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To say that the world was spinning would be an understatement. Although it wasn't exactly spinning, more so... everything was fuzzy. Off. The molecules making up his body were buzzing and over sensitive, making everything feel… raw. Too real. Like he stepped onto an overly detailed television set.
It felt like trespassing. It felt like being stuck in a video game. Tei could practically see himself from behind, while a hundred micro decisions flashed over his eyes. Over everything.
He - He -
Oh god. Is he drunk? High? Please say he wasn't. Please, Please.
His heartbeat picked up the distinct rush of blood filling his ears like static, while each step echoed and retracted to a dizzying extent. Part of him was glad that he's seemingly alone.
...another part of him was terrified.
How can he verify if he's real if there's nothing else to bounce off of? How can he know if he exists without someone's perception to take root in?
But the Rabbit was there, right? At some point. It's gone now. It blinked away like it always does.
Oh god, his head hurts.
As his brain flooded from stimuli, his shaky legs carried him forward, wading through the thick magnetic fields determined to trip him.
Either he'll find a person, a monster, the void, or his bed.
The bed was the most preferable by far.
But… he should check in on Daiki first.
The thought stopped him in his tracks.
R-Right, Daiki. Daiki had been looking for him.
The newest objective didn't make walking any easier, but his head cleared, just a little bit.
Just enough that when he eventually turns the corner to a hallway full of doors—
What the hell is that?
Tei startled. Something is in the dormitory corridor, but he doesn't get a chance to wonder if the white smear dancing in his vision was a threat or not, because it noticed him too.
“Tei?” Something gasped.
Tei is unable to process or reply to the question before the white smear rapidly pranced toward him. The click of their shoes were pleasant on his ears. Somewhat? Its hard to tell.
The white smear shape became distinct and clear the closer it got. Until eventually it popped into focus, and Tei has to hold his breath to not startle back yet again.
Yaitabashi.
“Oh, thank god you're back,” Yaitabashi sagged with relief, a great deal of tension seeping out of him all at once. He looked as exhausted as Tei felt.
Tei could only shy away from the attention. There's no reason to get so excited over him, right?
“W-Why? Is it— was it my turn to cook tonight?” Nishiguchi wasn't here anymore, so that would fall to him now, wouldn't it?
“What?” Yaitabashi clearly wasn't thinking the same if the way his face scrunched said anything. “No! I couldn't care less about dinner.”
“Oh, right.”
“I'm more concerned with the fact that you're back and you're safe. We were all really worried about you.”
… Huh?
“You were?"
“We were. We were searching all three floors trying to figure out where you'd gone. We only stopped when the rabbit told us that you were receiving 'treatment' for your eyes.” He pauses, an empathetic look coating his features. He lowered his voice, just a touch, talking to him like he were a small child. “How are they feeling? Can you see everything okay?”
Something flared in Tei's chest. Was that condescension? It sounded like Yaitabashi had to walk on egg shells around him or else–
Calm down. That's probably not his intention. Tei reminded himself. He swallows thickly, his fingers finding its way into a lock of his hair, where it tangles among the curls before smoothing it out.
“... Sorta?”
“Sorta.”
Tei shrugged defensively. “Everything's kinda blurry? It- it looks like a VHS tapes that's lagging. Stuttering, I guess.”
“That… sounds rather frustrating.”
“You have no idea.” Tei brushes his hand through his hair, bringing more over his shoulders to ground him. He attempted to look around the hall, feeling too out of place and needing an escape, only for an intense vertigo to smack him across the face.
"What's wrong?" Yaitabashi asked quickly, clearly wanting to fix the issue at hand. Tei shook his head and ducked it, his dry eyes squeezing shut whilst his temples strained.
“I-I'm fine. I'm–… It's all so blurry, and bright.”
“Do they hurt at all?"
“Uh, no…? It's just…" He blinked several times, his ears rumbling as he forced them back open. "A lot?"
"Your eyes might be dilated." Yaitabashi leaned back with a gentle click of his tongue. "Honestly, I think it would be better if you went and laid down for now. Get some sleep and give your body a chance to recover.”
