(no subject)

[searchthecoast]

Characters: Mizuki and Akazawa
Rating/Warnings: PG / Minor violence, head injury
When/Where: Sunday  / Around dawn dorm, the infirmary and then Mizuki's dorm
What: Mizuki's date with his stalker doesn't go so well and it's Akabaka to the rescue.
Authors comments: Does anyone else want to throw Mizuki into Akazawa's pants already?

It had been a mistake. Of course, he'd known it all along. He didn't feel anything for the creep who thought stalking was the best way to make his feelings known. The only reason he'd even agreed on the date was because Akazawa had been in favour of it. It was rare enough for Akazawa not to start some kind of a holy crusade against his preferences; Mizuki wasn't about to act against him in that rare occurrence.

Too bad it hadn't been Akazawa himself. Not even on a date, just their usual hanging out, swimming, diving, maybe just poking fun at each other. At least then, he might have actually enjoyed himself. But of course that couldn't happen. Akazawa had his pretty girl to occupy him; the best Mizuki could do was stay out of the way. He was probably with his dream girl at this very moment.

Which was why he ended up returning to the school with this absolute creep just before curfew, the grounds half empty as they walked towards the dorm, some people mingling around the Dusk Dorm but the surroundings of Dawn Dorm deserted. Mizuki couldn't wait to get rid of the idiot. The guy was quite tolerable when it came to appearance, tall and muscular and with a nice enough face, but that was where his positive points ended. He was more boring than watching paint dry, loved the sound of his own voice, and had a seriously inflated view of himself. Never mind the fact that he probably struggled with adding and subtracting single-digit numbers.

Much though he wanted to just slip and go to his room to sulk, though, it proved impossible as the idiot decided to pose himself between Mizuki and the door. "Oh, come on. Why such a hurry? It's not quite curfew yet."

"Maybe not," Mizuki snorted, "but I think this is about as far as my patience can stretch." No, he did not feel any need to be gentle with the idiot's feelings. "Just to spell it out, you're boring, self-centred, and I have no particular desire to go on another date with you. Ever."

"Oh, come on. Like you'd get anyone else."

Mizuki raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play stupid." The idiot stepped closer. "Everyone knows you hang around that preachy freak. Who'd want to date you when it means dealing with that?"

Mizuki drew a deep breath. "Okay, first off, Akazawa's the one who suggested I accept your invitation," he snapped. "And secondly, if he's that horrible, what are you doing here?"

"Eh, I'm not afraid of that little wimp." Wimp? Obviously he'd never even seen Akazawa. "Besides, you're pretty enough. Figured you'd get lonely before long."

"Trust me, nobody would get that lonely." He made to step around the creep, only to suddenly find himself grasped, turned around and shoved against the wall so hard, he hit his head.

"Not so fast, pretty." The creep's breath was hot on his face, sending a shiver of disgust down his spine. "You owe me a bit more than that for the date."

"I owe you nothing after bearing with your self-centred idiocy for hours." Mizuki tried to push the idiot away, to no avail. "Let me go."

"Not just yet, pretty thing. First, you owe me." A knee wedged itself between his legs, his arms held tight against the wall as the creep leant closer.

He'd have screamed in the vain hope some Night Class student might hear it, if not for the mouth suddenly covering his.

Akazawa would admit that yes, he had spent time with Maeko-chan while Mizuki was out on his date, mostly because it was odd not spending a weekend with his friend out at the beach or at least at the pool, and even then, he had only gotten a short amount of time with her, sitting in the ground floor common room working on homework. Not long before curfew she had reminded him that she was having a sleepover in her dorm with her friends, so he had, like the gentleman he was, escorted her back to her room, kissed her on the cheek and left her with her roommate before heading to his own room to die of boredom.

Upon reaching his room and stepping inside, though, he spotted something slightly... distressing. His room had a window that looked out over the gate and a large section of the grounds surrounding the Dawn dorm. For a moment, he didn't move, but once he figured out just exactly what was going on, he was quick to dump his stuff on his bed before heading back out the door and almost flying down the stairs.

A couple minutes later found him running out the main door of the dorm building and towards the obviously distracted 'stalker' that he'd heard about. Not even remotely out of breath, Akazawa reached up to tap the guy's shoulder, a tightly balled fist connecting with his jaw when he turned around.

Mizuki did not see Akazawa coming, eyes closed in disgust more than anything as he tried to struggle away from the idiot's hold. Suddenly, though, the creep was away, sent off with the very clear sound of a fist connecting with a face. Eyes flying wide, he found himself staring at his friend. "...Akazawa?"

