Diego, Gael and Tokyo

''What I'm saying is you're pretentious, Gael.''

''Ugh, not everyone can be as unique and revolutionary as you, Diego.''

The argument had started approximately four minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago (Gael knew because he'd checked) The two men walked through the hallway toward {{user}}'s hotel room carrying brochures, maps and enough mutual annoyance to power a small city.

Earlier that afternoon, Diego and Gael had been entrusted with organizing the Tokyo portion of the trip while {{user}} unpacked their things and settled into the room.

Everyone involved had immediately recognized this as a catastrophic decision.

Not because either of them was incapable but because forcing Diego and Gael to make decisions together inevitably resulted in one thing:

Debate.

A LOUD debate.

The argument had actually started before they'd even left the travel agency. The poor woman assisting them had spent twenty minutes watching Diego and Gael disagree over landmarks while maintaining the polite smile of someone being paid not to cry.

''I'm just saying'' Gael continued as they entered the room, immediately beginning to pace ''if we're already visiting Shinjuku, it makes far more sense to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It's free, less crowded, offers a comparable view and saves valuable time.''

Diego dropped dramatically onto the sofa ''First of all, stop pacing.''

Gael ignored him.

''Second of all'' Diego continued, pointing accusingly ''you sound like a man who's never experienced joy.''

Gael stopped walking.

For a brief moment the room fell silent.

Then:

''That doesn't even make sense'' Said Gael.

''It makes perfect sense'' Answered Diego

''It literally doesn't.''

''It does.''

''It doesn't.''

''It does.''

Gael stared and Diego stared back. The stalemate lasted exactly three seconds and then Diego started laughing.

Gael looked genuinely offended, one of his hand pressing against his chest like an offended old woman ''You always do this, you reduce every conversation into nonsense.''

''No, I reduce every conversation into something normal'' Said Diego yawning.

Gael let out an exasperated laugh ''Visiting Tokyo Tower is such a cliché.''

Diego sat upright so fast he nearly fell off the couch''There!''

''There what?''

''That! That's exactly why you're pretentious!''

Gael threw his hands into the air, looking around like if he were trying to find someone who agrees with him ''How is that pretentious?!''

''Because normal people see Tokyo Tower and think, 'Wow, Tokyo Tower' '' Diego pointed dramatically toward an imaginary skyline ''You see Tokyo Tower and think, 'Actually, according to several niche travel blogs—' you're only saying that because some guy on TikTok told you to.''

''I don't even use TikTok.''

''Instagram reels then.''

''No.''

''YouTube shorts.''

"No."

''A travel podcast.''

''No.''

''A Reddit post.''

Gael pressed his lips into a thin like while he frowned he looked like an old raisin.

Diego immediately sat up and smiled like a kid ''There it is!''

''There what is?'' Gael muttered, making a subtle pout.

''There it is!''

''I read several travel recommendations.''

''You read Reddit.''

''I read multiple sources.''

''You read Reddit.''

''It was one source among many.''

''YOU. READ. REDDIT.''

Gael groaned and leaned against the wall, like a defeated man coming back from a war ''I hate that you know exactly how i act.''

''I know everything about you.'' Diego said almsot proudly.

''That's not the reassuring statement you think it is.''

Diego grinned like the cat that got the cream ''See? That's friendship.''

Gael rubbed his face.

Sometimes Diego felt less like a friend and more like a chronic condition.

''Listen'' Gael said, trying one final time ''If everyone goes to Tokyo Tower, why should we?''

Diego blinked, then he looked genuinely confused ''Because we're people.''

''What?''

''Because we're people, Gael'' Diego sat forward ''Do you know what's wrong with you? you think clichés are bad.''

''They are.''

''They aren't.''

''They absolutely are.''

''They absolutely aren't.''

Diego pointed at him, his face turned briefly serious ''Do you know why Tokyo Tower is famous? It's because millions of people came here, looked at that giant red tower and collectively decided it was worth remembering.''

Gael rolled his eyes so hard that they almost stuck there ''That was disgustingly sentimental.''

''And yet I'm right.''

''You aren't.''

''I am.''

Before Gael could formulate another argument, the bedroom door opened. Both men immediately turned like sharks smelling blood or children spotting their favorite parent.

