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Suguru feels worry set in as soon as he realises that Satoru is gone. He slowly turns around but the place is packed and the flickering light does nothing to help his search along. Suguru leans close to Shoko so she can hear him over the relentless beat of the music.
“Where’s Satoru?” he asks and he knows she didn’t even realise he was gone when she raises an eyebrow.
“Bathroom, maybe?” she suggests and Suguru presses his lips together.
Satoru might have gone there, Shoko could be right. But Satoru is already drunk—after nothing but three sips of his drink—and he promised to stay close to Suguru. He promised.
“I’ll go look for him,” Suguru decides, because unease sits heavy in his gut.
Something is wrong. He doesn’t know how to explain that to Shoko though without looking like an overprotective freak so he simply settles for that.
“Sure. I’ll be leaving soon though, so if you don’t find me again, don’t worry about it,” she calls back to him and Suguru gives her a careless wave of his hand over his shoulder.
Shoko is decidedly not drunk and she’s much more at home in a club like this than Satoru is so Suguru worries much less about her. She might not be strong in the way Satoru and he are, but he damn well knows that her technique is not only good for healing.
If she wants to, she can make it hurt like a bitch and she’s still lucid enough to be able to wield that well. Satoru on the other hand was staggering around, uncoordinated and out of it, so Suguru’s worry is only for him.
Suguru makes his way to the bathroom first, hoping to find Satoru there. It wouldn’t even matter that he seemed like a worry-wart to Satoru, as long as he finds him well and safe. There are a few people loitering around the bathroom and when Suguru tries to enter, he’s being stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
“We’re all waiting, mate, get in line,” the guy says, slurring his words a little and Suguru knows he could take him out in seconds, but he’s not here to cause a commotion.
“I’m just looking for someone,” he says. “Tall, mop of white hair? Have you seen him?”
The guy shakes his head, clearly ready to be done with him, but another man speaks up.
“You should put a leash on your boyfriend,” he tells Suguru with a sharp smile. “He left with another guy, that way.”
He clearly thinks it’s funny, but Suguru can’t even spare a moment to feel disgusted by that. He knew that something was wrong and it seems Suguru was right.
“Thanks,” he still rushes out as he pushes past the guy, making his way down a dark corridor and coming out through the fire exit into an alleyway.
It takes him a mere second to pinpoint Satoru’s energy signature, fluctuating and all out of whack from the alcohol, but it’s a bit harder to realise that it’s not only fluctuating because Satoru is no longer properly able to regulate it, but because he’s trying to get someone off him.
Someone who has him pinned to the wall with a hand at his throat while the other is trailing down his body.
Suguru sees red.
He doesn’t really remember moving, doesn’t know how he makes it to Satoru’s side so fast, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is the pained breath Satoru lets out and the bones crunching under Suguru’s hand.
“Ow, what the fuck,” the man who assaulted Satoru gets out and he sounds perfectly sober, which only makes Suguru tighten his grip. “We were just having a little fun.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Suguru presses out and takes the offending hand off Satoru’s throat. “Get lost before I break your wrist,” Suguru threatens him and maybe the man is not drunk, but he’s clearly stupid because he smirks right into Suguru’s face.
“Oh yeah? There’s enough of him to go around, we could both have some fun,” he leers, leaning way too close for comfort and with a twist of his wrist, Suguru breaks his bones.
He barely registers the scream, too busy pushing the guy away from them and then catching Satoru when his knees buckle under him.
“S’guru?” Satoru slurs out and Suguru hoists him up until he can hold him more securely.
“I’m here,” he promises, keeping half an eye on the guy in case he tries something funny.
And rightfully so, because the pained scream turns into one of anger and he charges at them, his already broken hand tucked closely to his body and Suguru would laugh at this pathetic attempt if he wasn’t so goddamn angry.
He blocks the incoming swing to his head easily with his arm and then his foot snaps out. It collides with the knee of the attacker and with a satisfying crunch it gives way under Suguru’s force. The guy topples to the ground, now screaming in pain again and Suguru doesn’t waste any time, he picks Satoru up in a bridal carry and marches out of the alleyway.
“Hey, you with me?” Suguru asks and now that the anger is slowly bleeding out, the worry sets back in.
It doesn’t help when he can see a mark on Satoru’s throat already.
“Tired,” Satoru mutters, turning his head into Suguru’s shoulder and going slack in his arms.
“Okay,” Suguru whispers, even though Satoru has already passed out. “You go sleep, I’ve got you,” he promises him and doesn’t dare to think about what might have happened if he had found Satoru a few minutes later.
He makes his way back to campus without any detours, almost rushing there in his haste to get Satoru comfortable again but instead of bringing Satoru to his own room, Suguru makes a beeline for his.
It’s his fault Satoru got hurt in the first place; he’s not going to take his eyes off him until he knows that he’s alright.
