Work Text:
When he was just a child, Tadashi Kikuchi loved watching the starry sky during the night. It was like a dark cape sparkling from the little white gemstones above his head. Tadashi sat under it for long, long hours and just stared at it, mesmerized from the beauty - at least, until his father found him and sent him to sleep. But Tadashi took the beautiful sight with himself to the bed. What he saw stayed with him even in his dreams which was enough for him until he could sit out in the garden to watch the stars again.
Sometimes, he was lucky enough to see a falling star. Those times, he never forgot to make a wish. Tadashi heard it once, from one of the kinder maids in the household where he lived who liked telling him fairytales, that if someone sees a star and makes a wish immediately, that wish will definitely be granted. So Tadashi always grabbed the chance to make a wish and it was always the same.
That he and his best friend, Ainosuke-sama would stay together forever and have a happy life.
Ainosuke-sama was the son of the man Tadashi's father worked for. Tadashi befriended him on a night when he found the other boy crying. To dry his tears up, he offered that he would teach him how to skate. They played a lot together ever since then, anytime when they were able to sneak out. Ainosuke-sama was a few years younger than Tadashi but none of the boys were bothered by the small age difference. Tadashi started to think of himself as the protector of the other boy and he viewed it as his duty to always make him happy. Seeing Ainosuke-sama happy made Tadashi's heart beat faster. He loved when those unique jasper eyes only a Shindo could bear were filled with joy, when there was no sight of tears in them and Ainosuke-sama could feel carefree. A little freedom among the responsibilities he needed to fulfill even in such a young age. Tadashi made his wish about their happy future so many times that he didn't doubt that it would eventually come true. He and Ainosuke-sama will always be side by side, living their life in happy harmony. And maybe, one day... they can give each other even more than now. Tadashi believed and hoped with the faith of an innocent child.
But this innocence faded away forever on the day when he was forced to make a decision about what made him grow up. With that, the gate of childhood closed forever and he could never go back to his dreams, his hopes, his wishes... and the Ainosuke-sama he loved more than anything in the world.
Tadashi knew that he should have acted differently. He regretted that he sided with Ainosuke-sama's father after he burned his son's skateboard. He was aware that his own betrayal broke his childhood friend more than what his father did. Tadashi was scared that Ainosuke-sama's father would send him away if he says something else, if he starts to argue. He couldn't have an opinion at that time, or so he thought. Now, he knew that he was just afraid to have one. And with that, he turned his back on his beloved friend and his beloved stars. They were not shining on them anymore.
Tadashi quit watching the starry sky after that day. There were no stars in his night, only darkness. He didn't believe in the wish of the falling star, he knew that it can never bring his hopes back, his soul back... and the friendship he lost and what he kept grieving. There was no promise of a happy future.
The stars can't make his mistakes right.
Not even he could make them right.