Scarlet: I loved the Anime and this is my first fanfiction to Hamatora. I actually had to write this twice, since it was deleted when I wrote it the first time. I liked it better the first time around, but I am pretty content with how it turned out now. Please enjoy reading it and don´t be shy to tell me what you think about it!
Disclaimer: I don´t own Hamatora!
„Are you coming or not?" The tone of the voice didn´t sound judging at all, more quiet and soft then he had thought the other could ever attain. Unwillingly, his body relaxed a bit and he hesitantly followed the person who had already turned around to go back to his bedroom.
Cooking, washing the dishes, hell, he even did the laundry! For what?
That he would sleep on the couch, which was literally killing his back. Sure, Murasaki could admit that he did kind of just waltz into the apartment and made himself at home without permission, but was that really a reason to treat him like a slave?!
Nice was still a mystery to him, but Murasaki had always been determined when he found a challenge, be it to bring Nice back to the Academy which he refused to try, since the other had been right with disliking the place or to try to understand him better. Annoying as he may be, Nice´s way of doing things and the way he thought was intriguing and he felt that he wanted to know more, wouldn´t rest until he at least could understand some things about him and maybe beat him some day, no matter how far that way would be away. The other had his heart in the right place for someone who couldn´t even make simple onigiri without food poisoning someone.
Murasaki was a determined man, ambitious and not as stupid as Nice sometimes made him look, but even he had come to the conclusion that he would never understand Nice completely, his character was too complex, and this was one case he would admit defeat. That didn´t mean that he lost interest and would give up with trying to at least follow the unique way the other thought.
No way.
For example, there were things he had already picked up on. Like how Nice couldn´t cook and was rather uncaring with everything related to chores or housework. In that aspect he was a lot like a teenager, which his age normally should act like. That wasn´t too surprising or shocking, no, these would sum up his feelings that after shamelessly staying an entire week in the apartment Nice had simply giving up on trying to get him out, even though Hajime, that girl was almost as complex as Nice maybe that was the reason these two got along so well?! Hinted that they didn´t even have room in their little apartment for another nor the money to feed another mouth.
What an impact words could have.
"Hajime-chan…I will always feed you, you don´t need to worry about that at all, leave it to me! And wouldn´t it be heartless of me to just throw poor Murasaki out into the cold?" Nice had tried to reason with the girl, petting her hair and grinning like he always did. Murasaki watched from his position in the door way of the kitchen. Hajime´s face remained impassive, but she didn´t say anything else.
"Besides, he can help with work, so we can get more money that would mean more food! I bet he can cook really delicious stuff as well!" That did the trick and scarlet eyes brightened as a dazed smile crossed the girls face. Nice face spilled victory.
"Fine…he can stay, if he makes food." Hajime agreed with a firm nod and Murasaki quickly assured her that she would be getting better food than take-out. She seemed satisfied with his answer and that made him sigh in relief.
Nice obviously had a soft spot for Hajime, with the way he gave her more food, tried to make her as content and happy as possible, it was heartwarming at times, to see the teenager who looked so careless immediately leave everything just to check on the girl. Maybe, the other wasn´t too irresponsible.
Nice throwing a blanket over Hajime when she fell asleep on the couch, checking to see if she was cold and appropriately dressed for the weather before going outside. Ruffling her hair gently while shoving a bit of food of his plate to hers. She always had enough clothes to wear, could make the other normally bored and uncaring teenager, who still acted wise at times with his unpredictable actions appear in a heartbeat if she some much as coughed or complained about something. Even the smiles were different. Nice had a smile only reversed for her, the way his eyes got brighter like a flame involving into an inferno, his lips pulled up naturally, creating a happy and peaceful tilt of lips that made him seem younger, warmer and a lot more open than Murasaki had seen him look before. There was another thing which he instantly noticed due to its importance.
Hajime could touch Nice without him tensing up or being told off.
Nice didn´t like to be touched and Murasaki respected that. The reaction he had gotten the last time he tried to get a grip on his wrist had him a bit chilled. The cold glare with the venom filled whisper that demanded to be let go off had him flinching away so violently that it was almost embarrassing. How had a kid, 3 or 4 years his junior managed to make him feel fear if only for a second? It should have been impossible…
Hajime didn´t have the trouble, she could hug Nice, pet him on the shoulder, pet his hair, hold his hand and so on without a negative reaction. Curiosity was a dangerous thing, thankfully he was smart enough to leave that to his own thoughts.
Cold, indifferent, and above others. Sometimes, Murasaki had the feeling of being inferior to Nice, like he was looked down upon from the other´s uncaring way with words fights had almost broken out because of that attitude and he found himself sometimes rethinking if he should talk to the other or try to guess his reaction before speaking up on certain topics. The feeling wasn´t nice at all, no pun intended, and it made living together a bit difficult. They had enough problems as it was.
"You seriously can´t cook anything at all?! These onigiri were horrible! You aren´t setting a foot into the kitchen again! How did you even survive until this long?!" He had been done after the third attempt of getting the other to make something eatable. Nice huffed and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking away and suddenly, Murasaki had a feeling he shouldn´t have said the last part, even though it wasn´t filled with malice, rather with disbelief and a bit amusement.
"Why do I have to sleep on that couch anyway?" Nice looked up from his phone with a blank face. His expressions practically screamed what exactly thought about the question if the "Are you actually retarded? You do realize how stupid that question is?" vibe he gave of just from raising an eyebrow was anything to go by. But Murasaki wasn´t finished just yet.
"Hajime told me you slept together with her before and that thing is the most uncomfortable thing in the universe. Why can´t you-?" Murasaki sighed, letting his question die off when a scoffing Nice interrupted him.
"I can think of a few things that are more uncomfortable." The reply stung and Murasaki didn´t even try to bring it up again, choosing to read a book. The question was rude anyway and looking at Nice face, he couldn't bring himself to try to ask again.
Getting his sleeping problems under control couldn´t be that hard, right? Maybe if he spends more time with the thing it would eventually be comfortable.
