#akutahi

Aktugawa: You're staring

Higuchi: I'm gazing

Aktugawa: It's creepy

pairing: akutagawa/higuchi

The hospital is a blur, everything and anything moving past Akutagawa, unnoticed by his usually sharp eyes. His hands are stuffed in his pockets, fingers clenching involuntarily.

There were a lot of them--

Heavy artillery kind of shit--

Higuchi got hit--

That is all he can remember from Tachihara’s muttering, the commander’s vague description of the raid making Akutagawa even more frustrated. He wonders if it is noticeable. He can already feel his eyebrows aching from frowning too long.

Is he angry? Why does his chest feel constricted? All his mind can process are those three words: Higuchi got hit.

Is he worried? He never worries about anyone, much less his subordinate of all people. However, lately, he had felt a shift in their relationship. He doesn’t mind her presence as much as he had initially, and now he actually finds Higuchi’s presence welcome and possibly more wanted than before. 

He absentmindedly watches Gin run her fingers along the bandage wrapped around Tachihara’s forehead. If it wasn’t for the turmoil roiling inside him, he would have raised a suspicious eyebrow at his sister’s soft gesture, but instead he just stares ahead, eyes blank. Gin must have noticed, because she is suddenly by his side, eyes glued to his face in scrutiny. He turns, meeting her gaze with his own cold one.

After a moment, he finally catches her words, soft and muffled through her mask, but heard nonetheless. “You should see her.”

“What?” he replies, thoughts crashing to a halt.

“She was always with you when you were in a coma. Go.” She then turns back to Tachihara, leaving Akutagawa to piece together his conflicting thoughts.

Higuchi’s pale blonde locks are loose around her shoulders, and the fluorescent lights make her skin look more sallow than it actually is. Despite that, she looks peaceful, no lines of worry or anger etched into her features, her chest falling up and down evenly. She looks so young, as anyone would at their most vulnerable.

Akutagawa shakes his head at his own thoughts and slowly slides into the chair beside her bed. His eyes follow the tubes snaking along her blanket, away from them to focus on the setting sun outside the window. He reaches for a magazine, but then thinks better of it and continues to watch outside.

Maybe he is worried, he finally concludes, once he notices that his eyes can’t stop flicking over to Higuchi. He would normally grit his teeth at such feeling, such weakness, but he’s too tired and besides, he’s very capable of shrouding his emotions behind a curtain of cruelty. It’s what he has been taught.

He lets out a cough, and regrets it when he catches Higuchi stir. Her eyelashes flutter along her cheekbones before opening her eyes. Her dark brown eyes search the room’s ceiling in probably bewilderment, and she tries to rise before groaning from the obvious pain emanating from her side, where two bullets had grazed her.

Akutagawa reaches out and places a hand on her arm, slowly forcing her to lie down again. “Relax, Higuchi,” he says curtly, and she blinks in surprise, at either his presence or perhaps that he’s touching her rather gently. Once her head hits the pillow, he immediately rips his hand away, ignoring the warmth under the skin of his palm. He avoids looking at her for some reason, but the sound of her voice causes him to turn towards her again.

“Akutagawa-senpai, you’re . . .” Her voice is hoarse, and her sentence trails off at his look. “Here,” she finishes, sounding unconvinced.

“Yes.”

Higuchi continues to look at him, and he notices the blush reddening her cheeks already. “Really?”

“Why? Would you like me to leave?”

“No, no! Um . . .” She looks around, as if searching for something. She clears her throat. “Um . . .” she says again.

“Do you want some tea, Higuchi?” Akutagawa finds himself asking the question without regarding any thought at all. Higuchi looks at him, eyes still wide in surprise.

“Yes, thank you,” she says with a little nod. With a sigh, relieved to move, Akutagawa walks to the tiny kitchenette and busies himself with preparing a steaming cup of tea. He turns back to see Higuchi sitting up, brown eyes soft as they watch him. She smiles warmly as he walks forward, and he watches the smile cautiously before setting the cup in her hands.

Their fingers brush, and Akutagawa is fascinated by how warm he feels. He glances at the air conditioner, which isn’t on. Maybe that is it.

“Thank you,” Higuchi says again, still smiling over the cup of tea.

After a few long moments of quiet sipping, Akutagawa says without looking at her, “Higuchi, do try to remain careful. No need for showing off.” He finally glances at her, and Higuchi blushes further under his intense gaze, looking sheepish.

“I wasn’t--”

[Akutagawa, Chuuya, and Kaiji gasp]