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Some people didn't like his eyes. The way they were always so wide with wonder was creepy to them. I'd heard more than one of my classmates say his eyes were the biggest tell to him being a psychopath. At some point when we were first years, a girl told me the color of his eyes could only belong to someone with a blood kink. More than one person had tried to 'save me' from him. They thought I could only stay close to him out of fear or pity.
Obviously, they were wrong.
His eyes were only so wide because he never wanted to miss a thing that happened around him; they were especially wide when he talked to someone he really wanted to listen to. His eyes only narrowed when he was teasing or content. His red eyes were so pretty to me, though I did wonder if what the girl had told me about the blood kink was true...
He was great about ignoring the comments people made. When we walked through the halls and people moved out of the way with faces of fear or baseless disgust he would keep moving like they had never been there in the first place. The poorly hidden whispers of our classmates fell on deaf ears as far as we were concerned. We lived in our own little bubble just like we always had.
Of course, I knew about the bullying he'd gone through as a kid. I was there with him. Back then I was ostracized with him. Kids avoided us like the plague; they dubbed us the monster and the alien. We only got closer because of this. When he found paradise in volleyball I followed him and became the manager. I was even invited by Shiratorizawa's coach after they received so many recommendations. When I asked him why he really invited me, he told me simply that if I had the power to reign in a middle school Tendou Satori then I should be able to handle the strongest team in the prefecture with ease.
When we moved schools we thought the whispers would be left behind, but it only took one of our middle school classmates to follow us for the whole school to hear about the 'monster.' For some reason, I wasn't ridiculed anymore. I pegged that on have filled out nicely over the break.
I felt bad that he was the only one being bullied, but when I told him so he told me he couldn't be happier. I'd believed him. I fell right into that smile he'd given me.
But after you've known someone your whole life, you'll pick up on their tells. I figured out that right before he lied he would slightly widen his eyes for a fraction of a second. Then I found that when he lied to me he would always smile with his eyes closed and put his hand on my head. Usually, he lied to me about having studied or that he'd had enough water that day.
I didn't realize he was lying to me about the bullying until he snapped.
It was a Saturday. He had been at practice while I stayed in my dorm after being told by the school nurse that I needed a day's bed rest after overworking myself to the point of collapse the day before. So I spent the day going between manga and anime and fanfiction until he came to visit.
The knock on my door came a bit later than I had expected meaning that by the second rap on my door it was already swung open. I quickly ushered him inside by pushing his back as best I could.
Imediatly after I shut the door and turned to face him I could tell something wasn't right. His eyes weren't quite as wide as they should have been, and they seemed to be lost in space. There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face.
"Satori? What's wrong?" I asked softly.
His eyes widened, "Hm? Oh nothing!" his eyes closed as he smiled, "I'm just tired from practice don't worry!"
I looked at him skeptically knowing full well it was a lie. He knew I saw straight through his bullshit.
"Ah! Here, I brought this for you!" was his attempt to diverge my attention, "I brought you your favorite sweatshirt! Then we can lay down and catch up on Hunter x Hunter. How does that sound?"
With narrowed eyes and pouting lips I snatched the hoodie out of his hands and stomped childishly to the bathroom as if to say this isn't over yet you lying bastard.
As I was in my bathroom pulling the hoodie over my head I thought of all the ways I could chew him out for lying to me all while angrily inhaling my favorite scent that was one of Satori's swaetshirts.
Mumbling to myself, I pulled open the door back to my bedroom to chew him out only to stop in my tracks.
When Satori cried it was not explosive or dramatic. His lip didn't pout or tremble; his head didn't bow. His didn't hitch or falter. His normally wide eyes stared out in front of him almost closed as tears silently carved streaks down his cheeks. He was lost in his own mind. When he cried, it was because he knew something was true. It was because he accepted something that broke his heart.
So when he failed to notice my return to the dorm, I gave him a moment to sit and ponder. I hated seeing him cry; it always broke my heart, but he looked so beautiful with silent tears trailing down his face.
Noislessly I made my way over to him and sat down next to him on my bed. He slowly turned his head to look at me, and my heart broke as he looked at me helplessly.
"Aw, Tori, come here..."
I laid back against my pillows, and he lifted the hoodie up so he could hide up against my chest. He had always been taller then me, and he'd often teased me for it, but ever as a child he had always found comfort in small spaces. This would prompt us to make endless pillowforts as children, but when we got to high school, he discovered his new favorite safe space was snuggled up and wrapped around me under my shirt. He didn't often fit, but damnit did he try his best.
I didn't much care that his cheeks were getting my chest wet so long as he felt safe. My arms wrapped around him, and I rubbed his back through the fabric.
We stayed like that for a while. It was still. I knew he was still crying because my chest continued to get wet, but otherwise anyone who walked in would have thought he was taking a nap. Warmth surrounded me, and the rise and fall of our chests synched. He was so warm...
I looked down at the little bit of vibrant red hair that was sticking out of the top of the sweatshirt. He usually kept it in the perfect Hisoka style that we both liked, but right now it was all over the place not having any ryhme or reason to where it decided to go. I smiled softly and gave the top of his head a light kiss.
By now his tears had stopped, but he stayed still, and I doubted he had any intentions of moving. He hummed contentedly as I kissed the crown of his head.
"You, Tori, are absolutely precious. You know that right?" I leaned my head back against my pillows.
Another muffled hum responded.
"I'm so proud of you. You always make me happy no matter how you feel, and you do your best in everything you do-"
He chuckled.
"-Grades don't count."
He sighed and peered up at me under the collar with puffy eyes full of the need to be comforted.
"Aw, Satori..." I cooed and held him closer, "My sweet, sweet Tori."
He nuzzled closer and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Hm?"
"They said they were gonna take you away from me..." he whispered.
"Who?" I questioned, "Not anyone on the team, right?"
He fell silent.
"Right?" an edge could now be heard in my tone.
"They were joking," he whispered.
"Satori, can you tell me exactly what happened?" I prompted as calmly as possible.
He sighed, "After practice we were changing, and they were talking about what a good manager you are-"
"Rightfully so."
"-And when I walked in they started joking about how they should rescue you from me because someone as nice as you shouldn't be influenced by someone as psychotic as me."
"They said that?" my voice was barely level.
"They were just joking, but why does everyone think I'm going to hurt you?" he said softly, "I don't hurt you, do I?"
"Shut up and listen to me," I looked down at him, "You are the best thing to ever happen to me. Hell, you can stomach the way I look at this angle. You deserve a fucking Nobel Peace Prize."
He snickered, "Shut up. This is my favorite spot. Everything about it is perfect."
I hummed, "Believe me, no one is taking this away from either of us. I pinky promise."
"I know. It isn't anything I haven't heard before, but it hurt coming from them even if it was just jokes."
"Don't worry. It won't happen again," I said lowly before happily suggesting "How about that Hunter x Hunter?"
And so eventually he came out of his cacoon just to plop back down on top of me so we could watch the show together.
For the rest of the afternoon I seethed as I plotted my revenge on the team. If there was one thing coach was right about, it was that I could strike the fear of God into those boys when needed, and this seemed a fitting occasion.