Work Text:
Ishimaru hated the cold. He hated the way it made him shake, how snow would always manage to fall behind his scarf and onto his neck, how sometimes the air was so cold it’d make him gag and cough with the first couple of breaths. The cold was truly awful, but it was inevitable, he figured, just like the uncomfortable sweaty nights that came with summer and the horrible allergies that came with spring.
When he woke up that morning he noticed, with dismay, the piling snow on the ground outside. He knew this was going to happen. The news reports had said that it would be cold today, cold all week, cold all month. He sat up and was about to get everything he’d need for the day when a pair of warm arms pulled him back down to the bed.
"Another five minutes…" Mondo groaned, his voice was heavy as he clung to Ishimaru. "Don’t go yet."
This happened every morning and, for the most part, it irritated Ishimaru. He was a busy man and had to be at work on time; he didn’t have time to laze around all morning with Mondo. But on cold days like this, he found the offer to be more tempting. Mondo was a warm person. Everything about him seemed to be radiating with warmth; he was loud and excitable; he was overly affectionate and a little troublesome… but he was warm. Ishimaru wanted to lay in his arms longer, but he knew that being late was not an option!
"Mondo." Ishimaru finally said, trying to squirm his way out of Mondo’s grip. "I’ve got to go now. You know that."
"Just a little longer…" Mondo mumbled. "It’s cold without ya."
"Cold? You’re not the one who has to go outside in this weather! Now get off!!" He finally broke free of Mondo’s embrace and backed away from the bed so Mondo couldn’t grab him again.
"You’re no fun." Mondo complained. Ishimaru just rolled his eyes and got ready to leave. After a quick bite to eat he returned to Mondo and was disappointed, but not surprised, to find him still asleep.
"Mondo." He said, shaking his boyfriend gently. "Make sure you actually do some work today."
"Mm… I will…"
"I know you work from home, but still make sure you get up before noon at least!"
"I know…"
"And don’t skip breakfast. It’s a very important meal and-"
"Jeez, I get it!!" Mondo snapped. He rolled over and pulled the sheets over his head to block Ishimaru out. Ishimaru couldn’t help but smile; Mondo could be such a child sometimes. It was kind of cute.
"You’re hopeless…" Ishimaru replied. He pulled the sheet back down and kissed him on the forehead, and whispered: "I love you."
"Just lemme sleep… "Mondo mumbled in return, before falling asleep again. Ishimaru wasn’t sure if he heard him, but it didn’t really matter. When he was awake, Mondo was always sure to smother Ishimaru in an overwhelming amount of "I love you’s". He figured he’d just wait for his response when he got home.
Mondo, as usual, didn’t get up until after noon. By then, the snow had really piled up outside. He was thankful he didn’t have to leave the house today; all he had to do was cut some wood and prepare a couple of orders in his workshop. (Or, as Ishimaru called it, the empty garage.) It was easy to him; mindless work that he could do with ease. He didn’t understand why Ishimaru would put himself through long hours and complicated laws and research… but it was his dream to be a politician, and he could respect anyone so passionate about their dream.
He flipped on the T.V. and got to work. He had to have something playing while he worked. Even if cutting wood and building furniture made some noise, hit was still too quiet for him and he didn’t like the silence. However, he could never have the T.V. on something too interesting; otherwise he’d get distracted and spend the day watching cartoons or soap operas instead of working. That’s why he usually tended to leave it on the news.
He heard the news reporter droning on about the heavy snowfall, its’ impacts on traffic… good, Mondo thought, nice and dull. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
"…today is going to be cold! Make sure to bundle up and don’t forget your gloves…."
Mondo fixed the leg of a chair. Damn thing had been wobbly.
"…apparently the heaviest snowstorm in the past five years…"
Mondo carved an intricate pattern in the side of a cabinet. This was always one of this least favorite things to do; his hands shook too much and all the details were too damn small.
"…visibility will be low tonight due to snowfall and increasing winds, so be careful when…"
Mondo slammed his fist against the table when he felt a sharp pain in his finger. Splinters were the worst part about this otherwise peaceful job.
"…spun out and crashed on the highway this afternoon. Avoid the area if possible…"
Mondo finally flipped off the T.V. There had been some stories about politics or crime every once in awhile but today the news seemed to be focused on the overwhelming snowstorm outside. It was really boring, Mondo thought. Besides, how could they talk about the same thing for hours like that? Wouldn’t that be bad for ratings?
As he did everyday, he started making dinner. He always had something done for Ishimaru when got home. He figured it was the least he could do; Ishimaru was always exhausted by the end of the day, so no way he’d be willing to cook. (Not that he wanted Ishimaru to cook, anyways. Ishimaru had many skills, but cooking was not one of them.) He was done by six, as usual. What was unusual was Ishimaru’s absence. Ishimaru always kept to the same schedule: he was awake by five, out the door by six and back home by six. Mondo shrugged it off and decided to wait up for him. The news did say that the roads would be shitty, and even Ishimaru’s strict schedule couldn’t control that.
By seven, he was beginning to get a little worried. He checked his phone again and again, but there was no messages or calls from Ishimaru. There hadn’t been all day. Relax, Mondo, he kept telling himself. He’s fine, just a little late. It’s gonna be fine.
