Work Text:
The apartment was nearly silent, the only sounds filling the air the soft skritch-skritch of graphite against thick paper and a boy's shallow breathing. The brunet sat curled up in a corner of the couch, a soft blanket wrapped around him as he hunched over his sketchbook. His bandages laid in a discarded pile of torn fluff on the coffee table, except for the ones wrapped around his arms, which were fresh and had a couple of dabs of drying blood speckling their pure white expanse. The front door made a clicking noise as it unlocked, swinging open so that a ginger-haired young man could step inside, a couple of grocery bags incased in red floating behind him. Chuuya kicked off his shoes and with a slight flick of his hand, sent the groceries floating obediently onto the kitchen island and his shoes onto the shoe rack.
After finishing hanging up his coat and hat, Chuuya glanced over at the couch, looking vaguely annoyed but not surprised to see his partner sitting there. "You're still here?". "You never told me to leave." Was the indifferent reply, Osamu's voice raspy as if he had been crying. Chuuya walked over to the brunet and tilted his head up with a finger to look at him, wine-red lips thinning at Osamu's appearance. Osamu's skin had an unusual slight pallor as though he had lost blood, his big, uncovered doe-like eyes were red and puffy farther enforcing the idea that he had been crying, and his lips were bitten raw in a way that seemed like they had only recently stopped bleeding.
"Bad day?" the ginger asked sympathetically, ruffling Osamu's hair and pressing a kiss to his cool temple. Osamu gave a small nod, adding more shading to his drawing with the flat of his pencil. "Yeah.". Chuuya moved to sit on the couch arm beside his partner before continuing to comb his fingers through chocolate curls, detangling knots as he came across them. "Why didn't you call me?". "Couldn't." Osamu replied, leaning into his partner's touch. "I wanted to.". "That's okay," Chuuya soothed, allowing Osamu to rest his head on his lap and shifting so the younger boy would be more comfortable. "Have you eaten anything? Breakfast or a snack?".
Osamu shook his head, setting aside his sketchbook and pressing his face into Chuuya's thighs. "I tried to eat some of the coquillettes au jambon you made last night, but I couldn't.". "Did you throw up?" Chuuya asked, which caused his partner to jolt at the reminder and nod as he let out a low groan. "Yeah..." Osamu mumbled, upset. "I'm sorry, Minou." the ginger said, gently raking his nails against the brunet's scalp in a soothing massage. "Do you want to try again? I can get out some crab for you?". Osamu nodded again but didn't raise his head. "Osa?" Chuuya asked, ruffling Osamu's hair. "I need you to move so I can get up.". Osamu let out a huff but pulled himself up with what seemed like great effort, reaching his arms out like a toddler when Chuuya got to his feet. "Carry me?".
Chuuya dipped his head, a fond smile curling the corner of his lips. "C'mere.". Osamu managed a smile of his own and made a soft noise of delight, clinging to his partner like a koala on a tree as he was lifted into strong arms. Bony fingers twisted in thick ginger hair as the brunet was carried, stroking along the silk-soft locks as Osamu hummed quietly. "Feelin' better?" Chuuya asked upon hearing the tune, setting Osamu down in front of one of the chairs sitting at the kitchen island. "A bit." Osamu agreed, pulling himself up onto his chair and swinging his legs.
Chuuya knelt next to one of the cabinets and retrieved a small tin can of crab, remarking as he did so. "You bounced back quickly.".
"Must've been because of Chuuya." Osamu said, mischief twisting his lips. "I read somewhere that dogs are VERY beneficial to the healing process.". Chuuya rolled his eyes and sent the opened can lazily floating toward his partner. "Oh shut up, Osamu.". Osamu reached into the can with his fingers and picked out a bite of crab, letting out a content sigh the moment it touched his tongue. "Nah, don't wanna.". Chuuya turned around from the refrigerator and wrinkled his nose at his other half. "Are you really eating that with your fingers?". Osamu licked the residue off his fingers with a faux-innocent look, his big eyes round and wide. "You didn't give me anything to eat with. What was I supposed to do?".
The ginger rolled his eyes and, after retrieving a pair of chopsticks, plopped down in the seat beside Osamu. "Here, you idiot.". Osamu pushed the can towards his partner and batted his eyes with his mouth open. "Feed me?". Chuuya rolled his eyes yet again but gathered up a sizable bite of crab none-the-less and fed it to the brunet. "Whatever,". Osamu smiled around his food, eyes squinting up slightly, the faint divots of his dimples hollowing in his cheeks. Chuuya raised an immaculately arched brow at his partner as he gathered up another bite. "No thank you?". Osamu rolled his eyes then said in the high-pitched drippingly sweet tone he knew Chuuya hated. "Thank you Chuuyaaa!~".
The ginger scrunched up his nose and prodded the chopsticks hard against Osamu's lips. "Why did I even ask?" Chuuya muttered, venting his frustration by crumpling the empty can into a tiny ball and sending it flying into the garbage can as fast as he could without breaking anything.
"Chibi should learn to think before he speaks, it would really improve his quality of life." Osamu suggested, chewing on an already shortened thumbnail as he trailed Chuuya to the bedroom. With god-like strength Chuuya ignored his partner and guided the brunet to sit on their shared bed. "You can drop the act, Osamu.". Osamu let out a little puff of a laugh, though a weak one. "I don't know what you're talking about.". "Osamu." Chuuya said firmly, cupping his hands on either side of Osamu's neck and tilting his face up slightly to look him in the eye. "I know you well enough at this point to know when you're masking. It's okay, I don't give a shit whether you're 'normal' or not.".
Osamu didn't reply, though the artificially bright look on his face began to fade into a very slight upward tilt of lips coupled with flushed pink ears. Osamu wrapped his arms around Chuuya's middle and pulled him closer, hiding his face. "Chuuya is absolutely ridiculous." the younger boy muttered though it missed its usual bite.
"Wanna go play a game?" Chuuya offered, cradling Osamu's head to his chest with hands gentle despite their winding black tattoos and rough calluses. "I'll let you pick this time.". After a moment of silence, Chuuya shifted his weight to his other leg and added. "Or we could stay like this, if you let me sit down.". Osamu let out a small noise that bordered on a giggle, tilting his head up to nearly meet his partner's eyes, looking instead at the piercings situated above and below the ginger's left eyebrow, dull eyes sparking with a hint of his usual authentic mischief. "As if I'd miss a chance to see you cry when you lose at Mario Kart.".
Chuuya smirked and tugged gently at a tuft of soft coffee-brown hair. "Don't get too cocky, Osa. Just because you have more experience doesn't mean I won't kick your ass.". Osamu surged to his feet and caught Chuuya before he fell back, cold bony fingers wrapped around warm, black-patterned wrists.
Osamu leaned in close, their breath mingling. "We'll see about that, Mon Prince~".
The brunet gave his partner a peck on the lips before scampering off, leaving Chuuya to stand blankly for a moment with a flush as red as his lips before following in close pursuit, laughing as he tackled Osamu onto the couch.