Work Text:
Ryohei wasn’t the kind of person to care about changes in his everyday environment. Whether it be big or small, it never really bothered him. After all, he was a policeman. His situation changes day after day, going from inspecting a murder case to giving out a parking ticket, so it was a normal occurrence at this point.
However, when the change includes a reoccurring loud and noticeable voice disappearing from the crowd of his fifteen peers, it’s hard for the atmosphere to not feel off. And, since the voice was so noticeable, Ryohei easily understood the situation — Seiha Arumada was absent.
The officer felt like he was worrying a little too much. Everyone else seemed like they were unruffled by the case at hand, but the ambience was different without him, and plus, Seiha had attained perfect attendance throughout the school year so far no matter what happened, so Ryohei had the right to be concerned.
His instincts were wanting him to ask about the conductor’s whereabouts, just to make sure he was safe. He was always so quick to care about Seiha… as much as his other classmates, of course! It’s not like he favored Seiha or anything…
In between his disquiet, he heard the school bell ring, dismissing the ultimates to the lunch period they were waiting for since classes began. As his eyes watch the students leaving the classroom, they land on a specific someone, and, in response to his worries, he immediately approaches her.
“Arumada-san, excuse me,” he began, tapping the musician on the shoulder to get her attention. She was quick to turn around, her face of surprise going to one representing her unique, unwavering joy.
“Ah, it’s Heiki! Wat’s da matter? Ya need somethin’ from lil’ ol’ me?” Kokona responds, beginning to rock back and forth on her feet and anticipating the conversation about to begin.
Ryohei rubbed the back of his neck, his expression displaying his worries perfectly. “Well… since you’re Arumada-kun’s sister, I thought you’d know where he is today. He didn’t show up to class at all, so I was curious.”
“Oh, dat’s right! Big bro was feelin’ really sick, so he didn’t feel like comin’.” She pauses, bringing a finger to her mouth, recalling a conversation from before. “I was checkin’ on him dis mornin’ in his dorm, and I felt kinda bad… it seemed like he didn’t have the energy to move at all!”
The brunette sighs before replying. “That’s… not good.” No shit, Sherlock. “Is his door unlocked? I want to make sure he’s doing alright.”
“It should be! It wasn’t locked when I walked in, but he coulda gotten up and locked it himself too…”
Suddenly, a voice interrupts the conversation between the two. “Kokona-kun, are you coming?”
She turns her head around to call back to the voice. “Just a second~!” Her attention then focuses back to Ryohei. “Sorry, dat’s Amagin! I promised him I would watch one of his performances at lunch, so I betta get goin’!”
Kokona begins to walk away with a hop in her step, waving farewell to Ryohei. “Byebye, Heiki! Good luck with big bro!”
Ryohei waves back, a lot less energetically. What Kokona said with such a carefree tone made him even more anxious about what the conductor got himself into. If he didn’t have the energy to even move, then he might as well pick up some medicine on the way to the other’s dorm.
That was his next mission, then: making his way to the infirmary.
He began to roam the halls, letting his hand graze along the wall and his eyes linger amongst the scenery. Although nothing ever changes when it comes to the hallways, he’s taken a liking to them in this new “school life,” so he always enjoys the view no matter what. He’s also taken it upon himself to act as a hall monitor, so his eyes are constantly searching for misconduct. Since he’s the ultimate policeman, he might as well put his title to use, he supposed.
As he strolled along, Ryohei took notice of how the sunlight shone through the windows, admiring the peaceful view that came from such a sunny day. It was a beautiful day that would be horrible to miss… making him feel even more sorry for Seiha. Surprisingly, the conductor immediately clouded his head as soon as he saw the sight. The reason for such was unknown to him, but he felt a smile forming on his face whenever the image of the other crossed his mind. The next day was supposed to be gorgeous as well, so he wished that this check-up would make Seiha feel at least a little better.
Sooner or later, he made it to the front doors of his destination. He genuinely hoped he could just grab the medicine and leave; that way, he could get to the root of his apprehension faster. So, he opens the door quickly, heads straight for the medicine cabinet, picks out a few bottles just in case, and…
“Seki-kun? Is that you?”
“Hm?”
Damn it. He jinxed it. However, it was at least a voice he enjoyed hearing. He turned around to face the source of the voice, and there stood Miruku Hishimeki, holding a lunch box in her hands. She was always the caring type, so Ryohei guessed that she came to the infirmary at lunch in case anyone felt ill.
