Chapter Text
When Garou woke up, he was getting squeezed to death from behind. Okay, it’s an overexaggeration, but who hugs someone this tight in their sleep? Garou stretched his arms out and forward, his shoulders pushing against Badd’s face. Badd dug his face into Garou’s nape, a small whine coming out.
“Stop movin’ so much,” Badd whispered softly. Garou shivered at the breath against his neck.
“You gotta get up anyways. Ain’t your sister at home?”
Badd’s eyes widened and he sat up, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He let out a sigh of relief. “It’s only 06:27.” He tossed his phone to the side and laid back down, pulling Garou – who’d rolled onto his back – close to him again, and stuffed his face into Garou’s neck.
Garou’s face turned a light pink. Good thing Badd’s face was in the crook of his neck now. “Does she not wake up early on the weekends??”
“No. She sleeps in till 9. Usually.” His hand went from Garou’s chest to his waist and his voice dropped to a sleepy whisper. “’ve got time.”
Garou hesitantly placed his hand in Badd’s hair, carding his fingers through the other’s slick hair. With how much gel Badd uses to keep his hair in a pompadour, you’d think his hair would be messed up in a way– crunchy with gel even – but no. His hair was well taken care of. It was nice to play with. He twirled a lock around his finger before scratching his scalp with the blunt of his nails.
Badd hummed at the touch and burrowed his face deeper into Garou’s neck. His breath was warm against Garou’s neck. Everything was warm: Badd, Badd’s personality, and Garou. Sure, he had the warmest person ever almost completely on top of him, but he felt warm on the inside. Badd always had that effect on him.
He knew what the feeling was, but he didn’t want it.
He hated that he felt this way about his first friend ever.
He didn’t want to feel this way.
He didn’t want to risk anything, for once. He didn’t want to lose his friend.
He didn’t want to lose Badd.
The younger suddenly moved one hand to Garou’s hip, and the other just in between his arm and torso. He pushed himself up, hovering his face over Garou’s. He stared at him.
Just.
Stared.
Not even for a few seconds before saying something; he stared for a while without saying anything.
Just.
Stared.
His eyes traveled over every feature of Garou’s face: his jaw, his cheekbones, his nose, his forehead, his eyes, ears, chin, lashes, and–
Garou’s eyes widened when he saw Badd’s eyes pause.
He was staring at his lips right now.
His pupils were getting wider with every blink.
Garou’s breath quickened.
There’s no way–
Badd began to lean down.
He was tilting his head.
He was closing his eyes.
And Garou?
He was frozen.
He couldn’t move.
He could feel Badd’s breath on his face.
He–
He really wanted to give in.
He could feel his eyes close, he could feel his neck start to crane upward, he could feel their noses brush against each other, he could feel their top lips ghost over each other, he could–
His hands flew to cover his mouth and blocked the incoming kiss.
Badd’s eyes opened when he felt his lips press against something that he knew weren’t lips, and only then did it seem like he realized just what he was about to do.
He flew back, stumbling over his feet as he tried to get as much distance between him and Garou. “I- I-” He stuttered, but he couldn’t say anything past that.
Garou was still on his back, hands over his mouth, eyes blown wide.
No words were exchanged.
Just heavy breathing and inner turmoil.
Did we… Garou thought. Did we almost do that? Actually? He pushed himself up on his forearms slightly, just enough to see how Badd sat himself in the furthest corner of the tent, his knees to his chest, and his back to Garou. His neck was red.
Holy shit, we almost kissed.
Garou fell onto his back and covered his whole face, groaning loudly.
There’s no way.
But it happened.
And Badd was the one who was initiating it.
Did he… feel the same way?
Garou yanked a blanket and wrapped himself in it. He had hoped that cocooning himself would block out his thoughts, but no. It didn’t help in the slightest. His brain was screaming at him a mile a second.
Does he like me? He almost kissed me, so probably. But he’s delirious when he wakes up, so he probably didn’t know what he was doing. Sure didn’t seem like it with his reaction. Is he disgusted? Does he regret it? What would have happened if I didn’t stop it? What if–
What if we kissed?
Garou kicked off the blanket, sat up, and chucked a pillow at Badd. It hit him on the back. “What the hell, man,” he hissed.
The pillow flopped onto the floor, and Badd spun around. His brows were pinched and his eyes were wet.
“Woah.” Garou’s voice dropped to a whisper as he got up and walked to Badd. All his thoughts were overcome with worry. He sat down beside Badd. “What’s wrong?”
