Chapter Text
The breeze was chilly, as is appropriate for a mid-winter dawn. The sun hasn’t risen yet, sleeping in the arms of the horizon, the stars gradually paled to become barely perceptible.
The silver-haired boy breathed in the humid air, staring at the expanse of buildings in front of him, a panorama of dim lights and greyness; his toes on the edge of the roof of a building, one step away from the freedom he craved. He lifted a foot, willing to let himself go, but the first light of dawn stopped him like invisible hands.
That heartbreaking dawn didn’t deserve to be the last thing his miserable eyes saw.
"Are you really going to jump?"
Mikey turned back to meet Takemichi's clear eyes, his dark hair tousled, as he stared at him with a worried expression. His Takemichi learned to kill coldly, yet he still looked at him with the same expression he reserved for him since their first meeting when he still hadn't decided to follow him into that living nightmare.
"Are you going to stop me, Takemitchy?"
It would have sounded like a taunt if it weren't for the unflappable expression the Bonten Leader turned on his Executive, the latter sinking his hands into his coat pockets, turning a half-smile on Mikey as if he knew perfectly well what game he was playing.
"I won't. Do you want me to stop you?"
"I wonder..." He replied feigning deep thought, bringing out a half laugh from Takemichi, surprising himself at how mentally stable he became to hold that sort of argument, the Takemichi of ten years before would probably have burst into tears after a few moments.
"What if I say yes?"
The dark-haired boy paused to think about the most appropriate answer to give, his lips tightened into a thin line, his gaze aimed at something behind Mikey "I'd say you should keep living, wait for what happens next, surely something will happen."
The older man rolled his eyes, avoiding commenting on those cliché words, though he understood what Takemichi meant; sometimes he was tired of waiting for that ' something ' knowing that he had reached a point of no return where any decision would not bring him back to the feelings he once had. If it hadn't been for Takemichi, it probably would have been a lot worse, but at the same time thinking about what Takemichi had to go through to save him and stay by his side was destroying him.
The sun began to rise, erasing the last trace of stardust, chasing away the strokes of purple and blue with shades of gold and red.
Mikey watched Takemichi's pale face take on a brighter complexion, watched as he stretched out an arm towards him, offering his hand which he accepted without any hesitation, stepping off the edge of the roof to fall into the dark-haired boy arms, smelling the sour smell of blood soaked into his clothes mixed with his natural scent.
That was one of the many times Takemichi saved him from himself and it was certainly not the last.
Takemichi's eyes were tired, yet they caught Mikey's and refused to let go as he played with his fingers, leaving kisses on his wrist, gentle but firm kisses on the scars that covered his forearm.
The silver-haired boy inhaled as the younger man pressed his lips against a new scar, still sensitive, before his tongue darted out to drag over it. He let out that breath in his first real moan, soft and barely audible.
Leaning forward, Mikey automatically closed his eyes, instinctively parting his lips. Takemichi brushed against his lips, and Mikey acknowledged his offer, moving toward him. Their lips moved in sync, parting for a moment before closing together, without any rush.
"Welcome back, any injury?" The Bonten Leader asked fearfully, scanning Takemichi's figure for any sign of injury, the Executive shook his head, letting Mikey run his hands down his pecs, above his coat.
That became a habit, whenever Takemichi returned from a particularly dangerous mission, alone or in a group, Mikey greeted him with the coldest of expressions on the way out, while on the way back he greeted him with caring manners. The dark-haired boy had developed such an awareness that he realized that this was Mikey, the same lost boy he had known for years, but at the same time a different person, yet his feelings towards him didn’t change.
"Just a few scratches, the first aid kit and a few hours of rest will fix it."
His standard answer, even when the pain was so bad that he lost consciousness, when blood was pouring copiously from his wounds and ribs were shattered. He didn't dare tell the truth because he didn't want to make Mikey worry, but at the same time, he didn't dare imagine how he would react knowing he was in danger. Takemichi was fighting this battle with Mikey, but the truth is he was doing it all for Mikey.
"You should rest then, we can talk later."
He nodded, watching Mikey's hand linger on his chest at the level of the portion of skin where the tattoo that symbolizes his belonging to Bonten, to Mikey , was imprinted; sometimes the Leader didn't say it expressively but Takemichi was now able to decipher any expression he made and the one he was turning to him at that moment clearly said "Don't leave me too, if something ever happens to you nothing will make sense anymore".
