COLLEGE AU MASTER POST

[tosshi]

yeah keeping it all to one post!

content warning for a lot of sexual and/or violent stuff just like this whole musebox.

Comments

[endureditall]

[The moment he hears Takaya's voice, he reaches out, grasping at his brother's shirt with his good hand. He tries to speak, he really does, but he has to cough again, and he can feel the blood dribbling down his chin. Takaya can see that, he's sure, and that makes Kariya tighten his grip because he came back but he'll get scared enough to leave again and he can't bear that idea]

Stay..!

[When he finally manages to speak, his voice is strained, his throat swollen from the coughing and screaming]

Don't leave. Never again...!

[ohbugger]

I'm not! I said I won't--

[That blood makes his own run cold, and instinctively he wants to hold Kariya, to find some way to take all that pain and illness on himself instead. But he's afraid to do more that lightly touch, just in case he makes it worse, and his voice cracks -- he doesn't even notice he's started to cry already, just from sheer panic.]

Y-You're really sick, Kariya. You need to go to the hospital, okay?

[endureditall]

[He shakes his head slowly -- no hospitals. Not right now. Not when being there would make people question what happened to him. That would lead them right back to Zouken before long, and he doesn't want to begin to imagine what the consequence of that could be]

You let me go once! And when I woke up, you weren't there-- Thought you'd left because you were scared of me...you're not, are you?

[ohbugger]

Scared of you...?

[In a way, he is. Kariya's acting strange, not at all like normal. And he's so sick, but in a way that seems entirely unnatural, and he doesn't want to see a doctor... how can he not be a little afraid? He pauses -- he wants to stay no, but his hands are shaking and his mouth is just too dry.]

[endureditall]

[Kariya nods slowly, and he reaches out to wipe a tear from his twin's eye. His thumb is swollen thanks to his outburst, and it'd be hard not to notice the needle tracks that peek out from beneath the cuff of his sleeve.

He's a little scared, a little vacant, and there's a far-off wonder in the way he looks at his twin, lips parted, stare blank. Not long ago they were identical, and the differences now makes the sorrow in Kariya's chest swell to near-bursting. He's such a freak now.]

[ohbugger]

[Of course he notices. Quicker than is conscious, things start to add up, and suddenly he grabs Kariya's wrist, yanking his sleeve down without warning.

He's so confused and stressed that it's hard to stay remotely calm. His voice is tense and sharp with worry, but also with anger.]

What is this? You didn't just catch something, did you? Kariya, you tell me what's going on right now!

[endureditall]

[The sudden grab startles him from his daze and he wrenches his arm away from Takaya, shaking his head and taking several startled steps backwards.]

It's something I have to deal with.

[Kariya huddles in his hoodie and he's thin enough to nearly disappear inside of it. If Takaya knew, he'd make it stop -- it's a thought that both thrills and terrifies Kariya. The thought of his twin not only staying, but protecting him is something he finds himself desiring almost inexplicably much, and yet...

If they stop now, what happens to Sakura?]

[ohbugger]

Tell me!

[He's riding the wave of frustration right now. Otherwise he'd back down, go back to being unassuming and out of the way just like they're both so good at. But disappearing into the background is something they're supposed to do together. Everything is something they are supposed to do together. He messed up in ever letting that change, and he's not just going to let it go now.]

[endureditall]

[He flinches when Takaya raises his voice again]

Why? It's too late to do anything now! It doesn't have anything to do with you!

[ohbugger]

Don't say that! Whatever's going on, you're not facing it alone anymore, okay? I promised I'm staying, and that means we're in it together. No matter what. So don't you even think about hiding things from me!

[endureditall]

[All that was exactly what Kariya wanted to hear. Right now the reassurance and the insistence that Takaya wants to be here and be with him is far too precious after their separation. He speaks slowly when he finally manages to gather his wits]

...you can't get in the way. You have to promise not to.

[ohbugger]

No.

[He shakes his head, moving to get his hands back on Kariya's shoulders. Right now, the contact is important. They've always shared comfort through physical touch, and it's something he's craving both giving and receiving when everything's so wrong.]

I can't sit by and watch you get hurt...

[endureditall]

[He leans in, burying his face in Takaya's shoulder as best he can.]

Even if someone else gets hurts instead...?

[ohbugger]

...I can't give you answers when I don't know anything. Just tell me. We can figure something out.

[And in the meantime he'll just turn his frustrated grip into a gentler embrace. Even with the smell of illness and the emotional turmoil, it just feels more natural to be physically close like this.]