"You have no idea how nice that sounds right now…" Tei sighed, ran his fingers through his hair, "what time is it?"
"Just a little past midnight, I'm pretty sure."
"Right. In that case…" he rubbed his palm down his face, deliberating. "I'll lay down in a little bit, I wanted to check in with Ikeda first. Then I'll…" Tei's gaze drifted downward, a splotch of red catching his eye.
In Yaitabashi's hand was a wine red shirt.
Tei's breath stuttered. Huh? He blinked again, trying to force his eyes into focusing, but the more he tried the blurrier the world got. Fraying and wobbling around the edges, but the shirt remained his focal point.
Yaitabashi notably stiffened, his grip on the fabric tightening as he took a half step back that Tei didn't fully register.
Why did Yaitabashi have it? Tei wanted to ask, fully aware that his heart was starting to palpitate. Ikeda hardly ever took off his shirt. He didn't know how to—or at the very least he struggled immensely with it. On top of that, what reason would he have in taking it off? Why did Yaitabashi of all people have it?
There's a weird dark patchiness in the fabric, he couldn't tear his gaze away from it.
"Why do you have his..?"
"Right, don't freak out." He warned, clearing his throat.
What was that supposed to mean? Tei's vision warbled as he locked onto Yaitabashi's face, his entire body tense with enough energy to send Tei sprinting. His patience was rapidly waning. "What happened?"
Yaitabashi winced, holding his arms in front of his chest. Then he admits in a soft, cautious tone. "Ikeda got hurt."
Hurt? Daiki got hurt? Already? Did someone attack him? It hits him like a punch to the gut.
A plethora of horrid images unfurled in his head as he wrenched his gaze to the shirt. The dark stain now carried a sharp metallic Scent that left him nauseous and dizzy. Blood. That's blood, on Ikeda's shirt. Blood.
Tei wasn’t gone long, was he? The last thing he could recall was carrying Nishiguchi’s corpse to the freezer and hearing from Maekawa and Shishikura that Ikeda was regressed and looking for him.
Christ, he left Daiki all alone.
He was small and Tei avoided him like the plague, even going as far as to ignore the quiet knocking at his door that morning. The hell is the matter with him?
Each drag of breath tasted like the acidic fumes of a burnt cigarette.
“What happened? Wh-Where is he?”
"He’s fine.” Yaitabashi rushed to reassure him, holding his hands out like Tei was some aggravated dog that needed to be soothed. “Ikeda is alright, I promise. He and Kumada—”
“Kumada?”
Yaitabashi tensed.
Of course it was Kumada. Why is he even shocked at this point? Tei grimaced, turning his attention to the end of the hall, narrowing his eyes once he locked onto the girls door.
He needed to calm down. Tei could hear his teeth grinding more than he could feel it, an immense strain building in his neck and shoulders.
Yaitabashi shook his head, effectively silencing his mounting anger with a very simple command. "Never mind that! What's important is that right now, he is okay." He stressed.
"He is?"
"Yep." Yaitabashi turns and gestures in the direction of Ikeda's room at the end of the hall, "He's in his room, if you want to see him. I just got done re-dressing his bandages. He-" he hesitated, peering over his shoulder as he considered his next words carefully. It took everything in Tei to not barrel past him.
"He's... not doing so well right now. I don't know how much luck you'll have talking to him. At the very least, he might be happy to see you're back."
Tei tried to ignore how the sentiment made his eyes sting. He hoped that would be the case…
Even so, the idea of seeing Ikeda right now made his stomach lurch. He wanted to see him–no, he needs to see him and make sure he's okay... but he couldn't forget the fact that Ikeda was fully willing to trample on his corpse to escape.
Maybe that's on Tei. Maybe it was foolish to expect anything else.
His head was still swimming as he swayed in his spot. For half a second, he lost his balance and staggered, but he easily caught himself.
Yaitabashi gasped and reached to steady him, "Are you okay? do you need help getting back to your room...? Ikeda will be there in the morning."
