Savior

Kenta

“You are in a weirdly good mood tonight.” Hayate raised an eyebrow at me as he took the tub full of dirty dishes out of my hands.

“So.”

“So, what’s going on?”

I realized I was grinning and shook my head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

His eyebrows almost disappeared under his hair. “Really? That good huh? Must have had a good day off then.”

I shrugged and untied my apron setting it on the bar. “Yeah. I guess so. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Heading out to the alley I leaned against my bike were it was parked next to the building. Taking out my phone I looked at it. Three text messages. All from Ryuu. Why did I have the feeling that I’d started something that might be more than I could handle? I had to smile seeing them, a soft warmth filling me.

Hope you are having a good night at work!

I’m at Sora’s so I might still be up when you get off work.

Don’t forget to call me!

Hitting the speed dial I waited. On the third ring I heard someone pick up.

“Hey, it’s me. Just letting you know I’m off work and headed home.”

“Oh hey Kenta, its Sora. Ryuu fell asleep about thirty minutes ago.”

I was surprised at how disappointed I was. Had I really wanted to talk to him that badly? “Oh, um . . . well let him know I called, will ya.”

“Sure thing, and Kenta . . . thanks.”

“Huh? For what?”

“I haven’t seen Ryuu this happy in years.”

“Oh. That. Yeah.”

“Just . . . don’t hurt him Kenta. I will personally kill you if you do.” From the tone in Sora’s voice I knew the big guy was dead serious. Hurting Ryuu was the furthest thing from my mind.

“I’m not that stupid.”

A soft chuckle vibrated in my ear. “Be careful going home. I’ll tell him you called.”

“Thanks.”

I shoved the phone in my pocket and zipped up my jacket. Late summer was giving way to fall pretty quickly and the nights could be chilly. Especially driving a motorcycle. Slipping my helmet on I sighed thinking about what Sora had said. It was my job to protect Ryuu. It was something I’d taken very seriously from the first night I’d started. I’d seen how crazy things could get at a concert. It was no wonder poor Hiro had almost quit after their first tour after Hasu had joined. I couldn’t imagine trying to watch all four of them at once.

Heading home I took the route that drove along the sea. It was a beautiful night. It was just a bit on the cool side with no traffic other than delivery trucks and a few idiots racing. I pulled into my neighborhood, it was quiet and someone had busted out the street lights again leaving the run down buildings in darkness. I was going to have to find the fucker who was doing it. They’d regret it once I got hold of them. Parking my bike under the stairs of the apartment building I headed up to the room they actually fucking called an apartment. Ryuu’s closet was bigger. No joke. It didn’t even have a window; they’d taken it out to put in a door. Fucking slum lords. At least the bathroom was free at this hour. Standing under the barely warm water in the tiny bathroom it finally started to sink in.

I was fucked. Once Nakamara found out I’d messed around with Ryuu he’d fire me. Leaning forward I rested my head on the tile. What the fuck was I going to do? It wasn’t like I could stop being around Ryuu. It was my fucking job to be around him. But I couldn’t just pretend it hadn’t happened either. Honestly, I would find any excuse I could to be around him. Even if this morning hadn’t happened, I would do anything to be there, to protect him, just watching him if I had to.

“Fuck.” I slammed my fist into the wall and after a moment shut the water off. It was cold anyway and was reminding me too much of the shower earlier. God I missed the crazy weirdo. I got dressed quickly, shivering. I had to keep my mind off Ryuu or I wasn’t going to get any sleep and I had to be up again in five hours. You’d think working two jobs I’d be able to make ends meet. Guess it didn’t help that I tended to give my money away to the homeless kids I was always finding in the area. I’d managed to help a few get decent jobs and a couple of them were now working for Jiro. Not that I wanted this kind of life for them.

Collapsing on my futon I covered my head with the pillow ordering myself to go to sleep. The sooner I fell asleep the sooner I got to see Ryuu.

***

The phone woke me. It was Hayate.

“We’ve got a problem.” He sounded like he was barely awake and I could hear Isao griping in the background.

“What’s going on?”

“Fight at the bar.”

“Fuck. What time is it?”

“Four.”

“Fucking hell. I’m gonna kill somebody.”

Ryuu

I stayed at Sora’s for breakfast, which was fun. He told me that Kenta had called around three to say he was going home. I nodded and finished eating the tamago Hasu had made. I didn’t usually like the egg concoction, but something about the way Hasu made it was better than anyone else’s.

“He’s supposed to go with me today. I think.” I leaned my head over on my hand, thinking. Was that today?

“Yeah, you and I have that radio show today.”

“Oh! That’s right! I knew there was something going on today.” I grinned at Sora. “Thanks for letting me crash here last night.”

“It’s fine. You haven’t stayed over in a while.”

