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Without letting go of Takiishi, Endo grabs his discarded, dirty jacket off of the ground. He gently hikes Takiishi’s aching legs up—and Takiishi has half a mind to dig his heels in Endo’s stomach because what the fuck is he trying to do, I’m tired—before he realizes what Endo wants to do. He wraps his legs around Endo’s torso and tightens his arms around his neck.
Hands freed, Endo dusts off the jacket, getting it as clean as he possibly can, then holds it up for Takiishi to take. Takiishi does and Endo immediately holds on to his thighs, his grip firm so Takiishi won’t fall off as he pulls the jacket on. Always so loyal and obedient, this man. Takiishi had said he was cold, so of course Endo had to find and give him his jacket despite having gotten equally drenched in the rain.
Once Takiishi’s jacket-clad arms are around his neck again, Endo starts walking.
The rain has made the wind colder so when it hits Takiishi’s face, his bruised cheeks sting and his nose twitches. He sneezes and buries his face in the nape of Endo’s neck, instinctively seeking out warmth. Endo’s step falters.
Takiishi keeps his face pressed into the warm skin as Endo quickens his pace. He walks and he walks, uncharacteristically quiet. Once Takiishi is feeling sufficiently warm, he spares a thought to the man carrying him on his back, who has been by his side for more than half of his life. Normally, Endo would be chattering on and Takiishi would have to physically make his displeasure and disinterest known—but right now, Endo is quiet. And Takiishi feels…
Unsettled.
Endo’s voice in his head repeating, “Your wish is my command,” is subdued, hiding a depth of emotion. Endo’s voice when he told that Sakura person—and Takiishi needs to meet this Sakura, seeing as both Endo and Umemiya talked about him; Takiishi can’t wait to take him on, crush him underfoot, grind him to dust because how—no. When Endo mentioned Sakura’s promise of coming to visit. What did he mean? Why did he sound like he was containing his excitement?
Ugh, Takiishi is too tired to be thinking these thoughts. Or any thoughts apart from those of a warm bath and clean clothes and his bed. He just wants to be home already.
Takiishi only realizes he had fallen asleep when the sound of running water rouses him. Endo is still holding on to him as he waits for the bathtub to fill up with steaming hot water. Carefully, trying his best not to disturb Takiishi, he reaches for Takiishi’s favourite bubble bath and pours a generous amount of the liquid into the water so there will be lots of bubbles—just the way Takiishi likes it.
Seeing as how his bath is ready when Endo turns off the tap, Takiishi wriggles in Endo holds and Endo throws him the tiniest of smiles over his shoulder before he bends his back to carefully let Takiishi down.
“Do you want me to tend to your wounds before the bath?” Endo asks. His voice is still quiet, nothing like his usual excitement—nothing like how he spoke to that Sakura—but his mouth is still quirked up into that tiny smile.
Takiishi shakes his head in refusal and begins to strip. His matted hair get stuck in the zipper of his vest. Takiishi struggles with the zipper for a moment, before he loses his temper and is about to yank his hair out. But Endo’s hand on his own stops him. Takiishi gives him a look.
Instead of pulling his hand away immediately like he normally would—because getting his hands on Takiishi is a surefire way of getting hit—he gently knocks Takiishi’s hands away from the zipper. Slowly, cautiously, Endo coaxes the lock of hair out so that the zipper gives a little and he is able to free Takiishi’s hair completely. He takes a step back immediately.
Takiishi frowns. Why did Endo stop after doing all that? He might as well have saved Takiishi time and pulled down the zipper himself and helped Takiishi take off his vest. Endo is watching him with an unreadable look in his eyes and Takiishi is too tired to play these games with Endo right now. So he makes quick work of pulling his vest and pants off.
Endo turns away as Takiishi kicks off his underwear and gets into the bath and hisses as the soapy hot water stings his cuts and bruises. Endo is at his side immediately but Takiishi brushes him off and settles back into the tub, stretching his legs out, finally letting his body relax and soak up the heat.
