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Stood on the edge / tied to the noose / but you came along and cut me loose.
“Shishou’s true identity…He is a good person.”
Reigen feels his shoulders drop, his chest fold, as if a 200 pound weight has suddenly befallen him, threatening to knock the air right out of his lungs. He’s aware that his face is wet and he can’t even remember when the tears had begun. Not that it mattered. None of that mattered. The whole world could have stopped right then and there and Reigen wouldn’t have cared, because in the end his student had still accepted him, lies, flaws, scams and all. Mob had defended him when the rest of the world was ready to cut him down, though why Reigen could still not understand, heaven help him.
Reigen feels Mob stare on his back, burning right down to his core, exposing him. He still can’t bear to look at him in the face. He lets out a breathy sigh, wiping his nose quickly with the back of his sleeve. “Let’s go get ramen.” Reigen mutters, to which Mob replies simply, as he always does, “Okay.”
They walk in silence, awkwardly. Not that they were ever much for conversation before, and not that Mob is one to mind silence. But there is a difference this time to the silence, thick with weight of Mob’s reveal. Mob had known. Mob had known. He had known the whole time. Reigen's head is spinning.
When they find a place, Reigen notices the hush that falls over the kitchen staff – how they whisper in each other’s ears and jab fingers in his direction, no doubt having just watched the TV broadcast of the press conference. Any other day Reigen would have been able to shake this off, laugh at their visible gawking, but today he’s too tired, too worn.
From his side Mob watches him, dark eyes wide and questioning. “Shishou.” Mob finally says after they place their order. “Happy Birthday.”
Reigen turns, mouth open in genuine surprise. Mob has wished Reigen happy birthday before - but now of all times to hear it said so normally, so casually, after everything...Reigen feels as though he doesn't deserve it. “Ah, thanks – thank you Mob.” It felt like an eternity, but his birthday had only been a few days ago. Funny how unimportant it all seemed now. What the hell was his age again? Reigen can't seem to remember. All he knows is that he's old, he feels old.
He reaches out and pats Mob on top of his head, his mouth twitching into a crooked smile. “Thanks a lot Mob,” he says again because he can’t think of anything else, honestly. Mob has a tendency to do that, to rob Reigen of words.
Mob’s hair is soft beneath Reigen's hand and he ruffles it, amused. Mob brushes his hand off, mouth folding slightly. Never one to protest directly, always much too considerate of others. Too kind, Reigen muses.
When they leave, Reigen walks Mob home, stopping short when they are few blocks away. He would not be a welcome sight, Reigen was sure, to the Kageyama household, not after everything that had been reported on TV and spread on the internet. It didn’t help that the little brother was already suspicious of him. Best to play it safe.
“Mob,” Reigen starts. “You don’t have to come to work tomorrow.”
Mob cocks his head slightly. “Why?”
“Well.” Reigen coughs, averting his eyes. “Things will be different. Phones will be ringing off the hook tomorrow. And besides…” Reigen trails off. He doesn’t want to say this, but he knows he has to. If there was one thing he had decided, it was that from this point on he would no longer hold Mob back. Selfishly, he wanted nothing more than for Mob to stay by his side, but that was his problem, not Mob's.
“You know what I am now. And I don’t want to use you anymore.”
God, that hurt like hell. The words leave a terrible metallic taste in Reigen's mouth as he says it. Reigen folds his arms and looks to the ground, waiting for Mob to just nod and leave, follow his orders as he always does, and that would be that. He would leave eventually right? Kids grow, so it was only natural. It was for the best then to get this done with now as opposed to later. He had already had to spend the past several weeks without Mob, so at least now he was used to Mob’s absence.
“No.”
Reigen blinks, turning to look Mob in the face. Had he just heard that correctly? He couldn’t be sure, old man that he was.“Excuse me?” he chokes.
“No,” Mob repeats, his mouth pressed into a hard line. His hands are clenched into fists at his side. “Shishou, I am going to work tomorrow. That is my decision.”
