Chapter Text
It was pissing him off more than it had any right to. Every time he looked at them, he got a little angrier.
Sousuke had been invited to a party thrown by a classmate. There were a surprising number of people crammed in this little apartment, with a decent guy-to-girl ratio. It was late in the night and everyone was at various stages of inebriation, most of them too loud and annoying for Sousuke's tastes. He himself had only had a few beers and was basically completely sober. Makoto was a different story.
Sousuke didn't really know Makoto all that well. Yeah, they knew each other through Rin and had been at a fair share of swim events together, and there was that time the Iwatobi team came to Samezuka for the cultural festival last year. And yes, they ended up at the same college and were taking a class together. They even talked regularly and were on a pretty comfortable first-name basis, but that was it. He wasn't like Sousuke's close, personal friend or anything.
So why, why was this pissing him off so bad?
There was another classmate of theirs, a guy named Kazu, sitting next to Makoto. He'd been glued to his side for the past hour, at least. Makoto seemed to be having a perfectly good time; the poor guy clearly didn't know his limits and had gone from zero to wasted in no time at all. Presently he looked like he could barely manage to sit up straight. He was happy, though, laughing at every other thing Kazu said, but from here Sousuke had no idea what was so damn funny.
And it pissed Sousuke off. The longer he witnessed it the more it made his blood start to boil. He concluded that it had to be because Kazu wasn't anywhere near as drunk as Makoto - tipsy, at most - and there was just something unsettling about him. He was paying too much attention to Makoto. He kept touching him. Playfully putting an arm around him. Sousuke actually felt himself cringe at the sight. He shook his head, taking a deep breath. He'd only stopped at this party to be polite, really, he never intended to stay this long, but now he couldn't bring himself to leave.
He barely knew Makoto. What right did he have to feel this way? So some asshole wants to flirt with him, what did that have anything to do with Sousuke? No...no, there was more to it than that. Sousuke trusted his gut instinct, and it told him something was up. Makoto was already this fucked up, and yet Kazu seemed to be encouraging him to drink more. The whole scene was giving Sousuke creepy vibes.
Kazu briefly made eye contact, and Sousuke looked away. Shit. He was being too obvious about staring. He tried to be a little more subtle about it, but he'd made up his mind he wasn't gonna leave until Kazu did, or at least until he stopped monopolizing Makoto. Occasionally people he knew would talk to him, and he'd humor them, but still keeping Makoto on the corner of his peripheral vision.
He paused only to use the bathroom, sighing deeply and rubbing his face once he'd shut the door behind him, giving him a quiet moment of reprieve from the noise outside. He gave himself a light slap on the cheek, mentally telling himself to keep it together. He couldn't let this get to him so much.
When he came out, his eyes darted back to where Makoto was sitting. Key word being 'was'. He glanced all around, not spotting him, nor Kazu, anywhere. He ran over to Yuuji, the guy who'd invited him. "Hey, what happened to Makoto and Kazu?"
"Oh, uhh, they just left, I think."
Sousuke cursed under his breath, bolting for the door. During the twenty or thirty seconds he'd gone to take a piss, they just happened to leave?! Kazu did this on purpose. He had to. Sousuke ran outside, looking around with only the light of streetlamps to try and spot them. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten far, and even if they had, Makoto's voice could probably be heard a mile away. He spotted two men walking on the sidewalk, one of them laughing and leaning drunkenly on the other's shoulder.
"Hey." At hearing Sousuke's voice, Kazu whipped his head around to see the taller man right behind him. Makoto turned too, and blinked a few times.
"Heeeyyy, it's Sousuke!! Kazu, look who it is!! You know Sousuke, right?!"
"Yeah, I know Sousuke," Kazu said slowly, looking him up and down. "You need something, man?"
Sousuke plastered a big, fake smile across his face, going to Makoto's other side and patting him on the back. "Just wanted to see what my buddy's up to, that's all! Where're you guys going?" Already, he could feel Kazu's hate-filled gaze boring a hole into his skull.
"Ohhh Sousuke, you should come with us!" Makoto said excitedly, slurring his speech. "We're going over to Kazu's place!"
"Is that right?" Sousuke asked, his calm exterior hiding his steadily increasing anger.
