[LOG] Hug it out

[bloodysparks]

Who: Niou and Sanada
When: June 5
Where: Yukimura’s home
Rating: PG13
What: When Sanada needs to have a moment of weakness, Niou steps up.
Comments: Kind of angsty fluff.



Now that Yanagi had come home, Sanada felt a bit more comfortable leaving Yukimura's side. The scientist was older and could see to their Sire's needs just fine, which was good. He felt a bit guilty for leaving for the dojo, but he needed some time to himself. It was hard to be weak in front of the person who needed him to be better than his best. Sliding the door shut, the dark haired vampire slid down the wall to pull his knees to his chest.

Since Yukimura’s home was quite a bit larger than Sanada’s and Niou didn’t feel like spending the whole night hunting him down just to tell him that One had made his favourite meal, Niou set Kage to work hunting down her master. Ruelle was merrily tagging along more focused on trying to nip at Kage’s tail than actually help but Kage didn’t seem to mind too much and the play was good for the pups and his own mood so he didn’t stop it.

Turning a corner, Kage made a barking sound and then dashed ahead. Apparently Sanada, or possible a tasty treat, had been found. Niou followed and smiled when he spotted Sanada for himself but then immediately frowned when he took in Sanada’s position and body language. Had Renji delivered bad news? “Sanada?” Niou said quietly as he crouched down in front of Sanada, Ruelle immediately tried to climb onto his back while her sister pawed at Sanada’s legs.

Looking up at the pup pawing his legs, as well as Niou crouched in front of him, he stuffed back his emotions and did his best to slip back into the role of Sire and protector. "What's going on, Niou?"

“Nothing. One’s whipped up a bunch of your favourite dishes and wanted me to tell you. I think she’s worried about you.” Niou pulled Ruelle off of him and to his side where he kept one hand on her head to hold her in place, the other he placed on Sanada’s knee. “You okay?” Niou asked. He liked his sire being strong and protective and larger than life. But he wasn’t stupid enough to think that Sanada didn’t have his weaknesses and worries, too. It was a bit, okay, a lot, freaky to see them on display like he just had but he wouldn’t force Sanada to be strong just so he could feel better.

"Not hungry. I'll make it up to her later." Relaxing enough for Kage to crawl into his lap, Sanada curled around the pup as she licked his cheek. He knew he probably should force himself to eat, but he just couldn't at the moment.

“You should try. You’ll make her feel better... and the other pets,” Niou said, his hand moving to Sanada’s hair. Niou knew that Sanada was at least drinking blood, but he also knew that it wasn’t as much as usual nor taken in the fun ways that the pets were used to. “We’re worried about you.” And about Yukimura, but that went unsaid.

Sighing softly at the hand in his hair, Sanada closed his eyes. There was no way his pets could see him like this. It would terrify them. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

“It’s okay. It’s a bit surprising seeing you like this but I think it’d be weirder if you were holding it all together,” Niou said combing his fingers through Sanada’s hair gently. In a way, it was nice that Sanada trusted him enough to let his guard down so much in front of him. If his sire was feeling distressed and panicked about things, he wanted to know, no matter how uncomfortable it was to deal with. “Yukimura’s your sire and you were there when it happened. That would shake anyone up.” He certainly would have been freaking out if the same thing had happened with him and Sanada.

Sanada let out a shaky breath as he pressed his face into Kage's soft fur. "I should have paid more attention. We might have caught it sooner. I would have noticed better. But that damn truce, and Keigo. I knew Seii would be livid, and I got so mad at him taking it out on you..."

“That’s not your fault,” Niou said letting go of Ruelle and shifting closer to Sanada so he could hold him in a loose hug, careful not to squish Kage. “Even if you said something you know he’d brush it off as your imagination or something. He’s a proud guy.” And also a scary guy if someone kept pushing something he didn’t want to acknowledge. So it was likely that all Sanada’s pre-emptive fussing would have gotten him was a smackdown. “And we all survived the truce and the aftermath, there’s no need to keep worrying about that either.” It helped that that night was rather fuzzy in Niou’s mind but even if parts had been uncomfortable others had been enjoyable. And whatever squabbling Yukimura and Sanada might have had about it, it seemed to have all blown over by the time he woke up.