"N-No, no. I'm fine." With needle like pain stinging behind his eyes, Tei peered past the double vision. His breath strained as he stepped around the smaller, dead set on getting to Ikeda's room before his body truly decided to send him crashing. "Thank you, Yaitabashi."
"Of course..."
God, hes tired. Tei massaged his temples as he reached the door. His hand hovered for a moment, debating on if he should knock or retreat to his room for the night. Yaitabashi was right, Ikeda would be there later…
But... but what if he wasn't?
Ikeda could easily die if Tei wasn't around. His life, his safety, was far from guaranteed.
Panic seized him, and suddenly hes panting, fast. Terror coiling through his skin, twisting at the joints and suffocating him.
K-Knock knock.
"Oh my god-" Ikeda whimpered from the other side, his voice shuddery and broken. Then, he shouted. "Leave me the fuck alone, Yaitabashi! Go away!"
"Daiki?"
Ikeda goes silent. There's a pause, then a pained yowl, and then fast footsteps. Tei doesn't have a chance to step back from the door, nor did he even realize he had been leaning against it, when it suddenly flew open.
Ikeda stood there, his puffy eyes wide and desperate and frantic, looking up at Tei like he was holding something precious just out of his's reach.
Tei felt just as frazzled. He held Ikeda's gaze, unsure what he could possibly say now that they're together again… or, at least until Ikeda wanted space again.
Before he could land on any one topic, his attention dropped to Ikeda's bare chest. There, he finds faint bruises staining his otherwise fair skin, the outline of ribs and a defined collarbone, and of course, the fresh, clean bandages.
He wrenches his gaze back to Ikeda's face. His vision still distorting with a thin layer of static wobbling the longer he focused. Until it was a jittery, glitch mess that was borderline painful.
He was stuck in place . Unable to move even as layers of static infested his ears, gradually growing louder as a series of nostalgic sound effects randomly melted through the noise.
God. Now wasn't the time for this…
"Wh- where the fuck were you?" Ikeda asked.
"I... don't know actually."
"You don't know-?! The rabbit took you right? Why dont you remember?"
"I was unconscious, I think... um... my head feels... its really hard to think..."
"Unconscious- wh... are you okay? You look…" Ikeda looked him up and down, "Rough…"
The question startled him, and Tei has to blink fast to manually clear the fog in his head, "yeah, yeah im- i'm fine. Uhm- but forget about that- Kumada hurt you?"
"Who told you that?"
"Yaitabashi. I came right away. What happened?"
Hesitance. "... Nothing."
"It didn't look like nothing, ikeda. There was blood, please, what happened."
Ikeda flinches and clenched his eyes shut, lowering his head as his trembling worsens and worsens. He shakes his head but its obvious that hes lying. "Will you stop? I-I thought you hated me now. Why are you here now...?'
"I don't." Tei replied automatically, before he could even think about it or decide if the nauseating swirl in his stomach was hate or not, but it didn't feel like hate.
"Don't-..." Ikeda bit his lip, his knees wobbling as his breath shudders. His eyes become glossy and and Tei could only watch helplessly as Ikeda tries to stop himself from crying, to no avail. The tears flow unbidden down his face and no matter how much he sniffled and tried to wipe them away, they kept coming. It reminded Tei of when he first regressed, how he began to cry and kept crying on and off all day...
Ikeda shook his head, "don't lie to me. You... you've been avoiding me this whole time. Why are you switching your tune now?"
"That- that's not what's..." Tei opens his mouth, an automatic answer on his tongue, but it withers, because he can't just say he wasn't.
He was ignoring Ikeda, he was avoiding him. In the aftermath of the trial, during the execution, he kept his head down and kept everyone else at arms length. The last thing he wanted was to have to be a kind person when his head was splitting open.
Annoyance, frustration, bitterness, all negative writhing emotions being shunted down forcibly in favor of willing up some sort of compassion or care so he can make this better, so Ikeda wouldn't have to cry.