"Yeah, he invited me over to play video games, and--"
"That's awful nice of you Makoto, but the thing is I kinda only invited you," Kazu spat out, speaking much faster than he needed to. He extricated himself and Makoto away from Sousuke, continuing on their way. "Later."
"Well that's kinda rude," Sousuke grunted, roughly pulling Kazu by the arm to turn him around. Makoto stumbled away from them, staring at the two other men with a confused look on his face. Kazu grit his teeth, glaring daggers at Sousuke. "Is there some reason you don't want me to tag along?" Sousuke asked, timbre of his voice dangerous and low.
"Hey, how about minding your own fucking business?" Kazu sneered. "If Makoto wants to come with me, I fail to see what that's got to do with you."
"Don't you think he should go home?" Sousuke glanced in Makoto's direction; it seemed like even standing on his own two feet was proving a challenge. "He can barely walk right now."
"What, are you his mom or something?!"
Sousuke clicked his tongue, thoroughly fed up with this jerk. He was done arguing. His rage was going to boil over any second now if this sicko didn't get out of his sight. "We're leaving," he stated. Makoto looked helplessly back and forth between the two men, like he was trying to piece together what everyone was so angry about.
"Umm...Sousuke...?" he began innocently, and Sousuke had already gently taken him by the arm and started walking in the opposite direction.
"I'm taking you home," he said simply.
"Oh, so it's fine if he leaves with you?!" Sousuke ignored Kazu's shouts behind him, continuing on at a swift pace as if he didn't exist. "Hey, you listening to me? I'm talking to you, asshole!!" Kazu caught up to him, shamelessly shoving his back, and Sousuke snapped. The next instant, his fist collided with skin and bone and made a sickening sound ring in the night air.
Kazu reeled, holding his face where Sousuke struck him, letting out a grunt of pain. "Sonofabitch!!" Fueled probably by only his pride, he came back starting to ready a punch of his own, and Sousuke grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands.
"Guys, come on! Don't fight!" Makoto protested, looking terribly distraught.
Sousuke pulled Kazu's face level with his own, hatred seething through his every syllable. "Do not test me. Now get out of my sight." His imposing form loomed over Kazu, who wasn't exactly a small guy; but Sousuke was a lot bigger. And stronger. And Kazu wasn't that stupid. He pulled away from Sousuke, spitting a mouthful of blood on the ground and muttering a string of unrepeatable, nasty curses as he turned on his heel and left.
"Woah. What, what was that all about?"" Makoto inquired softly.
"Don't worry about it," Sousuke sighed, and took Makoto's arm. "Need to lean on me? Here."
"But Sousuke, how come you hit Kazu?" He pressed, keeping pace with Sousuke with some difficulty. His feet didn't seem to want to coordinate with each other. Quickly forgetting about Kazu, Makoto asked another question. "Hey, where're we going?"
"I'm taking you home, remember?" Sousuke had to slow his steps so Makoto wouldn't trip as he tried to keep up.
"But you don't know where I liiiiive," Makoto drawled.
"Yes I do." Sousuke tried not to laugh. "Remember that group project we worked on together?"
After a severely delayed reaction, the memory seemed to click. "Oh yeah!" Just then one of his feet caught the other, and Sousuke was unable to hold on to him as he tumbled straight to the ground.
"Shit! You okay?" Makoto took a second to register he was laying in the street, and gave a loud snort before bursting out laughing. Sousuke shook his head and sighed while Makoto laughed his ass off and made no real attempt to get up. This was going to take all bloody night. "At least it doesn't hurt," Sousuke muttered.
"Hey, hey, don't laugh at me, awright?" Makoto said, sitting up clumsily. Never mind that he was the only one laughing. "I did it on purpose. Okay? I really did."
"Sure sure, I believe you," Sousuke sighed, and crouched down in front of him. He looked back over his shoulder at a puzzled Makoto. "Well go on, get on my back."
"Eeehhhh? Why?" He asked as he slumped himself over Sousuke's broad shoulders.
"I'm giving you a piggyback." Sousuke hooked his hands under Makoto's legs and grunted with the effort of standing up.
"Ooohhh. Sousuke, you're really stong!"