Leaning slightly into his Childe's embrace, Sanada pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. Niou's words made perfect sense, but it didn't do much for him. Everything was too raw on the inside.

Niou held Sanada close for a moment as he looked down the hallway and then toward the dojo doors. Sanada was the defacto clan leader while Yukimura recovered and it wouldn’t do for anyone, pet or vampire to see him like this. “Come on, let’s go to your room. You need to relax a little before you break.” Niou was strong enough to support Sanada for a while, but he wasn’t nearly strong enough to try and piece his sire back together while watching Yukimura lie weakly in bed. So getting Sanada some private time and hopefully some food and rest to regroup before he had to put on his business face again was Niou’s current priority.

Nodding blankly, Sanada stood up slowly, Kage still in his arms. "Could you...get some of the food One made. I shouldn't worry her any more than I have."

“Sure. Put on your Sanada face and I’ll go grab a tray of food and meet you in your room.” Niou could have said ‘our’ room considering how much time he spent in it. Even when Sanada wasn’t staying over with him at Yukimura’s house if he wasn’t sleeping in Yukimura’s bed he’d stay the day in Sanada’s. Though he did have his own room, especially now that they were merging their two households. He needed somewhere to store his stuff and slip away to on the rare nights when Sanada wanted to or needed to share his bed with someone other than him. Though as long as he could convince Sanada to rest, he knew that tonight wasn’t going to be one of those times he slept in his own bed.

Giving Kage and Sanada a pat on the head, Niou winked and then turned to head to the kitchen. He wasn’t really in a teasing mood, but he hoped it would help lift Sanada’s spirits a little, if just for a second.

Smiling just barely, Sanada squared his shoulders. Walking to his room, he was thankful that there was no one in the halls. Once inside, he swapped his hakama for a rarely worn jinbei before sitting on the floor. Kage did what she could to cheer him up be bringing him her favorite ball, which he threw half heartedly.

Niou was fairly laden down with a large tray filled with not only enough food for the both of them but also some blood as well. Fortunately, One had distracted Ruelle with treats so he was at least able to get back to Sanada’s room without tripping. He hoped Sanada had made it okay.

Walking into the room, Niou looked to the bed and then to the chairs and frowned. He then looked back toward the bed and spotted Sanada not on it but sitting down on the floor on the other side of it.

Hearing the door open again, Sanada twisted to see Niou behind a fully loaded tray. Grabbing Kage before she could launch herself at the other vampire and cause a spill, he clamped a hand around her muzzle. "Not yours. Be good or I'll lock you in the bathroom until I'm done." Kage let out a plaintive whine, but settled down all the same.

Sure that Kage was under control for now, Niou set the large tray on the bed, “Gonna come up here and eat or are we having a picnic?” He wasn’t sure why Sanada found the floor an optimal place to sit when feeling down but if that’s where he wanted to be Niou would join him there. But he did think the bed would be more comfortable.

Pushing himself off the floor, Sanada moved to the bed. Careful not to upset the tray, he settled with his back to the headboard. "I take it Ruelle stayed in the kitchen?" He was surprised slightly to not have another pup begging for food.

“Yup, she sweet talked One into giving her some food,” Niou said. They were growing pups and needed the food and since he and Sanada would be trying to eat, he figured leaving Ruelle in the kitchen was a good plan. He was sure that Ruelle would find them or one of her sisters before too long. “Here, try this,” Niou said passing over a bowl of miso soup practically overflowing with mushrooms before settling in next to Sanada and carefully pulling the tray toward him.

Taking a deep whiff of the soup, Sanada was shocked to hear his stomach actually growl. He picked his spoon up, said his thanks, and dug in. The mushrooms were cooked to perfection, like One always managed.

Niou felt a little part of him relax as Sanada actually ate. He pulled a couple more dishes close, ready to pass on to Sanada even while he started eating one of the fish that One had cooked them. “If you eat mine, too, I promise not to tell One,” Niou said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"The last thing I need is you going mad from hunger. Eat your fill, then we'll see." Thankful for Niou's attempt at cheer, Sanada managed a smiled that wasn't entirely faked.

