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Yata doesn't sleep well. Not after the fight they had anyway. He's restless and his fight with Saru in the kitchen last night is still rolling in his mind. He meant what he said. If Saru wasn't going to be open with him then why did he need to give away all of his own secrets?
But…he had also meant it when he'd told Saru he'd take care of him and give him a good place to recover for a month or two. Fighting wasn't really accomplishing that.
Yata groans, pushing out of his bed and moving to the fridge before he makes his way to the room Saru's staying in. He's still angry but…he made a promise, and to Yata Misaki, his promise is everything.
He knocks on Saruhiko's door softly. "Saru? You up?"
There's a long pause before he hears Saru stir.
"Yeah. What's up?" He hears through the wood and the vanguard takes a deep breath before he opens the door a crack. He slips his hand in, exposing a Coca Cola bottle, the fancy, glass kind they used to drink in middle school.
"Truce?"
There's another long pause and Yata counts the seconds. One...Two...
"Alright... Come in."
He cheers internally and opens the door, stepping into his room. "I owed you one anyway right? Or you always told me I owed you one. For the soda I 'supposedly stole.'" He makes air quotes with his fingers, smiling a little as he hands Saru the bottle, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
"You did steal it. You took it from me and drank it all. That's stealing." Saru takes the bottle and pops the top open, taking a long drink. He pauses for a moment after before handing the bottle back to Yata. "Here."
"I did not. I only borrowed it….and just….never gave it back." He chuckles, his smile changing to a look of surprise when the other offers the drink to him. He looks skeptical. "If I take this…you won't say I stole this will you?" Yata's tone is teasing, covering up how much the gesture really means to him.
Saruhiko sighs. "No. I'm sharing it with you. It's different." He offers it again. "Truce."
He takes a sip, holding the bottle in his hands and looking down into his lap. "So um…did you sleep okay? Didn't sound like you had any nightmares last night." He was careful asking questions, trying not to cross one of Saru's invisible lines.
The blue looks away as if in thought and leans back a bit to rest against the headboard. "I slept fine. I think I was too tired last night to really dream of anything."
"Are you going out again?" Out to whatever secret place he couldn't know about apparently. "Or are you staying in?"
"I don't have any plans. Why?"
"Well….." Yata starts "The doctor said you should walk around a little bit every day, and I'm sure staying cooped inside can't be fun so…want to go out for a bit? I promise it'll be fun. Pinky promise!" Yata grins eagerly, holding out his pinky.
Saruhiko doesn't exactly look like he wants to, but he eventually locks pinkies with Yata's. "Sure. It probably is better than staying here doing nothing."
"Great! But…breakfast first because you need food, you have meds to take, and…you didn't eat dinner. I'll make pancakes. Meet you in the kitchen okay?" He gives him a slow almost shy smile and puts the Cola bottle in his hand before he leaves the room.
He feels almost…excited as he pulls out everything he needs for breakfast, moving around the kitchen. Maybe…Maybe after this, after Saru is better, they'll go their own ways. But for now why couldn't they have some fun right?
Saruhiko enters into the kitchen a little while later, cleaned up and dressed in casual clothes for the day. The Cola bottle is almost empty as he sits at the table and takes another sip.
Yata glances at him and smiles. "You know it's hard to find bottles like that anymore. Everything comes in a can."
"Yeah?" He pauses for a moment. "...How long did it take you to find this, then?"
"Oh um…" The redhead flushes a little and looked back at what he's doing. Crap. He didn't want Saru to think he went out of his way or anything…"I was lucky. Didn't take long."
"I see..." Saru falls silent again.
Yata finishes the pancakes in semi-awkward silence, eating with the other in the same atmosphere before he clears up. "Alright let's go. If you feel tired at all you tell me and I'll get a cab for us okay? Honest. Just let me know. Promise?"
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Saru replies quickly but he isn't letting it go.
"Promise." He repeats.
He watches Saru sigh. "Promise." He says and the vanguard automatically feels better.
