Work Text:
1:
Kenji and Aaron were doing boring paperwork. At times like these, Kenji's mind started to wander. His thoughts weren't unpleasant, but they were unwelcome. Until Kenji voiced out those thoughts, they didn't leave his mind. They kept playing over and over again in his head like a never-ending loop of discomfort. Even if managed to break out of the loop, the thoughts would come back later. Whenever Kenji was with Aaron, he tried not to give in to them often, not because he didn't feel safe to voice them around him but because he knew that there are many times when Aaron does not appreciate or tolerate the incessant chatter. During boring paperwork however, sometimes Aaron gives Kenji a side glance as if begging him to put him out of his misery. The first time this happened Kenji was surprised because he had always figured that Aaron loved paperwork and would love to be behind a desk given how meticulous he was, but then he remembered how they both were trained soldiers. Sitting still didn't sit right with them.
Somewhere near him, Aaron sighs and rubs his forehead as if trying to alleviate the tension built up in it.
"Should I throw you a bachelor party?" Kenji says thoughtfully. Aaron's hand paused it's ministrations as he gawked at Kenji. They keep looking at each other while Aaron tries to find the words to answer the question.
"I got married 2 years ago."
"Yeah, but you never got a bachelor's party. Things were so hectic and you got married so soon. Let's do the customs now."
"I don't care much for customs. All that I wanted from my marriage, I have." Aaron says turning back to his work. The conversation was supposed to finish at that, but Kenji's fingers fidgeted. He wasn't satisfied.
"I feel bad though. I feel like I should've done a better job at being your best man."
"You talked me through a panic attack while we were at the altar, I think you've done enough."
"Aw, you remember." Kenji held both of Aaron's hands in his. "Come one man, it'll be fun. I'll get you drunk and drive you around town. We'll get tattoos and if you want."
Aaron snatched his hands away at the absurd suggestions. He wasn't a drinker and he already had tattoos (though he wouldn't mind getting a tattoo of Ella's name on his body).
"I appreciate the suggestions but there is no need for the hassle, provided that, we BOTH are busy men and we need not waste our time chasing the heels of temporary hedonism." Now it was Kenji's turn to gawk.
"Dude, English is not my first language. Go a little easy on me."
"As far as I remember, it is your only language." Aaron scoffed.
"I hate you, man."
"I assure you the feeling is mutual"
2:
On one lazy afternoon when Kenji and Juliette were sitting on her bed doing nothing in particular, Kenji suddenly stopped scrolling on his phone seemingly caught up in a thought. It caught Juliette's eye, but she decided not to say anything since whatever Kenji was thinking was probably stupid.... unless it wasn't. Being friends with Kenji meant that you could expect anything and still be left baffled. She turned back to her phone when Kenji finally spoke;
"If your nudes were ever leaked, what would you do?" The question made Juliette do a double take.
"Huh? What?"
"I think I'd just accept my fate, because it's not like I could do anything about it." He rolled over on his stomach.
"You could get them removed and reported, you know? Me personally though, I would just never take any nudes or make any tapes."
"Sounds like a wise decision." They lapse into silence again. Something about the conversation made Juliette think that there was more to it, so she prodded.
"Where is this even coming from?" She said as she saw Kenji sit up and stare at her. His face wasn't serious, but it was thoughtful like he was considering something.
"I'm thinking that I should like.... sell nudes online." That made Juliette's eyes widen.
"What? Like OnlyFans?"
"NO! I meant like partial nudes. Erotica. I won't show like a lot. It will only have sexual undertones."
"I don't think that's a good idea"
"No?"
"No."
"Why not? I'd be hot." It wasn't really a serious thought; they both knew that. He was just trying to cure his boredom. But he really thought that he could pull it off. Juliette threw a heavy look at him.
"Kenji, your body is a temple. It's the only thing that you will always have in your life so treat it with respect and love and don't sell it like it means nothing." Juliette could not believe that she was being the voice of reason when Kenji was always the conscience everyone followed.
"Hmm, I see."
"And?" She prompted.
"What are your thoughts on feet pics?"