“Hey now, I was only offering the soup, not the blood. And I was thinking of trading you the tofu for the soup,” Niou said as he reached with his chopsticks to steal a cube of the tasty fried tofu from the plate. Sanada still wasn't up to his usual style of banter but Niou was thankful that his efforts weren’t going entirely to waste either.

“Well...if it’s just the soup, I suppose so.” Making quick work of his own bowl, Sanada reached for Niou’s as well. “Thank you, Masaharu. I appreciate you doing this.”

“Nothing you haven’t done or me,” Niou said trying not to look to pleased with himself for being able to do something good for his sire. “Think you can handle some blood after?” Human food was all well and good and delicious but as vampires it wasn’t the sustenance their bodies needed to survive.

Pausing halfway through his second helping of soup, Sanada thought about it for a long moment. Nodding slowly, he eyed the blood thoughtfully. “Who is it from?” Not that it really mattered, all his pets were delicious after all.

“Four. She’s feeling a little useless at the moment,” Niou said and then looked at the cup of blood for Sanada. “There might be a bit of five in there, too...You weren’t short on volunteers.” Sanada’s pets loved him and wanted to do their best to support him, too. It was just a shame that recently Sanad had had no attention or time to spare towards his pets to really let them help. His own cup was only half filled with Three’s blood but that was because he’d had a proper meal with Seven earlier. He might be worried about Yukimura and Sanada but hunger and needs still won out.

“Have she and Five started working on Seiichi’s garden? I told him they could do it so that the flowers wouldn’t die without him.” Picking up the cup with one hand, Sanada took a long sip and sighed at the taste. “You’re right, there is a bit of Five in here.”

“I didn’t ask, but it’d explain the flowers the girls and Three all had tucked behind their ears.” Somehow Two, Six and Seven managed to escape the twins floral decorations. “If that’s not enough, you can feed from me, too.” He left that the fact that he had been taking care of himself unspoken. Sanada probably knew he was being stupid about his own needs, he didn’t his childe to rub his nose in it.

Leaning slightly against Niou, Sanada finished off his soup before nursing the cup of blood. “We’ll see. Not sure how hungry I really am.”

“Well you can take whatever else you need or want from me, too,” Niou said careful not to jostle Sanada as he finished off the plate of tofu.

Nodding, Sanada just slowly drank the cup of blood. Logically, he knew he needed more than this, but as long as it was enough to keep him healthy and sane, that’s what mattered. “Ah. Thank you, Masaharu.”

“My pleasure,” Niou reassured. He stole a few more bites from a mostly eaten fish before taking his own mug and resting more comfortably against Sanada.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a while before Sanada’s voice broke it. He was quiet, nearly timid, with his eyes fixed firmly on the tray. “I’m not sure I can do it...”

“Do what?” Niou asked after a moment’s thought still didn’t help him narrow down just what Sanada couldn’t do.

“Lead the clan. I’m not Seiichi, will they even follow me?”

“I’ll follow you,” Niou said moving his mug to one hand so he could wrap his arm around Sanada’s shoulders. “And nobody expects you to be Yukimura. They follow you as their second, they’ll follow you as their leader until Yukimura’s better...” Niou paused. He wanted to ask if Yukimura would get better but wasn’t sure he wanted to know if the answer was no.

Setting his mug down, Sanada leaned a little more into Niou. “What if he doesn’t? Would that Sire of his take over again? Would Renji come back and step up as the oldest heir?”

“He will,” Niou said with more conviction than he felt. Vampires getting this sick without apparent interference from hunters or a rival clan was unheard of to Niou and it didn’t bode well. But Niou had to believe in Yukimura’s health for the both of them right now. “And neither of them have shown much interest in the clan up until now. Why would it change?”

“I hope you’re right, but I just...I don’t know. I know I’m still a child compared to him, but I’ve never seen anything remotely like this. Being a vampire should mean immunity to disease, you know?” Sanada shifted the tray as out of the way as he could without sitting up. “Sorry. For being so weak.”