"You can´t deal with money at all. You do know that that´s common sense, right?" Murasaki was exhausted, his nights were getting shorter from his stress in trying to feel at home in the apartment put together with a few nightmares he´d rather not discuss right now.
Nice lips pulled down almost into a pout before he looked away, crossing his arms over the table as he avoided eye contact.
"Not like the academy ever taught things like that. Anyway, I got this far without learning it, so there´s no need to bring that up now." Nice said and Murasaki was slowly running out of patience with his supposed partner. They wouldn´t get anywhere like that. Partners had to trust each other and with the way their usual conversations are going they would accidently kill each other.
So, being the older and bigger man, he was the one to take a step forward by shaking his head with a deep sigh. "All right then. If you need help with money handling just ask me. I can at least give you a bit of advice."
Feeling a bit smug at the surprised expression on the other´s face, he calmly continued to drink his tea. One point for him!
Murasaki grumbled as he tried to get comfortable on the couch again. His back aching with every movement. How old was the thing anyway? If the thing killed him before Nice´s recklessness did or his cooking, then he would come back to haunt that smart moron for the rest of his life.
The temperature in room wasn´t exactly warm either with the thin blanket and the poor filled pillow. Annoyingly, he just couldn´t go to sleep no matter how hard or long he tried. Trying to think of something that could make him go to sleep, he was reminded of the small conversation he had over dinner when Nice was out with Hajime. That little girl could sure eat.
"You know. If you can´t sleep, ask him to help you." She suddenly spoke up between bites of her meat, chewing happily. Murasaki was so startled he almost dropped his fork in shock. That girl wasn´t the most talkative person he knew. How did she even know of his trouble with sleeping?!
"Nice is…kind and warm. He´s going to help." She insisted looking at him with her intensive red orbs. It was like looking straight into a fire and he was mesmerized with them for a split second.
"I can deal with it myself." Hajime pursed her lips, but nodded, before eating her dinner, not once speaking up until Nice got back. Murasaki was a bit irritated since their disagreement and you could feel the tension in the air.
Without realizing it, Murasaki had drifted off to sleep with a troubled frown on his face. His glasses lying on the living room table where he could easily reach them.
A hand gently but firmly shook him. It was warm, warmer than his body, which was covered in cold sweat due to his nightmare. He didn´t want to open his eyes, that would mean he couldn´t go back to sleep anymore and he had enough of being exhausted from lack of sleep every day.
Why couldn´t he just dream about a black abyss? Just nothingness would be nice…
A quiet sigh reached his ears and the hand on his shoulder left and he missed it almost immediately after. The spot where it laid was still warm underneath his shirt, why was it suddenly so cold? He wanted the comforting warmth back…
How he hated nightmares. They kept you up, shook you and were just entirely unpleasant. Why did such things even have to exist? Murasaki wasn´t a man to be scared easily, he wouldn´t have survived at the academy otherwise, but if there´s one thing he never knew how to handle it would be nightmares. Calming himself down after one took him hours on his own and he just couldn´t prevent them from happening. It was frustrating.
!
Pleasant music rung inside his ears as he felt a weight being settled onto his head and over his ears. The sound was soothing and upbeat, bringing out warm and comforting feelings in place of terror or fright. He had never heard such a song before, hell he wasn´t even a fan of music or anything.
After two minutes of listening to it, he decided to open his eyes, since he felt a lot calmer than he did before, only to be meet with light blue color. Blinking a few times, he let his eyes follow up to reveal anticipating blue eyes with tiny flecks of violet around the pupil and the pinched look of concern underneath the unimpressed façade the other wore. Auburn hair was sticking up a bit oddly in a few places, but the familiar sight of bandages across the nose and cheeks made him sit up, which made something fall off his head.
A pair of green headphones laid on his lap and he just continued to stare dumbly at the other, trying to figure out what was happening.
„Are you coming or not?" The tone of the voice didn´t sound judging at all, more quiet and soft then he had thought the other could ever attain. Unwillingly, his body relaxed a bit and he hesitantly followed the person who had already turned around to go back to his bedroom. He carefully set the headphones aside, next to his glasses on the table and left them there.
Nice had given him his headphones to calm him down without a complain at being woken up at 2 a.m in the morning. Was he still dreaming? That didn´t really seem like a nightmare, except Nice wanted him to follow just so he could kill him…
Unlikely, since he left the headphones.
Murasaki watched how Nice yawned and moved back into his bed and he stood awkwardly in the room, not quite sure what he should do now. Should he leave? Bring him his headphones? That kid really had to practice his communication skills-
"Do you want to sleep on the couch that bad? The bed´s big enough for two, just don´t crush me in my sleep." Nice warned without any real heat, petting the spot next to him before closing his eyes and turning onto his right side. Murasaki stared with wide eyes at the left spot that was open for him with barely surprised shock.
"B-But you! You hate being touched!" Murasaki fumbled with his words, feeling like this was too much to ask for. Yes, he wanted to sleep in a bed and had no problems with sharing one, but if the other loathed it to be touched, he wouldn´t make him force himself to bear something just because Murasaki couldn´t get his shit together.
"I offered, didn't I? I wouldn´t have done that if I was against it. Now, get into bed or go sleep on the couch, doesn´t really matter to me. I just want to sleep." Nice yawned and slowly drifted off. Murasaki sighed and decided to take the opportunity. It was only for one night anyway and the other couldn´t complain.
Slowly getting into the bed, he made sure to stay as far away from Nice as he could, not wanting to make him uncomfortable despite his earlier words.
Which didn´t matter since in the morning he woke up to find himself cuddling the warmth which made it possible for him to sleep without any nightmare. Nice didn´t look overjoyed but also didn´t mad. He would have to cook Hajime´s favorite for being right.
"Stop smiling like that, it´s creeping me out. I will kick you out if you don´t."
For all his harsh words, Nice was just a kind child underneath his uncaring demeanor. Who would have thought?
"Seriously, just let me up. We have work to do, don´t we?" Nice said, just to get out of the iron hold.
The "We" did things to Murasaki, who had been on his own for so long, that was unable to be explained with words.
