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Noiz slumped against the wall, trying to catch his breath. His body was shaking with the kind of numb pain you feel when a limb falls asleep and you know the pins are pricking at your skin, but you can’t quite feel it. It washed over him in waves, rolling from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, pulsing where he hurt the worst. He peeled his eyes open and tried to recognize the tall figure looming under the dim streetlight. He didn't need an audience for his pity party, especially after getting his ass handed to him. He didn’t like looking so defeated either, but he would rather it be Koujaku than anyone else. Noiz is sure he’s seen him look worse.
“And what tell hell happened to you?” Koujaku finally asked, eyeing the dried blood. Noiz groaned.
“You should see the other guys.” Noiz began, “Would you believe me if I said they look worse than I do?” he added, trying to look at Koujaku but the alley kept sliding sideways and the ground kept shifting under him so it was hard to look in one direction.
“No, I wouldn’t believe you.” Koujaku replied flatly, kneeling down to get a closer look. He leaned to the side to see better with the light.
“Yeah? And what makes you say that?”
“I’ve kicked your ass more times than I can count. You’re not that great of a fighter.” Koujaku said with an airy tone of teasing arrogance and Noiz chuckled.
“Fuck you.” Noiz retorted, immediately cut off by a fit of coughs. He leaned his head back against the wall with a shaky exhale and tried to ignore the metallic taste coating his tongue. Did he bite that at some point? He should know if he did, since he can actually feel there, yet he couldn’t remember if he did. Must have hit his head, too. He tried to clear his throat but just ended up getting blood and spit to dribble down his chin. Disgusting. Koujaku’s expression hardened with concern.
“...Who did this?”
Noiz tried to shrug. “Some ribster fucks who wanted to feel tough in a 7 on 1.” He croaked. Koujaku looked hesitant, but after a pause finally spoke up.
“They weren’t, the guys I mean...they weren’t mine, were they?” he asked, almost sounding guilty.
“If they were yours, I definitely could have taken them on.” Noiz said and Koujaku just rolled his eyes, though his shoulders relaxed.
“I’m sure.” Koujaku muttered, not taking the bait for more bickering. He straightened his back and pat his hands on his knees as if he had just decided something. “Well, my place is a hike, but you need stitches.” He announced, glancing back to the main road to estimate how long it would take to get home. Confusion washed over Noiz for a moment, not quite following the conversation. He paused before finally quirked an eyebrow up with skepticism.
“What, are you gonna fix me up?” Noiz deadpanned as his head lolled to the side. Koujaku finally looked at Noiz again, annoyed. It was a look Noiz found himself constantly receiving from him.
“You telling me you’d rather go to a hospital to get checked out? You’re too proud for that.” Koujaku explained, eyes wandering up to a cut on his forehead.
That’s not pride, Noiz thought bitterly. That’s fear; before his parents locked him away in his room, Noiz remembers practically living in the hospital. His earliest memories were blurry with fluorescent lights and never ending tests. He shut his eyes clenched his jaw. Now was not the time to think about those times.
“Would you stop being so hard-headed and just let me help you?” Koujaku finally said with a sigh and Noiz’s eye snapped open because when did he get so close to his face? Koujaku thumbed some blond strands to the side, getting a closer look at a cut. Noiz was about to spit a smart comment back at him, but the words got caught in his throat as his eyes slid closed again. He leaned into the touch with a small sigh. His hand seemed to linger for a moment until it abruptly pulled away. Noiz lazily looked up to watch Koujaku push himself off the ground.
“Can you stand on your own?” he heard Koujaku ask, but his mind was buzzing with excuses on why that just happened. He didn’t find comfort he the older man, he reasoned. They’ve fought enough times that Noiz just recognizes his touch. He told himself that’s all it was, yet in the back of his mind he felt like it was a lie. Koujaku took the silence as his answer and offered his hand for help. He felt his arm move without thinking about it, watched his hand take the large calloused one as if he had no control of it. He felt Koujaku pull and he tried to push himself up, he really did, but his entire body felt more like dead weight than anything else. He ended up slumping against the broad chest in front of him.
Warm, he mused, and almost said it out loud but the words “Damn I got my ass kicked.” fell out instead. Koujaku snorted in amusement before sliding an arm around his shoulders to steady their balance.
“At least you admit it.” Koujaku commented with a smile and Noiz huffed out a laugh. Their walk was quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. The quiet lull of cicadas and distant traffic in the summer air mixed with the wearing off of adrenaline. It made Noiz increasingly aware of how exhausted he was. His head and feet grew heavy and he felt himself lean into Koujaku the further they trekked.
“Do you need me to carry you?” Koujaku asked, his voice sincere. He could feel his mouth close to his ear but it sounded so far away.
“Fuck you.” Noiz repeated, hoping the words made it far enough to reach Koujaku. He heard a scoff and felt Koujaku adjust his grip. Noiz found himself wishing he’s grip tighter.
