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Giriko wasn’t sure what he was thinking, telling Justin to get a heating blanket. He had been annoyed at the time with the scythe clinging to him for warmth. He wasn’t expecting Justin to actually do it, and now that it was done and the heinous thing occupied the apartment Justin didn’t go to get cuddled nearly as much as he used to… making Giriko jealous of a fucking blanket .
As humiliating as that was though, how could he not be? Justin carried the thing around with him everywhere, loving the warmth and melting in it whenever he wasn’t working on his endless paperwork. It was like he suddenly had a fucking blankie, dragging it around with him in a fist that really looked like a hunter dragging it's prey around by the neck but then quickly moving to wrap himself up in it as soon as he sat down. It was amazing how suddenly the winter months no longer came with Justin's constant whining soundtrack, an annoyance wiped away by something even more annoying.
Giriko didn’t want to admit it, but he really missed Justin sitting on his lap and hiding in his shirts or twisting them up in normal blankets to trap their heat together… Playing cute so he could get permission to cuddle up and then falling asleep on him or deciding to spontaneously start kissing him or a million cute things that just didn’t happen anymore because of that stupid fucking thing. He was supposed to be Justin’s heater, his oppressive body heat finally good for something.
But no, now there was these stupid heating coils, goddamn shit didn’t exist for so long in Giriko’s life that he wondered if whoever invented it was still alive to be beaten up. Even setting up a fire for Justin to huddle besides would be better than this crap. Not that they had a fireplace, they’d have to go back to Loew for that. That was something they could never agree on.
Justin was incredibly and honestly fairly, hesitant to leave Death City and work so far from his home. He apparently hadn’t enjoyed his time away from everyone else the first time and he was scared to go live somewhere with only Giriko where he didn’t even know the language. If it weren’t for the fact that made too much sense Giriko would be far more pushy about going back to his old place and having an actual home again.
That wasn’t the fucking point though, the point was that Justin wasn’t coming to him anymore and Giriko was really fighting the desire to just grab onto this stupid blanket to burn it or tear it up. Sadly, not only would Justin get pissed off about him even trying that, but he’d probably get a new one out of spite… There was an easy out to just admit to the scythe he wanted Justin to come to him to warm up, but there was no fucking way he’d do that. He had more pride than that. Not that this was really a pride thing but still it was out of the question to actually say that out loud.
Anyway it wasn’t like he actually enjoyed the sensation of a frozen brat getting his lanky bony self into a small little ball on his lap so he could fucking sap Giriko’s heat like a black hole, he just… liked the closeness it brang. That was disgusting to know. When did he get like this? How the hell had this happened? He didn’t like fluffy shit even a little bit, so why was it a different story when it was Justin being annoying and overly touchy?
He supposed he could cut one of the cords in the blanket so the thing would break and catch fire so Justin would be completely terrified of it… but risking Justin catch fire and getting insanely burnt was a big fucking gamble there. Not to mention it could really bring back some painful memories for the poor kid that Giriko did not want to be responsible for… so that was another no go… he felt bad for even imagining harassing Justin with fire, the scythe was so scared of it now he shifted a bit closer to Giriko’s side even when it was just someone who had lit one too many candles. Ah, maybe that fireplace idea was bad too…
Grunting in annoyance Giriko felt Justin flop down on the couch next to where he was brooding, not saying anything or making any indication he even knew Giriko was in a piss poor mood. Honestly, he probably did know and just wasn’t interested in dealing with it right now, Giriko wasn’t known for his poker face. Just in case Justin was being a moron though, Giriko ripped the stupid heating blanket off the kid and threw it towards the wall.
“Giriko! What is wrong with you?” Justin wasn’t wearing his heavy coats, he had been hiding under the blanket so he didn’t need the extra warmth of his uniform or even heavy sweaters… meaning he wasn’t wearing as much as usual, only in one of Giriko’s shirts with his little bare legs sticking out the bottom… it was fucking ridiculous the scythe was trying to hide from him in blankets while he was dressed like that.
“You’re what's wrong with me, you always fucking are.” The confusion on Justin’s face was also heavy with anger and distaste but Giriko ignored that, instead pushing Justin over and meeting their lips, forcing his hands up Justin’s shirt to feel his quickly cooling skin… The brat really got cold so easily, he really needed something heating him up at all times or he would just freeze. It was fucking pathetic but also confusingly, annoyingly cute.
“Giri get off of me! What is your problem! What has you so worked up!?” Justin tried to smack him off, hitting his dead arm hard enough that Giriko could feel the joint jiggle a bit… it didn’t hurt, nothing could hurt that arm anymore now that it’s nerves were dead, but Justin still froze in horror that he had hit it. Giriko scoffed and kept going, refusing to let them be distracted by something so stupid.
