I was going to school tomorrow. A part of me was honestly disturbed by how excited I was.
I had spent the better part of the evening re-reading my timetable and laying out my books, sorting homework packets to be handed in and selecting the pens for my pencil case. I had ironed enough uniforms for a fortnight, both for me and Takeshi, and had laid some out for the morning.
Honestly, I was pretty sure I was romanticising the idea of school, of sitting in a stuffy room for seven hours. Once I was actually there, I was definitely going to be begging to go back to bed.
But, you had to ride the high when you got the chance, and I had gotten so much done with this misplaced motivation.
Takeshi, on the other hand, was utterly displeased.
He had been frowning up a storm since we had gotten home from the Watanabe and parted with the others for the night. Shadowing my every step, Takeshi's arms had been perpetually crossed in a great huff as he watched me race around with anticipation.
"Are you sure you should be going to school?" Takeshi asked for the umpteenth time as I went about packing some snacks for Lambo to chew on if he got hungry between meals and Tsuyoshi was busy.
"Yes, I'm sure, my love," I assured automatically, and pushed a chunk of sausage in his mouth. "I can move around just fine, and I can even lift Bo-kun for a while. I'm fine now."
"I still don't want you doing that," he muttered almost under his breath, chewing on that sausage.
I glanced at him over my shoulder as I looked for a container in that cluttered tupperware cupboard every house had. I picked out a suitably sized, microwave-safe one and started dumping in the sausage bits. They were uneven in size despite my best efforts, with bits peeling off and tears. It would have been better if I had sliced the sausages, but…
I washed my hands in the sink, getting bits of meat out from under my nails.
"What if something happens while you're in class?" Takeshi pressed, as I started working on picking grapes off their stems.
"Then Ryohei will take me to Shamal-sensei, and you'll know immediately after."
"But I don't want something to happen," he continued, handing me a colander so I could rinse off the grapes. "If you stay at home, you won't get hurt!"
"Takeshi," I sighed, worn down after having this conversation for the past three hours. "I promised you already, I will be okay. Please believe I will do my best to look after myself."
Takeshi frowned but didn't say anything more, ending this round. He still crossed his arms and leant forward on the kitchen counter, watching me work as I packed away another few snacks for everyone else too.
I snapped the last tupperware shut before Takeshi leant against my side and I looked down at him, burying a kiss into his hair. A long breath huffed out of me as I used Takeshi's scent to calm down my frazzled nerves.
"Thank you for worrying," I murmured to him, because despite how annoying the constant dogging had been, I knew it came from a place of concern.
"I just-" Takeshi bit his lip and turned his head to press his face into my shoulder. "Don't want you to get hurt."
"You don't say," I laughed and turned to properly wrap my arms around Takeshi. "Thank you, my love."
After cleaning up the kitchen, Takeshi and I moved to the couch in the living room. We sat down with a huff, the whole house quiet.
Lambo had already been put to bed for the night, Mephisto warming his feet and Mary clutched to his chest. Tsuyoshi had also retired to his room after closing up shop and a good shower; faintly, I could hear the TV playing some late-night gameshow from his room.
Takeshi found his place by my side again and pulled the couch's blanket over our laps, tugging on my arm until I wrapped it around his shoulders. He let out a sigh as I turned on the television, the same gameshow Tsuyoshi was watching showing up on screen.
I changed the channel a few times, not in the mood for news, or those obnoxious sound effects the gameshows used.
Takeshi hummed finally when a nature documentary came on, and I put the remote down on the coffee table.
"Are you going to be okay tomorrow?" I asked, squeezing Takeshi's shoulder. "You've been stressed lately."
Takeshi glanced up at me, the light from the screen washing across his face. He shuffled closer, if that was possible, and laid his head on my shoulder, his hands coming to rest in my lap.
"I'll manage," he murmured, "But can we meet up at lunch? Just so I know you're safe."
"Of course," I smiled and pulled the blankets tighter to us.
Takeshi closed his eyes and cuddled into me, still put out from worry and anxiety. He fisted his hand in my lap, until I reached under the blanket and laid my hand over his own, running my thumb over his knuckles.
"Thank you for worrying about me, Takeshi," I hummed quietly as the documentary shifted to show a new landscape with new wildlife. "But please, don't stress yourself out too much. We're home now, let's just relax."
We stayed like that for a while. Wrapped up in each other while we watched everything from the deep sea anglerfish to the high-flying parrots flash across the screen, some kind of marathon for the Sunday night.
I ran my thumb over Takeshi's knuckles, feeling each one, and soft, shallow dents some had - the old imprints of teeth. I turned my head and kissed Takeshi's cheek.
Then the room went dark as the documentary shifted focus to more nocturnal creatures. The hiss and squeak of a bat.
Bat. I glanced over at Takeshi out of the corner of my eye. When was the last time I saw Takeshi handling a baseball bat? He used to go everywhere with the damn thing, especially the one that shifted into his sword.
"Sweetheart," I uttered slowly, being careful of how I approached this. He was already so stressed, but I had to ask before I went back to Nami-chuu and heard someone else's version of the story. "What's happened with your club? You haven't gone to practise since we got home."
Takeshi didn't flinch. He didn't even freeze.
Takeshi continued to stare at the screen from over the blankets bundled around his shoulder and to his chest, almost like I hadn't spoken at all. The only proof I had that he had heard me, was the way Takeshi pulled his feet under him, leaning more weight into my side.
"Did something happen again?" I asked.
'Had a fight with his coach', Ryohei had said. Takeshi never fought with his coach, always way too much of a people pleaser. But while the coach of the Namimori Middle Baseball Team was a bit of a neglectful prick, he had never been directly antagonistic to Takeshi before. Usually, on the few nights I could get Takeshi to tell me why he was trying to hide from the world in our bed, he only spoke about his teammates.
So whatever had happened with the coach, it had to have been bad. Otherwise Takeshi wouldn't have publicly fought with him.
"Please tell me."
Takeshi finally looked at me then, just a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. Then he looked back to the television.
"Takeshi," I breathed, and sat up to turn and face him properly. Takeshi didn't move and let himself flop into my chest. "Please tell me what happened with your baseball team. I want to know what you think happened, before someone else at school comes and tells me."
"Sounds like someone already did," he laughed quietly, and I sighed as I dropped my chin on his head.
"Ryohei told me, because I realised you weren't going to clubs. Only realised when he pointed it out though. Guess I was enjoying having you around too much to notice."
Takeshi huffed out a breath across my chest and I grinned as I held him tighter to me. Both of us were trying to keep the mood light, it was only slightly working.
"He only told me a bit though. It was brief, basically nothing," I added as pulled back a bit to see his face. "Just that you had a…A 'fight' with your coach and left in the middle of practise."
"That's pretty much it," Takeshi shrugged.
"What was the fight about?" I asked, running my hand along his arm through the blanket.
"Coach didn't like that I was distracted," he murmured lightly, "Told me to focus. That I had to get my priorities straight."
A lack of focus. Priorities.
I thinned my lips as the clues settled into place. The fight had been about me, about my disappearance. Takeshi hadn't been putting his all into the game, because he had been thinking about me.
"That sounds unfair of him," I said gently, "You already put so much love into baseball. To ask more from you is unfair, especially at a time like that."
"Yeah, it was a bit unfair," Takeshi admitted, voice low and quiet.
He was talking in short sentences, my usually happily chatting Takeshi so quiet and short. He was running out of energy for this conversation.
I pressed a kiss to the top of his head, "I'm sorry, Takeshi. I'm so sorry."
"Why're you apologising?" He laughed and tilted his head so I'd kiss somewhere new. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"You love baseball," I explained, "and you haven't played in nearly a month now!"
"That's fine. I get to spend more time with you now, wife!" Takeshi crooned.
"But Takeshi," I breathed, brows furrowed as I looked down at the boy, who tried to smile up at me. "Do you want to go back to the team?" Takeshi's face darkened, and I quickly jumped to amend. "You can take a break first, God knows we need it. Maybe talk to your coach about boundaries. I just don't want you to give up on something you love so much because of…"
I winced. I shouldn't push too much, this wasn't all just 'because of me'. That coach, that team, had never been healthy for Takeshi. He loved the game, but I didn't know if that would outweigh what the players did.
I pressed a kiss into the top of Takeshi's head again, breathing in.
