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Rui has never been the type to get into fights. He barely gets into any verbal ones, let alone anything physical. Always tending to steer clear of any conflicts. (He already had enough unwillingly during his time in middle school.) If any ever arose, they were always diffused shortly after with his calm, and rather persuasive, choice of words. Rui always had a way with his words like that.
So he’d never expected that he’d ever get into a physical fight with someone. If you ever told him so before today, he’d laugh and tell you that’s not like him. That he knows how to use better methods than violence. And he does, but today.. Words just weren’t enough for him.
Rui doesn’t remember exactly what was said, he doesn’t particularly want to either. It’d just make him more angry if he thought about it. What he does know, though, is that he didn’t like what was said. Not one bit.
What he does know is that it was one of the nastiest strings of words he had ever heard with his own ears. There was a shock upon hearing them, almost thinking he was hearing things because no one could ever say something so cruel, right?
Wrong. He was lying to himself. He know all sorts of the horrible things people can say, he’s experienced it first hand, too. It doesn’t phase him anymore. Or, at least not as much as it used to if he’s really being honest. Those words would always hurt, even if he thinks he’d gotten over them. But to him, these words were worse than whatever anybody could think up to say about him. Why?
Because they were about Mizuki.
He wouldn’t have been as angry if they weren’t about them. Disgusted? Of course. He would have chimed in and told those people to cut it out, but it wouldn’t have caused him to storm over without thinking and deck this boy right in the middle of his face. His nose more precisely, and he definitely knows he hit the kids nose head on as it started bleeding not even a minute later. And that was enough to piss off this kid even more.
It felt as if his body went on autopilot, he hardly remembers what went down during the fight. What he does know is that he was punched pretty hard in the face by the asshole, he had a throbbing cheek and bloody lip to prove it. The fight couldn’t have lasted too long, because the next thing he knew they were pulled away from each other. Rui stormed off before anyone could say anything more to him.
That brings him to where he is now. On the roof, shielding his cheek from the blowing wind. Rui’s knuckles stung as the chilly breeze blew against them. ‘Shit..’ He thought to himself, he wouldn’t be able to move his hand properly for at least the next few days.
He really punched that guy hard, huh?
It was satisfying in the moment, he’ll admit. He won’t lie and say he didn’t enjoy seeing the asshole's stunned face when he had gotten hit. And in all honesty, the guy deserved it for what he said. He might’ve even punched everyone else in that circle too if he wasn’t stopped beforehand. They all just sat around and laughed, praising this guy like he was a king for spitting that stuff about Mizuki. How were they just able to sit by and do that?
How was Rui supposed to just stand by and tolerate that?
“If I ever hear their name come out of your mouth again, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to speak another word, got it?”
Rui groaned, his hand covered his eyes as he massaged his temples. Rui’s now exposed cheek tingled as the air fanned him. Though he doesn’t regret what went down, it’s still sort of embarrassing to think about what he did.
Rui never expected himself to be capable of snapping like that. Of course he knows rumours go around about Mizuki, he’s heard some of them himself. He’s given plenty of cold glares to numerous people in class and in the halls to get them to shut their mouths as well. But, today he finally snapped, he couldn’t take it anymore.
The laughter of everyone in the circle rang through his ears, he felt as though the sound had been caving in on him. How could they just laugh like that? How could they just stand there and think it was okay to say those horrible things about Mizuki? They don’t even know Mizuki, they don’t know them like he does. They don’t care enough to know or learn, they never would. And frankly, Rui doesn’t think they deserve to.
These people don’t get to see Mizuki’s bright smile, they don’t get to hear their laugh, oh and the way their eyes soften when they talk about the things they love. They don’t get to see anything that Mizuki does that makes time feel like it’s stopped, that it’s just the two of you in that moment together on the roof—
Oh. Rui doesn’t know where his mind is going with that. Those things might only apply to him. To how he feels about Mizuki.
