A/N: Another request from the list on tumblr! This time, an anon sent KumiWaki + subtle kindnesses and/or edge of consciousness - I managed to get both in here, plus a bonus alternate interpretation of 'edge of consciousness'

Takes place throughout canon, some snippets happen at more specific points than others.

Thoughtful

There's mud soaking into the knees of his pants, but Wakiya doesn't think he could stand up if he tried. His legs are trembling under him as it is; he's uncomfortably aware of the yawning chasm behind him with a rain-swollen river at its base.

A few more seconds of hesitation and he'd be down there right now. If not for Valt – if not for his new teammates –

…Well, he wouldn't have had to face this mess to begin with, if not for them. But he'd also never have made it to the other side of that bridge.

He's scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve, but the tears keep coming. Maybe he can blame them on the rain, if anyone asks.

"Y'all were pretty good, too," he manages, along with a watery smile.

Maybe it's the stress of the situation – near death experiences don't happen every day, after all – that has them all bursting into laughter. Wakiya laughs, too, choked a little by tears but no less glad everyone's okay. The tight ball of fear in his stomach eases, even if standing up still seems beyond him.

"We better get back before anyone catches a cold," Shu says, after they take a moment to settle.

There's a chorus of agreement as everyone mobilizes, albeit slowly. Shu and Daina leave first with the twins, Daina asking if they're okay while Valt dashes after them.

Wakiya doesn't know how he's going to follow, but he does know he has to get up now, cooperative legs or no. He could've done with a few more minutes' rest, he thinks.

And then an arm wraps under his shoulders, and someone hauls him to his feet.

His eyes dart to Hoji first off, but the fact that he's a little ways away and smiling softly tells Wakiya that he's not the one who's helping. If it's not him, then who –

"You good?" Rantaro asks.

Wakiya's head whips to the side, and sure enough there he is, holding up most of Wakiya's weight, which Wakiya absolutely did not ask him to do.

"M'fine," Wakiya says, forcing shaky knees to support him so he can stop leaning on Rantaro.

Rantaro offers him a small, crooked smile, then, still with that lollipop in his mouth. He lets go of Wakiya's shoulders, pats him roughly on the back once, and then goes after the others, yelling something to Valt about being careful not to slip.

"Young master?"

It's only when Hoji's next to him and gently touching his shoulder that Wakiya realizes he's been hesitating for a few moments too long.

"I'm fine," he says again, when Hoji's concerned expression persists. "Let's go."

x

It's lunchtime, and the seat in front of Wakiya is oddly empty without Hoji in it. Around him, the other kids are getting up to sit near their friends, arranging desks and chairs as necessary. The general clamor is more annoying than anything else – that's the only reason Wakiya's frowning when everyone settles and he's left on his own little island.

(He doesn't get why everyone would want to sit and talk to each other while eating anyway. They already did that before class started, and it's not like they won't see their friends afterwards. And they've all been together the whole time, too! What could there possibly be to talk about?

…Nevermind that he never has a problem making conversation with Hoji.)

Wakiya's level of irritation only rises when a familiar figure strolls through the classroom door and makes a beeline for him.

"Hi, Wakiya," Rantaro says, plopping himself down backwards in Hoji's seat. He nudges Wakiya's food out of the middle of his desk to make room for his own.

"What're you doin' here?"

Rantaro shrugs one shoulder – not even both of them, it's not even a full shrug. Just a non-committal half-shrug. "Where's Hoji?" he asks, rather than answer Wakiya's question.

He should kick Rantaro out, or at least refuse to answer, because really he's not supposed to be here, and really it's none of his business. But he's already started eating, and Wakiya isn't in the mood to make a scene today.

"At home," he says, frowning. Just because he isn't going to be the one to kick Rantaro out doesn't mean he's happy for the company, or anything. "One of his siblings is sick or somethin'."

"Oh," Rantaro pauses in shoveling food into his mouth, brow creasing in the middle with what's probably worry, knowing him. "Are they okay?"