Reigen shakes his head, exasperated. No, no. Mob isn’t thinking clearly, or at the very least he's just saying this because he pities Reigen, neither of which Reigen wants. Reigen waves his hand dismissively. “Mob, you said before that this is a time of your life where you should be doing things. And I’m saying now that working for me is not one of those.”
Mob is looking at the ground now, his eyebrows furrowing together in what Reigen can only guess is frustration. Why? He had been having fun with friends before, so why now does Mob care if this changes? Reigen decides to drive home his point. He's good at arguments anyways.
“I don’t pay you much and the hours are long. You deserve to be with your friends, to work out, to chase after your Tsubomi.” Reigen pauses, then adds carefully: “You need to move forward, Mob.”
Mob’s head swings up abruptly and Reigen finds himself caught off guard, unprepared. Mob’s eyes are fierce, voice steady and firm as he says, “I don’t care. Shishou, I want to work with you.”
For the second time that night, Reigen is speechless. It's a rare thing, seeing Mob this determined, this self-assured. And stranger still for Reigen is that Mob wants to be with him at all. Mob knows how to control his powers now. He knows how to talk with friends, albeit still being a bit awkward about it. Reigen has taught Mob all that he needs to know, and still Mob chooses him. Why? Reigen knows Mob has no answers. He isn’t very articulate, after all. Perhaps that's the one thing Reigen still has to teach him.
But still, Reigen can't help himself. It's a silly question, but he finds himself asking nonetheless. "Why?"
Mob doesn't falter, doesn't hesitate for one second. "Because I want to be with Shishou," he says plainly, as if the answer were so simple, as if there were no reason to think otherwise.
Reigen holds Mob’s gaze, feeling the fight drain from his limbs. He wonders how Mob can be so oblivious: any other person would have long left Reigen by now, deterred by the lies, the bullshit advice, the measly pay. Reigen realizes this is the first time he's failed to win an argument with Mob. How unfortunate that this time he was trying to convince Mob for his own good.
Reigen sighs, rubbing his temples. “Fine,” he breathes. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, the usual time.”
Mob’s shoulders relax, mouth curving into a smile borne of the realization of his victory. “Okay,” he nods happily.
Reigen can’t help but smile in return, his features softening. The one thing in his life that he couldn’t say no to: Mob. This kid would be the death of him. Without thinking, he opens his arms to Mob. He and Mob were not ones for hugging, or physical contact in general for that matter, but today was different, just like it was in so many other aspects. So much had changed between him and Mob, it only seemed fitting that this might be one as well.
That being said, Reigen doesn’t expect Mob to accept the hug – he half expects him to bolt the other way. So when Mob walks into Reigen’s arms, his head fitting beneath Reigen’s chin easily, Reigen’s eyes widen, shocked. Without thinking, he pulls Mob close to his chest, squeezing with all his might. The one person who never failed him. His one constant, Mob. Mob.
Mob squeezes back, but his Body Improvement work has yet to catch up with him, his small arms barely a whisper against Reigen’s back.
Reigen becomes aware that he's been holding Mob too long, his face is too close to Mob’s hair and he can smell the faint citrus scent of shampoo. He draws Mob back abruptly, his hands resting on Mob’s thin shoulders. Mob looks up at him, his cheeks slightly flushed against his pale skin. Mob feels stiff under Reigen’s palms.
Shit.
“Well then,” he dusts off Mob’s shoulders with a shaky laugh. “You’d best get going.” Reigen's face is hot, heart beating as though he just ran a 5K. Not that he could, given the shape he's in.
“Yeah,” Mob murmurs, shuffling his foot on the ground. He turns, then looks back. “Good night, Shishou.”
“Good night." Reigen raises his hand in a jerky fashion to wave.
Reigen watches him go, exhaling loudly when Mob was out of sight. He shoves his hands in his pant pockets, kicking the ground half-haphazardly. That was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He shouldn't have hugged Mob like that - Mob is his student and Reigen needs to be professional. And more importantly, he would have to try convincing Mob to leave again later. After all, despite Mob's growth, Reigen is still the adult of the two, and Mob needs to experience his youth properly.
But for now, for now - it's enough to have Mob back.
Reigen sighs, smiling wryly to himself. He's going to need a smoke when he gets home.