Work Text:
The last thing Junta remembered was riding his bike during training. But now here he was, lying on his back, staring blankly at the sun. Or was it the sun? He blinked a few times to clear his vision, and it quickly became obvious that what he was looking at wasn’t the sun on a bright day. No, it was the blaring lights on a public building ceiling. The sterile smell told him pretty quickly that it was a hospital.
What..?
He didn’t even have to think very long before his mind told him why he was here.
He fell.
He must’ve fallen off of his bike and gotten hurt. That was the only reason he’d be laying in a hospital bed. He started to sit up, but a deep rush to his forehead, and his blurred vision only turned into a white rush in front of his eyes.
“Ah!” A small grunt came from somewhere in the room, and Junta turned his head over. He didn’t even have to look to know who it was. He could practically hear his friends thoughts enter his mind more clearly than his own.
He was worried. He’d been worried for hours. He didn’t even have to hear Aoyagi speak to know that.
Junta reached out blindly, happy when his hands clumsily collided into Aoyagi’s… something. He felt around gently, his finger tips brushing over lightly over the other boy’s skin until it ran over familiar dips and curves that he quickly recognized as a face.
He opened his eyes.
Aoyagi was standing over him, a look of relief spread across his features. Of course, Junta’s head was swimming, so the outline of his face was pretty fuzzy, but he could see clearly enough.
“…I fell didn’t I?” It took quite a bit of effort to muster up the words, and his mouth seemed to be moving a lot more slowly than his mind, as if there were some disconnect between the two.
Aoyagi leaned downward and nodded.
“Concussion, huh?”
Another nod, and Junta felt Aoyagi put his hands on top of his.
“I won’t be biking for a while, hunh?”
This time he shook his head.
“You need to heal. It was a nasty fall.”
Ah. Well that sucked. There always had to something that had to get in the way of him and biking! He couldn’t even express his emotions properly right now. His head only seemed to grow more and more dizzy as he tried to gather his thoughts and collect his disappointment. How long would this last? Just how bad was his concussion?
His breathing began to escalate. He pulled his hand away from Aoyagi and put them to his forehead. What if he couldn’t bike any more!? He couldn’t leave Aoyagi by himself! They needed each other! One couldn’t bike without the other! Their relationship was purely symbiotic. Without Junta, Aoyagi would fail and without Aoyagi, Junta would fail. No. No. No! This was no good!
“Junta--!”
Aoyagi’s voice brought him out of his madness. He glanced at his friend, who was now climbing onto the cot next him, causing him to slide sideways a bit, right into him. Aoyagi leaned over him, and in his attempt to avoid touching his head, he rubbed Junta’s arms soothingly, and after Junta’s breathing evened out, he leaned forward and placed his head on the other boy’s chest.
Oh that’s right.
They had synchronized their breathing.
Even though it was usually only when they rode, it probably scared Aoyagi to see Junta breathing so harshly. He could even feel the other boy's chest heaving pretty rapidly against his leg.
“I’m sorry…” Junta put his arms out and pulled Aoyagi upwards, closer to him. He reached out and laced their fingers together with one hand, his other arm flinging itself around Aoyagi’s shoulders. The both of them fell silent, and once again Junta shut his eyes.
Despite the fact he was obviously on some kind of medication, on top of having hit his head, he always knew when Aoyagi and his breathing matched up. He may have been completely out of it, but he was at his best when Aoyagi was near.
He could already feel his mind beginning to clear as they both took this moment to catch their breath. It was mere seconds before perfect synchronization was achieved.
“Aoyagi…?
“Mmm?” The response was quiet. More a small noise than any recognizable word.
“You’re going to stay with me until I get better, right?” He didn’t even know why he was asking this. It was as though he was worried that Aoyagi was suddenly going to hop on his bike and ride off without him, even though he knew full well the other boy wouldn’t.
Aoyagi nodded against his chest.
“Thanks.” Junta peeked his eyes open for a second, smiling a bit at Aoyagi curled against his chest. He shut them again. He didn’t really have to ask Aoyagi anything. He just needed the reassurance. Maybe his mind was still muddled a bit… or something.
…But of course he knew better than anyone that the two of them had been through so much together that a stupid concussion wouldn’t stop them from their goals. If something got in their way they’d just find a way through it together.
Junta didn’t have to worry about anything at all. Aoyagi would help him through this, and they’d be biking together again in no time flat.
And that, was that.