"I just…" I sighed, trailing those kisses down the side of his face. "Nevermind, maybe that Nami-chuu team isn't for you. They're all assholes anyway."
Takeshi usually jumped to his teammate's defence when I insulted them, insisting that they weren't that bad, that they just had high hopes for him. This time, he just snorted and turned to kiss my cheek too.
"I might go back. I don't know if it'll be the team, or just baseball," Takeshi said as I began carding his hair, his chin flat on my chest so he could look up at me. "But maybe after a break. I just want to look after you and Bo-kun for now."
"Okay," I agreed, combing the hair out of his face with my fingers, "Sounds like a plan."
Takeshi let out a yawn and smothered his face into my chest, shoulders sagged down. He was exhausted, my poor husband. He got tired easily these days. I didn't know if it was the lack of exercise, school stress, trauma, or a rather potent mixture of all three.
"Let's go to bed, shujin-kun," I murmured down to him, and Takeshi smiled up at me, cheeks all pink and gleeful.
"Yeah, bedtime for shujin-chan."
. . .
My return to the classroom was celebrated with a loud cheer and Ryohei bodily tackling me. I wheezed as he all but lifted me off the floor, dragging us over to our seats.
"Bro, I've EXTREMELY missed you so much," he sobbed theatrically, making a big scene even as I wheezed and kicked at him.
"Dude, dying," I gasped before finally wrestling my way free.
"How're you feeling, everything intact and still inside?" Ryohei asked, all up in my space and grinning at me.
"Yeah, doing good," I said, and he threw his arm around my shoulders.
"Bet your Takeshi's been asking you that twenty-four-seven," he snickered and I sighed, slumping back into his chest.
"I love him endlessly, but he can be overbearing," I admitted and got a gentle shake as a response.
"Oh you know he's just worried," Ryohei assured and I waved my hand at him. "Good to have you back, bro."
"Glad to be back. Not gonna lie, it was starting to get boring at home. I could never be a housewife."
Ryohei glanced quickly at the students around us, a flash of anxiety going through his eyes before he looked back at me with a prodding expression.
I huffed and leant my head onto his shoulder, "Bro, calling myself a 'housewife' isn't going to tip anyone off, I assure you. Would you have caught that, three weeks ago?"
Ryohei blinked, but relaxed and continued to give me a one-armed hug, getting his fill of affection after so long apart.
"Ah, my ship is back together," someone sighed from a few desks away and got a ripple of snorts out of the room.
I rolled my eyes but didn't part from the affectionate cuddling, I had missed him too. As much as I loved Takeshi, I needed some variety damn it.
Eventually, we did have to part as the teacher came into the room and told us to untangle with a gentle hit on my arm with rolled-up paper. It was like I had never left, that the Future had never even come.
I pulled out my books alongside Ryohei and fell into the pattern of a student, taking notes, filling in answers, and copying equations. Class moved quickly, Ryohei's knee pressed against mine under the table, the left side of my leg a constant warm spot.
"Yamaguchi-san, how did you manage with that homework?" The teacher asked me as the rest of the class worked through the assigned pages.
"Well enough," I answered honestly, "I did have a few troubles, but, you know, the internet always helps."
"Good," she smiled and then moved to assist another student.
God, a normal conversation. No asking how I was, no careful nudging around, no weird, underlying fatigue from Future.
I needed variety so badly, outside my social bubble too.
"There's club activities today, right?" I asked Ryohei, almost desperately.
Ryohei looked up at me, almost hunched over his textbook as he glared at a triangle with a vengeance.
"Huh? Yeah! You coming!?" He grinned, leaning close to me again.
"Absolutely!" I agreed, utterly giddy at the idea of seeing the other guys from the club. "I won't train though, but I bet we've got paperwork piled up while I was gone."
"Only a bit," Ryohei assured, "Kyoya got one of his boys to fill in for you!"
Someone choked at the utterance of 'Kyoya', un-suffixed and intimate. The class went quiet.
"How is Kyoya, by the way?" I asked, trying to remember if he had given off any particular vibes recently. The person who had choked, wheezed again, still trying to recover.
"Well," Ryohei winced and rubbed the back of his head. "Not the greatest? Kinda, well…I'll take you later, and we'll go see the guy."
I raised an eyebrow, "Sure."
Then a soft whack came across my head and I spun around in alarm, the teacher standing behind us with arms crossed and rolled up paper in her hands.
"Boys," she warned, "Less talk, more math."
Ryohei and I shrunk under the woman's glare and quickly went back to work. We glanced at each other, and smothered our laughter.
Class rolled on and I was quickly absorbed by the process of number crunching, plugging in numbers and finding angles. I had to dig my glasses out from my bag at the halfway point, but other than that, there were no interruptions to my progress.
Until Ryohei gave me a gentle nudge and broke me from my focus. I looked to him in question, and he pointed to the clock.
Nearly the end of class, the bell was going to ring soon.
Oh.
The bell.
I felt my heart sink, and took a long breath to calm down, that warm spot on the left side of my leg so very grounding at the moment. With a minute left on the clock, I slowly reached for my earphones and put them in, then laid my hands over my ears. I leant my head down and propped my elbows on the table, hoping I looked like I was concentrating, or maybe had a headache.
Before the bell tolled, there was a crunchy, static noise of the speakers becoming alive.
Then Flame swarmed me, sunshine fire burning and crackling in my ears and smothered out all the noise that tried to come through. I glanced to Ryohei and saw him with furrowed brows, he was still getting used to the whole Flame control thing.
Students got to their feet and stretched while the teachers swapped out for the next lesson. I lowered my arms and leant against Ryohei.
"Thanks, Ryohei," I murmured, and he knocked his knee against my own under the table.
"Of course, bro."
. . .
"Hello, my love," I cooed as Takeshi met me on the roof, the rest of the Vongola generation finding space for themselves up against the chain link fence.
"How was class?" Takeshi asked and walked without hesitation into the offered hug, pressing his face into my shoulder with a long inhale. "As fun as you remembered?"
"No," I grimaced. I had forgotten how boring the current subject was in Japanese Lit.
Takeshi laughed and pulled me down to kiss at my face, gently using his thumb to roll my bottom lip down so he could see my tongue. He hummed and smiled, satisfied with his findings before he kissed my mouth closed again.
"Could you at least sit down first, break is only so long you know?" Hayato heckled, and I huffed out a short laugh.
"He's right," I admitted, shrugging when Takeshi pouted at me. "Let's go sit, shujin-kun."
Everyone shifted to make room for Takeshi and I and we got stuck into our lunches, talking to each other and filling in on the brief happenings between Sunday and now.
"Oh, question," I said and the focus turned on me. "Has anyone got wind of Chrome moving schools soon?"
"Eh? Chrome's moving schools? Why?" Tsuna asked, confusion evident.
I winced and chewed on the straw of my drink, "Later on then, I guess. Chrome might be moving to Nami-chuu soon. It'll be after a whole Mukuro ordeal - Oh, fuck I'll need to house Mukuro."
I put my head in my hands as I tried to piece together what was going on. I hadn't needed to think about details for a while.
"Daiki," Takeshi murmured and I looked up to see him frowning at me softly. "Don't stress about it."
"'Don't stress', says you," I scoffed but lost my grip on my temple. "But you're right, Mukuro will find me when he's good and ready, that bastard. And knowing him, he'll skip town as soon as he has the muscle mass again."
Tsuna cringed back; he obviously hadn't thought about the implications of being in a water prison for nearly a year.
"Or hey, maybe he'll crash at your house, like half of these freeloaders," I snickered at Tsuna, and his face immediately dropped into an expression of depression.
"Kaa-san just can't say no," he whimpered.
Takeshi laughed and stole a sausage from my lunchbox, making me give a squawk of indignation and bat his hands away with the lid.
"I gave you plenty, keep to yourself!"
"But Daiki!" He whined and I rapped his knuckles with the plastic lid again.
"Away, thief."
Ryohei snickered, but too felt the wrath of my lunchbox lid when his fingers came creeping too close to my lunch.
I huffed and leant back into the chain link fence behind me, before Takeshi scooted over and leant up against my side, kissing my cheek fondly.
"Thank you for packing lunch for me, wife," he crooned.
"Apparently not enough though," I sniffed in annoyance even as he grabbed up my hand and played with our promised rings.
"No, you packed plenty! It's just, you know," he shrugged, still holding my hand and pressing himself against my side.