What he does know, though.. Is that he will never forgive those kids, those assholes. Those assholes who take away the brightness of Mizuki’s smile, those who silence their laugh, bring tears to their eyes. Those people who caused Mizuki to hide what they love, to hide themselves. He’ll never forgive them for that. They don’t deserve that forgiveness. Just as Mizuki doesn’t deserve what they’ve done.
Rui’s pulled out of his thoughts as he hears the familiar creaking of the door to the roof, he opens his eyes to see an even more familiar head of hair bouncing through the open door.
Mizuki.
They begin bouncing over, “Kamishiro-kun! Did you hear?? Someone got into a fi—”
The end of their sentence is cut off but a sharp gasp, their steps faltering. Mizuki’s once bright expression forms into a concerned one as they catch sight of Rui’s face. They weren’t able to see it from the door, but now as they’re only a few steps away from Rui, they can see his swollen cheek and busted lip.
Mizuki blinks when it’s finally registered in their mind that Rui’s been hurt, immediately rushing over towards him when they do.
“Rui! Your face! What happened??” Their worry is clear in their voice.
Rui only turns away, feeling a pang of guilt run through him. He doesn’t like that he’s worrying Mizuki. He also doesn’t want to admit he got into a fight because of something that was said about them, he wouldn’t want Mizuki to blame themselves. Rui knows they will.
Mizuki sits down close beside Rui, trying to get a good look at his face.
“Rui.. Rui, please, let me see.”
Rui stays quiet, his chest now aching more than his cheek. Rui forgets about every ache for a moment though, when all of a sudden he feels a gentle touch to his other cheek. A hand. As he turns wide eyed to finally face Mizuki, their hand now cupping his cheek.
Mizuki’s hand is soft, or their palm is at least. Rui can feel the roughness of their fingertips, scars from countless needle pricks. They got it when they were just starting to learn to sew. Rui remembers. He remembers Mizuki coming to school with bandages on every fingertip, complaining about how sore their fingers always were.
Rui also remembers bandaging said fingertips for Mizuki more times than he can count on his own. When the bandages got too worn out to stay on, when the old scars had reopened. Rui now has a habit of keeping bandages on him at all times. Mizuki doesn’t really need them anymore, they’re a pro now after all. But even so, he still keeps a few on him, just in case.
Rui finds himself leaning into Mizuki’s touch, a content sigh leaves him against his will, causing a faint blush to dust his cheeks. Mizuki doesn’t address this, even though it’s clear they could feel it. Instead, they tilt his head, using this opportunity to get a good look at his injury.
Slowly, Mizuki lifts their free hand, their fingertips lightly brushing against the bruised skin. Rui winces, even the light touch causes him pain, causing him to pull away. Mizuki frowns, their eyebrows knitting together as they lower their hands. Rui misses their warmth.
Mizuki’s hands now reached for their bag, they had dropped it close beside the bench once they sat down. Out of their bag, Mizuki now holds a pack of tissues in one and their water bottle. Their water bottle is pink, so is the package that holds the tissues. Just like how Mizuki likes it.
Rui blinks as Mizuki opens their water bottle, soaking a napkin before they turn back to him. Rui tilts his head in confusion, just as he’s about to ask what Mizuki is doing they grab his chin, and he feels the cold napkin dabbing at his lip. It would sting a lot more if he didn’t get so flustered from Mizuki grabbing onto his chin like that.
“I-I’ve already wiped it all off—”
“No you haven’t, just smeared it.” Mizuki continues to wipe, making their way down Rui’s chin and then his neck. He didn’t know the blood had made its way down so far. Mizuki also seemed to be dabbing at the collar of his shirt, they clicked their tongue as well when they saw the end of his sleeve. He had attempted to wipe the blood off himself with it. He’s going to have to wash this shirt well later. Hopefully it doesn’t stain.