"You are crushing me! What did I say yesterday?!" Nice complains fell on deaf ears, although Murasaki did loosen his hold just a bit. Not enough for the other to escape though.
"Taking a break for one day with the lousy jobs you do with that little money you earn won´t kill us. Now, please be quiet. I want to sleep." Murasaki said and closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the squirming in his arms. He heard the other mutter something about "lousy jobs and little money" in an offended way, but he soon fell silent.
The name Nice really suited him.
After that Incident, Murasaki liked to think that their little apartment was like home to him now. Also, it wasn´t strange anymore when he showed up to sneak into the bed and he counted that as a plus point. Then there was the fact that he learned a lot more things about Nice than he would have thought.
For example, it was a well-known fact that Nice couldn´t do any house work if his life deepened on it and handling money was out of the question. That much was certain, but then there were these situations, where Nice smiled like an idiot only to say or conclude such complex and complicated things Murasaki had troubled to even understand. Part of him was annoyed and frustrated that the other could do so without much effort like it was obvious from the start, while the other half was mesmerized by the intellect his partner possessed. Now, if he only used that stupidly smart brain of his for handling their money…
Then there was Nice´s like for music. Sure, the other had a Minimum where he could see sound, but that still didn´t prepare him for the shock he had gotten when he had inquired to what the other had been listening to when he wore his headphones. The normally lazy and bored teenager had transformed into a starry-eyed child. The fixed gaze with the glowing blue eyes like the sea on sunny days was a surprise, especially if you took the happy grin that pulled the corners of his lips up, and the slight pink flush across Nice´s cheeks as he gestured and rambled on about his favorites artists to heart. The other had even used his Minimum to make him listen to a few of his CDs.
It relieved Murasaki if he was honest. It was good to know that even someone like Nice had something to fanboy about. Showed that he could still act his age. However, his relief was soon to be replaced with annoyance, when found out just how obsessed Nice could be about his favorite musician. Apparently, when there´s a concert on TV of said artist, you have a 1 % chance of getting Nice´s attention if your name wasn´t Hajime. Let alone get him to move.
"Oi, Nice! When did you get back?" Murasaki called out as he started making dinner. He had been shopping for groceries just now.
"…"
There was no reply, but Murasaki had seen the red shoes laying around at the front door. Checking that the food wouldn´t burn, he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, where he found a teenager laying on the couch with a focused gaze at the TV.
"Hey…" Murasaki tried again, only to end up with the same results. Nice made no visible reaction to acknowledge him.
"Dinner is almost finished." Murasaki said, because it worked every time with Hajime and her and Nice had stayed together for so long, it had to have some effect on him. He´d seen him eat plenty, whenever Art offered to buy food.
"Later." Came the short answer and not once did Nice take his eyes of the TV. Murasaki twitched at the distracted answer and took a deep breath to calm himself down. There was no way in hell he would put the warm dinner he just made in the fridge because Nice couldn´t even take five minutes to eat something.
"Where´s Hajime?" That had to get him a reaction longer than one-word answers. Hajime was the most important thing to Nice in the world next to music and food. Nice hummed thoughtful, blinking once.
"Probably still in Nowhere. I remember her saying she would come home a bit later." The uncaring answer caused Murasaki´s patience to snap as he eyed the headphones laying on the living room table. They were out of reach for the lazy teen on the couch, so taking of his glasses, he crouched down and lifted the couch over his head with a smirk on his face.
"If you want to vacuum do it quickly." Nice said, not minding that he was just lifted together with the couch. The words crushed his triumph and he gently put the couch down, before returning to his kitchen.
Let the idiot starve himself if he wanted to.
Murasaki could ignore that, some day he would find a way to get Nice to do some work. No matter how far that day would be, but for now he was content with their situation. Although there was still a topic he liked to discuss.
"Hey, Nice. Do you have nightmares?" There, he said it. That question had been bothering him for some time now. The longer he had spent with the two, he´d seen how many times Hajime woke up from one and with how often he himself left the couch to sleep together with the other, it was normal for them. Nice just wasn´t normal though.
Nice, who had been laying on the couch, with his head plopped up on one head, turned to look at him. He had been watching some show with clear disinterest for some time now.
"Of course, everyone has them. Why do you ask?" He asked. Murasaki forced himself to relax and leaned against the couch to get more comfortable.
"Hajime and me always come to you when we have bad ones. I have never seen you with either Hajime or me. Why don´t you come to us?" He said. He honestly wanted to know. The other couldn´t possibly be embarrassed, since they all had slept in a bed together.
"I need a bigger bed." Nice announced from his position. He laid in the middle of the bed with Hajime clinging onto him, her arms warped tightly around his middle, while she buried her head into his chest and Murasaki who laid behind him. The bed barely fit them all.
Murasaki held back a chuckle at their situation. It was hilarious if you thought about it. Between him and Hajime, Nice was the physically weakest right now, since he didn´t wear his headphones to bed.
It was cute.
Just a tight hug could break one of his ribs and Hajime was a possessive cuddle person, especially since it was Nice. She would keep an iron grip around the latter´s waist, not once letting go while she slept and he´d seen the bruises she would make in the morning when he once caught Nice changing. The purple marks on the normally pale skin had horrified him a bit. Yet, Nice had never ever said something to Hajime about loosening her grip. He just stroked her hair like it wasn´t bothering him at least a bit. He also was careful about letting Hajime see it. The one time she did saw was a huge drama.
"Don´t apologize, Hajime-chan! You didn´t hurt me, this is just how you show you care about me! It´s your way to express your love, so it´s completely fine. They make me happy, Hajime-chan." Murasaki had watched how Hajime slowly nodded, still a bit unsure as she traced the marks she had left carefully with her fingers. That evening she had tried to hold onto Nice with more care, which was pointless, since she automatically tightened her grip when she slept. At least she tried.
Murasaki himself was a more protective hugger. He would try to warp his arms around both of them, to pull them close. He couldn´t begin to image how Nice felt between them. He´d asked once, if the other wasn´t concerned about laying between them.