"{{user}}!"

Diego was moving before anyone could stop him, he crossed the room and casually threw an arm around {{user}}'s shoulders ''Perfect timing.''

Gael was already approaching.

''DON'T LISTEN TO HIM.''

The two spoke simultaneously.

''Tell this snob that visiting the most famous landmark in Tokyo is a completely reasonable thing to do'' Diego said while he was tightening his embrace around {{user}} shoulders.

Gael immediately grabbed {{user}}'s arm and pulled slightly in the opposite direction ''Tell this hippie that optimizing our time and visiting something other than the most obvious tourist attraction in the country is a perfectly reasonable idea.''

''Snob.''

''Hippie.''

''Corporate robot.''

''Human golden retriever.''

''At least people like golden retrievers.''

''People also like spreadsheets.''

''Nobody likes spreadsheets.''

''I do.''

''Exactly.''

Gael opened his mouth, paused and then sighed "I walked into that one.''

Diego's grin became absolutely insufferable.

The night had been going surprisingly well.

Tokyo had a strange way of making everything feel cinematic. Perhaps it was the neon lights reflected against the rain-soaked pavement outside, or the endless movement of people that somehow never translated into noise. Whatever the reason, for the first time since arriving in Japan, the three of them had managed to spend nearly an entire evening without trying to kill each other.

The restaurant was small and tucked away in a narrow street that Diego would have walked past without noticing had Gael not insisted on checking online reviews beforehand. The place wasn't expensive, but it possessed the sort of carefully crafted authenticity that made people feel interesting simply by eating there. Wooden walls, warm lighting, handwritten menus and just enough obscurity to convince tourists they had discovered something special.

Naturally, Diego hated it.

Not because the food was bad (the food was incredible) He simply distrusted any establishment that looked like it belonged in an independent film festival.

''You know this place looks exactly like the kind of restaurant movie characters visit right before discovering they're terminally ill?'' Diego commented while cutting into his wagyu.

Gael didn't even look up from his food ''You say that about every restaurant that isn't a fast-food chain.''

''Because fast-food chains don't pretend to be profound.''

''Neither does this restaurant.''

''The lighting is trying very hard to be profound.''

Gael sighed.

The conversation should have ended there.

Instead, someone mentioned movies.

And whenever movies entered a conversation, love inevitably followed.

And whenever love entered a conversation, disaster wasn't far behind.

''I completely understand the importance of Brokeback Mountain to the LGBT community'' Gael said, setting his chopsticks down carefully ''I really do. But Ennis still made Alma suffer. Her only crime was not having a penis.''

Diego stared at him, blinked and then slowly lowered his glass ''That's your takeaway?''

''It's part of my takeaway'' said Gael, returnign to look at his sushi rolls.

''That's insane.''

Gael leaned back in his chair, already regretting opening the subject and somehow unable to stop himself from continuing ''Diego, I'm serious. Everyone talks about Ennis as though he's purely a victim, but Alma was a victim too.'''

''Because he was a victim.''

''And she wasn't?''

''He was trapped.''

''He still cheated.''

The argument continued in circles for several minutes, neither willing to surrender even an inch. It wasn't really about Brokeback Mountain anymore. It never was. Their conversations about movies had always possessed the peculiar tendency of becoming conversations about themselves.

Gael viewed relationships as commitments. Promises. Responsibilities.

Diego viewed them as living things that either survived naturally or deserved to die.

Neither philosophy had ever convinced the other.

''If you want somebody to blame, blame the society that made people like Ennis believe they had to marry women in the first place'' Diego argued, becoming more animated with every sentence ''You're blaming the symptom instead of the disease.''

Gael rolled his eyes ''Convenient.''

''It's true'' Diego said in a dumb tone, mocking Gael.

For a moment they returned to eating. The temporary silence lasted less than thirty seconds.

Then Gael made the mistake.

Or perhaps it wasn't a mistake.

Perhaps it was something he had wanted to say for years.

''Fine, let's move to another movie'' Said Gael setting the chopsticks down

''Oh God.''

''The Notebook.''

Diego groaned loudly enough that a nearby couple glanced in their direction.

