Title: Mortal Until the First Kiss
Author: TheVampireLucinda
Featuring: Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi
Disclaimer: None. Well, some blood involved, but nothing too bad. I think. Oh, also potential G1 spoilers!
Summary: Sanguine: The color of blood; also: The state of being optimistic in a difficult situation.
Kenny's mind and heart were racing as the Young Lions carry-dragged him to the trainers room, placing him gently on the table as though his bones were made of crystal glass.
His head was still spinning and throbbing from the Brainbuster Ishii had hit him with; spasms of pain lanced up his leg, radiating out from his injured heel all the way up to his knee. His chest and neck felt like they were on fire from the brutal chops he'd endured, and the blood that somehow continued pouring from his mouth was causing him more and more concern with each passing second.
Worst of all, though, was the fact that he'd lost. Pinned, clean, right in the middle of the ring.
Fuck this, his mind whispered insidiously, bitterness already creeping around his heart.
It's starting, isn't it? You're on the downward slope already. It took Okada, what, a year-and-a-half into his reign to get to this point? And you've managed it in two-and-a-half months. Well done.
Kenny shook his head, trying to clear away the dark thoughts. He knew, he hoped, that it wasn't true.
He couldn't be falling already...could he?
The whole G1 tournament, he'd been giving more than 100% of his mind, body, and soul, fighting through injury, and pain, and discouragement, and...
Ishii beat you. You only barely escaped Zack. You won't win this. And that shiny new belt you have...
You're only borrowing it until the next wrestler comes along and takes it from you.
"Stop it!" the Best Bout Machine hissed, alone in the room with his increasingly negative thoughts. "Shut up!"
Kenny put his hands in his long blond hair, laying very still on the table. He knew he had to focus, had to get his mind back in the game. He almost wished Matt and Nick were here to slap some sense into him; though he quickly concluded that he'd been slapped enough tonight.
If he lost it here, now, he'd lose it all. And against his best efforts, a sickening feeling of deja vu began to grow in the pit of his stomach even as his eyes drifted shut.
The door flew open suddenly with a crash, causing the IWGP Heavyweight Champion to startle right out of his musings. Kenny turned his head slowly, expecting to see familiar face of their angry company doctor.
Instead, however, his blue eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of a sweat-soaked, limping, oddly blank-expressioned Kota Ibushi.
"Ibutan..."
"I didn't watch," Kota interrupted, almost dreamily. "I couldn't. Your match. I didn't see."
He approached Kenny's prone form slowly, like someone still asleep but trying to find something.
The blond watched, confused and a little wary, as Kota placed a hand lightly on the side of his face. He knew that expression on the Golden Star's face; the man was still riding high from the adrenaline of his match.
But along with that thrill, some unidentifiable pain was mixed in, making him seem even more dazed than usual.
In all the years Kenny had known Kota, this was something new.
What could possibly be bothering him so much that it put a damper of the thrill of a match that had so obviously set his soul on fire?
"Kota, what are you—"
Without warning, because somehow Kota didn't telegraph any movement, Kenny found himself being suddenly and utterly consumed in a gentle, dizzying, burning kiss.
Kenny lifted his tired arms to push Kota away, but the Golden Star was as immovable as a mountain. He could taste his own blood in his mouth, mixed with what had to be a little bit of Kota's as well.
Wouldn't the blood make Kota sick?
A few mumbled words were all Kenny could get out as Ibushi half-climbed on top of him, deepening the kiss, pinning him down. Somehow, it didn't hurt his body, or his injured mouth; but Omega could definitely feel warm drips of blood running down the side of his face, and it was starting to worry him, despite the haziness of his mind.
As though he could sense the gaijin's feelings, Kota pulled back a few inches, eyes cloudy and wide as he looked down at Kenny. A long string of bright red blood and saliva hung between them for several seconds; and Kenny felt a thrill run down his spine as he stared at it, entranced.
"Kota..." he breathed, unable to truly form a coherent thought with the state his mind and heart were in at the moment. "Kota...I..."
