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Thinking back on it, he shouldn’t have been so reckless. If he had taken a moment to think things through, then perhaps he wouldn’t have forced Richard to make such a face. Even though Richard was always beautiful, no matter what expression he had, the pained look on his face as he worriedly hovered above Seigi was one Seigi decided he never wanted to see again.
“Do we have enough food for Jiro and Saburo?”, Seigi asked as they passed through an isle filled with pet food.
“I’m not sure”, Richard replied. “Shall we buy some just in case?”
Seigi nodded, and as Richard moved closer to the shelves, Seigi’s attention was caught by movement on the other side of the glass that separated the interior of the shop from the streets outside. Of course, there was near constant movement on the busy sidewalk, but there was something peculiar about the figure in the dark colored hoodie. Seigi watched as the person idled outside the store, looking like they were observing their surroundings. Richard said something, and Seigi gave a half-hearted response, watching as the figure began shuffling away, clearly attempting to blend into the crowd. Seigi frowned, he hoped his suspicions were for nothing—he knew not to judge a book by its cover after all—but the manner in which the person carried themselves put Seigi on the alert.
“Sorry, Richard, can you hold this for a bit?”, he said, passing the shopping basket to Richard. “I’ll be right back.”
He felt bad leaving Richard like that, but Seigi didn’t want to regret not taking any action if his suspicions were to turn out to be correct. He exited the store, and for a moment the hooded figure was nowhere in sight, until he heard a shout.
“Thief!”
Seigi took off running, shoving past people and apologizing as he ran. He located the dark hood, and sped up as the pickpocket broke out into a run themselves.
“Seigi!”, he heard Richard call out behind him, and he wanted to turn around and let Richard know he’d be back soon, but the thief was already blending back into the crowd and Seigi was afraid he’d lose sight of them.
He wasn’t quite sure what had happened next.
He recalled grabbing hold of the thief’s hood and pulling on it, and the thief had swiveled around, swinging a pocket knife at Seigi. Seigi thinks he heard panicked screams, but he wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was that he had heard Richard’s voice, terrified, yelling out his name.
He never wished to hear Richard so scared again.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sit down, Seigi.”
Though his tone was forceful, Richard’s voice was soft, so as to not aggravate Seigi’s headache. Seigi, however, did not bother with showing the same concern for his own comfort, and protested loudly.
“I was reckless, I know that. I’m really very sorry.”
“I said: sit down!”
“I will, but—”
Clearly having had enough, Richard grabbed Seigi and hauled him to the couch, pushing him onto it. “I won’t force you to bed if you don’t want to have a lie down, but the doctor has told you to take it easy, and I intend to make sure you do just that. Jiro, Saburo, Seigi can’t play right now. Come here, I’ll give you guys dinner.”
“And what about our dinner?”
“I’ll order in. Do you have anything in particular you would like?”
Seigi shook his head with a small, apologetic smile. “I know you’re worried, but I can still cook.”
Richard’s delicate lips curved downwards as he frowned, and sat down on the couch with a huff, a fair distance away from Seigi, much to his disappointment. “You are supposed to rest , Seigi! And weren’t you feeling dizzy earlier? I’m sorry, but I simply cannot allow you near a lit stove in the state you’re in. Now, what would you like to eat?”
Under no circumstances was Seigi going to win this argument, that much was quite clear. So with a defeated sigh, he said, “I’m honestly alright with anything. But I am beginning to feel a bit hungry, so if it’s something that could get delivered quickly, I’d prefer that.”
Richard nodded, and took a moment to think. “Pizza?”
Seigi smiled to himself, it wasn’t every day that he’d get to have a pizza party with Richard. In fact, he was certain he could count the number of times he and Richard had had pizza together in all the years they’d known each other on one hand! “Yeah, that sounds good”, he said, feeling almost lightheaded with giddiness, though perhaps the lightheadedness was a result of hitting his head earlier. Jiro, having polished off his food first, walked over to them and lay down next to Seigi’s feet, alert, as if he knew something was amiss with his master and he intended to protect him from any further harm. The younger, and more excitable, Saburo joined them soon after, jumping onto the couch to snuggle with Seigi.
“Should I get them to move?”, Richard asked softly, looking at the scene with a gentle expression.
“No, I’m good”, Seigi said, stroking Saburo’s back. He smiled as Saburo let out a pleased bark, and then turned to Richard who was filling in their order on his phone. “I’m sorry, Richard”, he said, and Richard immediately looked ready to retaliate, and Seigi was certain he would have if he hadn’t cut in, “Sorry… for all the trouble I’ve caused.”
Richard stared at him for a moment, slack jawed, and then shook his head, disbelief clear on his face. “How is any of this your fault?”
“I was reckless. Back then… that thief could have harmed anyone! I put all those people nearby in danger. And… you were there too…”
Thinking back on it scared Seigi. What if Richard had been caught up in everything that happened? The thought alone made cold terror wash over him. His hand trembled in Saburo’s fur, and the dog turned to him with curious eyes.
“You are always worrying over others before yourself.”
Seigi almost missed Richard’s softly spoken words. He turned to look at the beautiful man, and the pale, terrified face he was met with filled his eyes with tears.
“… I’m sorry.”
A laugh devoid of any mirth. “What are you even apologizing about?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Seigi…”
“I’m sorry, Richard.”
The couch cushions next to Seigi dipped as Richard leaned over to him. “… Please shut up now”, he whispered and Seigi felt arms encircling him, and though they trembled, they seemed to want to shield Seigi from the world.