Despite the grin on his lips, Akazawa's eyes held a deep concern. "You okay?" he asked, one foot pressing down hard on one of the creep's hands to at least try to discourage him from trying to go anywhere.

"I... guess." Mizuki lifted a slightly trembling hand to scrub viciously over his mouth as though hoping to exorcise the creep's taste. Ugh...

Akazawa gave a slow nod in acknowledgement, and perhaps understanding. "C'mon," he said, slowly stepping away from the guy still on the ground. "Let's go back inside."

Mizuki gave the idiot a somewhat wary glance, but at least for now, the worst he could apparently do was spit curses at them and cradle his hurt jaw. "...Yeah," he murmured. "Let's."

Hesitating in stepping away, Akazawa frowned down at the guy before turning and starting to herd Mizuki back towards the dorms.

Mizuki didn't protest, all too happy to get away from the idiot, happy for Akazawa's rather reassuring presence.

"I take it it didn't go too well?"

"Not exactly a dream date, no." He was feeling slightly dizzy. It probably had to do with the ache in his head from hitting it against the wall. He'd be damned if he let himself faint in front of Akazawa again, though.

"Ah." Akazawa nodded slowly, "I was... hoping it'd work out."

"Were you really?" It just seemed so... unlikely. Why would Akazawa want him to have a successful date with a guy, when he'd made it so very clear that guys dating guys was a terrible sin?

"... Just because God doesn't approve of guys dating guys doesn't mean I don't want my best friend to be unhappy."

"That's a lot of negatives in one sentence." Mizuki raised a hand to touch the back of his head. He'd definitely get a nasty bump there, and -- why did it feel... wet? "Oh, damn..."

"... It's a good thing, honest," Akazawa blinked and glanced at Mizuki's hand. And frowned. "Mizuki...." he said quietly, grabbing his friend's wrist and examining his hand before touching the back of Mizuki'd head with his own hand.

Mizuki winced. "That hurts," he murmured. Not that it surprised him, considering his hand was stained with blood.

Akazawa's frown deepened as his own hand came back with blood staining his skin. "Infirmary." It was not a suggestion. It was a order.

"...I'm not protesting." Mizuki sighed. "Just as I thought this evening couldn't go any more wrong..."

Blinking, Akazawa looked slightly surprised. "Never thought you'd agree with me on that."

"Hey, I don't like the thought of a wound on my head any more than you do." Did Akazawa think he was an idiot?

"I was talking about the date in general," Akazawa wiped his hand on the leg of his shorts.

"There's a difference between thinking it's a failure because he's male and thinking it's a failure because he's a boring, self-centred idiot who can't take no for an answer."

"...Who needs details?"

Mizuki narrowed his eyes. "It's possible for gays to have successful dates, too, you know."

Akazawa glanced at him for a moment before sighing. He wasn't going to lecture him about anything, not right now. There were other things to worry about. "How are you feeling?"

"Physically, psychically, or emotionally?"

"Physically." He was worried he was going to have to catch a fainting Mizuki. Again.

"My head hurts," Mizuki murmured. "And I'm pretty sure I've got bruises on my arms..."

"Dizzy?"

"...A bit." Though he supposed it had more to do with the hit to his head than the bleeding wound.

"..." Akazawa looped his arm around Mizuki's waist as a support. He wasn't sure how fast he'd be able to react if Mizuki did end up passing out.

"Told you he was bad news," Mizuki sighed. "Just shy, my ass..."

"Sorry," Akazawa murmured, not looking at his friend.

"But then, that just makes you satisfied, doesn't it," he mumbled, not even sure if he wanted Akazawa to hear it. "Being able to point out to me how bad an idea it's for me to date."

Akazawa didn't reply. Part of him wanted to agree, because it was sort of true, but another part of him really had wanted it to go well, if only so he could see his friend happy.

"Do you know what he said?" Mizuki asked quietly.

"… What?"

"He's the best hope I have of dating because any other gay guy who might be interested, wouldn't act on it because it'd mean dealing with you."

Akazawa didn't say anything, face falling a little as he stared down at the ground just ahead of where he was walking. I'm not that bad.... am I?

"It rather makes sense, though," Mizuki murmured. "You've lectured enough people you don't have a direct contact with."

And that wasn't helping at all. Akazawa felt a pang of guilt that maybe - just maybe - what Mizuki was saying was right and that he really would end up with that creep if only because no one want to deal with preaching. "...sorry."

