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Scaramouche could not recall the number of times he had felt embarrassed since he had known Kaedehara Kazuha. Any moment he found himself in an embarrassing situation, Kazuha would always look at him with that stupid smile on his face, like his shame did not even exist in his eyes. It caught Scaramouche off guard every time. Months after knowing him, Kazuha would still find ways to surprise Scaramouche, either by showing a side of himself he had never shown, or just by being Kazuha. Kazuha was so unpredictable in ways Scaramouche was not.
When he was the face of evil, the kind of terror that embodied the worst of humanity, Kazuha was everything but. He sometimes wondered if Kazuha was meant to be in his life as a punishment. A curse the Gods had placed upon him as the ultimate form of punishment.
After knowing Kaedehara Kazuha, he could not imagine a crueler punishment than giving you happiness and then ripping that happiness away from you swiftly, brutally. Scaramouche’s greatest fear was having to witness Kazuha’s death one day. And now, he fears that day might come sooner than he would think.
…if Kazuha continues acting recklessly like this.
And it's ironic because Kazuha wasn't a reckless person. At least, not the first word you'd use to describe him, but the sentiment is there. He was supposed to be the calm, rational one, the one that thinks with a clear head, and the perfect person to think of when you think of the element of the wind
So the moment Scaramouche steps in and gets rid of the ruin guard effortlessly, his breath is short and ragged, a staccato against the wind. Scaramouche pants, his eyes still never leaving the metal piece of junk on the ground, his stance still defensive, as if he was waiting for it to put itself back together and terrorize them again. When he’s satisfied that the ruin machine will not pose any more threat, he finally turned to Kazuha, who's only watching him— sword clutched in one hand, the other gripping onto his rib.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Kazuha asked, his tone accusatory.
“ Stupid? I just saved your ass. Are you stupid? What kind of idiot frolics around active ruin machines without backup?”
The choice of words really could've been better, Scaramouche thinks to himself, wincing a little. At the pain on his side or at Kazuha’s words, he is not sure. Kazuha acts quickly when Scaramouche uncharacteristically collapses, catching him just in time, and laying him down beside him.
“You don't know how worried I was about you. I left you alone unattended for one second, and you chose to have a playdate with a damn robot? Don't ever do that to me again. That thing could’ve killed you," Scaramouche scolded the man holding him in his arms, not caring if he was loud enough to even hear him. “Only I get to kill you,” Scaramouche muttered quietly under his breath, trying to keep his flittering eyes open.
He hears a laugh from above him when Scaramouche's eyes fluttered open a while later, seeing that Kazuha is intently observing him with a stupid grin on his face.
"The fuck you're staring at?" Scaramouche bites out, but his eyes betray him and make him a hypocrite when they automatically scanned Kazuha's face as if it holds the answer to the universe.
"You," Kazuha answers simply. "You're pretty when you're not being an idiot."
Scaramouche rolls his eyes, his cheeks flush a light pink in embarrassment. "Then I must be pretty ugly for you most of the time, huh?"
"Good that you're self-aware," Kazuha replies, tucking a stray blue hair away from Scaramouche's face. He is pretty all the time, Kazuha thinks.
"Are you okay?" Scaramouche then asks, voice raspy. Kazuha hums, and not a second later flicks his forehead. Scaramouche reacts by flinching. "Worry about yourself. I only got hit by the ribs, but you're in my arms."
" Only got hit by the— Oh Seven Archons, Kazuha."
"It can heal."
"This is worse than being ugly."
"You can't heal being ugly."
"Now that's just mean." Scaramouche wears a small pout on his face.
Kazuha chuckles in response, the ends of his lips curling. And for some reason, it hits Scaramouche straight in the guts— now this is worse than being knocked over by a ruin guard.
"We should stay like this for a while," Scaramouche offers, relaxing further in his hold, eyes closing once more to fully indulge himself and soak in the moment.
Not that the adrenaline wears off, his body is screaming in pain and he does not want to move—that is only a part of it—but it's not every day you're being cradled by your stupid boyfriend after you saved his life.
"Kuni," Kazuha calls out quietly, with so much care that Scaramouche forgets how much time has passed by since he fell into his arms.
"Hmm?" Scaramouche shifts his head to fall deeper into his lover's lap.
"You're heavy," Kazuha says and giggles, the airy laugh that comes after lit up Scaramouche's entire soul.
Scaramouche, who is mindlessly tracing mindless circles on Kazuha's hand, the one intertwined with his, pauses his action. "My condolences, it must be so tough on your frail body."
Kazuha leans back on his unoccupied arm, throwing his head back to look at the sky above. The sight is nothing but sore for his eyes to see. Yet again, Kazuha surprises him. This time with his stupidity. Somehow he finds that he loves Kazuha even more for it.
"The stars are so pretty tonight, Kuni."
Scaramouche pays no mind to the stars. The small sprinkling of freckles on his boyfriend's arm could rival any perfect night sky. His world, his universe is right here, nothing else mattered.