But as he does, something in him stops. The negative feelings clog before rising back up again.
Why should he be the one to hide how he feels for Ikeda's sake? Ikeda has done nothing but hurt him the entire time they've been together. Tei couldn't count on one hand the amount of times that Ikeda has shown him compassion, and the gears in his head grind. Reminding him– he should give up, leave, its hopeless, pointless.
Ikeda then whimpers, admitting something, that puts a stop to the bubbling flood.
"I-I missed you..." he admits, so quietly that it could have just been a creak in the floor, "I-I thought you were gone, for good, and I-I'd never see you again. It... it hurt so bad, Tei… I... fuck, I..." he hiccuped, and covered his eyes. Leaving Tei to wonder what he meant. How long had he been gone, was it his physical absence, or the time spent apart?
Did it matter?
Tei rips into himself, feeling guilt for not having the patience. For wanting to be mad but physically being unable to. Its not fair, its not fair. Why cant Ikeda just apologize? Tei would be fine with just that, a simple, shitty apology. He would take anything.
He wants an explanation, he wants to know why Ikeda did what he had. Why he flipped between hateful and angry and clingy and kind. The Ikeda in the trial, who lowered his voice and leaned close and spoke with a softness Tei thought he was incapable of. Shoving off the responsibility of participating when - as the Bleeding, he should have been focused and prepared to derail and save himself.
Was that all fake? Did Ikeda play him like a fiddle? Was the week preceding the trial a ruse to lower Tei's guard and build credibility...?
Under all of that, was a persistent nagging longing for the other. If Tei was completely honest with himself...
"I missed you too." He says quietly, "I'm - I'm sorry. For avoiding you, I... I don't know. A lot has been on my mind, The trial, and -" he takes a slow breath, the red outline of a car flashing behind his eyes. "I-I... I trusted you, Ikeda."
"Tei..." Ikeda wiped away the tears, his skin red and raw. He took a deep, steadying breath, his eyes darting down to hall, back and forth before settling on him. “Do we have to do this out here?”
"I trusted you. I wanted to trust you, and I want to keep trusting you but How the hell am I supposed to do that right now? How can I believe anything you say or do is genuine at this point?"
Ikeda's shoulders round out as he shook his head, "its not like that. I couldn't-"
"Then what is it like, Ikeda?"
"I couldn't go against Ogura."
"Why not? Why not?" Tei rasped, his defenses crumbling. But its not like he didn't know, he knew why. Because Ikeda wanted to get home. "You- if the bleeding won, I would have been executed. You get that right?" Tei's knees wobbled at the expression coating Ikeda's face. Guilt and remorse and pain… Or maybe he's just seeing things. Maybe Tei is just trying to see the best in him. "Ogura said you had no objections to the plan whatsoever. So you would have been fine with me dying...?"
"Its a good thing you aren't dead then, isn't it? Ogura is dead. The bleeding lost. You won,. Happy?"
Tei flinched as the image of an erupting car flashed behind his mind's eye. He couldn't see it. He couldn't see anything after a certain point. He could barely hear anything beyond his palpitating pulse and the rush of painful ideas overwhelming his head.
"No. I'm not, Ikeda."
"Then what would make it better? You're alive and well and one step closer to going home. Do you want to hear that I had plenty of objections? Because I did. Lots of them, thank you very much," Ikeda grumbles. "I wasn't even going to let it get that far-"
Something flickers. It's not red, bit its bright. Everything was a hazy, blurry white that spun and spun. Tei sneered. "Stop."
"I'm serious, Tei." Ikeda sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair. "I couldn't exactly say shit because of the other Bleeding, but I promise you, I wasn't going to let you die."
"And how am I supposed to believe that?"
Ikeda tensed, as if the idea that Tei wouldn't believe him hadn't even crossed his mind. He stuttered. "Are you kidding me...? Why else would I bring the paper? You realize that we had to destroy the notes every morning so we didn't get caught, right? So why on earth would I purposefully keep one, intact, on my person, if not to show it at the trial. Come on."
