🌸🌿

takiishi chika would never hurt you on purpose, because he knows that isn't the way you treat a lover. he knows that his partner should feel content, safe when he's around, so he holds you like a prized treasure, caresses you like a rare artifact meant to be preserved within a glass case - just the way he likes.

you've seen the way he maneuvers himself in fights, witnessed first-hand how his explosive temper escalates as you treat endo's injuries like its your daily routine. you've even felt it during nights spent tangled in each other's limbs - the way the scabs on his knuckles reveal its history of violence, yet chika is somehow extremely gentle with you. there has not been a single scar or bruise inflicted on your skin, but the scars he'd left on your heart cut too deep to ever recover.

you're always left wondering how chika could be so careless with your feelings, like whenever he'd leave mid-conversation because what you were talking about bored him, or when the tiniest disagreement would have you walking back to your shared home in the pouring rain. that of which moments later, endo would come to pick you up, claiming it was chika that'd sent him. no matter if endo was trying to cheer you up, you still couldn't help but feel warm in your chest despite being drenched from the downpour.

the door to your shared home clicks open and a fresh-out-the-shower chika passes by the doorway, his dripping wet hair leaving a trail of water in his path from the bathroom. your body gravitates towards him instinctively like metal to a magnet with the intent to embrace him, a ploy to make yourself known in his world that you've utilised one too many times. you hurriedly kick off your shoes to greet chika, only to be dismissed with a cold glance from your lover, which successfully stops you dead in your tracks.

you think that glare bruises darker than any punch ever landed on chika's opponents, because the chika you love rarely ever looks you in the eye. not when you speak, not even when you make love. he'd always be staring at other parts of you, not to insinuate anything explicit, just that sometimes you doubt he even views you as an individual, that it feels like you're just a mere accessory. but the few times when he does meet your gaze, its like he finds something new about you that makes his heart throb so much he refuses to look away, and you give your battered heart up for him to treasure once more.

but that isn't the case this time. immediately you start thinking of ways to make up for your mistakes, already too absorbed in your mindspace that the resounding slap chika had given endo who was trying to dry his hair with the towel loosely hung from chika's neck shook you harshly back to reality.

"who told you to go out again? you don't need to do unnecessary things that'll only inconvenience you."

"sorry~! ahaha! geez.. speak for yourself chika~"

blood was dripping from endo's nostrils and his right cheek was swollen but a little pain never bothered him as endo focuses on getting chika's hair dry lest he catches a cold. chika doesn't make a fuss this time, having already released his earlier frustration and moves to lounge on the couch, with endo of course still following him.

it doesn't take long before chika was out cold on the sofa, presumably tuckered out from all the shopping moments ago. the towel now damp from chika's hair is discarded on a nearby chair left to dry by endo, who finally winces from the sting of his face. and you? already waving him over by your side with a cold compress in hand like your body moved on autopilot the minute you smelled that faint familiar iron scent.

you settle endo down on the opposite side of the sofa to clean away the messy blood on his face and hold the cold compress against the swelling of his cheek. usually you'd be concerned while treating their injuries but endo must've noticed your rather blank expression this time around as the typical "does it hurt?" phrase came out from his mouth instead.

that got you blinking out of your stupor, eyes coming into focus with endo's knowing smirk. you could only mirror him, croaking out a defeated 'yeah'. its a no-brainer that endo is the only one who understands you, he's no stranger to the same burning sensation you feel in your chest.

you both just seem to agree that chika's attention is a toxin too sweet to pass up.

you suppose that's one of the reasons he's always cozying up to you to an extent you're sure crosses the boundaries of 'just friends'. you let him take the reigns most of the time, resisting would only make things more complicated. you won't admit it but, you crave the intimacy just as much as he does. that's when endo takes the compress in your hands away, but not without filling the vacant space by intertwining his fingers with yours, and sets it down somewhere else before pulling you down onto the sofa with him.

you let him handle your body like a ragdoll until you're straddling his thighs with your arms around his neck with your foreheads coming into contact. "yamato, it's unbearable- suffocating.", you whisper like you're scared to admit it.

"i get ya darling, but he really does care about you, you understand that right?", you nod absentmindedly as if hypnotised by the tune of his voice. "you pissed him off so he's gotta punish you, that's just how merciless he is, i'm sure you know." you continue to stare at him wordlessly, which gets him wondering if you really took all his words to heart.

"sigh.. you got off easy with such a light punishment. c'mon, chin up.", he finishes by hooking his index finger under your chin and tilting your head up gently, endo doesn't even try to hide how his eyes are now fixated on your lips.

"awhh.. still heartbroken, babydoll? i'm always here to make it up to you, you know?"

his eyes zero in on his target, as he leans in for a kiss, only to be met with your unresponsive ones. he hums, dejection apparent in his tone, followed by a harsh, forced chuckle. "..you're killing me here."

you mull over endo's indirect confession before bending down to embrace endo properly, head nuzzling his shoulder to hide your face. "we'll just both end up dead that way. you know it." your gaze moves to land on chika at the edge of the couch, comfortably napping. you chuckle wryly to yourself mentally, your hands itching to cradle him, which you end up subconsciously squeezing endo a bit tighter to feed the illusion, as if knowing he slept well because of your presence would make you forgive all his cruelty. as if that isn't what happens every night, but you choose to stay oblivious.