"Good now time for some fun!" He exclaims as he leads the other down a series of streets before stopping suddenly. "You have to close your eyes."
Saru's face contorts into a look of confusion. "Huh? Why?"
"Come on Saru please? Don't make me find something to blindfold you with. Humor me." He'd been thinking about this all night and he wasn't going to have the dumb monkey ruin it.
Saru looks like he's still hesitating, but eventually he sighs again and gives in, eyes shutting. "Fine."
"Yes!" Yata pumps a fist in the air and takes Saru's hand. "Don't forget, eyes closed." Saru's hand in his feels a little strange but…nice. It feels cool and smooth and he needs to remind himself that they'd held hands when they were kids dozens of times when Yata would drag the other places. It shouldn't make his stomach feel strange now.
He leads him to the front of a building that says 'Shizume Arcade' in big letters. It was part of their childhood…middle school when everything seemed like it would be smooth sailing and it was them two against the world.
"Saru! I saved a ton of quarters! I'll totally kick your ass today!"
"If you say so. You can keep trying to fool yourself if it makes you feel better."
Yata pouted, hands resting on his hips. "I mean it! And when I win you have to eat all the vegetables in your bento tomorrow."
Saru looked unimpressed, a look that always succeeded in riling him up. "So you mean when I win, you have to drink your milk carton tomorrow."
The redhead's face paled for a moment and for a second, though he'd never admit it, he was actually worried. "Y-You wish! You'll still be drinking it! You're on!"
Despite his angry expression he was happy. Happy like he always was when he and Saruhiko were doing something fun together.
"Okay! Open your eyes!"
Saruhiko opens his eyes and the blank expression he had before turns to one of slight confusion. "The Arcade? That's what I had to close my eyes for?"
The vanguard's face falls and for a moment he just feels hurt, unsure how to really reply. "You don't like it?"
He shakes his head. "That's not it. It just...wasn't what I was expecting."
This wasn't the reaction Yata had wanted from him at all and he feels all his efforts crumble away. "….Nevermind. Do you want to go in? We can just go home if you want."
"Make your bet," he answers simply.
"Huh?" The words throw the redhead off and he's not even sure he heard correctly. "What?"
"You know the rules." Saru replies like it should have been obvious. "We have to make a bet before we go in."
"Oh…right!" A smile lights up his face. "Name your terms."
"Alright. If I win you're going to stop getting involved and call off your search party for the Strain."
"No." Yata's answer is immediate and he doesn't hesitate, suddenly looking every bit the third in command that Homra sees daily. Their commander. "I refuse. Pick something else."
"What? You can't make me pick something else. Those are my terms."
"I…I can't agree Saru. I made a promise and despite what you think of me…I refuse to break my promises. As much as I hate to admit it, you won most of our bets when we were kids. It's not a risk I can take this time. You need to pick something else. Please…Please understand."
"Promise to who? That has nothing to do with you or anyone in HOMRA for that matter."
"Doesn't have to do with me? You think this doesn't have to do with me?!"
"No. I can't understand why you're trying so hard either. There's no reason for it."
Anger wells up inside Yata. "You think I'm just going to stand around when some asshole almost killed my best fri-" He freezes, mouth snapping shut.
Saru blinks, staring at him for a long moment in shock. After a moment that feels more like hours than seconds, Saru turns away. "Then if I win you have to explain everything to me. All of your motives."
Yata deflates a little, feeling relief course through him. "I…I can do that. And if I win…you have to let me take you out to dinner…" He mumbles, looking away.
The vanguard sees Saru's head snap back towards him out of the corner of his eye.
"What? That's...not something I expected coming from you," the other says.
"Well…you've been through a lot lately yeah? I figured we could get ramen or something good that the hospital probably kept you from eating. Let me treat you…if I win." He hesitantly glances back at him, holding out his hand. "Deal?" He tries to defend his actions internally, convincing himself that that was the reason. He doesn't want to admit to hoping to piece back the relationship the two of them had before Saru left Homra.
Saru looks down at the hand and reaches out to shake it. "Fine. Deal."