Wakiya raises an eyebrow. "Dunno. It's prob'ly just a cold."

"That's still miserable," Rantaro says. "I hope he doesn't catch it."

"Yeah," Wakiya agrees. This is just too weird, though. Across from him, Rantaro is stabbing the straw into his drink, acting all casual, like he belongs in Hoji's seat. "How'd ya know he wasn't here?"

"I didn't see him walk in with you this morning," Rantaro explains with another half-shrug, suddenly seeming very interested in his lunch.

Well, that's suspicious. "Were ya spyin' on me?"

"No! I just get here early, and you two always show up together."

Offering no response, Wakiya watches him dubiously and hopes that gets his point across. Right about now would be the perfect time to tell Rantaro to mind his own business – but he can't bring himself to do so, for some reason.

"Are you gonna eat or not?" Rantaro asks eventually, gesturing at Wakiya's untouched food with his chopsticks. There's rice stuck to the corner of his mouth, and Wakiya frowns at it.

"Are ya gonna stay here the whole time?" Wakiya counters.

"Uh…" Rantaro looks down at his half-eaten food and then back at Wakiya, "yeah?"

He can't be here just to ask about Hoji. Knowing Rantaro, he probably has some secret ulterior motive to be annoying, like always. "What, is Valt absent, too?"

That gets Rantaro to frown right back at him. "He's not in my class, anyway! Kensuke is – was."

"Ah, I see," Wakiya's frown flips into a smirk, "were ya lonely?"

"Were you?"

It's a desperate grasp for a comeback, one that assures Wakiya that he's won here regardless of how this pans out. "Not gonna sneak inta Valt's classroom instead?" he asks.

"So what if he is absent?"

Aaand there it is. "Yer so easy ta read," Wakiya says through snorting laughter. "Don't worry, I'll keep ya company."

x

"Hey, Wakiya!"

That voice calling him is definitely familiar, but Wakiya ignores it. Just one more launch and he'll have it perfect, so he can't be bothered with distractions right now.

"Heeeey! Wakiya!"

He yanks the ripcord as hard as he can, and Wyvern circles the dish restlessly. The trajectory is a little off, but it's nothing he can't fix with some small adjustments.

"Wakiya!"

Plucking Wyvern out of the stadium, Wakiya resets his launcher and starts a mental countdown as he takes his stance. Three…two –

"Wakiya! Don't ignore me!"

Wakiya flinches and spins on his heel, clutching Wyvern so it doesn't fall off his launcher with the motion. There's no one in the immediate vicinity, though, and he squints in confusion at the fence that lines the roof.

"Wakiyaaa! I know you're up there!"

Rolling his eyes, Wakiya follows the obnoxious voice, because he knows the yelling won't stop until he acknowledges it. He stuffs Wyvern into his pocket as he goes, so he'll have a hand free to grip the chain link as he looks down.

Sure enough, there's Rantaro, hands cupped around his mouth mid-shout. "Wa –"

"Whattaya want, Kiyama?" Wakiya cuts him off. "I'm practicin'!"

"Isn't it kind of late for practice?" Rantaro asks, dropping his hands to rest on his hips. From this distance, Wakiya can barely make out the lollipop stick that he rolls from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Aren't ya a little far away to be botherin' me?" Wakiya doesn't know if a glare will do anything from here, but he tries anyway.

"Why don't you come down, then?"

"Why don't you come up, if ya really wanna talk to me?"

Rantaro grumbles something that Wakiya can't quite catch, and then he disappears from view as he walks towards the school. That probably means he is in fact on his way up, which is annoying, but does fortunately mean that Wakiya is free to move away from the edge of the roof.

He makes his way back to the beydish in the center, fishes Wyvern back out of his pocket, and readies his launcher yet again.

This, of course, is when the doors to the roof burst open, and Wakiya jumps in surprise, half-pulling the ripcord as he does. Wyvern falls uselessly into the stadium, lolling on its side.

"What'd y'do that for?!" Wakiya growls, tossing a glare over his shoulder before bending to pick up his bey.

