Work Text:
Abe Haruaki is looking through the window of the bus, watching the trees and figures of buildings and shops appear and disappear in quick shadows. Raindrops slide across the glass, blurring everything slightly.
Sano Mikoto is looking at him.
They met at the bus stop on a weekend where gray clouds blanketed the sky, muting the colors of everything below. Sano was already seated, waiting for his bus. The human arrived moments later, breath hitching from sprinting to catch it before it left.
At the sight of him and in the space of a few seconds, Sano's expression changed—first to a slightly agape mouth in surprise, then to a small smile, then to a frown. It was kind of funny to watch but Haruaki didn't feel much like laughing that day.
He greeted his student with something akin to cheerfulness, which the blonde returned lukewarmly.
Haruaki tried to make conversation, small talk could be considered one of his specialities after all. But Sano wasn't very cooperative, wagging his leg and not really in the mood.
Not long after, Sano finally seemed to have something to say, and just as he opened his mouth, the bus arrived.
“Ah, that's my bus,” Haruaki said, getting up quickly. “Well, it was nice to see you, Sano-kun! See you in school on Monday!” he hurried to the bus doors, but before he could step inside, he felt something tugging at the hem of his sweater.
“Sano-kun?”Haruaki turned around, slightly puzzled.
“I'm coming too,” Sano replies after a beat, quickly releasing his grip as if the fabric had burned him. “I mean, this is also my bus .”
“Okay?” Haruaki blinked, still a bit confused. “Let's go then.”
The bus was relatively empty for a weekend, given that it's heading to such a popular destination. Haruaki greets the chaffeur with a smile, then takes a seat by the window, two rows from the back. To his surprise, Sano sat beside him.
It started raining not long after that.
“What are you going to do at the mall, Sano-kun?”
“Something.”
“What kind of something?”
“Just something.”
“You know? I'm going for this school thing...”
“I see.”
“Yeah...”
Unable to bear the teenager's heavy gaze any longer, Haruaki turns to him.
“Is everything all right?” he asks, his voice tinged with discomfort.
“I don't know, is it?” Sano shots back.
Haruaki opens his mouth to say something about how it's not okay to answer a question with another question. But stops himself before doing it.
Because that's he million dollar question, isn't it? If it was any other day, he might answer with a beaming smile that yes, everything is great, and he'd mean every word, but these last few days have not been normal days. There's something at the back of his mind that's been bothering him, slowly draining his energy, robbing him of sleep.
Yesterday, for example, he couldn't close his eyes for a second because he couldn't stop thinking about it.
And now he's paying the price.
He feels so impossibly tired. Just existing feels extremely exhausting.
To make things worse, Sano looks at him as if he had thought something terrible about Maizuka. No, not like he said it, because if it was that, it wouldn't be limited to dirty looks. Haruaki would be dead already. He looks at him as if Haruaki had thought it, and he knows it but can't prove it, so he just suspects and judges him in silence.
Haruaki could burst into tears at any moment.
“Perfectly,” he replies instead, forcing a smile onto his lips. Sano glances at the smile, clicks his tongue, and looks away.
Eh?
What on earth did Haruaki do to deserve this? He’s really, really going to cry now. God, he’s been so sensitive lately. And that’s really saying something, considering he’s always been the sensitive type. Lately, it’s like he’s sensitive to the tenth power.
But Sano is also quite weird today. This isn’t like him. He hasn’t been like this since early school days.
Turning to the window again, Haruaki’s gaze burns. Absently, he begins to draw a mandrake in the condensation left by the rain.
Crossing his arms, Sano mutters, “Liar,” under his breath.
The mandrake comes out a bit too chubby, so Haruaki mentally decides is Marshmallow.
“Moody ass teenager,” Haruaki says in the exact same tone as the other. It's very petty and he regrets it almost as soon as the words come out of his mouth. At least, his student doesn't seem to have heard it.
“Huh?”
Shit.
Has lightning just struck somewhere nearby?
As a cold shiver ran down his spine the human raises his hands as if he had been caught infraganti. “Ahaha! It was just a joke, Sano-kun.”
Sano scoffs, lookimg like he is about to snap, but then his face suddenly shifts.
There is something in his eyes, but Haruaki can't put his finger on it. Sadness? But why would Sano be sad? Has something happened to him? Has he—?
“Seimei,” he stars, brows furrowed over deep blue eyes that could drown somebody in their intensity.
Haruaki stiffens in anticipation.
“Look, I’m not going to ask if you’re okay because it's obvious you’re not, and you’ll just lie again, so—”
“I’m not lying,” Haruaki lies for the second time.
“Let’s skip all that and just tell me what’s wrong. You don’t have to carry everything alone.” Sano’s tone was harsh, but there was an edge of genuine concern.
Ah.
“You have Doppel, Hatanaka, Miki, and many of others who care about you.”
