it was, it had been something Jiji had known almost immediately. He tried his hardest to get Takakura to laugh at one of his thousand of jokes or at least get him to relax his tense shoulders enough to share a rare smile with him - not that Takakura’s smiles were rare , but Jiji was never the one to cause them, that’s for sure. But nothing worked, all Jiji got back was venom through gritted teeth and a bit of backlash. It made the usually confident guy falter because he’d been told all his life that he was a funny guy, right? He got everyone to smile, to laugh, to elbow him in the side, to point and laugh at him.

So why wouldn’t Takakura laugh at him?

With every passing moment he shared with Takakura - the good and the bad - the more Jiji felt the urge to linger longer than necessary. Maybe he just didn’t share Takakura’s humor? It was always a possibility, but he was sure that they shared a similar taste if Momo’s poor excuses for jokes were anything to go by. Maybe the secret to his funny bone would show itself to Jiji if he stayed around longer. Watching their small group interact with one another, getting Takakura to show his funny side made a hole in Jiji’s heart. How can Momo get him to laugh like that - all airy and beautifully, blissful? How could she get a shy giggle out of him here and there, a burst-out accidental laugh that Takakura was trying to keep him? What secret was there to get Takakura to laugh so hard he was slapping the table when all Jiji could do was get a forced awkward smile?

What was he doing wrong ?

If he stood near Takakura with some stupid look on his face that always got Aira and Momo to crack up, Takakura would merely turn away. If Jiji tried some stupid pun that had Turbo Granny smacking her forehead with a grin on her face, he’d be told it ‘wasn’t funny’ . If he did a wacky pose, a course of laughter from their band of friends singing their appraisals of yet another perfectly landed joke, Jiji would find that the lead singer, the star of the show, was uncharacteristically silent.

Takakura liked when Momo told him puns from a book she’d picked up at a thrift store, but when Jiji tried it was always ‘in poor taste’ or ‘I’ve already heard that one before’ . He liked Aira’s long-winded stories with a terrible punchline, Jiji watching as it would literally have Takakura rolling on the floor, his laughter pouring out in waves, but his own stories ‘weren’t that funny’ in Takakura’s opinion. Ms. Seiko’s natural humor always got a good chuckle out of everyone, but Jiji was merely left scrambling for anything - a grin, a huff of laughter, a quiet shake of someone desperately trying to keep their giggles at bay. 

NOTHING!

Nothing he tried worked! And he didn’t understand! Whatever it was, it was starting to grate on his nerves. Why did Takakura not laugh at him? Jiji was still a funny guy, he tried to reason with him, everyone laughed at him. Everyone . There had to be a reason and he would find out why . But, until then, he was left just listening to everyone else make the one person he wanted to laugh, well, laugh .

“So, that’s when I said, ‘Oh, and who are you to call me a whale?’ ” Jiji exclaimed in mock anger, puffing up his cheeks in a pout. He poked his chest out with his arms flexed by his side before making a loud guttural whale sound that eerily sounded like a cow dying. He held that pose for only a second before a course of laughter rang out from all around him, sounding like pure heaven to his aching ears. Momo slapped him on the shoulder before bending over the table, struggling to keep her giggles at bay. Aira wasn’t fairing any better, leaning backwards with a hand on her belly, an unusual snort escaping her which merely caused the table to erupt into even louder shouts.

Jiji relaxed his posture from his hilarious pose, grinning from ear-to-ear as he absorbed their giggles the same way a flower absorbs nutrients from the sun. He found himself glances over at Takakura who had his cheek perfectly balanced in the palm of his hand, bent over the table in a small pout. And, of course, he was not laughing. Jiji’s shoulder fell with a dejected sigh. Takakura’s eyes found his own, deep brown eyes boring holes into his soul, completely unamused and not budging whatsoever. Guess it wasn’t a good enough joke, huh?

“ How are you so funny, Jiji?” Aira grinned sweetly, sitting up on her knees to lean over the table, getting close to his face from the other side of the table.

“You could say that I have a bit of a… funny bone in me.” He tried again, raising his shoulders up comically high, “Ehhh??” He gave the group a wide smile knowing that it was an absolute terrible joke. Surely it was funny to Takakura, right? Nope. Another joke down the drain. He could’ve sighed but through pure will, he kept it at bay.

Aira gave him a pity laugh - thank you, Miss Shiratori - slapping him gently on the shoulder before sitting back down. “Oh my god , that was so fucking stupid !” She rolled her eyes, a grin appearing slowly, betraying her true feeling about the joke, “You’re so stupid , Jiji!”

Takakura shifted in his quiet corner of the table, trying to look like he was fiddling on his phone, but Jiji saw it clear as day. “Haha, yeah…” He found himself shrugging half-heartedly as Jiji tried not to let Aira’s comment bother him, “You know I am! I’m basically the stupidest person in the room!” He laughed loudly - maybe a little too loud for comfort - getting a few chuckles out of the girls around him. Jiji couldn’t help himself when surrounded by a song of laughter to find Takakura’s face in the sea of music. There was a surprisingly bitter look on the other teen’s face, mouth pursed as if he had swallowed a pretty sour lemon. His eyebrows were furrowed while his eyes were glossed over as if he were somewhere far away. It was… odd to see Takakura in such a state. Had his joke been that bad that Takakura looked as if he’d been punched in the gut. 

“Is that why you’re still single, Jiji?” Not reading the room whatsoever, Aira continued her prodding.

“Huh?

She waved a hand in his direction, “Those stupid jokes of your’s. Does it have anything to do with your dating status?” She couldn’t help but laugh at his dumbfounded face.

Not one to let the chance at another joke, Jiji posed with his arm flexed, “If you mean that because I’m the funniest guy in the room, then I wear it like a badge of honor!” Takakura’s mood seemed to sour even more, practically a warning sign flashing over his head, one that Jiji wasn’t sure he should ignore. “If I remember correctly,” He spoke with a wide grin, arms wide spread, “I think the last time that I was someone’s type was when I was donating blood at the blood drive!”

Aira chuckled mercilessly, “Oh!! Haha! That’s pretty good, Jiji! But I doubt you’ve ever been someone’s type!” If it hadn’t been for Jiji actively paying attention to Takakura’s movements near him, he likely would’ve missed the sound his teeth made clenching together all the sudden, the clear clicking noise making Jiji’s ears strain. “Would you care if I used you as a bad example for the male loneliness epidemic?” Aira waved a hand over his figure, “I think I need some data for my project next week.”

“At least I’ll be useful for something this time!” He bit back with a wide-spread grin, “You could say I’m like the human equivalent of a typo.”

She hissed slowly before barking out a laugh, “What’s the similarity between a broken pencil and your life?” Takakura set his phone down on the table, eyes dark and face completely frozen.

“What?” Jiji was sure he’d heard this joke somewhere before.

“They’re both pointless!” She chuckled loudly, getting an equally loud shout of laughter out of Jiji as well.

Takakura stood up quickly from the table, nearly knocking everything else off. He muttered out a quick apology before grabbing his bag and heading for the door, “Sorry, everyone I forgot I had to do something for my parents… Bye.” He didn’t give anyone a chance to chase after him as he was already out the door before it had dawned on anyone.

Jiji didn’t even have the words to describe what he felt like. Were the jokes too much for Takakura? Were they really that bad that it had him sprinting out of the room? He sunk in on himself just a bit as Ms. Seiko came into the room, eyes scanning carefully, “Where’s Takakura-kun?”

“He left.” Aira mumbled out.

She scratched her head, huffing out a sigh, “Oh well, more food for us. Dinner’s done if you all want some.”

“Thank you for the food.” Jiji said automatically, almost unconsciously so. His eyes were still glued to the front door, practically analyzing every word he said while in the presence of Takakura. Was it because Jiji was the one telling the jokes? Did he hate Jiji that much that he couldn’t even stand a single word out of his mouth? He got an eerie sick feeling in his stomach as Ms. Seiko brought out some food for them.

Momo scooted closer to him, poking him in the side with a knowing look in his eyes, “You alright, dude?”

He shrugged, “I dunno? Is it weird for Takakura to do that? You’ve known him longer than I have, so…” His words trailed off as he couldn’t help but glance at the door as if Takakura would magically waltz back in.

“It is weird.” Momo muttered out, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, “He seemed off tonight, to be honest. Maybe he’s got something going on at home?”

