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Kazuchika Okada shouldn't have been surprised.
It had been years since he'd had to enter the New Japan Cup tournament; after all, he spent most of his time as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
There had simply been no need for it; and Okada used to take this time, instead, to prepare for whatever monstrous opponent survived the brutal, single-elimination tournament.
But now, he was in it, and there was no room for error.
Which was why, when he found himself facing Elgin in the first round, Kazuchika felt both relived and annoyed.
He had no doubts that he could beat the man known as Big Mike, but he also knew that it wouldn't be easy, by any stretch of the imagination. Any damage sustained in an earlier match could have fatal consequences for the following night's bout.
Now, as he limped to the trainer's office with ugly purple bruises all over his chest and arms, he couldn't say that he was surprised. He knew he'd leave the match hurting all over; but, as predicted, he had emerged victorious. Mike had been tough, but at the end of the day, he simply wasn't on the Rainmaker's level.
The only thing that actually surprised Okada about this whole situation was the fact that Tanahashi, and not the doctor, was there waiting for him in the blindingly sterile med room.
“What in the hell...?”
Tana smiled his signature million-watt smile—the same smile that had been plastered on his handsome face since just before the Cup started. He didn't share the secret of his smile with anyone, as far as Kazuchika knew...and he was in far too deep with the Ace now to try to pretend he didn't care what the man was thinking.
“Hey, hey, don't be like that, Kazu-kun. I'm here to help you!”
The Ace held up some clean gauze, a few ice packs, some trainers tape, a jar of antibacterial cream, and a small bottle of something unidentifiable.
Knowing that it would be pointless to argue, Okada sat heavily on the trainer's table with a sigh.
“Alright, fine,” he breathed, leaning back against the wall. “I'd rather have you do it than that damned doctor anyway. He's always scolding me.”
Hiroshi laughed as slipped on a pair of rubber gloves. “Well, I'm probably going to scold you, too, so...”
With surprising gentleness, the Ace of the Universe began to clean and wrap the rather nasty looking bruises that had begun to pop up all over Okada's otherwise-smooth skin. Some of the welts had burst into little bright blooms of blood, and he tsked at the sight. Tanahashi rubbed the ointment carefully and thoroughly into Okada's chest, so intently focused on the painful spots that the didn't notice the growing redness slowly spreading over Kazuchika's face.
'Is he doing this on purpose?!' the Rainmaker wondered, hating the way heat flooded through his body as Tanahashi's hands kneaded his pectoral muscles and wrapped the white linen clothes around his arm and chest. It felt heavenly, if he was honest. Incredibly relaxing...
...and just a little bit arousing.
“Tanahashi-san,” he breathed, feeling too warm as rough, skilled hands made their way to his thighs. He felt like he was slipping into a daze as he started to shiver. “I...I can get that one myself...”
“Nonsense,” Tana shushed, massaging the bruised skin and muscle with the other ointment. “I don't want anything to happen to my dear kouhai.”
Okada's ears perked up at that. Now this was something new. He looked at the older man questioningly, lips quirking into a grin. “What?”
“My heart was touched,” Tanahashi explained as he worked, smiling a quiet, satisfied smile. “When you called me senpai in the ring the other day. Even though I was pissed off that you took the mic from me...my heart felt like it was going to explode from happiness.”
Kazuchika stared at the older man for a full 20 seconds, taking in his light blush and shining eyes. Though his gaze was still on stray cuts and bruises, Okada had the distinct sense that Tana was, somehow, looking at him.
And maybe...maybe he always had been?
'Wow, he's really kinda in love with me, huh?'
Kazu decided against teasing the Ace. 9 out of 10 times, he was determined to deny any shared affection between them, besides general friendship...but that ship had sailed long ago, hadn't it?
Honestly, the moment their lips met for the first time, it became immediately obvious that the two of them were destined to be more than just friends.
“I meant it,” Kazu said softly. “You're my senpai, almost my mentor at this point...Definitely my guardian, and my rival...”
“Damn, I was hoping you'd get to 'Dad' at some point...”
“Don't be gross. No good dad would purposefully arouse his son while pretending to help him.”
Tana looked up Okada with the most saccharine, innocent expression the Rainmaker had ever seen.
As most things Tanahashi did, it simultaneously annoyed him and made his cock throb.
“I have no idea what you're talking about. It's not my fault if your mind goes to dirty places when I'm here.”
“I think you've got it backwards, Ace.”
Hiroshi shrugged, and hopped up on the table with Okada, throwing a friendly arm around his shoulder. “You are assuming quite a bit there, young man. And, honestly, if I was a good dad to you, I'd spank you every day for being such a damn brat.”
His blunt fingers lightly traced the outline of the bandages on Okada's arms and chest, just at the edge of where angry red and purple could be seen. “Your skin bruises in such a pretty way, Kazu-kun. I've longed to give you bright bruises right where your shorts end, right where your long legs meet your perfect ass.”
Okada tried to give a very put-upon sigh, but it ended up sounding more like a soft, breathy moan.
“You're evil, Tana-san, do you realize that?”
“Of course. But...it would be so worth it, wouldn't it? Thousands of people would see your bruised ass just under your shorts, and they would be curious about what happened...What would you say to them, I wonder...?”
Kazuchika sighed and leaned against Tanahashi, resting his head on his shoulder. “Hey, let's save humiliating me for a bit later in our relationship, okay? I'm still trying to decide how to deal with you in general...”
The two men sat in comfortable silence, Okada nearly falling asleep against the steady beat of Hiroshi's heart. The Ace smiled, shifting so that Kazu's head rested more comfortably against his chest. He looked sweet like this, young and untainted by the chaotic world around them.
And yet, he had already suffered so much.
With a small sigh, Tanahashi placed a light, chaste kiss on Okada's smooth forehead, feeling the familiar ache of affection.
'Maybe suffering really does make people more beautiful,' he mused.
Although he didn't realize it, Tana's phone had begun to buzz in his pocket. He saw that he had actually missed a few calls: Juice, Shota, Red Shoes, and Kota. No doubt, they were out getting black-out drunk together and would need some sort of adult supervision...
“Hey, I have to head out, Kazu...Enjoy your time at home tonight, okay? Take a nice hot shower, and change the bandages before bed. We don't want your pretty skin getting all scarred. And make sure that you always get plenty of rest...”
Okada slowly opened his eyes, hazy with sleep, and some other, hard-to-express emotion.
“Tanahashi-san...Why don't you...come over too? My mom is home, and you can meet her..,help me change my bandages after the shower. As a bonus, you discuss my discipline with my actual parent, and you'll see that I'm generally a pretty good boy.”
“That's actually really tempting,” Tana laughed, feeling warm and fuzzy inside at being invited to Okada's house. From what he knew of the young Rainmaker, only his closest friends received an offer to meet his beloved mother.
“I'll come over tonight, and bring snacks. And I promise I won't flirt with your mom, too.”
“Gross. If you talk to her weird, I'm going to discipline you.”
“That's no way to treat your senpai!”
“Die.”