He doesn’t remember the rest of the walk or even entering Koujaku’s home, so when lights flickered on and Koujaku ushered towards a bathroom, he felt disoriented. Koujaku flipped a toilet seat down and it echoed far too loud against the tile, making Noiz wince as he took a seat. He closed his eyes and listened to Koujaku sift through his medicine cabinet. For a moment he felt now would be the perfect time to fall asleep right there, but a few firm pats on his cheek told him otherwise.
“Hey,” Koujaku called and caused Noiz to open his eyes enough to glare. “You still with me over here?” Noiz swat the hand away, but fixed his posture to let Koujaku work. He was quick and efficient, cleaning and stitching and patching like it was muscle memory.
“Who knew the Big Bad Koujaku had a heart of gold.” Noiz heard himself say when he was almost done. His eyes were closed again but he could almost feel the dirty look Koujaku threw his way.
“Brat. Don’t make me kick your ass when you’re down.” he argued, but there was no real bite behind his words. He leaned in to finish the cut on his forehead and this time Noiz kept his eyes open, feeling more awake. He watched his face as he worked. Koujaku glanced at him from the corner of his eye with a frown, and Noiz felt startled at how red his eyes were up close. “Quit staring at me.”
“Not like there’s not much to look at.” He grumbled but closed his eyes anyway. A long moment passed before he heard Koujaku sigh and lean away, and Noiz took that as his cue to open his eyes again.
“I’m going to ignore that,” Koujaku began and Noiz felt himself smirk around a split lip. “But you’re almost done. Take off your shirt for me, and keep your mouth shut. I don’t want to hear your stupid perverted jokes.” Noiz’s smirk only grew and he did as he was told. There wasn’t much there except bruises of various degrees across his torso. The only thing that needed stitches was a single shallow gash. Noiz glanced down and let out a chuckle.
“Shit, one of them really did try to stab me.” He mused with a lazy smile. Koujaku gave him a look, weary of his amusement, and pushed his shoulders back to get a better look.
“You sound surprised?” It came out as a question. Noiz shrugged and leaned back, arching his back a bit to at least give him a flat surface to work with.
“If I remember right, I might have provoked this one,” he said and Koujaku shook his head.
“Do I even want to know what you said to provoke this?” He asked, cleaning the dry blood with alcohol. “Sorry if that burns.” he added with a mumble, as if he was talking to himself rather than Noiz.
“I think I said, ‘What are you gonna do, stab me?’” Noiz continued and Koujaku just shook his head again, trying to hold in a laugh.
“You’re a fucking idiot.” He said almost fondly, tying off the last stitch and applying a bandage over it. Noiz hummed in agreement, chest growing warm. Koujaku leaned back to admire his work for a second before turning to clean up his supplies. Noiz let his shirt slide down and he relaxed again, a second wave of exhaustion hitting him with twice as much force. “Do you need a bath or anything?” Koujaku asked from the other side of the bathroom, wiping his hands off with a towel. Noiz grunted in response.
“Sleep.” He said instead, shifting his weight onto his feet and wobbled out of the bathroom.
Koujaku followed close behind as Noiz wandered where he thought a couch might be. His mind was protesting, telling him he should just go to his own place and sleep there, but his body had other plans. After only kicking his foot against furniture twice, he finally found what he was looking for and fell into the cushions.
“Hey, be careful. You’ll rip the stitches open if you do that.” Koujaku chided from somewhere close by. Noiz just grunted again and felt his body relax. He heard things move around the room before he felt something like a blanket fall over him. “Is this fine?” he asked and Noiz just sighed into it. It wasn’t until Koujaku was almost out of the room that Noiz remembered how to use words.
“Wait,” he called out, voice scratchy and quiet and he almost thought Koujaku didn’t hear him.
“What’s wrong?” Koujaku asked softly, voice matching the dark room and sleepy atmosphere as he paused at the door frame. Noiz almost didn’t want to say anything, wanting to pretend for a little longer, but found himself speaking before he could change his mind.
“What do I owe you?” he asked, and Koujaku became very still with shock and confusion.
“I’m sorry?” he asked, not following this train of thought.
“This has gotta come with a price. What is it, money, sex?” Noiz began as he stared at the ceiling, his pulse quickening and he realized he almost dreaded an answer. “Because I have no problem with that. If it’s information though, that’s a harder bargai-” before he could finish, Koujaku cut him off.
“Did you hit your fucking head or something?” he asked angrily. “Who says you owed me anything? I told you I was going to help you, and I did. There’s nothing more to it. Quit spouting that bullshit.” Noiz couldn’t remember Koujaku saying anything about help (he couldn’t remember a lot from tonight actually,) but for some reason took his word for it. He sunk lower into the couch and felt oddly at ease, despite the foul language still being thrown at him. “You don’t owe me anything,” Koujaku repeated before he turned on his heel to leave. “Get some sleep you fucking brat.” And with that, Koujaku was down the hall and gone. Silence wrapped itself back around him. It wasn’t until he heard a door slide shut that Noiz realized he was holding his breath.