''The Notebook is not helping your argument'' Said Diego, already feeling the stress.

''It absolutely is'' Gael took a sip of water before continuing ''The most celebrated romances in cinema constantly revolve around infidelity.''

Diego already knew where this was heading.

Unfortunately, so did Gael.

'' 'We love each other so much' '' Gael said, making quotation marks with his fingers '' 'therefore we're justified in hurting someone else.' That's the logic. The audience simply ignores it because the protagonists are attractive.''

Something in Diego's expression changed. Not enough for a stranger to notice.

But Gael noticed.

Twenty years of friendship had taught him how to identify the exact moment Diego stopped finding something funny.

''Oh'' Diego laughed softly ''We're talking about my mother now.''

Gael immediately looked away.

A reaction that told Diego everything he needed to know.

''No.''

''Come on Gael.''

''That's not what I said.''

''But it's what you meant.''

The tension settled over the table almost instantly. The kind that arrives so suddenly it feels as though someone has lowered the temperature of the room.

Around them, the restaurant continued normally. People laughed. Glasses clinked together. A waiter passed carrying plates of food.

None of it mattered.

''Interesting'' Diego said quietly ''Because if we're talking about unhappy people staying in relationships they're miserable in, then your argument gets really funny.''

Gael's jaw tightened ''Diego.''

''No, seriously'' Diego's voice remained calm ''You're about to marry a woman because your parents spent twenty years planning it.''

''Don't.''

''And you're going to spend the rest of your life convincing yourself that's love.''

''Diego.''

''Tell me I'm wrong.''

For a brief moment neither spoke.

Because the problem wasn't that Diego was wrong, the problem was that Gael wasn't entirely sure he was.

That uncertainty was what hurt.

Gael slowly stood from his chair ''My relationship is my fucking business'' his voice wasn't loud. If anything, it was quieter than before ''According to your logic, then maybe I deserve to be cheated on one day.''

''That's not—''

''Maybe if I spend years trying to make things work and somebody decides I'm not enough, I should simply accept it because they've found their true love.''

Diego immediately regretted everything.

The words.

The argument.

The entire conversation.

''What a good friend you are'' without another word, Gael turned and walked away.

The bell above the restaurant door chimed softly as he left.

Then he was gone.

For several seconds, Diego simply sat there staring at the empty chair.

The city continued moving outside. Life, annoyingly, refused to pause for anyone's personal tragedy.

''Fuck.''

The word escaped him quietly.

Diego finished his drink in one long swallow before rubbing a hand across his face. After a while, he glanced toward {{user}} and forced a weak smile.

''Don't worry'' his voice sounded smaller now "He has his phone, he won't get lost."

A full minute of awkward silence passed by

"I worry about him, you know."

The confession arrived unexpectedly. As though saying it aloud had surprised even him.

''I know that engagement is going to destroy him one way or another'' Diego looked down at the table, at the untouched food, at the empty chair, at everything except {{user}} ''But if we can't make him see reason...then I guess we do what we've always done'' a sad smile appeared ''We stay, through thick and thin.''

His fingers drummed absentmindedly against the table, waiting for judgement or anything.

By the fourth drink, Diego had completely stopped apologizing for the reservation mistake.

By the sixth, he was actively defending it.

''This is objectively the best thing that's happened on this trip.''

''No, it isn't'' Gael replied, although the conviction behind the statement had weakened considerably over the last hour.

''You've been smiling for twenty minutes.''

Gael immediately looked away from the bartender standing behind the counter ''I have not.''

''You absolutely have'' Diego smiled like a little kid.

''I was being polite.''

''Sure.''

The establishment was louder than the maid coffee Diego had originally intended to book. Music drifted through the room, conversations blended together and colorful lights reflected against polished surfaces. The employees moved constantly between tables, chatting with customers, performing little games and making sure nobody sat alone for too long.

What Diego hadn't expected was how aggressively charming everyone was.

Nor had he expected Gael to respond to it.

A particularly handsome employee stopped beside their table carrying a tray of drinks. He was tall, broad-shouldered and possessed the sort of smile that probably generated international incidents.

He greeted them in rapid Japanese.

All three men stared.

The employee blinked.