In an instant, I was digging through my pockets, palming around until I found a pack of mint gum in my blazer's inner pocket. I took two out and tossed the rest of the pack to Ryohei who went about passing the parcel to the rest of the group.
"Here, chew this," I said gently, offering Takeshi a stick. He blinked up at me, before he smiled and took it, readily sliding the chew into his mouth. "You can take the pack too. Just be gentle with your jaw, my love."
"Guess it's time for a trauma check, how's everyone's trauma?" Hayato asked voice dripping with a weird mixture of sarcasm and genuine inquiry.
"Still hate knives, still hate radio noises," I answered, before pointing my thumb at Ryohei who was trying to shove his gum wrapper in my pocket. "Ryohei had to remind me about the bell, and I covered my ears in time."
The grip on my hand turned to a vice and I wrapped an arm around Takeshi's waist, pressing Sun into his core to try and wordlessly calm him down.
"I, uh, realised I hate people touching my neck now," Tsuna admitted sheepishly, putting both hands on his nape as if to cover it from any outside contact. "Reborn-san tried to kick it this morning and I, uh, reacted badly."
"How badly, Tenth?" Hayato asked, immediately aflutter with worry. "Could you breathe? Did you feel any phantom pains?"
"Are you comfortable to tell us?" Takeshi asked, and nudged Hayato with his foot before he overwhelmed the poor boy.
"I- Yeah, I'm okay to tell you," Tsuna assured and seemed to squeeze his nape a bit. "I kinda, just felt him touch it and, I dunno, Intuition? I went to punch whatever touched me, then kinda felt really sick afterwards. Kept hearing the crack noise."
"Were you able to look after yourself afterwards?" I asked, worried that he had been left with Reborn of all people after an episode.
Tsuna shrugged, "I kind of just went to school. I was running late."
I sighed. Jesus Christ these boys were traumatised.
"Ryohei, bro," I looked to him and the Sun blinked. "Go give Tsuna a hug."
"What?" Tsuna wheezed.
"Absolutely not!" Hayato shouted and Takeshi's leg caught him in the stomach and kept him at bay as Ryohei crossed the group.
"Calm down, Hayato, you can hug him later," I assured and ignored how he all but spat poison at me. "We're still trying to wean that dependence Tsuna has on you. So, let him be a good Sky and accept the comfort from his Sun."
"Says you! You and Takeshi are basically co-dependent!"
I pouted at Hayato and pulled Takeshi into a proper hug, squishing our cheeks against each other's.
"He's my emotional support husband!"
"Yeah, I'm her emotional support husband!" Takeshi agreed and hugged me to him as well.
Tsuna, to the side, had suspiciously stopped showing signs of struggle, no longer wheezing or insisting he was okay and didn't need to be hugged. We all looked over and saw Tsuna all but buried into Ryohei's chest, eyes closed and a pinch to his brow.
"You okay, little fish?" I asked gently, reaching over to touch his lower arm, far from his neck.
Tsuna opened his eyes a bit, and Hayato nearly flinched when he saw how they had gone red.
"Yeah, I… I guess I didn't realise how much a hug would have helped this morning."
I smiled and gave his arm a squeeze. "Yeah, Ryohei's hugs are great. He's like a big heat pack."
Tsuna nodded and Ryohei grinned, utterly alight with pride. He rubbed Tsuna's back and settled down with the boy, always ready to have a good, long cuddle when given the chance. This was his bread and butter: big brother, and physical contact.
"Continuing with the trauma roll call," I urged and Ryohei spoke next.
"Honestly? My hand still EXTREMELY hurts sometimes from the Ring Battles. Collonello-shisho warned about arthritis in the future." He said, still rubbing Tsuna's back soothingly. "And some of the scars on my back just aren't healing. I think, was that girl who hit us a Rain? That slows things down, right?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she was a Rain. It probably messed with your healing," I frowned, "Shamal-sensei gave me a scar cream that's working really well, I'll send you a photo."
"Oh, thanks," Ryohei smiled, "Kyoko's been getting upset whenever she sees it."
Tsuna jolted hard in Ryohei's arms, face pinched in guilt and pain. One of his hands slipped out from under him and he clutched at Ryohei's left hand.
"Hey," Ryohei soothed quickly, taking on that tone of voice usually saved for Kyoko and I. "Come on, it's fine. You're not responsible for us, Tsuna. Not for something like this. We chose to fight."
Tsuna chewed on his bottom lip and I squeezed his arm again. I only needed one chewer on my hands.
"We don't blame you," I assured, and Tsuna looked to me, a kind of fatigue deep in his expression. "We don't. You have never hurt us, if anything, you've taken a beating for us."
"Yeah, Tenth, you defended us! Fought for us!" Hayato insisted, and carefully, so very carefully, laid his hand on Tsuna's other arm, like he was scared he'd blemish him.
I took my hand back and pulled Takeshi to my chest, kissing his cheek and feeling him chew through the gum.
Tsuna turned his head, cheek still pressed to Ryohei's chest and showing no signs of moving anytime soon.
"Hayato? How're you doing?" He asked, and Hayato wavered a bit, taking his hand back.
"Me? I'm fine! I-" Then Hayato paused and looked around to the rest of us, all holding each other and laid bare.
Tsuna was still holding onto Ryohei's left hand, and Ryohei was still rubbing his back. Takeshi was tucked into my chest, practically in my lap, and chewing on gum to calm down. I smiled at Hayato.
"I, uh," he shifted on his spot, rolling off his knees and onto his bottom, crossing his legs anxiously. "Still get random pains, and weird tingling, and kinda go numb now and then. From the electricity from Gamma-san." He glanced around, avoiding any of our eyes. "It's probably just a bit of nerve damage. It'll clear up soon. Six to twelve weeks."
"I have a hot and cold pack," Takeshi said, and Hayato looked over. "Tou-san got shocked once in the shop, hot and cold compresses help heal nerves faster. Blood flow and stuff, the doctor said."
"We'll bring it tomorrow," I agreed, and Takeshi nodded with me. "Are you okay at home alone? If you're going numb, do you want to stay with someone?"
"You can stay with me," Tsuna offered and Hayato nearly choked. "Kaa-san never says no, and you shouldn't be alone if you're in pain randomly!"
"No! No, I'm fine, Tenth!" Hayato gasped before yelping as Ryohei's hand came down on his shoulder.
"Hayato, let me tell you what my EXTREME teacher told me," Ryohei said, a severe furrow to his face. "REST TO THE EXTREME!"
"In more or less words," I huffed, and to my side Takeshi was already texting Tsuyoshi to ask where they had stored the hot-cold compress.
"Especially since you're working," Takeshi tacked on, showing me the text from his father with a picture of the compress sitting on the kitchen counter for collection. "You're barely getting any rest! You go to sleep late from the store, then wake up early for school!"
"You're probably not eating well at home, right?" I asked, "You're not good at cooking."
"I'm great at cooking!" Hayato defended hotly, and everyone gave him a flat look. "It's edible."
"Either way, cooking is tiring, and dangerous when your nerves just give up mid-action." Then I looked to Tsuna and inclined my head. "You have the most sway over him, Tsuna. What do you think?"
"Hayato should come stay with me for a while," Tsuna decided, without so much as a moment of hesitation. If anything, he seemed upset and irritated that Hayato had been going around in pain without anyone knowing.
"Hayato, are you okay to stay with Tsuna for a while? At least for the rest of the week, just so we can keep an eye on you."
"But-" Hayato shrunk into himself.
"You don't need to stay if you don't want to," Takeshi assured, and lightly knocked his foot against Hayato's knee. "We just want to see how you're doing. And, if Tsuna has another relapse, you'll be there to help."
Hayato shifted, before he uttered, "I thought you were trying to stop the Tenth from being dependant."
I smiled, "Letting your friends look after you isn't being dependent. And we just want Tsuna to spread the love."
"Yeah! Spread the love," Ryohei laughed and rocked Tsuna in his arms, who was still looking very comfortable in the embrace. "I can't always be around to help out, so everyone needs to chip in!"
"It's a team sport!" Takeshi cheered, and reached to high-five his fellow jock.
I rolled my eyes as Takeshi and Ryohei's hands impacted in front of me.
"So, tomorrow, Hayato, bring a bag or two of everything you'll need until Sunday."
"We haven't even asked the Tenth's mother."
I raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think Tsuna's mother will turn away her son's injured friend?"
