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The world spins as Sunao vaguely registers the icy water around him disappearing, rough sand digging into his back. The cold only seems to get worse, permeating his skin and reaching to his bones. He hears coughing next to him, and when he tries to turn his head to find the source of the sound he's hit with a wave of nausea, sea water and half digested pizza coming up and splattering the sand next to his head.
“Fuchi..!” Tobi's voice is loud and panicked, his knees making a soft thud as they hit the sand. His hands grip the front of Sunao's hoodie tightly, hands trembling.
“Tobi…?” He manages to ask, lifting a hand to try and grab at Tobi's shirt. “What-…”
“Ya think he'll make it?” Another loud voice cuts him off, coming from a few feet away.
“Shut up.” Tobi snaps, and Sunao can't tell if it's directed at him or Baku. He's pulled into a sitting position, head still spinning. “What the hell were you doing!?”
Tobi's head is angled downward so that his eyes are covered by his overgrown bangs, only his nose and mouth visible.
“...Sorry.”
“You’re sorry? That's it!?” Tobi finally looks up at him, and Sunao can see that he's crying, tears streaming down his cheeks and mixing with the sea water on his face. He hesitates, not knowing what to say. He could count on one hand the amount of times he's seen Tobi break his usual deadpan expression.
“I didn't think you'd… find me…” Sunao mumbles, glancing away. The cold is starting to feel even more intense, both men shaking.
“You dumbass…” Tobi's voice wavers slightly, lifting a hand from Sunao's hoodie to wipe at his eyes. “Don't scare me like that…”
“...We're going home. Can you walk?”
Sunao nods, letting Tobi pull him up, clutching the shorter man's arm tightly as the world spins all over again, legs shaking. Tobi doesn't let go of him ever as he kneels down to grab Baku, tossing the unusually quiet duffel bag over his shoulder. His grip tightens as he glances at the water, tugging Sunao away from the waves.
No more trains are running this late, but the two are lucky enough to find a taxi driver still out. The ride to Tobi's apartment is quiet and tense, the silence only broken by Sunao coughing or the driver trying to make small talk.
The taxi driver loudly announces that the ride was free as soon as Tobi pulls out his wallet, cheerfully wishing them a merry Christmas in less than decent English as he drives off after dropping them off in front of the apartment building. Tobi grips Sunao’s hand again as they make their way inside.
“Buchi is back!?” Ryuuko squeals excitedly the second the door opens, hopping off the couch and running over, a magical girl anime playing loudly on the tv. Her excitement fades as she looks between their faces, staring up at Sunao as he coughs loudly. “Why is he back? And why are you all wet?”
“He went for a swim and got cold.” Tobi mutters, pushing Sunao onto the couch and dropping Baku on the floor in front of him, not bothering to take off his shoes or jacket as he speedwalks into the bedroom. When he returns a minute later with his biggest hoodie, a pair of pajama pants and a blanket, he finds Ryuuko on the couch next to Sunao, petting his head as she stares intently at his face. He’s pale and a bit flushed, head tilted back and eyes closed. Tobi gently lifts the girl off the couch, setting her on her feet.
“Go to bed. Santa won’t come if you’re awake.” Ryuuko pouts, looking between Tobi and Sunao before reluctantly turning off the tv and running into her bedroom, the door clicking softly behind her. Tobi immediately pulls off Sunao’s soaked scarf and coat, then tugs off his hoodie, earning a quiet embarrassed noise from the taller boy.
“Don’t heat ‘im up too fast, Tobi!” Baku chimes in from the floor.
“I know.” He snaps, glaring at the bag for a moment before returning his focus to Sunao. “I’m not looking. I’m just gonna get you into dry clothes, then you can sleep.”
Tobi can’t help but glance at the large burn scars on the left side of the other boy’s torso as he pulls the dry hoodie over his head, firmly guiding his arms into the sleeves. He pretends not to notice the thin white scars running in a neat line along his left arm, overlapping with a burn scar near his wrist. That conversation can wait. He shifts Sunao so that he’s laying down with his head propped against the armrest, kneeling down and changing him into the too small pajama pants as quickly as he can, biting his lip when he spots even more of those thin white scars on his left thigh. He tosses the blanket over Sunao, tucking it around his sides a bit. He’s fully asleep now, breathing a bit more steady.
“He doesn’t look too good.” Baku comments, a little quieter now. Tobi nods, sinking to his knees and taking a deep, shaky breath. Fuchi is okay. He’s breathing. He’s just sleeping.
Tobi has to remind himself to breathe, trying to ignore the shake in his hands as he peels off his soaked jacket, then takes off his shoes and sets them by the door. He checks Sunao’s temperature and digs up a cooling patch to put on his forehead, pushing his wet hair out of the way to put it on, fingers lingering over the burn scar on his face for a moment before he pulls back. The shaking gets a little better as he places a few small wrapped boxes under the tiny christmas tree Ryuuko had insisted on, then dumps some candy into the 2 stockings hung up next to it.
“You okay, Tobi?” Baku asks as he leans over Sunao, listening to his breathing before sinking to the ground with his back against the couch. Tobi doesn’t answer, just brings his knees to his chest and pulls Baku over by the strap, wrapping his arms around the bag and hugging him, something he hasn’t done since he was a young child. Baku goes quiet, knowing just how rare it is for Tobi to drop the tough guy act.
“...I don’t know how to help him. I knew he wasn’t doing good, especially after that incident, but- I didn’t think he’d do something so drastic. He’s even been cutting himself, and I didn’t know… I don’t know what to do.” He admits, voice barely a whisper.
“We’ll figure that out in the morning, so get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on Fuchi, I can wake you up if anything happens. Okay, Tobi?”
Tobi nods, resting his face against the fabric and closing his eyes. Baku is right, he needs rest. He listens to Sunao’s slow, uneven breathing and lets himself relax, arms loosening around Baku as he falls asleep.