"Huh? Why should I? Sleeping in the middle between you two is probably the safest place on earth." Nice had said, looking puzzled at the odd question. Murasaki had to admit, he did have a point. Even though the other would be defenseless, with Hajime clinging onto him. He couldn´t reach his headphones if someone barged in, but Murasaki had a feeling if that someone happened the attacker would be send flying out of their window from a punch by Hajime. The protective behavior between the two was mutual.
"Nice…is warm. My bed was cold." Hajime´s muffled voice spoke up and Nice immediately pulled her closer, burying his face into her hair.
"Maybe we should buy a bigger one." Murasaki suggested half-heartedly. He doubted that that would fix anything. Hajime always slept as close as possible to Nice and he himself liked the closeness too. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.
"No. This is better." Hajime rejected, proving her point by using more of her strength to hold on. Nice made a slight choking noise, but otherwise didn´t give anything away that Hajime was currently squeezing him to death.
"Yeah." Murasaki voiced his agreement. She was right. It was a rhetorical question since they didn´t have the money to buy a new one. Even if they had the money, the bed wouldn´t provide more space.
"Doesn´t my opinion matter?" Nice asked and the two answered simultaneously.
"No."
Nice tensed up. "So mean!" He whined. Murasaki wanted to flick his forehead or smack him with a pillow, but he was laying so comfortably right now, it truly would be a waste to move.
"We don´t need to be nice." Hajime´s smile was visible in her voice and Murasaki huffed out a laugh at the pun she said. It was rare for her to joke.
"Well, let´s sleep before I do something stupid like start a pillow fight with you two, which I would certainly lose right now." Nice muttered and it was the truth, without his minimum he stood no chance. In this closeness one smack from Hajime or Murasaki could knock him out cold.
"Right." Murasaki said easily, just to hit a nerve. Nice huffed and if he could see the other´s face, he would surely see a pout.
"Murasaki, you ass. You didn´t need to agree!" Nice´s annoyed tone brought a grin to his face. It was fun to tease.
"I am sleepy…" Hajime´s low voice made both of them stop. Nice sighed and stoked her head a few times.
"Good night then, Hajime-chan." He whispered tenderly before closing his eyes.
"Night." Murasaki muttered quietly when he saw the two asleep. He wondered if this was something permanent in his life now.
He wouldn´t mind it if that was the case.
The morning after that had been chaotic, since Birthday just barged in without permission. It had been one of the funniest experiences he had ever made and one of the scariest. He had never expected to live in such a dangerous place.
"Rise and shine-Woah! What´s going on here?! Did you have a sleep over without inviting me?" Murasaki heard the loud noise the door made and Birthday´s cheerful voice wasn´t something he liked to hear right now. They had wanted to sleep in, since yesterday had been hectic. The case had lasted until the middle of the night to early morning and it was exhausting.
"How did you even get in here?" Nice inquired, voice laced with sleep. He tried to sit up, but it was rather difficult with Hajime´s form clinging onto him, so he stayed down.
"Oh? Is little Nice not a morning person?" Birthday´s teasing words were the wrong thing to say as Nice tried to reach for his headphones. Murasaki had half the mind to give them to him, but decided against that. That would mean he had to move, which was the last thing he wanted to do.
"All right, all right! Geez! I just came to visit! No need to be so grumpy." Birthday held up his hands and made pacing gestures as he grinned to himself. Nice rolled his eyes and yawned.
"Can you go now?" Birthday´s grin was replaced with barely held back giggles. "Why? Do you need your beauty sleep?" He burst out laughing and Murasaki heard the muttered words of "I was trying to spare you the evil." Much to his confusion. What evil was he talking about?
"…kill…" Hajime´s quiet voice made everyone in the room freeze. Red eyes were glowing like the pits of hell in the darkness they had closed the curtains after deciding to sleep until noon even though the expression on her face didn´t change. Murasaki watched with his jaw slacked as she flew from the bed and kicked Birthday brutally out of the room.
"OW! W-Wait! I-I am SORRY!" The high-pitched yelps of Birthday filled their apartment. Murasaki picked up his jaw and gazed down at Nice, who looked incredibly smug.
"It´s not me. Hajime´s the one who isn´t a morning person." Nice explained, brushing a hand through his hair, making his bedhead worse than it already was and Murasaki paled. He had never tried to wake up Hajime before…
"Wait. I can´t image her doing that to you. How did you find out?" Murasaki was honestly curious. Hajime would never hurt Nice like she did Birthday from the sounds of his screams. So, how did the other know about her behavior?
"RAITO! She´s trying to fucking KILL me!"
"There was one time where someone broke in and woke her up. Hajime punched him out of the window and jumped after him. The poor guy had been in the hospital for a month and a half and after that left the city." Nice´s satisfied smile was unsettling.
"N-NOT ThErE!" A loud thud was heard followed by a high-pitched squeal. After that a deeper groan was heard and whimper sounds. Murasaki sighed and looked at Nice with his usual expression when he wanted the other to do work. His face stated, "Do something" like there were letters written over it. Nice reluctantly sat up, stretching as he did so.
"Hajime-chan! I am getting up then!" Murasaki wanted to slap a hand to his face. How could these words stop the devil known as Hajime from maiming two of their friends?!
"No!" She was suddenly next to them and Murasaki saw Nice wince as Hajime harshly dragged him down. It made sense. Never before had Murasaki seen Nice get back to bed when he had once gotten up. Hajime obviously was tired if she didn´t want him to get up and she liked to sleep like this, claiming that the bed would be cold otherwise.
Nice could never say no to her.
"Close the door when you leave!" Murasaki called out and joined the other two again. He was asleep in seconds.
After that, Murasaki had expected it to never happen again, but Birthday didn´t learn from the first time and this time it wasn´t Hajime who had been out for his blood. Honestly, people, preferably Birthday had to stop waking them up in such ways. They all possessed phones, with exception of Hajime and it wouldn´t be too much to send a short text about wanting to meet up.
