Work Text:
Hanma grumbled quietly when he heard the sound of the doorbell. The skinny teenager shook his head slightly and turned over on his mattress, firmly believing that someone had once again lost his way at the door and would notice their mistake at some point. The Reaper was just about to fall back into a peaceful sleep when the doorbell rang loudly again through the apartment. He grumbled in annoyance and sat up with a groan, running his hand through his wild hair. A very persistent visitor.
The tall delinquent slowly dragged himself out of bed and stretched thoroughly, then yawned loudly. He shuffled sleepily through the darkened apartment, casting a fleeting glance at the wall clock as he passed his admittedly rather dirty kitchen. It was already 4:30 p.m. That meant he had skipped school again today. "Shit happens. Nothing to cry about," Hanma mumbled and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. His old man would certainly not like that, but in the best case scenario he would never find out about it anyway. His teachers had all understood by now that their 'worst student who ever visit the school' could not be forced to attend school with disciplinary measures or threats. Quite the opposite.
Hanma would be happy if they just left him alone. He wrote his exams, passed them all with some difficulties and only showed up for class sporadically. So everyone was more or less happy. The skinny teenager scratched his chin briefly and took a look through the peephole in his door. At that moment his heart sank for a second. He fumbled with the key chain and released the lock, then quickly opened the front door. Kisaki stood in front of him, his hands hidden deep in his jacket pockets. His swollen left cheek gave an idea of why he was here today.
The younger one looked to the side and murmured quietly: "Hey. Can I stay with you for a while?" The Reaper shrugged slightly and took a step to the side, clearing the way into his apartment. Kisaki slipped past him and immediately took off his shoes in the entrance area. He was actually far too well-behaved for the fact that he was on the same level as delinquents like Mikey, Izana and the Haitani brothers. Hanma locked his front door again and trotted into the kitchen to get cold lychee lemonade from the fridge for himself and his visitor.
The Reaper followed his friend into the living room, then stopped briefly in the doorway to look at him from afar. Kisaki sat crouched on his sofa and stared unblinkingly at the switched off television opposite him. The gaunt delinquent pushed rubbish and empty cigarette packets off the coffee table with his right foot, and finally placed the two soda bottles on the dirty wood. At some point he would have to clean his apartment, but that day was certainly not today.
Hanma dropped on the sofa, looked at his friend and said reassuringly: "And why this time?" It had long been no secret between them that Kisaki's father regularly beat him for the smallest of transgressions. Not doing household chores, 'bad' school grades and behaviour that was perceived as rude. For all of these things, the younger one had already sat trembling on his sofa after a hard beating. The Pierrot remained silent for some time when asked. Finally, he stirred slightly and explained curtly: "I reminded my father about my birthday. Bad idea."
Grey eyes met purple ones. The skinny teenager took an opened pack from the crack in the sofa and lit a cigarette. A cloud of grey, stinking smoke gradually spread across the ceiling. Hanma chewed on the filter a little and replied calmly: "When it comes to your father, everything is a shitty idea. He'll find a reason to beat you up, no matter what you do. Believe me. All you have to do is breathe wrong or look at him funny and you'll have his fist in your face, Tetta. Your old man can fuck himself."
Kisaki nodded very slowly and reached for the glass bottle, drinking the cold lemonade with trembling fingers. The swelling on his cheek was particularly noticeable this time. The bruise was getting slowly blue. The Reaper also fished out for his bottle on the table and opened it casually. After a while of silence between the friends, the Pierrot added sheepishly: "Sometimes I think he really regrets that I was ever born. He forgets my birthday every single year."
The bottle in his hand suddenly shook more than before. At that moment, Hanma recognized the teenager who was actually still far too young, who was acting all tough and strong among the older gang members, but was basically just looking for a place of recognition. Recognition that he never received from his parents. The Reaper leaned his cheek on his fist and sucked lightly on his bottle before he drank properly from it. As is often the case with this topic, he was at a loss for words. Usually he played video games with Kisaki or they passed the time somewhere in their favourite places.
Catching him in such a situation was strange and odd. Hanma slowly peeled the label off his lemonade, replied hesitantly: "Your father is just an asshole, Tetta. You are the best student in your whole year and are set to skip the next two grades. It doesn't get any better than that. He should be incredibly proud of you and your achievements." This comment did not seem to have the desired effect. Kisaki sank a little deeper into the sofa and held the cold bottle firmer in his hand.
What was going through his mind right now? The skinny teenager took a drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke out of his mouth in the opposite direction of his friend. He let his gaze slide briefly over the full coffee table. Where the hell had he misplaced his ashtray again? He shrugged and finally ash the coffin nail over the back of the sofa. It was his apartment and no one could stop him from treating his property badly. In fact, the entire apartment building belonged to his father – and he was more than happy that his son no longer lived at home.
