Sleep didn't last long enough, well before Kuniyuki's alarm was set to go off, the violet haired man was brought back into the world of the living and conscious. As he sat up and slipped his glasses into place his senses awakened enough to be able to comprehend the words being spoken to him.
"Really Mr. Glasses, I thought you'd never wake up. I gathered up the mess best I could but figured I should wake you before taking it out." Hotarumaru said although Kuniyuki didn't react.
Hotarumaru was the kid from last night. The kid who looked so sad but hopeful. It wasn't a dream. He resisted the urge to groan in annoyance with himself when he realised Hotarumaru was speaking to him again.
"Are you really awake? Oi-" Boldly, the kid pulled at Kuniyuki's cheeks and certainly managed to gather his attention.
Managing to look only slightly irritated Kuniyuki removed his hands, "Yeah I am. Demanding kids aren't cute y'know." He scolded.
Remembering why Hotarumaru woke him in the first place, he looked around the room and tried to not let his mouth drop in the surprise of seeing the place tidied up. When he looked back at the kid, Hotarumaru seemed a bit embarrassed.
"I didn't look through your stuff okay, I just wanted to clean up the mess as thanks." Hotarumaru said softly, his gaze was firmly locked onto the ground. After a beat, "Also, it really stunk." He added.
Kuniyuki resisted the urge to laugh as he finally got up on his feet, "It did." He agrees easily, Hotarumaru seems to relax and looks up at him. Kuniyuki considers him lucky since despite the mess there hadn't been anything lying around that would truly be shameful for a kid to clean up.
"But you've done enough. I'll take out the rubbish… And stay here for now. I'll tell you if the coast is clear for you to leave. Try not to mind the smell in the meantime." Kuniyuki did his best to give him a reassuring smile, he didn't feel like it would work but Hotarumaru smiled back at him anyway. It was a forced smile, he could tell Hotarumaru was still uneasy but didn't voice it. He didn't know how to feel about that.
Ignoring the way his exhaustion screamed at him to forget the rubbish, ignore the kid and go back to sleep, he gathered as many bags as he could and moved to the end of the hall garbage chute. The building looked more disgusting in the bleak daylight, but there was less chance of bumping into anyone during the day. Like him, most of the scum who lived there were nocturnal.
He halted in his steps when he ended up in front of Hotarumaru's apartment. A heavy and uncomfortable weight added to the strain his body already felt as he lent against the door. He did his best to try pick out any sounds from inside. After what felt like a few minutes he determined he didn't hear a thing. He bit into his bottom lip while shakily raising a hand to the doorknob, his heart was beating annoyingly loud but all it took was a slight twist to reveal it was unlocked. He was a coward, so when he swung the door open as carefully as he could, his eyes were tightly held shut.
A quick breath escaped him as he let his eyes open, the sight that greeted him wasn't as obvious as he was expecting. There was nothing, no trace of conflict, it barely even looked lived in. It was certainly cleaner than the efforts of one grade school kid could ever make it. He felt cold and a lump of something threatened to rise in his throat but he swallowed it back down. Ignoring his feelings was easy at this point, so he blocked out any remaining thoughts or assumptions when he started searching the apartment.
There wasn't a lot so he was able to quickly enough find clothes small enough they could only belong to Hotarumaru. Mechanically, he left the room and returned to his own appartment, lazy smile sliding back into place to greet a slightly alarmed Hotarumaru.
"You were taking a while Mr. Glasses I was worried you fell asleep on the way… Are those my clothes?" Hotarumaru asked, the confusion was clear on his face.
Kuniyuki sighed while dropping the clothes onto the couch, he resisted the urge to curl up on it himself. It was a pain, children were a pain, staying awake was a pain. Why was he doing this again?
"Let's drop the 'Mr. Glasses' thing, Kuniyuki is fine. You can clean up and change now, I'll be finishing up with the trash. When I'm back we can talk about your options now." He told the other. Hotarumaru looked like he wanted to say something so Kuniyuki quickly continued, "Don't worry~ I won't fall asleep again."
Ending the conversation, he picked up the remaining trash bags and let himself out, it didn't matter so much if Hotarumaru took him up on his offer but it would be nice to get back and see the kid could still function normally. He wouldn't know what to do if he needed any more support than what he was giving.
He disposed of the garbage and made his way out of the building after a moments consideration. It would end up just being a pain if he returned and Hotarumaru had left but on the odd chance he stayed put it would only be fair to give him something to eat. Kuniyuki still wouldn't call himself a good person, Hotarumaru was just a mess he had gotten involved with due to sleep deprivation. Still, he wasn't about to just abandon him now. He was just taking responsibility for giving the kid some hope. That's all. He'd have to keep telling himself that.
Stirred from his thoughts by the jingle of a bell he realised he had let his feet take him to the store he worked at. He inwardly cursed himself for it but decided it would still work.
"You're not on today are you?" One of the workers behind the counter asked confused. Kuniyuki wracked his brain for a name but couldn't come up with one, neither the girl or the teenage boy worked nightshifts so he had long since disregarded the information.