"Sorry," Rantaro says, although he seems nonplussed.

With a huff, Wakiya resets Wyvern again. "What do ya want, anyway?" he asks (demands), getting into his stance again. "I'm busy."

"How long have you been training up here?"

Wakiya ignores the question long enough to pull the ripcord, and Wyvern lands perfectly in the stadium, circling the outer rim before gliding into the middle. It spins firm and sure; a very solid launch with nothing amiss. Finally.

"Since none a yer business," he answers, watching Wyvern spin.

"Shouldn't you take a break? Everyone else is home for the night…."

Wakya scowls – everyone else didn't lose spectacularly in the tournament earlier. "That's the kinda thinkin' that gets ya benched every match," he says.

There's an irritated noise from Rantaro, and he crosses the distance between them with a few long strides. "What'd you say?" he snarls, like he always does.

"Ya heard me," Wakiya fires back, like he always does.

Rantaro growls, and bites down on his lollipop until it cracks between his teeth. "You're impossible," he grumbles, crunching on candy pieces. He pulls a replacement lollipop out of his pocket, unwrapping it and shoving it in his mouth.

He's going to need a better argument than that before he gets Wakiya to listen to a word he says. "So are ya gonna leave me to my trainin' now?"

"The sun's setting Wakiya – go home," Rantaro says with a frown. His hands go to his pockets and his shoulders slouch then, probably in an attempt to feign nonchalance.

"Who do ya think you are, orderin' me around?" Honestly, the nerve of him. Hoji would never treat Wakiya like this. "Go home yerself!"

"Why you –!" Rantaro cuts himself off, apparently unsure what insult to reach for. He pulls a clenched fist out of his pocket, and it's got a lollipop clutched in it that he shoves toward Wakiya almost aggressively. "Here!"

Wakiya blinks, making no move to take what he's apparently being offered. "…What's this." It's phrased as more of a demand than a question.

"Take a break!" Rantaro insists, and he brandishes the lollipop with a little too much force.

"…What?" Everything is making less sense than before, somehow.

"Take a break!"

"Y'said that already – why should I?"

Rantaro makes another frustrated noise and tosses the lollipop towards Wakiya, who catches it on reflex. Staring down at the bright red wrapper offers him no answers, so he turns his questioning look on Rantaro instead.

"You're part of a team now," Rantaro says, "don't you remember what Daina said earlier?"

"Anyone can earn back a point that someone else loses," Wakiya recites faithfully, because he likes Daina and respects his know-how. Shu is also smart. Valt and Rantaro, on the other hand…. "What's that have ta do with you bein' here now?"

This time, Rantaro just sighs. "Forget it," he mutters, and then repeats, "you're impossible."

"It's yer fault for not makin' any sense." Wakiya turns the lollipop over between his fingers, examining it before tucking it away in his pocket. "Are ya gonna leave me to my trainin' now?"

"Fine!" Rantaro turns around on a dime, marching for the door. He has one hand wrapped tight around his own lollipop and tosses the other up in a sarcastic wave. "Goodnight Wakiya, make sure you go home and get some sleep eventually."

"I'll sleep well knowin' that I'll be takin' part in the next match!"

Halfway through the door, Rantaro pauses. "What was that?!"

Wakiya ignores the complaint in his tone, grinning to himself as he crouches down by the beydish to retrieve the still-spinning Wyvern. "'Night, Kiyama."

"Why you…!"

The door to the roof slams, then there's the sound of someone stomping around, and when Wakiya looks up, Rantaro is across from him. He's got Ragnaruk out and is affixing the bey to his launcher in no time flat.

"What're ya doin'?"

"Let's battle!" Rantaro demands, pointing his launcher at Wakiya. "I'll show you – I'm good enough to win any day!"

Wakiya smirks as he sets Wyvern up. "I thought ya wanted me to stop trainin'?"

"If I win," Rantaro says, "you go home!" He slips into his stance, then, serious and intense.

"'If'? That's not very confident of ya."

"When!"

