Chapter Text
Sly sits on the steps in front of Koujaku’s apartment. He’s smoking one of Koujaku’s cigars. It’s strong and makes Sly feel lightheaded. He cranks up the volume on his headphones. He closes his eyes and exhales smoke.
Koujaku’s inside cooking dinner, but Sly doesn’t feel like eating. He’s restless, and the music and the smokes aren’t helping. He misses how things used to be, when he didn’t have the old man breathing down his neck. He misses the freedom and excitement he felt from never knowing where the day would take him and where he would end up at night. Most importantly, he misses playing Rhyme.
Sly stubs out the cigar and slouches forward with his elbows on his knees. Someone comes to sit beside him on the step. Sly glances and sees it’s Koujaku. Ren and Beni are there too. Ren looks up at him with his tongue peeking out, and Beni is perched on Ren’s head. Sly looks sullen and pulls his headphones down around his neck.
“What?”
Koujaku smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck.
“I may have burnt dinner,” he says. Sly turns away to look back down at the steps.
“I wasn’t hungry anyway,” Sly says and starts to put his headphones back on. Koujaku holds his hand out to stop him.
“Wait a minute, Sly. You haven’t eaten all day. Let me take you out somewhere.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You look miserable.”
“I don’t have to be happy all the time,” Sly says. Ren paws at Sly’s thigh.
“Why don’t you tell us what’s bothering you?” Ren asks.
“Yeah, you’re nothing but a sourpuss whenever you take over,” Beni declares.
“Tch,” Sly shot Beni a disgusted look.
“Beni,” Koujaku scolds.
“What? It’s the truth! He does nothing but mope around till Aoba comes back.”
Sly stands up suddenly.
“Maybe that’s because no one wants me here,” Sly blurts. His eyes widen for half a second. Had he really just told these idiots what was bothering him? Oh well, no point in stopping now.
“I don’t like any of you!” Sly points at Ren, “You’re always telling me what I should and shouldn’t do.” Then he points at Beni, “You’re annoying.”
“Hey!” Beni says.
“And you,” Sly points at Koujaku. “You treat me like I’m a nuisance, like I’m your prisoner! You think I haven’t noticed how disappointed you are when you realize it’s me and not ‘Aoba?’”
Koujaku presses his mouth in a thin line, but lets Sly continue.
“Why don’t you let me go out? Is it because you think I’ll hurt ‘Aoba’s’ body somehow? Or you think I’ll run away?”
Koujaku sighs and sits in silence a moment. Finally, he stands and looks Sly in the eyes.
“You’re right.”
Sly blinks, looking mildly surprised. Those words hurt. They sting his chest. Why isn’t Koujaku denying it?
“You’re different from the Aoba I fell in love with.”
Sly winces.
“You’re almost his complete opposite. I can’t just… force myself to love someone I don’t know.”
Koujaku crosses his arms in front of his chest and exhales.
“If you’re really that unhappy, then go. It was wrong of me to make you stay.”
Sly’s eyes widen and his lips part.
“Koujaku!” Beni objects, “What if he doesn’t come back?!”
“Then that’s his choice,” Koujaku says. He looks stoic; like he’s hiding his true emotions. It makes Sly furious that he can tell him to leave so easily.
“If I wanted to, I could break your mind right now. I could take everything that you are, everything that you care about and destroy it,” Sly jeers.
“Aoba…” Ren says, trying to calm Sly down.
“It’s alright, Ren,” Koujaku says, not taking his eyes off of Sly.
“I’m sorry for not considering how you felt. I must have really hurt you to make you say something like that.”
“Tch,” Sly clinches his jaw. Koujaku had called out his bluff. Why? Why couldn’t Koujaku just say what Sly really wanted to hear?
“Fine. I’m leaving,” Sly brushes past Koujaku and goes inside their apartment. No, not their apartment. Koujaku’s and ‘Aoba’s’ apartment. He storms into the bedroom and grabs his bag. He puts on his jacket and packs some clothes. He takes a wad of cash from the dresser and shoves it in his pocket. He stomps to the kitchen to grab some water bottles. Koujaku had come inside and is watching him silently from the living room couch.
Ren is waiting for him at the door.
“Aoba, please take me with you. I can navigate for you.”
“I know the area well enough. You just want to spy on me for that old man,” Sly sneers. Ren’s ears fold back, and he whimpers.
“Oi! Don’t talk to Ren like that! He’s worried about you,” Beni says but Sly ignores him and slams the door on his way out.
Sly is still shaky from the adrenaline. He walks a few more blocks, trying to get a hold of himself. The sun is already setting; summer is ending, and the evenings come sooner. Meaning that it's also chillier too. He’s glad that he thought to wear his jacket.
He slows down his pace, and yet he still hears no sounds of anyone running after him. Sly stops and pants angrily. He slams his fist on the brick wall to his left and holds it there. He grits his teeth and tears spill down his face.
“Why? Why didn’t you stop me, you idiot?”
Koujaku’s words replay in his head.
“You’re different from the person I fell in love with.”
It starts raining. Out of everything that he’d packed, he didn’t bring an umbrella.
“It’s not fair. Why am I the one pushed out on the street while he has a cozy house to himself?” Sly hits the wall again, seething with anger.