Rui quietly watched Mizuki as they cleaned his face. He noticed the way their lips pursed as they concentrated, the intense look in their eyes. Rui felt his face grow hot at the thought of how close their face was to his own, that if he just leaned a few inches forward they could—
“Who did this to you?” Mizuki broke Rui out of his thoughts. Broke the silence between them. Rui almost wouldn’t have known what they said if he wasn’t paying so much attention to their lips.
Mizuki still assumed Rui didn’t hear them. So they lowered their hands, repeating themself, they spoke more firmly this time around.
“Rui, who did this to you?”
Rui bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes travelling from Mizuki down to the ground.
“Well.. What were you just coming up here to tell me?” An embarrassed smile formed on Rui’s face as he spoke.
Mizuki took a moment to understand what exactly Rui meant by that. Their eyes widened when they finally did, the disbelief in them clear.
“It.. It was you?? You were the one who got into the fight?!”
Rui chuckled dryly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Rui! How did you get into a fight like that?” Mizuki grabbed his hand, looking down at his bruised knuckles worriedly before returning to Rui’s face. Rui was quiet, his gaze fixated on the ground below. He clearly didn’t want to tell them something, tell them why. Mizuki squeezed his hand softly, urging him to tell them, but Rui only clenched his jaw, his eyes continuing to stay on the ground.
“..Is that a new water bottle? It’s nice—”
“Rui, please.”
Their hand settled on Rui’s cheek once again, they could feel how tightly his jaw was locked. Gently, they attempted to turn his head towards them, but even as they did, Rui still wouldn’t look them in the eyes. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
Suddenly, it clicked in Mizuki’s head. Their mouth falling open slightly as a breath of knowing left it. Rui could feel their hands tense up against his skin, dropping from his cheek, letting go of his hand. Rui knows Mizuki isn’t dumb, they would have realized it sooner or later, but he didn’t even want to imagine how their face looked right now.
Mizuki stood up, Rui watched their feet take a few steps away from him, pacing before they came to a stop.
“Why.” He could see Mizuki’s fists clench, he felt his own do so hearing the tone of Mizuki’s voice.
“Why, Rui. Why?! Because of me?! You don’t have to fight for me!” Mizuki spun around on their feet, seeing Rui’s head still pointed down towards the ground only made them more upset. Mizuki felt as if their whole body was starting to shake, the back of their eyes beginning to sting. Feelings bubbled up inside them, it felt like rage, but it wasn’t. Mizuki knew it wasn’t, it was a different feeling. They didn’t know what it was. What they definitely know, though, is that it’s a confusing one.
“I don’t want you getting hurt because of me!”
“I wasn’t hurt because of you, Mizuki. The fact that I got hurt is not your fault. I made those choices on my own.” Rui finally spoke, he wouldn’t allow Mizuki to blame themselves.
Mizuki bit back tears. More of that confusing feeling consumed them. It travelled up to their cheeks. They felt warm, too warm. A confused, pained noise left them.
“You still fought on my accord, it’s still my fault!—”
“Mizuki!” Rui stood up, staring at the space on the ground between them. “I couldn’t just stand there and listen to them talk about you like that.”
Mizuki stumbles, over their feet and their words. “Why—” Their nails dig into the skin of their palm, “Why can’t you just stand back and listen like everyone else does?! Just don’t get involved, you won’t get hurt that way!”
“Mizuki, how exactly do you expect me to do that?”
Mizuki raises their voice the loudest they have today, “Well, everyone else does it perfectly fine! So why can’t you?!”
“Because I care about you!”
Rui finally lifts his head, staring deep into Mizuki’s eyes. So deep it feels like he’s staring right into their soul, his words echoing between them. Rui steps forward, gently taking their hand into his own. He places their palm on his chest, their eyes widen even further, the muscles in them beginning to feel sore with how much strain is being put on them. Mizuki can feel Rui’s heart pounding. It still feels like a drum even under all the layers he’s wearing.
“Don’t tell me to just stand by, because I can’t. I can’t because I care about you so much. Too much. More than just a friend should, Mizuki.” There. He said it. He’s pouring his heart out to Mizuki right here, right now. He’s already said more than he should, so there’s no going back at this point.