He couldn't get the words out. How do you tell the person you love most that you're a failure? That you're unworthy? That you're just not good enough?
Painful tears pricked the sides of Kenny Omega's blue eyes; and when Kota saw them, he grabbed Kenny's face with both his hands, perhaps a bit more roughly then he'd intended.
"No," Ibushi commanded in English, before repeating it in Japanese. "No. Kenny. Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare."
Kota carefully climbed off of Kenny, pulled the gaijin up into a sitting position, and hugged him tightly against his chest. A twinge of pain made the Golden Star wince, but he brushed it aside.
"Whatever you're thinking, stop it. You're wrong."
Kenny blinked, only a few tears falling as he took several deep breaths, eyes drifting shut. As always, Kota was a calming rock in the storm of his emotions; never saying a lot, but always speaking the words he needed to hear.
"Ibutan..."
"That's better."
The former Cleaner couldn't stop a small smile at that, tension slowly draining from his body, tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding since the match with Ishii started. Everything still hurt, but it felt a bit more manageable right now.
Or maybe that was just an aftereffect of Kota, too.
Kenny nodded once, indicating that he was okay, and Kota released him. The two partners looked at each other for a long, silent moment, each with thoughts both very near, and so far away.
"So...You won?" Kenny asked quietly, smiling again despite his bloodied lips.
He didn't know it, but the sight set Kota's own blood on fire. It was part of the reason his mind went blank when he first entered the room, seeing Kenny's blood smeared over his face like that.
He had been instantly and completely consumed by the desire to taste that beautiful crimson liquid. In fact, if he was honest, that's exactly what he wanted to do right now.
But, no; right now, Kenny needed him to be his support, and that's what he wanted to be for him.
Now. Forever. Always.
Suppressing the urge to kiss his Golden Lover into oblivion, Kota returned the smile, tasting their mingled blood.
"Yeah. I think I'm dead, though. Naito definitely is dead."
Kenny shook his head, unsure to what degree his friend was joking. "Judging by the bruises you're sporting, it was brutal as all hell. Can you please be more careful out there?"
Kota gave him a skeptical look. "You damn hypocrite," he half-laughed, indicating Omega's face and foot. "Sure, I'll be careful, Mr. Moonsault-Onto-Bleachers." Kenny gasped.
"I know you're not talking, Mr. Moonsault-Off-A-Balcony!"
"Okay, Suicide-Dive-with-A-Fucked-Up-Foot-san!"
"Fuck you, Fireworks-in-the-Mouth!"
Kota had the presence of mind to look indignant at that, one elegant hand rising to cover his mouth in shock.
"It was my birthday, you jerk!"
((()))
New Japan's ringside doctor was surprised to find Kenny Omega not only sitting up in the condition he was in after that match, but smiling.
However, as he entered the room and saw Kota Ibushi sitting on a nearby chair, it all made sense.
"You two need to be more careful," he said sternly, reciting the obligatory scolding he gave to basically every wrestler on the roster (except for Suzuki; the doctor valued his life too much to scold that one).
"Please take better care of yourselves..."
"We will," Kenny said softly, uncharacteristically pliant. Kota nodded as well, although it was short, and clearly non-committal. "Sorry."
The doctor shook his head again. "Don't apologize," he added a bit more gently, readying his gloves and the stitches. "You are all amazing. Just be safe."
Kota softened at that, and nodded once more. "We'll be careful," he swore, hand absently coming to rest on Kenny's strong shoulder. "And thank you."
The doctor offered the two wrestlers a smile, before focusing on the task at hand. He was puzzled, for a moment, as he looked between them.
"Wait, Kenny-san...You have a pretty bad cut on your lip, right? From Ishii-san?"
"Yeah...I don't know if it's inside, or outside..."
"But then...why is Ibushi-san's mouth all red, too? It didn't look this bad after his match! Did something happen?!"
The current IWGP Heavyweight Champion blushed redder than his spilled blood as Kota stared blankly at the doctor, a finger going absently to his lips.