Work Text:
Along with his body, Cherry’s heart also aches. Joe had told him that the Adam he was going up against wasn’t the same Adam that let his hood down and told them that it was okay, that he trusted them to see his face. Nonetheless, Cherry had dismissed Joe’s words, clinging on to a thread of hope that maybe the Adam they knew was still there, trapped deep within the competition-driven narcissism.
Alas, Adam snipped that thread with a pair of scissors, thrashing his board into Cherry’s face. In that moment, the nerves in his face stung and the tears in his eyes burned, but nothing felt more crushing than the memory of his good friend cracking once and for all. Even as he found himself wheeling into Joe’s restaurant, the memory holds venom, a heart breaking venom.
Joe greets him with a slight worry strained on his face and goes to grab some wine, as if it would help. Maybe it’d help for the night— but not in the long run.
All these thoughts that swarm around Cherry’s head make him exhausted, thus, he defeatedly lowers his head to the table. Just for a few minutes, he thinks to himself. The seconds stretch into minutes, and the minutes stretch into hours. The strain in his neck makes him snap out of what he thinks is a minute daze. That is, until he turns to see Joe is propped next to him, empty wine glass next to Cherry’s full one, eyes shut.
“How am I going to get through this, Kojiro?” He whispers, to which he gets no reply. That’s understandable— it’s late and he was exhausted as well. Cherry lets a small smile tug at the end of his mouth. “Never mind that, at least we’re in this together. No matter how annoying you can be.”
He pats Joe’s shoulder while allowing himself to take a small sip of the wine he was given.
We’ll never be alone.