"Not until tonight, sorry. Just here as a customer." He answered with a smile, making his way to the instant ramen aisle. It was his own fault for showing up still in his work clothes but it was still tiring, he'd had more social interaction in one day then he was used to getting in a week.
Probably not appropriate for breakfast but options were limited with budget, options and cooking ability in mind. He reasoned the kid couldn't eat a big meal anyway. He purchased a couple, thanking his server and leaving. He really wouldn't be able to get used to this. It wasn't just the apartment, everything was brighter and clearer during the day. There were more people, more sounds…. He didn't like that kind of atmosphere.
Kuniyuki kept his head down and thanked the heavens for no interruptions on the way back to his apartment.
Hotarumaru greeted him with a loud cheer, a neighbour banged because of the noise and Hotarumaru ducked his head slightly in apology. Kuniyuki resist the urge to sigh as he brought the noodles over to the kitchen doing his best to ignore the curious look Hotarumaru was giving him.
Hotarumaru seemed to work up the courage to approach as Kuniyuki filled two cups with the freshly boiled water. He didn't feel like eating himself but knew it had been long enough since that he had to make himself do it. Collapsing from exhaustion would really be a pain, especially with a kid around.
Kuniyuki rolled his eyes at Hotarumaru's timidness, "Don't like ramen? I didn't know I was going to have any guests so that's all I've got to offer." He told him. He spoke pretending they both didn't know he went out of his way to get food.
As Kuniyuki took his own cup to sit at the couch he was surprised to see Hotarumaru do the same and sit beside him. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that the kid seemed to be getting comfortable around him already.
He peeled back the lid and stared down at his lazy meal, resisting the urge to get annoyed with himself again as the steam fogged up his glasses.
"Here." The soft but chipper voice surprised Kuniyuki again as Hotarumaru held out chopsticks to him. He hadn't even noticed he forgot to bring over any.
"… Thanks." He responded after only a moment of hesitation. The bright smile Hotarumaru gave to him made him feel some strange feeling he couldn't name since he hadn't felt it in so long.
"No, I should be thanking you. For the food now and last night, for the place to sleep. At first, I thought you might be some kind of creep. But you're actually really nice Kuniyuki." Hotarumaru said and Kuniyuki choked on the noodles he had been eating.
He was staring at Hotarumaru like he'd grown a second head before laughing slightly, "You're a weird kid Hotarumaru. I really could be a creep. Don't trust people so easily." He warned but felt his lips twitching upward.
To his surprise, Hotarumaru laughed at him as well. "Nah, you're definitely a lazy slob but you're not a bad guy."
Kuniyuki shook his head and continued eating, Hotarumaru dug into his own cup with gusto. He wondered how long it had been since he had been greeted or eaten with someone. He wonders if Hotarumaru had ever experienced this before. When he realised what he was feeling was happy he decided to distract himself from those thoughts by trying to slurp down his noodles just as quickly as Hotarumaru who welcomed the challenge.
All too quickly the ramen was finished and both boys regretted eating so quickly. He felt it was unfair just when the albino had brightened up, but Kuniyuki knew he had to ask some questions to figure out what happens next.
"I need to know what to do with you. You don't have any other relatives or a friend you can stay with?" Kuniyuki asked, if the conversation didn't need to happen he would have happily let sleep take him. Work in so many hours was going to be hell.
He noticed Hotarumaru go quiet, when he looked at him the kid had a surprisingly blank face.
"Mum is my only family. I have a friend but I couldn't trouble him like that." He answered, his voice far too level and calm.
"But you're okay with troubling me." Kuniyuki teased with a shake of his head and to his relief it snapped Hotarumaru out of it.
"But you offered first! It's really different." He insisted, Kuniyuki only smirked in amusement with a non-committal 'sure' muttered in faux agreement.
Hotarumaru finally picking up it was a joke pouted at him rather moodily. He'd never really thought about kids but Kuniyuki decided this one was pretty cute. In the back of his mind, he realised no matter who he went to the situation would sound bad and it would be hard to get Hotarumaru some help. Kuniyuki also quickly realised he didn't have anyone to go to since he did his best to live in isolation.
"Nowhere to stay and no options to go. Got it, crash here as long as you need." Kuniyuki supplied, bringing them back on topic again.
Hotarumaru was the one staring in disbelief this time, he began to bubble up with complaints but Kuniyuki waved him off.
"I said for as long as you need. If you have somewhere to go instead, then feel free to do so. Besides, you wouldn't be staying here for free. Keep going with the housekeeping since I'm such a lazy slob."
Hotarumaru just laughed, he laughed and tears pricked the corner of his eyes. Kuniyuki watched him uncomfortably, both not understanding and entirely unaware of what to do. But Hotarumaru settled down quickly enough and thanked him, crushing his torso in a surprisingly strong hug. Kuniyuki killed off his feelings, he didn't need to remember anything now, he didn't need to question what he was doing or why such a pure kid shouldn't be believing in him so strongly. In one of the most awkward movements he's ever done he gave Hotarumaru a soft pat on the head.