“It could be school too, we have exams in like a month.” Jiji offered half-heartedly. No, it wasn’t either of those things. Deep down, he had a feeling it had something to do with his jokes which was… a little stupid, but Jiji must’ve offended Takakura or something. Why else would he scramble out the door like a scared dog with its tail tucked between its legs?

He’d make it up to him someday.

Jiji sits at his desk motionlessly staring at the chalkboard in front of him. Letters and numbers blurred together, his teacher’s voice a thick monotone that made the teen’s brain hazy. The longer the teacher droned on and on about this or that, the farther Jiji fell into a contemplating silence, fingers thrumming along his unused pencil, rolling it around on his desk absentmindedly. It had been a few too many days since Takakura had practically run out of Momo’s house and it has continued to plague his mind since. He thought by now that he would’ve already pushed it to the back of his head, but no, Jiji was still lingering on it. No matter how many times he went over their last conversation with one another, nothing spurred Jiji into action.

He and Aira were just joking around for fuck’s sake! Why would Takakura be upset over that?! He doesn’t even like Jiji’s jokes!

Still though, something about the other day made him pause - something about his demeanor before Takakura all but scrambled away gave Jiji an odd feeling in his chest. That sour, bitter look on his face. His cold, dark eyes that glared at everything and nothing at the same time had held Jiji’s stare, a deep fire in the depths. The way his hands flexed and tensed the same way Jiji had seen it during their fights against ghosts and aliens, white knuckled and all. He had seen the way Takakura’s jaw and shoulders stiffened, practically hiked up to his ears, body shaking every time Jiji and Aira joked with one another. He couldn’t make sense of Takakura’s behavior.

But maybe that was what was bothering Jiji all along.

He didn’t know him.

Takakura’s laugh rang joyously in his head, his pencil rolling off his desk, not that Jiji cared as he smiled at the memory. Momo had retold something stupid that had happened in her homeroom class that just so happened to have some lingering effects of Takakura’s funny bone. He was practically giggling over that same stupid thing for days after. Every day when the silence would creep over their group, the teen’s giggles would start filtering out, a desperate hand trying to quell the giddiness in his chest. Takakura tried to fight it, to forget a quote from whatever that stupid thing had been, to not repeat anything of the story lest he began to get himself worked up over and over, again and again.

Whereas Aira and Momo were practically pulling their hair out by day two of the broken record that was now Takakura’s humor, Jiji had merely watched the other teen with a small amused smile, face warm with awe. He remembered that he hadn’t even tried to goad Takakura into failing to keep his giggles at bay, something Jiji had a bad habit of, if he knew someone found something funny, he was going to repeat it for forever. “You’re running it into the dirt.” He had been told countless times with little to no success in getting him to stop.

It always made Jiji’s heart flutter when he’d hear the very rare laugh, eyes wide for a fraction of a section before he’d lay a hand on his cheek and stare at Takakura with lidded eyes. He liked to watch the other teen come undone, watching as something sparked a flicker of a memory too funny not to remember. He laughed with his whole chest, Jiji realized as he allowed his own memory to flow through his tired mind. 

He loved Takakura’s laugh.

The bell rang suddenly and all too loudly for Jiji’s taste, its high pitch making him cringe. At least it was the end of the day, he supposed. His fellow classmates were already skittering out of their seats like roaches when a bright light found them in the dark. Jiji’s friends practically pounced on him, pulling the tall teen out of his seat with enthusiasm. They dragged him out of the classroom with hoots and hollers, celebrating the fact that it was a weekend and they were finally free from the week’s worth of torture. Jiji let himself be moved however they pleased, happy to just be included, his friends’ energy rubbing off on him.

Upon stepping out of the school building, something caught his eye. Jiji peeked up from behind his bangs, dark hair and circular glasses appearing in his peripheral vision. He moved his head out from behind his friend’s back to see more than what his earlier position hadn’t allowed. He felt his breath stutter, wide eyes staring ahead at Takakura sitting on a bench by himself reading one of his alien magazines. His dark eyelashes had an orange tint from the sun above them, practically glowing on his soft face. His lips were parted, almost mouthing the words on the page underneath him, fingers thrumming unconsciously. 

He looked kind of cute like that.

Jiji’s eyes widened, standing straight up as if he’d been burned by the thought. He ducked his head deeply, staring at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Curiosity killed the cat, though; he couldn’t help himself as his eyes peered back up. Takakura wiped a stray hair out of his eye, huffing to himself. His glasses slid down the length of his nose, something Takakura wasn’t quick to fix. His mouth pooled with air, lips squashing into a cute pout. 

He didn’t mean cute in like… the girl-kind-of-cute! It’s just c-cute that Takakura liked to read stuff that related to his hobby. Jiji stumbled over his own feet. Yeah, that’s all. It’s very, very cute when people are passionate about stuff they like! He was even more hesitant to glance at the other boy again after his thoughts had spiraled out of control not once, but twice , however, Takakura was almost like a drug for his eyes and Jiji allowed himself to absorb the small contented smile Takakura wore on his face, flipping to the next page.

Yeah, really cute… in a totally cool way, not a girl-cute way. Totally.

“Hey, Jiji,” His friend, Akira, suddenly called out. He barely managed to get Jiji’s attention before a sandwich was practically shoved into his nose. “Taste this!” Akira belched out a laugh. 

“What-” There was a split second of Jiji trying to collect himself before his poor nose was assaulted with a horribly pungent smell. He gagged loudly, Takakura’s head whipping up at the sound. Jiji desperately tried to shove the offending material away from him, but his friend merely pushed him back, wagging the sandwich closer and closer to him. “Dude!” He tried to pinch his nose but the scent had made a home in his nostrils, “That’s gross!”

“C’mon, man! Tell me how it tastes!” He jeered, practically chasing Jiji around the courtyard with it, “It’s your favorite! Rotten fish and warm mayo! I left it out in the sun just for you ! Mmm~”

Jiji stumbled backwards as the high-pitched laugh surrounded him like a cloud of death, the scent practically making him tear up as he desperately tried to find a means of escaping. He turned his back on the rotten fish sandwich only to have a bag thrusted into his face. It took a moment before his eyes caught up with his panic, but when it had, Jiji felt bile rush up his throat.

There were maggots in a fucking bag !

His other friend, Kai, cackled as he held the bag with both hands, sloshing it around in some kind of visual display of horrors, Jiji looking quite pale as the rotten liquid inside sloshed. “D-Dude, what’s wrong with you-” He couldn’t even express his discomfort with the situation as an arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him painfully backwards, his back popping loudly in strain. He hissed as the fish sandwich presented itself once more, hovering just above his head.

Jiji’s eyes were wide with terror. The soiled fish juice starts to form a perfect drip at the bottom of the molding bread. They were fucking with him right? They wouldn’t let that shit get on him right? He’s going to throw up at any moment, eyes trained on that single droplet hovering inches above his face. He could feel his breath catch in his throat, eyes feeling a bit warm with emotion. Jiji exhaled hard, a shuddering sound escaping him as panic reared its ugly head. It was going to drip on his face any second now and all he could do was watch, completely pinned down and unable to do anything.

That’s when a hand suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, wrapping around Akira’s wrist painfully tight. The newcomer yanked Akira’s hand away, the fish sandwich flying in some random direction. “OW!!!” He howled in pain, releasing Jiji quickly as his wrist began to be bent at an awkward angle, “L-Let go of me !!”

Jiji had half of a second to take a large breath as he collapsed onto the ground before bile shot up his throat, gagging mercilessly into the grass underneath him. His stomach tensed painfully as he shook minutely. There was loud arguing above him, but his ears were still ringing with his panic. Why’d they do that to him? They know Jiji hates anything gross like that! So why…

He gave himself a second to collect himself before realizing that the shouting hadn’t stopped. He lifted his head weakly, eyes wide with recognition. It was none other than the one and only Ken Takakura, his hand wrapped out his friend’s wrist and holding just enough pressure on it to have Akira on his knees begging for release.

“T-Takakura, wait…” Jiji found himself mumbling out, pausing upon noticing the tale-tell signs of Turbo Granny’s power activating somewhere along his form if the smoky back and the barest hint of red and white peeking through the strands of his usually dark hair was anything to go by. It seemed Takakura was holding back a great deal of anger relatively well considering he wasn’t towering over them all with malicious intent. “Takakura!” Jiji called out, “It’s o-okay! We were just playing around!” He stood up on shaky feet. “We were just playing around!” Jiji insisted when he realized that the tension in the air had only increased, the air hot with malice, “Really! It was funny, right? They really got me this time!” He tried to laugh it off even when his stomach and lungs were still fighting off an ensuing panic attack. His friends joined in, nervously laughing along with the redhead.