The silence between them dragged on uncomfortably. After a few minutes, Hanma sighed loudly and stood up for a moment. He said quietly: "Wait here. I have something for you." The older man felt the Pierrot's scrutinizing gaze on his back as he left the living room. The Reaper found the small package with the shittiest packaging on earth in his bedroom. He would probably never learn. "Better packed with love than just nicely packed with a cold heart," grinned Hanma and sauntered back into the adjoining living room.
The gaunt delinquent fell back onto the sofa. He handed the younger man the small package and smiled: "Happy birthday, Tetta." His best friend stared at the gift in pure shock and slowly put his bottle back on the coffee table. With his fingers still shaking, he carefully opened the package in his lap. The Reaper forced himself to suppress an inappropriate comment. In a normal situation, he would probably have made Kisaki laugh by saying that he wouldn't give him a bomb and he doesn't need to be so careful. Today was different of course.
The Pierrot slowly lifted the lid of the gift and took a look inside, then just sat quietly on the sofa. Hanma, meanwhile, looked for a suitable place to put out his cigarette. He finally settled on a half-drunk can of beer and aimed the cigarette butt directly into the opening. After a while, he asked cautiously: "Is something wrong? Don't you like it?" The teenager in question shook his head slightly and leisurely took out the small key chain. The black cat with yellow eyes dangled happily from the end. Kisaki couldn't take his eyes off the gift, then just murmured very quietly: "Thank you, Shuji."
At that moment, time stood still in the small apartment. Since when did Pierrot say thank you? Usually, Hanma received a quiet hum of confirmation from him or a short nod. The younger man rarely expressed himself positively verbally. Something was really different today. He looked over at Kisaki and swallowed hard. If he didn't know better, it looked as if his best friend was about to cry. The Reaper put this weird behaviour down to the pain of his cheek. At least that's what he tried to tell himself.
"Can you do me a favour?" The question tore the older man out of his thoughts. He nodded slightly and added quietly: "Sure. What can I do for you?" Kisaki took a deep breath. He slowly placed the gift on the coffee table and seemed to be struggling with himself. Finally, he replied in a hoarse voice: "Whatever happens here in the living room tonight will stay between us, okay? That's my only birthday wish from you." The teenager addressed thought briefly about this strange favour, but nodded again. He answered with a smile: “Promise. Nothing will leave my stinky cave.”
The Pierrot exhaled for a longer time and seemed to be calmed down instantly. Before Hanma could say anything else, the younger man suddenly slid towards him on the sofa. He looked his best friend in the eyes for a while and finally leaned against the gaunt delinquent's bony shoulder as if in slow motion. The Reaper turned to stone at the unusual and, above all, surprisingly intimate touch. It took him a few seconds before he carefully put his arm around the younger one's trembling torso. Kisaki did not resist, in fact, he seemed to be seeking this kind of closeness tonight.
Hanma stroked his side very slowly and had a hard time to relax, but after a short time he also calmed down enough to rest with his friend. He didn't know what to say. It was only when he felt something damp on his T-shirt that he realized the seriousness of the situation. The gaunt delinquent pulled the younger man closer to his side, even daring to rest his chin on the back of the Pierrot's head. He whispered softly to him: "It's okay, Tetta. You're safe here." Hanma carefully took the glasses off him with his left hand and placed them somewhere on the messy coffee table.
Kisaki couldn't say anything more. He cried for the first time in the older man's arms and didn't seem to be able to stop himself any time soon. All the frustration, all the fear and all the pain found an outlet here, to finally be heard and, above all, seen. The Reaper chewed nervously on his lower lip. He wasn't sure if he was even allowed to take the next step. 'Whatever happens here in the living room tonight will stay between us.' The younger man's words echoed in his ears. "Ah fuck, screw it," thought the gaunt delinquent and put his plan into action.
He pulled away slightly from the Pierrot, which earned him a confused and, above all, frightened look of the younger one. Hanma smiled at him reassuringly, then sat down a little to the side on the sofa. In this position, he carefully pulled Kisaki onto his lap, wrapping both his arms tightly around the slender body in front of him from behind. The younger man flinched heavily, but quickly relaxed in this unfamiliar embrace. After a while, the back of his head rested on the broad shoulder of the Reaper again.
The gaunt delinquent repeated very quietly: "You are safe here." They did not speak another word that evening, simply enjoying the closeness of each other in this tight, previously unknown embrace. Even when the tears eventually dried, they did not dare to separate from each other. The chaotic living room would forever remain silent about what had happened within its four walls. Just like the rest of the dirty apartment in the middle of Tokyo.