You are the bestest best, the most talented ever, the sweetest sweet in the store. You're amazing and I'm the happiest to be your friend teehee
I just wanted to praise you, but since I'm here and your post say its mandatory, I shall suggest KazuScaraHei for the event, with lee Scara? Maybe the boyfriends are to go out on a date and Scara is getting some "help" as he dresses up and tries out fits?
Anyway, feel free to dumb this one. I just wanted to say that I love you work, your stories, your creativity and the way you do things. You deserve every single one of those followers and much, much more!!
[3k milestone celebration]
A/N: Fabi 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 I'm the happiestest to be your friend 🥺🥺💖💖💖 thank you so much, I love you mwah 💕
"That one looks perfect,” Kazuha murmured, but he didn’t sound entirely sincere, especially not with his fingers ghosting just under Scaramouche’s ribs when he, apparently, smoothed out some crinkles in the fabric.
“You’re not helping!” Scaramouche protested, choking on a giggle he so desperately tried to hold back as he writhed. He could see in the mirror how his cheeks resembled two apples and his lips were quirked up in a forced, silly smile.
Heizou gently tugged at his waistband under the pretense of ‘adjusting it better,’ but his fingers traced the curve of Scaramouche’s hipbone, making him giggle stupidly loud. Heizou and Kazuha hummed in agreement as both their hands wandered with suspicious coordination. “Don't forget we also need to choose the perfect shoes,” Kazuha said with a grin, looking at Scaramouche directly through the mirror and he whined. They’d definitely be late for their reservation.
When I say that I reference the show a lot in my HeiKazuScara “I am a Sinner (You are a Saint)” fic and even take some ideas from the world building, THAT WAS NOT WHAT I MEANT I PROMISE
“You shall be cast out of the heavenly realm indefinitely.”
Kunikuzushi feels arms grab his own as he is forced to his feet. He struggles, keeping his eyes on his mother only. “Mother! Don’t let them do this!” The guards continue to drag him away, even if it is a struggle. “Mother!” He knows the gate to the human realm is growing closer to him. The more time passes, the less chance he has to escape. But the divine never back out of their decisions…never. He looks to his mother one last time, hoping that she at least looks at him. But her gaze refuses to meet his own.
When he is finally cast out, the air rushing past his entire body, he could only visualize his mother’s pained expression.
He has never felt so alone…
Ao3 Link
Heizou didn’t really know what to expect, and it is not like he stopped to think about what potentially could have happened. The only thing he did was tell Scaramouche to get in the car and that was it. Scaramouche obliged, so Heizou didn’t even need to comprehend what was going on.
He has to constantly check his speedometer, his foot refusing to leave the gas pedal. Scaramouche doesn’t seem well either, absentmindedly playing with a trinket that Heizou threw in his car after receiving it from a fair. He wasn’t a big fan of random items, but Kazuha claimed it would be nice to hang from his rear view mirror.
When the house finally comes into view, Heizou still cannot shake the nervous feeling overtaking him. It encompasses his entire being in a way that he despises but tolerates if it means getting home faster. As they pull up, his heart drops to his stomach at the current state of the front door.
He doesn’t even remember opening the car door, or taking his keys out the the ignition, or even walking to the front door. The only thing in his mind is the worry of Kazuha’s well-being. Heizou takes a deep breath before opening the door, not knowing what to expect but already expecting the worst.
Kazuha is buried in the form of Beidou, the women rubbing his back. Upon closer inspection, Kazuha’s breaths are staggered, further worrying Heizou. It doesn’t even seem as if the two had noticed him. Unfortunately, Scaramouche does not seem to get the memo of being quiet, rushing into the room immediately. “Kazuha!” The angel yells out.
Kazuha’s head jerks up, staring at Scaramouche for a moment in shock before slowly morphing into an unrecognizable expression that even Heizou has never seen. The angel kneels toward Kazuha hesitantly, completely ignoring the fact that his wings are in full display and Beidou is in the house. “…what’s wrong?” Scaramouche continues to pry, inching closer to Kazuha in a hesitant manner.
