30 day OTP challenge (souharu)

Day 22 In battle side-by-side

"Oi Haru!" Sosuke called, slinging his M16a4 over his shoulder, he broke into a jog to catch up to the smaller male.

Haru turned, looking up at him in question.

"Are you going home today, too?" Sosuke asked, at the nod, he continued. "Do you want to go back together? We live pretty close, so--"

"Sure." Haru straightened his sniper rifle, looking to the side. "I have to lock up my guns first though," He added.

"Me too," Sosuke squinted at the upcoming barracks, "I'll meet you by the station?"

"See you then." Haru replied, breaking off into a jog to his barracks.

They weren't on the same squad, sadly, they didn't even share the same barracks. He watched as Makoto ran to catch up with his best friend, they exchanged a fist bump and walked the rest of the way, both had their guns slung across their backs the same way.

"What're you looking at?" A voice said below him.

Sosuke looked down to see Rin trying to pinpoint what exactly he was staring at. "Is it those two? Ooh it's Haru, isn't it?" He laughed when Sosuke started to briskly walk away, "I get you're together, but aren't you being a bit clingy?"

"No," Sosuke said quickly.

"Are you jealous of Makoto?" Rin asked.

Sosuke's sudden glare gave him away completely.

"I knew it!" The redhead yelled, his gun slipped and clattered on the ground. He hastily picked it up and followed his friend to their barracks. "It does seem like their married huh?" At the silence he received he quickly corrected, "Haru's loyal, you have nothing to worry about."

"Right." Sosuke sighed, "You're an idiot, Rin."

"What? Why?"

"You used my staring at Haru as an opportunity to check out Tachibana's ass."

Rin went red, "No I didn't!"

A laugh of disbelief.

"I really didn't! Sosuke stop being an asshole, I really didn't!"

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"Over here!" Sosuke shouted, waving to Haru.

The raven-haired boy looked over, spotting him. His bag was slung horizontally across his chest, half covering the Japanese flag on his uniform. His gun no where to be found, either in his bag or locked up with everyone else's. Sosuke's position required he take his home.

They started down the road, the sun had set, leaving them in darkness as they ventured, close together and a little tense. There had recently been a group attacking soldiers, their reason's where unknown, as they hadn't been captured for questioning yet.

The sound of something falling ahead made them both jump. Sosuke was about to go for the gun in his bag when a cat scampered across their path. Both guys audibly sighed, relaxing slightly. The next street light was a few yards away, providing enough light to see the trash the cat had knocked over.

A grunt from Haru warned him too late. Arms wrapped around his neck, forcing him down into a headlock. He struggled for a moment, his mind blank with surprise. Sosuke brought a fist around, hitting the man right between the legs and reaching up with the other, grabbing his nose and pulling down. His grip came loose and Sosuke ripped away, whipping around with both fists up to gaurd his face. Two punches to the face, three to the gut, the guy fell to the ground, groaning. Someone jumped him from behind, yanking him backward. Sosuke had never been more thankful for his tall stature. He backed up hard into the wall on one side of the street. The man on his back cried out and loosened his grip enough for Sosuke to grab and flip him. He hit the ground and lay there, groaning.

Haru had just taken down his guy when they realized there were more of them. Pressing back-to-back so no one could jump them, they took a moment to scope their opponents.

"You take the one on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?" Sosuke offered.

Haru snorted, "works for me."

Someone ran at him a second later, going high and swooping low immediately after, catching him off guard. His fist connected with Sosuke's ribs, a sharp pain sprang up. He didn't have a chance to regain his breath, because he was already being struck at again. A fist hit him in the jaw, colors blurred his vision, the second it took the man to shake out his hand cost him, Sosuke came back, kicking him in the gut and following up with a crescent kick. The man crumpled, unconscious from the hit to the head.

Sosuke sighed at the silence under the lamp light, only interrupted by their harsh breathing. He moved one foot to allow him to glance Haru over.

"You alright?"

Haru looked up at him, his face was pale in the cold light, making the blood running from his nose look vibrant. His cheek was turning red and he clutched his side tightly, but looked ok otherwise. "Yeah, you?"

Sosuke nodded, "I think I have a broken rib, though."

Haru smiled then, and Sosuke found himself responding with one of his own. Their smiles progressed into laughs, until pain made them stop, both held their injuries tenderly. Sosuke reached for his bag, which had fallen sometime during the scuffle. He pulled out his phone and gun, calling the police to pick up the men. He threw the bag to be under the light, near the bench.

"Sou..." Something in Haru's voice made him whip around. Haru was standing there, half reaching for his duffle bag. He was staring at his hand, the other was on his side now.

"What is it?" The lack of explanation had him worried.

Haru turned his hand so Sosuke could see what he was looking at. In the dim lighting, Sosuke could see something dark on his palm, blood. He lifted his other hand from his side to reveal a dark patch on his shirt, and dragged his gaze up to Sosuke's with a kind of expectancy.

"Haru, lie down." Sosuke ordered.

He obliged, and Sosuke pulled of his shirt, observing the wound on his side. "How did this happen?" He grabbed the balled up shirt and pressed it to the bleeding.

Haru shook his head, "I don't know, probably a knife, I didn't feel anything."

Sosuke swallowed and took a shuddering breath, what was taking the police so long? "You're going to be OK, there's not much bleeding."

Haru nodded, closing his eyes.

"Haru, keep your eyes open." Sosuke's voice came out louder than he intended.

Blue eyes focused on him again, narrow, dark circles were under them, but he couldn't tell if it was from lack of sleep, the lighting, or loss of blood.

"You're going to be OK." Sosuke whispered, more to convince himself as he pressed the fabric to Haru's side.

A hand gripped his, "don't press so hard, that hurts." Haru tugged until his pressure lessened.

"I'm sorry!" He gasped, suddenly realizing what he was doing.

"Sosuke, calm down." Haru's voice came out smoothly, "It's not so bad."

Just as he said that, blue and red lights appeared around the corner. Several officers got out of their cars and ran to them. Sosuke motioned to the men behind them with his head, he wasn't about to start explaining what had happened. The medics arrived shortly after, taking Haru from him and loading them both onto an ambulance.

"See?" Haru said to him, a soft smile adorned his lips, "Not so bad, we're alright now."