Wakiya rolls his eyes, but can't resist a smug smile. "We'll be here all night waitin' for that, Kiyama."

"Shut up and battle already!"

x

"Augh, I can't believe this happened today," Rantaro whines.

Wakiya isn't eavesdropping, or anything. He's just in the wrong place at the right time to hear the complaint, and decides to stay hidden because Rantaro is annoying and he wants to have a peaceful day.

That's all.

He peeks around the corner, curious despite himself.

Rantaro is standing there in his tank top, frowning down at black fabric bundled between his hands. It must be his jacket, Wakiya figures, and as he watches, Rantaro pokes his fingers through places there shouldn't be holes and wiggles them around.

"Tch." Rantaro holds his jacket up, then, and from Wakiya's vantage point, he can see that one of the sleeves is almost completely detached. "I'm gonna have to sew this later…."

Wakiya allows himself a small smirk at the mental image of Rantaro, fingers covered in thimbles as he stitches his jacket up. …It's charming, actually, and he catches himself wondering who taught him to sew.

He doesn't get to dwell on it for long, though, because Rantaro starts walking down the hall in his direction. The fact that he's still busy examining his jacket is the only reason Wakiya is able to duck back to safety unseen, and he scurries away before Rantaro can catch up.

As the day goes on, Wakiya sits in class and watches the sky turn from a pale blue to a soft grey. It starts spewing snow soon after, which is a surprise – he didn't know it was supposed to get so cold today.

"Aw man," one of his classmates bemoans when it's almost time for class to end and clubs to start, "I didn't wear my winter coat this morning…."

That's when the image of Rantaro from earlier pops unbidden into Wakiya's head, and he frowns.

Rantaro's jacket has a huge hole in it. It's cold enough outside to snow. And he walks home….

It's none of Wakiya's business, really.

He'll be fine. It can't be that far to his house. He made it this morning just fine. He's smart enough to bring an actual coat, right?

Wakiya doesn't have to worry about himself – Hoji's dad is picking them up in the car, so he didn't bother with his winter coat.

Their teacher dismisses them and reminds them to stay warm, but Wakiya remains frozen in his seat with a frown on his face, thinking.

"Young master?" Hoji prods, standing next to Wakiya's desk.

Wakiya stands up, pushing his chair away with the backs of his knees as he goes. "I'll be right back," he says, and dashes down the hallway to class 5-1.

Fortunately, he doesn't run into anyone on his way, and the classroom itself is barren. Only a couple students are still lingering, and none of them are anyone he has to worry about. He knows, somehow, that Rantaro leaves his things here while he goes for practice with Valt before heading home, so he'll be back before he leaves….

Before he can overthink it too much more, Wakiya unbuttons his own jacket, drapes it over the back of Rantaro's desk chair, and flees the scene.

There, he figures, is his good deed of the day. He's got two more wyvern-patterned shirts at home, anyway. And he's going to stop thinking about this now before he gets too far into why, exactly, he felt the need to do that.

Hoji is standing outside their classroom door, both of their bags in hand. When he sees Wakiya clad in only his black t-shirt, he gets a weird, knowing look on his face.

"C'mon, let's go," Wakiya says as he walks past him, not wanting to give him time to ask questions. "Yer dad's prob'ly waiting, and we got practice to do tonight."

"Sure, young master," Hoji says.

Wakiya hates that he can hear a smile in his voice.

The next morning, he gets to class to find his jacket folded neatly on his desk, and hurriedly tucks it into his backpack without comment.

x

Wakiya doesn't know why he's remembering these moments now, of all times. It seems awfully odd and out-of-place, given that he was just…well, he can't really remember what he was doing, but he's sure it didn't have that much to do with Rantaro.

Everything's still a little fuzzy in his head, and he doesn't want to open his eyes until he's got everything straight. Rather than puzzle out where he is and how he got here, all his unhelpful brain seems to want to do is hand him irrelevant memories.

"Wakiya – Wakiya, wake up!"

Distant and muffled though it is, that voice is unmistakable. Wakiya's too tired to bother prying his eyes open just yet, though, so Rantaro will have to be patient.