"Jeez, you're heavy...!!"
"Are you calling me FAT?"
Sousuke grimaced. That was louder than it needed to be. "Please don't shout next to my ear."
"Okay," Makoto said in a tiny whisper. "Sorry." He broke into another gigglefit; over what, Sousuke had no earthly idea.
---
It had taken almost twice as long as it would've on his own, and he thought his arms were ready to give out pretty soon, but Sousuke did indeed make it to Makoto's building. And of course the elevator was out of service tonight. Of course.
Trekking up the stairs with an incapacitated man nearly his own size didn't sound like fun, but hell, he'd made it this far. Makoto occasionally peppered him with inane questions or mumbled incoherently, but otherwise he seemed almost like he was starting to fall asleep.
"Doin' okay back there?" Sousuke grunted, making his way up the first slight of steps.
"Mmhmmm. Hey, how come, how come we didn't go over to Kazu's?" Makoto sounded disappointed. "I thought we were gonna play Smash Bros."
Sousuke scoffed - just the sound of that jerk's name made him furious. "He had better things to do."
"Sousuke-kun," Makoto said, and the unusual addition of -kun to his name caught the man's attention. "Will you play with me?"
A smile pulled at his lips, in spite of it all. "Not tonight, dude. Sorry."
Makoto whined liked a spoiled kid. "But I wanna play Smash!"
"I know," Sousuke sighed, every subsequent step up the flight making his burden feel a little heavier. "You need to sleep, though. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah yeah, let's play tomorrow!" Makoto bounced slightly on his back, nearly making Sousuke drop him.
"C-careful!!"
"We're gonna play tomorrow? Promise?"
"Yes." Sousuke rolled his eyes. Was some deity trying to test his patience? "Tomorrow. I promise."
"Pinky swear it," Makoto held up a pinky finger. "Oh...your hands are full. Here." He found enough dexterity, somehow, to locate Sousuke's pinky finger under his leg and join it with his own. "Yay!" It was all Sousuke could do not to laugh. If his patience was being tested, he was going to pass. Someone like Makoto was too cute to stay angry at. "I wanna be Sonic," Makoto declared.
"Sure, if you want." They'd made it to the third floor...almost there...
"I'm REALLY good with Sonic," Makoto said, muffled against Sousuke's back as he rested his face there. A moment later, he started humming, which then turned into a tune with "nuh-nuh-nuh"s. Sousuke listened carefully, trying to decide what song that was supposed to be. It was disjointed and awkward, but...he was reasonably sure it had something to do with Sonic the Hedgehog.
Finally, finally they made it to Makoto's front door. The drunken young man somehow found the fortitude to fish his keys from his pocket and even get the key in the lock. It was dark inside, and Sousuke couldn't seem to find the lightswitch...nor could he have flipped it anyway, with both arms still carrying Makoto. But there was enough street light filtering through the window to find Makoto's bed. "Okay, I'm gonna put you down, ready?"
His attempt to set him down gently was for nothing as Makoto opted instead to flop down full force onto his mattress and giggle when he bounced. Sousuke groaned and stretched out his poor, abused muscles. Carrying this guy all the way here had really taken its toll. Makoto was already making himself comfortable and curling up on the bed. "You should at least take your shoes off." Of course, untying shoes was a little much for Makoto right now, so Sousuke grabbed his feet to take them off for him.
All right, so with that taken care of...water. Sousuke went for the kitchen and looked through a few cabinets until he found glasses. Even if Makoto didn't want it now, by the time he woke up he'd be dying of thirst so Sousuke could at least do this for him. He filled the glass up and took it back to Makoto, putting it on the little table next to his bed. "Makoto, I got you some wa--" Sousuke did a double take. Makoto had evidently gotten tired of his jeans, and was trying to worm his way out of them, but they'd gotten somewhat stuck about halfway down his legs. "Uhhh...hmm..."
Not much he could do, was there? Since he'd already gotten started, Sousuke gave him a hand getting the offending garment off all the way, doing his best to avert his eyes. "Hey. Heeeeyy. Tell the room to stop spinning," Makoto whined.