“Weak? You’re one of the strongest vampires I know,” Niou said a clear scoff in his voice at the thought of Sanada being weak. He might be having a weak moment but that proved how strong his feelings and loyalty were to Yukimura and Rikkai and that wasn’t really weakness in Niou’s books. He reached over to put his now empty mug on the side table and pulled Sanada a little closer to him, a hand toying with his hair again. “Even if, and it’s a big if, Yukimura doesn’t get well enough to lead the clan full time again and his sire or Renji want to, you’d still be the second.” Possibly not what Sanada wanted to hear but he had to know that even in the worst case scenario Rikkai would still need him and look to him for leadership even if it was only in his current capacity.

The hand in his hair was soothing, and Sanada felt himself relaxing some. But the fear and the worry still weighed heavy in his gut. “Renji would, maybe. But not that man. Not that I would follow him anyway. Renji is family, the other is a stranger.”

“You barely know him. He could become family in time. His blood flows through both of our veins, that may not make him family but it’s reason enough to give him a chance.” He knew that he would follow Sanada no matter what his decision if it came down to it but he didn’t want to leave Rikkai.

“I suppose. He was such an ass when he showed up out of the blue, though. And why hasn’t he come back to visit? Maybe he know what’s wrong. He could be here, helping, and he’s not. What kind of a Sire is he?” Sighing harshly, Sanada sat up and moved the tray fully off the bed. Laying back down, he put his head in Niou’s lap.

“Well he has to be as old as dirt, right? Maybe being that old affects your social niceties,” Niou said shifting so that he was leaning back more comfortably against the headboard. He ran his fingers soothingly through Sanada’s hair not liking the reason for this situation but somehow still enjoying it a little. “Has anyone told him? He might not know. We have been keeping it under wraps.”

“Not as far as I know. But still, you would think he’d be checking up on Seii more often. I know he didn’t cause this, at least, otherwise I’d go stake the bastard myself. But for how pleased he seemed that Seii hadn’t died centuries ago like he’d thought and then to not be here more just... I know if I was in his shoes and found out that one of my Children was still alive, I’d spend lots of time with them, just to catch up if nothing else.” Feeling the bed dip as Kage hopped up, Sanada let Niou’s gentle touch soothe him.

“Maybe he’s just a weirdo,” Niou suggested, “Or bad at time management.” He reached over to pet Kage as she moved in close to them but gave most of his attention to Sanada. “And people would point out that you’re a little bit of a mother hen when it comes to your children.” Or would if they didn’t worry about Sanada punching them for calling him a mother hen.

“I was taught before I was turned that you are to protect your family at all costs while teaching them to do the same. Sons were constantly being sent to fight battles, but they came home and did their jobs and raised their families, or were buried by them.” Perhaps it was a difference in era, Sanada thought. Though he would have expected that individuals were expected to be more thoughtful of the group back when his Grandsire was human.

“I’m not complaining. I like your protective side... it’s cute,” Niou said, adding the last part on just to tease his sire and hopefully help lighten the mood a little. It was cute, but he really did appreciate how safe being near his sire made him feel. And while he knew he was a few centuries too early to properly return that protection, he would work hard in his own way to help Sanada and protect their family and clan.

Cracking a wry smile, Sanada rolled to glance up at his Childe. “Cute, huh?”

“Adorable even,” Niou said and feeling bold he poked Sanada’s nose.

“You’re lucky you’re my favorite and I love you so much. Oughta smack you for that, but I won’t.” Sanada groused good naturedly as he got comfortable again.

“You’re not supposed to have favourites,” Niou said with a teasing and affection smile. Even if Sanada wasn’t supposed to, he couldn’t say he wasn’t glad to be Sanada’s favourite or to get a larger share of his love than the siblings he had yet to meet. “But don’t worry. I won’t tell.”

“Good. There’s no telling what kind of teasing you’ll be victim of if you do.” To be honest, Sanada didn’t expect any of his older Children to be too heartbroken over it. But it was a little fun to tease Niou.

“Then my lips are sealed. But I bet you give it away with how you hover... mother hen,” Niou said giving into temptation to ruffle Sanada’s hair.

“As much as I want to deny that, I can’t.” A chuckle rippled through Sanada, surprising him. Reaching up, he threaded his fingers into Niou’s hair. “You’re quite good at this.”

“It’s a gift,” Niou said leaning down to let Sanada play with his hair more easily. He wouldn’t tell Sanada that it was partly a gift but also years of training back when he was a hunter at how to set aside his own feelings to better please his master. Sanada was his sire, not his master and he was doing this out of love not to dupe him so there was no need to bring up his past.