For the first time in a while, Takakura turned his head a fraction, eyeing Jiji with piercing red eyes, rooting the teen to the spot. “It doesn’t look like it.” There was a hiss in the air, venom in his words.

“It was just a joke!” He was practically begging, eyes wet with emotion.

“It’s not just a joke !” Takakura growled out, shaking Akira violently while Kai watched in stunned fear. Jiji visibly flinched at the teen’s words, actively taking a step back; there was so much anger in his voice. He had seen Takakura in this form multiple times, had seen him so pissed off that he went all-out just for the hell of it, but this time… was he angry… at him ?

Akira spit at Takakura, “Let me go, freak !”

Red eyes glared down at the teen on his knees beneath him before practically throwing Akira away like he was trash. His fist clenched while he was contemplating his next words, Jiji watching with bated breath. “Jokes are meant to be funny.” Takakura hissed out, Turbo Granny’s powers dissipating as he began to walk away, purposely passing Jiji on the way out, “And what they just did to you is not funny .”

Jiji’s head turned to follow the figure, watching him with furrowed brows. “Takakura, I…” He tried to call out weakly, but the other teen didn’t even bother turning around. Whatever he was going to say died down in his throat, a feeling a deep shame and guilt filling his uneasy stomach.

Once recovered, Akira was quick to rush over to Jiji, forcefully pushing him. “Some friend you’ve got!” There was fire in his eyes, a scoff on his lips, “I can’t believe you’d let some freak grab me like that! And here I thought we were friends , Jiji!”

“Yeah, dude.” Kai piped in, throwing the bag of maggots into some random trash can nearby, wiping his hand on his jeans, “Someone should put him in a circus with the other freaks.” Kai and Akira snickered amongst themselves.

Something in him snapped at that moment. “Shut up !” Jiji’s head spun around, glaring daggers at his friends, “You don’t get to call him that! He’s not a fucking freak !”

The two glanced at each other with mild aggravation before deciding to laugh at him instead. “Touched a nerve there, huh?” Kai raised his hands in surrender, “Whatever, man… I’m going home. I’m tired of seeing your ugly face.”

“Same here.” Came from the other as the two started to walk away, “See you some other time, Jiji.” Akira paused for a second, rubbing his wrist carefully, “Maybe next time we hang out you can keep the freakazoid away.”

Jiji’s hand actually curled into a fist, his teeth clenching together painfully. There was a fire burning within his core that begged him to go after his so-called friends and knock some sense into them. His feet dug into the dirt underneath his feet, huffing angrily, their laughter practically taunting him where it echoed in his ears. Jiji found himself sneering in their direction.

How dare they say that about Takakura?! If anyone is a freak , it’s fucking them ! He scrubbed his face with a loud groan. What was wrong with them?! 

Jiji didn’t know how to describe the feeling in his chest, a tornado of emotions crashing into one another, leaving him breathless. Whatever it was, he was too angry to think about it at the moment, stomping aggressively out of the courtyard to make his way over to Momo’s house.

A week had nearly passed since that fateful day and it was safe to say that Jiji and Takakura had intentionally or unintentionally - Jiji couldn’t say for sure - avoided each other like the plague. Maybe it was embarrassment on Jiji’s part or anger from Takakura, but all Jiji knew was that he was… missing seeing those dark eyes and circular glasses, that easy cute smile he wore. It took him a day or two of radio silence for the redhead to realize that, ending up mostly alone throughout the day. Akira and Kai had given him a wide berth since that day so, it’s safe to say they were still mad about the incident a week ago, not that Jiji could blame them.

He didn’t know what to do about the Takakura situation. Everything he did just seemed to make the teen angrier and angrier at Jiji. Nothing he did was ever right and, at this point, Jiji was positive that Takakura must hate him. There was no other reason as to why these things kept happening. And with him sitting directly across from Jiji at the table at Ms. Seiko’s house, Jiji struggled to keep himself from shaking in apprehension.

“Oi! Earth to Jiji~” Momo waved a hand over his face, startling him out of his stupor, “You still there?”

He blinked quickly before sharing a rare sheepish smile with the table, “Oops, sorry! I got lost in thought!"

She rolled her eyes with a smile, “What’s got you thinking so deeply?”

“Oh, nothing important.” 

“Suuure~”

Jiji’s smile felt forced though as the attention drifted away from him. His eyes lifted up from the small hole in the dining table that had suddenly become so interesting for him, meeting Takakura’s eyes for a moment before the teen looked away, not intent on sharing his gaze. Jiji sighed. It had been the first time in a week he’d seen him and all Jiji could think about was how he missed how they interacted before even if it was slim to none.

“Are you still not listening?!” Momo suddenly whined out, shaking him this time, “Stop zoning out, Jiji!”

He let himself be shaked, chuckling softly, “Ah, sorry, Momo-chan, I’m just a little tired today.”

“Wow, what a convenient excuse!” She shook her head before settling back into her seat.

Jiji smiled, “What did you want to say to me?”

“Oh, so now you want to listen to me?”

“Momo…” He whined.

“Fine, fine.” She raised her hand in surrender, “I wanted you to tell that one joke you told me! The one about the conductor!! Please, please please !”

It took Jiji all but a second to recall the joke, snorting in remembrance. And then it took another whole second for a pit to form in his stomach. It was quite a long-winded joke, at least a good minute or two to even get through, and another minute for the punchline to hit. Something in him made him hesitate. 

“Jokes are meant to be funny.”

It was… Surely, it was a funny joke. Jiji scratched his head carefully. Maybe… it would get Takakura to laugh? It was a poor, poor joke, but oh, so funny! Maybe it would allow Jiji back into Takakura’s good graces again? He hadn’t exactly had the chance to apologize about last week, so maybe this would do the trick! 

Jiji stood up with excitement, Momo happily clapping her hands together in a loud cheer. “There once was a conductor named Haku.” He waved a hand over the table to set the scene, “Haku conducted for a famous orchestra. During a performance one evening, Haku made a minor mistake while conducting. The orchestra didn’t notice and neither did the audience, but he noticed. It was a blemish on his perfect career!” Jiji mock-fainted, a hand dramatically laying over his forehead as he tipped backwards, a secretive eye glancing at Takakura.

A frown.

“At the end of his otherwise amazing performance, Haku turned to face the audience and said ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I am retiring as conductor of this fine orchestra! Tonight has been my final performance’ before bowing.” Jiji continues, trying to do a goofy deep voice for Haku, the conductor getting a giggle out of Momo, “He stepped off the podium and walked off stage, ignoring the audience’s stunned silence.” He did another dramatic flair of his hand. “But, when he tried to walk backstage, two huge goons grabbed him by the arms-” Jiji suddenly sprang to life, reaching out for Aira who was sitting next to where his amazing performance was, shaking her shoulders frantically, “And they say to him ‘Oh, no you don’t! Back to work!’ in deep, menacing voices!”

Aira shrieked with laughter, allowing herself to be shaken mercilessly, “Okay! Okay! Hahaha! No m-more!”

Jiji obliged, his eyes wandering to Takakura’s form who merely sat solemnly before continuing his long-winded joke, “The night night, Haku is forced to perform, growing even more determined to quit! After his second performance - one that was just as amazing and grand as his last - he turns to face the audience and says again ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I am once again announcing my retirement as conductor’ . With that, he pulls out a gun and shoots the tuba player dead!” He made gunshot noises, firing his finger-gun all around the room like a maniac. 

“Okaaay, this just got dark.” Aira commented quietly, still mildly chuckling from being shaken.

“ Shh !” Momo chastised, a finger over her lips, “One of my favorite parts is coming up!”

Jiji waits for complete silence to continue. “The police arrive at the scene and promptly arrest Haku, taking him to jail. Months later, he is tried for first-degree murder, convicted immediately and sentenced to death by electrocution!”

The pink-haired girl eyed Momo with mild discomfort, “ This is your favorite part?”

“ Shh!!”

