Fist Fight
Pairing, Timeline: Arashi "Benkei" Keizou / Kokonoi "Koko" Hajime, Post Kanto Manji Arc
Rating : T
Words : 1905
AO3 : Here
Benkei vs Koko Round Two : Benkei gets his sweet revenge for Koko punching him at the Kanto Battle, but Koko is really the winner here.
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“Come on, get up.”
Seriously contemplating spitting at Benkei’s shoes, Koko swallowed down the iron flavored saliva coating his tongue. Glaring up at the man above him, Koko was so tempted to slip his hands out of the boxing gloves he had been forced into, and throw them at that big, brutish face.
“On your feet, little Hajime. We’re not here to relax.”
“I didn’t agree to this.” Koko’s voice was garbled, tongue trying to press down the guard that was supposed to be protecting his teeth, but only managed to cut the inside of his lip and slur his speech. “You made me bleed.”
“Comes with the territory. Now, get off your ass.” Extending an arm to the man at his feet, Benkei hoisted Koko off of the boxing ring mat, backing up to allow Koko to steady himself. Koko knew he looked highly uncomfortable, thin arms dangling at his side as the weight of the gloves pulled him down. Face sweaty, and hair disheveled as if he hadn’t even brushed it this morning, Koko wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, and delete Benkei’s number from his phone.
When he had agreed to this, he had assumed he would be lifting weights or throwing hits at a punching bag, not immediately being dragged into the boxing ring to go toe to toe with a man three times his size that made him feel frazzled and out of his element whenever they shared more than 10 words.
To think he had trusted Inupi. He promised that Benkei had no malicious intent. Inupi was sure that he only wanted to help Koko refine his less than impressive combat skills as he said.
But no. That was not the case. Not at all. Benkei clearly had a vendetta against Koko stemming from the very lucky and very unexpected hit he had gotten in at the trainyard. Even Koko had been shocked when Benkei fell flat on his back. He was never the first one to throw himself into the middle of a fight, not unless it was a last resort and he had no other choice.
He was not a first line fighter. Benkei knew this. The first thing Benkei said to him after joining Kanto was simply “you never change, do you?”
Because of course he didn’t. He never would. He was much more comfortable sitting behind a desk than riding on a motorcycle. He much rather preferred the tips of his fingers to be chapped from dealing with paperwork and hundred dollar bills than from the grips of barbells and the inside of boxing gloves. He definitely preferred watching Benkei work from a distance than being in front of his gloves.
He also hated being sweaty. Lifting the collar of his shirt, Koko wiped the sweat from his face, grimacing at the way the fabric clung to his chest.
“Can we take a break?”
Benkei pondered the question before agreeing, pulling his hands out of his gloves and dropping them on the floor of the ring before reaching out to undo the strap securing the gloves around Koko’s wrists. Stepping on the bottom rope, Benkei pulled up the top ropes to create a Koko sized gap. Koko felt his cheeks flush in frustration as Benkei let the bottom rope go as he stepped over it, the elastic snapping it back into place, and smacking his ass in the process.
Benkei’s deep laugh boomed throughout the empty gym as Koko hopped to the floor. He stalked his way over to the bench pushed against the wall, plopping down and crossing his arms across his chest. Koko spit his mouth guard into his hand, wiping it off on the edge of his shirt as he vowed to toss it right out later.
Benkei joined him a few minutes later, holding a bottle of water over Koko’s head as if he was about to douse him. With a laugh at the concern in Koko’s expression, he handed the bottle to him instead. Koko averted his eyes as he took a sip of the cold water, avoiding looking directly at Benkei while he used the lower edge of his tank top to wi[e the sheen of sweat away from his own face.
“You’re doing much better than I thought. Maybe that lucky shot you took was more than just a little bit of luck.”
Koko tipped his head down, allowing his bangs to hide the flush on his cheeks. “Please. You know I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, but you listen. Surprisingly. But maybe you’re just motivated to not get hit in the face again.” Holding a palm out expectantly, Benkei waited patiently as Koko stared up at him in confusion. “Your hands. Let me see ‘em.”
Koko frowned, flexing his hand against his thigh, fingers popping as he realized how sore they truly were. Gingerly, he placed his left hand in Benkei’s outstretched palm as his left was the only one that had been able to make any sort of contact with the older man’s body that evening. So Koko was two for fifty when it came to all the punches he had ever thrown at Benkei. Tactical defense seemed to suit his style much better, and carried much less risk for broken fingers.
Benkei held his hand gently, bending Koko’s fingers manually, stretching out the muscles and tendons in his wrist, before delicately adjusting the wraps on his hand. Benkei’s grasp was impossibly warm, despite just holding an ice cold water bottle. Koko wanted to pull his hand away, but as soon as Benkei finished with his left, he was holding his hand out again, expecting Koko to place his right hand in the center of his palm. Palms so big that they almost made Koko’s hands look like a child’s.
