Thank you all for reading this. I appreciate it alot.

"This won't take long," Daiki assured, voice soft and patient as Shougo sat in the tub of cold water, trying his best to relax while Daiki tried his best not to let his eyes roam over Shougo's body. But failed miserably as he took in all his scars.

The old ones his fingers use to brush against, and the wounds Shougo had now that made Daiki realize he hadn't gotten into a fight. He lied to him. "Someone's hurting you,"

Shougo tensed up. "Wha—"

"Don't lie to me," Daiki cut in. "I don't wanna hear what you tell everyone else. I want the truth Haizaki."

"M'why?" Shougo asked. "You—"

'You don't care…'

"I do,"

"Liar,"

Daiki flinched. "I'm not lyin' Shou," He stated softly. "I really do care about you. So, please stop lyin' to me."

'Just trust me…'

"M'kay…" Shougo took a shuddering breath. He paused, licking his bottom lip. Unsure if he should tell Daiki the truth. He took another deep breath before continuing. "…Was m'dad."

"Shou…" Daiki swallowed hard. "Does….Is—" he hesitated, remembering the infirmary back in Teiko when he lifted up Shougo's shirt and— "Was….Was he the one who hurt you back then too?"

What kind of monster did you have to be to torture your own kid?

"H—He did…" Shougo whispered quietly. "Always does." He bit his lip. "M's fine, though. I—"

'I deserve it,'

"No Shou, you fuckin' idiot." Tears stung Daiki's eyes. "You don't deserve the shit he puts you through. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But m'bad," Shougo said. "I—"

"You're not." Daiki shook his head. "Even though you might do stupid shit sometimes. It doesn't make you bad."

"I—It doesn't?"

"No,"

Sure, Shougo had a lot he had to make up for. But so did Daiki and the rest of The Generation of Miracles. They hurt a lot of people trying to get to the top, and in a way, they had hurt Shougo too. They pushed him away, ignoring the fact this whole time, he's been suffering all by himself.

All alone…

"I'm sorry,"

"W—Why are you apologizing?" Shougo asked, voice shaky and lips quivering.

He sounded like he was about to cry ...

Daiki felt his heart clench. "Cuz' I fucked up." He glanced at the ground, biting his lip. "A—And I know you might not want to, but please give me a second chance? Let me make it up to you."

"Why…?" Shougo bit his lip, trembling. "Why—"

'Why the fuck do you care so much…?''Because….'

"Because I love you…" Daiki knelt down by Shougo in the tub, not caring if his pants got soaked. He wrapped his arms around Shougo from behind, holding him tight. "….I love you so much it hurts…" He took a shuddering breath, voice breaking as tears started falling from his eyes. Burying his face in the crook of Shougo's neck. "…I—It hurts seeing you in pain. It hurts knowing that this whole time you've been handling everything on your own. A-And—"

"Dai, I love you too," Shougo stated, tears brimming in his eyes. "A—And m'sorry. I—"

'I was stupid…'

"Don't apologize, baby," Daiki soothed, kissing him softly. "It's alright. It's alright. Everything's going to be okay. I'll help you, okay? You don't have to do everything on your own anymore."

"P—Pinky promise?" Shougo held out his pinky and looked up at Daiki with sad cat eyes. For a guy who went around beating people and shamelessly licked his thumb. Shougo was pretty innocent, even though Daiki knew from experience that he wasn't at all.

(If you know what I mean? )

"Shou are you—" Daiki shook his head, laughing a little before intertwining their pinkies. "Yeah, baby, I pinky promise."

'I'll figure things out…'

L.O.V.E

"Haizaki,"

"……"

"Shou,"

"……"

"Baby,"

"……"

"C'mon," Daiki said. Almost pleading. "stop ignorin' me. I'm tryin' to help you." Dang, Shougo was stubborn as hell. He hadn't said a word to Daiki for about fifthly minutes, just because he mentioned the police. Even as Daiki dried him off and helped him get into a new pair of clothes. "Please—"

"No police," Shougo whispered. "I—" He didn't want them to get involved. It wasn't because he was afraid of them. He was more afraid of what his father would do. He—

"Fine." Daiki sighed. "Then what about a hospital?"

"No," Shougo whimpered. "N—No."

"I know you don't wanna go, baby," Daiki stated softly, rubbing his back. "But you'll get worse if you don't."

"Nuuuuu," Shougo whined, smacking his hand away. "I don't wanna go. Doctors are scary."

Daiki frowned, a little hurt. "Doctors don't hurt people, y'know? They just patch you up and give you medicine."

Shougo scrunched up his nose. "It's disgutin',"

"It'll make you feel better,"

"Drugs are bad,"

Daiki snorted. "Shou—" He shook his head. "Alright. At least let me take you back to bed, okay?"

Shougo nodded. "M'kay,"

Daiki picked him up, carrying Shougo back to Ryouta's room and gently placed him down onto the bed, where Atsushi was still in. Awake.

"How long have you been awake?" Daiki asked, getting into bed himself.

"When I noticed Hai—Chin was gone," Atsushi told him, then glancing at Shougo. "He's really sick, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Daiki sighed, wrapping his arms around Shougo and pulling him close to his chest. Shougo curled up against him as Atsushi snuggled closer. "His fever's cooled down a little though. But—"

Atsushi reached out and placed a hand on Daiki's cheek. "Hai—Chin's going to be okay," he reassured him.

Daiki closed his eyes, leaning into his touch. "I know,"

He hoped so…

Literally, Shou's a huge a baby.