“You being fucking wrapped up in that blanket all the time has me worked up! I’m tired of this!” Pulling Justin off the couch and up onto his lap the scythe looked around in confusion, as if he’d find some kind of indication as to what was happening around them. They sat there for a bit with Justin just in shock, waiting for something more and just dumbly blinking like a moron… he didn’t seem to be getting cold in his disbelief, not giving up and cuddling in despite the fact that his skin was getting colder with every second.
“Aren’t you fucking freezing? You’re always freezing.” Giriko’s voice was livid and impatient, upset Justin wasn’t getting on with it and climbing into his shirt or curling up in his lap with a happy hum. It made sense Justin wasn’t, he had just been livid and pissed off after all, but Giriko just wanted this to happen already, he was fucking sick of waiting. Justin stayed quiet for a few more seconds before quietly asking a question that sent a goddamn spear through his heart.
“Giri… do you want to be cuddled?” Turning beet red Giriko made some weird noise of refusal, he knew Justin was dead on but putting it in those words was far too much. He was so much better than this but at the same time he wanted Justin to cuddle him so bad it hurt, the scythe was way too good at being fluffy and caring, acting as if it was his job to make sure Giriko was kissed and held at least once a day… until recently. Giriko was shamefully going through withdrawal here.
Justin stood up to get his heating blanket, such a loud refusal it stung Giriko’s soul… up until Justin came back and wrapped them both in it, sharing the heat with Giriko and melting into his lap with an amused hum.
“If you want cuddles just ask instead of being so aggressive, there's nothing to be embarrassed of~” Justin’s tone was so cute and mocking that even though he said there was nothing to be embarrassed of he was still most certainly making fun of him. Little bastard. Giriko was going to get him back for this, figure something out to absolutely drive the little shit mad. If Justin caught up on his plans, he didn’t react and instead kissed Giriko’s cheek with a loving softness. It was exactly what Giriko had been looking for, but it didn’t last long at all.
Justin stopped suddenly and after a second Giriko realized he had moved his dead arm to hold Justin’s waist, reminding the kid of his mistake of accidentally punching that arm. The wet eyed expression Justin made looking down at it broke Giriko’s heart into a million and one pieces… and it got smashed even further when Justin moved to gingerly cradle it in his arms.
“It’s fine Justin…” It was actually more painful to see Justin holding his bad arm and trying to ‘make it better’ then it was to just ignore the fact Justin bruised it without either of them really feeling it. Still Justin refused to let go, his eyes were on the brink of tears, wet and unsure, wanting to fix Giriko’s arm even though it had been over a year now and they both clearly knew that was impossible. Giriko had considered a few times getting a new body so he wouldn’t have to deal with the neuropathy and almost fucking up his dead arm constantly, but he knew Justin wouldn’t like that and they might even be punished and killed.
Plus, Justin would never ever let Giriko put him into a new body to fix his burns and chronic scar pain, so it only felt fair to suffer through this shit with him. It wasn’t even like Giriko got the short end of the stick, he could still move his arm and everything, just not feel it. Which meant not feeling any pain in it unlike Justin who had to be held back from cutting open his scars to ‘itch’ the painful broken nerves driving him insane.
The academy had given Justin painkillers, knowing the second they started fixing all this shit that the pain would haunt the poor brat forever… but Justin infuriatingly never took them, he only ever said it once under his breath, but confessed he felt as if he deserved the pain as divine judgement. Giriko would be lying if he said after hearing that there were a couple times he hadn’t practically waterboarded Justin trying to force him to take fucking medicine.
And thank fucking god the academy forcibly injected Justin’s madness bullcrap every few months so he couldn’t fucking skip out and freak himself out again. The fact that the little fuck really was such a brat that Giriko was agreeing with the academy on something like that, it was fucking insane. Justin could really drive him completely mad suddenly deciding he wasn’t actually sick and just was evil or overreacting or whatever else.
Not that he didn’t give Justin plenty of grief of his own causing millions of complaints for being awful to students and punching people with his dead arm so hard his fist bled.
Although Justin handled those annoyances a lot more gently than Giriko did, washing Giriko’s dead arm and putting lotion on it so it wouldn’t get dry and cracked and easy to become infected without Giriko noticing… he was so soft with it, it wasn’t his fault that it happened, it was no one but the academy’s fault but Justin took such good care of it one would think he felt guilty or something. That was one of the only times Giriko wished he could feel that arm again, just to feel Justin’s loving touch on the most wounded part of his body.
Even right now Justin was cuddling with his arm, slowly sinking into the blanket and giving heavy blinks with how comfortable he was not only being heated up but also getting to be on Giriko’s lap… it was a bit too warm for Giriko but it was worth it to see how comfortable Justin was. That despite everything, despite their wounds they had made it to a point where the biggest annoyance was stupid blankets and they could just drift off to sleep wrapped up in each other.