Hayato pursed his lips and looked away.
"Kaa-san makes great food," Tsuna smiled and Hayato finally glanced back to him. "She'll be happy to have another guest in the house. She always asks about you."
Oh, there it was. That's the ticket.
Hayato deflated, head bowed and he said, "If you say so, Tenth."
Takeshi grinned, visibly satisfied with the knowledge that Hayato was going to be under watch and care. I hummed, and hugged him tighter, enjoying the way he warmed up with the victory.
"And now you, darling," I cupped Takeshi's cheek and kissed his temple. "What's your report?"
"And you don't get to say 'I'm fine'," Hayato chipped in bitterly, before he yelped as Ryohei used his grip on his shoulder to haul the poor boy across the ground and into a one-armed hug.
"There we go! Nice and close to Tsuna! Just the way you like it!" Ryohei beamed.
Takeshi laughed loudly as Tsuna and Hayato tried to get comfortable, elbows digging into sides and heads shoved into cheeks. Eventually, they sorted themselves out, like a matryoshka doll of cradling with Hayato crushed up against Tsuna's chest.
"Lookin' very cosy!" Takeshi teased even as he cuddled back into my chest, "Cuddles are great! You should try it more!"
"Everyone has different preferences," I reminded him gently. "Now report, my love."
"Yes Daiki," he rolled his eyes and settled back. "I'm…I guess I'm still getting, ya know, anxious sometimes. About Daiki." His leg started to bounce in my lap and I reached to catch his hands in my own, letting him play with our rings and avoid everyone's eyes. "And my jaw still hurts if I eat hard things. I think a click is forming, tou-san's booking me a dentist appointment for next week."
Then he looked up and smiled at everyone, "But Daiki's looking after me! She's making sure I brush gently and don't do anything stupid. And she's been making me lots of soft foods at home! It's healing well!"
"You're doing a good job looking after it," I cooed.
Takeshi hummed happily as I dropped a smattering of kisses along the side of his face, leaning heavily into the affection as he clutched my hands tight. He was stressed.
"It's good you have Daiki to watch you," Tsuna smiled and Takeshi nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
"It's probably for the best then that you're taking a break from baseball," Hayato huffed, "If one of those idiots threw a ball at your face, they'd crack your jaw open again."
"And the helmet squeezes sometimes," I jumped in, soothing that dazed look in Takeshi's eye. Ryohei pinched Hayato from behind the safety of Tsuna. "Either way, taking a break is good. Like bro says, rest."
Takeshi looked up at me and gave a soft smile.
I was glad we had managed to have that conversation last night, or Hayato's comment would have blown up in our faces. I squeezed Takeshi and pressed another kiss to his shoulder, letting him relax more and more into my grip.
"I love you," I murmured to him.
"I love you too," Takeshi responded just as quietly.
I leant back and looked at our group, ragtag and battered.
"Well, we're all a right mess," I snorted and Ryohei let out a laugh.
"An EXTREME mess!"
"I'm going to lose my fucking hearing," Hayato grimaced, covering his ears.
"Is it really so bad, compared to your bombs?" Tsuna asked.
"I'm used to bombs!"
"We'll have to do this again when Chome comes," Takeshi chimed in, still playing with my fingers and chewing on gum. "And we need to bring Kyoko. Where is she this time?"
"Getting her fill of Hana-chan," Ryohei answered, "She's been basically attached to Hana-chan since she got back. Really missed her."
"Normality is always comforting," I agreed, "Coming to school and talking to someone who has no idea what we've gone through is…It's great." Then I looked down to Takeshi and said, "I want to spend a bit of time with the boxing club this afternoon. Just to say hi to everyone after so long."
Takeshi shifted in my lap, looking a bit dissatisfied that going home, and back to our bed, was being pushed back even further. But he nodded and smiled at me.
"Sure, am I allowed to come and watch too?"
"Of course," I assured and Ryohei boomed his agreement.
"Everyone is welcome to the EXTREME boxing club!"
"He's coming to watch, not join," I laughed and Ryohei whined.
Takeshi gathered up my hands and kissed my palms, breathing deep as he did.
"Is everyone okay to return to class?" I asked, looking at our group.
They were all exhausted, leaning into one another with brows pinched with stress. Some were trying to smile, Hayato didn't bother, and Tsuna just couldn't make it at the moment.
I glanced to the side, looking at my watch. The bell was going to ring in three minutes. I didn't want any of them going to class like this, they'd just hate it - especially with Nedzu as their teacher.
I rubbed my face and sighed, utterly tired too.
"Let's go to Shamal-sensei's office and steal his beds," I suggested. "That way Kyoya can't be pissed about skipping class. Mental health crisis."
"Sounds good to me," Hayato huffed, always ready to skip class.
Tsuna nodded a bit, "Yeah. I don't think I could concentrate anyway."
Takeshi yawned, trying to smother it into my shoulder. I yawned too and shoved him for starting a chain when Ryohei started to tear up.
"Okay," I groaned as I pushed Takeshi off my lap and got to my feet. "Let's go to the infirmary then."
"Hell yeah to skipping class," Hayato cheered lazily.
Shamal only raised an eyebrow at us as we all came in, calling dibs on each other the three beds. Takeshi and I clambered onto one, Ryohei and Tsuna curled up on another, and Hayato claimed the middle bed for himself needing the personal space.
I cuddled into Takeshi's chest as he pulled the blankets up around us, smothering that smell of antiseptic with bamboo and seasalt.
"Is anyone actually injured?" Shamal asked, leaning over us with his hands on his hips.
"Not this time, asshole," Hayato grumbled, already on his phone and scrolling through some internet forum featuring UFOs and blurry images of 'cryptids'.
"Good, cause I wouldn't have treated any of you."
"Except Daiki!" Ryohei chimed in and Hayato huffed.
Shamal glanced at me before he shrugged, "I stand by my statement, I only treat women."
Takeshi smiled and started carding my hair, soothing me down as my eyes started getting heavy. The conversation on the roof had drained me, along with the amount of focus I had to give in class, and then the bell - In short, I was tired, and more than ready to be held by Takeshi in bed.
"Well, whatever," Shamal sighed, "No funny business, I didn't bring any headphones."
Then he yanked the curtains closed and left us to rest.
"Should have done this months ago," Hayato grumbled, very happily wrapped up in the blanket and relaxing.
"We shouldn't skip too much, though," Tsuna warned. "Or Kyoya won't ignore it."
"See, this is why Tsuna's in charge," I hummed, and Takeshi laughed. "Anyway, you can all gossip or something, I'm going to sleep."
"The old lady needs her nap," Ryohei snickered and I wrangled an arm free from Takeshi's grasp to flip my brother off.
"For that, when Kyoya comes, you all can be the ones to talk to him. No one wake me up."
"No wait-" Tsuna gasped but I had already shoved my face into Takeshi's chest and started snoozing.
. . .
Being at the boxing club again was absolute bliss.
I didn't know if it was the smell of leather, sweat and plastic, or just the overall atmosphere of the ring room Ryohei and I had basically fought tooth and nail for from Kyoya back in the day, but as soon as I walked into the boxing club and saw Ryohei and some first years setting up, I nearly collapsed with comfort.
Takeshi quickly wrapped his arm around my waist when I leant my weight into him, crooning up at me in concern.
"I'm fine," I told him gently, but Takeshi still led me to the ring in the middle of the room so I could sit on the edge. "Thank you, love. I'm okay though, I just missed this place, I guess."
"Just try and sit down anyway," he said and pulled himself up beside me on the raised platform, scuffing the bottoms of his shoes against the ground.
"Yamaguchi-senpai!"
I looked over and smiled as the group of first years came over, abandoning Ryohei to set up the hanging bags by himself. He pouted over by the hooks, muttering about being the captain.
"Yamaguchi-senpai, you're back!"
"Yeah, sorry I left you with the oaf," I laughed as I was crowded, Takeshi cuddling into my side protectively. "How have you all been holding up? Anyone get injured while I was away and couldn't do an incident report?"
I relaxed into Takeshi as I watched the first years rattle on, this specific batch somehow always had something to say about anything. They filled me in on everything, how they were doing, who had done what, who was doing who. Eventually, Ryohei bellowed for them to get back to setting up, and they ran off with loud laughter.
"Feeling better, Daiki?" Takeshi asked, his chin on my shoulder as we watched those first years and the slow incoming trickle of second years follow behind.