Kazuha looks at Beidou for a moment, signing something that causes the woman to relax a bit. They’ve always had that kind of communication that Heizou has never been able to crack. It is not consistent with any version of sign language, so he has always assumed it to be a made up language between the two of them. When Beidou seems a bit less on edge, Kazuha takes the opportunity to get out of her grasp and practically fall into Scaramouche.
The angel is shocked for a moment, visibly stiffening before relaxing in order to make Kazuha more comfortable. Kazuha buries his head in Scaramouche’s shoulder, muttering something that causes a visible reaction. Unfortunately, due to Heizou being frozen at the doorstep, he cannot make out whatever his boyfriend said, but he wants to.
Although, with the look Scaramouche is sending his way, Heizou wonders if he truly wants to know what happened.
But, he brushes that feeling to the side. This is his boyfriend, he should know what is bothering him. So, he clears his throat and makes his presence known. The two who didn’t know he was here look at him, with stares that dig into his soul and threaten to rip it apart in an instant. Kazuha’s eyes are red, and the way he looks at Heizou makes Heizou’s world spin on its head. Never before has Kazuha looked at him with such indifference.
It genuinely worries Heizou. He doesn’t like the look Kazuha is giving him, yet when he opens his mouth to speak, he can’t articulate what he wants to say. For years he has suffered from this issue, specifically when it comes to talking to Kazuha, yet normally it ends up being a more ‘speechless to how gorgeous his boyfriend is’ type of inability to speak. But now? Now he almost feels guilty even though he has done nothing.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your investigation?” Kazuha asks, his voice obviously tired.
At first, Heizou is confused. Why on earth would he need to discuss an investigation with Kazuha? It’s not like he needed to in the past. But as his eyes scan the living room a bit more thoroughly, spotting the papers thrown around the room and the familiar folder (now empty) thrown into the as well, it is not hard to connect the dots. “Kazu, I didn’t want to upset you.”
“So you hid it from me?”
“Of course not!” Heizou immediately says, walking closer to Kazuha instinctively. “I just didn’t want you to get upset when hearing about how similar the crimes were to…” he doesn’t even finish his sentence, not that he has to. Everyone excluding Scarmouche knows what he means.
“But they’re not similar, Heizou,” Kazuha says hesitantly, finally leaving Scaramouche’s grasp. “They’re the same. Every single one of them are the same!”
“There are some differences-“
“Cut the bullshit, Heizou,” Kazuha says, finally standing. “The cases are practically the same. Some guy claims his significant other was on a rampage and he was acting in self defense. All of them are like that. Why are they like that?”
Heizou can’t even look Kazuha in the eye. He would love to lie to him, to try and diffuse the situation and make Kazuha believe it is all one big misunderstanding. However the truth is, Heizou is many things, but a convincing liar? Not when it comes to Kazuha. “We think it might be connected to a serial killer…that’s the ongoing theory at least.”
“And how long have they been attacking people?”
Heizou doesn’t want to answer that question, knowing the outcome if he does. However, he knows the outcome if he stays silent, and he truly doesn’t want to face it. He sighs, still refusing to look at Kazuha as he talks, almost as if he has been caught in some scandal. “We think the killer has been targeting people for about fourteen years.”
He hears the laugh from Kazuha, yet he still refuses to look at him. He knows how this looks and how much Kazuha feels betrayed at this moment. However, with all that he has been investigating, he does not regret his actions. He would love to, as it would make this situation much easier. But he doesn’t.
“Are you telling me that my dad could’ve been innocent?” And that statement is what makes Heizou’s heart break. The hurt in his partner’s voice could make anyone second guess their prior actions, even if they knew they were in the right. Heizou looks up, regretting it immediately as he sees just how destroyed Kazuha looks. His boyfriend turns to Beidou for a moment, merely looking at her in disbelief. “Looks like all those therapists you sent me to were for nothing.”
“Kid, I didn’t-“
“It doesn’t matter now,” Kazuha says, backing away from the entire group. “My dad’s gone, and I didn’t believe him.”
“Kazu, that wasn’t your fault!” Heizou didn’t even realize he was speaking until he was finished. He hates it, the look Kazuha is giving him as if he were some sort of monster. “You had no way of knowing that he was telling the truth.”