"Okay!" The redhead fishes a bag of quarters out of his pocket and leads the other inside. They both knew the rules though they may have seemed complicated to others. Best two out of three rounds on two out of three gaming machines. It used to be three out of five on days they just played for fun and could afford it. But they had a bet at stake and they were both pretty competitive people. "You can pick the first game Saru."
He watches Saru look around, pausing before settling on a game that he vaguely remembered playing with the blue…before there were ever colors involved. "Same rules apply then?"
He nods. "Of course. Don't chicken out now! Ready! go!" Saruhiko must have been rusty because Yata takes the round easily, cheering when the 'you win' flashes on the screen. "Woo hoo! Take that!"
Saru looks shocked and dumbfounded and Yata thinks it's a nice look on him. It doesn't happen very often. "Okay so it's been a while. Sue me. Pick the next game." Saru says and if Yata felt like teasing he'd point out that the other sounded just a liiiittle bit bitter.
He picks the next game, one he knows…but one he knows Saru also knows. It's a gamble but he's still running on that adrenaline high from winning the first game.
"Just because you won the first round doesn't mean you can act all cocky and think you'll win again. I won't let you."
He sounds competitive and Yata looks forward to it…that is…until Saruhiko crushes him, leaving him gaping at the screen.
"Told you not to get too confident. Now we're tied."
"Dammit! Pick the next machine already. You must have cheated!" Now who was the bitter one? He doesn't know how Saru made such a big comeback.
"Right. I cheated. Sure." Saru rolls his eyes and shakes his head, winning a chuckle from the shorter male. "Come on." He finds and picks the final game.
Yata knows that this is his last chance at winning and the battle is serious, both of them focused and with one win before at the last second, like it had been in their past, Saruhiko wins.
He slowly turns to find Saru staring at the screen as if to confirm that, yes he has in fact won. And, yes, that means he's won two out of the three games. Once it's confirmed he turns to Yata. "This is what happens when you boast too soon."
"Shut up! It was all luck!" The vanguard grumbles even though he knows he lost fair and square. "You win so um…guess you win the bet then…" He suddenly feels almost nervous.
"You said it yourself earlier. I win a majority of them." Saruhiko shoves his hands into his pockets and starts walking towards the exit. "Come on. Let's go somewhere quieter."
The redhead sighs softly to himself but has no choice really but to follow him out of the arcade, studying him out of the corner of his eye as they walk.
Saru looks straight ahead as he walks, face blank like usual and Yata almost wants to laugh at how nostalgic it feels. Saruhiko leads them to the park, finding an empty bench to seat himself at.
"Are you okay? Not too tired? Do you need anything?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly. It's been years since he's fussed over Fushimi Saruhiko.
"I'm fine." He cuts the conversation short before Yata can bother to start fussing over him again. "Stop worrying so much." Saru reaches out and pokes a finger at Yata's forehead. "Your face might freeze and look like that forever."
"Oi! Oi!" The redhead swats his hand away but not after being thrown off and pausing for a moment, a light shade of pink heating his cheeks. "Worry about yourself. You're the one who almost died…shitty monkey…" He mumbles, plopping onto the section of the bench beside the Blue, crossing his arms over his chest. "Guess I'm stuck answering a bunch of questions huh?"
Saru drops his hand and turns his head to the side. An awkward silence settles over them for a couple moments before Saru nods slightly. "Those were my conditions for winning."
"Okay then…let's get this over with…" Yata feels a nervous ball in his stomach and he shouldn't be embarrassed but he is. His reasons for helping…his reasons for crying and making his promises…they were strangely personal. If he shared them would Saruhiko laugh? Or be disgusted? It was hard to tell.
Saruhiko kicks his shoe against the ground, not saying anything for awhile and it only makes the redhead's nerves increase. "I just...I don't get it. You said you made a promise but what exactly did you promise to do?"
Okay…all he had to do…was answer exactly what the question asked. Nothing more and he'd be fine as long as he didn't ramble. "I…promised to find the person who attacked you." And kill them. But Saru knew him well enough to probably assume.