"Yeah," I sighed, finding his hand on my waist and tangling our fingers. "But I think I'm ready to go home and see our Bo-kun."
Takeshi smiled and helped me slide off the edge of the ring. Ryohei came over and gave each of us a bone-cracking hug, a huff escaping me as a tension I didn't notice before released in my back.
"I'll see you tomorrow, bro," I hummed, as Ryohei set Takeshi back on his feet. "Go easy on the babies."
"Aye aye!" Ryohei saluted, and I couldn't help the pinch of guilt when I saw him waving from the club room's door.
"Don't worry," Takeshi assured me when we got home, Lambo playing with Mephisto on the floor while a cartoon played on the television. "When you're all better, you can go back to boxing. But for now-"
"Just rest," I finished for him with a sigh, and let him push me to sit on a cushion on the floor, towel still around my shoulders from the bath.
"Exactly," he said and used the towel to rub my hair, playing with the locks that were starting to brush my shoulders at the longest parts.
"Are you going to brush my hair again?" I asked as he put aside the towel and began combing my hair with his fingers, his free hand off looking for something.
"Yes please," he smiled and I relaxed back, letting him do as he wished. He brushed my hair carefully, being sure to untangle any snags before he brought the brush through them. I hummed and leant into his legs, enjoying the care. "Are you still excited to go to school tomorrow?"
"Yeah," I huffed, "Let's try not to skip class this time."
"Kyoya's been in a mood for a while," Ryohei muttered, arms crossed and watching the resident Skylark scribble down another denial for a student request. "What do you think happened?"
I hummed and tilted my head a bit as Kyoya slashed another DENIED through a page.
"I think he needs enrichment."
Ryohei turned to me with raised eyebrows, "After all that in the Future?"
"Because of all that in the Future," I corrected, "He's been using high energy for nearly two weeks and now he has nothing to do. The only reason you're not bouncing off the walls is because of the boxing club."
"So, what should we do?" The Sun asked. "We could, maybe, fill an empty water bottle with bits of steak? Put some holes in it. Let him try and get them out. That would entertain him."
"That's an idea," I agreed, "Or we could hide some of his birds around Namimori and have him go find them? Would satisfy his hunter cravings."
"Kinda dangerous to get our hands on the birds. And he doesn't like hurting them so he'd just find them and move on."
"Ah, true. We could break Mukuro out of the Vindice and let them fight on the sports field?" I offered, gesturing vaguely towards the window.
"I like it! But he's in Italy right?"
"Yeah, by the time we got back Nami-chuu would be levelled." I put my cheek in my hand as we continued to watch the Cloud. If he were any less controlled than he was, I had no doubt that we'd be able to hear the faint sound of his heel tapping agitatedly. "Well, there is one other route I can think of. Actually, it might be good for you too."
"Really?" Ryohei urged.
"Yes," I nodded, before turning to face my brother.
I reached out and gently undid his tie, the Sun holding it while I proceeded to unbutton the top three of his uniform shirt and push aside the collar, revealing his collar bone and throat.
Ryohei didn't voice any complaints and quietly watched as I did the same, pocketing my tie and adjusting my collar. I smiled at him when I was done before reaching across and urging him to open his mouth to expose teeth and tongue.
"Ready to run, brother dear?"
I turned on my heel and shouted at the top of my voice, "Oi, birdy!"
Kyoya's head snapped up and his eyes widened as both Ryohei and I flashed our teeths and throats at him before bolting out the door. The sounds of a chair being thrown back and heavy footsteps told us that enrichment had begun.
"Split up, split up," I hissed at the stairwell and Ryohei continued to thunder down the hall as I took three steps at a time down to the second year's level.
I made a mad dash for 2-A and swung myself into the room, grabbing at desks to stop myself in time.
"Daiki?" Takeshi asked, on his feet in seconds.
"Not dangerous," I assured, nearly out of breath. Damn my stamina had been shot. "Just giving Kyoya enrichment. You guys should help out."
"What?" Tsuna wheezed before yelping as I grabbed him by the collar.
"If we leave him, he'll burst," I explained and reached for Takeshi, leaving Tsuna to grasp at his opened collar like he was clutching pearls. "Wanna play with Kyoya, my love?"
"Wanna play with you," he pouted and I just laughed at him as I smoothed open his shirt as well, touching his throat and collar a bit more than necessary.
"Maybe tonight. But for now? Community service!" Just as I said this, I heard the thundering footsteps of Ryohei, and subsequently, Kyoya, coming down the hall. I leant forward and kissed Takeshi on the mouth, my smile wide and full of teeth. "Run."
I burst out from the classroom just as Kyoya reached the hall, and gave a loud laugh as I dragged Tsuna into the way. Those slate eyes dropped down to Tsuna, before they narrowed at the throat on display.
"More prey for the birdy!" I called out.
Tsuna screeched as Kyoya came barrelling towards us - I yanked him out of the way just as Ryohei caught Kyoya around the waist and the two boys went rolling.
"Look at 'em go!" I whistled, before spinning Tsuna around and urging, "Run, run!"
"How dare you do that to the Tenth!" Hayato hissed as he joined in the sprint, Takeshi howling in delight on my other side.
"It's all for the greater good! The responsibility of a Sky to enrich his Elements when he can!" I smiled and felt Takeshi grab my hand as we ran, Kyoya hot on our tails after kicking Ryohei off.
We broke off from the group just as we heard Hayato gag in surprise, Kyoya's arm around his throat. He hit the ground and we lost sight of him.
"Run, run," I continued to chant, squeezing Takeshi's hand as we scrambled down the stairs and out into the back sports fields of the school.
Tsuna screamed and then was abruptly cut off. Another one down.
Takeshi laughed with a hysteric edge as I yanked him around a corner, the flash of Kyoya's tonfa clipping the brick.
It had been a while since any of us exercised like this, it was good. Chemicals were flowing, blood was pumping. Just like old days.
Kyoya hit the ground in front of us and I cursed, Takeshi almost crashing into my back even as he grinned. The boy laughed breathlessly into my ear from behind, pressed up against my back and hands on my shoulders as he happily greeted the Cloud.
Kyoya glared at me. He wasn't satisfied. A little hunt wasn't going to put out those flames anytime soon, he needed something more to burn out the wick.
I looked down at myself. If there was some surefire way to chill Kyoya out, it'd be a three-way fight between Ryohei, him and I. Was I fit enough for a fight?
"What are you thinking, Daiki?" Takeshi cooed, and I glanced at him as his nails dug into my shoulders warningly. "You just got off bedrest!"
Even as he said this, he was smiling with a scolding edge. I sighed and nodded in acceptance, bringing a hand up to lay on his.
"Yeah, you're right," I grumbled and he gave me a kiss on the nape. "Sorry Kyoya, I can't fight you today, Takeshi says no."
Kyoya frowned something severe. Which was fair, we had essentially just riled the poor boy up and then left him blue.
"We can't just leave him like this, though," I said to Takeshi, who hummed in agreement, his arms coming to wrap around my waist, hugging me from behind.
"Then, why not get Tsuna to fill in for you this time? Like you said, Tsuna needs to help take care of his Elements!"
I tilted my head, before looking to Kyoya, "Think that'd work birdy? Wanna fight the…What did you call him, onmivoure?"
Kyoya didn't answer, but narrowed his eyes and I took that as engagement enough. I patted the hands on my stomach and looked over my shoulder to Takeshi.
"Let's go get Tsuna and Ryohei then, beloved."
Needless to say, Tsuna wasn't happy with the arrangement. He screamed and kicked as Takeshi hoisted him over his shoulder and brought his Sky down to the sportsfield, Hayato frowning up a storm behind them.
Ryohei was much more amiable, and we swung our clasped hands between us as we made our way to join the pack.
"You excited to cooperate with Tsuna?" I asked him.
"Hell yeah! You've seen Tsuna, he's an EXTREME man!"
I smiled and before Ryohei let go of my hand and ran off into the sportsfield, arms up with a warcry as he approached Kyoya. An arm linked with my own and I looked over to see Takeshi cuddled up against me, an apologetic smile on his lips.
"I'm sorry you don't get to have fun," he soothed and I just shrugged.
"It's fine, love," I hummed, watching as Tsuna ran around, trying to evade Kyoya's swipes and Ryohei's punches. "I'll have my time later. It's probably best that you stopped me."