"Don´t kill little old me please!" Birthday whined as he hid behind Honey and Three for protection. He had once again showed up without warning, this time dragging the two of them with him. They hadn´t believed him when he told them what happened with Hajime even after he showed them the video he bravely took while she tried to kill him.
"You did what?" Nice said, eyes glaring at Birthday like frozen chips of ice. The anger visible on his face made Birthday flinch and recoil and it had been a long time since Murasaki had seen that expression on Nice´s face if he ever saw him that angry in the first place. He could never hold eye contact with the other or look him in the face whenever he was like that.
"Now, Nice. Please calm down. He didn´t mean to break them." Three tried to get Nice to calm down, only to shut up when Nice looked up and narrowed his eyes. His glare cut through the words like a sharp kitchen knife through butter. It would have been hilarious to see, a beast of a man almost twenty years older, three heads taller, shutting his mouth, because a teenager with ridiculous bed hair stood in front of him in his blue pajamas and gave him a sharp look. Not that Murasaki could blame him. They all just realized something.
Nice was scary when he wanted to be. Even without his headphones hanging around his neck, he looked deadly enough. After all…
There was a reason Nice was Facultas top student.
There was no way in hell that Murasaki would get involved in that. He would keep his distance and watch how it played out. Good thing that Birthday´s partner was a doctor.
The only person who could get involved and not get physically or mentally injured Nice could be vicious with words if angry enough was the little girl standing next to him, refusing to get in the way of Nice´s anger.
"I won´t mess with this. Nice-kun´s anger is rightfully aimed at Birthday." She mumbled and crossed her arms. That had been true and he couldn´t argue with her.
Now Honey tried her luck, putting her hands onto her hips although her fingers were shaking a bit. No doubt would she step aside with Nice demanded it of her. Mighty wouldn´t be much use to her if she couldn´t foresee the future in time. Murasaki doubted that Nice would give her enough of that if he snapped.
"You don´t need to beat him up. Think about it. If he replaced all your CDs, then everything´s okay again, right? He can even buy you new ones you didn´t have before as an apology." Honey suggested and lightly kicked Birthday who nodded and said he would totally replace them.
There was a minute of silence and Murasaki swore only Hajime breathed. It was one of the worst things you could do, to break Nice´s CDs. They were sacred for him, Murasaki knew that much form the last argument they had when he inquired what was so special about a bit of music. That had been a huge mistake, since he ended up cooking Nice´s favorite for dinner a whole week before he got the other talking to him again. The other even went on jobs without him!
"Tomorrow morning. I want them on the kitchen table." Nice agreed, lips pulled into a straight line, features frozen. He turned and walked back into his room, the door slamming shut behind him. Birthday breathed out a sigh in relief as he held his chest.
"I don´t know what was scarier last time or this." Birthday panted slightly, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Image what it would be like if they teamed up?" Murasaki felt a shudder run down his spine. For all his appearances that was something he never wished to see. He doubted the government could withstand that and he would be careful when he cleaned up and saw another CD.
"Don´t give me nightmares!" Birthday yelled as he cowered on the floor, trying to make himself as small as possible. He had been scared enough for the rest of his life.
"Nice´s CDs…they are special. They aren´t cheap and you can´t buy them all in Yokohama. Some of them were special editions, only available in cities four-hour train rides away. One was from Toyko." Hajime spoke up, a hint of a frown on her face and Murasaki saw Birthday pale to a new shade of white.
"RAITO! Hurry and start the car!" He screamed while stumbling towards the door so fast, Murasaki wondered if the other suddenly possessed the Minimum of the person who had given him that deadline.
The next day, there had been a formal apology letter with a bag of CDs on the table. It had taken another week of Birthday trying to make up, before Nice stopped sulking and started pestering the other for buying Hajime a burger as an apology since she had been sad too.
Birthday bought her twenty burgers in total and showed her a magic trick. Needless to mention, Hajime had forgiven him after the nod of confirmation Nice had given her behind the other´s back.
"Why should I? I only need to check on you and Hajime to be able to calm down. Then, after listening to a bit of music, I can fall asleep again." Nice answer was honest, and the show was now completely forgotten. The words registered inside his mind and Murasaki felt a hot boiling sensation in his stomach. How could a person just brush of their nightmares so easily?!
"There´s no way you could forget nightmares so fast!" He interjected, trying to force out the truth with his fixed stare. Nice sat up, cross legged now and leaned his head back to stare at the celling with an odd expression on his face. Murasaki couldn´t pin point the emotion, nor could he guess what the other was thinking about.
"Say, Murasaki…do you remember what my dream had been?" The causal question calmed his anger momentary. What did that have to do with everything?
"You told me that you wanted to see the world, though with the way you handle money, that would be impossible." Hajime who had gotten so attached to café Nowhere was probably the reason the other didn´t try to see more of the world. Although Nice couldn´t handle money, he would surely have found a way to travel the world.
"So, you do remember!" Nice exclaimed with a smile, ignoring the jab aimed at him. Murasaki failed to see how his answer helped and voiced his confusion and irritation.
"What does that have to do with anything? Don´t tell me it´s your pride which holds you back from-."
"Don´t tell me you still don´t get it." Murasaki took the chance to get a glimpse of Nice´s face and found the resting frustration to be a shock. Did he maybe get it wrong? Maybe Nice did have a reason after all…
"Please clarify it then." He chose to demand and Nice´s frown was lifted a bit.
"It´s always a matter of perspective, you see? People can see the good and the bad in the world and you know that I don´t care about that. But people fear that they can´t fulfill their wish…" Nice trailed off and adverted his eyes from his partner, who frowned, brows furrowed.
How could Nice think that, this was an explanation?! It made no sense! If the implied reference about his nightmares were correct, then he just disagreed with himself! Murasaki knew that the other couldn´t care less about the world, so why would he have nightmares about it being destroyed?!
"What´s got that to do with anything?!" Murasaki asked, quite loudly so. He was getting more worked up with the way their conversation was going. It only angered him more that, the other wouldn´t look at him.