Koujaku’s sleeping soundly in bed. Ren and Beni are in sleep mode for the night. Koujaku flinches when water drips on his face. It happens again and he wakes up to see a drenched figure glaring down at him.
“Sly?” Koujaku blinks. “Did you forget your umbrella?” Koujaku pauses and then busts out laughing. Sly’s scowl falters, then he becomes enraged.
“Take me seriously, dammit!”
“I’m sorry,” Koujaku gets his laughing under control. “Maybe you and Aoba are more alike than I realized.” He smiles and his eyes twinkle with amusement. Sly glares at him.
“I came to tell you that I’m kicking you out.”
Koujaku stands and stretches lackadaisically wearing only his briefs.
“Alright. We’ll talk more about it after you’ve had a bath.”
Sly blinks.
“What?”
“Come on, I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
Koujaku takes Sly’s hand and pulls him, but Sly plants his feet on the floor and resists.
“No!”
“Don’t be unreasonable.”
“I won’t- no!” Koujaku pulls him harder and his wet feet slip on the hardwood floor. Sly glares daggers at Koujaku.
“Stooop!” Sly clings onto the door frame of the bathroom.
“What are you, a cat? Calm down, it’s just a bath.”
Sly knows he’s acting like a child, but he’ll be damned before making anything easy for Koujaku.
“If you take a bath, I’ll let you have the apartment to yourself,” Koujaku says. Sly looks over at him, his eyes narrowing and skeptical. “I swear. If you want me to, I’ll stay somewhere else while you’re in control.”
Sly releases his grip on the door frame.
“Whatever. Just make it quick. Then get out of here,” he grumbles. Koujaku grins and starts the bath for him. Koujaku turns and looks at him expectantly.
“What?” Sly snaps.
“Aren’t you going to undress?”
“Heh. Pervert,” he says and starts stripping. Instead of placing them in the clothes hamper, he drops them on the floor. Koujaku sighs and puts them in the hamper for him.
“Are you finished having a tantrum yet?”
“Hn? I can be worse if you’d like,” Sly grins. Koujaku chuckles. “What? You think I won’t?”
“No, I believe you. Come on, I’ll wash your hair for you,” Koujaku offers his hand to Sly and he looks annoyed.
“I can do it myself.”
“I know you can, but I want to do something nice for you,” Koujaku waits, not letting his hand down. Sly smirks and takes his hand.
“Why stop at just my hair? Why don’t you wash my entire body?” Sly simpers and that makes Koujaku smirk.
“Is that all you want me to do to your body?”
Sly smiles gleefully.
“Depends on how good of a job you do.”
Sly lowers himself in the bath water and stretches his legs out. He lets his arms float by his sides. He hears Koujaku pull a stool up to sit behind him. He wets his hair with warm water and pumps some sweet-smelling shampoo in his hands. He lathers them together and starts working it into Sly’s hair. Koujaku’s skilled hands massage his scalp and he scrubs adeptly with his knuckles. It feels surprisingly nice. He closes his eyes and thinks. He’s had his hair pulled and yanked before by people who wanted to hurt him, but he’s never had his hair touched in a way that felt pleasant before. He’s disappointed when it ends and Koujaku rinses his hair out.
“Do it again,” Sly says and Koujaku looks confused.
“Come on, wash it again.”
“Well… I don’t want to dry out your scalp. I can put conditioner in it,” Koujaku offers.
“Fine. Do that.”
Sly waits impatiently until Koujaku rubs the creamy, cool conditioner in. He takes his time working it in the ends of his hair and combing it with his long, slender fingers. Then he carefully rinses it all out.
“What else?” Sly asks.
“Huh?”
Sly rolls his eyes, “You’re a hairdresser, aren’t you? What else can you put in my hair?”
“Hm, I do have this new hair mask I’ve been wanting to test…”
Aoba wakes up in bed next to Koujaku feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. He rolls over to cuddle against Koujaku. Koujaku smiles sleepily and pulls him into his chest.
“Good morning,” Aoba says. Koujaku opens his eyes, getting a better look at Aoba, and a hint of sadness crosses his face.
“What’s wrong? You look… disappointed.”
“I’m sorry, Aoba. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the two of you switching back and forth so suddenly. I don’t even get to say goodbye.”
Aoba frowns too.
“Hopefully one day we can control it. Before he used to try and force himself out, but now it’s just as much a surprise to us as it is to you.”
Aoba goes to the bathroom and yells in shock. Koujaku knew that was coming. He went into the bathroom to see Aoba looking forlorn in the mirror.
“What the hell happened to my hair?” His normal spikes had been smoothed out; it was now a glossy helmet of blue hair.
“It looks like I have a coconut head,” Aoba groans. He tries to press it down only for it to spring back into place.
“Ah, that would be the volumizer,” Koujaku says, covering his mouth behind his fist.
“Did you do this? Fix it!” Aoba throws his fists against Koujaku’s chest. “You hippo! It looks terrible!”
“Good morning, Aoba,” Ren trots into the bathroom, panting happily.
“Good mornin-Eee!” Beni screeches and flies to perch on Koujaku’s shoulder. “Aoba, what happened to your hair?!”
Aoba glares at Koujaku.
“Tell. Me. Everything.”