Tei's face falls, the muscles in his neck squeezing his esophagus. He wanted to accept that logic, he wanted to just shrug off the storm clinging to his shoulders and embrace the sweet illusion of care.
But he couldn't, not after everything. "… It doesn't matter."
"You're joking."
"No, I'm not." Tei squints through the haze, its become starry and blinding and there's a distant pressure building in his shoulders and his head. "I cant just forgive you after that. Even if you decided to reveal it in the last second, you were still trying to win! I... put my trust in you, I put my faith in you, and I wanted to believe that you would never betray me. I would have never done that to you."
"What the fuck do you want me to say? How else am I supposed to prove it when you've made up your mind already?"
"I want you to apologize."
Ikeda tenses even more, his face pulled back with disgust as he sneered. "... For?"
"For everything. For the trial, for treating everyone- for treating Matthias like shit- for treating me like shit!"
"What? The hell are you talking about? I treat you fine," Ikeda fired back.
"... Don't tell me you forgot," Tei warned.
Ikeda narrowed his eyes in turn, his hands balled up into fists at his sides, his arms rigid. "Remind me, because I don't know what you're talking about."
...
Ha. Ha...! Tei's shoulders shook, his vision blurring. "I cant believe you." He muttered bitterly. That bitterness smoldered and then fizzled, and all at once, he wept. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"Wh…?" The door creaks, and Ikeda looks up and down the hall fast, before mumbling, "C'mon, get inside. You're going to wake everyone up with your wailing."
Despite the barbed language, his tone is undoubtedly tender. His steps are light, reaching up to grab his apron or something. Like a little kid trying to calm down their mother.
"You're so cruel and then you just forget?" The way Ikeda flinched back doesn't escape him, a look of fear blanching his red face, and Tei's stomach twisted and flipped violently. His anger bubbles like water in a boiling pot, steaming and shrieking like a kettle. "You just - forgot about all the comments you made about me during the first investigation? How you continuously do and say shit like that, all the time...?"
"Wh-... Is that what this is about?" And just like that, he's vicious again. "What, a couple of mean words and you're gonna bitch and cry about it?"
"Yes! I am!" His chest hurts, if feels like it could cave in. Whats the point? Why is he trying? "You do this every single time. It hurts. It hurts so much, because I— I care about you? You're..." Tei face falls, almost surprised as he pieced things together what Ikeda was for him. It felt pathetic and gross and exposing. "You're my only friend, and I-I didn't want anyone to know that shit about me in the first place, I didn't want you to know that about me. I didn't want you to think that way about me, and yet you... you..."
Whats he saying? Its hard to tell where hes going with any of this...
Ikeda scoffed. With a dismissive eye roll, he nearly spat. "Fine, I'm sorry. That's what you wanted to hear, right?"
For a brief moment, the whirlwind of emotion stops. All at once, like the fans have gone off, leaving the hallway in silence. All of his thoughts grind to a halt.
'That what you wanted to hear, right?'
Surely, Ikeda didn't just say that. No, surely he must be hearing things. Surely.
What did you expect? He wonders, slowly tilting his head to look at the smaller, fixating on the way Ikeda's glare hardened as he challenged Tei. His eyebags bunched, his lip twitching, exhaustion and agitation making him resemble a dog more than a person.
Try again. Tei commanded, waiting, watching.
But Ikeda doesn't say anything else. He sits there, his shoulder's rolling back, his stance wider, defending his space.
Ah. So thats the hill he wants to die on. Go fucking figure.
Tei's lips trembled into a tight smile. He shook his head and turned away, "I cant believe you."
"What?" Ikeda bucked his head, stepping into Tei's eyeline. "I did what you wanted, so why are you still pissed at me?"
"It's not that simple, Ikeda." With each word, Ikeda's shoulders rise and rise. The gap dip of his collarbone deepening to a worrying extent.
"And why is that, huh?" Ikeda planted his feet, staying firmly within his sight, and refusing to let Tei take his eyes off him. He throws out an arm, gesticulating furiously as he seethed. "I did what you wanted! I listened to you. What more do you want?"