"Tell it yourself," Sousuke muttered. He glanced around the room and spotted what he was hoping to see: a small trashcan. He moved it over next to Makoto's bed. "Hey, I'm putting this here in case you gotta throw up, alright?"
"Where's Kaoru?" Makoto ignored Sousuke, looking around and pouting. "I wanna cuddle Kaoru..."
"K...Kaoru??" Wondering who the hell he could mean, Sousuke looked around and saw a large black-and-white something on the floor. It looked like it was on the bed until Makoto accidentally kicked it off. Picking it up, it was...an oversized plush orca whale. "Is...is this Kaoru?"
"Kaoru!" Makoto reached out for him excitedly, taking his stuffed toy and squeezing it tightly. Sousuke didn't recall seeing that thing the last time he was here...maybe Makoto kept it hidden when he was expecting company.
"Oh, I see...Kaoru." Even the toy's name was a pun. Sousuke chuckled. "Makoto, you're too much."
"I'm too much what? Are you calling me fat again?" Makoto's voice got unnecessarily loud as he asked the question.
"Hey, quit shouting! It's late and you have neighbors, okay?"
"Okaaaay."
"Shhh." Sousuke put his finger to his lips. Makoto copied him.
"Shhhhhh."
"Makoto, did you hear me about the trash can? I put it next to your bed in case you gotta throw up later."
"Mmhmm," Makoto snuggled into Kaoru and closed his eyes, happy as a clam. "I gotcha."
"Okay." Sousuke sighed. Boy, he hadn't planned on all this tonight when he agreed to stop by Yuuji's party, that was for damn sure. It dawned on him, though, how lucky it was that he ended up going. He looked at Makoto, still red-faced, hair disheveled. The alcohol had rendered him pretty ineffectual. If he'd gone along with Kazu...Sousuke shuddered. He didn't want to think about that. He just thanked god that he'd been in the right place at the right time.
Sousuke smiled. You're too good a guy, Makoto, he thought. Try not to be so trusting of people...they aren't all as pure-hearted as you.
"Well...I'm leaving, then. Good night." The only reply he got was incohrent mumbling. Sousuke hoped he'd sleep well. He deserved it.
---
When Sousuke came back the next day, the elevator was still out of order, of course. But at least this time as he scaled the stairs to Makoto's floor, he only carried a bag in his hand instead of a drunk guy on his back. It was almost noon - hopefully he'd be awake by now.
Sousuke knocked on the door and instantly could hear shuffling inside. "Ah-- just a second!" the voice inside called, and Sousuke was sure he caught a sort of pained groan. Makoto's face appeared a few seconds later; eyes looking tired, and skin a few shades too pale, but he looked pretty good. "Oh...Hi, Sousuke!" Makoto was surprised. He opened the door wider. "You, uh, you wanna come in? It's kinda messy right now," he mumbled apologetically.
"Sure," Sousuke said as he stepped in. "Thanks." Makoto shut the door behind him and hurriedly shoved some junk off of a chair so Sousuke could sit. He'd changed clothes at some point, thankfully, and had one more pair of pants on than when Sousuke last saw him.
"So, er, did you have a good time? At the party yesterday, I mean," Makoto asked, sitting on his bed. Kaoru was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the hesitation before answering the door had been partially to hide him away. Sousuke couldn't help but smile at the thought.
"Good time?" Sousuke repeated. Well, to say yes to that he'd have to lie. "It was alright," he sighed eventually. Something was amiss, so he figured he should just ask outright. "You...you don't remember, do you?"
Makoto's eyes went wide. Sousuke supposed the way he phrased that was a bit alarming. "No, I...I actually don't remember much at all," Makoto admitted bashfully. "Just bits and pieces..."
Sousuke leaned his chin on his hand. "You must be feeling pretty lousy, hm?"
Makoto gave a weak laugh. "Kinda...I have a headache, but other than that..." He rubbed at the back of his neck, probably feeling foolish. Sousuke would bet every swimming trophy that it was his first hangover. He glanced at the empty space next to Makoto's bed, and gestured to it with a nod.
"Trash can come in handy, did it?" he asked. It wasn't there anymore, so safe to assume it'd been used. Makoto glanced down where it had been, then up at Sousuke, and his cheeks started to flush red.
