Chapter Text
His fist crashed into the white concrete of the corridor wall, and he hit it again, channeling his frustration. Shimatta. Nothing, literally nothing was right. Even the throbbing pain in his hand didn’t make him feel better. For a moment, Yuzu thought about kicking the wall for a good measure.
“Ankle injury alert,” said a helpful voice to his right. Of course. She. Of all people. It was one of those days.
He swirled to face Evgenia with the darkest frown he could muster, exuding danger from every pore, and spat out, “Don’t.”
The girl seemed unimpressed by his demon slayer impersonation, one hand on the hip, the other casually clutching the strap of her backpack.
“Why would I pity you? You’re not a sick puppy,” she scoffed and reached out for his sore hand.
Although he swerved in indignation, Zhenya took a step forward, clutched on his glove with both hands and peeled off the soft fabric. It looked okay, considering. Light swelling. A couple of angry red scabs. A little blood, too. Assessing the damage, she ran her cool fingers along the ridge of his knuckles twice and sighed. Suddenly, Yuzu felt embarrassed by his outburst.
“Do you have water?” he asked, withdrawing his hand from hers firmly, with a finality.
“Sure.” She absent-mindedly placed his blood-stained glove into his coat pocket and turned away to sort through the contents of her bag on the floor. The bottle she gave him was unopened, a courteous gesture. He unscrewed the cap, wincing at the slight shift in the broken skin, and downed the water in three gulps.
Somewhere between his attempts at finding self-composure Zhenya found a first aid kit. When taking back the bottle, she snatched his injured hand again, cradled it and started applying bandages. It was not romantic, not by any stretch. But it was comforting, being cared for by a comrade-in-arms. A very professional one. And very good-looking. And…
“Here you are.” Zhenya gave her work the last once-over and let go, both of his hand and the whole experience. She would never mention it again, he knew. Yuzu also knew he should say thank you. But when he opened his mouth, a different thing came out.
“You forgot to kiss it better.” It was one of those days.
Her already large expressive eyes grew huge, and after a few awkward moments, Zhenya laughed it off, “Not going to happen, Hanyu. My kisses are reserved for special occasions. Special people, too.”
That meant he wasn't on the list. Currently.
“But I might give you a friend’s hug. That is, if ever you needed one,” she added solemnly and turned to go.
“Now,” he said simply, taking her up on the offer.
“Now?” she asked, conveying, with a series of jazz hands and an incredulous look, that they were standing in a brightly lit, albeit temporarily empty corridor.
He then promptly flipped the switch on the wall. The space around them turned darker, more intimate.
She could just go. In fact, it would be better for both of them if she did.
Instead, she humphed, stood on tiptoe and put both of her arms around his upper back, one above the other, a nice warm grounding embrace. He followed suit - and if his bandaged hand sneaked under her jacket and brushed against skin uncovered by her crop top, so what? It was not disrespectful, and she didn’t say anything. He knew he could rest his head on her shoulder for a bit too - and he did. A few moments of calm before going back into the battle with himself.
“So, what is it about today?” Zhenya’s voice rumbled in his ear. “The lutz? The loop? Life in general?” He didn’t answer. There was no need. She always got it.