Work Text:
Akito's senses were full of only hurt, heat, and hurt him,
His knuckles were bloody, he knew that. But he threw his punches all the same, ignoring the intense hurt all over his body. This guy knew how to fight.
Akito, mostly, didn't.
His vision was blurry, with tears or adrenaline he didn't care to know. The man was taller than him, which was impressive since they were around the same age. Akito stood at a proud 174 centimetres, just slightly shorter than his partner.
His partner.
Shit, what'll Toya think when he sees Akito like this?
Akito steps back, ignoring the shake in his legs.
"What's wrong? Giving up?"
The man laughs, it makes the ginger's blood boil.
"Yeah. I don't care to continue this."
"Weak."
Akito hisses through his teeth. This guy. He has no right to talk about him like this.
Akito has had enough. He rushes forward and feels his fist make contact with skin.
There's danger in the man's eyes.
So Akito runs.
All the way back to WEEKEND GARAGE.
He throws open the door, ignoring the 'closed' sign. He wipes a small stream of blood from his nose.
"We're closed," Ken calls from a separate room. Akito staggers onto a chair, sighing heavily. He clutches his arm, suppressing a yelp from the pain that follows. He's littered in bruises.
Heavy footsteps thump through the corridor that connects to the hallway. "I said, we're clo--"
Vision blurred, he meets Ken's eyes.
"Akito?"
In an attempt to seem a bit more collected, Akito pushes himself up against the seat; the attempt fails, drawing out a long hiss of pain. "Uh-- shit, yeah, sorry 'bout that. Barged in uninvited, huh?"
"Akito." Ken's voice is stern as he walks in closer, but the concern is evident. "What did you get yourself into this time?"
That brings out his defensiveness, because he'll never admit that it's almost always his own insecurity getting him into these situations. "Guy was bein' a dick."
Vague, but it'll do.
"Alright. You stay there, I'll patch you up." Ken glares at him for a moment. "But I do expect a better explanation than that."
The older man moves behind the counter, shuffling around for bandages and neosporin.
"You gonna tell me what happened, kid?"
Akito looks down at the table.
"Kid."
He looks up, a bit intimidated by Ken's harsh gaze.
"You gotta tell me what's going on. You don't get into fights for nothing."
Akito averts his eyes.
Ken sighs, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing in a number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, kid. Your partner got in a fight. He's at WEEKEND GARAGE. He's, uh-" Ken looks to Akito for a moment. "He's pretty roughed up."
Shit, Akito thinks. "Ken, don't make him come here-"
"I'm on my way." The line clicks dead.
"Ken! The-- the fuck did you do that for?! Toya, he-- he doesn't deal with conflict well, fuck-- he's gonna kill me." Akito drops his head onto the table, uncaring of the pain it shoots through his skull.
"If you ain't gonna talk to me, I know you'll talk to him." Ken walks back around the counter, a collection of first aid items in his arms. "You're incapable of saying no to the guy."
"Oh, fuck you."
Ken decides to ignore that comment, nudging Akito's jaw to make him raise his head. "Sit up, kid. Gotta fix you up."
He drags his head up but keeps his gaze fixed on the table.
"Dang, they didn't hold anything back, did they?" Ken gently presses a finger onto a graze over the cheekbone; Akito winces. From the pile layed out on the table, he takes some ointments. "Just gonna put numbing cream and antiseptic on all the cuts, it'll sting."
"Been through worse."
"Pfft, I can tell."
Akito hisses swears through the whole process, because fuck does this hurt.
The consequences of his actions, he supposes.
Half of the cuts on his face are covered when the door bursts open. "Akito!"
Well, shit.
"Toya, it's really not that bad-"
"Yes it is."
Akito sighs. "You're right."
Toya looks to Ken, and he moves aside to let Toya closer to Akito.
The ginger turns his head away before feeling a slender hand on his jaw, pulling him back to look at the bluenette.
"Let me see, Aki."
Toya turns Akito's head around, 'tsk'ing when he catches view of the particularly bad wounds.
"Toya, please don't--"
"I'm going to worry about you and fuss and be annoyed because you are hurt, Akito." His partner reaches across to pick up the ointments. "Ken, do I just put these over the cuts?"
"Mhm, gently put a thin layer over it."
"Okay."
Akito cringes at the thought; Toya's had to come out when he was home, probably worried out of his mind, and now he's trying to take care of Akito who's done nothing to deserve it.
"Toya, you don't have to--"
"Quiet. I'm going to help you. And I want to know what happened, you've gotten much better at controlling yourself." The sternness in his expression softens. "I'm worried, Akito."
He sighs, allowing Toya to start applying the medicines but staying silent the whole time. It's unavoidable, he knows, but that doesn't mean he won't try to put it off.
"Akito."
"Toya."
"Akito," his partner huffs, and he sounds disappointed and so concerned, "I'm not letting you leave without telling us what happened."
"You don't need to know, it doesn't fucking matter. Already happened, no point talking about it."
"I want to know, Aki."
"Why do you get so worked up? It's just a little fight, I'm fine." Akito is a little annoyed, but it's mainly out of anxiety-- he wants this whole ordeal to be over, to sleep and forget until it inevitably happens again.