“I can’t stand the things people say about you, to you. They don’t even know you, let alone the real you. They don’t know you like I do. With the things they say to you.. They don’t deserve to.” Rui’s chest tightens as he observes Mizuki’s eyes gloss over.
“I.. I don’t know if it’s selfish of me to feel this way, but you’re so special. Special to me. You.. You saved me. I don’t think I would be who I am If I hadn’t met you. You’re someone I know I can always rely on. When I need to escape I can just come up here, here with you.”
“They don’t.. They don’t deserve your light. They don’t deserve to try and burn it out. You’re so special Mizuki, I don’t ever want you to forget that.” Rui squeezed their hand as he finished, emphasizing the never. And in a way too, it’s also like he was telling them he’s never going to let go.
All of his words spewed out like vomit, he was unable to stop them. But he would never take back anything he said, he meant every single word.
“You don’t have to say anything.. I just thought you should know. That’s why I can’t just stand by.”
Mizuki’s breath hitches, their bottom lip beginning to quiver as they try their best to bite back all the overwhelming emotions they’re feeling. Mizuki never knew Rui felt this way, never knew how much he cared.
Mizuki found themselves reaching out to Rui, their hand hovering over his cheek. As they lowered their hand, Mizuki’s thumb gently grazed Rui’s bottom lip. To this, Rui found his own raising to take hold of Mizuki’s.
Rui squeezed their hand as he brought it closer to his lips, planting a kiss on Mizuki’s scarred fingertips. A heavy breath left Mizuki, a breath they had been holding in for so long, a breath they have been holding since middle school.
There was a heavy weight that formed on Mizuki’s chest ever since they realized how they felt about Rui. Every year, that weight grew, it was another secret they were keeping. It was slowly suffocating them.
But now, in this moment with him, that weight had finally felt like it lifted. Mizuki could finally breathe again. They wouldn’t lose him because of this. They wouldn’t lose what they already had together.
“Rui..” Mizuki found themselves whispering his name as they got up on their tiptoes, their faces now only centimeters apart. They stare into each other’s widened eyes until they can’t take it anymore, closing the distance between their lips.
It was scary, finally doing what you’ve been only dreaming of for so long. Even in the moment, it felt as if they were both still living in a dream. But no, it was real.
Rui definitely knew it was as Mizuki’s hand made contact with his bruised cheek, it made him flinch back with a sound he didn’t even know he could make. He just ruined their kiss.
He grew even more embarrassed as he heard Mizuki burst into laughter not even a few seconds later. Out of embarrassment, and the fact that he loved Mizuki’s laugh, a light pink began dusting his cheeks. Even though it was hard to tell under the bruise, Mizuki knew.
Mizuki only smiled at Rui, tip-toeing once more to plant a light kiss on Rui’s other cheek.
“Let’s go sneak into the nurses office and get you cleaned up, yeah?”
Rui looked away with a smile in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
“Wow, Mizuki. You’re always taking such good care of me, huh?”
—•—
“Brings me back to middle school.” Rui smiles softly as Mizuki gently bandages his knuckles, they pause for a moment to listen to him speak.
“Never thought we’d be back here, sneaking into a nurses office once again, you playing nurse and patching me up.”
Mizuki giggles quietly, their thumb gently rubbing circles onto Rui’s hand. “Yeah, well I never thought you’d purposely get into a fight. Especially for me, idiot.”
Mizuki is quiet before they softly continue.
“But.. Thanks..”
“Just don’t do it again.” They scold soon after.
Rui laughs, cautiously taking Mizuki’s hand in his. Mizuki returns this action by shyly lacing their fingers together. They never thought they’d become so awkward around each other again, but there they were in a new stage of their relationship together. Even so, they’re still the same Mizuki and Rui who found each other in solitude on that lonely middle school rooftop.
Difference is, though, they’re really not as lonely anymore.