Work Text:
Soft-spoken and kind. That was how Noah Kind was often described, it was in his name after all. People usually only got to see that side of him, the side that was considered ‘the goodness in people’. But he didn’t really believe that, due to his past experiences.
Being in his mid-twenties and the second oldest of the 14th soul reaper department, others often looked up to him. The most senior member, Youssef, who only passed him by a few years also had people depending on him. He handled everything a lot better, having a sense of authority that wasn’t frightening.
Currently, Noah was seeking out Youssef for reasons yet to be explained.
“Youssef, wait a moment.” The young man quickly walked after his older colleague, spotting him turn into the department’s library.
The black haired man stopped in his tracks, turning to look at Noah. “Huh? Noah, aren’t you meant to be on patrol?” He asked, the other looked like he’d been running around a little, shirt sleeves rolled down and plum hair messy. “Your attire is a bit disheveled.”
“Ah, yeah. The manager dismissed me for today and told me to find you.” Noah replied as his breathing eased. This was a rather unusual occurrence, the manager of their department wouldn’t let someone off their shift so easily. Unless something had happened.
“Does she need to see me?” Youssef inquired. The longer he looked at the shorter team leader, the more scuffs and patched up scrapes he noticed. It looked like he’d been attacked by some sort of creature, which wasn’t too unusual in their line of work.
It wasn’t much of a secret that Noah’s skin wasn’t flawless, particularly his arms. There were scars obtained from both his past and present, some from good things and others from bad.
“No, she wanted me to tag along with you for the rest of the day. I can help patrol with you later.” Ever helpful, even in his freshly wounded state.
“What happened to you?” Youssef directly asked, holding back on showing the concern he felt.
“I was on a mission with a teammate, we ran into a bit of trouble. It was resolved and they’re fine, as well.” He replied with his trademark smile.
Youssef frowned in return, allowing the worry to cross his face. Noah wasn’t the reckless type, but he was selfless. When necessary, he’d rise to the occasion.
The green eyed man’s soft laugh didn’t ease the older man. “Hey, don’t make that face. Nothing bad happened.” It wasn’t very convincing, with the physical evidence on him.
“Are you sure? You don’t look so well.” He pointed out the obvious.
Noah hummed, using a gloved hand to tug subtly at his sleeves. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Youssef decided to not press him for details, despite how it seemed he could.
Someone with a personality such as Noah’s was difficult to handle, between his relaxed nature and patience. His traits weren’t necessarily bad, simply good almost to the point of self destruction. But he’d learnt how to hold off.
There’d been a time he would’ve pushed for answers, but neither of them had time for a drawn out conversation such as that again. A quick back and forth followed.
“Did the manager patch you up?” “Yep.”
“Those are bandaids for children.”
”Yeah, they’re cute.”
“Let me get you some proper first aid.”
The offer caught Noah off guard a bit, but it wasn’t unexpected for a person like Youssef. An aura of trust and peace surrounded him, often seen as a ‘big brother’ or ‘father figure’ within the department.
“Aren’t you busy?” Noah’s smiley expression didn’t falter.
“Helping you is more important, those kinds of bandaids aren’t a good enough fix. I’m sure you’d rather recover as quickly as possible.” He was straight to the point and sincere. Talking about what occurred on the mission may be too much of a hassle, but taking care of him shouldn’t be. He might even feel more open to discussion, although that wasn’t the endgame.
The shorter male quietly chuckled, it still confused Youssef as to why he did that. Maybe it was a form of giving people reassurance? Or to make things more lighthearted?
“Alright, doc.” He easily put his trust in Youssef to assist him, though the thought of declining could be seen by the way he clenched his jaw.
“Good.” Youssef finally smile back, turning to leave and waiting for Noah to walk by his side. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, you can ask for help.” He reminded the younger lad.
“Ah, I know. I‘d rather help others though.”
Youssef hummed in understanding, he’d probably never feel like Noah’s mindset could slide. He looked over at the man walking beside him, green eyes focused ahead. There was a scruffy aspect to him, even when he was wearing his team’s uniform. “By the way, I’m sure you protected your teammate very well.”
“You would’ve done the same.” The plum haired man replied, tone as soft as ever.
“There’s a difference between saying someone would do something, and someone actually doing it. You’re brave, Noah.” Youssef’s sincerity caused Noah’s plastered smile to lax.
“It was dogs, wasn’t it?”
A look of shock surprise graced the younger man’s features, quickly turning his head to look at Youssef and meeting his concerned grey gaze.
“..Yeah.”
“Regardless of that, you protected your teammate. That’s grade A bravery.”