Work Text:
The sound of the door unlocking snapped Makoto out of his daze. His head lifted slowly towards the door as he wondered who it was. A couple people had copies of his keys, so it could be anyone. A tall figure stepped inside. Makoto knew who that was.
Vague memories of him calling Byakuya's phone a few times came back to him. He could barely think of why he did it, though. Everything was fuzzy to him. Everything he had done that night was fuzzy. He couldn't even remember it, really. He remembered something happening, and then he was where he was.
He heard Byakuya's voice call out for him. He could see the door from where he was, but Byakuya must not have been able to see him. He wanted to call back, but he couldn't open his mouth. Then he noticed his couldn't move his legs. Or anything else. All he could consciously do was stare at Byakuya and wait for him to notice him.
Byakuya looked like he was in a hurry. He looked worried. Makoto couldn't tell why. Maybe he had forgotten something here, and he had called him to look for it. Then again, Byakuya had never come to get something he left so concerned like this.
The searching continued for a while until they locked eyes, and Byakuya stopped. He guessed he found what he was looking for.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck, shit, there he was, and Byakuya had been too late. At least he wasn't even a second later, because at least Makoto was sitting up. Breathing. Alive. That was what mattered. That was always what mattered.
He couldn't ignore the towel, though.
He walked towards Makoto in a few long strides, and knelt down to his level. He pressed a kiss to his forehead, just to see if Makoto was all there. All he did was stare up at him. Byakuya's lip twitched.
"What did you do?" he asked softly, his hand hovering awkwardly as he tried to figure out what to do, how to help. He was awful at these kinds of things, but he had to try. Makoto didn't say anything.
Byakuya had known this was something that could happen. He'd known since he started dating him. He'd been told. He'd watched as Makoto slowly lost his optimism, his hope, the things that made him him, before they suddenly came back and he acted like nothing happened.
It had just never been this bad before.
He supposed he had no choice but to lift the towel. If he was going to help, he had to be rational, and to be rational, he had to know what he was working with. So, with a slight shake in his hand, he gently removed it from Makoto's arm.
Within an instant, he put it back, wrapping his hands around his arm and squeezing. Not enough to hurt, but enough to quell anymore bleeding.
He'd seen it before. He'd seen it worse. He'd seen it young, too young, in a house too cold to care. He'd seen it on his siblings, when the family got to be too much for them. He'd seen it on his sister, who turned him away as soon as she saw him. But she was too late, because he'd seen.
Maybe it was a rite of passage, because he knew he'd been drawn to its allure as well. But to see it on his darling made his chest ache in something inexplicable.
He slowly helped Makoto up to walk him to the bathroom. His first thought was to just wash it in the sink, but his second was to just get him into a bath entirely. If he had gotten to this point, he wasn't sure when the last time he'd managed to drag himself into the shower was. He also hoped it'd make him feel a bit better, and maybe bring him back to himself, just a bit. He hoped it would.
He had him sit on the counter as he drew the bath. He knew that Makoto was a sucker for a head rub, and washing his hair was basically just that. This had to work, just a bit.
The water stung. That's all Makoto could think about, until he got used to it. Then he noticed it was warm. Warm was better than stinging. He watched as Byakuya knelt down next to the tub, using a cup he got from the kitchen to pour water over his head. He squeezed his eyes shut as it ran down his face, and shuddered as Byakuya's hands started working at his hair. It felt nice. Nice, and familiar. He liked the familiarity.
Byakuya was quietly narrating everything he did to him, and while he wasn't paying the most attention, the sound of his voice was comforting, and that was enough for him.
When the soap ran down his arm, it stung again. More than before. He let out an involuntary hiss at the sting, and Byakuya apologized. Water was poured over it, and it stopped stinging again.
He was pulled out of the water quickly after. Byakuya was carrying him now, wrapped in a towel. He liked when Byakuya carried him. Despite the fact he was a very lanky man, he was strong. Strong enough to hold him, at least. He supposed he wasn't the hardest person to hold, since he was short and small, but he still liked it.
He was sat down on his bed, and watched as Byakuya rifled through his bedside drawers. He pulled out a few sharp-looking items, putting them aside. He finally seemed to find what he was looking for; a role of bandages and some antibiotic ointment.
"I apologize in advance," he told him as he took his arm into his hand and lifted it. Makoto just watched as Byakuya tried to apply the ointment as painlessly as possible. His arm nearly twitched away multiple times, but he stayed put.
Once the bandages were applied, Byakuya kissed his forehead again, and put them away. He collected the sharp objects, and took them out of the room. When he came back, he grabbed a few things to dress him with.
He cooperated with Byakuya's soft commands and directions, which earned him another kiss. He decided to do more of what he said, if it earned him more kisses.
After he was fully dressed, Byakuya tucked him into bed. He watched as he dressed himself in pajamas kept in his drawer of Makoto's dresser.
He sat next to him in bed, and Makoto did his best to convey his wanted him to lay down with his eyes alone. He was unsuccessful, so he resorted to making grabby motions at him. His arm was very sore to lift, but he did it anyway.
Byakuya finally looked at him. He stared with his eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but quickly settled in beside him. Makoto's lips twitched into the slightest semblance of triumph, which Byakuya spared a smile at. He moved to lay on Byakuya's chest, and his arm came to rest around him.
His other arm went to retrieve the remote from the nightstand. He put on a show Makoto recognized, and settled in fully. Makoto rested heavier on him.
He turned his head to look at him. Byakuya didn't notice immediately, but once he did, he gave him a questioning look. Makoto saw the affection in his eyes, and it made him feel lighter.
They just looked at each other for a moment. Makoto finally turned his head back the other way.
"I love you," he whispered. He felt Byakuya tense under him. Slowly, he relaxed again, his hand coming up to stroke his hair.
"I love you too," he whispered back, something Makoto couldn't name laced into his voice. "Go to sleep, dear."
Makoto thought back to his decision to follow more of his ordered if it meant more kisses, and followed this one as well.
He felt Byakuya's lips against his forehead right before he drifted off.