His Other Half (KiriBaku)

Chapter 36

October 24th, XX84
~Katsuki's bedchambers~

        Tenya let Ei in that night after confirming that he had let himself be treated in the infirmary, his prince distracted with a meeting to determine the fate of the Shindos. 

        Yo was actually a pretty decent person, and he fought with honor. Eijiro could safely say that in the lawless fields of Andoris, Yo would be long dead if faced against the monster he'd been, but the confines of the Cour's rules gave him a working range to flourish and survive. He took his defeat with dignity, and while Eijiro hadn't made another ally, he knew Yo was no enemy either.

        His family had a final chance. Denounce their rampant, traitorous heir, or suffer rejection from the grace of high society. Yo, who had already taken the opportunity to apologize to Katsuki in his family's stead before the duel, would not be joining them, no matter their decision. 

        Eijiro huffed impatiently at the full-length mirror beside the prince's closet, pacing with boredom around Katsuki's room. Despite Katsuki's new association with this place as one of fear and loneliness, Eijiro sat himself on the edge of the duvet, remembering only the happy memories. The ones that kept him company during his darkest years as fleeting wisps of warmth and love.

        He smiled, an image of a much younger Katsuki wearing one of his mother's stolen tiaras, grinning smugly at him, a training sword poised at his neck. Eijiro remembered pleading mercy, begging forgiveness--only to jump back up, catching the growing prince off guard with a kiss and marking his victory.

        In the present, he chuckled. His cheap romantic tricks still worked to win most light spats with Katsuki. Kissing still made both of them stupid and forgetful, and Eijiro was more grateful for every one.

        He hummed, more impatient now, and grumpily moved into the washroom to check his bandages. Chiyo's tonics worked best on the major wounds, so the cuts on his skin were still covered with a light layer of gauze and tape, fine if not for the strip on his nose that insisted on bothering him. He poked at his mended nose, feeling the bump where it had broken, and hissed at the dull throb of pain. He'd be alright, if only he could get himself to stop bothering it.

        Eijiro heard the door to Katsuki's chambers open, a tired sigh sounding from the adjoined room. He perked; his prince had arrived.

        Outlined in the light of the dying sun from the balcony window, Katsuki didn't notice when Eijiro appeared in the doorway to the washroom, far too preoccupied with struggling against the buttons of his tunic. He was always bothered by the thick embroidered fabrics come sundown, and his irritation made his fingers clumsy. Eijiro smiled at him fondly, stepping forward to help when his prince continued to struggle. 

        The moment his hands looped around Katsuki and met his fingers, Eijiro knew he'd made a mistake. Recognized the moment Katsuki realized he wasn't as alone as he'd thought and jumped to the panicked conclusion. Given the recent pain, he couldn't be blamed, and Eijiro should have known better. He'd assumed that Katsuki had seen his boots by the door, but he'd been wrong.

        But the shriek Katsuki made trying to get away was a sound filled with pure terror, and Eijiro in his scramble to make it better only thought to pull him closer, to protect him, and with his hands around the prince's, the explosions he expected Katsuki to use against him in defense never came. His heart sank; in mere seconds, he'd become the faceless monster Katsuki feared so terribly.

        "Kat, I'm sorry," Ei tried, desperately hoping that his voice could break the panic. "I'm sorry, it's only me. It's only me, love, I swear it is. I won't hurt you. I'll never hurt you, I promise, dear."