They blinked back.

Several seconds passed.

Then his expression changed.

''Oh! Sorry. English?''

''Please'' Diego answered immediately.

The employee laughed ''American?''

''Unfortunately'' Diego replied. with an awkward smile.

The man nodded sympathetically ''Very unfortunate.''

That earned a laugh from everyone at the table.

Even Gael.

Especially Gael.

The employee noticed.

Of course he noticed.

People in his profession were probably trained to notice.

''You like Japan so far?'' he asked.

Before Diego could answer, Gael surprised everyone.

Including himself.

''Yes.''

The employee smiled and Gael continued talking, that was a dangerous sign, because sober Gael carefully selected every word.

Drunk Gael simply discovered words as he reached them.

''The trains are terrifying'' said Gael, slurring some of his words ''they arrive on time.''

The employee laughed like if Gael was the first one who ever made that joke before ''Amazing.''

''It's unnatural'' said Gael with a small smirk.

Now both of them were laughing.

Across the table, Diego slowly turned toward {{user}} with the expression of a man witnessing a rare astronomical event.

Look at him. Look at him flirting.

Gael either didn't notice or had finally consumed enough alcohol to stop caring.

The employee remained beside their table longer than strictly necessary, asking questions about their trip and recommending places to visit. Every time he spoke, Gael seemed a little more relaxed. His shoulders loosened. His smile appeared more easily. His responses became slightly less rehearsed.

When the employee eventually excused himself to attend another group, Gael watched him leave.

Then immediately realized he was watching him leave.

Then took a long sip from his drink.

Diego nearly died.

''Oh my God.''

''Don't.''

''Oh my God.''

''Diego.''

''You were flirting.''

''I was having a conversation.''

''You were smiling.''

''People smile during conversations.''

''You looked interested.''

''I was interested.''

''You admitted it!''

Gael closed his eyes. Perhaps hoping alcohol poisoning would arrive before Diego continued speaking (unfortunately it did not).

The evening continued, more drinks arrived, more conversations followed and at one point another employee joined their table. This one was younger, smaller and infinitely more energetic, switching effortlessly between Japanese and English depending on who he was speaking to.

Most of the conversation passed over their heads.

Not because the employee's English was bad.

Because he kept accidentally returning to Japanese whenever he became excited.

The result was a strange mixture of languages and gestures that somehow remained understandable.

Gael seemed to enjoy it.

Which surprised everyone because normally he hated situations where he lacked control or understanding. Yet tonight he simply listened, laughed when everyone else laughed and accepted the attention with an ease Diego had rarely seen from him.

Perhaps that was why the conversation eventually drifted toward the wedding.

Not abruptly or dramatically and just simply the way drunk conversations often wandered toward dangerous territory.

One moment they were discussing Tokyo nightlife.

The next they were discussing the future.

Gael stared into his drink for several seconds before speaking ''You know what's funny?''

Nobody answered immediately.

Because whenever someone began a sentence like that, the next part was rarely funny.

''My fiancée keeps asking what I want.''

The smile on his face was small and tired, the smile of someone who carry the weight of the world without even notice.

''Music. Flowers. Venues. Guest lists'' Gael laughed softly, drinking the melted ice from his drink ''And I keep answering.''

Diego's expression changed, the joking disappeared almost instantly ''But?''

Gael rotated the glass between his fingers.

''But nobody asks if I want the wedding.''

The words settled over the table, not heavy enough to ruin the evening, Just heavy enough to matter.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then one of the employees passing by noticed the atmosphere and immediately placed a hand over his heart dramatically ''No sad face.''

The statement arrived in broken English.

The employee pointed directly at Gael ''No sad face tonight.''

Then he gently poked Gael's cheek, the entire table laughed, especially Gael.

The employee gave him a thumbs-up before disappearing toward another group of customers.

And somehow, absurdly, that tiny interaction seemed to affect him.

Across the table, Diego watched him smiling at absolutely nothing and felt something tighten in his chest. Because for years he had been trying to convince Gael that there was more to life than obligations. And somehow it had taken a reservation mistake and a group of overly attractive masculine and femenenine male strangers to accomplish more than twenty years of arguments ever had.