"Oh!! Um...y-yeah, haha!" Sousuke didn't know if he should feel bad for making him flustered or not. He was pretty cute when embarrassed. "So, does that mean that," Makoto pointed at Sousuke. "You..."
"Carried you home on my back?" Sousuke grinned. "Yup."
"...Huh?!" Makoto's mouth fell open. "D-did you really?!"
"Well, yeah, since you couldn't even stand up on your own," Sousuke said. "I wasn't about to leave you lying there in the street."
"Lying in--?!!" Makoto adorably put a hand over his mouth, looking downright mortified. "Oh gosh...I'm, I'm really sorry," he stammered. "You went to so much trouble because of me......" He looked at his hands, twiddling nervously with his thumbs. "Ahh man, I feel so dumb..."
"Oh no, don't feel bad," Sousuke said with a shake of his head. He felt a slight twinge in his shoulder; it had been bothering him since last night, but he wouldn't trouble Makoto with that knowledge. "Really, don't worry about it. I'm just...I'm glad you're okay." He thought about the dangers he'd helped Makoto avoid, and didn't feel the need to fill him in with every unpleasant detail. He gazed down at nothing in particular, a warm smile on his face. "All that matters is you made it home safely...right?"
"Y-yeah..." Makoto's voice became very soft, and he hesitated. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Sousuke only nodded and 'hmm'ed. A slightly awkward silence followed, and Sousuke had the perfect way to break it.
"Well, since I figured you'd be feeling like shit," he said, and held up the paper bag in his hand, "I thought I could at least bring you this." He handed it over and Makoto took it curiously, the paper crinkling as he opened it and peered inside.
"Fast food?"
"It might sound weird, but just trust me," Sousuke said. "Some nice, greasy food will make you feel a million times better."
"Ahhh, that does smell good..." Makoto looked delighted. "Thank you!"
Sousuke scolded his own heart for skipping a beat just now. Makoto had one of those smiles that seemed like it could make flowers grow. "Think nothing of it," he muttered.
"Hey, it's not really any of my business," Makoto began, "so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to...but can I ask you about something?"
"...Yeah, go ahead."
"What happened with you and Kazu?" Sousuke went tense as Makoto posed the question innocently. "I got this text from Yuuji, and...apparently, Kazu's face is busted up and he said you were responsible but he won't tell anyone why..."
...Shit.
Sousuke grimaced a little, and Makoto instantly became apologetic. "Like I said, since it's not my business you don't have to tell me! And plus, I don't even know if it's true, so..."
"Nah, it's..." Sousuke frantically tried to think for a cover story. There wasn't really any way he could lie his way around this. Fuck, he didn't think this through earlier. With a defeated sigh, he decided he'd just have to tell the truth. "Yeah, I did. I hit Kazu."
Makoto tilted his head a little, concern in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"
Sousuke exhaled through his nose and leaned forward, wringing his hands together. He stared at a random spot on Makoto's wall, feeling his blood heat up. He'd have preferred Makoto didn't have to find out, and for forcing him to tell, Sousuke hated Kazu that much more. "Everything's fine," Sousuke finally said. "But my advice to you...and it's only advice, of course...is for you not to spend too much time around him, if you can avoid it."
Makoto looked taken aback, but said nothing, only stared at Sousuke looking confused. Sousuke's dark eyes moved up to meet Makoto's. "You were really fucked up last night, Makoto. By the time you left you couldn't even walk on your own." Well, that much seemed obvious. "Thing is, at first you left with Kazu."
"I did?"
"Mmhmm. He was almost completely sober and had been paying a lot of attention to you all night. " Sousuke worried the knuckles on his right hand, which were still sore. This was the part he didn't like to admit out loud. "It just made me...it didn't sit right. I thought it was weird, so just after you left I kinda confronted him."
Makoto stayed perfectly silent, listening for the rest of Sousuke's explanation. "When I did, he seemed very insistent upon being alone with you," he continued, his voice gradually reaching a lower volume. "And he got angry at me for interfering, and things just sorta escalated. And I punched him."
He looked to Makoto, and could see the gears slowly turning in the other man's head. It didn't seem easy for him to process. It wouldn't be easy for a lot of people to process, he supposed. "Oh...Oh, I see," he finally stammered. "Wow...that's...." Suddenly Makoto let out a huge breath, and raked his fingers through his own hair. "Damn."