“Oh. Good afternoon, Hishimeki-san,” he says, greeting her with his signature smile.
Miruku nods in response, then she takes a quick look at the officer’s hands, each of them holding two vials of medicine. Raising an eyebrow and placing her hands on her hips, she speaks up, “Hey, are you sick or something?”
Ryohei was taken aback by the question, taking no time at all to respond to it. “I’m not sick at all, I promise,” he says, but pauses in between to let out a small sigh. “Arumada-kun is, though.”
“Is he now? Bummer, I thought this was just a day he decided to skip… that doesn’t explain the insane amount of medicine you’re taking, though. Does he really need four bottles?”
“I asked Arumada-san about him and she didn’t specify the type of sickness, but he still worries me nonetheless. These four are just in case.” He bows before continuing, “I promise I’ll bring back the three he doesn’t take, Hishimeki-san. I just… want to make sure I bring the right thing.”
Miruku nods again, this time in understanding. “I do hope he feels better, then. If it’s worrying you so much, then it must be serious.”
“I hope it’s not, but with Arumada-san’s description, it’s better to check in on him than anything.” Ryohei takes a glimpse at the medicine in his hands, and with unease filling his expression, he starts to take his leave. However, right as he reaches the door, Miruku speaks up again.
“You… really seem to care about Arumada-kun.”
He freezes up at the unexpected sentence, swinging around immediately to face Miruku once more. “Well, of course I do,” he begins, his response laced with a bashful tone. “He’s one of my peers. I’ll always care for my fellow ultimates.”
“No, I don’t mean it like that.” The dairy farmer crosses her arms, approaching Ryohei with genuine curiosity. “Of course you care for your peers, but you’ve taken a liking to Seiha more than anyone else — at least from what I’ve been seeing. You just seem happier around him, that’s all.”
Acknowledging her words, Ryohei felt his face turn scarlet as he went completely silent. Did he… really feel happier around Seiha? Did he truly admire the conductor that much? He pondered both of those questions, his cheeks turning more and more rubescent as he did before he eventually shook the feeling off. Now wasn’t the time.
“...hm. Maybe I do really care, then,” was the response he hesitantly laid out before expressing his goodbyes to Miruku, finally making his way out of the infirmary. To say he had a lot to think about now would be an understatement, but he still decided to repress those feelings, almost refusing to recognize them.
His pace was now a lot more rushed, making his way to Seiha’s dorm much faster compared to his walk to the infirmary. He spent too long talking to Miruku, he thought, and he didn’t want to keep Seiha waiting nor did he want to be late for his next class. His feet were moving in a speed that made it so he wouldn’t give himself time to think before he reached the conductor’s door, much to his appreciation. He spent no time looking at the sun that peeked through the curtains like he did before, focusing his vision ahead of him so he wasn’t faced with any distractions.
With this technique — bolting straight forward without any regard for anything else aside from his goal — in mind, Ryohei was able to make it to Seiha’s door in record time. He now stood face-to-face with it, stuffing the vials of medicine in his pockets and fixing his tie so it wasn’t obvious that he rushed to get here. He also steadied his breathing, fixing his composure from the conversation with Miruku and clearing out the thoughts that followed. Eventually, he finally considered himself presentable and knocked on Seiha’s door with the back of his hand.
The halls go silent for a bit after the taps echo throughout, but in time, Ryohei can hear an exhausted, suppressed reply from the other side, the tone of voice replacing the vigor and gaiety that Seiha usually held. He can make out the words “come on in” coming from a voice that wouldn’t sound like Seiha at all if it wasn’t for his terribly distinguishable accent.
With the permission he received, the officer opens the door carefully, gentle with both his movements and his words. The room is dark, but as Ryohei shuts the door behind him, he lets his presence be known with three simple words: “Good afternoon, Arumada-kun.”
Seiha’s sure he recognizes the voice, but just to make sure, he turns his bedside lamp on, shielding his eyes from the light at first. His glasses are off, but he can make out the other’s figure while squinting. Rubbing his eyes to hopefully brush off his fatigue, he utters wearily, “...Sekki?”
“Mhm. It seems like your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, then,” he begins to enounce with a chuckle in his tone, slowly making his way up towards Seiha’s bed. His classical, sympathetic smile slightly wavers into one of worry as he approaches. “My apologies,” he speaks again, “did my knocking wake you up?”