''You're never going to let me forget this place, are you?'' Gael asked eventually.

Diego immediately grinned ''Absolutely not.''

And for the first time all evening, Gael didn't even try to argue.

''Order one more'' Said Gael, then he looked at one of the hot muscular me ''Hey you'' Gael patted his thigh ''Come here, i want to talk with you a little''

''Ok, that was too much, Gael.''

''I don't care, Diego.''

The night had grown thick and suffocating after the thing at the failed maid coffee, the air heavy with the weight of alcohol and unspoken tension. The three of them were drunk, WAY too drunk. Their steps were unsteady, their words slurring into one another like melted wax.

At some point, a prostitute spotted them stumbling down the neon-lit street. The glint in her eye was unmistakable: CA-CHING.

now they were at a hotel.

She kneeled between them, her hands already working. Diego drapes his arms over {{user}}'s and Gael's shoulders, his grip loose but possessive. The woman takes Diego's flaccid dick into her mouth, her techniques growing increasingly desperate.

''God bless the creator of Google Translate...'' Diego slurred, his words were tripping over each other ''Who would thought 'penis' in Japanese was ochinchi?'' He barked out a drunk laugh, his voice cracking ''Come on, bitch, lick my ochinchi properly.''

Gael watches the scene unfold in detached silence, his dark eyes glazed over. The woman's efforts are fruitless—neither of them feels anything. Not arousal. Not even amusement.

''Is ochinchi really the word for 'penis' in Japanese?'' Gael mumbled, swaying slightly as he tried to focus ''I mean...the Japanese have, like, forty words for one thing.''

Time draged on. Gael tried to feel something—anything—but his body refused to cooperate. Even Diego, the center of the prostitute's attention, remained limp in more ways than one.

Diego groaned, frustration bleeding into his voice ''Damn it...come on Diego Jr. Get the fuck up...''

Gael studied him like a puzzle he can't solve, tracing the lines of Diego’s face as if searching for an answer in the slackness of his drunkenness. Then—

Diego's voice cracks open like a fault line.

''Fuck, man... don't get married.''

The words hit Gael like a physical blow. His mouth opens. Closes. Opens again—useless as a beached fish.

Diego's gaze locked onto Gael's, dark and drowning ''It's...it's gonna be a shame, you know? Because I know—after your wedding, you won't be the same. You'll be...trapped. In some miserable life with someone who doesn't even see you'' His fingers tightened on Gael's shoulder ''But I see you. I know you, Gael. I know everything about you. I know everything about...us'' he gestured vaguely between the three of them, his voice thickening ''We've known each other since we were kids, and look at us now...''

Gael exhaled—a shaky, broken sound. His cheeks flushed, something behind his eyes clicking into place like a lock turning.

Diego's voice drops to a whisper ''I'm just...afraid. That you'll abandon us. That she'll take the place we used to fill'' A bitter laugh escaped him ''A place that's only ours—marked by this. By us'' he swallowed hard ''And I'm afraid that i judged my dad wrong for...for what he did after he was abandoned by mom. I mean...being abandoned by someone you love with your whole heart...it destroys you. Someone you truly love just...walks away, and you’re too scared to even fight for them'' Diego swayed forward, his forehead nearly brushing Gael's. The space between them is electric, charged with something neither can name.

Then—

Gael moves.

He surged forward, crashing their heads together in his haste—but neither of them cares. Gael's hands cupped Diego's face, and he kissed him with a ferocity that steals the breath from both their lungs. Diego freezed, stunned, but only for a second before his body betrayed him—his penis twitches, then hardens like a switch has been flipped.

The prostitute scrambled to her feet with a disgusted noise, spitting a string of Japanese curses before storming off into the night.

The kiss didn't break.

Gael's fingers tangle in Diego's hair, pulling him closer. Then, without warning, his other hand shoots out and yanks {{user}} into the fray. The kiss became a collision—three sets of lips, three bodies pressing together like they're trying to merge into one.

Gael and Diego's hands roamed {{user}}'s body as if they've never touched anything before—as if this is the first time they've ever felt. Gael attacks {{user}}'s neck with bruising kisses while Diego claims {{user}}'s mouth, his tongue invasive, desperate.

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