Work Text:
It had been a very long and tiring day–or rather, week–and Atsushi couldn't wait to finally get back home and curl up on his bed.
Currently, he was walking up the stairs towards Akutagawa and his apartment in a half present haze with only the music blasting through his earbuds, keeping him somewhat grounded.
The silverette’s mind kept drifting back to earlier that day when he had an outburst. He had screamed and shouted at everyone in the office. Normally, he could handle all the constant noises of their busy office but today the chatting and bickering, the bright sunlight streaming through the windows, the rustling of stacks of papers and the underlying sound of pens on paper had just been too much
He felt awful for yelling at everyone and even worse at the fact that he made them all look at him with genuine concern in their eyes.
Ranpo ended up sending him home early, and the walk home had mostly been a blur. Atsushi entered the empty apartment and kicked off his shoes. He dropped his bag by the wall near the door and immediately headed towards his bedroom.
The boy had half the mind to get out of his work clothes and into a comfortable baggy sweater and boxers, texting Akutagawa to let him know that he was home before crawling into his bed and under the blanket. He wrapped himself into a tight cocoon and just laid there. Ryuunosuke wouldn't be home for another hour or so.
Time seemed to pass by in a flash, and Atsushi hadn't so much as moved a muscle or made a noise from beneath the blanket.
He heard the click of the door closing, which told him that an hour had already passed and Ryuunosuke entered the quiet apartment.
The ravenette's footsteps made their way towards Atsushi's bedroom door.
“Hey, I'm home.” Ryuunosuke made his presence known with a soft voice, but there was no response from the bundle.
He moved closer, and the edge of the bed dipped. “Bad day?”
Again, there was no response from the bundle, but the boy underneath shifted to be turned towards the ravenette. He could make out a nod from beneath the blanket.
“Can I touch you?” After a moment, he poked his hand out from beneath the blanket, and Ryuunosuke gently placed his hand in his palm. Atsushi loosely took his hand.
He waited for the silverette to say something, but when he didn't, the older boy spoke again. “No words today?”
Atsushi gently squeezed his hand once, which meant yes. It was a system they had worked out not long after they started dating.
Some months ago, Yosano had presented the silver-haired boy with the possibility of being on the spectrum but, since she wasn't qualified to officially give him a diagnosis, she suggested he did some research and went for an evaluation if he wanted to. He had looked into it quite a bit since then but hadn't had the courage to contact a doctor yet.
Thankfully, Ryuunosuke was willing to understand and accommodate his needs to make him feel more comfortable, which made Atsushi feel like he was more in love with the ravenette by the day.
“I'm gonna close the blinds so that you can come out, okay?”
Atsushi thought for a moment before squeezing once.
Letting go of his hand, the bed shifted, and seconds later, the blinds quietly rattled, signifying that they've been closed.
Ryuunosuke once again sat at the edge of the bed and took Atsushi's hand in his own again.
A head of silver popped out halfway through from beneath the blanket but didn't look at the ravenette. Ryuunosuke leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the top of his head.
“There you are, love. Want some food or water?” Two squeezes.
“How about we watch a movie then?” One squeeze.
“In the living room?” One squeeze again.
Atsushi felt bad, making Ryuunosuke pamper him like this. He's a grown man, he should be able to handle a bad day on his own without acting dramatic and childish like this. After all, the headmaster–
“One second,” Ryuunosuke said before he could spiral further. He let go of Atsushi's hand and made his way out of the room. From the other room, the silverette heard hurried footsteps walking around the apartment along with some shuffling and rattling. After a few seconds, the ravenette walked back into the room and took Atsushi's hand once more.
“Ready?” He ran his thumb over the younger boy's knuckles. The silverette nodded and made a small throaty noise of approval.
One hand in his partner's, the silver-haired boy stood up after an hour of just laying still in bed with nothing but his thoughts accompanying him. Now, there was someone he loved here with him and, with his free hand, gently helped him pull the weighted blanket over his shoulders as they made their way to the couch.
All the blinds in the apartment were closed almost all the way, only letting in a small amount of orange light to filter in. So, this must've been the noise he heard, Atsushi thought.
The two settled on the couch with some space between them as Atsushi pulled his knees up and wrapped himself fully in the weighted blanket, leaving only his eyes and nose visible.
The TV screen was already on and stood paused right at the beginning of the cartoon. Ryuunosuke pressed the play button and the screen immediately burst with pleasant colours as a song started playing and all of Atsushi's attention was on it.
About thirty minutes into the movie, the bundled up boy had moved closer to his dark haired partner and was now gently leaning into his side and, after some time–Atsushi wasn't sure when Ryuunosukes's arm had ended up around his shoulders.
The movie was nearing the end–one of the two main characters was preparing to leave the city of gold while the other chose to stay–Atsushi turned his head and buried his nose in the ravenette's shoulder, who adjusted slightly for the new position.
The silverette breathed out a quiet: “Thank you.”
“I'll help you out whenever you need, always.” He didn't need to look up to know what expression the other was making; he could hear the smile in his voice.
The silverette also smiled as he wrapped his arms around Ryuunosuke's torso, draping a part of his weighted blanket over him. The dark-haired boy returned the embrace, and they stayed like that for the rest of the movie.
Atsushi couldn't help but wonder what he did to deserve such a kind and loving boyfriend.