Satoru stirs when Suguru gently puts him down on the bed and he seems to be quite out of it, if his hazy gaze is anything to go by. Before Suguru can say something to reassure Satoru, he’s being pushed away and Satoru scrambles up the bed, pressing himself into the corner.
“Get away from me,” he whispers, clearly shaken and Suguru takes a step back, his hands raised to show Satoru that he doesn’t mean him any harm.
“Hey, Satoru, it’s me. It’s just me,” Suguru calmly says, even though he feels anything but and it takes an agonising long moment before Satoru relaxes.
“Sorry, sorry, there was—” He trails his hand down his throat and Suguru clenches his jaw when he sees the hand-shaped mark there.
The guy must have applied a fair deal of force to leave that and Suguru wishes he had broken more than just his knee and wrist.
“He won’t hurt you anymore,” Suguru says and carefully squats down next to the bed. “Do you need anything?” he wants to know and Satoru turns big eyes onto him.
He still seems mostly out of it, even the shock not great enough to sober him up a little bit and Suguru wonders if he’ll even remember any of this in the morning.
“I was—” Satoru starts and stops, clearly searching for the right words. “Very scared,” he finally finishes and shudders. “Infinity wasn’t working.”
Probably thanks to the alcohol, Suguru thinks and curses himself for ever letting Satoru out of his sight in the first place. This could all have been avoided if he just kept Satoru in his sight.
“I’m sorry,” Suguru says, reaching out to push the bangs that are falling into Satoru’s eyes out of the way, but he freezes when Satoru flinches.
“Sorry,” Satoru apologises right after, which is just all kinds of wrong and so Suguru gives him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t be, it’s fine. Do you want to go to your own room or is it okay if you sleep here?” he asks and Satoru looks around as if he’s seeing the room for the very first time.
“My room,” Satoru finally mutters and his voice shakes in a way Suguru has never heard before.
“Sure thing,” he easily says, as if Satoru’s answer isn’t almost making him cry and he holds his hand out to help Satoru off the bed, but he flinches back again. “Alright, sorry, sorry,” Suguru quickly says and steps away from the bed again.
“No, I—I don’t know what’s wrong,” Satoru mumbles and his eyes briefly glow eerily blue, before the light stutters out again.
Satoru still can’t use Infinity then.
“It’s fine,” Suguru reassures him, because for all that this evening is anything but fine, this is.
Whatever Satoru needs to feel safe.
“I would like to walk you to your room to make sure you don’t fall over, is that okay?” Suguru wants to know and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I won’t touch you, I promise.”
“That’s—yeah, that sounds fine,” Satoru agrees after a while and scoots across the bed until he can swing his legs off.
He sways dangerously when he gets up and Suguru is ready to step forward and catch him at any moment should he fall, but Satoru only stumbles a little bit.
“My room,” he mutters, as if he has to remind himself what he’s trying to do in the first place and Suguru points at the door.
“Out there and then to your right,” he reminds him and Satoru nods, a look of such concentration on his face that it’s almost endearing.
If there wasn’t the bright red mark on his throat.
Satoru takes it slow, clearly concentrating hard for every step he takes and Suguru is right there, always a few steps behind him, but ready to help him in any way. His assistance isn’t necessary though, because Satoru makes it to his room without falling and when he stumbles inside, Suguru stops at the door.
“Can you take it from here?” he asks, unwilling to go further and scare Satoru yet again.
“Bed,” is Satoru’s only answer and true to his word he simply falls down on it and immediately his breathing deepens.
He must be out like a light, Suguru thinks and fights the urge to go inside and tuck him in. It would most likely wake Satoru again and he doesn’t want to see him scared like that ever again, so Suguru simply watches for a moment longer and then gently closes the door behind him.
Suguru just hopes that Satoru doesn’t remember any of this in the morning.
~*~*~
Suguru wakes up when he senses a presence next to his bed. He slowly blinks an eye open and smiles on reflex when he sees Satoru squatting next to his head, before he remembers last night and everything that happened.
That quickly wakes him up.
“How are you feeling?” is the first thing Suguru asks as he sits up in bed, pushing his hair out of his face.
“Like shit,” is Satoru’s honest answer and he worries his lower lip with his teeth. “Listen, yesterday—was there a guy?” he wants to know and Suguru slowly lets out a breath.
“Yeah,” he honestly answers because if Satoru remembers some of it, there’s no use in lying about it.
“Was he—” Satoru’s fingers touch the skin at his throat.
Suguru is relieved to see it unblemished again, because that means Satoru’s technique must have kicked in during the night.
“Trying to choke you,” Suguru fills in for him and Satoru flinches.
“It must have healed already,” he mutters and stares off into the distance.
Suguru wishes he wouldn’t try to remember what else that guy way trying to do but when a frown appears on Satoru’s face, he knows it’s futile.