The pink-haired boy shakes his head, rubbing his forehead with his pointer finger and his thumb. “Nah, I’ve been awake for a bit. You don’t need’ta worry.” He manages to sit up, his hair and clothes disheveled from laying down for so long. “However, did… did ya need somethin’ from me, Sekki?”
“Of course not. You’re sick, after all.” Ryohei moves towards Seiha’s desk to grab the chair pushed into it, hoisting it over to the side of the bed where Seiha laid. Taking a seat, he explains why he is where he is. “Your sister told me that you were feeling ill, so I wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Your safety is one of my first priorities, and her description had me alarmed.”
Ryohei takes notice the conductor’s glasses on the nightstand and hands them to him, making sure to not touch the lenses. The other takes them with care, unfolding the temples and blinking as he regains his sight. Once he got adjusted to his own vision again, he looked over at Ryohei again, smiling weakly once he could see the policeman without his face ending up blurred.
“So Kokona told ya, huh?” Seiha pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to sit more comfortably in his own bed. “Ya really didn’t need’ta stop by, but… I appreciate it. I’ve been feelin’ nauseous an’ such since dis mornin’, so… havin’ ya here is nice.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he says, flashing Seiha a small smile. Then, he starts up again, “Since you’re not feeling any better, Arumada-kun, would you like some medicine?”
“Medicine? Nah, ya don’t need’ta go dat far—”
Seiha was almost immediately interrupted by the sound of glass bottles clanking against each other as Ryohei pulls both pills and liquid medicine out of his pockets. “I didn’t know how you’d be feeling, so I came with a few kinds. Take whatever you need.” He held each bottle out politely, urging Seiha to take one of them.
“No, no… Sekki, dis is too much! I’ll be fine without medicine, I promise ya…”
“It’s just the infirmary’s medicine. They had multiple of each of these, so you won’t be wasting anything. I don’t want you to feel miserable for the rest of the week, so, once again — take whatever you need, please.” He made sure to put emphasis on the last word, trying to get the fact that he’s serious across.
Seiha sighs due to the officer’s words, reluctantly eyeing the medicine in his hands. Ultimately, he caved in, inspecting the labels on each bottle with pure concentration, making sure he doesn’t take a dose of the wrong thing and end up even more sick in the process. In the end, he picks up the bottle of Emetrol that was laid out to him, measuring and taking a swig of at least 20 mL. Once his throat was cleared and the medicine was set on the nightstand, he started another conversation to break the silence.
“Hey, do ya know the time? I’d check for ya, but… since I’m sick, I don’t want’ta worsen things.”
Ryohei nods, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. He only checks the time for a split second before setting it down on his lap. “It’s 12:50,” he replies, “why do you ask?”
Instead of giving a response to his question, Seiha instead looked at Ryohei like he was crazy. “12:50…? Sekki, shouldn’t ya be at lunch right now?!”
“Yes, but—”
Adopting Ryohei’s concerns as his own, Seiha easily cut Ryohei off despite his voice being quieter than usual. “Have ya even eaten anythin’ yet?!”
“Skipping a meal is easy. I’ve had to do it before when I was on patrol, and I just ended up eating more for dinner in the end. Plus, I should ask you the same question… it seems like you’ve been bed-ridden all day.”
Hearing that rebuttal, Seiha was speechless for a small moment. “Still, I…”
“Arumada-kun,” he began, his tone becoming more stern. “I would skip any class or meal to make sure you were healthy and to bring you the medicine you need. That’s my job as a policeman, after all.” His hand rested on Seiha’s shoulder as he tried to be as reassuring as possible. “Over anything, your well-being will always be a prime concern to me no matter what.”
With those words, the conductor’s face of apprehension turned to one of admiration, a smile appearing on his pale face with a slight blush following. “God… ya really are a kind man, Sekki.” A small, frail laugh escapes his lips. “Thank ya… seriously.”
Seiha manages to sit on his knees, leaning towards Ryohei more than he was before. Then, with the small amount of energy he still has left, he spontaneously hugs the other, wrapping his arms around his neck. He doesn’t hug him too hard, though — he isn’t as strong in his current state.
However, Ryohei didn’t reciprocate it.
Because he didn’t know how.