You have me. He didn’t say but Haruaki heard it anyway.
Sano-kun is so kind.
“And since I’m here and we’ve still got a long ride ahead, I guess I could listen to you and kill time.”
“Sano-kun...” is all Haruaki manages to say.
Neither of them says anything for a moment, the sound of raindrops still tapping endlessly on the bus roof, showing no signs of stopping soon.
Sano presses his lips together, biting the bottom one lightly before taking a deep deep breath and continuing.
“You can rely on me,” he says a bit too firmly, then quickly adds, a quieter, “if you want to." Light pink spreads across his cheeks.
The god's words makes warmth bubble through Haruaki's chest and some of the weight on his shoulders lifts, even if just for a instant.
But Haruaki can't really do that, no matter how cool or reliable the teenager is.
It's not right.
Things don't work that way.
Still, Haruaki feels a little lighter just from this.
“Oww,” the human says, cooing. He lightly ruffles the teenager's blond hair with his hand “Sano-kun is such a good boy!”
“I'm being serious,” the god says, narrowing his eyes and shaking off Haruaki’s hand.
Haruaki knows this. He’s being as serious as a heart attack. As a proof, creases have appeared between his brows. Haruki wants to smooth them away with the tips of his fingers. Sano is still too young to carry those lines.
Reaching out, Haruakis fingertips gently smooth the crease between the other's eyebrows."If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get permanent wrinkles," he says softly.
Sano’s eyes soften, even as his frown lingers. “And whose fault would that be?” he mutters accusingly.
The human drops his hand and smiles apologetically.
Such a good teacher he is, making one of his beloved students worry this much about him. And the worst part? That very worry still makes him feel so happy. Isn't he the worst?
But he can’t let this go on. Sano-kun is right. Maybe tonight, after his errands at the mall, he’ll call Izuna-kun and Rintarou-kun to see if they’re free to grab drinks and lend an ear. And if they can’t tonight, there’s always tomorrow.
“Heh, I’m going to be so hated for ruining Sano-kun’s face.”
“Deserved,” Sano replies flatly. “I hope someone kicks your ass.”
“Eh, isn’t that a little too much?” Haruaki says, feigning concern. He lifts his finger, his tone now more playful. “Sano-kun would still look good though, so I don’t think—”
“Seimei...” the god interrupts, his voice suddenly much more serious again, clearly not willing to drop the previous matter. He can be so stubborn.
But in a contest of stubbornness, the human can't really lose.
“Sano-kun,” he says blinking innocently, his voice so very fond.
Haruaki smiles mildly as the god searches his face for something, but there seems to be nothing to be found except for the unusual dark circles under his eyes. Finally, he turns his head away with a sigh. “Sleep,” he says, without making eye contact. “I'll wake you when we get there.”
So very kind.
“Thanks,” Haruaki says softly, his eyes crinkling before he closes them, finally surrendering to the weight of his fatigue.
His head sways slightly as the bus moves, making him look like a fishing rod, stretching out to catch a fish and then starting over. It would have been funny if it weren't proof of how tired and sleep-deprived the human was.
He can feel his head bobbing, of course, but he doesn't mind too much. It won't be long before he's completely asleep anyway.
After a few moments, he feels his shoulder bump against Sano's. He pays no mind to it, attributing it to a sudden jolt of the bus. But a few seconds later, the bump happens again, harder this time. Clearly intentional.
He slowly opens his eyes. The question, Is everything okay? on the tip of his tongue—until he notices that the teenager is still looking in the other direction, only his golden hair and slightly flushed ears visible.
At that moment, the bus stops, and a new passenger steps on board. Thankfully, it's a fish-type youkai. Otherwise, Haruaki might have felt bad for him, coming in soaked from the rain. He makes a mental note to pack a towel or something next time rain is forecasted, just in case.
Then Sano’s arm brushes against his again, the touch warm. He continues to look away but tilts his shoulder slightly toward him.
An invitation.
The human's eyes widen slightly in understanding, something warm and sweet spreading in his chest. He feels like crying, too. He wants to hug the boy beside him tightly, letting out a long, emotional "Sano-kunnnn~!"—and almost does, but stops when he notices the blonde's ears growing redder and redder by the second.
Sano would probably die of embarrassment if he said anything. So he does not.
He is truly, deeply moved by the boy's intentions. He really is.
But a difference of 14 centimeters in height is still a difference of 14 centimeters no matter what, even noticeable at moments like this when they are sitting and the human's long, slender legs don't really come into play.
If he took up the offer, one of them would end up with a sore neck and the other with a sore shoulder. In the end, it would just be uncomfortable for both of them. Besides, he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that he was such a nuisance to Sano-kun. He is already plenty of that when he's awake.
So he closes his eyes with a placid smile on his lips and leans his head lightly against the glass of the window instead.
Accompanied by the sound of a deep sigh next to him, the bus moves on again.