“Well someone needs to chaperon you around Hasu.”

Sora reached across the table and smacked me on the forehead making me drop my bite of tamago. “Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

“Don’t be a jerk.”

I looked at him and realized my comment had been rather insensitive. He would never do anything to hurt Hasu, ever. “Sorry.”

“Just cause you are getting some doesn’t mean you need to rub it in my face.”

“I said I was sorry, besides . . .” I looked down at my plate shifting around in my chair. “Haven’t quite got that far yet.”

“Then you really don’t have room to talk. Oh, thanks Hasu. You get enough to eat?” Sora looked up as Hasu came in with the last tray of food.

Hasu nodded. “Yeah, for now.”

“We need to get going Ryuu. Hasu we can drop you off at home on our way if you want.”

“Actually . . . I’d like to go to Akira’s. I texted him earlier about it and he said it was fine.”

“Yeah sure, that works.”

After breakfast we headed across town to where Akira lived with his brothers. Daisuike and Ruka were finally all moved in upstairs and from how much Akira complained about the noise, making the most of being engaged. I spotted a familiar motorcycle as we pulled up.

“Ah! Kenta is here!” I was surprised. He should have been at home asleep. Why was he at Jiro’s? I jumped out of the limo ignoring Sora telling me we didn’t have time. There was always time. Hasu was right behind me and I could hear Sora cussing me as he followed us. Grinning I opened the door to the apartment. It was full, granted there were only four people, but four people in their tiny apartment meant it was full. Kenta was perched on the arm of the couch while Hayate and Isao were sitting at the kitchen table. Jiro was standing by the window talking to them.

“Hi guys!” I flicked my shoes off and went to tackle Kenta since his back was to me. It was my favorite thing to do.

“Ryuu! Don’t!” Jiro’s exclamation was too late and I suddenly found myself on the floor in front of the couch, the breath knocked out of me.

“Goddamn fucking hell you crazy son of a bitch!” Kenta yelled.

“Calm down Kenta!” Jiro snapped as I tried to breathe. I was afraid to move, one leg still up on the cushion as I stared up at one very pissed off Kenta. What had I done?

“What the fuck, Kenta!” Sora yelled as he shoved past him, reaching down to help me up. I’d finally caught my breath, but my chest was aching so fiercely it didn’t matter. Only Sora’s grip on my arm kept me from collapsing into a heap on the floor I was shaking so badly. I turned slightly into Sora trying to get a handle on the rush of emotions, feeling sick. For a moment there I had been terrified that Kenta was going to hit me. He’d never reacted like that before. Ever.

“Why the fucking hell does he always pull shit like that!” Kenta’s voice tore through me. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying desperately to keep the sob in. It wasn’t going to work. Ripping away from Sora, I bolted out of the apartment, tripping down the stairs my eyes blurred with tears. What had I done? Why was he so mad at me? Stumbling out of the building I made it to the limo. Curling up in the backseat I let the sobs overtake me.

Kenta

“What is wrong with you?” Sora hissed at me. The sound of Ryuu running down the stairs was too loud. I could still hear that choked back sob. Wrapping an arm around my ribs, I dared to glance over at Jiro. Shit. He was pissed at me. That look was fucking scary.

“You better go get him.” Isao got up and walked over, placing a hand on Sora’s arm, probably to keep him from hitting me. Hasu was watching all of us, his eyes huge.

“Yes I think you better.” I shivered at Jiro’s tone.

“I’m sorry. He just-it fucking hurt!”

“How was he supposed to know you’ve got busted ribs Kenta?” Isao’s eyes bored into me. “He was happy to see you, quite obviously, and you just treated him like complete shit.”

It was like a blow to the gut. I suddenly felt sick. Fuck. I’d just reacted when he’d grabbed me instead of thinking. I was still in fight mode after this morning and had probably hurt Ryuu in more than one way. I could still see the shocked look on his face, the fear in his eyes. Fuck. Taking a shallow breath I managed to stand up straight. Sora looked ready to spit in my face.

“I don’t care if you are fucking dying you don’t ever, ever treat him like that. You don’t know . . . you don’t know what you’ve done.” Sora shook off Isao’s hand and grabbed the front of my shirt, yanking me forward. “I might not be yakuza, but I can and I will make you regret ever even thinking about touching him.”

I nodded slowly shocked. As long as I’d known Sora I’d never seen the big guy get this angry. He always just seemed like nothing bothered him. It wasn’t like I’d intended to toss Ryuu on his ass. The combination of the pain and still being on a bit of a high from the fight had made me act before I’d even realized it was Ryuu.

“It was an accident.” I mumbled.

“You fucking threw him on the floor. How is that a fucking accident? He’s too sensitive for you to act like that.” Sora shook me, making me gasp as pain shot through me.