"I— I don't know!"
They both flinch at the way Tei's voice echoed around them. His chest now tight as he surveyed the hall. They both stand silently, tense and still, as if they alerted a predator. Which, in this scenario… maybe they had. Who knows what someone could be planning. Tei ground his teeth. He didn't mean to shout, he really didn't. But Ikeda made it so easy. It was infuriating. Tei hated that Ikeda was able to push him to this extent.
After a moment of stillness, both of them were able to relax. There was no movement beyond the doors…
Tei really hoped Yaitabashi didn't hear it.
He lowered his head and took a slow breath, pushing out all the air from his chest.
He's so tired.
"... I don't know." He silently admitted, "I have no clue what I want right now. I'm exhausted, and my head feels like its going to pop... i'm sad, and i'm hurt, and I want so badly to believe you and trust you... but you're great at pretending."
"How is that my problem?"
"..." And just like that, fury swelled. Tei let out a terse laugh and shook his head. "It's... it's not. It's not your problem..." his laughs fizzled out and he stared to the side. He can't do this. He can't deal with this right now.
Tei doesn't feel himself turning. One moment he was facing Ikeda, the next the open expanse of the hall. It's dark. His head felt weird. It's so weird. He...
He can hear music... somewhere... it's faint, but it sounds like a crowd is singing somewhere beyond the walls of this damned laboratory.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Something tugged at his sleeve and without thinking Tei yanked it away. "To bed.”
Funny, Ikeda doesn't have a little comment this time. Something about that made him even more upset, but he brushed it off. Someone here had to be the bigger person. May as well be him.
"Sorry for bugging you." He added without looking at him, "I wanted to make sure you were okay... I'm going to lay down."
"I- No, wait, Tei, you can do that in my room." Ikeda suggested, tripping over himself as he followed behind him. "Y-You can have the bed!"
.... ?
"How generous." Tei mentioned flatly, it sounds like someone else is talking for him. "but I want to be alone right now."
“Tei, come on.” His voice takes on a flighty lilt, straining. Why did he sound like that?
It doesn't matter to him. Tei kept walking. Each step felt like it was taking him nowhere, the hall stretching far ahead of him. Everything sways and swims around him. Its nauseating.
"D-Dammit. Tei, please! Just fucking listen to me," Ikeda's voice broke as he chased after him.
Tei tried not to flinch, his hackles raising fast and tense as Ikeda approached his back. Don't touch him. Don't. Don't please. The patter of Ikeda's footsteps overlap in his ears, doubling, tripling until it was a sharp stinging buzz. Footsteps. footsteps, so many footsteps stampeding in his ears. His heartbeat throbbing in his stomach and throat.
"You want an apology?"
Tei faltered, his shoe dragging, and then his vision skips as Ikeda appeared in front of him. His face his pale and dread stricken, he looked petrified.
And then, to Tei's horror, Ikeda dropped to his knees.
He lets out a pained wince, his fingers twitching from the sudden collapse, and Ikeda peered up at him to desperately plead, "Look, I'll never admit this to your face again, s-so shut up and listen."
"Daiki, what are you-"
Bracing himself on his one arm, Ikeda bowed forward, until his forehead was pressed to the ground , the bandagaes covering his back on full display.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I promise. I-… I wanted you in!"
"... Huh?"
"I wanted you in the bleeding." Ikeda repeated, shaky and frantic, his entire frame trembling, "I asked, and she said no, but I wanted you in. I-I didn't want you to die. I never wanted you to die! Nor did I want to leave without you."
"I know that I'm awful. I'm crude and I never listen and I just make things worse and I hurt you, and even when I beg and apologize I'll end up doing it again, but... but I— I didn't want to hurt you. Or— or Ogura…" His voice cracked, and he pressed his head further into the cold floor, gasping, "I-I'm sorry. Im sorry. Please, please..."
Tei's blood ran cold with the next words out of his mouth.
