Together...? TOGETHER!!!

Kiyotaka entered the fountain area on shaky legs. His head was spinning, replaying every memory of his and Mondo's time together, and he felt suddenly self-conscious about his appearance. All of this was both magnified and erased completely (somehow at the same time) when he saw Mondo.

"Kyoudai, you look so different!" It was all he could manage in lieu of a proper greeting. He was briefly aware of some shuffling behind the hedges, but quickly elected to ignore his friends in favor of Mondo.

He did look different. His hair was cut and clean, his clothes were fitted and toned down, and his face was free of eyeliner. His expression had changed, somehow. He looked a lot more grown up.

Mondo fidgeted at the outburst, shoving a hand into his pocket and turning his face away slightly. Kiyotaka noticed that his cheeks were already turning red.

"Y-Yeah," the biker stammered. Kiyotaka heard him gulp.

"You did not have to change anything! We all like you just the way you are!"

Mondo snapped his head back to face the prefect and fixed him with a glare.

"H-Hey, you're one to talk! Didja think I wouldn't notice your little trim?!"

Kiyotaka laughed, just then remembering his newly trimmed eyebrows, and nervously scratched the back of his neck, and as he did so he took a moment to fully digest Mondo's 'new look'. It wasn't that Mondo looked bad by any means— not at all. It was just so startlingly different. He'd gotten used to that corn-cob hair, as silly as it was, and had even developed a bit of an odd affection for it.

(He didn't miss the hammer pants, though. The fitted jeans were... They were nice.)

"My eyebrows? Maizono-chan and Asahina-chan said that girls do this much all the time, so it's not as if I'm doing anything drastic. YOU, though, you look... Almost like a different person," he clarified, and Mondo's blush deepened.

"That was the idea. I'm, uh, I'm tryin' to make a point to ya."

Kiyotaka paused. He looked over his friend's new appearance once more. He didn't see an obvious message hidden in it anywhere.

"And what point would that be?"

Mondo groaned and raked a hand through his hair. The action looked a bit odd, like he wasn't used to being able to do it, and he probably wasn't. The pompadour had been somewhat difficult to maintain, and he'd always been very finicky about letting anyone touch it or getting it wet.

"T-The point is that I can be a proper adult some day, that I can take care of ya and do whatever ya need me to do to... To be supportive. Of you and your dreams. There's more to me than a biker thug, and you know that. You've always believed that, even when I didn't!

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna go to college, or get an apprenticeship, and I'm gonna become a carpenter. I-I want ya to feel like ya don't have to be ashamed of me, and I don't wanna hold ya back, so I'll... I'll... I'll be the BEST DAMN CARPENTER YOU EVER SAW, I PROMISE!"

Mondo's face went beet-red as he clapped a hand over his mouth. Kiyotaka chuckled at the sudden change in volume and shook his head.

"It's okay. I know you're only nervous," Kiyotaka assured. Mondo relaxed only slightly, and didn't move his hand.

After a moment, he processed what Mondo had actually said, and then he felt his own face heat up.

Mondo was promising that he would change, that he would do everything in his power to become a better person. He'd gone so far as to clean up his appearance as some kind of reflection of his plans to clean up his act (something he'd already been doing, even if he had not realized it). He did look like someone who could hold a steady job— still like a biker, but more distinguished, a little older and wiser. Without the liner and the shadow of his hair, Kiyotaka could truly see the honest glint in his lavender eyes.

Most notable to him, somehow, was the absence of the Crazy Diamonds jacket. He wore it every day, after all, and had even used it as an extra blanket during the winter before Kiyotaka had forced him to buy a proper comforter.

"Where is your jacket?" He murmured, though he'd only meant to say it to himself. Mondo snickered at that.

"It's in my room. I mean, it's not like I could jus' throw it away—"

"I'm glad. ...That you still have it, I mean. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't want you throwing everything that you've ever cared about away."

"I'm not," Mondo interjected too quickly. "I'm just... Realizing that those things don't have to define the whole of me, that's all. I've been livin' in another person's shadow for a long time. Figure it's time I figure out who Mondo actually is, y'know? And somehow..." He trailed off for a moment to look around and make sure no one else passing by could hear him. "...Somehow I feel like he can't be all that bad. 'Cause, I mean... You like him, right?"

Mondo let the question hang, and his expression changed to something searching and desperate. Kiyotaka smiled, his cheeks a bit pink and his eyes already watery.