He couldn’t help but see humor in the girls’ exchange, clearing his throat to get their attention once more. Jiji spared a glance at Takakura who was surprisingly listening, dark eyes staring back with an emotionless gaze. He swallowed thickly. “T-The evening before his execution-” Jiji coughed, face feeling a little warm under Takakura’s intense stare, “the warden asks Haku what he would like for his final meal. He requests a dozen bananas. The bananas are presented to Haku, but he rejects them.” The joke spills out a little sluggishly.

Was it hot in the room?

“You know, on a side-note,” Momo suddenly spoke up, all attention falling onto her, “Since all that serpo stuff, I feel like I can’t hear the word bananas anymore…” She shuddered lightly, getting a few looks before she shyly ushered for Jiji to finish his joke.

“At midnight, Haku is strapped into the electric chair and the switch is thrown.” He cranks his arm up in the air before pulling an imaginary lever, “Haku’s body crackles and sizzles and dances with electricity, but when the spectacle is over…” Jiji finds himself pausing at the little tilt Takakura’s head does, mouth feeling a little dry. “H-Haku is alive!” His voice cracks almost shamefully. 

“Huh?!” Aira couldn’t help but blurt out, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Haku is set free after his miraculous survival - after all, his sentence was technically carried out!” Jiji laughed at the girl’s confusion while also trying to hold himself together under Takakura’s careful stare, “However, outside of the prison exit are the two goons-”

“Oh my god…” Aira grumbled out, stuffing her head in her hands.

“-who immediately tell Haku ‘Back to work’ ! The next night, Haku is back in front of the orchestra.” Jiji easily talked over her, “After a third brilliant performance, he says ‘Ladies and gentlemen, for the third time, I am announcing my retirement!’ With that, Haku pulls out a grenade from where he’d hidden it in his coat pocket. He rips the pin with his teeth-” He mimics the motions. “-and tosses it into the orchestra! It explodes, killing the entire violin section!” Jiji is quick with the sound effects, a deep timbre BOOM and loud teeth screeching sounds as well as a terrible impression of an exploding violin sound coming from his mouth, his hands making large billowing shapes to mimic a smoke cloud. 

Ms. Seiko walks in at the moment, pausing to chuckle at the group, “Are you telling the story about the conductor again?”

“Yes, he is!” Momo responded excitedly, thoroughly enjoying herself.

“Well, hurry up, Jiji, I need help in the kitchen when you’re done.” She responded with a smile before turning back to the kitchen, “And you know how I can’t trust Momo with anything cookware.”

“Hey!”

“Yes, ma’am.” He called after her, trying to stifle his laugh as Momo fell into herself dramatically, “So, back to the joke. Once again, Haku is arrested, tried for his crimes, and convicted. The warden offers him his final meal. He requests another dozen bananas, however, like last time when the bananas were offered, Haku rejects them.”

“Okay, I’m confused now…” Aira hopelessly admits.

“This time, to stop Haku from surviving the electric chair again , the prison decide to double the voltage.” Jiji could’ve swooned when he heard a soft hum coming from where Takakura was sitting; he couldn’t be sure, but maybe that was an almost laugh? No, he can’t delude himself. He’s never laughed at Jiji, why would he start now? “When they throw the switch, the lights in the execution chamber explode in a shower of sparks. But lo and behold, Haku is still alive!” Jiji shouts out, getting a groan out of Aira, “They begrudgingly let him go.”

“Let me guess,” She couldn’t help but sigh out, finding that she was getting a little bored of this truly long joke, “those guys are waiting for him and they tell him to get back to work?”

Jiji laughs sheepishly, trying to collect himself since she kind of took the words from his mouth, “Yes, yes, that happens - glad you’re still following along.” She gave him a pointed look. “So, the next day, Haku is back in front of the orchestra. After the performance, he pulls out a bazooka-”

“What the fuck , Jiji?” Aira groaned.

“-and says ‘To hell with you all’ and fires into the audience. There is a huge explosion - a truly big KABOOM !!! The concert hall comes crashing down, killing thousands of people!!!” Jiji’s voice was loud and in charge as he posed with an imaginary bazooka over his shoulder, shaking his body in an odd goofy way as if he were firing the bazooka into Aira, Momo, and Takakura. 

“Honestly, have we figured out why people keep coming back to his concerts after he’s had two separate incidents of him trying to kill people?!” Aira found herself asking the big question, trying not to be amused, “If it were me-”

“Shh!!!” Momo insisted with a hiss.

She held up her hands in surrender, “I’m just saying that-”

“As I was saying ~” Jiji couldn’t help but exclaim with only a slightly irritated smile, Aira and Momo piping down quickly, “Haku is arrested, tried, and convicted. This time, the prison sends out a notice to the surrounding community to expect a blackout the following day. They’ve planned to reroute the entire town’s power grid into the electric chair.”

“I bet they’re tired of him.” Momo whispered loudly, pointedly elbowing Aira in the ribs who merely gave her a nasty look.

“The last meal is offered, a dozen bananas requested, and when presented, Haku rejects them. It’s only then that the fateful moment arrives…” Jiji makes a whooshing sound for dramatic effect, “Haku is strapped into the electric chair for the third time. The warden sighs heavily and throws the switch and…” He let a lengthy pause pass over their group. “The entire chamber explodes!!!” He growls out, arms big and wide with a light expression on his face.

Jiji’s shoulder slump when an almost there smile graces Takakura’s face. Is he imagining it?

“D-Debris and sparks are flying everywhere.” His eyes are stuck on Takakura, “Afterwards, there’s just a pile of rubble where the execution chamber once stood.” How can someone so cute be so stubborn? “The warden staggers over to where the electric chair once was and begins to dig through the debris, looking for Haku’s body.” Jiji coughed for dramatic effect, mimicking the warden as if he were flapping away a plume of smoke, “The warden finds a hand, presses his fingers to the wrist, and waits…”

The entire room is silent as the punchline waits just around the corner.

“And he’s still alive !” Jiji howls out, “The warden, unbelieving, digs Haku out of the rubble and shouts out ‘How?! How are you still alive after receiving all that electricity?!’ And Haku responds weakly…” Jiji holds out his hand, falling to his knees and coughing wildly. “ ‘I’ve been trying to tell you…” He finds that same deep goofy voice for the character, “I’m a bad conductor!’ ” With that, Jiji jumps onto his feet and  poses with his hands in the air, letting the joke sink on everyone.

“Do you get it?” Momo poked Aira after a second more than necessary, a devilish grin on her face, cheeks turning redder and redder as she tried not to laugh.

Aira looked like she’d tasted an exceptionally sour lemon, lips sucked in and eyes straining as she tried to hold in her laughter. “That… T-That was a terrible joke.” She tried to argue, all but struggling to keep her emotions in check.

“He was a bad conductor, Aira.” Jiji pressed with a wide grin on his face, “A very bad conductor .”

Maybe it was how slow his words had just been said, but Aira reluctantly huffed out a laugh, shaking her head as if it would stop it, but instead it caused her to burst out loud with a bark of a laugh. “It’s so stupid !” She shouted out in between giggles, “I should’ve known when you said conductor and bananas in the same sentence!!!” 

Momo laughed considerably, smacking her on the back, “It never gets any funnier than the first time you hear it! But Jiji tells it so well, it’s become my favorite joke by far!” Jiji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, doing a curtsy bow, getting a chuckle out of Aira and an imitation from Momo.

He feels the warmth of their laughter on his skin, eyes finding Takakura easily. Jiji couldn’t help but desperately search the other teen’s features for anything , some kind of crack in the foundation keeping his beautiful laughter at bay. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing . That almost there smile was gone - maybe he had imagined it. Instead, Takakura looked away, staring anywhere that wasn’t him - the floor, the table, the ceiling, anything that wasn’t Jiji . And that just made him frown, heart panging in discomfort.

Momo elbowed Takakura, “What about you? Did you get it?” She was breathless after laughing so much, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

He shrugged, “Yeah. Electricity conducts poorly in bananas, that’s why it was rejected by the conductor. It’s okay.”

“Aww, c’mon party pooper!” She groaned, leaning heavily on him, practically laying on him and, whatever reason, that made Jiji’s frown grow, “What about the grenade to the violin section? That part was so funny! You could even say… that killing a bunch of violinists is an act of… violins .” She paused for the joke to hit. “Get it, like violence ? But violins ?” Momo grinned widely when she got a half-heartedly chuckle out of Takakura, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“That was terrible .” He giggled sweetly.