"If— if you need to hit me or beat me or... Or whatever you want, just go ahead and do it, just… please just stay with me, Atsushi. Please. I know I dont deserve it, but please, I n-need you."
No. No, no, no. He- He didn't just say that… Tei's lips quivered as he tried to find the words. Nothing comes to mind. It's stuck, it's stuck like a looping disk- hit me, beat me, but dont leave me.
… Tei once wanted to say that to his mom. Wanted to give her the spoon so she could gift him welts instead of sleepless nights and endless self loathing.
So, why is Daiki saying that–
It happened again. A sudden strike in his skull. A deep, piercing plunge. Tei gasped and staggered back, stumbling as the world spun around him. He clapped his hands over his eyes, squeezing them tightly.
"Tei- ?”
He staggered. Hitting the wall way harder than he intended.
Daiki. Why did Daiki— Everything felt so disjointed. His body panicking, his thoughts racing, an overlapping plea to stop this anxiety attack, breathe, just relax, but he cant he cant because red stained the back of his eyelids in vivid explosive shades. Ogura, Nishiguchi, Ouno, Akiba. They're all dead. They're all dead they're all gone and Tei might be next. Ikeda might be next. Ikeda, so easily strucken down. Ouno concussed him. Hirose branded him. Akiba tore his shoulder from its socket and his arm– Tei did that. He could still feel the heft of the bat, and the way Ikeda jerked and screamed. Why did he accept it so easily? He got to his knees like it was the easiest thing in the word. Why? Why did he-?
Then, it stops. The panic. The hyperventilating. The visions. It's a jarring switch that made his body feel heavier than normal. Like someone snipped the strings carrying his marionette body. He could collapse if not for the understanding that it would wake someone up without a doubt.
He blinked. Ikeda is still there, on the floor, the dim fluorescent light bleaching his graying hair silver. He's no longer bowed with his chest to the floor, instead hunched over with his head lowered and his free hand shakily holding him up. He watched Tei through his bangs.
Oh god, he's going to puke. Something gurgles in the back of his stomach and he clapped a hand over his mouth, his lips quivering as saliva filled his mouth.
"... Are you seriously going to throw up?" Ikeda asked cautiously,
"Urgh... n... no?" He swallowed three times, each one was a painful struggle. "No, maybe? I'm .. i'm fine…" His eyes throbbed. Tei gasped, massaging his palm against his temple. "F-Fuck...! My head hurts so much."
"I thought the rabbit fixed it."
"Me too..."
"Do you want me to get Hirose-?"
"God, no." Tei rubbed his face, before taking Ikeda in again. God, why did he get on the floor like that? Tei shook his head and came forward, holding out his arm as he braced himself, “... Here, take my hand."
Ikeda swallowed thickly and nodded. His hand is covered in sweat, weak and fragile. He took a deep breath and held it as he tried to pull himself up, but with his other arm bound, it's far harder. Tei warned him quietly before he reached to hoist him up.
Ikeda stumbles when he's placed on his feet, his head falling backwards. Dizzy. Tei doesn't let him fall, holding him by his shoulders.
He's so skinny.
"You should put on a shirt,” Tei mumbled, "it's cold."
“Trust me, I'd love to! But all I have are my pajamas, and someone is refusing to go in, so whose fault is it really?” His voice was low and quiet, he still doesn't meet Tei's eyes.
Tei panted, pressing a hand against his chest. It's tight, his heart throbbing. “You… you seriously want me to lay down in your room?”
“I… I don't care where we go. You have your key, right? Your choice.”
“... I want to lay in bed tonight.” Selfish.
“Then you get the bed tonight.”
“Where will you sleep?” The bed. Tei wasn't going to let Ikeda lay on the floor. Not after that display.
“.... It doesn’t matter, Tei. Just - choose. I’ll figure it out.”
“Daiki-”
“Atsushi, Jesus Christ. Just pick. You look like you’re going to fucking fall, and I'm not going to be able to catch you if you do! Stop being stubborn, please.”
"Okay. C'mon."