“Enjoy your bath, I’ll go have a quick shower in the other bathroom, then I’ll help you wash your hair,” Endo says and turns before Takiishi can glare at him to stay put.
So Takiishi has no choice but to use his words. “Stay,” he commands.
Endo whips around, watches Takiishi’s face for a moment, then nods wordlessly. He strips brusquely and steps into the shower. Takiishi doesn’t avert his eyes. There’s nothing to hide between them. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it’ll always be.
He watches Endo as he stands under the cold spray—not even waiting for the water to heat up—and roughly washes his body, paying no attention to his own bruises. He shampoos his hair, rinses it, and steps out of the cubicle, a towel wrapped around his hips.
Pulling a stool out and placing it next to the tub, Endo takes a seat. A gentle press of his warm palm to Takiishi’s water-warmed shoulder has him relaxing further into the bathtub so his hair flow down the side of the tub. Endo tests the hand-shower until the water turns lukewarm and the spray isn’t too strong, then begins wetting Takiishi’s hair.
The feeling of the water running through his dirty locks reminds him of Endo stepping out of the shower with his hair dripping. Takiishi finds himself yanking a towel off of the tiled sill and throwing it behind him at Endo’s face.
“Dry your hair,” Takiishi says, short and clipped. He wouldn’t have cared normally, but it seems neither he nor Endo are feeling very normal right now.
The water stops. Takiishi doesn’t have to turn his head to see that Endo has followed his order and is hastily towelling his hair. A moment later, the water is running through Takiishi’s hair again and is joined by one of Endo’s hands, strong fingers gently detangling his hair until not a single knot remains. His fingers reverently brush against their shared tattoo on Takiishi’s skin as Endo runs his fingers through his hair one last time to check for any knots that he may have missed.
Takiishi almost falls asleep again as Endo massages his scalp and lathers his hair with the shampoo. It feels good. Endo has bought him countless spa packages and he has had the best massages from the most experienced of masseuses. Yet, it’s this—Endo massaging his scalp with tenderness the way only he can—that Takiishi likes the best. That relaxes him the most. Not that he’ll ever tell Endo that.
After rinsing the shampoo, Endo applies leave-in conditioner and wraps Takiishi’s hair into a towel bun. Takiishi presses his head back against the rim of the tub, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the door opening and closing, Endo’s silent footsteps walking away and then returning after a minute, and the door opening and closing again.
“Let me tend to your bruises,” Endo calls out softly and Takiishi opens his eyes and sits up a little without having to be told, pulling his hands out of the water. Endo pulls the stool around to sit next to the tub, facing Takiishi. He gently pats Takiishi’s hands dry and begins to clean his wounds. He is extra careful around the torn knuckles, even though Takiishi only watches him silently. As if he would ever let Endo know the disinfectant stings.
Then again, Endo doesn’t need to be told. He knows, he always knows no matter how much him knowing annoys Takiishi. But in moments like these, Takiishi takes comfort in being known. In being understood.
After his hands, Endo cradles Takiishi’s face and gently wipes the dried blood away. As he tends to his face, Takiishi is struck by the look in Endo’s eyes. They’ve never done this before. Takiishi has never had his face bashed before—he’s always the one who emerges victorious by letting his fists batter his opponents into bruised, broken messes. So this is the first time Endo has ever had to tend to his face. And this is the first time Takiishi is unable to figure out what Endo is thinking.
Normally—and fuck, nothing about the day is normal, is it? Normally, Endo is easy to read, practically transparent. Watching Takiishi in action gives him joy. Catering to Takiishi’s whims and fancies gives him joy. Even taking Takiishi’s hits gives him joy. So now that Takiishi’s the one who’s been hit—on his face, for the first time ever—what is Endo feeling?