+1:
They were just watching a damn movie when his mind started to wander again. Unlike before these thoughts weren't whimsical or non sensical. They were bittersweet. Heavy words that settled deep in his chest and he never realized them or tried to understand what they meant. But he could hear them clearly now, like a clap of thunder on a relatively quiet night. He looked to his right to see Juliette curled up on the couch. Aaron, of course had left the room when they put on yet another sappy movie that had a cheesy unrealistic end. Everything eventually ends in a heartbreak, be it death or separation, nothing lasts forever except for time. Time decays things but it also preserves them. Time speaks of a story. He can't help but wonder, What is the story of Kenji Kishimoto? And then as if making it sound like a forgotten thought he speaks softly;
"You know we have only known each other for a few years, but I think you'd somehow take up most of my seven minutes." Juliette turns to him with a frown and pauses the movie.
"What seven minutes?"
"It's like, when you are dying your brain replays the happiest moments of your life for 7 minutes. Those are the last things you think of before you die." Kenji explained as a matter of fact.
"It's kind of sweet that your brain gives you one last chance at being happy." She adds softly. "I'm glad to be a part of them for you"
"I tried to think of other things that might become a part of it, and i came up with you then Castle then James then Aaron but I realized that I don't remember what my parents looked like anymore. I can remember my father's determination and my mother's warm smile but don't remember their faces."
"I can try to find a picture of them in the Reestablishment's old system. I'm sure Aaron can access it somehow." Juliette offered helpfully but Kenji shook his head.
"No, I think it's meant to be like this. I want to remember all the good parts about them and not look at them through the eyes of the Reestablishment. If things like that do exist, I would want it erased. Just, could promise me that when I die, you'll try to make sure I'm not forgotten?" Juliette froze not out of fear but shock. Kenji had never talked about death before in fact he made damn sure to avoid any talk of it like the plague. Perhaps he believed that if he avoided anything even close to it, then he wouldn't have to face it. And now he was talking about his own death, as if accepting his mortality and that didn't sit well with her.
"You better not die until you're old and gray and riddled with arthritis."
"Arthritis sounds painful"
"Shut up, Kenji"
"Look I'm not planning to die but I know that I will die someday and I want you to know exactly what i would want in that case. Like if someone says "let's build a statue to honor him" and you say "oh he wouldn't want that. " The answer is Yes, Juliette. I would always want a statue of myself. Preferably one with me riding on a horse."
"Okay, your requests are noted. Can we please not talk about you dying? I would prefer to have you alive to do my grunt work"
"Ouch, I thought you actually cared about me"
A door opens and closes. Soft padding of socks against the marble floor approaches them. Initially the footsteps used to be lithe and soundless, but they had startled the duo way too many times, so the footsteps learned to announce themselves when they fell.
"What are you both talking about?" Aaron said before swooping in and kissing Juliette's forehead.
"We're gonna get a cool statue of me set up after my death" Kenji said excitedly, making Aaron raise a brow.
"If you're that enthusiastic, I could expediate the process." Aaron quips. Kenji laughs, Juliette doesn't.
"I don't think I could handle you being gone. Believe it or not, I do care about you and so does a lot of other people. It's not like i don't know that you or Aaron can die, like you I just don't like the reminder that despite everything, all of us our eventually going to......" She cuts herself off. "I do think about it. You don't have to say it because on that day I will say it myself. Kenji would've really loved that statue."
Silence befalls the room. Anticipation and uncertainty mingle in a cruel dance until they're broken apart by the sound of Aaron cutting apples into slices. Kenji scoots closer and swings an arm around Juliette. He bumps his forehead against the side of her head.
"I love you, J"
"I will throw this knife at you. Unhand my wife." Aaron grumbles from across the room and due to his desire of not being stabbed or mutilated at the moment, Kenji squeezes her shoulder and inches away slightly to clarify.
"You're like the sister I wish I had when I felt alone"
"AW. Come here." Juliette tackles him into a hug and they both start wrestling. Aaron sighs but let them have their moment so they could calm down. He puts a plate of apples on the table for them so they can have it later.
Before resuming his reading in the other room, now with his own plate in hand, he looked back at them and their incessant chatter. He finds that he doesn't mind it. Of course, he prefers silence but sometimes it can be suffocating which is why he is glad that it never really is quiet with Kenji around.