Dance of Two Colors (Genji x Reader)

Chapter Nine

The door closed with a resounding "click" noise. It smelled of bleach and wet sponges in here, but it was better than being in front of prying eyes and being around loud noises. Genji's hangover-induced migraine needed a break.

I spun around and pointed to the seat next to the sink. "Sit."

"Yes, doc," he joked weakly. 

I ran to the shelves of things, and found what I was looking for. A box of cloth rags. They were still packages as well, so I knew that they were clean. I broke the plastic of the purple rag, and yanked it out quickly.

I rushed to the sink and turned on the cool water before soaking the rag. As I rung it out, Genji groaned in pain. 

I knelt down in front of him like I had done in the hall, but lifted the direction of his head so he'd look at me. I pressed the cool rag against his left cheek first, rubbing in in soothing circles, before moving up to his forehead and other cheek.

"Does this help?" I probed.

"Immensely."

I nodded in understanding before leaning over to the sink to get some more cold water. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Genji was staring at me as I did this. His eyes never left me as  I rung it out, moved back to my kneeling position, and repeated the action.

I remembered that I had a bottle of water and tylenol in my backpack suddenly, so I put the cloth down on Genji's knee for a second while I rummaged around my pack, searching for it. I threw out a few notebooks before my hand finally closed around the bottle and bag of tylenol.

"Here," I said as I passed it to him. "Take this. And drink this."

Genji did as I asked without protesting or giving me some kind of witty remark. It felt strange for him to be so quiet. He downed the first half of the bottle with the pill and then stopped.

I was kind of at a crossroads here. What else should I do? I did the rag thing, and gave him painkillers... so what more could I do for him? Well, when I had a headache, my mom would... do... that... but if I did that, I might make it weird.

Ah, screw it. 

"Scoot," I ordered. 

Genji seemed a bit surprised since it was a tiny ass seat, but he did as I asked. I sat down next to him and visibly hesitated. He seemed to wonder what the hell I was doing, just sitting there and looking like I was fighting an internal battle. He raised an eyebrow.

I reached over his shoulder and pulled him closer to me, like I was cradling his torso. My other hand I placed on his head so I could run my fingers through his hair. His hair was so soft on the pads of my fingers, it felt nice even to me.

At first, Genji stiffened upon the proximity between the two of us, but he relaxed in my hold eventually, and leaned against my chest as I stroked his hair. He seemed so vulnerable in this state, so out of character from his usual confident and outgoing state. He trusted me.

"Hey," he murmured. "I can hear your heartbeat. So you do have one after all!"

"Oh, HA HA."

"Shhh, I want to hear it."

The two of us were quiet. I let him listen to my heartbeat as I held him in the embrace, running a hand through his messy green hair. I needed him to get better so he could go through the rest of the school day normally.

I leaned on his head with mine, and held him closer. Believe it or not, being held really helped whenever I head a headache. And... well, I like how it felt to hold someone. The fact that it was Genji helped.

I wanted to stay like this for longer, but the bell rung loudly, taking me by surprise. Genji got up from his leaning position, disappointing me a little bit.

"You need to get to class or you'll be punished for being late," he told me.

"What about you?"

"I'll stay here a bit longer, to let your painkillers do their magic."

"Then I'll stay too."

"(Y/n), I know I'm just that irresistible, but no, you need to get to class," he chuckled. He placed an arm on the ledge of the sink and put his head down on it, still clearly in pain.

I frowned. "It's not a big deal. You're staying here, so that means I can too."

He just barely looked up, meeting my steady gaze with his sad brown eyes. It seemed that he really did want me to leave him here. "You don't understand. I want you to be better than me, little bug."

That hit a chord. He said it so sweetly. Like he really wanted the best for me. I pursed my lips and  looked away briefly before I picked up my backpack. I walked to him and patted his head reassuringly. "Okay. I'll go. Dumbass."

"Good. Thanks for helping. You did a lot."

I nodded before going to the door, pulling it open, and exiting. The hallways were mostly empty as I sped-walked to science class. I was already late, but at least it was only by a few minutes. I hoped that Genji would feel better. My thoughts were on him as I walked.

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(GENJI'S POV)

That girl.

That (y/n).

My feelings were all tangled up and confusing. She was sweet, despite her sharp tongue. And kind. 

I held the purple cloth she had used on me in my hand. I would keep it. It had been so long since I was cared for at all, and I wanted to remember it.

I thought of her (h/c) hair. Her (e/c) eyes.

The way it felt to be wrapped up in her arms. I found myself longing for that feeling more and more with each passing second of me leaning against the sink.