[Wild Adapter] Change - PG, scrap

[keraha]

Title: Change
Rating: PG
Warning: Kubota/Tokito if you squint
Notes: I'm not nearly enough into WA fandom.



Kubota noticed immediately when Tokito woke up. It was difficult not to. Tokito slept like a wet rag, his body draped over the bed, arms dangling at his sides. The moment his eyes opened, however, his entire body shrank into itself. The line of his shoulders and neck screamed tension, and Kubota watched as Tokito's eyes darted around the room.

When Tokito's eyes landed on Kubota, Kubota smiled at him.

"Good morning," Kubota said. "I made you some tea. It may not be to your liking."

Tokito kept his eyes on Kubota as he swung up to a sitting position. His legs hung off the edge of the bed, and they kicked a little as he accepted the tea. Tokito wrapped his hands around it, and Kubota noticed that his left hand bare against the mug and his right still under the thin white linens. "Thank you." Tokito drank from it, and his shoulders relaxed.

Kubota leaned against the wall. "You know," he said conversationally, "I could have put any number of drugs in there. You could be dead in a few minutes."

"What?" Tokito asked, spewing his drink across the floor.

Kubota's eyes crinkled and he waved an arm lazily in the air. "I'm just kidding. It was just to let you know that you shouldn't accept drinks from strangers."

"But you aren't a stranger!" Tokito said. "You did all this!" He gestured at the bed and his bandages.

"Yes," Kubota said. "But what if I did it because I wanted something else?"

Tokito frowned, then looked down and noticed the mug still in his hands. "I trust you," he said, voice petulant. He sipped.

Kubota's lips curved into a smile. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, for a number of reasons, the first of which being that this cat was injured, but he walked up to Tokito, all loose limbs and swaying hips. He put his hands around the mug, then placed it on the ground. He could feel Tokito's eyes on him.

With a slow, deliberate movement, Kubota dropped his arms down at Tokito's sides and leaned his face in until they were inches away. "Are you sure?"

Tokito looked at him. "Yes."

"I see." After a moment, Kubota straightened. "Well, if you want to take a shower, the bathroom is down the hall. There are towels there, and if you need new cloth, you can wear mine. We can go buy you things later."

Tokito grinned. "Okay!"

--

"The water turned cold after, like, five minutes," Tokito said.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Kubota asked. He put aside the newspaper he was reading, then looked at Tokito.

It was odd to see another man wear his cloth, Kubota thought. Or at least this man. Kubota's shirtsleeves were too long for Tokito, but rather than rolling them up, Tokito kept them loose. The unbuttoned cuffs dangled over Tokit's hands, and Kubota noticed how he kept his right hand out of sight.

"The water," Tokito repeated, "turned cold after five minutes."

Kubota thought about when it was he last paid for hot water and remembered that the landlady had given him a steely look and warned him about the future. The telephone no longer worked, nor the hot water, but in a neighborhood like this one, it was unimportant. Kubota had a view from his bedroom out onto the streets and he could watch the bodies skitter across the gravel like ants.

This body, more interesting than most, was in his apartment, wearing his shirt, and complaining about hot water.

Kubota gave Tokito an even look, than said, "You're right."

And that was the first thing to change.