"I do. I like him a lot."

"T-That's good! Bodes well for me. Because, um, we're here because— actually, why are you here? How'd ya know?" Mondo asked suddenly, apparently distracted from his purpose by his curiosity.

"Chi brought me here, and I believe she said Kirigiri-chan told her to."

"I knew they were up to somethin' else," Mondo muttered under his breath as he shook his head. Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows, and Mondo waved a dismissive hand. We'll get to that later, he implied.

Kiyotaka took a moment to look over the biker once more and smiled. He felt a strange surge of pride at how honest the other boy was being.

"...Mondo. I truly appreciate all the hard work you're doing, and all that you plan to do, but why did you feel such a need? You have already been improving all on your own, you don't need to do it to impress me."

Kiyotaka pouted, and Mondo groaned and rubbed his forehead, likely trying to remove any nervous sweat.

"B-But that's because of you! It's not that I think I NEED to change for ya. It's that ya make me WANNA do it. You make me wanna be somebody more worthwhile."

Kiyotaka blinked. It was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him. He hardly knew how to react.

"T-That's—"

"It's true, is what it is! 'N I want us to be equals. I wanna be worthy of yer respect!" He stood up straighter, a more determined stance, and Kiyotaka just then noticed that the biker hadn't moved one of his hands from behind his back since they started talking.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask about it, Mondo moved forward rather jerkily and shoved something into his hands.

"I-I almost forgot. These'r for you. ...If you want 'em, that is," Mondo stuttered. Kiyotaka pulled the flowers up to where he could properly see them, and while he held them so close to his face he inhaled their pleasant scent. Lilacs and Lillies. It was a nice change from the typical roses, and he felt it suited him better.

He looked at the bouquet and smiled. He used it to hide the deepening blush on his face, and used his free hand to fetch something from the pocket of his jacket.

"I-I'll take them, but I'll need you to hold something else for me so I can admire them more properly."

Kiyotaka heard a rustling and a slight squeak in the bushes and shot them a warning glance. Mondo didn't notice. It was probably a good thing that he'd seemingly forgotten about the eavesdroppers, as he otherwise would have died of embarrassment by now.

He handed off the small yellow note, and moved to hold the bouquet with both hands when the paper was firmly in Mondo's grasp. Mondo had little reaction at first, as he'd apparently forgotten what it was. When he looked twice at it, he looked back at the prefect with wide eyes. Kiyotaka nonchalantly picked through his flowers. It was difficult not to smirk.

Mondo held the note with trembling hands and slowly unfolded it. It seemed like it was hard for him to force himself to look at it, like he was expecting the worst. When he had it open, he stared blankly at it, his expression completely devoid of emotion. Kiyotaka paused, and this time he couldn't hide the smile.

He'd surely seen the checked-off box.

"...Well?"

Mondo gawked at him, looking something like a fish out of water.

"R...Really...?"

"Yes."

"Really?!"

"Yes! Why would I check off the box if I didn't—"

Kiyotaka was interrupted by a high-pitched sob, and he froze in complete shock.

Mondo Oowada— the allegedly fearsome leader of Japan's most infamous biker gang— had literally collapsed to his knees. He had his face hidden behind his hands, but Kiyotaka could still hear him fighting for breath. He leaned slowly forward to the point that his head was against the ground. Kiyotaka could do nothing but laugh incredulously, and he knelt in front of him, holding the flowers under one arm and using his free hand to pat the biker's back.

"Now, now. Don't cry!"

"S-Sorry, I'm real sorry! It's just... I just...!!"

"You thought that I would say no?"

"N-Not exactly, I jus'... I can hardly believe it!"

Kiyotaka continued to laugh as he tucked the flowers tightly under his arm, took his (new) boyfriend's hands, and moved to stand up. Mondo offered some protest at first, as he apparently wanted to keep his face hidden, but eventually allowed himself to be pulled up. He wiped his eyes as soon as he was standing. Kiyotaka pulled a small packet of tissues out of his pocket.

"I thought we may need some of these," he said through a chuckle. Mondo nodded gratefully as he took one and quickly cleaned himself up. When he'd disposed of the tissue, he grinned, a wide smile more bright and genuine than any he'd ever worn before. It made Kiyotaka's heart race a little.

"So whaddya think, anyway?" He asked, trying to break the somewhat awkward silence. He gestured at himself, at his new outfit and haircut. The prefect giggled and re-claimed Mondo's hands. His fingers and palms were rough and calloused, and he'd learned to love the feel of them on his own softer skin.