Kazuha runs a hand through his hair, seeming to attempt to gain a semblance of composure but fairly miserably. “I did know.”
“…what?”
“I said he was innocent for years,” Kazuha says, pacing around, refusing to really look at anyone. “But everyone kept saying I just didn’t understand. I was taken to twenty different therapists who all told me that I just needed to accept it. So, I did. I acknowledged that my father was a murderer and I was just lucky to be out of the house, but now I’m being told that I was right all along?” Kazuha finally looks Heizou in the eye, only making him cower away. “My dad was executed for a crime he didn’t commit, Heizou.”
“And I’m sorry-“
“You’re sorry?” Kazuha raises his voice. Normally, he dislikes doing something like that, physically wincing whenever he does so. However, at this moment, he seems to not care whatsoever. “I lost my entire family, and you’re sorry.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Heizou steps forward, reaching for Kazuha. However, before he can do so, Kazuha steps away from him, intentionally creating distance. “Kazuha, I’m sorry for not telling you about the connection to your family’s case, I really am. If you’d just calm down, I’ll tell you everything I know, I promise.”
Kazuha’s eyes look at Heizou’s open hand before going back to looking him in the eye. “I need some space, Heizou.” Honestly, Heizou knew it was coming before Kazuha even began to speak. But, even if Heizou knew it was coming, it did not stop his chest from tightening. It does nothing to stop him from being unable to speak, unable to even breath. It does nothing to get him to stop Kazuha as he walks out the front door. It does nothing to stop him from continuing to stand there, unable to even move from his spot, the events that just transpired replaying in his mind.
●•·•●
Scaramouche really doesn’t know how to react to any of this. Why would he exactly? However, it does not stop him from feeling awkward. After Kazuha left, no one really spoke. So, it resulted in everyone in the room being eerily quiet, with no one able to speak up.
“Should one of us go after him?” Scaramouche questions, disliking the way eyes are now on him. He expected attention, but with what had just happened, the sudden energy in the room is practically suffocating.
Heizou stares at Scaramouche, almost as if he is staring into his very soul. However, the detective sighs, shaking his head in a singular instant. “He forgot his keys, he’ll be back.” Scaramouche’s brows furrow at Heizou’s attitude. He may not know much about human relationships, but he definitely knows that doesn’t sound right. Heizou seems to notice this, already trying to continue the conversation. “He just needs some time to cool off.”
“Away from his boyfriend, you mean,” the woman next to Scaramouche says. He hasn’t had the chance to ask for her name, and based on how she generally acts, he doesn’t know if he particularly wants to. It’s not like she seems like a bad person, he can tell she is sweet behind that rough around the edges personality. However, he doesn’t know if he can personally decipher actual meanings behind cool girl facades.
Heizou doesn’t seem to be a fan of the woman’s attitude, rolling his eyes in response. “Beidou, if you want to try and talk to him, be my guest.” So this is the Beidou Kazuha had mentioned to Scaramouche.
Beidou raises her hands in surrender, grinning slightly. It may be the wrong time for her to be smiling, but that clearly isn’t stopping her. “If I know Kazuha, he would bite my head off right about now, but he’d do it the Kazuha way.”
“The ‘Kazuha way’?” Scaramouche questions.
“You haven’t seen it,” Beidou says as if she knows who Scaramouche is. Well, she has been looking at his wings this entire time and hasn’t exclaimed profanities, so he can only assume he has been talked about. “But Kazuha does this…thing where he will attempt to break you down using things he knows will affect you. You probably noticed it during Heizou’s and his fight.”
Scaramouche nods. Of course, he hasn’t really seen Kazuha get mad at anyone before tonight but he can see why Kazuha is like that. He observes people, so using his observations to take down someone else is the most logical way of doing things.
Heizou audibly sighs, his leg shaking. It’s slow at first until it quickens, faster and faster in an overly distracting way. He stands, throwing off Scaramouche. He notices of course, sending an apologetic glance before shaking his head. “I…have to start making everything for dinner tomorrow.”
“Heizou,” Beidou says, sending him a look, “do you really want to cook right now?”
