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Asahi never knew Yuu to be late for practice. He never knew him to skip, either--at least, not without an explanation. And while most of the others on the team shrugged his absence off, he knew that there had to be something going on.
But when he decided to go check on his friend, he surely hadn't expected to find him cowering in a heap in his bathroom.
"Nishi... noya...?"
"A-Asahi, please, don't--"
Yuu’s pale face stared up at Asahi from under an oversized towel, wrapped loosely around his head and torso to hide from Asahi’s view. His hair hadn’t been slicked up today and strands of bleached hair limply clung to his forehead. He was surrounded by feathers the color of ink, tinged at the base with a crimson that sent a jolt down Asahi's spine.
He's hurt he's hurt he's hurt
"What happened, how can I help--"
"It's fine, I can just--" Yuu sucked in a breath and winced as he tried to uncurl from his position on the floor.
"S-stay there, uh, I'll get towels and soap..."
"Please, Asahi, this is too much for you to--"
"Should I call Tanaka? He was worried too, I think--"
“Don’t call him, please--” Yuu took a shuddering breath. “I have wings.”
Asahi froze. "... Pardon?"
"Wings. They're... I woke up with a back ache, and... I have wings growing out of my back. They hurt like hell, and I don't understand why they're happening, but..."
Yuu shifted, dropping the towel off his shoulders, and sure enough wings were sticking out of his back.
Wings.
“Asahi... I’m scared.” He wrapped his arms around himself and shrunk into himself. Yuu winced as his wings twitched from the movement, biting back a yelp of pain.
Asahi kneeled in front of the other boy. “I don’t know how to help, but I will. I promise.”
He stood up again and looked around Yuu’s bathroom to find a clean towel. When he did, he ran it under the tap and lathered soap on it.
“Is it okay for me to clean your back? It might hurt, but it’s better to clean it now before it fully dries.”
He nodded hesitantly and Asahi kneeled next to him again. Yuu turned around to present his back to the taller, and Asahi held back a gasp at the sight.
Yuu’s back was a mess. The feathers were still molting, and the skin had clearly been broken from where they were protruding. Asahi couldn’t imagine the pain his friend was in.
Friend. Asahi had always had a bit of a crush (“bit of” may have been an understatement considering how it formed from the moment of their first meeting) on Yuu, and while he’d always hoped to have some opportunity to grow closer with the other in a more private setting, he definitely hadn’t hoped this. He didn’t really imagine that their bonding would happen while he wiped blood off of Yuu’s back. He was glad that he could help him in any way he could, though.
Yuu gasped when Asahi first pressed the cold towel to his aching flesh.
“S-sorry, did that hurt?”
“A little, but... It’s fine. I’ll get used to it.” Yuu looked over his shoulder and grinned, though Asahi could tell it was forced--the sentiment was there, but he was in too much pain to really express it. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I always worry about you, Yuu.”
Yuu looked taken aback from the comment, eyes going wide for a split second before he recovered with a laugh. “W-well, I guess you have my back too, huh?”
Asahi laughed under his breath, breaking eye contact with the other. “I guess I do.”
Yuu turned around and Asahi resumed cleaning his back, the room silent except for Yuu’s occasionally gasp or quick intake of breath.
“Thank you for coming to check on me.”
Asahi almost didn’t hear Yuu from how softly he said it. “Well, of course I’d come check on you. You’re my friend... We’re friends, right?”
Yuu chuckled quietly. “I’d hope so. I don’t think anyone but friends could come over and offer to wipe the blood off the other’s back because they started randomly growing wings.”
Asahi grinned. “You’re right. But no matter what you were to me, I think I’d still offer to help you out.”
“... Thanks.”
There was a lull in the conversation, and Asahi knew Yuu had something more he wanted to say, something /else./ He didn’t want to press him, but if there was something troubling him--
“Why’d you come today, Asahi?”
His hand hovered over Yuu’s back as he paused to think about this. “Like you said, we’re friends. I was worried.”
“Still... The others must’ve assumed I was sick, or just skipping, or something...”
“But you weren’t. I guess I had a gut instinct.” Even though he knew Yuu was facing the other way, Asahi shrugged. “It’s not really in you to skip something you care about.”
“Didn’t anyone else say anything to brush it off, though?”
“They did, but... We all were uneasy about it. Tanaka really wanted to come, but he hand some other plans he had to go to.”
“So you came for him?”
“No, I wanted to come. He asked me to tell him what happened, but I’m not sure that I can now...” Asahi had meant it as a joke, but Yuu tensed up nonetheless.
“Ryu will think I’m a freak, won’t he?”
“... Yuu, he’s your best friend. He won’t care. You’re still you, wings or no wings.”
Yuu turned and faced Asahi, sitting up on his knees to reach Asahi’s eye level. “Don’t you think I’m a freak? Because I would, if I came to check on someone that missed a club meeting, and found out that they’d sprouted wings--“
“I don’t think you’re a freak. I think... I think that there’s something going on that neither of us know about. Some reason you’d grow wings all of a sudden like this.”
He deflated and moved back on his haunches. “... Sorry for bursting out like that.”
Asahi tentatively took Yuu’s hand in his. “This is a big change. It’s okay to feel scared. Who wouldn’t feel scared about something like this?”
Yuu bit his lip and nodded. “Yeah...”
They sat in silence holding hands for a beat until Yuu leaned over and brushed his lips against Asahi’s in a chaste kiss.
“... S-sorry. Again.”
“No, don’t be sorry--I, um, liked it. A lot.”
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Yes. Okay. Yes.”
Yuu repeated the action, grinning against Asahi’s lips as he did. When he pulled away, his eyes lit up like the spark in him had been reignited.
“We’ll be okay as long as we’re together, right?” Yuu fiddled with Asahi’s fingers.
Asahi nodded with a smile. “I think we will.”