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Treating injuries was something that Masayoshi considered himself somewhat of a professional at. He was used to it, to some degree. Being a parental figure (and somewhat of a responsible adult) to many of the children in Little Asia - particularly Mei Hua - had given him the skills needed to deal with most minor injuries. From bumps and bruises to cuts and burns, Masayoshi could deal with it. Still, it wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed, especially if the person he was tending to was screaming and crying. The noise wasn’t what got to him, but instead the fact that someone he cared so much about was in pain, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. Clean it up, give a cuddle. That was what he did best.
When he was injured, Masayoshi just pushed through. He didn’t enjoy bothering people with little things that he could deal with himself. To some degree, people may even consider it negligent to his own health. There were times when even a bullet hole couldn’t deter Masayoshi from what he was trying to do. Times when his superior had moaned at him and forced him to go on a break from work because of an unreported injury. Masayoshi hated it when that happened. All he knew was work (even if he didn’t always spend those hours actually working), so taking time off was out of the question. He needed something to occupy his time, lest he go mad.
So when he was put on bedrest, Masayoshi felt like he was going to explode.
It wasn’t even that serious! He just sprained his ankle! These crutches did absolutely nothing to help, as well - he could walk just fine! That’s what he kept telling himself. Three days had passed, however, and Masayoshi still couldn’t put weight on it. That was just his luck. Not only could he not go to work, but he couldn’t even help Zhao with stuff around Homeland. There were few things that Masayoshi considered hell, and this was one of them.
Spending hours upon hours stuck in a little room - other than to use the bathroom - was starting to grate on him. So much so that he’d even been using his police radio for its intended purpose. That only lasted a day or so, until Masayoshi got even more fed up over the fact that he couldn’t respond to those calls. So instead, the horse races provided apt entertainment… For a few hours, until it was announced that the horse he had bet on had lost bigtime.
“Ugh, seriously, these meds aren’t working,” he complained, very clearly frustrated at the fact that not only could he not do anything, but he was in a lot of pain. A rhythmic knock on his door caught the detective’s attention, his response just being a grumbled “yeah?” to the person on the other side. Zhao’s voice responded.
“You have a guest,” he began, “Someone called Shinada?”
The familiar name immediately snapped Masayoshi out of his self-loathing, sitting himself up on his futon as he looked to the door. “Wait, Tatsuo’s here? Let him in.” He tried to make himself look at least somewhat presentable - laying in bed for days meant that Masayoshi wasn’t exactly looking fresh.
Creaking hinges announced the arrival of a friend, and for the first time in days Masayoshi felt like he had something to look forward to. Spending time with Tatsuo always brought a little bit of light into Masayoshi’s days, even when he had fully embraced the doom and gloom. Still, he was a little worried. The detective was grumpy, in pain, and unable to really do anything. He was worried that Tatsuo wouldn’t enjoy spending time with him.
“Ma-chan! A little birdie told me you got hurt! Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Tatsuo’s questions bombarded Masayoshi before he’d even fully stepped into the room. “I got an advance on my pay and got a couple things from the M Store. Here,” he continued, digging around in the flimsy bag for a Staminan before holding the bottled drink out to his boyfriend.
Masayoshi chuckled and took the present, looking around the room as he did so. “Thanks, Tatsuo. My wallet’s over there on the table, take the money for all this stuff,” he offered, a small wince on his face as he readjusted the way he was sitting. It was sweet, Masayoshi thought. Tatsuo wasn’t in any place to be spending money he didn’t have - let alone on anyone other than himself. And yet he still did. Tatsuo was always looking out for other people before himself, even when he was at a disadvantage.
A shake of his head was Tatsuo’s immediate response, pulling an ice pack out of the bag as he crouched down beside his boyfriend. “Nuh uh, just let me do something ice for you!” Tatsuo laughed, very clearly proud of himself for the pun - the same one that made Masayoshi groan with just how dad-like it was - as he gently placed the ice pack over the swollen ankle.
Tatsuo was also pretty well-versed in injuries, but sprains were his specialty. It was a common occurrence for people to get injured playing baseball - whether it was a wrist or an ankle. He knew the best way to treat them was to rest, ice, and compress the affected joint. And after an extremely brief glance, it was clear to Tatsuo that his boyfriend hadn’t been doing any of that. “I got some tape, so I’m gonna tape it up in a little bit, okay?” he smiled, sitting down next to Masayoshi on the floor. “How’d this even happen anyways?”
The look that took over Masayoshi’s face was that of a thinly veiled embarrassment as his gaze suddenly found a particularly interesting piece of wall to fixate on. “It- It’s not a big deal,” the detective began to grumble, “I just put my foot down funny when I was chasing someone.” It wasn’t a lie, per say, just… Not the whole truth. Rolling his ankle? That part was true. Though the reason as to why it had happened?
His other half knew instantly that it was a lie. Masayoshi was usually a brilliant liar - if the recipient of said lie was anyone other than Tatsuo. For some reason, he just couldn’t do it. “Ma-chan… Tell me the truth. C’mon, it can’t be that bad!” he pleaded, a grin plastered on his face as he pulled his own drink from the carrier bag he’d walked in with. A sigh filled the room before the next words came out.
“ItrippedwhiledoingadancewithMeiHua.”
“Huh?” Tatsuo tilted his head to the side. “You’re talking too fast!”
Another sigh came out as Masayoshi chewed his bottom lip. “I tripped while doing a dance with Mei Hua, okay? I put my foot down weird and next thing I knew it was the size of a balloon!”
Silence was what followed first, before a poorly concealed giggle made its way out of Tatuso’s mouth and turned into a full laugh. “Sorry, sorry! I promise I’m not laughing at you, Ma-chan! It’s just- Did anyone record it?” A swift smack to his head made Tatsuo laugh even harder, and he held his hands up in front of him in defeat. “Okay, okay, I’m done!”
“...”
“Seriously though, did they?”
“Shut up!”