Heizou just nods, wordlessly going to the kitchen. Scaramouche has noticed how Heizou will refuse to acknowledge what is bothering him. Sometimes, it can be utterly endearing, especially when he is doing it on purpose. And then other times, it can be annoying to no end.
“So…” Beidou starts, clearly trying to break the tension a bit. “Why do those two have an angel with them?”
Scaramouche stares at her, trying to decipher what the woman knows. However, Beidou is about as indecipherable as some human languages Scaramouche is currently attempting to learn. “Did they not tell you?”
“I’m afraid not, mind filling me in?”
“Mind telling me why you weren’t shocked when an angel walked in?”
Beidou chuckles, shaking her head at whatever joke she just pulled out of the question. “When your wife is a witch, you get used to the paranormal. Now, why are you here?”
Scaramouche shifts uncomfortably, disliking being the victim of scrutiny. “I fell a little over a week ago from the angelic realm. They found me.”
“Well then,” Beidou says, “welcome to the family I suppose. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner.” Beidou extends out her hand to Scaramouche, almost as if it is a peace offering. “I’m Beidou, I was Kazuha’s legal guardian.”
“You shall be cast out of the heavenly realm indefinitely.”
Kunikuzushi feels arms grab his own as he is forced to his feet. He struggles, keeping his eyes on his mother only. “Mother! Don’t let them do this!” The guards continue to drag him away, even if it is a struggle. “Mother!” He knows the gate to the human realm is growing closer to him. The more time passes, the less chance he has to escape. But the divine never back out of their decisions…never. He looks to his mother one last time, hoping that she at least looks at him. But her gaze refuses to meet his own.
When he is finally cast out, the air rushing past his entire body, he could only visualize his mother’s pained expression.
He has never felt so alone…
Ao3 Link
“Explain it better then.” Scaramouche says, staring Kazuha down. He has attempted to get information on what exactly Kazuha is talking about, but every time he asks about it, the answers are lackluster. “What the hell is Christmas?”
“It’s…meant to celebrate the birth of Christ.”
“Who?”
Scaramouche stares at Kazuha as if the blond had grown two heads all of a sudden. He always hates it when people drop names as if he is supposed to know who they are talking about. However, based on Kazuha’s facial expression, he assumes it is something he is supposed to know about…yeah, he’s still unable to recall who the man in front of him is talking about.
“Jesus?” Kazuha says hesitantly, only to be met with a shrug and a confused look from Scaramouche. “Child of God? He caused a whole religion…uh…he helped the sick?”
“I have no idea who you are talking about.”
Now, Scaramouche knew that Heizou was in the room. It’s incredibly hard to ignore it when someone is staring you down after all. Initially, he chose to ignore it. However, even he jumps when Heizou bursts out laughing. “You mean to tell me that Jesus didn’t exist?” Heizou asks through his laugh, harshly holding onto a pillow to the point where Scaramouche expects it to pop like a balloon.
“He may have existed…but he had no connection to the heavenly realm.”
“I am definitely bringing this up to my mom next time I see her,” Heizou says, finally able to keep a straight face again. “After all that shit she gave me for being bi, it’s the least I could do.”
Scaramouche tilts his head in confusion. Sure, he can understand a mother who isn’t always there for you, but disliking your child’s preferences? That just doesn’t make sense.
Kazuha seems to notice this confusion, deciding to clarify. “Christians sometimes like to claim that you will go to hell if you are queer.”
Once again, Scaramouche is confused. Why would humans think this? “But…your preferences don’t impact your chances of going to the demonic realm? Most souls go to the same afterlife.”
“Most?”
“Murderers, if the crime was severe enough, get recruited by demons and in turn become demons themselves,” Scaramouche explains as if it were common knowledge. Well, to him it is common knowledge. “And then there are the ones who make deals.” Scaramouche looks at both men, noticing how neither of them seem to understand his last statement. “Sometimes, when a witch summons a demon, their wish is too great. So, the demon who is summoned will request a deal, normally resulting in taking the summoner’s soul after their request is completed.”
“Who would do such a thing?” Kazuha asks quietly.
“Desperate people,” Scaramouche says rather glumly. The worst part is, sometimes, those who make those deals are genuinely good people. And, if they did it for their family, they will never see them again. They even destroy their hopes of coming in contact with them in the afterlife, as when demons die they just cease to exist. “I tend not to judge them too harshly.”