"Aki, I'm worked up because I'm scared. I don't want you to get hurt, I don't want you to- to hurt yourself." His voice drops, trembling. "How do I know that you won't get into a fight you can't win, Aki?"
"I mean--" Akito flinches as Toya finally grazes an ointment over his cheek, swallowing down the urge to kick and maybe throw a stupid tantrum over this. He can't tell his partner, he can't. "I'm not that hurt, so it's not like I didn't win."
Toya exhales shakily, screwing a cap back on. "That's not the point I'm trying to make."
"Well, that's the point I'm giving you." He keeps his eyes to his lap once Toya's finished with his face. Tears slip past his eyes as the effort to hold them back finally falters; he's glad Toya's more worried about finding the correct thing to treat him with than him in the second he lets his head hang down.
He peeks through the strands of hair laying over his eyes, to see Toya searching in the pile for bandages. So he takes the chance, and wipes his eyes quickly with the back of his hand before his partner turns back.
"Can I have your hand..?" Toya says, hesitates, but reaches over slightly to the ginger's hands. Without another word, he holds his left hand out for Toya to take. He hears a small "thank you", before a small sigh comes from his partner.
He feels something wet spread against his hand, before Toya clears his throat quietly. "Are you crying..?" He asks, and Akito whips his head up, panicked, and shakes it.
"N-No." He chokes out. "Just, do what you need to. I'm not crying."
"Aki." The ginger feels a lump form in his throat. "Are you crying?" Toya's tone is stern, laced with concern.
"Yes." Akito's voice is small, reflecting how he feels in this moment.
"Can you tell me why?"
"It hurts- an' the guy was just- really pissing me off."
"Aki, please tell me what happened."
Akito takes a deep breath. "This- this guy was just. Talking really bad about you, An and Koha."
"What about you?"
""S not important. He was talking smack."
"Aki, you matter too."
Akito pulls his hand away from Toya's-- he misses the comfort immediately. "I-It doesn't. I was more pissed that he was talking 'bout you guys. Just-- please stop--"
"Oh, Aki..."
Gently, hesitantly as to avoid any injuries, Toya pulls the smaller boy into an embrace. "It's okay. I'm here, I've got you." He brings a hand up to caress an unmarked part of Akito's skin, just under his jaw. "Come on, it's okay if you need to cry."
"No-- 's stupid--"
"Please, it isn't. You had a bad experience and you're in pain, it's perfectly reasonable." Toya keeps circling the expanse of skin with his thumb. "You can cry, Aki."
His energy is all used up. He can't hold it back anymore.
Any remnant of strength leaves Akito as he falls forward into his partner's arms, crying into his hoodie, clutching at the fabric. "He was-- he was bein' so- so awful about you all, and- and me, but he wasn't wrong about me, jus'-- just wanted to shut him up, b-but he was-- it was--"
He babbles incoherently as Toya rubs his back. "I know, Aki. Let it out, you're doing so well."
"'M sorry-- so- so fuckin' stupid, Toya, 'm so sorry--"
"Shh, don't apologise."
"B-But--" Akito wails, murmuring tired apologies under his breath, shoving his face into Toya's chest. His partner's hoodie smells like coffee, and he absolutely adores it. It's his partner. Only his. "I-I didn't m-mean to hur-hurt anyone, but..."
"I know." Toya's hand trails up to his hair, carding his gentle fingers through the orange hair. He fiddles with the yellow streak, laughing softly. "You always told me how the people who say bad stuff about us are just jerks, right? Why doesn't that come into play now?"
"B-Because..." He pauses, his sobs slowly tapering off as he thinks. He's... he's right. "It d-does..." He mumbles, wrapping his arms around Toya's shoulders. "It does come into play..."
Toya pries his partner off him slowly and carefully, "see?" He lifts Akito's chin again, up to his eye level. "All the things you say to me apply to you as well, partner."
Akito just stares, starstruck. His eyes are glossed over with tears, and the word "partner" reverberates through his head.
"M-Mhm..." He exhales slowly, crawling into Toya's arms again. "Don't move..."
"I'm not going, I just want to see your pretty face." Toya boasts, leaning over to press a small kiss to Akito's temple. "See? I can kiss all your bruises, if you would like."
Before Akito can reject, Toya puts his knee up on the couch's arm to reach Akito, pecking all over the blossoming bruises on his face. "You're going to be just fine, Aki, everything's okay," he murmurs into the flushing skin.
"T--Toya..."
"Nothing he said was true, about you especially. You are wonderful, both as a performer and as a person, you don't have anything to worry about." With a final kiss to Akito's nose, Toya leans back. "If you ever hear things like that again, come straight to me. Please don't put yourself in danger."
Akito glances around before nodding. "O-Okay... I'll try."
"Thank you." Toya sits beside him properly, allowing Akito to lean on him. "Let's finish patching you up and go home, okay? I'm sure cuddles and cheesecake will have you all better."
"Okay." Akito finds the energy in himself to lean up for a moment, able to make proper eye contact with Toya for the first time all night.
"Th-Thank you..."
"Whatever you need, sunshine."
And if Ken watched the whole exchange with a proud smile, the kids don't need to know that.