Wide Open Spaces

Takashi never quite liked the country. He detested it, actually. But here he was, sitting shotgun in a beat-up Chevy, bumping down a winding country road. Cody had insisted that they go on a hike since the air was finally warm and the sky clear. Of course, Cody had only brought up a hike because Takashi hadn't been truly taking care of himself lately.

You see, Takashi is a musical prodigy. He composes symphonies as well as songs for artists like Pitbull or Toby Keith. Now he's never composed for either of those two in particular, but it's a goal of his to make music for musicians of high fame. As of late, Takashi has been utterly consumed by his work. A college hired him to compose music for a script that the students had petitioned be changed into a musical. Lyrics had already been drawn up, giving Takashi less freedom then usual.

With the writing of the musical being a little bit more strenuous on Takashi, he's pulled a rather familiar move for Cody. He's stopped eating and sleeping regularly. This was the exact reason Cody wanted to take him out on a hike. It was a wondrously warm day, perfect for a picnic.

Cody unlike Takashi, considered himself average. He was studying medicine, in hopes of becoming a doctor. Cody enjoyed working with children, so he was striving for pediatrician, although he wasn't sure if he'd be able be one and not have to move several states away for a job.

Cody glanced at Takashi as he drove down the road, trying to see if Takashi had slipped into sweet unconsciousness. He had not.

Cody remembered when he first met Takashi. It was Junior year when they met. Takashi was a foreign exchange student from Shinjuku, Japan. Cody came to learn that Shinjuku is a special ward of Toyko, Japan. Unlike many of the foreign exchange students that came to Cody's rural school, Takashi spoke near perfect English. The mistakes he did make always led to the funniest of arguments, and ended with how terrible a language English was.

Cody had been assigned to be Takashi's guide for the first month of school, and he's thankful he did it. They had become such fast friends in that month. It helped that Cody's family was Takashi's host family, too.

But that was over two years ago now. They were both twenty, going on twenty-one soon. Takashi had finished his schooling in Japan before applying to a college in the States, and Cody had applied to the same college on a whim. It was the best reunion ever, too. They'd been magically assigned as roommates. They had of course discussed colleges, but had not told each other what college had been chosen. Move-in day was extremely exciting and memorable for the both of them. Cody and Takashi both enjoyed being able to hang out together instead of only being able to call or send letters.

Takashi shifted in his seat, tugging at the tattered seat belt.

"How long until we are there...?" His words echoed in the cab of the truck. The radio was off, for it wouldn't get signal out where they were going and the road was too rough to play CD's.

"Not long now... I'd say maybe ten minutes." Cody gave Takashi a smile. "Getting restless on me now Taka?"

"Oh, not at all. I just might have drank too much coffee this morning, and this road is not helping me." Takashi laughed lightly, and Cody joined him.

"Ah, I see." Cody smirked then. "Saying I shouldn't go through all the potholes?"

"I'd prefer that you didn't." Takashi shot him a warning glance. Usually he was more playful, but the lack of sleep was really getting to him. Cody nodded, and did his best to avoid the potholes as they came.

When Cody finally slid his the truck into park, Takashi unbuckled his seat belt and practically leapt from the truck.

"Be right back!" He yelled as he dashed off into the nearby bushes. Cody laughed.

"Don't get eaten!" Cody smiled and began to gather the hiking gear from the backseat. He couldn't wait to get going. He'd picked this spot because he thought Takashi could truly relax here. It was peaceful. The ambience was the sound of birds, some frogs croaking in the distance, and the rush of a river.

When Takashi came back, he was silent. He gather his gear almost grudgingly.

"Not happy...?" Cody slung his backpack over his left shoulder, and squirmed until it was firmly on his back with both straps each placed on a shoulder.

"No, it's not that." Takashi sighed. "I... this isn't really my thing. I agreed to come because I figured if I didn't go you'd go alone and probably be lost forever." Cody couldn't help but feel bad and laugh at the same time.

"Taka, you could have said something..." He slid his thumbs under the straps of his backpack and smiled at Takashi. "I wouldn't of come out here alone, and I picked hiking out here because I thought it would be relaxing to you."

"I grew up in a busy metropolitan area. Trees, grass, dirt, and wide open spaces are a bit intimidating." Takashi laughed. "But, I thank you for the thought. There's time yet in the day for this to help."

Cody laughed a bit more. He hadn't considered how Takashi felt out here. Then again, they didn't do a whole lot of outdoor activities back in high school, so how could he even have had the thought?

"Well, if you're up to it, shall we?" Cody motioned with his head at the trail.

"Yes. Why not?" With a small breath, Takashi and Cody began their adventure in the woods.

By the end of the day, both boys were exhausted. The drive home had even taken energy from them. They had an amazing hike, seeing elk, deer, and even a fox. Takashi had been most excited to see the fox.

But now they were back in their dorm rooms, each one sitting on their beds. Takashi was scribbling about his day in a journal, whilst Cody struggled to slip his hiking boots off.

"Today was fun." Cody looked at Takashi.

"Yes. Thank you for taking me out there, really." Takashi glanced up and smiled. "It was just like old times."

"Yeah," Cody returned Takashi's smile, "It really was."