And how it was music to Jiji’s sore ears. It felt like it had been an eternity since the last time he'd heard Takakura’s laugh. It sucks that he wasn’t exactly the one who caused such a breathtaking sound. His joke sure as hell wasn’t the catalyst, but the mere imitation of it from someone else’s mouth had enacted a symphony of sounds that wanted to make Jiji crumble. What was he doing wrong ?!

“O-Oh, I forgot-” He suddenly called out, “Ms. Seiko needs my help in the kitchen.” It was a nice excuse… even though it was technically true. He just couldn’t be in the same room as Takakura right now. He walked - and, no, he did not run - to meet Ms. Seiko in the kitchen, hovering beside her as he waited for some kind of instruction.

She stirred the pan in front of her for a moment before turning to him. “Can you go ahead and bring all the plates and bowls to the table? The food needs a few more minutes before it’s done, but we can at least set the table.” Ms. Seiko called out easily, passing over a few dishes she’d already stacked into his hands, “Oh, and can you grab the soy sauce and oyster sauce as well? Aira may want sesame seeds too, so, if you see it, can you get that too?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted poorly with a puffed up chest that got him a soft chuckle. He did as he was told, marching out of the kitchen, carrying the dishes over to their dining table. Momo took them from him, helping to set everything out. Jiji had barely stepped back into the kitchen when an explosive sound of laughter bellowed from behind him. He sank in on himself, biting his lip deeply as he realized it was Takakura’s laugh .

He tried to block out the sound while being barked orders at, handing over spices and whatever Ms. Seiko needed for dinner. Jiji made a second trip to deposit the sauces and sesame seeds, trying not to let his body feel so utterly stiff upon seeing the soft smile Takakura wore - easy, beautiful, breathtakingly amazing . He got some oohh's and aahh's from the two girls crowding around the table before escaping back into the kitchen, listening to Momo and Aira theorize what Ms. Seiko made for dinner. There was a lull in the conversation before another round of laughter belted out of Takakura.  

He tried not, really , but Jiji couldn’t help but frown deeply, listening intensely. Takakura’s laugh was so different from any other laugh he’d ever heard before - and believe him, Jiji had heard many laughs in his seventeen years of life. He was basically an expert. It was some variation of a soft chuckle of shock before belting out a loud boisterous laugh, almost like a bark before hiccuping out waves and waves of belly laughter. Jiji couldn’t help but peek an eye into the other room where Takakura was all but laying on the floor clutching his stomach, slapping the floor by his hip as Aira and Momo laughed with him. He smacked the table on accident, almost knocking over the bottle of soy sauce had it not been for Aira barely catching the thing.

There was a breath of silence before Takakura all but burst out loud with a howling laugh, Jiji melting at the sight, knees weak. He watched as Takakura’s face was starting to turn this pretty pink color from strain as he all but begged the two girls to stop with whatever joke they were going on about because he was swearing up and down that he would die if they continued. Jiji wondered what he would do if he had Takakura begging him… The thought died in his head as he flushed red, continuing to watch in stunned awe at the display. Takakura’s wide giddy smile was full of teeth and gums, a teary glaze over his dark brown eyes. He was practically glowing in his own amusement, something Jiji was both equally happy and upset over.

Why couldn’t he make Takakura laugh like that? Why couldn’t he make him look like that?

“Something catching your eye, eh, JIji?” There was a voice directly behind him, Ms. Seiko’s voice chuckled quietly as she watched the poor kid jump at the sound of her voice.

Jiji spun around dizzyingly quick, staring up at the woman who was far too close for comfort. His face warmed with embarrassment after basically being caught red handed. “Ah, it’s, um… n-nothing. It’s nothing, Ms. Seiko.” He tried to smile albeit a little sheepishly, “I was just… trying to figure out what they were all laughing about, t-that’s all.” He found himself admitting with surprising honesty.

The older woman eyed him behind her glasses, raising an eyebrow in concern, “Uh huh… yeah, I’m sure that’s what you were doing. Very convenient.” Jiji paused, unsure about how skeptical she sounded. Like grandmother, like granddaughter, he supposed, thinking back to Momo’s words earlier. Ms. Seiko shrugged, going back to the stove, “You know…” Her voice trailed off as he hesitantly joined her over in the particular corner of the kitchen, leaning against an adjacent counter. “Takakura-kun does think you’re funny.” She started, wagging a ladle at him.

Jiji felt frozen to the spot, eyes stuck wide open and barely able to force a blink, the motion slow and stuttering, almost akin to a winking frog. “Huh?” He found himself murmuring out, a shocked hand moving to hold his bangs back as he absorbed the rather… interesting information. For one thing, how does Ms. Seiko know what Takakura is or isn’t feeling? And second of all, he thinks Jiji is funny ? Debatable. 

“It’s true, Jiji.” She continued, cracking her neck, figuratively and physically stirring the pot in front of her, “I can tell by that look on your face that you don’t believe me, but you just have to trust me on this. What’s the saying? Listen to your elders?”

He crossed his arms over his chest in thought, looking over his shoulder where he could barely see Takakura in the other room, “It’s not that I don’t believe you…”

“You don’t.”

“It’s just difficult to, well, I guess… picture Takakura thinking I’m funny !” He threw his hands in the air, “I mean, you’ve seen him, right? He never laughs at my jokes! Hell, he even attacked a friend of mine when we were joking around!”

Ms. Seiko physically paused, turning to look at him critically, “What?” Her voice was hushed.

Jiji grew quiet as he took in her gaze, feeling himself tense, “He… He hurt my buddy Akira’s wrist at school a week ago.”

“What happened?” Her face was unreadable.

“Well, my friends thought it would be funny to pull a really… nasty prank on me.” He tried to laugh, but his stomach flipped thinking back to it, “They were trying to feed me a rotten sandwich. And, I admit, the whole thing got out of hand!” Jiji held up his hands in a passive way, Ms. Seiko watches him carefully, still as expressionless as before. “And I guess I got a little freaked out because - oh god, the smell - you should’ve been there! It was awful ! I’ve never smelled something that rotten before!” That uneasy laugh filtered through his words before the air became as tense as it had when Takakura had confronted Akira.

“Jiji…”

“It was a joke.” He was quick to say, or rather squeak out, voice sharp.

She pursed her lips, “What did he do?”

“Got mad.” He instantly mumbled out, unable to look her in the eye, “Totally had some of Turbo Granny’s influence on him. I was… kind of scared that he would kill Akira. He knocked the sandwich away and I may or may not have almost puked?”

Ms. Seiko gave him a strange look before turning back to the pot in front of her, unusually quiet. It was a few moments of this tense silence before she sighed, “I don’t know how to help you with this, Jiji.” Her voice was soft, tender almost, something Jiji had never heard from her. 

“Ms. Seiko?”

She shook her head and reached for the pot holders, grabbed the hot pot in front of her and walked out of the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready!” She called out to the teen’s in the other room. Jiji solemnly followed her out of the room, unsure of the conversation that had just taken place, moving to sit at the table. Coincidentally, Takakura had somehow ended up sitting beside him, although uncomfortably.

Jiji fidgeted with his thumbs under the table for a moment, collecting himself from the rather tense conversation in the kitchen. He didn’t understand why both Takakura and Ms. Seiko looked so upset over the thing with Akira. It was a joke, right?

And what they did to you was not funny .

The words blared in his head, making the teen pinch his eyebrows together. He glanced down at Takakura, eyes pained and searching for something . The other was purposefully not looking up at Jiji, he could tell, noticing the minute shift as if he was trying to get away. Jiji’s shoulders slumped. Had he messed things up with Takakura so severely that there was no way to come back from it? That thought alone made Jiji’s mood sour even more. 

Takakura-kun does think you’re funny. No, he doesn’t. 

Intense eyes are staring back at him, watching him carefully as he recites a joke. There’s a hum in his throat as if Takakura was stifling a laugh. There’s a strange delight in his eyes as the punchline approaches and Jiji feels hot under his gaze. Jiji swallowed thickly, unable to stop glancing between the untouched food in front of him and the teen beside him. Maybe… just maybe…

He bent down just enough to whisper in Takakura’s ear without alerting anyone else, “Why did the fish fail his social studies class?”

Takakura jumped, nearly dumping noodles in his lap, but he quickly recovered, “...what?” He whispered back almost in shock.

JIji tried not to let himself wiggle too much in anticipation lest he make the other uncomfortable enough to move away from him. “Why did the fish fail his social studies class?” He found himself repeating. Maybe he hadn’t heard him the first time?