Nice still refused to face him, eyes on the ground and was that a blush he saw?! Across the bandages was a pink flush visible and the annoyed expression on his face could almost be mistaken for embarrassment with the way he mumbled to himself. "Do I really have to say it?" The words were hushed and quiet, before the other sighed deeply. Murasaki leaned forward in his seat, intend on hearing the next words.
"To the world, you and I are just unimportant people, but to me you guys are my world. Seeing my world being destroyed, that´s what my nightmares are about. So, just checking up on Hajime and you is enough for me, I don´t need the reassuring you two need! Geez, Murasaki, that was so simple to understand!"
Thoughtfully stunned, Murasaki watched the tips of Nice´s ears turn red as the other avoided eye-contact like the plague. The anger from earlier had left only to be replaced by something more light and fuzzy warm as he fought to keep the smile off his face even though it was a battle he was losing. Badly.
"Who knew someone like you could be sweet? That´s so cute." Murasaki laughed at the gaping and spluttering Nice did as he finally turned to look at Murasaki again. The normally pale face lit up a bright neon red.
"Y-You-! Idiot! I should have never said anything. I should have just let you continue to sleep on the couch!" Nice huffed and crossed his arms above his chest, trying to cool his face. The opening of the door told them that Hajime had returned. She walked into the room and Nice immediately took the chance to jump up and greet her.
"Hajime-chan! Murasaki is mean to me!" He complained, and she titled her head to the side before nodding. She walked over and petted Nice´s hair similar to how an owner would their dog, but it was the thought that counted (no doubt had she tried to copy what Nice sometimes did to her in her hurry to comfort him) and Murasaki was content as he watched the two.
That had been another side of Nice. One of the many he hadn´t seen before. It was like that time, where they were alone…
"You are so stupid! Who the hell doesn´t tell anyone when he´s feeling unwell?!" Nice had been scolding him harshly for the past eight minutes now, sitting beside his bed, on the chair he had pulled up to watch over Murasaki, who had collapsed earlier under his fever.
It had just been his luck that he had gotten sick in the two weeks, where Hajime had gone on a girls week with Koneko and Honey. She had been excited all week and they had pushed her to go even though she wanted to refuse at first. Murasaki would have asked Raito discreetly to check him, but the other had gone on vacation with Birthday and they would be back in three weeks at most.
The only person to take care of him was Nice and Murasaki shuddered at that. The guy could barely take care of himself, let alone another human being.
"Do you know how much trouble you caused? I had to drag you back here!" Nice said, before he stood up. Murasaki blinked, trying to make his headache go away and the coldness was almost too much for him. His runny nose didn´t help. Neither did the wet cool cloth on his forehead.
"Try to get some rest, I will be back later." Murasaki didn´t even have the strength to protest, he only nodded and closed his eyes, thankful that the room was silent now, even though it felt lonely.
"-saki! Wakey, wakey!" There was a light pressure gently, but firmly shaking him awake. Murasaki groaned, blinking to clear the sleepy haze that had settled over him. His headache didn´t let up much and his nose was still stuffy and all new levels of uncomfortable.
"Here. Eat." Something warm was placed on his lap after an arm helped him sit up. Looking down, he saw a bowl of soup staring back at him.
"I know it probably isn´t the best, but it´s eatable." Nice said, offering him a spoon which he took. Part of him wanted to play stomach sick, so that he wouldn´t have to taste it, but that would not only be rude, but ungrateful.
Why would he be scared to try it, he couldn´t taste it. The thought helped him take the first bite and to his surprise Murasaki found that the other had been right.
"How is it?" Nice asked, scratching the bandage on his right cheek. He had sat down on his chair again.
"A bit too salty and watery, but other than that, it´s good. How many times did you make this?" Murasaki asked between slurps. How did Nice even know how to make chicken soup? His confusion must have shown on his face as Nice grinned lightly.
"I have no idea, but I may have asked Master for the recipe…" He muttered, flushing lightly and Murasaki felt a fondness beneath his gratefulness that warmed his cold a bit. They stayed in comfortable silence for a while until the bowl was empty.
"Here. I had no idea what to get you, since I never really used it when I was a child, but the lady stated it would be the best option even though it tastes like crap. I got a few other things for you too, not really sure if they will help." A spoon was shoved in front of his lips and Murasaki opened his mouth and swallowed the medicine. He winced slightly at the bitter taste, but froze when he finally looked at Nice for the first time since he had woken up again.
The other had a plastic bag next to the chair, bowl laid aside. His hair was plastered onto his head and he was soaked to the bone. His dark blue shirt clinging onto him, vest thrown over the chair. The bandages were a dark grey and his bangs were hanging into his eyes. Not only that but his hands were almost completely warped in bandages or plasters. How clumsy can one get while cooking something as simple as soup?!
"Don´t tell me you were out during this down pouring? Are you insane?!" Murasaki´s outburst startled the other, who frowned.
"I had to get the medicine. Now, sleep. If you need anything just call." With that Murasaki had no choice but to watch the other leave the room, gently closing the door behind him. Sinking into his pillows, Murasaki drifted off.
Murasaki wasn´t sure whenever to be touched or not, when he went out of his room. He had feared for his kitchen (just what mess did Nice made when cooking the soup?!) only to get the shock of his life when he saw no dirty dishes lying around. Everything was clean and Murasaki almost wrote it off as hallucination from his fever.
It was strange to have someone like Nice take care of him, but not in a bad way. The other had been beside him, watching over him even during the night. He had caught him one morning when he saw the other sleeping in his chair, but didn´t say anything. Whenever Murasaki coughed, the other would stand in the doorway with headphones on his ears, asking him what he needed. The other even brought him an extra blanket while he was asleep. Who would have expected that the boy who said he wouldn´t grant wishes just go out in the rain to buy medicine or act like a personal nurse?
Then he had opened the fridge and saw the various bowls of soup in there. He tasted one, they had different kind of marks written on them only to promptly gag at the taste. Why was something like that even in the fridge in the first place?! Did Nice put them in there? That tasted worse than prison food!
(Huh, maybe that was something he could mention to Art in passing. They could even press a bit of money out if the other accepted the idea.)