Badd turned his head away, wiping his face aggressively. “Nothing–” His voice wobbled. “Just- I didn’t- I-” He sighed shakily. “I’m so sorry, Garou.”
Garou’s heart dropped.
“I don’t know what came over me- I just- I- I don’t know.” He sniffed. “I’m so sorry.” And he kept repeating those words. Over and over and over again under his breath.
Garou stared at Badd. He didn’t know what to do.
Is he disgusted? Disgusted by what could have happened?
He felt a sharp pain in his chest. It hurt, it did, but not more than the sight of a tear running down Badd’s face.
Garou’s hand moved to Badd’s face without meaning to. He cupped his cheek gingerly and brushed the tear away with his thumb. Badd eyed Garou’s hand, then glanced up to his eyes. His whole expression was unsure, but not in the way someone would be uncomfortable. It was like… like he wanted to do something, but he didn’t know if it would be the biggest screw up of his life or the best decision he could make in his seventeen years of living.
“It’s okay, Badd,” Garou finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I-... I didn’t…” The words were right on the tip of his tongue. They were, but it was so hard to get it out.
Garou has been through worse than this! He fought a shit ton of S-Class heroes, class Dragon monsters, and was on the verge of death time and time again! He could do this. He could do this. So he forced the words out:
“I didn’t mind.”
Badd’s shoulders relaxed instantaneously. Garou’s chest lightened at that. Although he said what he said, he started admitting more.
“Seriously, I didn’t. I started leaning in too, actually, but I know you’re in a whole different headspace when you wake up, so I didn’t want you to do something you might regret-”
Soft.
Garou suddenly felt something soft against his lips. It took him a second to register that those were in fact lips.
Badd’s lips.
BADD’S LIPS?!
Garou’s eye widened impossibly as his brain grasped the fact that Badd had closed the distance between him and himself. His hands were on Garou’s jaw, holding it tight yet gently, just enough in case Garou wanted to pull away and say that this was all a mistake.
Garou didn’t know what to do.
What is he supposed to do when the love of his life is kissing him?
He seriously didn’t know.
He didn’t want Badd to stop though.
His lips on his were really nice. Better than any way he had imagined it in the past.
Unfortunately, he began to pull away. Against his lips, Badd muttered, “Oh shit- Oh- Fuck, fuck… I’m so-”
Garou kissed him again. Just a peck, but it made Badd sure that this wasn’t just something between the “homies”. No homo, or whatever guys at school used to say. This. This was full-on homo. This was very real with very real feelings.
Garou pulled away after the chaste kiss, keeping himself in Badd’s space. Then it happened again. Badd stared.
Just.
Stared.
Searching for any hint of uncertainty in Garou’s eyes. There was none.
So he dove in.
He captured Garou in another kiss, feverishly so this time. His hands slid to the nape of the other’s neck, holding him fast, and Garou finally kissed him back with equal vigor, his hand still cupping Badd’s cheek and the other on his hip. They were both pushing their weight against each other, trying to get on one another, but neither let up, so they sat there, hands all over each other, holding what they could, trying to get as much as they could in this moment. Lips crashing, a little bit of teeth, sloppy tongue – they did not know what they were doing in the slightest, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did right now.
With time, their shoulders eased, their hands moved languidly, and the fervor of the kiss mellowed out to slow movements against each other’s lips. Soon, they parted for a proper breath of air.
Garou could hear and feel his heartbeat everywhere in his body. His chest was heaving. He felt hot. He felt dizzy. He felt so many things, feelings, emotions, it was scary. He wasn’t used to this. But somehow, it was a little less scary when he opened his eyes to look at Badd.
He looked like a mess. His cheeks were flushed a deep red, along with his ears and neck, his bangs were sticking to his cheeks, his eyes were lidded – dazy, and his lips were still parted, puffy red, just asking to get kissed again. The whole image was hot as fuck. Garou didn’t even beat himself at the thought.
Badd’s hands went to Garou’s hips, and he pulled him up onto his lap and kissed him again. It was deliberate, passionate, tender – it allowed him to unveil just how deep his feelings were for Garou.
Who was Garou to not return the feelings that he’d kept buried for months? So he kissed him back, giving him equal passion. He wrapped his arms around Badd’s neck, his fingers going through his hair again, lightly gripping the hair at his nape.
Badd’s hands tightened, his nails digging into the thin fabric as he tilted his head to get more of Garou. More, because Garou was actually his now. They didn’t need to exchange words for it to be official.
Garou was his, and he was Garou’s.