"Guess that means I'll just not date." Mizuki sighed, leaning slightly against Akazawa. He really did rather dizzy. "No way will that idiot get anything but a knee to the groin from me..." And, in the end, he did value Akazawa's sometimes rather frustrating friendship higher than some hypothetical dates. Obviously, he was a masochist.

Akazawa squeezed his arm slightly around Mizuki's waist. He wasn't quite sure why he did it, so he just came up with the mental reasoning that he was just checking that he had a good hold on his friend just in case. "Do you... want me to back off?" he murmured, the part that wanted his friend to be happy winning over.

"Not sure that's even possible for you."

"..." Yeah, it probably wasn't.

"...Damn it..." He touched the back of his head gingerly. Yup, still wet and warm. "I've had a couple of bad dates before, but this one does take the cake..."

Akazawa bit back a comment about failing dates and just nodded. "I bet..." The infirmary was just up ahead. He just hoped the nurse wouldn't mind if he stayed with Mizuki even if it was going to be past curfew.

Mizuki didn't say anything the rest of the way to the infirmary. He also didn't allow a lot of details on the origins of his wound, aside from some murmured mention of how he'd hit it. The nurse tsked and fussed and complained, then went on to clean the wound as best as she could with all the hair getting in the way.

"I'm afraid the cut is too bad to heal on its own. I'll have to sew it," she said, gathering some implements. "Now, try not to move, please..."

"Good thing I'm not afraid of needles," murmured Mizuki, though frankly the thought of someone sewing his scalp as though it was just a piece of cloth was rather unnerving to say the least.

Mizuki may not have been, but Akazawa couldn't help but tense up as the needle made an appearance, and he wasn't even the one getting sewed up. Looking everywhere except the nurse, he offered a hand out to his friend.

Mizuki wordlessly took his hand, squeezing it perhaps a bit harder than necessary. It was quite an unpleasant experience, in the end. It seemed to take forever; at last, though, the nurse announced she was done, leaving him with the stitches.

"Keep it clean, but be careful with the wound area for a little while," she instructed. "Now, other than that, I believe you said you were dizzy?"

Mizuki nodded. "And my head hurts."

She nodded in return, marking down something on her papers. "That points towards a concussion," she said. "Do you have a roommate?"

"I'm in the room across from him," Akazawa said, hand still holding onto Mizuki's. "Neither of us have roommates though."

"Good. Then I'll charge you with looking after him." The nurse pointed a pen at Akazawa. "Tonight, wake him up at least twice on regular intervals. He can go back to sleep after that, but you need to make sure he does wake up properly. It's to make sure he isn't completely unconscious," she explained. "I'll write you a note to excuse you from classes for at least a few days. You may have trouble concentrating or thinking clearly. That's normal and should clear up soon. You shouldn't play any sports or the like before all symptoms -- both physical and cognitive -- are gone, understood? It's important." She glared at Mizuki, then at Akazawa, as though he was partly responsible for any rebellious thoughts that might've been going through Mizuki's head at the moment. But then, she'd probably dealt with teenage boys before.

"If your symptoms get worse, or don't go away in a week or so, come back to me. Other than that, get plenty of rest, take pain killers for the headaches if needed, and don't exert yourself."

"What other symptoms are there?" Mizuki asked. He doubted it was anything pleasant.

"Other than dizziness and headaches, typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, balance difficulties, some visual symptoms, irritation, confusion, problems concentrating and paying attention, and unusual or overboard emotions."

"Oh, great." Mizuki sighed. "Because the headache isn't bad enough..."

Akazawa opened his mouth to protest that none of this was his fault but closed it again when he actually considered it. It was kinda his fault, considering he was the one who insisted Mizuki give it a shot. So he simply nodded in understanding and agreement, paying careful attention to what was being said. "I'll crash in your room, Mizuki," he said. Not like anyone else was going to use the bed.

"Sounds like good enough an idea," Mizuki sighed. "Though it's rather counterproductive to wake me up if I'm supposed to get rest..."

"You want to die?" Akazawa cocked an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" Mizuki found his eyes filling with tears. "I just want to sleep!"

Akazawa frowned, squeezing the hand he was still holding. "I know you do," he said. "But I don't want you to fall into a coma."

"I'm not going to fall into a coma," Mizuki protested. "It wasn't that bad! I just want to sleep..." Damn it, why was he crying?

"Tearfulness," the nurse said calmly. "Another quite usual symptom. Now go get some sleep, both of you."