"Wakiya, come on!"

Rantaro's voice is more coherent now, and is accompanied by a hand shaking Wakiya's shoulder. Well, if he's gonna be pushy about it….

Slowly, Wakiya blinks open his eyes. Hovering above him, Rantaro's form is blurry yet recognizable, and Wakiya is about to ask if he's happy now, having woken Wakiya up, but that's when it hits him. The memory of falling and falling and falling blindsides him, and he reaches out with a gasp. He grabs the closest, safest thing – which just so happens to be Rantaro – and winds his arms around him, lifting off the ground a little with the action.

"Whoa, hey –!" Rantaro stiffens for half a moment, and then relaxes, dropping from his crouch onto his knees to allow Wakiya an easier grip. "Are you okay?"

"I fell," Wakiya says, because that's the part that keeps replaying in his head. "I was battling, and then the floor – and I –"

"Yeah, we all kinda…fell after you."

Wakiya only just now realizes that there's a hand on the back of his head, resting there, buried in his hair. He decides he'll let it be for now, because he's not ready to let go just yet, either. He tightens his fists in Rantaro's jacket as everything comes rushing back. The zip-line. The Snake Pit. Their battles. Red Eye. Shu.

"Are you okay?" Rantaro asks again.

And Wakiya knows that he's been quiet and trembling for too long, but he just woke up, for crying out loud! There's a lot to remember, and to worry about, so Rantaro could stand to have a little patience here.

…Of course, no sooner does he think that then he feels something patting his cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Heeey, Wakiya," it's Rantaro, of course it is, craning his neck to peer down at him while they're still intertwined, "you awake?" He pats Wakiya's face a couple more times, gentle but a little insistent.

Well, now Wakiya is awake, thanks.

"What're ya doin'?" Wakiya asks, pulling back. He unwraps his arms and sits up for himself, feeling the hand slip out of his hair.

Rantaro shuffles away a little, still on his knees. "Oh," he says, "so you are awake."

Free from him and feeling more alert, Wakiya peers around at their surroundings. They're back out in the jungle, although he doesn't remember how they got here, in a small clearing. Around them, Valt, Cooza, and Daina are lying unconscious. Only Carl remains awake, faithfully perched on Cooza's head, despite everything.

"…What happened?"

"Well," Rantaro says with a sigh, "after you and Violet Eye lost, they lost to Red Eye, too. And then we all fell, and I woke up here…."

That fills in some of the gaps, at least, even while it raises plenty more questions. Wakiya pushes the majority of them aside in favor of the most pressing. "How'd we get here?"

"How would I know? You were probably here first."

Figures, he's clueless. Wakiya narrows his eyes at him a little. "Why'd you wake me up before them?" he asks, indulging a more personal curiosity.

"You were the closest!" Rantaro says, just a little too fast with a little too much color in his cheeks. "And I know you don't like heights, so…!"

Wakiya has been cagey about his own feelings enough times to recognize it on someone else. "Ah, ya were worried about me, Kiyama?"

Rantaro's cheeks flare up even redder. "So what if I was?"

A warm feeling spreads through his chest at that, and suddenly Wakiya finds himself wondering if Rantaro really did up wearing his jacket home, on that fateful day last winter. The snide remark he was about to make dies on his tongue. "Thanks," he mutters instead.

"No problem."

Wakiya clears his throat. "We should wake the others and get outta here." He stands up, then, and brushes himself off.

Still sitting there and watching him, Rantaro's fading blush is awfully telling.

At a loss, Wakiya does the only thing he can think of and offers him a hand. Rantaro looks it at curiously for half a moment before grabbing on and hauling himself to his feet.

A/N: 'Characters getting along while pretending not to' is apparently the only thing I know how to write. :'D

Also, the last part definitely takes inspiration from a post a friend of mine made on tumblr a while ago - I'd link it here, except FFN doesn't allow outgoing links. If you're curious, it's at the end of the Ao3 version of this.

Thanks for reading!