“He was groping me,” Satoru states, only the barest of tremors to his voice and again, Suguru wishes he punched that guys face in.
“Yes,” Suguru gives back. “He didn’t get very far though,” he then adds, because when he arrived that hand had still been above Satoru’s waist. And then his hand hadn’t been on Satoru at all anymore.
“Because you showed up,” Satoru mutters, clearly still trying to put the events of the night together.
“I’m sorry I was so late,” Suguru helplessly says, because this should never have happened to Satoru in the first place and he’s confused when Satoru gives him a sharp smile.
“I remember two cracks. What did you break?” he wants to know and Suguru shrugs.
“His wrist and his knee. Should’ve broken his jaw, too, would have loved to punch him in the face,” he adds under his breath and Satoru laughs.
“Yeah, that would have been great,” he agrees and reaches out for Suguru’s hand.
Suguru jerks, still remembering how Satoru flinched back from his touch last night and Satoru frowns.
“You scared?” he asks, though he sounds unsure about it.
“No, but you were, yesterday,” Suguru admits. “I don’t know—what do you need?” he asks, because that must be better than simply assuming what Satoru might want or need at the moment.
“I need a hug,” Satoru immediately decides. “From you.”
Instead of answering Satoru, Suguru simply holds out his hands, inviting Satoru to take whatever it is he needs at the moment and Satoru doesn’t hesitate to move into his arms. He practically climbs into Suguru’s lap, pressing as close as he can get and burying his face in Suguru’s throat.
Suguru holds him just as tight as Satoru is holding him and for a moment neither of them speak.
“You carried me back home,” Satoru finally says and Suguru feels mildly embarrassed, even though there had been no other way.
“I did,” he gives back and shivers when Satoru sighs.
“The alcohol must have messed with Infinity,” Satoru mutters, wriggling around until he can slump more comfortably against Suguru.
“Is it still messing with that?” Suguru asks because Satoru doesn’t have Infinity up at the moment.
Suguru thought Satoru would prefer to wrap himself in safety after what happened last night.
“Nah, it’s fine now,” Satoru carelessly gives back and that gives Suguru pause.
“But it’s not up,” he mutters and Satoru moves, just enough to be able to look into Suguru’s face.
“It doesn’t have to be, not with you,” he simply says and Suguru blinks.
“I let you get hurt,” he says after a moment and Satoru snorts.
“I got hurt myself, thank you very much. I thought it was funny, slipping away from you, right until the alcohol really kicked in. It was my own fault.”
“Well, first of all, it was that guy’s fault,” Suguru corrects him. “And I’m still sorry. I should have been there.”
“Be there now,” Satoru says, still looking at him and Suguru softens under that gaze.
“I am,” he promises him and brings a hand up to scratch at Satoru’s nape. “I’m here.”
“I’m sorry for being scared of you yesterday, it was all just a big mess in my head,” Satoru quietly says, leaning into Suguru’s hand. “I’m not scared of you. I know you’re safe.”
Suguru still feels as if he should argue that point but when Satoru gives him a wicked smile the words die on his tongue.
“You kicked a non-sorcerer’s ass for me,” Satoru happily says and Suguru sighs.
“I would have kicked a sorcerer’s ass for you, too,” he gives back, “if he touched you like that without your consent.”
“Mh, without my consent, huh,” Satoru mutters and Suguru knows that he’s going to do something stupid by the twinkle in his eyes.
And he’s right about it, too, because Satoru takes Suguru’s arm that is still wrapped around his back to keep him close and slides it down until his hand rests over Satoru’s ass.
“Satoru!” Suguru gets out, but when he tugs on his arm, it won’t move. Satoru’s hold is too strong.
“What? You have my consent,” he simply says and leans their foreheads together. “You always have it.”
“Don’t be stupid, it doesn’t work like that,” Suguru mutters, though he can’t help himself, he has to brush their noses together. “You don’t have to do this, you could always just use your words, you know.”
“And tell you that I’m stupidly in love with you? No, thank you, that’s way too embarrassing,” Satoru immediately replies and Suguru laughs softly at his antics.
“Mh, but then you don’t get to hear that I’m stupidly in love with you, too,” he gives back and tilts Satoru’s head slightly, just enough to ghost his lips over Satoru’s.
“If I use my words, do we get to do that more often?” Satoru wants to know and Suguru smiles.
“As often as you like,” he agrees and Satoru’s answering smile is almost blinding.
“I’m stupidly in love with you,” he immediately replies and doesn’t wait for Suguru’s answer before he moves back in, claiming a real kiss this time.
“Well, in case you were wondering, I’m stupidly in love with you, too,” Suguru says when they part and his reward for that is another kiss.
“I like using our words if this is the reward,” Satoru decides between kisses and Suguru can’t even argue with that.
Suguru just hopes that Satoru can always feel safe in his arms, but he thinks as long as they use their words, that shouldn’t be a problem.