Chapter Text
Yu couldn't remember the last time he had an evening with just his partner, let alone a romantic one. But the stars had finally aligned, and on Valentine’s Day, no less. All he had to do was get through the day, then the whole evening would be his to spend with a certain stoic blonde
What could possibly go wrong??
”Haibara-Sensei!! Thank god you answered, the curse we were supposed to exorcise somehow put up a barrier around the middle school. I haven’t heard from those idiots in like 40 minutes, I’m worried something happened and without anything to connect my straw dolls with I can’t get in”
It was one of Satoru’s students who called him just after he had finished his own exorcism on the other side of town. He knew he was the only staff member of a high enough rank in the area since both special-grades they had were together in Osaka for their own missions, and Kento wasn’t supposed to return until later that afternoon. Yu knew waiting for a manager to drive him over there would take too long, so he decided to travel himself
Ten years ago, during the mission he almost lost his life on, Yu sustained injuries so brutal that it left him partially paraplegic and with chronic pain. However, he’d made a binding vow with himself that allowed him complete and even superior usage of his legs so long as he had stored a certain amount of cursed energy. It tended to work since he didn’t have any other technique that required so much energy, however, in emergencies, such as the one he found himself in, it almost always led to him being pretty much out of commission for a while until he could build up enough cursed energy again
Considering the situation and the possibility of injured students and civilians, it was a no brainer for Yu to pump extra cursed energy into his legs to achieve levels of near super-human strength and speed to launch himself across the rooftops of Japan. He’d deal with the consequences later, right now his duty as a sorcerer and as a teacher came first
”Phew, that was a close one. Thanks for getting here so quickly, Sensei. Thankfully the janitorial staff in the building didn’t sustain any lasting injuries, and with the barrier down Kugisaki was able to come help out with the exorcism once we got that thing corralled”
”It was you and Fushiguro who kept things on lock, Itadori… The credit definitely goes to you three”
”Sensei, are you alright??”
Yu ended up using a lot more cursed energy than he had initially intended, leaving him practically running on empty by the time the curse was gone. Adrenaline had gotten him through some of it, but now that that was wearing off, the full force of his chronic pain was coming back with a vengeance. He had no idea how the hell he was even standing with how badly his legs were trembling, and it was a fight to even reply steadily to Itadori
It didn’t take long before his strength gave out, and he nearly blacked out from the pain. It took every ounce of his being to not cry out in front of the students, but tears were definitely in his eyes. And of course he just had to be stubborn that morning and insist he could make it through the day without his wheelchair
He’d never hear the end of it from Kento-
The next thing Yu knew, he was waking up in the infirmary on campus. He sighed heavily, trying to ignore the incessant pain in his back and legs to get comfortable. Of all the days, why this one?? He was supposed to have a romantic date night with his Nanamin, and now he wasn’t even sure if he’d have the capacity to make it home and have the energy to do… well, just about anything really
He just hoped he hadn’t worried his partner. Yu knew Kento tended to worry about him pushing himself like this, though he couldn’t necessarily blame him. Between the two of them, Yu was always the one getting injured, it’d always been like that for as long as they knew each other. Of course, their mission gone wrong only made Kento’s anxiety worse, so Yu tried his best to keep himself in check so as not to worry others. Though of course, situations such as the one he found himself in still happened occasionally. He supposed most of his friends were like that though, all rationale and self-preservation went out the window when it came to protecting their students
Yu sighed again, giving up on trying to get comfortable and just accepting his fate, even if it meant being bored out of his mind. He was the kind of person who always needed to be doing something, whether that be moving or speaking. That and his lack of ability to remain focused was what got him on medication during his recovery 10 years ago
Medication he’d forgotten to take that morning because he was alone in the apartment and forgot to reset the reminder on his phone-
“Dammit” Yu groaned, covering his face with his hands
Could this day get any worse??
”So you are in here… I knew Fushiguro would tell the truth”
Fucking goddammit-
Aaand now Kento knew he’d fucked up
”You weren’t supposed to get back yet” Yu sighed, keeping his face covered as he heard Kento walk further into the room
”Well, too bad because I’m here now. So, wanna tell me what happened exactly??"
"Promise you won't be mad??" Yu asked, peaking out from between his fingers. Kento looked just as stern as always, though after knowing the blonde for over 10 years he's gotten better at noticing the smaller details. Most notably, the look of worry in his hazel eyes
"You know I can't get mad at you, Yu" Kento sighed "Just worried... You know I don't like seeing you in so much pain when it can be avoided"
"I know... I know..." Yu muttered "I was just worried about the students and wanted to get to them as quickly as possible. I didn't think things through fully, and I thought I'd have enough cursed energy, and I also forgot my meds this morning cause I was too focused on tonight and-"
Yu hadn't realized he'd begun to ramble, nor did he know that he was tearing up until Kento put a gentle hand on his cheek to soothe him "One thing at a time, Yu" he spoke gently "I told you, I'm not mad at you. I should've sent you a text in the morning to remind you to take your medication, but they needed my help fixing some of yesterday's reports"
"You shouldn't have to" Yu muttered, leaning into his partner's calloused palm to seek his comfort "I wish I could just remember on my own" Kento gently ran his fingers through Yu's soft chocolate-colored hair "It's nothing to be ashamed of" he replied "Besides, there's clearly a lot going on in your mind right now"
"Mhm-" Yu hummed "I wish there weren't... Too loud-" Kento's gaze softened further before leaning down and kissing Yu's forehead "Let's go home, ok?? It's close enough to the end of the day, I'm sure no one would mind. Especially if Shoko were to say something"
"But what about our plans tonight??" Yu asked
"Don't worry about it, love" Kento replied with another soft kiss, this time on Yu's lips "I'll take care of everything. You just rest and take it easy"