"Remember what happened last time you said something wasn't going happen as a result of injury?" Akazawa said quietly. He gave a small bow to the nurse before leading Mizuki towards the door by his hand.

"That's a different matter altogether," Mizuki insisted. "Besides, waking me up won't stop me from falling unconscious, it's just to see if I have!"

Akazawa sighed and reached up his free hand to lightly flick his friend's forehead. "Come on, you, settle down."

"Stop that," Mizuki murmured, wiping away his tears. "Hasn't my head been hurt enough?"

With another sigh, Akazawa slowly shook his head. "Alright, alright. Sorry."

"I hate this," sniffled Mizuki. "All just because that idiot decides my opinion doesn't matter..."

Akazawa stopped walking for a moment, wrapping his arms around him tightly for a moment. "It does matter," he murmured. "That idiot is the one who doesn't matter."

"I suppose I should be happy you came when you did," Mizuki murmured, leaning against Akazawa's chest. Who knew what the creep could have done...

"I'm glad I did," Akazawa said before pulling away. Keeping an arm around Mizuki's waist, he lead him back towards the dorms.

"Don't know what might have happened." At least Akazawa was warm, and helping him stay up.

"Well, it's over now. And if that jerks tries anything again, I'll break his jaw."

"That'd be too good for him," murmured Mizuki quite viciously.

"I know. But I can't exactly do much worse without severe consequence."

"I know." A sigh, before Mizuki managed a smirk through his tears. "He said he wasn't afraid of you. We'll see if he's changed his mind."

Akazawa managed a slight smirk to match. "I'll make him eat those words."

"Obviously, he was being an idiot in several ways," Mizuki replied. "He thought I'd be desperate enough to go for him... and that you aren't as tough as you look."

"I think... I'll go and apologize to him tomorrow. For my misjudgment in thinking he could go on a date with you."

"...You're going to apologize to him for thinking too highly of him?"

"..I might skip the apology and go straight to punching his face in."

"That might make more sense, considering the context."

Akazawa nodded as they stepped into the dorm building. It was past curfew by now, so everyone was inside, the ones not already in their rooms in the common room or meandering in the hallways. "Straight to bed?"

"Yeah." Mizuki did his best to wipe his tears away. He hardly wanted anyone else to see him like this. "Don't think it's a good idea to stay up when I'm this dizzy..."

With another nod, Akazawa lead him upstairs to their floor and opened the door to Mizuki's room once they reached it. "You okay getting ready for bed by yourself?"

"...I think I'll manage," Mizuki said. He'd be damned if he couldn't change into a pyjamas by himself.

"Alright," Akazawa stepped away and across the hall to his own room. "I'll go get changed."

"You do that." Mizuki took support from the doorframe. Damn it, he'd not fall over...

Akazawa paused to look back at him, frowning slightly. "You okay?"

"I told you I'd manage, didn't I?" Mizuki snapped.

With a small frown, Akazawa conceded and stepped into his room, leaving his door open.

Mizuki, for what it was worth, did manage to get himself into his room. He did occasionally pause to take support from the walls and furniture, but it was more just a precaution than anything. He wasn't that dizzy. No, he most definitely wasn't.

When he had finally changed into his pyjamas, though, he all but collapsed on his bed.

Akazawa kept an ear out as he changed, just in case Mizuki ended up collapsing. It didn't affect how long it took him to change, at least, and not long after Mizuki hit his bed, Akazawa left his room. His pajamas only consisted of a pair of boxers, still finding it a bit too hot to sleep in anything more. "You should get into bed properly."

"...I am in bed." Mizuki threw an arm over his eyes. "I really don't feel good..."

"You had painkillers?" Akazawa closed the door behind him, standing beside Mizuki's bed.

"That stuff never helps."

"If you're sure."

"Of course I'm not sure. I'm damn well confused, didn't you hear?"

Akazawa sighed softly and sat down on the edge of the bed, running his hand over Mizuki's hair slowly. "Just try and sleep, okay?"

"For however long you'll let me." Mizuki sighed, the sound turning into a yawn as he leant into Akazawa's hand.

"Four hours sound alright?" Akazawa tucked his hair behind his ear with his free hand, his other hand just resting against Mizuki's head.

"Better than nothing..." Mizuki murmured, eyes falling closed.

Akazawa didn't move or say anything else, just watching his friend. Once he was sure Mizuki was fast asleep, he stood off the bed and walked over to the spare, sitting down on it. He wasn't particularly tired himself, but he figured he should at least try to get some sleep.