Ten years before the manifestation of the first quirk, a glowing child from China, the world has undergone its first change.
Gates opening into various dungeons led to the surfacing of the primordial type of people, called Awakened, or Hunters, the...
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13一 what else are friends for?
༻𖥸༺
GIVEN THAT THEY WERE ONE PREFECTURE away from one another, and that they both were at the top of the hero leaderboard, Hawks was well acquainted with Usagiyama Rumi, more popularly known as Miruko, The Rabbit Hero. As such, coming up with a rendez-vous point in Yamaguchi Prefecture wasn't that hard. They were both partial to high places, so lunch on the rooftop of an apartment building was to be expected.
Leaning on one of his hands as they sat perched on the edge of the rooftop, Keigo was focusing more on his chicken sandwich than on Rumi's filter-less ramble on her latest opponent and his stupidity. He was tired, having spent almost every night up until now tying up loose ends on a kidnapping ring case that he'd stubbled upon. It was done and over, the files sent to the police along with his testimony, but that didn't make things less mentally draining.
An because of that same case he hadn't been able to spend any quality time with his boyfriend. Jin-Woo was understanding, stating that of course his job came first and not to worry about him, but still. Their meeting for the past few weeks have been few and far in between, fleeting and too short for his liking. All he wanted was to snuggle up in his boyfriend's arms and take a nap. Was that too much to ask for?
"I had to use Moon Cleaver Ax on that asshole! He just was refusing to一 is that a hickey?"
In that one fraction of a second following Rumi's sudden observation, Keigo's expression morphed from mulish and brooding to that of a deer caught in the headlights, his unoccupied hand coming up to plaster itself on the area he knew she was referring to. Damn it, he thought he'd covered it well enough, but apparently not.
"It is!" There was triumph in her voice, along with a tint of something that reminded him of a shark scenting blood. It wasn't a comforting feeling that overtook him. Mixed along with apprehension and hesitance was a certain sense of dread, like a stone dropping somewhere deep into his stomach.
"So! Who gave it to you?"
'Ah, there it is.' He though morosely, face flaming up at the memories that chose that particular moment to resurface. "No one." Hopefully, Rumi won't notice the slight squeakiness in his voice as well as the tension lining his body.
Alas, he had no such luck. "Don't lie to me! A 'no one', as you put it, wouldn't make you react like this!" She accused, finger pointing at his face and rabbit ears twitching. "So spill!"
Clamping his mouth shut, Keigo's eyes looked at everything but his lunch companion. He was embarrassed and more than sure that his ears were burning up too. Plus, how the hell was he supposed to tell her what she wanted to know? That he'd told his boyfriend he was going to be busy with a case for a few days and said boyfriend took offense to that? That the one she was seeing wasn't the only bite-sized bruise on him?
Fuck, he was lucky she could only see one. Small blessings.
Rudely shoving her expectant face in his sight, the rabbit themed hero glared at him when he turned his eyes to look at the street below. "I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me." She stated stubbornly.
At that admission, Keigo had to sigh. He couldn't tell her no matter how much she wanted to know or how good of a teammate she could occasionally be. They worked well together, her as a frontline and him offering long-ranged support. But they weren't really friends一not yet at least一and that chaffed at him. She was a good companion and he really liked listening to her aimlessly ramble, but this wasn't his secret to tell. It was theirs, but mostly his and his boyfriend had said he wasn't rushing to announce his presence.
"Look Rumi." The palm that covered the bruise on his neck was now rubbing awkwardly at his nape. "I could tell you, but they don't want that kind of attention on them right now." Which was partially a truth. Jin-Woo wanted Eri to be more comfortable with herself and the environment around her before sharing any earth-shattering news with the world. "They want to stay unknown for now, and I'll respect that." He'd looked in her eyes as he said that, wanting to make sure she understood that she will know, but not now. In time, at a later date.
Miruko glared at him for a few moments before deflating her bubble of anger and pouting at everything but him. "Fine." She ground out, reluctantly accepting his words for what they were and what they might have been.
It took a great deal of control not to sigh in relief, but he'd managed to smother that particular reaction and mentally patted himself on the shoulder for this achievement. He felt a tiny bit bad about curve stomping Rumi's curiosity like that, but he had no other choice. No matter how dear she was to him as a companion, he promised Jin-Woo to keep it under wraps.
"At least answer me this." Her tone was calmer than usual, much more serious as it's teasing notes had vanished. "Are they treating you well?"
Was she... Was she worried about him? That was actually really sweet of her, not matter how out of her comfort zone she might currently feel. Rumi didn't do emotions all that well, so this was a rare sight.
Still, he though her question over. Was Jin-Woo treating him well? Jin-Woo, who cooked dinner for him because he was too much of a disaster in the kitchen. Jin-Woo, who let Keigo use him as an oversized teddy bear that gave the best hugs. Jin-Woo, who let him rant about whatever he pleased and indulged his crazier ideas.
A soft smile bloomed on his face. "Yeah. They're treating me so well, sometimes I feel like I don't deserve them."
There was a quiet awe on his lunch companion's face. Perhaps it had been the gentle face he was making, or the fond tone he was using, but Rumi backed up after that, giving him an indecipherable look.
He shot her a questioning gaze, prompting her to purse her lips and narrow her eyes at him. There was clearly something that she wanted to point out, but though better and shook her head.
"It's nothing. I'm glad for you." It was heartfelt and honest, so he appreciated that more than he though he would have.
"Thanks Rumi."
✂------------------------------------------
*Rising from Yiling's burial mounds* I live!
What do you guys think Rumi wanted to tell Keigo? 👀
Also, the smut for this has been out on AO3 for a while now. Have fun hunting for it if you haven't seen it yet.
