Title: Soak in the Tub
Fandom: Ronin Warriors
Characters/Pairing: Cye/Kento
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Discusses familial death and illness. Cye also has some unhealthy coping habits. Let me know if I need to warn for anything else.
Notes: Post-series. The boys are in college. Cye is 20 and Kento is 19.

Taking a swim in the lake by Mia’s mansion on a chilly spring morning was a poor idea. Cye was abundantly aware that he was begging for pneumonia if he so much as looked at the lake this time of year. However, after what he had learned, he needed to feel the water on his skin, now, or he would never be able to recenter himself. Just dipping in his hands or his feet would not be enough this time. He needed to escape it all. The sea was too far away, so this lake would have to do. And he was going to have to be quick about it: after blowing up at Ryuusuke over the phone, Cye was certain that everyone in the mansion had heard him. And his wonderful, concerned friends would chase after him soon—and try to convince him to not catch his death of cold in the lake. Cye understood why. After all, this was admittedly an unsafe way to cope with the bad news he had received. But it was the only thing that would work right now.

Cye removed his shoes, placing them neatly on the dock’s edge so he could easily retrieve them later. Then he removed his wool socks, stuffing them in the shoes. He was about to divest himself of his powder blue pullover when he heard Kento yelling at him to stop.

Okay. He could deal with Kento. He would deliver an acerbic remark, Kento would react, and Cye would offer to make him something he liked to eat. Kento might not even notice that he was barefoot. Once Kento was busy stuffing his face, Cye would dash back to the lake and be free, if only for a bit.

He turned to face Kento, face flushed from activity. He took a moment to be glad that his spacey friend had remembered a coat and hat. “Hey, blockhead,” Cye greeted him with a smile. “Can’t live without my waffles, hunh? Well, let’s go back and I’ll make you some.” He waited for Kento to relax and tell Cye to lead the way.

Kento scowled. “No, Cye. You can’t snark your way out of this one. Also, put on your socks and shoes before you freeze to death.”

Cye boggled at him.

Kento’s scowl deepened. “Put on your socks and shoes or I’ll do it for you.”

“… Ugh, fine. But only because I’m not sure you know how to tie shoelaces.” Cye wondered what had shattered reality to the point where Kento was bossing him instead of the other way around. Still, he wasn’t going down without a fight. “By the way, it’d need to be much colder for me to freeze out here, even if I’m barefoot.”

“Maybe,” Kento conceded. “But not to get sick. And look, I know you’re older than me and can take care of yourself and the rest of us, but I still worry about you, especially when it comes to your health. Doesn’t illness run in your family or something? You said that when we talking about your mom and…” Kento’s face lit up in understanding, then panic, when Cye flinched at that last part. “Oh my God, Cye. I-Is your mom okay?! Is she—”

“She’s okay,” Cye promised him. He couldn’t escape this now. Not when Kento was so scared for him and his mother. Like it or not, Cye was going to have to face this conflict head-on. “Well, she’s not okay, but she’s recovering from her latest episode.” In the hospital. Staring down yet more bills. Her daughter and son-in-law were by her side as always, but her youngest son was selfishly living in a mansion and studying oceans and dolphins instead of a career that could support her. “I… I didn’t even know until Ryuusuke told me.” Ryuusuke hadn’t even meant to—he had just mentioned that Sayoko was with Mum waiting to talk to the doctor while gushing over the cake recipe he had finally convinced Cye to share. One very short (and loud) argument later, Cye had all the information he needed from his soft-hearted brother-in-law. “They wanted to keep it from me so I wouldn’t worry.”

“Aw, geez, Cye. I get they were trying to keep you from panicking, but that was crummy of them not to tell you.” Kento’s eyes were bright with compassion as he held out his arms. “I don’t know if you want to be touched right now or not, but if you want a hug—” Cye grabbed Kento tight before he was done talking.

“Okay, that answers that question,” Kento noted as he hugged Cye back. “What do you need now to convince you to come back inside?”

“I don’t know,” Cye managed, somehow. He was already a weak-willed mess today, so he let himself bury his face in Kento’s shoulder. “They weren’t going to tell me. I—am I really that useless to others—”

“Woah. Stop right there.” Kento’s tone made it clear that there would be no more self-depreciation today. “Cye, I’m not your mother or Sayoko or Ryuusuke. But I suspect they just didn’t want to worry you. I know I never told my folks about that time Talpa had us, and well. You know. You were there, too.” Kento still held him tight. There was no tremor in his voice. But he was trembling, so Cye tightened his grip, only relaxing when Kento stilled.

“I never told my family about Talpa kidnapping us, either.” Partly because Cye chose to cope by forgetting about it as much as he could. But mostly because… well, they couldn’t have done anything about it. Talking about it would have broken his soul (again) and their hearts. “Of course, it’s still not fun to find out this way, either. I accused my poor brother-in-law of hiding things from me.”

“Yeah, man, we know. You, ah, were pretty loud about that part,” Kento said with a chuckle. “We should probably let Mia and the guys know that you’re okay.” He frowned at Cye. “Are you okay?”

“Enh.” Cye shrugged. “Life sucks, but I’m not going to try to block it all out by diving to the bottom of the lake. Not in this weather, at least.”