“I get it. I get it. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I’ll go talk to him.”

Sora shoved me back letting go. His eyes were like jade daggers. “No you won’t. I will go talk to him. I don’t think I want you around him. Fuck! Now I’m going to have to call Nakamara and cancel the radio show. Thanks a fucking lot Arakaki.”

I stood there like a fucking idiot as he left. No one was talking but I could feel their eyes on me, making my skin crawl. I wanted to yell at them, to do something to get rid of this horrible pressure in my chest that had nothing to do with the busted ribs. What the fuck had I done?

“Kenta, why don’t you go sit in my room for a bit. I’ll be in to talk to you.”

I glanced toward Jiro, not daring to meet his eyes. This was bad. No one ever wanted a talk from Jiro. Ever. I nodded slowly, keeping my eyes on the floorboards at my feet. The only sound as I walked down the short hall was my own footsteps. It felt like a death march. I was sore, tired and now . . . depressed. Fuck it all to hell.

I closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to laugh or cry and wondered if I was delirious from pain and lack of sleep. Walking over to the bed I sat down wincing at the sudden sharp pain in my side. It was a good distraction from thinking about the look on Ryuu’s face. I really had not meant to hurt him. That didn’t change anything though. I had. End of story. I rubbed a hand over my face startled to realize I was trembling. Ryuu was not going to want to get anywhere near me now. That thought had me feeling lost and panicky. Shit, but I’m a fucking idiot.

Ryuu

I slowly followed Sora back up the stairs. I’d cried for a good thirty minutes but I didn’t feel better. I felt sick and hollow, an ache in my chest that seemed to be sapping all my strength. Sora kept looking back at me but I didn’t bother trying to pretend to smile for him. After he’d explained everything to me, I felt even worse. Kenta was hurt. No wonder he’d reacted like that. It must have been agonizingly painful when I’d grabbed him. It was no wonder he’d thrown me off like that. I shuddered, a rush of apprehension washing over me as Sora let us back into the apartment. I honestly wasn’t sure I could face him. Never once in the whole time he’d been working for me had he ever yelled at me like that. It hurt worse than hitting the floor had.

“There you are.” Daisuike’s gentle voice made me look up. His smile was a lot like Akira’s, soft and engaging. He walked over and handed me a Coke which I gratefully took. I glanced up at him as he spoke again. “Ryuu, Kenta is in Jiro’s room. We had . . . some issues at one of the bars last night and he got hurt during the fight. They only just got back about thirty minutes before you guys showed up. I know it’s not an excuse for what he did, but it is a reason.”

I nodded, not really trusting my voice at the moment. I took a drink of the Coke, the rush of familiar flavors calming me somewhat. I took a deep slow breath.

“I should go apologize for hurting him.”

Daisuike chuckled and patted my shoulder. “It’s alright. He’s a tough guy but, maybe not all that tough where you are concerned.”

I looked up to see Daisuike watching me a thoughtful look on his face. He patted my shoulder once more and stepped back gesturing for me to follow him. Hesitantly, I followed Daisuike to Jiro’s room. He didn’t even bother knocking on the door, opening it for me. I almost hoped he was going to come in with me, but he shut the door behind me.

Kenta was sitting on the bed his head bowed an arm around his ribs. I stood there for several minutes, not even sure what to say. I was appalled that I’d hurt him worse than he’d already been, but he’d also scared the shit out of me. I didn’t care what else happened, if we got things worked out or not, but he was going to a clinic if I had to drag him kicking and screaming. First things first.

“Kenta I-“

“Don’t say it Ryuu.” Kenta’s voice was soft, the hurt clear in it. “I don’t deserve to have someone like you in my life. I just such a total fuck up. You need to forget that I am anything but a fucking bodyguard.”

It was like having ice cold water dumped over me. I was suddenly numb and shaking. Walking over to him I knelt in front of him, looking up so I could see his eyes. There was a look in them I'd never seen before, a kind of hopelessness. “You’ve never been just a bodyguard to me, Kenta. I am sorry I hurt you.”

He finally looked up at me and I was startled to see the raw hurt in his eyes. “What the fuck are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just being . . . you. No matter how much pain I was in, I should never have done that to you. Can you forgive me?”

I shook my head watching his eyes change slightly, the pain seeming to deepen. He started to open his mouth and I leaned forward kissing him lightly. “I already did. But there is something you can do to make it up to me.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “What?”

“Be my boyfriend.”

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A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that this story has some of you interested in reading Entanglement. This story is a lot lighter by comparison, but I like both really. We might also do a side story about Haru and Tatsuya, if time permits. Falling Down has a lot of my attention as well, since I'm doing major rewrites on it. This story is more just for fun and because these two are entirely too cute together. ^^