Almost hesitant, he finally responded quietly, “...why?”

There was a brief pause as he dramatically looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention to the two of them before hiding a small smile, “Because his grades were below C-level.”

Takakura paused for all of two seconds before quickly ducking her head to the side, turning away from Jiji, covering up whatever was going on in his head with a smooth, “Aira-chan, w-would you please pass the rice cake…?” She swooned over the honorific, passing the plate over with many flirtatious words that had Momo practically stewing in her spot, loudly slurping noodles. “T-Thank you…” Takakura smiled back, his voice shaky as he dumped a couple of rice cakes into his bowl.

Jiji bit his lip almost painfully, trying not to let his chest clench painfully at practically being ignored. Sure, the joke was absolutely horrible as they all were, but still. His eyes met Ms. Seiko’s across the table, a well trimmed eyebrow raising at him, her mouth obscured by her bowl. She was watching the two of them carefully and that made Jiji’s face heat up. He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. He allowed himself a minute to collect his nerves before elbowing Takakura’s side gently, “W-Why don’t oysters donate to charity?”

Jiji watched as he slowly chewed the noodles in his mouth before responding quietly, “Why?” He wasn’t sure why Takakura bothered to respond to his poor puns.

“They’re shellfish.”

Momo spat out her broth, having accidentally been listening in, barely stopping it from landing across the table as she giggled profusely, “That’s so stupid , Jiji!” She covered her mouth, the corners dripping with broth.

Aira rolled her eyes, “What’s up with the bad jokes today, Jiji?”

He shrugged his shoulders, Momo’s outburst having distracted him from monitoring how his joke had affected the person beside him. A quick glance gave him the answer he’d known all along; the immovable mountain had not budged. However, with new pairs of eyes on him, Jiji was starting to feel a little shy, out of place almost. “What does… a baby computer call their father?” Jiji grumbled out, “Data.”

“They’re so bad…” Aira whined loudly.

Takakura remained stoically quiet, his jaw tight as if he’d glued it shut. Jiji furrowed his eyebrows, practically forgetting food was in front of him. He poked the teen beside him, a weird bout of courage blooming in his chest, “How does a penguin build its house?”

Momo groaned, “Jiji…”

“Igloos it together.”

Ms. Seiko snorted, “Jiji, please, I’m trying to eat.”

If it had been any other day, Jiji might’ve just decided to stop with the jokes there, apologize sincerely and continue with his life, but there was this deep urge in him that gnawed on all his senses. Something in the way Ms. Seiko described Takakura made him believe that there was something he was missing, the key to his funny bone or a way to weasel back into his good graces, Jiji didn’t know. But he found he couldn’t stop. “What do you call a fly without wings?” A pause for the effect, “A walk .”

“M-Ms. Seiko… oyster sauce, please?” Takakura nearly whimpered out, a shaky hand extended out towards her. Jiji startled to life with that, eyes starry.

“What do you call a belt made from watches?” Jiji couldn’t help but ramble out, “A waist of time.” With the oyster sauce in hand, Takakura dumped a considerable amount into his broth, a shaky hand setting the bottle down by his bowl as an uneasy sigh escaped him. “What’s the difference between a piano and a fish? You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.” He continued pelting the jokes left and right, barely leaving enough time for the punchline to hit before working on the next pun, all but watching Takakura shake in front of him.

He felt like an animal.

“How do you organize an astronomer’s party? You planet.” Jiji felt like the words were pouring from his mouth, a fountain of terrible jokes with a splash of desperation, watching the other teen like a hawk. 

And there it was, the most beautiful pinkish tint filling Takakura’s cheeks. Jiji could’ve passed out at the moment, breath catching in his throat. Was he going to laugh? Was he finally getting to him? Jiji couldn’t help but grin wildly, “Why did the scarecrow get promoted? Because he was outstanding in his field.”

“Jiji, I’m trying to eat!” Aira suddenly hissed out, repeating Ms. Seiko’s words.

He didn’t care, watching Takakura’s bottom lip wobble, his entire frame straining, “What do you call a pony with a sore throat? A little hoarse !”

“Stop, dude, they’re not funny anymore.” She tried again, mouth full of noodles.

The world didn’t exist when Takakura’s laughter was just around the corner. Jiji leaned in deeply, practically singing the jokes into his ear, “What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?”

Momo smacked her head against the table, “Jiji-”

“A stick .”

“You’re being stupid!” Aira couldn’t help but clench her fist.

There’s this odd twinge of something in Takakura’s eyes, as if it sparked to life. “What do you call a factory that sells generally decent goods?” But Jiji didn’t notice, “A satisfactory .” 

Ms. Seiko held her hand, “Okay, Jiji, I think that’s enough.”

It fell on deaf ears, “Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine.”

“No one thinks you’re funny!” Aira groaned loudly, as if saying her words loud enough would stop the plethora of puns spilling from his mouth.

Jiji almost paused when Takakura’s jaw clenched shut, nose flaring. Is he going to laugh? “Why should you never eat a clock? Because it's too time-consuming.”

Momo raised a hand as if it would stop him, “Jiji-”

“What should a sick bird do? Get tweetment.”

Aira had finally had enough, “SHUT UP !” 

A sudden slam on the table startled everyone into silence, breaking Jiji out of his joke-induced-psychosis. He took a deep breath, eyeing the chopsticks Takakura had unceremoniously thrown onto the table, his hands having made the loud slam sound as he hoisted himself into a standing position, an odd look on his face. “Thankyouforthefood!” He practically whimpered out, everyone watching as he approached the front door, “Haveagoodnight!” Everything he said was all within one breath and in the next, his shoes were on and he was out the door in an instant. 

The table remained quiet, eerily so. 

Ms. Seiko sighed deeply, scratching her cheek, “So, Jiji… when I said he thought you were funny , I didn’t mean to… you know, do that .”

“Speaking of that …” Momo started awkwardly, losing her appetite, “What exactly was that?” But the person of interest refused to speak. Jiji could bring himself to respond at all, dejectedly looking at his bowl of food that was mostly untouched. “Jiji?” She asked softly, glancing at her grandma.

Said woman raised a hand, ushering her granddaughter to be quiet for a moment, “Leave him alone, Momo. I… I pushed him to something he should’ve waited on, it’s my bad. So, for his sake, just drop it.”

“I mean, for Jiji, sure… but what about Okarun?” She bit the inside of her lip. No one noticed the way Jiji deflated like a popped balloon. “I just think that whatever it was that just happened was just teetering on too much since, you know, Okarun bolted out the door like that…” She motioned to the door with a half-hearted wave.

Aira equally looked dejected, “I feel partially responsible.” All eyes fell on her except for Jiji as he was practically falling in on himself instead. “Maybe it was my tone, but I…” She shook her head, trying to stop her thought-process, “Should we go after him?” She asked instead.

“No, just leave the kid alone.” Ms. Seiko wagged her chopsticks at the girls, “Unless it’s Jiji offering to do the running, no one is leaving.”

“You want me to go after him?” Jiji practically whimpered, unsure of himself, “I think I’ve bothered him enough for one day…” A moment of silence had him glancing up at the older woman, meeting her intense eyes. There was something deep within her eyes that spoke to him. “Ah… that’s why you want me to go…” He found himself mumbling out. 

She raised a challenging eyebrow, “Well? He’s getting away, you know.”

Jiji stood up hastily, practically knocking the table over had it not been for quick hands to stop the toppling, “O-Okay, I… I’ll be back!” He bolted to the door, throwing on a jacket and putting his shoes on in a haste before throwing the door open and dashing after Takakura. Hopefully, he hadn’t got that far, Jiji wasn’t exactly the fastest runner plus he was trying to outrun a bike which was another thing altogether, but he was trying not to dwell on it. 

“Takakura!” He found himself calling out, hoping maybe his voice would carry his intent faster than his legs, “ TAKAKURA !” There was a figure ahead of him and Jiji watched the figure pause momentarily before continuing to peddle away. Jiji felt his calves burn as he ran faster, “Please! Please wait!” He could see the way Takakura stuttered, turning to look over his shoulder as he got closer and closer. Maybe there was something in his voice that gave the teen pause, but it was just enough time that Jiji caught up to him.

“What do you want?” Takakura finally asked as Jiji approached. There was no malice in his voice, maybe exhaustion, but it made his heart clench.