“Well now the whole mood has been ruined,” Heizou whines, leaning on Kazuha dramatically. “And when we were having so much fun talking about a holiday that technically doesn’t have origins with Christianity. Well, portions of it at least.”
Okay, now Scaramouche is intrigued about this holiday. Heizou seems to realize just how intrigued he is, as he smiles at the small action.
“Christmas, like many holidays, celebrates one of the four seasons. It’s common in all religions. However, there were some points that directly parallel three of the pagan holidays during the timeframe, and there is proof of the church assimilating portions of the Pagan holidays into Christianity to make the switch easier. Modern day Christmas actually has a lot of ties to old elements of the Pagan holidays, like mistletoe.” Heizou finishes his little info dump with a grin as he stares at Scaramouche the entire time. “Did I talk too fast for you?”
Scaramouche immediately shakes his head, even though he knows Heizou is being an ass. So, Heizou takes the chance to continue talking, ‘strangely’ enough.
“But yeah, Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of a kid with no confirmed birthday. Most people now just use the holiday to give gifts and spend time with family.”
Scaramouche’s wings droop at that statement. This holiday they speak of is a day away, and he hasn’t gotten anything for them. Granted, he didn’t know about the holiday before this moment. And not to mention, he’s only been a guest for about a week, so that’s something he should keep in mind.
“Speaking of, I need to get going,” Heizou says, standing up with a groan. According to him earlier, the detective had been on his feet constantly the past few days. Unfortunately, he does refuse to tell Scaramouche and Kazuha why that is the case. Now, Scaramouche understands why he wouldn’t be told the details, but Kazuha? If what Kazuha says is correct, Heizou tells him everything, so it is a bit odd to say the least.
Kazuha doesn’t seem too upset about it though. Sure, throughout the week Scaramouche has known him, he sighs more and more each day when Heizou continues to hide things, but he doesn’t seem completely hurt. “Going last minute shopping again, Heizou? Didn’t you learn last year?”
“Hey, you liked that new phone case!”
“It’s my least favorite color…”
“It was the last one they had in stock!”
“Because you waited the day before.”
Heizou puts a hand to his chest in an offended manner, an action he does constantly it seems. “I put things on hold. Trust me, I got the best gifts for everyone. Just gotta pick them up.”
Kazuha doesn’t look convinced, and honestly? Scaramouche doesn’t blame him either. Heizou is many things, but a convincing liar? Not when it comes to Kazuha.
Kazuha stares at him for a moment, and Scaramouche cannot help but be intrigued with the answer. With his time on earth, he has grown to enjoy television a bit too much. So, while he does value both of these humans, he cannot help but consider them a bit entertaining. Kazuha sighs, shaking his head in response to his boyfriend. “Fine, I believe you.”
Heizou grins, lightly grabbing Kazuha’s face and covering it with kisses. The action even makes the other human laugh as he flails his arms around as if he actually wants to escape. Even Scaramouche cannot help but smile at the display. Heizou plants one final kiss on Kazuha’s lips, a place he was intentionally avoiding until the very last moment. “I love you Kazuha Kaedehara.”
“And I you, Heizou Shikanoin.”
Heizou smiles warmly at that, standing up straight and beginning to make his way to the front door. However, Scaramouche does have other plans. He grabs Heizou’s wrist before he can go far, causing him to stare at Scaramouche in confusion. “What’s up?”
“Can I go with you?” Scaramouche asks, letting go of Heizou almost immediately. “I wanna go shopping.”
“You hated shopping the other day though,” Kazuha says, clearly confused.
“This is important,” Scaramouche insists, splitting his gaze between both men. “I want to shop for gifts.”
“Why?” Heizou asks, his head tilting to the side. “Do you even have money?”
Scaramouche immediately nods, pulling out a wad of cash he has in his pockets. “A…friend gave some to me. He said I would need it eventually.” It was Childe, the friend was Childe.
Heizou visibly glances at Kazuha before sighing. To Scaramouche’s delight, he looks like he has given up. “Fine, I’ll take you with me.”