He had checked the trash to see it filled with things you normally used for chicken soup. How did Nice get so much money to try it that many times?! No, better question was, the other seriously didn´t eat the crap he cooked the first 10 or so times, right?
"Like hell you will continue to eat that. I have never eaten something so terrible in my life." Murasaki growled out, taking out the different bowls when he heard Nice walk in.
"Why are you out of bed? More importantly, don´t throw them away! Hajime-chan wouldn´t waste food, so just let me eat it!" Nice protested, but one sharp look from Murasaki had him give in. Seeing that the other wasn´t trying to argue anymore, Murasaki continued with his task.
"How did you even get the money to buy so much stuff? Don´t tell me you finally robbed a bank? Just because they can´t see you with the cameras, doesn´t mean I will approve!" Murasaki warned as he finished with throwing the soup away. Nice, who had been giving him sullen looks, titled his head.
"I have been working." He answered and now it was Murasaki´s turn to frown.
"How? You are here most of the day." The other rarely left the apartment. Nice sat down at the kitchen table and crossed his arms behind his head.
"So? Hamatora´s original office had been in this apartment at the beginning. No harm done in letting the clients come here for a week or so." Nice had shrugged the question off, before they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Murasaki watched the other stand up, before he paused and made shooing gestures with his hand.
"I will get that. Just get some rest. I would like to eat good food in the next four days again. I can´t do that if you are still sick. Not only that but Hajime will worry if she returns and sees you like this." The slight concern visible on his partner´s face made Murasaki move without even noticing.
Another thing Murasaki had noticed in the following week was that Nice had no problem with touching anymore. The change in his behavior had happened over time, so it was no surprise he had taken so long to figure it out. Whenever Birthday threw and arm around his shoulders, Nice would not tense up or shrug it off. He would let Raito check him over if need had to be and sometimes would even let one of the high schoolers they had met during a case link arms with him. Hugs were still rare but at least they lasted longer than a second, just blinking could make you miss it.
Murasaki had observed it. However, realization had only come to him, when Nice had once again fallen asleep on him. It wasn´t unusual for the other to drift off when he was extremely tired or exhausted, but he never relied on anyone to fall asleep on their shoulder. So, when Murasaki noticed how often Nice had fallen asleep on him, be it on a train ride, in a car or just on their couch, it was like a small victory to him. The smile that would sneak up whenever he felt Nice´s head on his shoulder wasn´t because of some silly happiness, no. He was just glad that the other trusted him.
And he was certain that Nice did so, especially after that incident three weeks ago.
A case gone wrong, or more like Nice had gone ahead and did something stupid. The other had fought and somehow managed to twist his ankle during that. The guy he had been fighting was passed out and as bruised as a peach, so no worries there. Still, Nice couldn´t walk home in that condition and after just five minutes of arguing instead of the twenty-five, had allowed Murasaki to carry him home. Trust was something you had to earn and having Nice trust him like that…it was surreal a bit. That still didn´t stop him from punching the guy straight in the face with his Minimum, when he saw him the next time on the street. Thankfully, Nice wasn´t present. Murasaki had no idea what had gotten into him, but the red haze just overwhelmed him as he remembered that Nice couldn´t walk correctly, let alone use his Minimum to defend himself that time. Just the thought of Nice being helpless (which was ridiculous, since Hajime was almost always with him nowadays) made him lose control. It had felt good…
Although he would never admit what he had done to anyone. Telling Nice would be out of question since he´d rather die than let that happen.
Something he could admit without being embarrassed was that café Nowhere was like a little family. Everyone knew it, (Nice even admitting it once) and it was glaring obvious to everyone. Murasaki had been glad that when he had been sick, it was only Nice there to see it. Just seeing what happened when the other had been in that position…
Murasaki doubted that anyone would forget that in the next few years.
"Why do people do that?" Hajime asked, sitting just in front of the bar. Koneko perked up and smiled at her as she cleaned another glass.
"It´s something people do when they are really glad to see someone special to them. They can´t contain themselves to just hug them normally, instead they just rush forward in their enthusiasm and throw their body forward to hug them more tightly and quicker. It´s a nice gesture that shows you that you are appreciated. Why do you ask, Hajime-chan?" Koneko explained and Hajime hummed to herself with a glint in her scarlet eyes.
"No reason…" She mumbled. Murasaki had been listening from his seat next to her. They had walked to the café and seen two friends, high school girls, tackle one another in a hug. Hajime had been curious about that like the time where she had returned from her girls week and Nice had hugged her and twirled her around.
Birthday almost laughed himself into the hospital when Hajime had done the same after Nice had returned from another job. Who could blame him? Seeing a tiny girl pick up a teenager one and a half heads taller than her to twirl him around, even sonic Raito couldn´t help but laugh to himself.
A jingle rung out, informing the people inside the café about their new arrival and Murasaki barely had time to watch how Hajime sprung from her seat and threw herself at Nice. They all expected a high yelp or even a tiny, startled scream as he was tackled to the ground by the eager girl, but all they got was a choked whimper as he crashed onto the floor.
The whole café erupted into laughter.
"N-Nice-kun?" Hajime´s low and shaky mumble made everyone freeze as she gently shook the limp body on the ground. Raito was next to her in an instant, checking the teen over with Birthday hovering over his shoulder no trace of amusement present. Murasaki had been right on the other side, next to Hajime, gently prying the girls trembling fingers away and muttering soothing words to her. Their speed could have been compared to Nice´s.
It had turned out that the moron caught a pretty high fever. Hajime had been reassured since even she did have one before, but was still worried. Nobody could blame her, seeing someone like Nice just fall over for no reason (she was not at fault, she just wanted to hug him) had scared even him badly.
"I have never seen Nice-kun sick."
Asking Art to see if the other had an idea how Nice could be while he was sick had been pointless. How did a person never get sick? Art had voiced his opinion, stating that there was a week where he and his brother hadn´t seen their friend, making them think that Murasaki´s partner simply decided to take care of it himself, rather than ask for help.