“I-” He took too deep of a breath, coughing loudly into his hand, his heart beating too fast. Takakura was patient enough to let him catch his breath, watching Jiji collect himself before trying again, “I’m sorry…” It was too simple of an apology and Jiji watched in horror as he began to peddle his bike away. “I’m sorry !” He practically squealed out, jumping in front of the bike, stopping it in its tracks by holding onto the handle.

Takakura jerked to and fro, trying to release himself, “Get off, Jiji…”

“I’m s-sorry, Takakura… for being annoying and bothering you with my jokes!” He shouted out, eyes feeling warm, “I just…” The other teen was being unusually patient with him, Jiji realized, watching Takakura purse his lips, looking away with lidded eyes. “Ms. Seiko said you find me funny, but I find that hard to believe… You just n-never laugh at me and I can’t figure out why !” There was a twinge of desperation in his voice, words hurried and panicked, “A-And now that I’m actually saying it out loud, it… it just sounds so- it’s strange, right? Because why do I c-care if you find me funny or not? But I do! I care a lot, Takakura! Y-You never smile or laugh around me and-”

“Jiji, please stop .” Takakura sounded exhausted, a hand raised to stop the other teen’s rambling.

“I’m s-sorry…” He responded weakly. Jiji watched as he lifted his head, pausing with a mild gasp as he got a good look at Takakura, who had kept his face hidden until now. Was… is he crying ? He made Takakura cry ! “I’m… I’m really s-sorry, I-” Jiji staggered, letting go of the bike as if it had burned him.

Takakura stepped off his bicycle, setting it down in the grass as he stood before Jiji, “Do you know why I’m so u-upset?!” Despite the bite to his words, a warbled tone made Jiji’s knees weak.

“I bothered you too much…” The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop himself, “I'm annoying and loud and so, so stupid. I just-”

“ STOP !” Jiji visibly flinched at his shout, eyes starting to feel a little wet as well, watching Takakura run a hand through his hair and begin to choke on a sob, his entire body shaking with it. Why was he so stupid ? He should’ve just left him alone, but no… Jiji had to open his big fat fucking mouth and upset the one person that he… he lo…lov… He threw the thought away. 

“T-Takakura… I’m sorry , p-please, I just…” Whatever words he was going to say died in his throat when Takakura’s head lifted quickly, glaring at him with red eyes. Fuck…

“ You - You’re not stupid , o-okay?! Or annoying or loud !! But you’re so- so -” His words cut off with a low frustrated growl that merely dissolved into a sharp cry. Jiji watched with a wobbling lip as Takakura finally allowed himself to sob fully. He looked so heartbroken, Jiji realized with a heavy heart.

“Why are you u-upset with me?” He whimpered out, almost mumbling out another apology.

“I-” He swallowed thickly, desperately trying to wipe his tears away, shaky hands failing to keep them at bay, “I hate your jokes “

Jiji paused and listened with a heavy heart. He knew this already… but why was he so surprised? His eyes fell to the ground. His mind was still uttering apologies as Takakura tried to collect himself.

“I hate your jokes with a burning passion!” He hissed out, “Your jokes are stupid. A-And sometimes… sometimes they don’t make much sense. Your weird faces make me want to push you away from me.” Takakura bit his lip as a low whine left his throat. “Your goofy dance moves make me want to trip you so you’ll just stop ! You trying to rile me up gets on my nerves…” Jiji shook with restraint, clearly upset. “But… B-But it’s all because… I… you…” Takakura’s face twisted into a myriad of emotions. “...because e-every joke just m-makes fun of you .”

Jiji froze.

“They’re self-deprecating. Y-You let everyone make fun of you, Jiji !” His words were loud, anger replacing the upsetness he was feeling in his chest, “They’re laughing at you ! And you allow them! You let them make you the butt of all their jokes and you laugh about it?! ” His eyes were red and it finally sunk in on Jiji just how badly he’d hurt him with his actions. “Y-You’re my friend !” He suddenly sobbed out, wet eyes almost pleading with Jiji, “A-A-And you… you let them hurt you in such a mean way… You actually believe that they’re your f-friends, Jiji… But they’re j-just using you for their own fucking entertainment !”

“T-Takakura-”

His eyes squinted, “Doesn’t that make you mad ?!”

“I-”

Takakura raised a weak hand, “Stop talking …” He hiccuped quietly, his entire body shaking by now. “Everytime you talk… you end up finding some… joke to make about how s-stupid or annoying or worthless or pointless you are. And you aren’t! ” His shoulders slumped, reaching a hand to his chest, clenching his shirt just above his heart. “You let people treat you like dirt and for what ?! To get a second-hand high from the laugh of someone who doesn’t care about you? To be a doormat people walk all over? To be the laughing stalk?!” His words were growing louder and louder until he was damn near shouting, tears trailing down his cheeks.

“It’s just-”

“I know it bothers you!” Takakura interrupted, turning around because he couldn’t even stand to look at him right now, “I see it in your eyes! A-And… I hate that you… Why do- I…” He hiccuped quietly, arms reaching up to cover his eyes as the tears poured out. “I hate your jokes b-because they’re about hating you.”

The world fell silent except for Takakura’s weak cries. Jiji’s lip wobbled, eyes wide as dinner plates, his hands clenching and unclenching by his side. His eyes felt hot as mixed emotions ran through him. He had just thought… that he was unfunny, that he didn’t share a funny bone with the other teen. He thought so many things that were so far from the truth that it actually made Jiji sick. The redhead found a hand reaching out to Takakura, but he stopped himself just short.

“...say something will you?” Takakura’s tone was firm, but soft.

He tried not to cry, “...I don't know what to say.’ 

A silence stretched between them. It was bitter, spiteful silence that was full of so much hurt . Takakura’s outburst had finally started to quiet down while Jiji’s was just barely starting. The last several years were starting to dawn on him, a reflection that was ten years too late of how Jiji let people treat him was haunting. How does he apologize for something he’s been doing for over a decade? How does he stop it?

“T-Takakura… you- I…” Jiji’s mouth shook as he scrambled to find the words, “I… I crave laughter. I do. I won’t deny it.” Takakura remained facing away from him. “People laughing makes me so, so happy. Everyone laughs with me… at me .” His words sound hollow, barely noticing how his companion tensed up. “B-But you… you never laughed at me.” Jiji mumbled out, “I… I thought it was because you didn’t like me, that m-maybe my presence offended you.” He tried not to stiffen up when Takakura whirled around to face him, his face dark and unreadable, “I feel like I can’t understand you…” He admitted.

“Then, allow me to elaborate.” He clenched his fists, “I won’t allow myself to laugh with you w-when I know your jokes are basically knives against you . If I laugh, then you allow your self-hatred to win . If I laugh, you get to continue allowing those people to laugh at you! And I won’t have that!” Takakura stepped forward until he was nearly nose to nose with the taller teen. “If I’m the only person in the world who won’t laugh at you, maybe then you’ll start to question why you let them treat you like shit!”

Jiji’s whole facade cracked, choking on a sob as he finally came undone. He was an ugly crier, heaving breaths and wiping away snot. His teeth clenched as a frustrated noise left him, practically spitting out the sobs. His knees buckled, falling unceremoniously in front of Takakura who stared in shock. Jiji’s head bowed deeply, as if unconsciously asking for forgiveness, wailing brokenly.

Jin “Jiji” Enjoji was a funny guy, not at all because he forced himself to be. If you asked people about him, they’d probably shrug, tell a random joke he said one day and then walk away. He was replaceable in their mind - anyone can be a funny guy. For every joke he told at the detriment of himself, he had to remind himself that what he did was a good thing , that a single smile was worth a thousand demeaning thoughts, that he didn’t mind them laughing at him.

How scared was he when that truck almost killed him? Terrified, likely. The nightmares he had for weeks after that were horribly realistic and he was ashamed to say he’d pissed himself in fear a few times because of such dreams. His so-called friends’ taunting laugh echoed on repeat in his dreams, making him sick, nausea and bile mixing in his body. 

How sick had he been after being given rotten milk and glitter to drink? He’d been so thirsty that day when a “friend” had offered it to him. Jiji remembered thinking they must’ve read his mind, oh, how kind of them to lend him a cool drink on a hot day. But it was sour. With eyes wide, it felt like he was merely an animal in a cage forced to do tricks while everyone laughed and cheered around him. How long did everyone point and laugh at him for the face he made right as he was about to throw up? Days? Weeks? He couldn’t remember, his desperate laugh clouding the memory.