"Mm," he agreed, before running his hand over my arm, "And we can play when we get home. That'll be fun."
"True," I grinned and turned to press a kiss on Takeshi's cheek. "We were focusing on Bo-kun last night, so you didn't get to do anything."
"It's okay, I plan on getting my fill tonight!"
Takeshi hummed and kissed my mouth gently, hands squeezing my arm in a tight grip and keeping me close to him.
Hayato gagged loudly off to the side.
"Oh hush you," I scolded with a huff, Takeshi laughing at his expense. Then we shifted to see him better, the boy having shuffled further away the longer Takeshi and I spoke. Off to the side, I heard Tsuna scream. "And how have you been doing at Tsuna's house? Did you settle in okay?"
Hayato sniffed, but shrugged as he said, "It was fine. The Tenth's mother set up a futon for me in the Boss' room."
"Oh, is that why you look so tired?" Takeshi asked, eyes bright. "Were you and Tsuna up late last night."
The Storm shifted and scratched his jaw, cheeks a bashful shade of pink, "The Boss had a new game, it had a two-player mode."
I smiled at him, pleased that he was being looked after as well as practising his fine motor skills with that nerve damage. Hayato narrowed his eyes at me and pointedly looked away, refusing that look of care I was giving him. Stubborn bitch.
Takeshi snickered and shrugged at me over his behaviour. What were we gonna do with that boy?
Then Ryohei let out booming laughter and Tsuna let out yet another cry of dismay. Kyoya cursed at someone - be it Ryohei, Tsuna, or me for not joining in - and the three of them clashed in the middle, Tsuna trying to cover his head.
"Okay, that's it!" Hayato shouted, dynamite lining his knuckles. "Tenth! I'm coming to aid you!"
I rolled my eyes but didn't stop him from entering the fray, the ground shook and I could feel my eardrums flex as each fuse detonated. I looked to Takeshi and watched him grin and laugh as his friends wrestled and sparred with each other.
"Do you want to join them?" I asked gently, touching his warm cheek. He looked to me, and smiled, leaning into the touch. "Go, have fun. You need the enrichment too, my love."
"You can give me enrichment at home," he teased and I snorted.
"I can't give you everything," I responded, but wrapped my arm around his waist when he stayed at my side. "Maybe next time, then."
"Yeah, next time."
It was Friday. Thank God.
"I'm gonna sleep in so late tomorrow," I cheered quietly, and Ryohei laughed at me from his desk next to mine.
"Ha, and you were so excited to come back!"
"I was foolish. I understand that now."
Ryohei pat my back as I smothered my face into my arms, my glasses pressing a mark into the bridge of my nose.
I had seriously underestimated how tiring a week of school would be after medical bedrest. I didn't know what it was specifically, but every night I came home, I would barely have enough energy to give Lambo his bath before I had an ill-timed nap on the couch. Takeshi, for the most part, took care of bedtime and quick Miphy walks.
I felt bad, felt kind of useless, but Tsuyoshi assured me that this was normal, and Takeshi assured me that it was more than fine. It was just confusing; I was in the best health I had been in weeks, but I was exhausted now more than ever.
"What classes do we have today?" I asked, leaning into Ryohei as he continued to rub my back.
"The usual, but then we have PE after lunch."
I glanced at him, "We'll see the others in the changeroom then. They always have PE after us."
"Been that way since second year," Ryohei huffed and leant back in his chair. "Are you going to be okay in PE?"
"I've got an exemption note," I explained and he nodded in understanding.
The teacher walked in and I sat up with a sign. It was Friday, I was nearly done for the week.
. . .
"Yamaguchi-san," the teacher called out and I looked over, arms full of cones to mark out the gym floor. "You've got a note, so you're out of this. Sit down, and you can help me keep record."
"You're kidding me," someone whined and Ryohei came over to stand next to me. "He gets to sit out!?"
I smiled at Ryohei apologetically, they were doing a physical fitness assessment today. Sprinting, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping, flexibility. Basically everything I was very specifically not allowed to do.
"They should be glad," Ryohei snickered, nudging me with his elbow. "You were top of class every assessment."
"Only 'cause you lost on flexibility," I sniffed, "Gotta limber up, boy. Defend my title for me."
"Yes, ma'am," he grinned and set to stretching out.
I smiled down at my brother before helping the teacher set up the circuits, dropping coloured cones around. I sat on a bleacher for the rest of the class and wrote down times on a sheet, keeping track of who was outstanding in each.
By far, Ryohei was excelling.
"I'd remind you not to be biassed, but…" we looked at the way the rest of the class was wheezing, but Ryohei was still rearing to go. "Yeah."
"Yeah," I agreed. "A few people have improved from last assessment though."
"Make notes of their names, and I'll commend them."
I nodded and marked each name before compiling a quick list.
The gym change room always smelt bad, like sweat and overused deodorant. It was only made worse by shoving two classes worth of boys in at once, definitely over capacity.
I scrunched up my nose and Ryohei snickered at my expense, this was his natural habitat. He had long been desensitised to the smell.
I slapped at him in annoyance before wheezing as arms caught me around the waist and warmth all but crashed into my back. I looked over my shoulder and broke into a smile when I saw Takeshi peering up at me happily.
"Hello my love," I laughed and turned around.
"Hello!" He grinned and kissed my cheek. "What did your class do?"
"We had the fitness assessment," Ryohei responded, and instantly Takeshi's class groaned in dismay, knowing they were next.
Takeshi looked to me sharply, a nervous smile playing on his lips, "You sat out, right?"
"Of course, Shamal-sensei gave me a sick note. I spent class judging these guys mostly," I said, giving a nod to my classmates.
Takeshi let out a breath and relaxed, his grip on me loosening with relief. He smiled sheepishly, before he let go and dropped his sports bag on the shelf between Ryohei and I. He hummed to himself some jaunty tune he had been stuck on lately, and I continued to dress, sliding my belt into place after I had tucked my shirt in.
Takeshi took off his shirt and I choked on my own spit. Shit, I hadn't thought about that.
"Put your fucking shirt on," I hissed, grabbing his PE uniform and crowded him into a corner.
Takeshi grinned up at me, completely unashamed like the impish asshole he was. Though they were faded, Takeshi was still covered in those marks he loved so much. Teeth marks, red and pink spots, and soft purple blushes that mapped fingerprints.
Someone whistled and I yanked Takeshi's shirt over his head, pinning his arms to his sides.
"You know I've had PE before this, right?" Takeshi laughed and I shoved his face away from mine.
He had PE last week when I was on bedrest. The marks had been fresh then.
"Don't remind me," I huffed.
"You deserve this!" Hayato called from the far side of the room, and I started to realise why he had set up so far away.
"I will deal with you when we get home," I told Takeshi through gritted teeth, but it only made him smile wider, like he was glad for the attention.
"Oh~ Yamaguchi-kun, will you deal with me too~?!" A classmate of mine all but squealed, purposefully making his voice as annoying as possible. Another two joined in, and I could feel my face heating up in humiliation and annoyance.
"Oh, would you shut u-" I turned to shout, but instead yelped as two sets of hands grabbed me on either arm.
They yanked me back hard, and I gasped as my stitches strained. They pulled and tugged, dressed in their white school shirts and doctor's coats-
"Takeshi!" Ryohei bellowed and I snapped to attention.
My classmates had let go of me, and both had taken a step back, watching warily as Takeshi thrashed in Ryohei's arms, his fist raised. He looked livid, his usually warm eyes utterly murderous as he bared his teeth and choked on curses. Takeshi wasn't looking at me at all, completely focused on those two classmates behind me with a single-minded hate.
I took a shaky breath and stepped forward, catching Takeshi as Ryohei lost his grip.
"Did- Did you just try to punch me!? The fuck!?"
I held Takeshi to me as Ryohei quickly got in front of our classmate, his hands up and amiable.
"Hey, hey let's be cool about this. He didn't mean it."
"The hell he didn't, look at him!" They shouted and I hissed at Takeshi to stop glaring.
Takeshi gnashed his teeth and dug his nails into my arms. He was shaking all over, I could feel it, and no amount of my hushing was calming him.
"Come on," Tsuna urged, both he and Hayato appearing on either side of us. "Let's get out of here."
Hayato was holding both Takeshi and my bags, our stuff haphazardly shoved inside. I nodded to him in thanks, and with a herculean grip, managed to move Takeshi out of that crowded change room and out of the gym.