Saru still refuses to look at him, eyes trained on the ground, but that doesn't bother him. He's not looking at this point either. "Promised to who though?"
Dammit. This is the question Yata was dreading. He really didn't want to talk about it, or talk about that day for that matter but he'd lost their bet and it seemed he had no choice. "I…promised you."
The blue's head finally snaps up. "What? When did you... No... Why would you? That makes no sense."
"They told authorities that Kusanagi-san was the one to find you first…they lied. Apparently they thought I wouldn't be able to handle the questioning. I…found you first. I…you were dead. I know you were. You had no pulse but I tried to revive you anyway. I promised you. I promised you that I'd find the fucker who hurt you. You were…my best friend after all." Yata doesn't look up, eyes still trained on his feet as he speaks, embarrassed that he was even admitting any of this outloud.
Saruhiko's eyes go wide and it looks like he's nearing a panic attack but he forces himself to try and calm down first. "Why? There was no reason for you to help. It wasn't like you owed me anything or had any obligation to help! I...I don't get it..."
"You're acting so surprised but Kusanagi-san told me Munakata told you the truth? Did you not believe him? Didn't think I could have saved your life?" The vanguard laughs humorlessly. "They say I saved your life but…I don't think I did. That fucker still got you and I…dammit…" His fists clench at his sides and he feels a familiar burning sensation that he forces down. "I didn't feel obligated asshole. I…we…you were dying okay!? You were dead! I just…everything we ever did together came back to me and I just…I couldn't let things end like that!" He's out of his seat before he realizes it, practically yelling as he turns to Saruhiko with a pained expression. "I couldn't…after everything we'd been through you were just…you were just going to slip away…I panicked!" Fuck. This was not how he wanted this to go and he tries to calm himself, taking careful breaths.
Saruhiko looks shocked beyond comparison, staring at Yata as if the words he said were the most relieving yet stupidest things he's ever heard in his life. His expression is confusing to the redhead and a silence settles over them. "I didn't realize you...you still think like that." He finally says, head dropping into his hands and Yata gawks slightly.
He deflates almost like a balloon after Saru's words. They…aren't what he had expected honestly and he sinks to the ground, crossing his legs as he runs a hand over his face, releasing a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "I…wish I knew what you were thinking about. You're so damn hard to read sometimes." He mutters, looking away.
"You can't expect me to think about anything after dropping a bomb like that..." Saru mumbles almost incoherently.
It's strange to see Saruhiko in such a state. "Right, right…" Yata replies softly, falling back so he lies on the ground, staring up at the sky. "...sorry I….it's….been a long month. I didn't mean to explode at you."
"You're telling me..." Saru sighs, dropping the subject there. After a short silence he gets up and Yata watches him shove his hands in his pockets again out of the corner of his eye. "Come on."
"Huh?" Yata looks up, confused. "Are you cold? Sorry. I forget you're not always warm like I am. We can head home."
He shakes his head. "It's not that. I'm hungry. Let's go eat."
Yata blinks, the words not registering for a long moment. "At home? Or...?"
"Nah. Let's go out to eat."
"What?" Yata still sounds a little confused and he wishes for probably the fifth time that night that he could read Saruhiko's mind. "But I lost. I lost the bet so you don't have to."
"Just because you lost the bet doesn't mean we can't go out to eat. But I'm paying."
"Wait what? No way! I can pay for myself! ...and you!"
The Blue shakes his head. "Just let me do it..."
"Why?" Yata retorts, getting off the ground and brushing himself off.
"I have my reasons." He answers vaguely.
"Really? That's the only answer I get after everything I just spilled to you?" The redhead crosses his arms.
"Yeah, it is. Now come on." he turns and starts walking.
Yata grumbles but follows behind him, his stomach growling as if on cue. "Oh…guess I am pretty hungry." He grins sheepishly, laughing.
"What do you want to eat?" he asks, glancing behind him at the other.