“It’s a valuable one.” Leaning up, Sanada kissed Niou softly.

Niou let his eyes close at the feel of lips on his. The simple show of affection felt nice and reminded him how long it’d been since he’d last kissed his sire like this.

The kiss was calming, and Sanada found himself relaxing more. He was still very worried about his Sire, but his own inner strength and resolve was slowly starting to come back.

Niou wanted to deepen the kiss and roll Sanada over and follow him down to really get a better angle but this wasn’t about his libido, this was about offering his support to Sanada in anyway his sire wanted. So he let Sanada set the pace of the kiss though he made sure to enjoy his enjoyment by combing his fingers through Sanada’s hair and keeping a light hold on him.

Breaking the kiss reluctantly, Sanada repositioned so that he and Niou could both lay down more comfortably. “I’m going to need you to help me reassure the pets that everything will work out somehow, Masaharu. In fact, I imagine I will need your help quite a bit more than usual anyway.”

Niou gave a small sigh as the kiss broke but didn’t try to initiate another one like he normally would have. Instead, he cuddled up close to Sanada on the bed and gave a nod. “I understand. I’ll be as strong as I can for you... and for the clan. Lean on me when you need to, okay?” Niou said sounding more confident than he really felt.

“I will. I’m glad that I have you here to lean on. And I’ll try to be strong enough to support you as well.” With his brother around, Sanada knew he could rely on someone else to see to Yukimura’s needs if necessary.

“I know I’m spoiled, but I’m a big boy, Sanada. I can take care of myself for a little bit. You just focus on yourself and taking care of things for Yukimura.” It was a bit of a stretch, Niou did feel the loss of not having Sanada around all the time to be his solid rock but he had friends and some of them he could trust enough to share some or all of this and he was sure he could make do for the time it took Yukimura to recover and Sanada to regain his usual composure and strength again.

Nodding, Sanada held Niou close. “I’ll be counting on that. But don’t push yourself too hard. I need you at your best, Masaharu.”

“I will be. One and the other pets will keep me in line,” Niou reassured as he wrapped an arm more firmly around Sanada. He shuffled in close and leaned in to press his face against Sanada’s neck where he breathed in the familiar scent of his sire and felt himself relax a little. He knew he could be strong for Sanada’s sake but that didn’t mean his preferred place wasn’t curled up with his sire.

Smiling slightly, Sanada brought a hand back up to stroke Niou’s hair. “Good. One especially has a knack for keeping you well in hand.”

“It’s because she knows all my weaknesses,” Niou said. He was supposed to be the one comforting Sanada, but with how comfortable and familiar their position was combined with the gentle petting Niou found his eyelids growing heavy.

“Because we’ve spoiled her.” Thinking of the woman he’d seen as skin and bones dressed in less than rags as a child become the radiant woman she was now made Sanada proud. “She needs to choose a name before I turn her.”

“I promised to help her choose one,” Niou said quietly. He had a few names in mind or at least kanji he’d like to see used in One’s name but it would be up to her to choose the one she would use for her long vampiric life. Niou would admit to being a little surprised at how readily Sanada seemed to warm up to the idea he didn’t however admit that he was worried about seeing One become a vampire. There was something special about a human life that just couldn’t quite be replaced with a vampire one. And worse yet, he worried that he would be jealous of One. Something Niou never wanted to feel towards the person he considered a little sister.

“Good. I’ll be counting on you to help her adjust, especially if I turn her before Seiichi is better.” Sanada was quite grateful for how close Niou and One were. He hoped that it would help her adjust and adapt having grown up watching the silver haired vampire do those very things.

Niou nodded, sure that Sanada could feel it if not see it. He didn’t quite trust himself not to say something insensitive about either One being turned or it not being able to wait until Yukimura was better. He would trust Sanada’s judgement and he would welcome One properly the family.

Rubbing Niou’s back gently, Sanada sighed softly. He felt so mentally and emotionally drained from the last few days. Stifling a yawn, he felt Kage curl up and rest her head on his hip. Knowing that Ruelle had likely conked out in the kitchen, he let himself relax. Things would work out, one way or another.