"I think that you look very handsome, but if I can be completely honest, that silly hairstyle of yours had grown on me somewhat."

Mondo smirked, his characteristic mischievousness returning to his expression.

"I mean, if ya like it that much, I can still rock the pomp for ya. It'd be smaller, though, and it might take a while in the mornin'."

Kiyotaka smiled. Not that he'd stopped smiling, but each smile seemed a new one all its own somehow.

"I appreciate that."

"Um, anyway, I never really asked ya out loud, in person." He tightened his grip on the prefect's hands and did his best to stand up straight. Kiyotaka looked up at him expectantly. Mondo cleared his throat.

"Kiyotaka Ishimaru, will you go out with me?"

A pause, one where Kiyotaka did his best to hold back his tears and flashed a crooked but brilliant grin (and elected to ignore the muffled screeches from behind the hedges).

"Of course!"

He leapt onto his tiptoes and threw his arms around his boyfriend's neck.

It was just as he felt the embrace returned, just as he'd contemplated whether or not he should give the other boy a kiss, that the moment was completely obliterated by some kind of cacophonous screeching.

When the initial shock of the noise had passed, he vaguely registered it as a song, as musical notes of some kind, but he couldn't quite place them. Mondo's arms slipped off of him, and he turned to angrily face the unwanted orchestra.

"What the fuck is all that racket?!"

Kiyotaka saw Hagakure and Leon standing in front of the bushes armed with brightly-colored kazoos and lungs full of air at the same time that he registered the song as The Wedding March.

They both lowered the instruments and laughed hysterically (Hagakure laughed so hard that he doubled over) and Leon shouted some kind of congratulations.

"That was NOT part of the plan," Kiyotaka heard Kirigiri shout from behind the hedges. He could imagine the grimace on her face.

Before he could say anything, he registered screams as the redhead and the fortune teller took off at full speed, a very angry biker right on their heels and yelling something about them "ruining everything". Kiyotaka laughed, and the hedges parted as a group of annoyed and concerned girls (and Naegi) surrounded him.

"Kyouko-chan, I promise you I had no idea they were going to do that!"

"I believe you. I'm more upset with myself for not thinking to pat them down." She remembered the way they had been giggling and inwardly scolded herself.

"Do not fault yourself, Kirigiri-san. They are the only ones to blame," Sakura assured her with a friendly pat on the back. Asahina, still behind her, looked into the distance, where she could still barely see the troublemakers fleeing and Mondo in hot pursuit. It looked like he would probably catch up before long.

"We'd better make sure he doesn't kill them, though," Asahina added. She heard Hagakure scream something about needing to tell his family that he loved them, and Leon something about being too young and beautiful to die.

"Yes, of course. I would like to do so myself," Kirigiri muttered. I took a moment for it to register as a joke, as she rarely told jokes, but after a moment of concerned silence everyone laughed.

Kiyotaka looked down at his bouquet and smiled up at Sakura.

"You made this for me, didn't you, Oogami-chan?"

She blushed a did a slight bow as Asahina giggled.

"We didn't have time to take Oowada-san to the greenhouse to pick something out himself. Kirigiri-san sent me there in her stead, and I put something together."

"Everyone helped out a lot, didn't they?" He breathed, and the girls chuckled.

"I gave Oowada-kun his haircut," Maizono explained. "Oogami-chan got the flowers, Asahina-chan kept everyone informed, Fujisaki-chan kept you and Oowada-kun calm, the boys talked to Oowada-kun and walked him here, and Kirigiri-chan was the mastermind behind everything."

All eyes turned to Kirigiri, who actually blushed a bit under the scrutiny.

"I-I also made sure to have everyone waiting here just in case something went wrong. It backfired, of course, but the important thing is that the two of you worked things out." She took a moment to return to her usual composed look. "I wonder if I should meddle more in the future?" She mused, and Naegi grinned.

"You guys," Kiyotaka choked as his eyes watered. There was a chorus of girlish soothing noises as he pulled everyone, including Naegi, into a group hug. He was probably getting tears on someone's shirt, but they didn't seem to mind it.

As they pulled away, everyone congratulated him or clapped, and Kiyotaka found that he couldn't stop smiling. Wonderful new boyfriend aside, he tried to imagine just what it was that he had done to acquire such wonderful friends.