The vanguard folds his arms behind his head. "Nope. You wanted to eat out and you're paying. You pick the place." He flashes another grin.
"Suit yourself."
Yata thinks he's won but when they round the corner to a ramen stand, he knows Saruhiko just took him to a place he knew he loved from their days living together. "No fair! You cheated!"
"I didn't cheat." He replies, sounding defensive. "You told me to pick the place and I did. For all you know I wanted ramen anyways."
Saru's lie would have worked if Yata didn't know him better. But the redhead had lived with him long enough to know. "Liar. You never want to go for ramen unless I really ask for it. You say you hate picking out all the 'green stuff'." He says with air quotes, chuckling. "I know you better than that…despite all the time that's passed." He mumbles.
"You told me to pick the place and I did. I don't see what's wrong with it." He shrugs his shoulders and heads inside anyways. "Besides...people change."
"Right." Yata murmurs, suddenly remembering the situation they were in. Really remembering. They weren't friends anymore. People changed, and so had they apparently. "You can eat all your vegetables then." He replies for lack of a better rebuttal.
Saru tries to play it off casually but there's an obvious pause as the comment seems to catch him off guard.
The surprised look on Saru's face and the way he pauses makes Yata chuckle, the atmosphere lightening. "Dork." The redhead nudges Saruhiko and moves past him to sit at the table.
Saru sits across from him and almost looks embarrassed, silent, looking over the menu before ordering a bowl without vegetables for himself.
"What is it?" Yata asks after they'd both ordered. "Did I um say something wrong?" He pulls his beanie off and runs his fingers through his messy hair.
He shakes his head and hums in response. "No. Nothing like that."
"Then…what? You're quiet, which I guess is like you but…still. What is it?"
"It's nothing, really. I'm fine, Misaki."
The vanguard rests his head on his palm. "If you say so." He hadn't expected Saru to tell him, was only hoping that the Blue would surprise him. He sighs. "Well, anyway, how are you feeling? You walked quite a bit today. Sore? Tired?"
He seems to ponder this for a minute. "I'm not really sure. I felt fine earlier but...Sitting like this after being up for so long feels nice."
Yata had expected Saruhiko to snap that he was fine, but the honesty made him pause and smile slightly. "Yeah I bet sitting after being on your feet for a couple hours feels nice. Food will probably make you feel even better."
He hums in response. "Mm. I guess so. We haven't really eaten much today besides breakfast."
"That's true. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I walked in here and smelled all the ramen. I haven't had ramen in awhile actually."
"It's good every once in a while. Eating it too often wouldn't be any good for you."
"Yeah, yeah." Yata replies with a wave of his hand. "Ramen is good always." He grins, chuckling.
When their food arrives Saru busies himself with eating, always the silent type. But it's good and he manages to eat most of his bowl before he's finished.
The redhead watches happily as the he eats and polishes off his own bowl, letting out a content sigh. "That was so good."
Saruhiko nods. "Yeah... It was okay. Satisfying enough."
"That doesn't sound like you really enjoyed it very much Saru." He points out.
"It was fine... Really." he assures, pulling his wallet out. He sets some money on the table to cover both of their meals.
"Saru are you sure? I can pay for myself. Really." The vanguard tries in an effort to pay for his food. He wanted to pay for both of them but a bet was a bet and he'd lost. But no one said he couldn't pay for himself.
"It's fine. I can pay for this." Saru assures, making it clear that he wasn't taking Yata's money or letting him pay for himself.
They walk home in comfortable silence, some small talk every now and again and it's once again nostalgic. It feels…nice and Yata hasn't felt this way around Saruhiko since…well since he left to join Scepter 4…since he turned his back on him. But the redhead was done caring about that now. He'd felt what it was like to think that his best friend, the person who had gotten him through the hell of middle school and countless times after that, the person who's lived with him and helped him create a small world just for them…to think that he was gone.
No, he was done living with regrets. Even if Saru never forgave him for whatever he was mad at, even if he still wanted nothing to do with him, he was moving forward.