Kento sighed heavily with relief. “Good. The last time you had pneumonia I had to eat Sage’s cooking. All he makes is kale, Cye. Kale!”

“Kale is healthy for you. And you could always cook your own meals, you know.”

“You and I both know that my metabolism makes me so hungry so fast I eat before anything is actually cooked.” This was true. Cye had to chase Kento out of the kitchen more than once to save his ingredients. Then Kento’s expression grew thoughtful. “Hey, listen. Would a warm bath be a good substitute for lake diving?”

If it was, Cye would have done it. But Kento was trying so hard to help. “I don’t know. I’ll give it a try.”

Kento smiled, leading Cye by the hand out of the cold and back into the mansion’s warmth.

--

“Cye!” Ryo grabbed Cye by the shoulders. He looked just as panicked as Kento when he had found Cye early. “We heard you yelling at Ryuusuke. Is everything okay? What can we do?” Mia, Sage, and Rowen were quieter in nature, which Cye was currently thankful for since Ryo tended to yell when he was concerned (or angry, or happy). But Mia still hovered next to Ryo anxiously. Rowen was drumming his fingertips on the cover of the book that until this morning, he’d been buried in. Sage was still as he leaned against the wall, taking it all in, waiting to see if he would be needed.

“I’m fine, everyone. I’m sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me.” He loved them. He was thankful for them. He just wasn’t quite up to talking to all of them at once currently. “Kento, can you fill them in while I warm up in the tub?”

Kento winked and gave him a thumbs up. “Anytime!” Kento started sparring with Ryo playfully as he explained the situation, distracting them all while Cye escaped upstairs. Well, except for Sage. But the small nod Sage gave him was surprisingly reassuring.

--

As Cye predicted, the bath wasn’t as freeing as the lake. However, it wasn’t as freezing as the lake. Or outside in general. He hadn’t even realized that he was cold until he started removing his clothes. Then he had started shivering so hard that he would have called for Kento if he, um, had been in a state to greet others. Luckily for Cye, the shivering receded after a few minutes and he was able to draw the bloody bath already. He hissed as the hot water hit his cold skin, then adjusted as he eased into the tub, and then…

He still felt like garbage. He still hated himself for how he’d acted this morning. He still wasn’t fond of his family for hiding things from him. But… it was quiet. The water was warm. People he loved were downstairs.

Or maybe some of them were nearby, Cye realized as there was a knock at the door. “Yo, Cye.” Kento knocked again. “You haven’t drowned or anything, right?”

“I’m fine,” Cye groused. “Believe it or not, I can take a bath on my own.”

“I know, but I worry.”

“I thought I was supposed to be the mum friend.” Cye rested his head on the tub’s edge. Nonetheless, it was sweet how Kento was looking out for him. His own family was wonderful, but his mother was sick, his sister had to work, and Ryuusuke had only been part of the family for a year at this point. Cye was used to caring for others and then tending to himself when he was hurting. He was used to that. He was even proud of being so independent. And in those moments when he realized that he wasn’t as independent as he liked to believe? When he wanted to hide at the bottom of the sea but had to settle for crying in his room because no one could help him? He would pretend his father was alive and would do anything to assist his struggling son.

His father, who had died so suddenly it was hard not to worry that his mother would face the same fate.

“… Kento?”

“Yeah?”

Cye shifted, making the water ripple. “I think that maybe there’s another reason why I ran off to the lake this morning.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Kento didn’t miss a beat. He was a glutton, an oaf, and the best friend Cye could ever ask for. Cye gave himself a moment to believe that Dad’s spirit had manipulated the universe so Kento would meet him before he spoke.

“I was in London visiting my maternal grandparents when my father passed. He died and was cremated while I was unaware.” At least, not until his ceaselessly practical Mum called them, apologizing for waiting so long but explaining that she didn’t want to upset her young son until the worst was over. “When I returned to Japan, we all said goodbye to his urn and I just… remember thinking that the last time I saw him he seemed fine but now what was left of him was locked away forever.” He didn’t bother to wipe the tears from his face. “What if that happens with Mum?”

“I think after today, your family realizes that you want to know what’s going on with your mother’s health, Cye. And if they don’t, you can tell them what you told me when you call Ryuusuke to apologize.”

“I guess I could.” No, he would. But first, he needed to make breakfast. Everyone was probably starving at this point. Cye let the water drain, standing up and reaching for his towel. “I’m almost done,” he promised Kento as he dried off and dressed again.

Kento’s face relaxed into a smile when Cye greeted him. “Welcome back.”

Cye traced Kento’s jawline with his fingertips, exploring just for a moment the depths of the connection they had. Kento closed his eyes, not resisting. Now was not the time to ask Kento on a date, even if Kento was glowing and Cye felt especially loved, but maybe when things had calmed down… “Thanks for bringing me back. And for taking care of me today.”

“Any time!” Kento grabbed Cye’s hand, leading him downstairs. “C’mon, Cye. Sage and Rowen got doughnuts for everyone.”

“That is dreadfully unhealthy, but I love sugar as much as most young people. And I must know how Rowen convinced Sage to buy junk food.” Cye’s life was still not going well, at all. But Kento—and all his friends—would do anything to help Cye. That always made things a little better.