Due to how sudden the hug was, Ryohei’s eyes opened for the first time in forever and his body shivered, the shock of the touch displayed in his expression perfectly. He stared down at his hands behind Seiha’s back, hating how they refused to move but still began to shake, little by little. This kind of touch, this kind of affection, was so foreign to him. Everything felt foreign to him at that moment. His senses overwhelmed him, his brain practically malfunctioning as it overloaded with thoughts of how to react. His pulse quickened, and he genuinely hoped Seiha didn’t feel his heartbeat at that moment.
He would say the feeling was uncomfortable since every part of him that Seiha pressed against felt like it was beginning to burn, but… that wasn’t it. In fact, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
It was odd. He didn’t feel disturbed whatsoever.
Instead, for some reason that he didn’t know, he felt loved.
It was true the touch still overwhelmed him to his core, but he couldn’t help but lean into the touch more and more. The warmth Seiha brought with his contact was comforting, giving a pleasant tinge to the burning feeling from before. The longer the hug lingered, the more Ryohei felt safe in a way he couldn’t explain. The alien touch began to feel more tender and calming, releasing the tension that came from the initial shock and relaxing him in a way that left him wanting more.
Maybe Miruku was right. Maybe Seiha did make him happier.
Sooner or later, after all the initial panic, he regains the ability to move, freeing all of his joints from restraint. He begins to try and wrap his arms around the conductor as thanks for the feeling, his hands still shaking. Once he finally wraps his arms around the other’s waist, though… god, it felt amazing. The heat and affection that radiated from Seiha was still anonymous, but it managed to change his expression of confusion and stress to one of joy. Since he was a lot stronger than the other, his grip was tighter as he clung onto the feeling.
The two stayed together for some time, time that seemed almost endless… only breaking contact whenever Ryohei began to hear faint snoring behind him.
Right. Seiha was still sick and in need of rest. Plus, he couldn’t stay here forever anyway.
With a sigh, he leans forward and sets Seiha back down on the bed, losing the warmth he loved almost immediately. He gently grabs his glasses by the bridge and sets them on the nightstand before carrying the chair back to Seiha’s desk. When he does, he notices a notepad in the corner, so he grabs a pen and writes “Remember to eat something” — just in case. He sticks that on the bottle of medicine that Seiha took, turning off his lamp in the process.
Once he finishes making sure that Seiha’s comfortable, he makes his way towards the door, muttering a few words due to their parting: “Have a good rest, Arumada-kun.”
The second he shut the door, he turned his back towards it, leaning onto it with his arms crossed. He checked to see if the coast was clear before letting his expression flush up completely, losing any composure that he previously held. Both of his hands went up to cover his face, feeling the heat rise up to his cheeks at an insane rate.
Just like before, he was now left alone to his thoughts, processing what the hell just happened. Once more, he was left with the two questions: “Did he really feel happier around Seiha?” and “Did he truly admire the conductor that much?” — at least now, he doesn’t need to think for too long, because the redness of his face outed him out.
Ryohei’s mind filled with more and more thoughts the more he lingered by Seiha’s door, leaving him completely vulnerable to hearing each and every one of them. Ryohei had never felt love like this before, so every thought became more bizarre as they circled in his head at rapid speeds. Was it normal to feel like this? Was any of this normal? Was it okay to already miss his touch? Was his face supposed to be this red? After all this, would Seiha even like him back? Did he just interpret the hug wrong? Is he just—
Luckily, for the policeman, the loud peeling of the school bell signaling the students out of their lunch period interrupted his thoughts, allowing him to calm down before he got sent into a complete spiral. He immediately starts to leave, not wanting to be late, but for a few seconds, his eyes begin to linger on Seiha’s door. However, he manages to unglue his eyes from the sight right before he develops any more regrets.
~
Today was another average day at Hope’s Peak Academy. The sun was shining brilliantly through the windows and the other ultimates were chattering back and forth as they made their way towards their homeroom classes, all leading up to another good day.
Of course, it was practically the same as yesterday. After all, the only thing that changes in the school’s routine is the events that occur.
However, Ryohei noticed something off right away. The atmosphere was once more completely different, bringing back that familiar feeling that wasn’t there yesterday, but was present the day before that.
“Heya, Sekki! Good mornin’!”
That was because Seiha Arumada wasn’t absent.
Hearing the voice from behind him, he turns around almost immediately, a smile forming on his face once he sees the conductor waving at him with his same old energy and enthusiasm.
“Good morning, Arumada-kun,” he says, approaching the other. “I suppose you must be feeling better?”
Maybe Ryohei was wrong.
Maybe he did favor Seiha.