Why does he look so sad, yet not completely sad? Why does he look like he wants to say so many things, yet nothing at all? Why is he making Takiishi think about him like this?
A familiar thrum of irritation that only Endo can induce in him runs through his veins. And yet, it’s not the normal kind. Even that irritates Takiishi. Would hitting Endo solve his issue? Maybe that’s what they both need—for Takiishi to land a nice, solid punch to Endo’s similarly bruised face. But wait—Endo rarely ends up with a bruised face.
Usually the bruises on his face are the ones placed by Takiishi himself. Because Endo is always saying or doing something that annoys Takiishi, he often ends up getting hit. Yet here Endo is right now, with somebody else’s— Sakura’s— fists having left bruises on his face. Takiishi feels a blaze of anger run through his body. How dare Endo be marked by anyone other than him?
Endo belongs to Takiishi, and only Takiishi.
But he can’t hit him. Adding more bruises to an already bruised face won’t mean anything. So how is Takiishi supposed to mark Endo as his own? How is he to claim him so that everyone—especially that Sakura—would know that Endo belongs to Takiishi?
Endo’s hair is still damp but the ends are curling into his usual waves. The towel he had used to dry his hair is slung around his neck. He is thoroughly focused on patching Takiishi up—so Takiishi takes that moment to grab the ends of the towel and yank Endo forward.
Before the shock even settles into Endo’s face, Takiishi leans in and bites at the juncture of his jaw and neck, making sure his teeth dig well and deep into Endo’s skin. Endo’s yelp of surprise—not pain, Takiishi is pleased to hear—makes him pull away to inspect his mark. The teeth marks are visible, but they will fade soon. Should he dig his teeth in deeper to draw blood? That will ensure the mark won’t fade for a long time.
But after all the hits Takiishi has taken to his face, his teeth feel too rattled to be able to do more damage than leaving faint outlines in Endo’s skin the way they have done right now. There’s only one thing he can do. So he leans in again and mouths at the same spot he had dug his teeth into, suckles on it. Feeling like he has done enough, Takiishi draws back to check whether he has succeeded.
Within the circular bounds of his teeth marks, there is a bruise blooming to life, angry and purple, glistening with saliva. Takiishi is pleased. Reaching a hand out, he spreads the saliva around, rubbing it into Endo’s skin, as if it would make the mark darker. Once satisfied, he pulls back and his eyes meet Endo’s shocked, confused gaze.
“Why…?” Endo whispers hoarsely.
Takiishi’s gaze flickers to Endo’s mouth, his lower lip split and bleeding. It looks plump, begging to have teeth sunk in it. Hm. Takiishi will have to try that once Endo’s lip heals. For now, he’s just going to have to verbally remind Endo of his place.
“Because I own you,” Takiishi declares. “Yamato.”
Endo sucks in a shuddering breath and finally, finally smiles that bright grin he’s always flashing at Takiishi. It usually makes him want to punch his face but right now, Takiishi doesn’t feel like using his fists. He could use his mouth again—
“Yes!” Endo says, voice trembling, replying to what Takiishi had said before.
Something about it makes Takiishi feel lighter. Or maybe he’s just feeling light-headed because of how long he has been in the bath. “Bed,” he mumbles.
Endo is quick to help him out of the bath, dry him, and bundle him up in a robe. He even offers his back to Takiishi for another piggyback ride. But Takiishi is feeling too jelly-limbed to be able to hold on to Endo without falling off.
The chuckle Endo lets out at his predicament sparks the flame of irritation inside him. His subsequent attack on Takiishi’s person—by grabbing him around the shoulder and the back of his thighs and hoisting him into holding him sideways against his chest—makes Takiishi want to strangle him. But he holds back. He’s too tired. And Endo is warm and solid and comfortable against him. So he loosely wraps his arms around Endo’s neck and lets him take him to bed.
He’ll punish Endo for it tomorrow. By punching him in the face. With his mouth.