Scaramouche smiles at this, his wings flapping a bit in excitement. “Seriously? It was that easy?”
“I’m leaving right now, so if you take too long you’re not going.”
“I’m already ready,” Scaramouche says, closing his eyes and allowing for his wings to hide. He ignores the bile that threatens to leave his throat, instead deciding to walk straight to Heizou’s car. He really doesn’t want Heizou to come up with a single reason for him not to go.
Heizou’s car is quite a bit different compared to Kazuha’s. While Kazuha has a small electric car, completely free of trash on the inside, Heizou is perhaps the opposite. Based on Scaramouche’s knowledge, he knows it is some type of sports car. He doesn’t remember the name though, but he does remember it has to do something with horses. Inside Heizou’s car is a pile of old coffee cups, bags of chips, and a pack of cigarettes poorly stashed away in the cup holder.
“Sorry, I would’ve cleaned it if I knew I would be taking you,” Heizou says casually, already slipping in on the driver's side. Scaramouche pauses a minute, much to the annoyance of Heizou. “Are you getting in or not?”
Scaramouche ended up getting in the car.
He shifts uncomfortably, not ever being used to his wings being gone. Although, he is eerily aware of Heizou continuing to stare at him. But, he decides to ignore it. Heizou continues to have a big focus on the road, so Scaramouche can ignore the fear of dying in a car crash.
“So when were you going to tell us that your wing is infected?”
Yeah, he can’t exactly just ignore that.
●•·•●
Kazuha isn’t used to his house being quiet. Sure, it’s only been roughly a week since Scaramouche quite literally fell into both his and Heizou’s lives, but he’s gotten used to the angel roaming around. He’s used to the television staying on, or his laptop playing some random YouTube video Scaramouche found on his endless spirals of watching hours of that content a day. Kazuha is honestly starting to think it might be a problem.
But his house is quiet.
Maybe that’s why he loved it when someone knocked on the door. Kazuha thinks of himself as pathetic. Heizou and Scaramouche have been gone for maybe five minutes, and here he is feeling lonely.
When Kazuha opens the door, he smiles almost immediately. In front of him is a blond boy, the guy’s blue eyes staring back at him. The smile however, doesn’t last very long at all. When Kazuha’s eyes look downward, he feels his hand grip onto the doorknob tighter.
“Kazuha…” the man, Tomo, says, a blank look in his eyes. “You gotta help me.”
“What did you do?” Kazuha chokes out, taking a step back. He doesn’t want to believe his best friend since diapers are about to kill him, but the man is at his door covered in blood.
Tomo’s eyes widen as he yells out, “nothing! I did nothing!”
“Why is there blood on you?”
“Please,” Tomo says, pleading with Kazuha at this point. “I need you to listen to me.”
Kazuha still eyes Tomo suspiciously and is fully aware of the location of his phone (the living room), and the gun Heizou keeps upstairs. If anything goes wrong, at least he knows where to go. Looking outside once, even if no one normally takes this road, he beckons Tomo inside and shuts the door.
“Thank you,” Tomo says, practically in tears. He grips onto Kazuha’s arm, causing the man to cringe. Sure, the blood on Tomo’s hands is dry, but Kazuha can practically imagine his sweater getting stained with someone else’s blood. “Do you have a shower?”
“No.”
Tomo stares at him in shock, his mouth open slightly. “What?”
“You aren’t sitting down, you aren’t taking a fucking shower, and you’re not getting a change of clothes.” Kazuha says sternly. If he let Tomo potentially incriminate either Heizou or himself, Heizou would never forgive him. “Now who’s blood is that?”
“You remember Sayo?” Tomo asks, not able to look in Kazuha’s eyes anymore. “She’s…gone.”
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Tomo insists once more, standing his ground. “I know it looks bad, but trust me. This wasn’t me!”
“Kazuha…It’s not what it looks like…”
Kazuha shakes his head, deciding not to dwell on the past for a bit longer. “Tomo, what happened?” He doesn’t want to get involved. Sure, Tomo is his best friend, but this is simply something he should not be handling at all.
“She just…snapped.”
“Your mom, she wasn’t herself.”
“She started attacking me!”
“She attacked your brother, Kazuha…I tried to stop her.”