My nose felt clogged even as I tried to breathe out of it, Takeshi weighing heavy in my arms as he resolutely refused to give me even an inch of space. Hayato rushed to catch us as I stumbled, but I managed to hit a wall instead, and sunk down onto the ground, Takeshi crowding me up against it.
Takeshi reached up and gently pet at my hair, soft hissed shushes coming from between gritted teeth. He gave me a weak, tense smile when I looked down at him, trying to comfort me after a relapse.
Ryohei joined us as I cradled Takeshi, and let him cradle me back, a tangle of limbs, all of them shaking. My brother dropped down and let me fall into him, his arms coming around the both of us and crushed us to his chest, all but swaddling us.
I blinked, and felt myself relax, thoroughly sandwiched between the two people I trusted most. I let my head fall into Ryohei's shoulder, his cheek pressing to my forehead.
"Ryohei's hugs are the best," Tsuna said gently, kneeling down next to us.
I thinned my lips and nodded, wondering when I had clenched my teeth. I pressed a kiss to Takeshi's forehead, his face buried into my shoulder like he was trying to hide. His jaw was clenching and unclenching, like he was chewing on his own teeth and sucking on his own tongue.
Hayato dug around in his bag and pulled out a pack of gum. He handed Takeshi a few sticks, who took them after some gentle urging. Ryohei gave a laugh when Takeshi cringed.
"Why is it so minty?" Takeshi gasped, trying to breathe through his mouth, his nose stinging when he breathed in.
"It's the brand I like to chew after a smoke," Hayato shrugged.
Takeshi hummed and laid his head on my chest, arms still wrapped tightly around me, even more so by Ryohei's utterly crushing hold. He was intentionally breathing slowly, trying to calm himself down.
I rubbed Takeshi's back and laid there, letting Ryohei hold me together.
"Okay," Hayato sighed, scratching his head with a groan. "Let's go to the infirmary."
"Yeah," Tsuna agreed, helping Ryohei pull us to our feet even with Takeshi practically dead weight against my chest. "And I'm not complaining about missing the fitness assessment, anyway."
|Y.T|
"Takeshi," Daiki spoke up as she walked into the room. "We need to talk. Now."
The boy in question withheld a flinch, hearing the steel in her tone. She was unhappy with him. Takeshi bit his lip and pulled his leg to his chest, extremities suddenly feeling painfully cold as he waited for his wife to continue.
"Just what happened today?" Daiki asked, pulling out the Rain's desk chair and sitting across from the boy huddled on his bed. "What you did today was...so unlike you, my love."
Her voice became softer the more she spoke like she was realising how tense she was making Takeshi feel. If anything, it made him want to curl up more, guilt, frustration, embarrassment and anger all mixing together in his stomach as he refused to look in her direction.
"They grabbed you," he began after a long stretch of silence, realising Daiki was waiting for him to explain himself. "I wasn't ready for it."
"Takeshi," she sighed, and his brow furrowed more at how tired she sounded. She shouldn't be worrying about this and should be getting ready for bed instead. Why couldn't she just let it go? "Being surprised is one thing, nearly punching my classmates is another. If Ryohei hadn't realised what you were about to do you would have been in a lot of trouble."
"But he did, and I didn't, so it doesn't matter."
"Love!" She snapped and it felt like a harsh slap hearing the sweet word be shouted like that. "I need you to take this seriously, my love, this cannot continue!"
"Why not? Daiki, whenever I let my guard down something happens to you! You disappear or you get hurt or-" Takeshi took a harsh breath to try and calm himself down, seeing the pain in her eyes at the reminder. "I can't let you get hurt again. I'm not going to let it happen."
"Takeshi-"
"That's enough, Daiki, please," Takeshi murmured, and slipped under the covers, facing away from her. "I just want to go to sleep."
Takeshi stared at the far wall, not even bothering to truly feign sleep as he listened to the quiet sound his Daiki was making. She sat in the chair for a few more minutes, quietly contemplating what had happened, before the groan of the wheels sounded as it was pushed back to its place under the desk.
Daiki padded across the room and began getting ready for bed. She left the room for a moment, and Takeshi strained his ears, listening to the soft sound of the girl checking on their Lambo, making sure they hadn't disturbed him. There was another long silence before Takeshi sighed as he felt the bed dip behind him and Daiki's arm slipped around his waist, holding his back to her chest securely.
"We need to talk about it, Takeshi," she told him.
Takeshi stared at the far wall before reaching for the hand on his stomach and lacing his fingers with hers. "Not tonight."
"Not tonight," Daiki relented, "But soon. Tomorrow."
He didn't respond to that, and instead untangled their hand and rolled over. He pressed his face into his wife's shoulder and hugged her tight while she reclaimed her hold on him, squeezing his smaller frame to hers.
"Tomorrow," she repeated, "But tonight, just sleep, love."
. . .
Takeshi inhaled as deeply as he could, taking a lungful of his wife's scent as she rubbed his back soothingly. He listened as she hushed him down, her lips grazing his ear as she spoke so softly of her love for him.
"I love you Takeshi, please know that. I love you so much."
The Rain frowned as he hid deeper in her chest, not wanting to talk about what he knew was coming. He wished they hadn't woken up so early and had spent some more time just holding the other in their blissful sleep, but Daiki's habits made her an early riser even when she 'slept in' and Takeshi roused with her now.
"Daiki..." he murmured, and she kissed his forehead.
"Just a little longer," she promised, holding him tight. "We'll start soon but...just a bit longer."
Takeshi nodded wordlessly and cuddled into Daiki, their legs tangled together and his hands bunching up the back of her nightshirt. He sighed as her fingers found his hair and began lightly scratching in a way that made his scalp tingle, eyes drooping shut as he enjoyed the sensation.
"Kiss?" Daiki asked softly and he pulled his head back to press his lips to hers warmly. "Thank you."
"I love you," he whispered and got another kiss. "I love you, Daiki."
"I love you too."
Daiki smiled and Takeshi wished that their 'little bit longer' would stretch on forever, but the smile was slipping from her face and she reached across to cup his cheek.
"Takeshi," she began as she pushed herself to sit up, her husband sliding off her chest until he was slumped on the bed. "I need you to sit up please, my love."
Takeshi frowned but sat up and reached out to hug her again. Daiki caught his hands and pressed a kiss to the back, before pushing them to his chest.
"I'm sorry darling, not right now."
He made a pained noise but ultimately obeyed, putting his hands in his lap as she turned to properly face him.
"Tell me again, my love, what happened yesterday?"
"Your classmates grabbed you," Takeshi murmured, eyes downcast to avoid her gaze. "I tried to punch them. Ryohei stopped me."
"Do you understand that this can't happen again? That this violent overprotectiveness, this possessiveness of yours can't continue?" She breathed. There was a long silence before Daiki reached across and grazed her fingers across Takeshi's knee.
"I don't know if I can, Daiki. Something always happens when I least expect it and I'm just so scared all the time now. I don't know what I'll do if you go missing again, if I can't find you soon enough." Takeshi bit his lip and pulled his knees up to his chest like he did last night, fisted hand coming close to his teeth. "You survived the last time, but you're still so hurt. I can't handle seeing you so hurt again."
"I understand," she breathed. "I do. I really do, darling. But you can't let this behaviour slip into your daily life. The people of Namimori, our classmates and teachers, they don't know why you're acting like this, and we very well can't explain it to them."
"So I just have to pretend that it never happened?" He asked, a bitter note coming to his voice. "That you were never kidnapped, never tortured? That I never saw you bleeding out on the floor?"
Daiki opened her mouth but didn't manage to say anything. She winced and looked down at her fingers, tangling them together nervously.
"I know that you can't just act like it never happened, that seeing me like that has fundamentally changed something in you. But in front of normal people, you have to withhold yourself. I very well can't act like an Oyabun in front of my teachers. In Namimori, I'm just Daiki."
"Being an Oyabun and seeing you nearly die are two very different things, my love," Takeshi snapped.
Daiki flinched but nodded, accepting what he said as true. "I understand they're not the same, but Takeshi, I spent eight days fighting for my life and then went back to school to sit a test. We live a strange, fucked up existence, and we can lean on each other, but we can't expose people from the outside."
Daiki paused, and they both looked to one other. They knew the term for this: Omerta.
"Does being friends with Tsuna and Gokudera put you in danger, Daiki?" Takeshi asked softly.
