The Tiger And A Thousand Winters in That Place

A Spider In the Morning Is Your Friend..

It was raining heavily in the middle of the night when I woke up from a call.

The second my two working brain cells processed the words, I threw my blanket aside and ran to the door so fast that I didn't even turn on the lights, feet thudding heavily against the wooden floor.

'Draken?' I unlocked the door and pulled it open, (e/c) eyes wide with concern. Sure enough, the tall, lanky blonde was there, dragging Kazutora with one hand and holding Mitsuya's phone with the other. Both of them were drenched, clothes and all, while Mitsuya's silver hair peeked out from under a pitch black umbrella.

'This guy got beat up.' Draken offered as an explanation, hauling Kazutora's bruised body inside. Kazutora's hand twitched weakly as streaks of water followed the two males into my house, but he had enough fire left in him to shoot Draken a nasty look. 'He didn't wanna go home.'

'I didn't tell you to take me here.' Kazutora spat back, still glaring at Draken. Draken would've punched Kazutora for that, if there was an area free of bruises on his face.

'I know you don't wanna let (Y/n) know, but he's the only one with his own house.' Mitsuya piped up, clearly the only sane one because only he was carrying an umbrella in the pouring rain. 'We don't wanna wake people up and make a fuss. You got any extra umbrellas, (Y/n)? Draken needs one.'

'Yeah.' It took me a while to process, but I managed to turn the lights on and dig out an umbrella while Draken settled Kazutora on the couch. It was hard to connect the image of a Kazutora who was trying not to move a (definitely broken) leg with the Kazutora who had sat here and smiled peacefully at some crappy comedy show just a few days ago.

I tossed the umbrella at Mitsuya before sitting next to Kazutora with a first-aid kit, deciding not to think. I started with the antiseptic, dabbing the cream on and ignoring Kazutora's pained hiss when I pressed a bit too hard on a cut. I glanced towards Mitsuya and signaled for him to come in, but he shook his head.

'What did you do to who this time?' I asked with a raised eyebrow, not looking at Kazutora because I was trying to figure out how to deal with his broken leg.

'Black Dragons.' Kazutora spat out with a grimace. 'Why do you always assume it was me?'

'No one picks a fight with you until you steal something.' I gave him a 'look'. The last time Kazutora nearly landed his ass in the hospital, he'd nabbed the phone of a pretentious, glasses-wearing guy with a crew cut.

'Not this time.' Kazutora shot me a glare. 'Assholes jumped me outta nowhere.'

Huh. The Black Dragons had never been that violent.. since Shinichiro had founded it, I'd always assumed that it'd be a chill group. Then again, they'd had a change of leadership lately..

'Nice pjs.' Draken commented with a quiet whistle, looking my oversized clothes up and down. I blinked, confused, and looked down.

'Are those Kazutora's?' Mitsuya blinked from the doorway, glancing at my low cut grey t shirt and baggy sweatpants. Realization hit me slowly while the tips of my ears started to glow red.

'Fuck off, Mitsuya.' Kazutora offered said male a blank smile.

'Hey man, chill.' Mitsuya shrugged, looking away to save whatever pride I had left.

Kazutora's smile disappeared real quick when I cleaned up a particularly nasty cut. He muttered curses under his breath, something along the lines of '-motherfucking shit on steroids-'.

'I'm heading home, since you seem to have it handled.' Draken announced loudly before he gave me a firm thwack on the back.

'Sure, I don't wanna see your ugly mug anymore.' Kazutora commented just as loudly. I rolled my eyes, but let him be. Idiots will be idiots.

'Baji would be heartbroken if he were here.' Draken snickered as he retreated towards the front door. 'He would probably die to have (Y/n) slap a band-aid on him. Kazutora, remember to rub it in his face later.'

'That guy is incapable of being hurt emotionally.' I made a face, too occupied with bandaging Kazutora's arm to look up. 'He'd be fine.'

'He's too dumb.. for it to sink into his brain...' Kazutora agreed easily, lashes starting to flutter shut.

'No sleeping.' I smacked the male awake, inspecting him for head injuries. He seemed clear. 'I can't carry you upstairs.'

'I'll just... sleep here...' Kazutora complained with a yawn, settling himself against a soft cushion. 'I sleep here.. anyways.. when you don't wanna fuck...'

'We'll get going then.' Mitsuya called with a perfect poker face - I could picture the screech of 'I need holy water' inside his brain. He'd always been too sane for his own good. 'Gotta ask Mom to come over and look at Kazutora's leg.'

'Night.' I nodded, forcing the word out in a half strangled tone. I could tell a lie when I heard one, but I didn't call Mitsuya out. He needed the excuse to leave, and I needed the excuse to forget about everything. Maybe I'd take a page out of Mitsuya's book and attempt to gargle bleach.

'Dammit, I owe Mikey more dorayaki.' Draken cussed one last time before the door snapped shut.

I rolled my eyes, sighing as I turned to a now mostly asleep Kazutora.

'Tora.' I poked the male in the cheek, knowing he'd probably smile at me and then punch me in the face if he were awake. No such thing happened, but Kazutora's face twisted slightly into a grimace. I realized I was poking a bruise and quickly retracted my finger.

I gave up on moving Kazutora upstairs into a bed, focusing more on pulling his shoes off and getting his bloody clothes off him. The task was annoyingly troublesome, even though the male fell more and more unconscious.

After removing his clothes, I gave him a quick wipe down and another bandaging of wounds I'd missed, before I dug out his clothes from my closet, dressed him, and threw a blanket over him. Then I tossed his clothes into a bucket, deciding that it was a problem for future (Y/n).

I sighed when I looked at all the water on the floor. Evaporation, do your thing. As long as Kazutora doesn't complain too much in the morning, sleep is my highest priority.

I returned to the living room and heard light snoring. Kazutora was fast asleep, sleeping on his side and curled into a fetal position. Either he was dead tired, or he hadn't been too traumatized by what had happened. I was leaning towards both.

I pulled up a fan next to him and turned it on before placing a small chair next to the couch. I tossed some painkillers onto it and put a cup of water down, because if there was no water in sight. Kazutora would definitely swallow it dry.

'Night.' I pressed a kiss into Kazutora's temple, before I headed over to turn off the lights. My heart thumped in my chest - not from love - there had never been any love in this relationship. I wondered idly if I was overstepping my boundaries, and chastised myself for caring enough to let Kazutora in.

Kazutora made some sort of noise, and my breath froze in my chest.

'..you missed..' Kazutora murmured drowsily, one sandy-coloured eye opening halfway to blink blearily at me.

I breathed again, shaking my head at the male.

'Go to sleep, you ass.' I reprimanded fiercely, but dropped another kiss on his mouth obediently.

I padded upstairs quietly, tucking myself into bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the silhouette of a spider, dancing across the window frame. Something nagged at the back of my head, a question that had existed for longer than I wanted to admit.

If, one day, Kazutora finds a new friend-with-benefits, then what'll happen to me? If there comes a day where Kazutora doesn't need me anymore..

..not today, (Y/n). Not today.

I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

..A spider at night is your foe.
Don't worry, (Y/n) took Kazutora to the hospital in the morning. Kazutora did his damn best to make everyone there feel crappy.

Special thanks to MNSTEXX for the first votes
You're the one who motivated me to finish this chapter sooner <3