Why did he want them to like him so bad? Why did he want them to laugh at him ?

A pair of hands rested gently on his face, sore and wet eyes staring into deep, dark ones that held his gaze steadily. Takakura had never laughed at him, Jiji realized with a broken cry, the teen rubbing away the steady flow of tears, kneeling in front of him. He had held firm against every self-deprecating joke Jiji told against himself, a mere frown instead of a toothy smile was all he got out of the other teen. Why did he used to want Takakura to laugh at him? Why did it bother him so much if he didn’t? Did he not like Jiji?

Jiji sure liked him… He liked him a lot .

He liked that shy giggle he did with Momo when she made a somewhat teasing comment. He liked the way Takakura softly smiled, genuine and so pretty, when receiving a compliment. So humble . Jiji liked the way the sun looked on his face, warming his features, highlighting all of the best creases where a grin would lay just beneath the rays. A grin that had always been hidden from view. Jiji let himself be held by Takakura, his frame wracking with tears. “I’m sorry… ” He whimpered out, his voice absorbed by the quiet night.

Takakura’s eyebrows were furrowed together in concern, “Jiji…?”

“Y-You’ve been protecting my- m-my feelings this w-whole time, haven’t you?” He hiccuped weakly.

“I have.”

“W-Why?”

Takakura looked away, “Because you’re my friend and I care about you.” Jiji’s frame quaked with the words. “You…” He sighed, “You’re amazing, Jiji. I love everything about you, everything . You’re so smart, and kind . You’re so sweet , it makes me forget how to think sometimes…” His words trailed off, Jiji’s head lifting up a bit to see just the barest of a blush on the other teen’s face, “I love everything that makes you, you .”

Jiji swallowed thickly, trying not to let his words affect him, “T-Takakura…”

“You can call me Ken, Jiji.” Takakura tried to smile, hand going to fiddle with his glasses shyly, “We’re friends after all…” Jiji found himself nodding weakly, head tipping forwards until it could rest on the other boy’s shoulder. His shirt was cool to the touch. Jiji’s head hurt from his outburst earlier, an ever-pouring spout of tears finally starting to dry up gradually. He found himself unconsciously breathing in Takakura’s natural scent, letting it soothe his scrambled brain and was amazed that he was allowed to do so. He felt small arms wrap around his back, gently pulling him further in Takakura’s chest. Jiji snuggled closer, allowing himself to calm down in his embrace. 

“Takak- um… Ken?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I apologize again?” He whispered out, arms wrapping around his waist, clutching the other boy tightly.

There was a brief pause, “No.”

“Wha-”

“You can’t apologize for this.” Takakura was quick to the draw, effectively stopping whatever outburst Jiji had ready, “I know it’s easier said than done, but an apology will only make you feel worse, so you have to rise above it instead. Stop with the jokes against yourself, please. I don’t want an apology. I just want you to laugh without hurting yourself in the process.”

Jiji lifted his head, eyes swollen and face falling into a frown, “But, I… I made you upset?”

“You did.” Takakura sighed, “But I am a very forgiving person. And… I don’t fault you for this.” He motioned between the two of them. 

“...how?”

“Because… I like you. And I understand .” He smiled softly.

Jiji tilted his head, “Ken?”

“I like you, Jiji.” He ground out slowly. 

He paused, letting the other boy’s words fall heavy in his mind. His eyes scanned Takakura’s face, that same pretty pink color blossoming on his cheeks. Jiji’s eyes widened, “You… You like me… like that ? Like, you like-like me?”

Takakura covered his face shyly, “Do you have to say it like that ?” There was a soft chuckle just under his breath and Jiji practically swooned. 

He gasped, shifting his head forward until they were nearly touching noses, “You like-like me?”

“Jiji, please… that’s just…” There was a certain amused delight in his eyes, Jiji’s head spinning like a top.

“Ken…” There was a look in his eyes that had Takakura almost melting, a soft smile on his face.

He shied away, almost turning his body away; he was too close . Takakura glanced up briefly before sighing deeply, his entire body going slack, “I… I don’t know what to do from here…” He admitted with a deep flush on his face. 

“Do you have a first-aid kit?” Jiji suddenly balked.

He blinked intensely, turning to look back at the redhead with a confused glance, “Huh?”

“B-Because I just fell head over heels for you.” Jiji stammered out, his face turning colors.

Takakura practically jumped out of his skin, face flushing a deep red, “W- What ?! Jiji, you- I- um!” 

“Are you a charger?” Jiji leaned in, practically crowding the other teen’s space, “Because I’m dying without you.”

“ Jiji , w-wait, are you-”

They were so close now, “Are you a bank loan? Because you've got my interest .”

Takakura covered his face with a deep groan leaving him, “J-Jiji…”

He bent down, closer and closer , “Are you a chef? Because you’ve got a recipe for making my heart flutter.”

Takakura’s hands suddenly grabbed him, a hand on each side of Jiji’s face, effectively stopping him. There was some kind of look in his eyes that had the redhead enamoured all to hell and back. “If y-you were a drink, you’d be a s-smoothie…” He weakly mumbled out, “b-because you’ve… you got me feeling all m-mixed up.” 

Jiji didn’t even get the chance to say anything as soft lips pressed into his own. It was so, so soft, as if they were both scared of breaking the other. A breath was shared between the enclosed space they shared, and then another, and another, parting along the sides to breathe before they were all but diving back in, pressing harder into one another. A hand snakes up Takakura’s neck, Jiji dipping them until they’re nearly falling, the former’s strong arm keeping them centered. Takakura’s other hand trailed upward, pushing Jiji’s head into him, furthering their kiss as they broke for a second, gasping for breath.

But they couldn’t have enough of one another, Jiji tugging him back.

Their second kiss is warm and full of giggles, their teeth accidentally smacking against one another. It felt like they were in a frenzy, climbing higher and higher, dragging the other with them. The world around them was fading the faster they rose, a tangle of hands and lips that coaxed a stray laugh out of each other.  Jiji lapped at Takakura’s mouth to hear that giggle, so soft and relaxed as if Jiji had always been the one to get that kind of noise out of him the entire time. Hands on his waist had him laughing with his belly, pushing them until Takakura was practically on top of him, pressing red lips into the other.

How long had this tension been building in them? Stolen glances and moments where nothing else in the world matter. In this moment, Jiji wonders what he’s thinking, what kind of thoughts Takakura had before this mess. He kisses Takakura - Ken - gently then, as if their lips would transfer all of his thoughts and feelings across. 

They pull away slightly, both desperate to catch their breath. Their eyes are wide, staring at each other like wild animals, smiles littering their faces with barely concealed restraint. A quiet understanding fills the space between their noses, an acknowledgement of whatever the other one was thinking. Jiji presses a chaste kiss to Ken’s cheek, gazing back into smiling eyes, “You have a cute laugh.”

Ken startled to life, face red and oh so pretty , “I… I’m glad you think so.”

“I’ve always wanted to make you laugh.” He reaches a hand out, caressing the teen’s face carefully, “I was… I was bitter that Momo and Aira could make you laugh so easily . It wasn’t fair, I’d think…”

“Jiji…” There’s a bit of shame in his voice.

“But I understand.” He mumbled out with a smile, “How long have you… you know…” He motioned in the space between them, feeling a little shy.

“A… while, I guess?” Ken rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “Maybe since the beginning? It’s hard to say. It kind of just… happened one day.” His face is pink while he whispers those words out. “You?”

“I guess the same?” Jiji shrugged, getting a chuckle from the other, and he totally did not shake with happiness, “One day, you just started looking cute to me. And I craved your smile.”

He flushed deeply, looking away, “You can’t just say something like that.” He hid his eyes with his hand.

Jiji reached a hand out to grab the boy’s wrist, trying to lightly tug it away, “And why not?”

“Because you’re teasing me.” Ken grumbled weakly, allowing his hand to be pulled away from his face. And then he laughed, an actual laugh, one that Jiji had caused. A soft laugh that had his shoulders shaking, eyes squeezed shut as he grabbed Jiji for support as his entire frame was wracked with it. 

And Jiji merely just smiled.

It was going to take some time for him to get used to keeping the self-deprecating jokes at bay and even longer to get people to stop walking all over him, maybe even a lifetime for Jiji to fight for himself, begging those around him to stop making him the butt of the joke. But he had Ken to help navigate that. 

Which was perfectly fine with him.