Chapter Text
Eiichi knew his boyfriend to be a very active person. If he wasn’t napping, of course - then he’d be up and out, doing something, getting work done. He wasn’t one to stick around, waiting for things to happen to him.
So when he visited Ranmaru in his room after a multitude of unanswered calls, he wasn’t expecting to find the man curled up in bed, soundlessly facing the wall.
Reiji had sort of warned him beforehand. “I think Ran-Ran’s in a teensy bit of a slump,” he’d said in his usual jolly tone. His face betrayed that the situation was otherwise. “I tried to wake him for practice, but he just told me to go away, so-”
“Ranmaru advised that you ‘fuck off’,” Ai corrected.
That sentence might’ve been a joke coming from anybody else. But this was Mikaze Ai, as deadpan as could be, and not famously known for his humour.
Camus let out a ‘hmph’ from his reclined position on the sofa, setting down his teacup. Eiichi had heard stories from Eiji of the ice baron’s sweet habits, but the mountain of sugar cubes emerging from the liquid rather exceeded his expectations.
“Just like Kurosaki to be slacking on practice,” he drawled. “This isn’t the first time, recently, either.”
Eiichi frowned a little. “I’ll talk to him,” he told them.
And that was how he’d found himself there, looking over Ranmaru’s retired form. He didn’t seem asleep; his jaw was clenched, shoulders raised, and the air around him felt dark and stifling.
“Ranmaru.” Eiichi said it softly, to no avail. Ranmaru was completely unresponsive to his mere presence, in a state almost catatonic.
So Eiichi attempted a different approach. He figured that if Ranmaru really wanted him to leave, he would’ve already told him to get out. “I’ll be right there, in that chair,” he assured him.
He sat in the chair across the room for an indeterminate amount of time, reading a book he’d been meaning to recommend to Ranmaru. It was all about a stray cat and street busker’s unlikely friendship - he thought he might enjoy the premise. Within each other, they’d found a long-lost place to call home.
"Eiichi." The mutter from the other side of the room was so quiet, he barely heard it.
Eiichi cleared his throat. "Yes?"
"C'mere."
Eiichi did so, slipping under the covers beside Ranmaru. There was a second or two of nothing. Then, laboriously, as if it took all of his energy to do so, Ranmaru dragged himself closer, letting his head slump against Eiichi’s neck.
This wasn’t any regular tiredness: Eiichi knew it, and he sympathised with it. He loosely wrapped his arm around Ranmaru’s shoulders, not wanting to overdo it, but just enough to let Ranmaru know that he was staying.
But then, the man let out a hoarse, low sigh and slung his arm over Eiichi’s waist. With that, Eiichi deemed it acceptable to pull Ranmaru all the way in. He sheathed his boyfriend in a firm hug, delving fingers into his silver locks. Rather than being styled into their signature slick, spiky style, his hair was rather like Eiji’s, loose and fluffy.
He’d been his little brother’s refuge as often as he’d needed; he hoped he could do the same for Ranmaru right now. To much relief, Ranmaru didn’t have the fight in him to put up any defences. He just sank into Eiichi languidly, a sort of defeat in the way his muscles unlocked and fell limp.
Carefully, Eiichi tucked a knee between Ranmaru’s and held him, feeling him mould like putty into him. It weighed on him, the vulnerability in this one small moment, and the fact that Ranmaru so clearly wasn’t okay. But being able to wrap him up in his arms, and know that Ranmaru felt safer with him present?
That made things seem just a little more alright.