Work Text:
Fuyu didn't like getting interrupted while he was working, but he was also fully aware that Tsugino avoided calling him unless it was an actual emergency. The moment he saw Tsugino's name on his phone, Fuyu knew what this was about and immediately stood up to leave.
After all, even if his research was important, Aki was, and will always be, even more important.
His coworkers stared at him in confusion as he left without another word, not even bothering to pick up the call to tell Tsugino that he was on his way.
When he arrived at home, he was greeted by a frantic Tsugino, who sighed in relief when he spotted him. “Fuyu-san– There's something wrong with Sensei again– He said I'd look pretty all blown up?? I don't even–”
Right, they hadn't told Tsugino that Aka, zenofied Aki (yes, they had both decided that giving him his own name was easier), had been appearing again recently. It must have been a shock to see Aki like this again.
“It's fine,” Fuyu responded and pushed past him to open the door. Tsugino had probably locked himself out to keep Aka contained. Which wasn't really necessary. Aka was... chaotic, but not murderous, not anymore. At least not when he didn't have his bombs and Fuyu wasn't about to test that theory.
“Fuyu-san?????” the kid called out from behind him, terrified, but Fuyu ignored him and opened the door with his key. Upon realizing that Fuyu had just entered the house, Aka's eyes lit up and he flung himself into Fuyu's arms. Luckily, Fuyu didn't lose his balance, but it was a close call.
As he already stated, chaotic, but not really dangerous. “Fuyu! Fuyu, you're back!”
Fuyu sighed and gently put the other back down while Tsugino stood frozen behind them. “What did I tell you about telling people how good they'd look dead?”
“But it's the truth–!” At Fuyu's chastising look, Aka looked down and pouted. “That it's not a compliment and shouldn't be said to people.”
Fuyu huffed and put his hand on Aka's head, knowing that that would cheer the other up immediately. Predictably, he did, looking up at him with sparkling eyes while leaning into the hand.
(For some reason, Haru felt like he should leave.)
“Now, where did I put your fidget toy,” Fuyu stepped forward and looked around the living room. Aka looked after him as he left, obviously upset.
“Fidget toy?” Tsugino asked nervously, keeping his eyes on Aka, who was still longingly staring after Fuyu. Or more like his hand, probably. Then, a bit more desperately, Tsugino continued, “Fuyu-san, please explain–”
“I bought him a fidget toy bomb,” Fuyu answered casually as if Tsugino's world wasn't falling apart right now. (Well, actually, they figured that it would happen again eventually, considering that Tsugino wasn't completely symptom-free yet either, but he hadn't expected whatever this was.) “To help him adjust to not having an actual bomb anymore– Ah, there it is.”
It was stuck between the couch and the wall. The moment it was back in sight, Aka came running over as fast as he could without falling over and snatched it out of Fuyu's hands with a gasp.
“H-How... how long... has this been happening for already? You're way too calm. Why didn't anyone tell me?” Tsugino asked, feeling a bit hurt. Aka sat down on the couch while happily fidgeting with his fake bomb.
Fuyu sat down next to him. “For a few weeks, usually while you weren't around. Aki didn't want to worry you, so neither of us told you.”
Well, that had been pretty obvious.
“Do you know when the change happened?” Fuyu asked with a sigh, moving onto more important matters. Tsugino finally decided to enter the building as well and closed the door behind him.
“Um... we were talking about lunch...?” Tsugino's eyes widened as he stared at the abandoned half-eaten meat on the counter. “Oh.”
“Lunch?” Aka perked up, staring at Tsugino with wide eyes. Then, he jumped up, leaving his toy on the couch as he skipped over to the kitchen counter. “Right! Lunch!”
“A ball of energy,” Fuyu sighed and leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling as Aka happily finished his lunch. “It's one extreme or the other with him. However, they also have a lot in common.”
Tsugino finally dared to step closer. “They are? He seems too...”
“Forgetful, jumps from one task to another very quickly, but also fixates on one thing and forgets everything around him... Getting either of them to sleep is a task. Whenever he gets like this I usually try to get him to exhaust himself. Aki should be back soon anyhow.”
Tsugino nodded, realizing that they did seem to have a lot in common. Without the whole bomb and murder thing. Then again, wasn't it Aki that had been interested in bombs first? Otherwise, why would Aka have picked those as his weapon of choice? “Have you tried playing tag with him yet? Chasing him around like that should be fun for him and should do the job.”
Fuyu and Tsugino stared at each other. (They both knew Aki's stamina was so non-existent that that would work. Besides, while his leg had mostly healed, it was still far from perfect and still gave Aki trouble on bad days.)
“I'm an adult.”
“I'm aware.” Tsugino stared at him intensely. “Have you?”
Fuyu was about to open his mouth after another moment of silence, but was interrupted by a crash coming from the kitchen. Fuyu immediately stood up and ran over to where Aka was now kneeling on the ground, a broken plate at his feet.
“Hey, hey, it's okay,” Fuyu said and grabbed Aka's hands to keep them away from the shards. “You don't have to pick it up, it's okay.”
“Sorry,” Aka looked up at Fuyu, eyes blank. “I didn't mean to.”
There it was, the exhaustion.
“Is he alright?” Tsugino asked, scared that Aka had accidentally hurt himself while trying to clean up his mess. (While also being surprised that Aka would even try to do that in the first place. He felt like he was really out of the loop.)
Fuyu didn't spare him another glance as he gently led Aka to their bedroom. With a few gentle encouragements, he helped Aka lie down comfortably while Fuyu sat down next to him to wait for Aki to return.
Tsugino stood near the door, watching what was happening carefully, impressed with how gentle Fuyu was being. Then again, he had always had a gentleness about him when it came to Aki that he didn't have for anyone else, even back when they were still in the facility.
(Haru couldn't help but feel slightly jealous when Fuyu held Aki's hand, squeezing it when the red-haired man looked over at him in confusion. That was Haru's sign to leave, he didn't want to intrude on their moment.)
“Did it... happen again...?”
“Tsugino saw.”
Aki winced. “Ah. I'll have to apologize later.”
Fuyu stared at him, deadpan. “You will stay in bed. Did you even sleep last night?”
“I did!” Aki argued but then, very much like Aka had done earlier, deflated when he saw Fuyu's unimpressed stare. “...For an hour...”
Fuyu sighed. “What am I going to do with you? You're such a handful.”
Aki smiled sheepishly in return. “But you love me anyway.”
“That, I do. We'll be stuck with each other for many years to come.” For more than one reason, really.
That had been too straightforward, apparently, because Aki's face promptly went up in flames. “Well, I, uh, I'm sorry that this keeps happening. I don't know why it's happening either. I guess there's still a lot about ZENO left to discover.”
“Speaking of,” Fuyu responded as he helped Aki sit up again. “While you were gone, we found out about another case.”
Aki's eyes widened. “Oh?”
Fuyu nodded. “It's a very... peculiar case. His name is Haruno Kochi. He has seemingly been on stage three for about five years now, mostly symptom-free.”
Aki leaned forward. “Tell me more?”
“You're supposed to rest.”
“Pretty please?”
Fuyu sighed and shook his head. “Fine,” he said, “But then you'll sleep. And I won't take no for an answer.”
Aki nodded excitedly, a bright smile on his face. (It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.)
“Deal!”
“Well, it's like this...”