Murasaki wanted to hit him over the head with the frying pan he had ruined with his flambé (The fire´s not supposed to be as high as the celling! God damned it, Nice!) for that.
Raito had given him instructions to follow, which both Hajime and him had been grateful for. The poor girl wouldn´t leave their troublemakers side, even insisting on carrying him upstairs and sleeping next to him at night.
To say that he had thought that a sick Nice would be hell was an understatement. Whining, spoiled acting and exaggerated behavior was to be expected.
How wrong they had been.
"Hajime-chan…please. You can´t sleep here. You will get sick." Watching Nice arguing with Hajime wasn´t like anything he had imaged. Both were rather quiet right now. Hajime had been insisting with stubbornness she surely had through Nice´s influence that she wouldn´t move.
"No. I will stay. You did it for me. I want to take care of you too." She had reasoned with a firm but pleading expression on her normally expressionless face. They had both been proud of her, how much she had changed in that regard.
"…fine. I guess, I will just have to take care of you when you get sick then." Nice faltered as he looked at her from his position on the bed. Murasaki had known that the other wouldn´t refuse her when she actually looked so pained. Although if push came to shove, just a word from Nice could have made her move.
It was both inspiring and terrifying to see how much respect, trust and love they held for each other.
Murasaki had been absolutely ready for everything. This was his chance to repay his partner for last time!
…
Then again, how could he do that when the other was just so unlike himself?! It was like a switch went off! Getting a grin or smile out of the patient was almost impossible! Nice only slept or stayed silent otherwise. (He had wanted to listen to a bit of music, but Raito stated that it wouldn´t be good for a sick person, so Murasaki had persisted) Murasaki had trouble with getting him to eat even soup, the other had thrown up last time and the sound was too miserable to try it again so soon.
Murasaki had learned how to deal with a normal Nice, the sick version was too hard to handle right now. How do you deal with someone so unlike themselves?! It was a bit like walking on thin ice, not knowing when you will break in.
It was like Nice was intent on feeling terrible for a few days until the fever went away. There was no way that Hajime or him would allow that though. While Hajime had slowly worked the other out of his room, he´d walked almost into the door, swaying a bit too dangerously for their liking and positioned him on the couch with his head in her lap. He´d slept for a few hours and eventually managed to keep a bit dinner down.
Only medicine seemed to be a problem.
"Just take it please. It will make you feel better. I promise." It had been half an hour now and Murasaki was slowly losing his patience. What was so horrible about swallowing a spoon of medicine other than the taste?
Nice eyed the spoon warily, pursing his lips and wrinkling in his nose. He warped the blankets tighter around himself. Hajime sat beside him on the bed, such devotion she had, it was amazing.
"Please, Nice-kun. I want to go eat at Nowhere again, but we can´t do that without you." Forget his earlier statement. Watching Hajime talk Nice into doing what she wanted was more amazing than seeing Art´s regeneration Minimum for the first time.
At least he knew who he had to get next time.
Apparently, Birthday is a bigger moron than Nice and has to repeat a mistake three times before he learns his lesson. Maybe Murasaki would invest into a lock, not that it would really prevent them from entering, but it was the thought that counted. It would make him feel better about it too.
"Jo-ho! We got you a bit assistant! The savior squad is here-." Birthday´s voice was loud enough to be heard in the whole apartment. Followed by a few sighs, Murasaki paid no mind to them. At least not until he heard the yelling that started when there was a thud.
He´d rushed from the kitchen out into the hallway to see a crowd of their friends with Raito kneeling next to something.
"You idiot! Who´s so stupid, knocks on the door only to slam it open?!" Honey was practically spitting fire as she berated Birthday who winced. Three had a hand on her shoulder to stop her from beating the other up.
"Nice? Can you see how many fingers I am holding up?" Raito asked and Murasaki paled, releasing what happened. He had thought that Hajime had gone to answer, but the quiet footsteps which got nearer told him that wasn´t the case.
"Wha…?" The quiet groan reached their ears and Art was gently holding the teenager up with an arm around his waist.
"Should I put him down on the couch or in his bed?" Art asked with a small smile, eyeing his friend on shaky legs with worry. There was a bright red spot on his forehead, which would surely turn purple later.
Great, like that guy needed anymore bandages to plaster on his face.
"Dump him on the couch please. I am afraid, there isn´t enough space for everyone though." Murasaki sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, slicking it back. Hajime had moved to help Art and they both slowly guided the dazed teen to the couch.
"Also, Raito. I am giving you a key. Please make sure Birthday never uses it on his own." Murasaki called back and moved back into the kitchen to finish dinner. When he returned, with no dinner for Birthday, knocking out Nice wasn´t appreciated when he was sick nor was it fair, since Murasaki was supposed to be the first one to manage that on his own, he was warmly surprised to see them all talking to each other.
The small smile on Nice´s face remained for the rest of the evening.
Murasaki was pleasantly surprised to see that Nice had finished his dinner completely, although he had suspected that it was due to Birthday´s whining about getting the rest overs only for nothing to remain that he did so.
"What are you smiling about? Did we win in the lottery?" Nice asked him one evening as the three of them sat on the couch, watching a movie Hajime had wanted to see. All three of them were in their pajamas. Red for Hajime, purple for himself and blue for Nice.
Murasaki stayed silent for moment, looking at Hajime, who had her eyes concentrated on the TV, while sitting in the middle with her legs drawn up to her chest. Eyes sparkling with childish glee, like they sometimes did whenever she or Nice found something new or interesting to be excited about. Her black hair was getting a bit longer in the back and her lips were slightly parted in interest.
Then he turned to look at Nice, with his auburn bedhead and bandages plastered across, a sincere smile on his face, blue eyes warm and light as he sat right next to Hajime on his crossed legs.
"No, we didn´t. But I sure did." Murasaki answered, leaning back as Hajime gasped at something that happened in the movie.
"Woah. She can sure eat…"
"Hah?! What´s that supposed to mean, Murasaki?! Did you buy a ticket while we weren´t watching!? I thought we were partners! Explain yourself!"
