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The tears dripping down Mihashi's face were big, blobby tears that didn't hesitate before falling down to burst against the hands tucked up against his face. His nose dripped and sniffled every other second trying to keep it all in as he hiccuped, each cry more pitiful than the last. It was impossible to see his eyes behind the fists balled against them, but if they were to be shifted away even the slightest it would become obvious that they were ringed with red and sclera bloodshot.
"Oh, sweetheart..." Haruna stopped everything the moment he stepped inside the house and saw his boyfriend huddled up on the sofa having a complete meltdown. It had been a while since Mihashi had had a breakdown this bad. Haruna couldn't help but be more concerned than usual because of that. "What happened? Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you."
In a few strides he was already across the room and seated on the sofa alongside Mihashi. In one smooth motion, he wrapped his arms snugly around Mihashi and tugged him up against his chest so that Mihashi's face was tucked into his shoulder. He didn't care if he could feel Mihashi's tears seeping through the fabric or if the mucus would stick to his shirt. None of that was important right now. All that mattered was making sure that his boyfriend was alright and taken care of until he was in a better place.
"I... I..." Mihashi stuttered before breaking back into a wail and burying his face back into Haruna's shoulder again to muffle his cries. He hated letting Haruna see him like this... He hated feeling weak like this, but it just hurt so bad. He couldn't hold it all back.
"Shhh... It's alright..." Haruna cooed, running his fingers through Mihashi's dark, golden hair. His other hand kept itself occupied by propping up Mihashi's back, rubbing soothing circles into the small of it. "Breathe... Breathe, Ren. Deep breaths. It's gonna be alright. I'm here. I got you."
Mihashi shuddered out another breath and managed to sniffle out through his hiccups, "At... At school... They kept t-tripping me and... and making fun of m-my stutter... T-they wouldn't leave me alone no matter how much I asked them to..."
Haruna's hand in his hair paused only momentarily—not nearly long enough for Mihashi to have noticed—but the look on his face spoke far more in that the anger that had caused the hesitance had not receeded in the slightest. His eyes were narrowed and brows furrowed, lips pressed down into a scowl. How dare they treat Mihashi that differently just because he was shy, anxious, and spoke a little differently—especially around those he wasn't used to yet. Bastards.
Thank God Mihashi couldn't see his expression right now, because it would surely only make his distress worse.
Haruna shifted Mihashi to tuck his head under his, and quietly asked, "Who were they? Just give me their names and I'll take care of it for you... I promise. You won't have to worry about them harassing you ever again."
Mihashi immediately shook his head frantically, pushing back against Haruna's grip so that he could sit up and stare his boyfriend in the face. He even brought his hands away from his own face, revealing splotchy cheeks and tear streaks.
"No!" He yelled with so much intensity that Haruna looked taken aback at first; a look of fondness soon took over though, and he lifted his hand to brush a piece of hair behind Mihashi's ear.
"What's the matter? You don't want to get hurt, right? What's the problem?"
Mihashi shook his head again, hanging it low enough one could almost pluck it like a piece of fruit. "I-Its my problem, so I should have to deal with it... I don't want you to have to clean up after me."
Haruna huffed out a laugh and tugged Mihashi back forward again so he was collapsing back into leaning against his figure. Positive reinforcement was always the best way to deal with Mihashi and help get rid of his self-destructive tendencies from their younger years; today was no different.
"Silly goose," He teased, pressing kisses to Mihashi's damp cheeks. "We're partners, remember? And more important than that, we're friends and that means you don't have to do everything yourself. I'm always going to be here for you, okay? I'm not 'cleaning up after you', sweetheart, I'm just helping out where I can and that means keeping you from having to relive bad experiences. So let me help. You did your part. Let me handle the boring stuff."
Mihashi made a conflicted noise in his throat, but soon succumbed under the loving affection being pressed upon him alongside soft yet forceful insistence. He gave Haruna the names of the group of young men.
Haruna pressed a kiss to Mihashi's face as he murmured words of thanks. "Thank you for trusting me, Ren... It means a lot to me... I promise I'll make sure you won't regret it. They won't be allowed to bother you ever again."
It was fine if he didn't say how he was going to take care of the men, right?