"Yeah. I wish it hadn't gotten violent, but honestly," Sousuke said, "he didn't really leave me much choice. He was...insanely persistent."
Makoto gulped, and touched his own chest as if his heart were beating too fast. "I can't believe it," he said quietly.
Sousuke felt his bitterness toward that despicable piece of human garbage fester, and tried his best not to think about it. Instead, he focused on how relieved he was. Makoto was fine. He was fine. That was what mattered in the end. He meant it when he said he wished it didn't come to violence, as he took no pleasure in doing what he'd done (okay, maybe just a tiny bit). But, regardless, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand, he didn't say aloud that he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to.
"Sousuke," Makoto said softly. "I don't even know what to say. I don't know how I can repay you for all the trouble you've gone through for me."
"It's really nothing," Sousuke insisted. He met Makoto's gaze and smiled. "Just glad I could help." Makoto quickly looked away, his features turning pink again, and mumbled a little like he was trying to come up with something to say, but couldn't.
Another silence. This time, Makoto decided to break it. "So, uh...any other embarrassing things I did that I should know about?" he joked, forcing a laugh at his own expense.
"Oh, you weren't so bad, other than falling down a lot," Sousuke said, reclining and looking up in thought. "Wait...ah, right. You really, really wanted to play Smash."
"I did?"
"Yup. And you bragged how great you are with Sonic, and I think you started humming his theme song or something." Makoto laughed, a real full, hearty laugh that ended with a little snort. "I felt bad for you," Sousuke said. "You were so insistent about it, you made me promise I'd come back and play with you today." He held up a pinky finger. "You made me pinky-swear."
"Oh wow," Makoto looked equal parts embarrassed at himself, and amused. "Drunk me sounds like a dork."
"Just a little," Sousuke teased. At least he'd gotten Makoto to laugh. "Well, I should get going," he said as he stood up. "I'm sure you've still got some hangover to sleep off."
"Oh...okay." Makoto quickly stood up as well, following Sousuke to the door.
"Feel better, alright?"
"Hehe. I'll try." Sousuke was almost out the door when Makoto's voice stopped him. "Sousuke?"
"Mm?"
"Seriously, thank you. For everything."
Sousuke nodded. "Any time." He chuckled suddenly, and Makoto looked surprised. "Be sure to bring me along next time you go drinking. I promise, I won't get into another fistfight," he added with a little barely-noticeable wink, and acting on impulse, reached out and patted Makoto's soft head of hair. The shorter of the two blushed, but didn't appear to object to the gesture. "Guess I'll see you in class tomorrow," Sousuke said.
"Yeah..." Makoto watched Sousuke turn and start to walk away, and suddenly blurted out, "Unless!" Sousuke gave him a quizzical look. Makoto didn't seem able to look him right in the face, and fidgeted a little. "Unless you...uh..." His voice grew so quiet Sousuke could barely hear. "...wanna come back later today."
There went Sousuke's troublesome heart, skipping beats again. Though his exterior remained as cool and stony as ever, his insides were freaking out on him. He wasn't misinterpreting this, right? Inexperienced with dating as he was, he wasn't an idiot. A guy blushing and fidgeting and shyly asking you to come over didn't exactly say "platonic", did it?
Sousuke beamed at him. "I did promise I'd play Smash with you, didn't I?"
An air of relief sweeping over him, Makoto beamed back. "That's right." He held up his little finger. "Pinky-swore and everything."
And there was that smile again, the one Sousuke had no power to say no to, even if he'd wanted to say no in the first place. Sousuke laughed. "Alright, Tachibana, I guess you leave me no choice." He slowly walked away, shooting a last glance back over his shoulder. "See you later, then."
"Okay, seeya!" Makoto called out, and Sousuke acknowledged with a wave of his hand. Once fully out of sight and earshot, Sousuke let out a deep breath. Unlike Makoto, he didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve. Keeping that cool exterior had always been effortless for him. However, if he was really going to come back tonight, it was gonna be a problem if his heart was gonna keep racing like this. He'd have to do something about that.