"...Yes," Daiki admitted, "But so does being a Watanabe. So does being Bo-kun's mother. Living puts me in danger. I understand that you can't just put this away, Takeshi. This, every part of this, is too big to just sit to the side. But you need to control yourself when in public."
He frowned and lowered his eyes, fingers clenched just away from his mouth, "I tried. I'm trying. I just slipped up, and I'm sorry."
"I know," she soothed quickly, "I know you're trying. I see it all the time, my love."
Daiki shifted on their bed, before she reached out and offered Takeshi her hand. Takeshi rubbed his face, before he took her hand, threading their fingers together and holding tight.
"I'm just scared," he said hoarsely, his voice rough as his vision began to swim. Daiki cooed at him gently, squeezing his hand. "I'm sorry if it's…annoying, or overbearing, but I'm just so scared."
Takeshi glanced over at Daiki, her brows pinched in concern and stress as she started to press her hands into his. He coughed a bit to clear his throat, his nose stung.
"You," he started, biting back on the words.
Daiki made a soft urging noise, still gently massaging his hand. She was tending to an ache Takeshi hadn't even noticed before, and it dawned on Takeshi that he might have strained his fingers when he had clenched his fist to strike that student.
"Go ahead, love," Daiki said, in such a gentle voice it made the spaces between his bones feel warm. "Go ahead and finish your thought. I want to hear it."
Takeshi looked down at the quilt of his bed, wishing they were still comfortably curled up under it.
"You know what's going to happen next," Takeshi said slowly, squeezing Daiki's hand to make sure she couldn't let go. "You know what's coming. What dangers there are. I don't. So, I'm sorry, but I can't help but see danger everywhere."
Daiki's expression twitched and her hold on Takeshi's hand wavered. She would have pulled back if it weren't for his grip on her.
Takeshi knew Daiki still had a complex about her knowledge, her death. No matter how they sugarcoated and joked about it, Takeshi had seen Daiki wrestle with the weight of her knowledge. He had seen her, for years, go hot and cold as she reeled, trying to roll with the punches, only to duck and cover when things started to pile up.
Daiki had done well, she promised she had kept everything as close as she could. Even the slight 'variations' she had stumbled into had, though careful inaction and isolation, returned to normal. She hadn't taken up too much room, overstayed her welcome.
She was doing better now, so much better. He could tell in the way she would wrap him up in her arms some nights and tell him stories about random people, stories about Squalo, stories about Lussuria, Shoichi, the Vongola Ninth and all his predecessors. She'd tell him about Flames, about all those times she had seen him and how she saw him now: her darling future husband.
Everything, carefully weighed and abridged. He could tell in the hesitation in her voice, and the way she backtracked and derailed trains of thought.
Takeshi wished she'd talk more, tell him more. So that he could help her take the weight, and help her navigate what was coming their way. And so he could see more than just the murky shadows that hung around, not knowing what was a threat, and what was merely a passerby.
"Can you just tell me?" Takeshi asked, reaching over and grasping her hands with both of his, their hands pressed into the quilt and all tangled together. "Please, just tell me. You said we had friends coming - which is great - but what about the dangers? You said you were going to look after me, but what about you? Will you get hurt again? How can I stop it?"
Daiki flinched and visibly hesitated, but she didn't look away. She looked at her Takeshi, and the imploring expression on his face, how he grasped her hands. Daiki opened her mouth, and then leant back, closing it again.
"Daiki," Takeshi pleaded.
"We've passed the worst of it," Daiki assured carefully, then she paused and slowly uttered, "To an extent."
Takeshi let out a pained choke and Daiki crossed the distance, her rules be damned. She wrapped her arms around him and he fell into her chest, teeth sinking into his knuckles.
"Takeshi, Takeshi no," Daiki scolded, tugging his hands free from his mouth and guided his head to her shoulder. "Bite me. Don't hurt yourself, my love."
Daiki hissed as he lurched forward and sank his teeth into her shoulder, a hand scrunching up her shirt. She tugged on his hair a bit in warning before kissing his cheek, feeling the muscles in his jaw trembling.
Takeshi held onto Daiki with arms and teeth, demanding as much of her as physically possible. He pressed his tongue to her skin and tasted salt and the essence of her bath's soap, breathing in deep to try and take her in through there too. Hide her inside, hold her down where it was safe.
He closed his eyes as Daiki continued to kiss his cheek, his throat and then his shoulder. Her hands were in his hair and under his shirt, fingers spread out across his back.
Takeshi sighed through his nose and dug his teeth in deeper.
"The friends that are coming," Daiki said quietly, and Takeshi glanced to her out of the corner of his eye, a blurry blob in his peripheral. "When they arrive, they will test you. They will test Tsuna. They want to be your friends, but they have been hurt before. Takeshi, love, you're the first to get hurt."
Takeshi gripped Daiki tighter, and she continued to run her fingers through his hair.
"I will not let you get hurt. I will not let Tsuna fail that test." She promised, "Those people are misled. Someone is lying to them. If we ever see them, I will show you who the liar is. Please never be alone with them."
Takeshi nodded, feeling Daiki shake under his weight. He didn't move off her; she could suffer his presence for a while longer.
"When the liar is exposed, there will be another fight. A bad one. Tsuna will have to fight like he's against Bya-" Daiki choked and Takeshi squeezed with arms, legs and teeth, trying to compress Daiki down into something he could hide in his chest. Into something that could never be hurt again. She shifted and he felt the fingers on his back press harder into his skin, sliding up to grasp his nape, shirt tangled around her arm. "I will do my best to help. We all will need to. We will not let Tsuna take this on alone, he has done that enough."
"Kawahira-san will come back," she continued, and Takeshi closed his eyes again, listening to her talk, needing her voice and the comfort she was trying to give. "And he will make a deal with the Arcobaleno. Kawahira-san will offer to free one of the seven Arcobaleno from the Curse. There will be another representative battle, you and the others will represent Reborn." She turned and kissed Takeshi's cheek again, "I will help. I will take our Bo-kun's place. He will be safe, I promise."
Daiki was repeating herself, using the same phrases and keeping her words simple. She was making sure Takeshi understood, at least, an outline of every event. Making sure that Takeshi knew what was coming, making sure he knew the important stuff - what could hurt him.
"Will you get hurt, if you join?" Takeshi asked, voice muffled by the shoulder in his teeth.
Daiki huffed, "I might get hurt. It depends on my opponent. Some will only attack the target, a quick in and out. Some will fight for the hell of it." Then she squeezed his nape. "We will be given watches as representatives. Break the watch, and you're out. Like a game, you see?"
Takeshi nodded again, only a little relieved. There was a chance that Daiki could be eliminated immediately, made redundant and immune from the word go. That was the best result, Takeshi was sure he could carry the weight of two people for that battle.
"Then we will fight Kawahira-san," Daiki said, and there was such an air of finality that Takeshi nearly felt his blood run cold. "And then we live the rest of our lives."
Takeshi blinked. He slowly let go of Daiki's shoulder and sat back on her lap, looking down at her, head tilted.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"After you fought Kawahira," she said, "The records stopped."
Then Daiki smiled, a smile so full of relief, of longing and of a core-shaking fear.
"Everyday after that will play out exactly as it should, with or without my guidance. I will have no way to interfere, because there is no prerequisite. I won't know what road I should take, or who I should talk to, or who I should avoid." She clutched him, her hands on his nape and in his hair, like she was holding him up. "I will be in the dark, just like you. Every choice we make, I will have to blindly trust. Every day we live will be our own to discover."
Takeshi stared down at that heartbreaking smile, watching Daiki's cheek flush pink at the mere thought of such freedom. Takeshi cupped her face in his hands, running his thumb along that soft pink blush.
"I will hold your hand," Takeshi said, and Daiki blinked in confusion. "It'll be dark. I'll hold your hand so you don't trip."
Daiki stared at Takeshi for a moment, and then another, before that smile split into a grin and Daiki let out a laugh. She reached up and grasped Takeshi by his cheeks, mirroring the hold he had on her. Takeshi hummed and leant into the touch, enjoying how her fingertips caressed the shell of his ears and ruffled his hair.
"I love you, Takeshi," she nearly gasped, "Please hold my hand when it gets dark."
"You came all this way, and you ended up with me," Takeshi smiled, absolutely in love with the woman in front of him. "So we'll go the rest of the way together."
|Y.T|