By eight, he was panicking a little. He called Ishimaru and only by his second phone call did he hear the phone buzzing in the bedroom. Ishimaru never had a phone when he was younger, so now that he had one he wasn’t used to carrying it and would sometimes leave it behind.
"Of course." Mondo hissed, "of all the days he could’ve forgotten his phone, it had to be on the biggest fuckin’ snowstorm of the year."
By nine, he had flipped on the T.V. again. He had remembered them talking about a bus crashing… had there been anymore accidents? Every morning, Ishimaru had to walk from home to the station, then from his stop to work. And he repeated the process in reverse in the evening. There were so many opportunities between work and home where something could happen.
Mondo had never considered it until now; the possibility that Ishimaru could get hurt. Mondo was always the one getting hurt. Well, at least that’s how it was when they were in high school, and Mondo was always running off and getting into fights while Ishimaru worried over him alone. Mondo always told him to relax, to not get so worked up over nothing, but he knew how stupid it was for him to say something like that. He knew better than anyone else just how quickly someone could slip away and how little time it took for a life to be extinguished.
Mondo hadn’t dwelled on it in a long time. He had been so happy living a carefree life with Ishimaru that the thought of Daiya; the reminder that an accident could happen and that someone could die at any instant hadn’t crossed his mind.
As of late, Daiya’s memory had brought him more happiness than guilt like it used to. Ishimaru had helped him with that; the constant comfort, the reassurances that it really was just an accident and that he wasn’t a murderer had slowly gotten Mondo to relax and believe him. Recently, when he thought about his brother, he thought of the good times with him instead of his horrible death. But now, he couldn’t help but think about Daiya’s death. He couldn’t help but think about how quickly it happened, how quickly Daiya was gone and how he should’ve tried so much harder as a brother. He shouldn’t have taken him for granted for so long, he should’ve shown that he cared more often.
That’s when he remembered it: the last thing he had said to Ishimaru this morning. He had been irritated, of course; he was always groggy and a little snappy when he was woken up but still, how could he say that? He had essentially told Ishimaru to leave him alone. In response him saying ‘I love you’. Sure, he was tired, but was that really an excuse? He always did this. He became careless and took affection and love for granted. He did it with Daiya, and now he was doing it with Ishimaru and he never realized anything was wrong until it was too late and he was all alone and it was his fault and it always would be and-
That’s when he finally heard the front door creak open.
"Mondo?" Ishimaru’s voice called from the doorway. "I’m home." Mondo immediately got up and rushed to the door. He looked over Ishimaru and he looked… fine. Sure, he was shivering, he was a little paler than usual with flushed cheeks and ears and he had layer of snow powered on his head and shoulders, but otherwise he looked fine. "Sorry I’m so late! The snow was awful and the trains were overcrowded! I thought maybe taking a bus would take less time but I was wrong and-" Mondo cut him off by pulling him into a tight hug.
"I love you." Mondo said.
"I, uh, love you too, Mondo." Ishimaru replied, awkwardly patting his back. "But can I-"
"I love you." Mondo repeated. "I love you so much."
"Okay, thank you, I love you too, but can I please just-"
"I love you, Kiyotaka-"
"I am aware that you love me!!" Ishimaru finally shouted, pushing Mondo away. "But I need to take my coat off! It’s damp and I’m freezing so please move away a little!" Mondo finally backed away and let Ishimaru take his coat and shoes off.
"So, Mondo… how was your day?" He asked, dusting his coat off and hanging it neatly in the closet.
"It was fine." Mondo replied. The words I thought ya died in a horrible accident and I had a crisis for a minute there where I thought about death and everything I’ve done wrong in my life but hey yeah other then that it was good ran through his mind as well, but he figured he should probably omit that.
"Well, I’m glad to hear that." Ishimaru replied. "I wish I could say the same about myself, but…" He shivered and hugged himself, trying to stop the shaking and warm up.
"Oy, ya want me to, uh, get a bath for ya or somethin’? Y’look cold."
"I think I’m okay." Ishimaru replied. "But I’ll take up your offer from earlier."
"What offer?"
"You wanted me to stay in bed with you longer. I don’t have anywhere to be right now, so I figured, I might as well, I mean if that’s alright with you."
“‘Course it is.” Mondo replied. He grabbed Ishimaru’s hand, ignoring how cold and clammy it felt, and lead him to the bedroom. Neither of them bothered getting undressed; they just climbed into bed together and snuggled as close to one another as they could under the sheets.
"Kiyo, I love you." Mondo said again.
"What’s with you today?" Ishimaru asked.
"I… dunno, I just really want ya to know that, okay?" Mondo hugged Ishimaru tighter. "I mean it. I love you. I love you so much."
"I know, Mondo. Don’t worry." Ishimaru replied, hugging him back.
Honestly he had no idea what had gotten Mondo worked up. Was it because he was so late coming home tonight? He had forgotten his phone, but this wasn’t the first time and never before had Mondo gotten so freaked out about it. Maybe it was the cold? Did it put him on edge? Granted, what didn’t put him on edge? Ishimaru just shrugged it off and let himself relax and warm up in Mondo’s arms. He hated the cold and always would, but at least Mondo was there to keep him warm.
"I love you too, Mondo."