Waking Up (& Settling Down) [Kazuichi x Fuyuhiko]

Midnight

He knew it was over for them the second Pekoyama grabbed the bat, the sickening crunch of Koizumi's skull giving way to unyielding metal just barely audible over the thundering of his own heartbeat.

His hands were shaking all through the class trial, arguments and rebuttals flying past him in a matter of seconds as Hinata and the others picked apart their carefully constructed plan. And then came the vote, and it all went quiet, everything blocked out of his mind until it was just him and Pekoyama. Her bright, shining eyes. His heavy, breaking heart.

"I need you! Don't leave me!"

"Young master—!"

She was suddenly being whisked away from him, limbs strung like a puppet's from Monokuma's monstrous hands. He chased after her, unable to breathe, running on the fumes of his pointless existence after the one thing in his life that made sense.

"P-Peko!"

The clash of swords and the stench of blood brought his feet to a halt. He couldn't move, rooted in his place by the shining beauty before him. She could make it, she had to make it—

A monochrome soldier suddenly jumped in front of him and his heart dropped, eyes frozen on Pekoyama's swing, her blade nearing closer and closer in frightening detail until—

Kuzuryuu shot up with a gasp, trying desperately to regain the air that had been stolen from his lungs. He clutched at his useless eye, distantly registering the hot tears slipping from the scarred flesh as he focused on breathing, already a difficult enough task without the nervous tremors coursing through his body.

He could still see it, the flash of regret in her eyes before her sword clattered to the ground, her slim but firm arms keeping him upright as pain shot through his entire being. The splash of blood as her arms went limp around him and her final breath escaped her.

"Hey."

He didn't even realize he wasn't still at the trial grounds until an uncharacteristically quiet voice rang out from beside him, dragging him back down to earth and away from the horrors of his subconscious.

"Hey, 'Hiko? Are ya with me?"

Relief instantly rushed over him as a pair of strong arms wrapped around his shaking frame, coaxing him into a sleep-warm body that was a familiar comfort even in the haze of his nightmare.

He nodded weakly, burrowing into his partner's silky pajama shirt. "P...Peko..."

He heard a soft curse muttered above him, and after a bit of shuffling the room was bathed in warm yellow light.

"'Hiko?" A calloused hand cupped his cheek and gently tipped his head to the side, and the sight of Souda's heartbreakingly earnest face flushed any remaining fear out of his body. "It's me, Kazuichi."

A smile crawled its way to his lips, and he was powerless to stop it. "I know who you are, dumbass."

"Jeez, no need to be so sassy," Souda quipped, grinning back at him as easy as anything. "Just makin' sure you're clear of brain damage."

Kuzuryuu scoffed, too tired to pair it with an eye-roll, but the twitch of Souda's lips told him he got the message across just fine. "Shut up."

Comfortable silence settled between the two of them and he took the chance to calm his rapidly beating heart. Souda's thumb traced slow circles over his cheekbone, easing out the tension in his shoulders and drying his tears.

"You alright?"

"No," Kuzuryuu answered honestly, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he met Souda's eyes. "But I will be."

Souda's face softened, not from pity—as Kuzuryuu finally learned after months of apprehension—but from understanding. They had both gone through so much together, and though it took them a while, they were lucky enough to find solace within each other.

Looking at him now, backlit by the lamp, the frizzed-up ends of his hair glowing gold and his brown eyes searching for answers within his own, Kuzuryuu felt his heart swell almost painfully in his chest. He always scoffed in the face of all this love bullshit but now he felt a little less harshly towards it. And, though he'd never admit it, a little less afraid, too.

"Thank you," he breathed, not fully cognizant of the words until they were out in the open.

"What for?" Souda tipped his head to the side, an open, curious, and somewhat sleepy look in his eyes.

"Everything," he blurted, frowning as soon as he said it. Way too sappy. He tried again. "For being here. For putting up with me."

"Awww 'Hiko," Souda cooed, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his nose before Kuzuryuu knew what was happening. The lopsided grin on his face showed that he knew exactly how much that bothered him. "I never have to 'put up with' you. I love you, ya know."

For the second time that night, Kuzuryuu's heartbeat picked up, this time for a completely different reason. "I—I know."

"You dick," Souda scowled, retracting his hands from Kuzuryuu's face to poke lightly at his chest. "You're contractually obligated to say it back."

"I love you too, idiot," Kuzuryuu rolled his eyes but complied nonetheless, helpless to the smile that tugged at his lips.

"Thank you," Souda sniffed haughtily before placing a hand on Kuzuryuu's shoulder. "Really though, 'Hiko. We'll be alright. I promise."

Kuzuryuu nodded, pushing back the voices in his head screaming in his head that they wouldn't be, that they didn't deserve it after what happened with Pekoyama and the others. For now, they were alright. They were alive and they had each other, and that was enough.

Souda seemed to realize the conversation was over, leaning in once more to leave a kiss on his cheek. "Sleep?"

"Please," Kuzuryuu sighed, relishing the warmth that spread through his body.

Souda hummed softly as he laid them back down, wrapping his arms around Kuzuryuu's waist and pulling his body close against his own. "See you in the A.M."

His voice was no more than a tired mumble, and Kuzuryuu couldn't help but laugh. "See you."

He allowed himself to relax into Souda's body beside him, tangling his fingers with the ones resting on his stomach. The quiet was back, only briefly marred by Souda's sleepy noises, and Kuzuryuu stared blankly into the dimly lit room.

He regretted what happened to Peko more than anything else in his life. He'd waited too long to say how he felt and he'd waited too long to try and save her. He let his impulses guide him to the end of two people's lives, both so young and full of potential that he'd snuffed out in the heat of the moment. Hindsight was always 20/20, as Souda reminded him from time to time, but he knew the guilt would never leave him.

Still, he thought, as long as he had his pink-haired mechanic, he'd be alright—eventually. He tightened his grip on Souda's lax fingers as sleep tugged on his eyelids. He'd be alright.

UPDATE AFTER 100 YEARS?! WHAAAAT 😱 hi guys... im back 😎 i revisited the stupidly painful world of sdr2 for the first time in years and i had many feels come back and slap me in the face. SUPER FUN!! 😋 but yeahh, i just wanna say thank you to everyone who's read/commented on this book even though it pains me to read my old writing 🥲 you guys have my heart ❤️