“And I tried man! But it was like every word I said didn’t even matter.”
“Son, believe me, I tried to reason with her.”
“I needed to defend myself. So...I did.”
“I wanted to defend all of you. I promise.”
“Kazuha, you have to believe me.”
“Kazuha, you have to believe me.”
“Tomo…” Kazuha mutters out, his nails digging into the skin of his palms. He can’t handle this right now. No, he can never handle a situation like this. “Get out, call the police.”
Tomo stares at Kazuha for a moment in shock. “What?”
“Get…” Kazuha mutters, refusing to look Tomo in the eyes. “Get out, please.”
“Kazuha-“
“Get out of my house Tomo!” Kazuha yells out, wincing at his own volume. He doesn’t usually have a hard time listening, as his ability to observe his surroundings at all times is something he prides himself with. But, some situations have the ability to cause abnormal reactions. “Why did you think I could help you?”
“I…Heizou needs to help me.”
“So you barge into our home?” Kazuha questions, knowing full well that he is getting to be rude. “Tomo, you ran from a fucking crimescene! And now you’re here, asking for a shower? I am not getting accessory to murder because of you! So get the fuck out!”
“Kazuha, I didn’t do this!”
“I’m sorry,” Kazuha mutters, already reaching for his phone. However, even though his hand does reach for the device, it does not reach it. Tomo grabs his wrist before he even can grab his phone. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t call the police,” Tomo says, tightening his grip on Kazuha. “Please.”
“Let me go.”
Tomo doesn’t let go. In fact, the guy just continues to plead with Kazuha. His grip is becoming almost too hard as Kazuha winces at the pressure. Tomo is a pretty strong guy, maybe not the strongest one around, but he certainly is stronger than Kazuha. That fact actually makes Kazuha regret not working out, but that isn’t important at this very moment.
“Tomo,” Kazuha says hesitantly, not really knowing how to get out of this situation, “you and I both know that this will just make you look guilty.”
“I look guilty already!” Tomo yells back, his grip not loosening. But, it doesn’t tighten either so Kazuha is glad. “Not even my best friend believes me.”
“You barged into-“
“You invited me in!”
“After you appeared on my doorstep, covered in your girlfriend’s blood!”
“But it’s not my fault!”
“That is exactly what my dad said, you know.” Kazuha doesn’t like bringing up his dad…at all. After years of testifying, counseling, and night terrors, Kazuha rarely likes talking about any of it.
But Tomo looks shocked, his grip finally loosened so that Kazuha’s wrist is free. “Don’t compare me to that…”
“Well…”
“No,” Tomo says sternly, walking away from Kazuha at once. “Don’t compare me to-“ flashing lights interrupt him, causing the boy to pause. “You called the police?”
Kazuha just shrugs, forever grateful for the emergency switch on the doorframe. Heizou claimed that they needed it, and Kazuha laughed in his face. Yeah, he is actually quite thankful now. But, he sighs, trying to be a bit more composed. “Look, this is just for precautions, alright?”
Tomo still looks at Kazuha with a look of betrayal, causing Kazuha to regret his actions ever so slightly.
●•·•●
Heizou’s eyes scan the shelves in front of him. Truthfully, he has never been amazing at knowing what exactly someone needs when injured. Half the time, Heizou will just take pain medication if he has an injury. No need to buy all the unnecessary disinfectants when his wounds rarely get infected in the first place. However, he can’t exactly allow the angel to keep walking around with an infected wing, so disinfectants are required.
He really doesn’t look at the brands he grabs, merely making sure he has everything that Kazuha usually gets whenever he catches Heizou with an injury. Although, he does grab an extra roll of bandages simply due to the fact that Scaramouche’s wing is far larger than anything Heizou has had to bandage before.
He thanks the cashier, a young girl who smiles brightly at him. Although, truthfully, he could honestly care less. Hands full of random medical supplies, Heizou makes his way to the car. Scaramouche, always seeming to get attention on himself in odd ways, is sitting on the roof of Heizou’s car.
“You can hurt the top if you do that.”
