Dun Be 'fraid
Author's Note: Enjoy the story and R&R.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of Cap Revolution Bottleman DX.
Pairing: Cota x Mitsuya.
Summary:
Cota takes in a homeless Mitsuya.
Chapter 1
"Mitsuya, I got you a towel and change of clothes, man!" Cota knocks, and lets himself in.
His friend splashes down into the bathtub, his purple hair taking a dive and the last part of him to vanish out of sight like a cornered chameleon. In spite of his ears disappearing with the rest of him underwater, Mitsuya is still able to make out garbled speech. Cota doesn't leave, forcing Mitsuya to eventually come out of hiding and confront him.
The streets were no place for a twelve-year-old runaway.
No, back up. "Runaway" implied he had agency here. That he was doing the running away, when he hadn't.
Exercising his voice had been his first mistake, and now he just kept his mouth shut.
Coming out was what got him into trouble. His parents threw him out of the house for admitting to them he was gay. But he was too prideful to go to Cota or Iroha or Ponta seeking help, losing the scant coins in his pockets within the first cold night of huddling with his knees freezing and elbows jittering next to a dumpster.
Homeless. At twelve. With nothing but the clothes he was wearing, the police chasing after him since they misread he was a runaway, and the flippant sounds of his parents' disapproval lasered into his brain. The only comfort he squeezed out of his negative circumstance came from his long sleeves. At least the shirt clinging to his back in the rain hadn't abandoned him!
Funds were always tight in his household. Whereas those around him spent money on a semi-regular basis on Bottle Battling, he had to beg his mom and dad to scrape together enough for an inferior, generic no-name Bottleman.
The shame he brought to the Saita name…
Evaporating into thin air was preferable to begging. To acquiring enough to scrape by.
This was prior to him winning the contest which matched him with his partner, of course: Arrowcider DX.
High-speed shots. Multiple modes. Smooth targeting. His Bottleman, the envy of Dr. Kaori.
Mitsuya missed his buddy. He was tossed onto the pavement so fast, he was given no time to pack for the road. His dad wouldn't even take the stereotypical step he saw on TV of tossing him out with a bag while disowning him!
No one ever told Mitsuya your child is like an empty drink bottle you can dispose of when you're done with him.
Well, he was empty. He was on his own. Hungry. His stomach complaining, untrained in skipping meals. His family didn't have much in the way of means, but his parents managed to feed him three meals a day.
They struggled, but they had a decent, respectable livelihood. Shame he had to ruin it all by being queer!
For a bit, Mitsuya could feign presentability. That alone made using public restrooms easier, delaying the humiliation of going in an alley or somewhere similar.
Cota and Iroha asked each other where Mitsuya was.
He couldn't run to them and ruin Cota's life too. His unnatural feelings for Cota had been the pressure under the cap that popped the lid off his parents' top, and he didn't want to push the same burden onto Cota's shoulders.
The burden of knowing his best friend loved him.
Knowing Cota, he'd want to swoop in and do something about it. Mitsuya would be dragging Cota down with him. He hated the thought of doing something so selfish. To the person who reached out and pulled him from his despair during the days he had nobody to Bottle Battle with. Not a single friend.
Love was inescapable from the moment Cota first shook his hand.
But hey, hey, hey! Mitsuya couldn't write Cota off just yet!
After all, Cota had tracked him down. Cota did do something about it, and guilted Mitsuya back home with him – to Cota's, where he could consume good food, wash up, and sleep in an actual bed.
The taller was exposed. All the pain. Every revealing chink in his façade.
Cota waited until Mitsuya accepted the towel and fresh clothes he was lending him, not phased by Mitsuya's bare, gangly physique.
"Cota, I…"
Before Mitsuya uttered a word more, Cota excused himself and went to the kitchen. Mitsuya dried off, dressed, and followed, a feast fit for a king – perhaps not the Bottle King because Ponta would insist they eat healthy – set on the table.
The unparalleled smell of McDonald's fries taunted Mitsuya's nose. Cota knew what Mitsuya liked.
If Cota knew what Mitsuya liked, shouldn't he have known who Mitsuya loved?
Nah, nah, nah! As far as Cota knew, Mitsuya's parents kicked their son out for some other hidden reason!
Mitsuya thanked Cota and started cramming fries and a burger into his mouth, salt dusting his fingers.
Cota took a sip of his coke, then held Mitsuya the straw.
Holy smokes! There were two drinks there on the table, yet Cota was offering he and Mitsuya share?
My lips…on the straw Cota's lips touched?
It'd practically be a kiss!
This couldn't be deliberate. Cota mustn't have realized how this looked.
The greater the pause, the weirder Cota would feel he was acting.
No sense wasting an excuse. He drank from Cota's cup.
His chest was lighter than air.
That buzz…That bubbling…No question: It was the fizz! The fizz Cota often got pumped up about!
"You can stay as long as you need ta, Mitsuya. I talked it over with my parents and siblings, and we're glad to have you!"
Aren't I bein' an imposition?
By the warm, welcoming grin Cota gave in response, he was afraid for a sec Cota picked up on what he was thinking, but that wasn't the case.
It was more than that.
Vital Sync had nothing on this.
"If everyone stops loving you, Mitsuya, I won't."