Implicitly, the same applied to Takemichi as well.
***
The path from the rooftop, through the lift, until his room was slower and more tortuous than he had expected, perhaps because his injuries were actually more troublesome than he thought. He wasted more time than expected in front of the door to his room, searching wearily for the key in his coat pockets.
"Are you looking for these ?"
A deep voice drew his attention, Takemichi turned around to meet Kakuchou's mismatched eyes, in his hands a set of keys he recognised as his own. The dark-haired boy greeted his friend with a nod of his head, catching the keys that were thrown to him.
"Are you alright, Takemichi? You look pale," he commented, as usual his observational skills weren’t wrong, or perhaps they had simply known each other for so long that one glance was enough to tell what was going through the other's mind.
Exactly as was to be expected, Kakuchou noticed Takemichi's hand pressed to his side and connected the reason for that gesture, he sighed.
"I'll go get the first aid kit, wait for me in your room."
This wasn't the first time Kakuchou took care of Takemichi's wounds, of all the Bonten members he was the closest person to him after Mikey, so he knew he could trust him.
His relationship with the rest of the group wasn't the best, but Takemichi couldn't blame them considering how protective Mikey was of him.
Once in the room he slipped off his black coat, leaving it on the bed, unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, doing the same with the first buttons on the front; there was a knock at the door and shortly after Kakuchou peeped into the room, first aid kit in his hands, his usual frown on his face.
"Have you met Mikey yet?"
He asked as he sat at the edge of the bed, followed by Takemichi who nodded, sliding his shirt off his shoulders to expose the wounds that had been inflicted on him over the past few days; Kakuchou despite appearances had a very delicate touch, although his medical knowledge was relatively limited every time he took care to limit the pain whether it was sewing stitches or simple medications.
"This morning, as soon as I arrived... I just can't let my guard down with him." Kakuchou understood what Takemichi meant and smiled apprehensively as he applied the bandage along the dark-haired boy's abdomen, who gritted his teeth, trying to chase away the discomfort from the twinges of pain.
"In some things they look alike, in others Mikey’s really different from him ."
It wasn't difficult for Takemichi to understand that Kakuchou was referring to Izana. He usually avoided mentioning his name for fear of hurting his friend, but it was inevitable for him not to think about it, especially when their leader looked so much like Izana.
Some time ago Kakuchou had confessed to him that Mikey had become his new King because he wanted to make up for what he had failed to do for Izana, Takemichi initially couldn't understand those words but with time, seeing Mikey's transformation, he understood that in the end he was trying to do the same with Mikey himself.
"I'm done. Remember to change the bandages once a day, at least."
Saying that, he slapped Takemichi on the chest and he bent over in spasms, stifling an insult towards his friend, who replied with an amused smile, definitely teasing.
"I'm sorry for bringing up unpleasant memories..."
At those words, Kakuchou looked at Takemichi with an intrigued expression, coming to understand for himself what the dark-haired boy meant and to reassure him, he smiled - in that smile Takemichi recognised his childhood friend from the past - bringing his hand to the level of his heart, where Kakuchou had Bonten's tattoo.
"He lives on, here ."
***
Takemichi’s alarm clock was going off and it was weird. Not weird in general, that's what alarm clocks are meant to do when they're set, but weird because he didn't remember setting its alarm. He hadn't done so for years because he hadn't slept well for years, nor had he needed or been able to keep a schedule. But, in spite of everything, he turned it off with one hand.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, inhaling laboriously from the twinges of pain caused by his still-healing wounds. The black-haired boy opened the window. A pink hue creeping across the sky, it was now evening and he had lost count of how many consecutive hours he must have slept.
He reached the bathroom, turning the crank to turn on the shower, pausing in front of the mirror that began to mist as the steam from the water collided with the sharp winter air; he was exhausted despite having slept for all those hours and the look on his face didn't lie. Soon his reflection vanished as the steam completely fogged up the mirror.
Takemichi quickly undressed, stepping into the shower and making sure not to overly ruin the bandage Kakuchou had provided him with that morning.
He sank into the corner of the shower and began to sob. He didn't know if they were tears of joy at still being alive, or fear. Or maybe both.