Koko leaned away, clocking his head on the wall when he registered just how close Benkei was to him. Benkei looked at him in amusement, continuing to adjust the wraps on Koko’s hand that had become loose in the first portion of their workout.
“Do you have to stand so close?”
In response to Koko’s question, Benkei adjusted his footing just enough so that his knee would now be bumping Koko’s as he began working the joints in Koko’s right hand and wrist.
“Oh not at all. Could definitely be standing on the other side of the room to do this. Just love to see you blush up close.” Pulling on Koko’s ring finger until the joint popped, Benkei stepped just far enough away so that they were not breathing the same air any longer. Koko wished he could shove him across the room, giving him just enough time to escape from all the taunts and teases that Benkei had been subjecting him to that evening.
“You really are impressing me, ya know. You’re picking up things that beginners don’t usually get for a while.”
Rolling his eyes, Koko tucked his hands under his arms as he crossed them over his chest again. “Whatever, I’m only here because Inupi asked me to come. I don’t actually want to learn boxing. Especially not from you.”
“Sure. Which explains why you’re trying so hard, right?” Grabbing his gloves from the floor of the ring, Benkei tossed them in Koko’s direction, snorting when he jumped at the smack of the gloves on the concrete floor. “And why your staring problem was so bad when Wakasa and I would spar with the other Kanto guys. It’s not me at all.”
Mouth gaping open like a fish out of water, Koko slammed the bottle on the bench, flinching when water splashed on his newly wrapped hand. “No, no. It’s not-”
“I don’t really think you’re Wakasa’s type, so if I was mistaken and it’s him you’re into…good fucking luck.”
“No,” Koko tried to emphasize, but Benkei just grinned at him, seeing right through his little lies. “It’s not like that at all, you annoying behemoth.”
“Yeah. Sure. Break time’s over.”
Koko reluctantly grabbed the hand Benkei held out to him, allowing himself to be hoisted off the bench to his feet. Benkei pulled him a bit too strongly, as Koko stumbled a few steps forward on shaky legs, only catching himself in time to not run directly into Benkei’s chest. He resisted the second slight tug on his arm, planting his feet firmly to avoid being crushed against Benkei’s firm body.
Benkei smirked at him, proud to have rattled Koko prior to their last few sparring matches, and Koko felt his tongue reflexively stick out as Benkei helped him back into the ring. “Be careful with that. Might get you into trouble one day.”
“What kind of trouble?” As if Koko didn’t already know.
Sticking his hands back into his gloves, trying to ignore the cold feeling of sweaty fabric against his fingers, Koko stuck his arms out, allowing Benkei to fasten the straps around his wrists.
“How much longer do I have to do this?” Koko whined, fingers already sore inside of the gloves as they swung down to hang at his sides.
“Well why don’t we make it a bet?” Benkei proposed, a mischievous smile clouding his intentions.
“A bet, you say?”
“Yeah. Best two out of three. Winner gets a prize of their choice.”
“How about, the winner of this next match gets a prize, because the only thing I want right now is to leave.” Koko knew he was being a bit too whiny but he couldn’t help it. He was still highly uncomfortable between the sweat and the boxing gloves and being outed for staring.
“Fine. Get ready then. Gloves near your nose.”
“Wait, what do you want -”
“Get ready. I’m not going to blindside you like you did to me.”
Quickly setting his feet and pulling his gloves to protect his face, Koko prepared himself for the hit that quickly knocked him to the ground. Koko cursed and pulled at the gloves with his teeth, throwing them at Benkei’s feet.
“Awe come on, one more, Hajime. You didn’t even try.”
“No, I’m done. What do you want?”
Rolling his eyes, Benkei tossed his gloves to the side, reaching down to grab Koko by the front of his shirt and pulling him to his feet. Koko did not even have the opportunity to protest as Benkei swallowed down any complaints he was about to spew by sealing his pathetic pout in a seemingly never ending kiss. Koko grabbed Benkei’s large hand in his own, digging his nails into the back of his hand as he attempted to pry him off.
When Benkei finally let him go, Koko shoved his hands against Benkei’s chest, pushing him away with all of the strength he had left in his body. “Jerk!”
“Yeah, yeah. Now buy me dinner.”
“Excuse me?”
“I won. Buy me dinner.”
Koko scoffed and turned on his heel so that he could slide to the ground beneath the rope of the boxing ring. “Absolutely not.”
“I knew you could be a bitch and a scam artist, but didn’t really take you to be someone to go back on his word.”
“I’m not.” Koko glared up at Benkei, still in the ring, with his hands on his hips. Benkei rested on the top rope, leaning over to make eye contact with Koko. “You just claimed your prize. Better luck next time.”
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A/N : So one day Imi asked me "when are people going to talk about Benkei and Koko" and I said now. Right now.
So here is right now. These two KILL me, so hopefully I'll have some more of them in the future
Twitter : @_dreyars Tumblr : @dreyars (writing) and @ebumimasaru (personal)
