Hello, happy Valentine's Day. Enjoy this one-shot about One meeting Usagi for the first time :)
It’s no surprise when One finds himself at the hotel bar, watching a rerun of the latest Battle Nexus match in hopes of clearing his head. He’s been doing that a lot lately, it seems, although he has no idea why. He knows if he gets caught, Draxum will unleash the fires of Titan on his ass, but that’s a big if. Big Mama hasn’t found him yet and, until then, he’s not going to worry about the consequences.
As One watches the pre-recorded fight, he’s tapping the side of his glass. He doesn’t realize it, but whatever current expectations Draxum has of One is just getting too overwhelming.
The surrounding audience erupts in a cacophony of cheers, snapping One to attention. The warrior on-screen had just landed a critical blow to his opponent, who staggers, disoriented as it bleeds from a deep gash in its stomach. One’s eyes linger on the young warrior as he makes his finishing move.
Surprisingly quick and sharp, the warrior finishes off the beast, which One remembers is one of Big Mama’s more difficult hybrids. Admittedly, One’s slightly impressed that someone so young managed to defeat a combatant twice his size. The only other person who had been able to take on an adversary that strong at such a young age was One, back when he trained here.
Back when Draxum was easier to impress.
One’s fists tighten slightly around his empty glass. Something urgent presses at the back of his head. Really, he shouldn’t be here, considering how hard Draxum fought to keep him out of Big Mama’s grip, but he’s dreading the thought of going home so soon.
A few tears drip onto One’s closed fist. Immediately, his back straightens and he promptly wipes his face dry with his arm before anyone notices.
That’s enough, he scolds himself.
One sighs and pushes his glass away, starting to stand when someone sits on the empty stool next to him. The only thing stopping One from leaving, is that he thinks he recognizes this guy.
White fur, brown eyes, a decorated sword. One hesitates, then glances up at the TV screen. Besides the blood-soaked fur and glowing eyes, One is pretty sure the guy who just sat next to him is the guy whose face is on every screen in the room.
One notices the cast on his arm, then looks at the screen again, noting that the rabbit’s right arm is hanging at an awkward angle at his side. One looks back at the yōkai. While notably less blood-thirsty and more normal-looking, One is now 100% sure this is who he had been watching on the screen. The first thing One does is size him up. He doesn’t look nearly as capable of murder as he did on-screen. Maybe it’s the drooping ears and sad eyes.
One doesn’t know how long he’s been staring. Long enough to get the guy’s attention, apparently. The stranger’s ear flicks, then his eyes meet One’s.
They stare at each other for a solid minute and a half. One hopes he looks intimidating right now and not miserable like this guy.
After a moment, the rabbit frowns. “Is your eyeliner running? I can help with that.”
One blinks in surprise. He did not expect that. An off-handed comment, sure. A threat? Absolutely. One was not expecting an expression of concern.
The rabbit hesitates, then stands. “Here, come with me.”
One narrows his eyes, but decides to follow, if only to figure out what this guy’s deal is. The rabbit is mostly quiet as he leads One out of the room.
“There should be a mirror somewhere around here…” the rabbit murmurs. One raises a brow as the rabbit takes him down the hall and into one of the Lounge’s luxurious bathrooms.
Once they’re through, One crosses his arms as the rabbit makes his way to the sink. He grabs a face towel from a basket on the counter and runs it under the water. One stays near the door. He quickly determines that they’re alone. “So, you gonna beat me up or something?”
The rabbit turns, eyes widening. “What?”
“Come on, drop the act.”
“What act??”
One scoffs. “You’re seriously telling me you brought me all the way here to clean up my make-up?”
The rabbit pauses. “Um… yeah.” He squeezes out the excess water against the interior of the sink, then turns and reaches out. “Here, hold still.”
One grabs his wrist and shoves him back into the tiled wall, eyes sharp. “I don’t buy it.”
The rabbit holds his gaze evenly, completely calm, which deepens One’s suspicions.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the rabbit explains carefully.
That makes One laugh. “You couldn’t hurt me.”
“Then… you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, right?”
One squints, searching through his deep brown eyes, but he doesn’t find anything remotely hostile about this guy. After a beat, One lets him go.
The rabbit studies him closely, then glances at the damp cloth in his hand and waves it a bit. “May I?”
“Only if you don’t mind losing a few fingers.”
The rabbit smiles, despite One’s clear threat. “Don’t worry, I can take it.” He reaches out again and starts to wipe away the smudged eyeliner. One stiffens at the surprisingly gentle touch, but forces himself not to flinch away because he’s definitely not feeling threatened by someone who’s so close to his age getting close to his face.
By effect, the rabbit sticks his tongue out in concentration while One’s stomach does a funny twist. While the stranger focuses on not poking One’s eye out, the slider just stands and watches and tries not to run away out of nervousness.
He has to break the silence. “So, Mr. Nice Guy. You have a name?” One huffs.
The rabbit meets his eyes. “Yuichi Usagi.” Yuichi then lowers his hand and smiles. “There we go. Good as new.”
One rolls his eyes, but takes a look in the mirror. If it weren’t for the hint of red in his damp eyes, he wouldn’t be able to tell that he had been crying. Which reminds One that he shouldn’t stay here much longer, especially now that someone's seen him like this.
One quickly looks away from his reflection, then heads for the door.
“Hey, wait!” Yuichi starts after him, then falls short when One gives him a look. “Um… what’s your name? I forgot to ask.”
The slider regards him, although he can’t say why. “One.”
Yuichi blinks. “What, like the number?” He says it too fast for One to believe he actually thought about the comment first.
“Yeah, like the number,” One scoffs. “You got a problem with that?”
Yuichi shakes his head. “Nope. It’s nice to meet you.”
One scoffs slightly. “Titan, you have no idea who you’re talking to, do you?”
“Well… I was hoping you’d tell me.”
“No.”
Yuichi deflates a little. “Oh.”
One pauses. “But… maybe another time. If you’re still alive.”
The rabbit’s eyes light up. “Yeah—!” then he obviously back pedals and tries to play it cool. “Uh— I mean— okay. Yeah.”
One feels his stomach turn again— super weird. One rolls his eyes and leaves without another word, making a beeline for the exit. His face feels warm and his chest starts to hurt.
I’m hope I’m asking the right person for this AU this time.
How do One and Usagi realize, “Oh crap, I actually like that stupid-head”?
One will get a hint of his feelings for Usagi in season 2, but he won’t fully be aware of or understand those feelings until after season 2, when Usagi leaves. He won’t confess until he follows Usagi to Japan and helps him out with Exile stuff.
Usagi won’t realize his feelings until One confesses to him at the end of their exile arc (which lasts a few years). Almost immediately after One goes back home and gets caught up with season 3 shenanigans, giving them no time to talk about their feelings so they are stuck pining for each other