Scaramouche jumps at the sudden noise, attempting to hide a wince after doing so. Although, what Heizou said doesn’t seem to click immediately, but when it does, Heizou cannot help but smile. The angel is scrambling off the car, not apologizing of course, but looking as if he had killed a puppy somehow.
“You shouldn’t move around so much,” Heizou says, eyeing the wings of Scaramouche. “You’ll hurt yourself even more.” If they were in the city, Heizou would be scolding Scaramouche for even showing off his wings at all, however he specifically went to the store he did because it is in the outskirts. Avoiding people while patching up the angel is probably the best way to go about this.
Scaramouche scoffs at such a statement from Heizou though. “I’m fine.”
“If you were,” Heizou starts, dropping the supplies he just bought on the driver’s seat of his car, “I wouldn’t have noticed you were hurt.”
“It’s your job to notice things.”
“Yet Kazuha asked me to check on you.”
Scaramouche’s eyes widen at Heizou’s words, his body slightly tensing at even the mention of Kazuha. It makes Heizou narrow his eyes in an attempt to read the angel better, but he can’t focus on the reaction too much at the moment. “Kazuha noticed?”
Heizou just smiles for a moment before simply saying, “no, but you just admitted you are hurt.”
“I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”
“You can try, Angel,” Heizou says, pulling Scaramouche closer to him. He lightly grabs one of Scaramouche’s wings, causing a wince from the man. At least Heizou knows where the injury is now. “But you have to be able to walk without wincing first. Now hand me the saline.”
“What's wrong with a bandage?”
“I need to wash the wound to prevent further infection,” Heizou says as if Scaramouche is the most clueless being on the planet. Actually, occasionally, Heizou does think that, but that is for another day. Scaramouche grumbles, but hands Heizou the bottle of saline anyway.
As Heizou starts working on the wound, he cannot help but pause at the sight before him. Obviously, Scaramouche has cleaned the feathers that were visible, but venturing further into the wings, he cannot help but notice the pure coated in gold that practically sparkles in the sunlight. He continues to search, and clear as day, the wound is there, surrounded in the golden liquid. “Angel?”
“Hm?”
“Do you bleed gold?”
Scaramouche gives him a look as if Heizou himself is the idiot, which is honestly refreshing if Heizou is being honest with himself. The angel sighs, shifting uncomfortably in the grasp of Heizou. “I suppose that’s the best way to describe how we bleed, yes. Personally I haven’t seen it much.”
“Are angels that peaceful?”
“No,” Scaramouche says while laughing to himself. By observing him, Heizou notices the way the angel’s eyes glaze over for a moment, as if he were being reminded of something before he’s back to his annoying self. “But the healing rate for angels is much faster than most can even comprehend.”
“Why haven’t you healed then?” Heizou questions, satisfied with the wound now being cleaned and reaching for a bandage.
“Infection is rare in angels,” Scaramouche says hesitantly, shifting once more as if he can avoid Heizou. Unfortunately for him, he still has nowhere to run.
Heizou hits Scaramouche’s head, cursing to himself at the entire situation. “Do you mean to tell me that you could’ve been fine literally the day we found you if you would’ve treated the infection?”
“…”
Heizou stares at the angel in shock for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“I didn’t want to worry Kazuha.”
Heizou opens his mouth to retort but stops immediately. He and Scaramouche just stare at each other, reading the other as if their lives depend on it. Truthfully, Heizou can relate to that sentiment all too well, as he avoids telling Kazuha anything that could potentially trigger him. So, even if he thinks the ange, should’ve told them immediately, he can understand why he did it.
So, he just decides to drop it, quietly moving the materials to the backseat of his car, throwing them everywhere. He’ll clean it up later so it doesn’t even matter. Scaramouche is moving his wings, seemingly already getting better. Although, Heizou cannot really tell if it is the angel putting on a more convincing farce, or the enhanced healing is working properly.
What he does notice is his phone ringing. Absent-mindedly, Heizou answers, not even checking the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Heizou…”
Heizou’s heart drops at the voice’s tone. He knows it’s Beidou, just because of how much he has interacted with her. But truthfully, he has never really heard her sound panicked. “Beidou, what’s wrong?”
“Kazuha needs you home, now.”
Heizou has never been one to ignore Kazuha’s requests, and he is not going to start now.