“Richard…”
“I think I asked you to shut up.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Richard was quiet for some time, focusing on running a comforting hand through Seigi’s hair. “I was angry”, he said after a while, breaking the silence that had somehow felt both calming and tense at the same time.
Seigi made a small sound of agreement. “I get it. I did something stupid.”
“No, I… It wasn’t you I felt anger towards.” Seigi felt Richard’s grip on him tighten, but he couldn’t tell what unknown danger Richard was trying to protect him from. “When… When I saw the knife…”, Richard’s voice shook as he struggled to get the words out, like he was close to tears, and Seigi felt like his heart was breaking.
“I’m not hurt”, Seigi said, and he wondered if Richard could hear the desperation in his voice.
“You have a concussion”, Richard stated.
“Err… I mean… I’m not too badly injured.”
Seigi felt Richard’s arms around him loosen, and his beautiful boss moved away, chuckling lightly, and to Seigi it felt like it had been ages since he’d last heard the lovely sound.
“Are you feeling dizzy again? You look dazed.”
“Um, a bit.”
The dazed expression might not have been due to his injury at all, but Seigi decided to keep that to himself as Richard reached out again, laying a comforting hand on Seigi’s cheek. “Come here”, he said, moving his hand to the back of Seigi’s head and guiding him until he lay down, his head now comfortably nestled in Richard’s lap. He heard Saburo whine as he took his hand off of the dog, but clearly not deterred, Saburo moved closer and snuggled up against his masters. Jiro, watching everything unfold, let out an indignant bark and, with a chuckle, Richard patted the spot next to him on the couch, and Jiro happily jumped up.
“I’m surprised all of us actually fit”, Seigi said, giggling as Saburo licked his face. Richard’s fingers were back in his hair, gently massaging his scalp, and he allowed his eyes to flutter closed, enjoying the feeling.
“Back there”, he heard Richard say, “when you fell over…” His voice still trembled slightly, but it calmed Seigi to hear how much more steady it was compared to before.
“Yeah?”, Seigi prompted.
“I couldn’t see what was happening from where I stood.” Richard paused for a moment, and Seigi opened his eyes, only to see tears gathering in Richard’s. “I heard people shouting about a knife, and then you collapsed, and I… I was scared , Seigi.”
Seigi recalled how Richard’s hand had shaken as he was clutching the driving wheel, insisting on taking Seigi to the hospital after the event, and how close to tears he had been right up until the moment the doctor had informed them that there was nothing to be concerned about. At that moment, Richard had let go and cried in relief, not in front of Seigi, he had excused himself and stepped out—saying something about informing Hiromi about the situation—but Seigi had noticed the redness around his eyes when he had returned.
“I’m sorry”, Seigi whispered, reaching up to cup Richard’s face. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I should have gone after you immediately”, Richard said, and a tear rolled down his cheek to where Seigi’s hand rested. Seigi wordlessly wiped it away with his thumb.
“I’m glad you didn’t. I would’ve hated it if you were in any danger because of me.”
He almost could have been in danger. Who knows what could have happened if the thief hadn’t been subdued right after the knife was brought out, and the thought terrified Seigi far more than he showed.
“But if something ever happened to you…”
Richard no longer held back the tears, and allowed them to flow freely, this time with no concern at the fact that Seigi could see. Seigi pulled Richard’s face down towards himself, an easy task as Richard made no moves to resist, and kissed him. Richard’s lips had a slightly salty taste, no doubt from the tears that had brushed past on their way down, but Seigi didn’t care, and the kiss only became more passionate. The tears had stopped by the time they separated.
“Good. I’ve seen you cry two times too many today.”
Eyes still moist, Richard chuckled while straightening his back—staying bent over like that was probably quite uncomfortable, Seigi imagined—and brushed his knuckles against Seigi’s cheek. “You really are too kind, Seigi, to the point of being a danger to yourself.”
“Err… sorry?”
Richard laughed again, and Seigi felt strangely proud of himself. “Well, I certainly cannot deny finding this trait of yours quite charming.”
His head still hurt, and the world still seemed to occasionally sway around him, but even so, a wide grin made its way onto Seigi’s face. “So I should continue like this?”, he asked.
“Just… so long as you don’t end up in a dangerous situation please”, Richard replied with a slight grimace.
Seigi pushed himself up into a sitting position, using the backrest of the couch for support as the movement once again reminded him of the dizziness that had not quite passed, and met Richard’s gaze. “If you’re ever in danger, I can’t promise that I won’t put myself in harm's way.”
Richard’s eyes wavered, whether it was because he wanted to protest or was it simply a result of their close proximity, Seigi didn’t know. He let out a defeated sigh, and Seigi felt the exhale brushing against his lips, and when he met Seigi’s gaze again, Seigi could see the determination in his eyes. Richard’s hand found Seigi’s, the one that was on the couch for balance, and he slipped his fingers between Seigi’s.
“In that case, I do hope you would allow me to do the same if you are ever in danger again.”
Refusal immediately sprung up to Seigi’s lips, but Richard’s lips curled delicately as he gave Seigi a coy smile, and the words Seigi had wanted to say seemed to have gotten lost.
“Will you be my “ally of justice” then?”, he asked instead, smirking playfully.
Richard chuckled and rested his forehead against Seigi’s. “I would”, he said, voice gentle and eyes filled with love. “Just as you would be mine.”