Chapter Text
Ever since he was a young boy, he never exactly fit in with his family. He was a black sheep and had long been aware of it. His parents went to great lengths to make sure he recognized this. Too soft and too stupid for a boy, too much of a baby to be accepted as a Hanagaki. Left out from family trips, and often unwelcome when he made any effort to meet with his family. So, he felt represented by dark wool, he identified with the herbivores who were sheared of their exterior. He goes by the name Takemichi, not feeling worthy of the surname, not feeling like it’s him.
Takemichi gets good at taking care of himself, it hardly even hurts that he has to anymore, he has his own group of friends who he talks to, Akkun, or Atsushi Sendo, his best friend, as well as Kazushi, Takuya, and Makoto. Recently however, he’s been a pretty shitty friend. For some reason he’s craved to be alone, calling off all plans, blowing off any attempts to let people see him. A deeper part of him hurts for doing this, how could he do this to the only ones who have been there for him? But when he pushes it and forces himself to go, he ends up lashing out at them. Takemichi never considered himself to be best friend of the year, that award goes to Akkun, but he wasn’t ever one to yell. This is the only reason Takemichi decided to indulge his need for alone time and be an asshole. He would explain to them when he didn’t get the urge to scream his head off. They’re understanding. Takemichi smiles to himself as he thinks about his stupidly loyal friends. They’ll definitely forgive him.
He gets ready to make his trip, grabbing whatever he’ll need and changing into more appropriate outside clothes.
Takemichi went off through the woods, his orthodox, exploring in a lost daze, one foot in front of the other. The monotony soothing him from his irate mood. The greenery fills his lungs with oxygen as he makes each step. Only in the woods can he feel like himself, only in this path can he not worry about what people want from him or think of him. He can breathe and not fear that just by needing to breathe he’s inconveniencing someone. He can smile without worrying if his smile is too ugly to be seen. He can dance, he can fall flat on his face, he can do anything without fear of criticism here. It’s been his safe space since he was a young boy. When he would run out here crying after some particularly harsh words his mother had thrown at him. The critters who called the woods home produced noises that would lull him to sleep back then, despite how dangerous that is. Remembering it all made him feel at home, and finally welcomed someone. Not expected to do a single thing other than just be himself. It was nice, wonderful even. He wasn’t a Hanagaki Takemichi here, not even Takemichi, just himself. And how nice it was to just be yourself.
He hears a twig break but sees none under his feet, he startles. Abruptly taken from his peaceful mood. “Who’s there?”, he calls out into the now seemingly never-ending forest. He realizes that these woods do have a sort of eeriness to them. The bark on the trees surrounding him can almost look like screaming faces, what a weird thought. Silence. Takemichi looks and then continues on his straight path. “Just some animal… nothing that serious.” He convinces himself.
Takemichi picks up his pace, cool sweat starts to pool around his neck, palms suddenly feeling wet, and a throbbing in his chest thumps in his ears. The edges of his vision turn sour, he can only see directly in front of himself. He is terrified. his heart beats faster. Why is he so scared? Why does he feel as if someone is following behind him, weary of his every move? He can hear leaves rustling. Oh shit. Suddenly Takemichi is reminded of the fact that the forest is not exactly a safe place, and that there are animals out there that can and will kill him. Oh god he is going to die here, isn’t he?
Takemichi started to run, he ran faster than he ever had before, his chest burned, he could taste copper, he was so glad he wore his good shoes today. He ran and he did not know why, but death was creeping up on him. Takemichi was not fast enough. A young man who looks to be around his age pounces on him. Takemichi crashes into the hard ground, gravel, dirt, and grass all pressing into his back. He thrashes around, hoping that he can somehow manage to break free of the iron grasp on him, he is so terrified. He never got married, never had a girlfriend, never been kissed before, hell he’s still a virgin, how could he die now? “Help! Please for the love of fucking god someone help me! Help! Someone help!”, but his cries go unanswered. Which makes sense in hindsight considering he is deep within the forest, if anything his shrieking has scared off any nearby animals.
He attempts to struggle but instead is met with snarling. The sound of an aggressive starved dog who has finally found their first meal in weeks. Teeth bared and ready to strike. The sound of a beast. Takemichi’s life flashes by him. His meaningless, sad, pathetic life. It was fitting for him to die like this, just like a sheep, hunted by the wolf. A black sheep through and through. Takemichi hates that his mother was right. Takemichi hates his family in general. Takemichi starts to shake. He shakes because he’s going to die without knowing what real love is, not even the love of his family. Slowly he opens his eyes, the urge to be eye to eye with his death overcoming him. He will not die a coward too. A boy covered in dirt and blood; he looks at him with furrowed eyebrows. The boy sniffs him, and slowly crawls off of him. Takemichi pants, harsh breaths wrack his body. What the hell is happening? He gets a good look at the boy. Dark black quizzical eyes, Muddy blonde hair that seems in good condition considering that he looks like he’s never taken a bath, tan skin, sharp nails covered in dirt, his body toned from walking on all fours, and probably living the life of an animal. A boy raised by wild animals was what came to mind. He looked feral. The only thing covering his body were the various hides decorating his torso, they fit him like a poncho.
Takemichi’s words are caught in his throat, what the hell is happening? Him and the boy stare at each other like they're in a standoff. Blue eyes meet black, Takemichi puts out his hand.
The boy gets on all fours protectively, growling once more, Takemichi keeps his hand out. “I’m not looking to hurt you, actually I should be more scared of you considering you were gonna kill me! But, um, I’m friendly I swear, my name is Takemichi.” He nervously rambles on.
“Take … mitchy…”
Huh?
“No no no, Take-me-Che, Takemichi.”
“Takemitchy.”
Why the hell is he talking to this thing?
“Mikey.”
What?
“Me, Mikey.” He motions towards himself, still on all fours but now his face is much more relaxed, still analyzing, still quizzical, but not murderous. He reminds Takemichi of a dog, and the thought crosses his mind that maybe Mikey had something to protect, and Takemichi was invading his territory. Wait, Mikey isn’t an animal, he’s a human, he doesn’t have territory. Well maybe he does considering that he isn’t dressed like any human he knows. None of the merchants or travelers he’s seen have been covered in animal pelts, and none of them have been this dirty either, which means he can’t be a traveler or a merchant. How come no one has ever seen or talked about a dirty boy who lives in the woods?
“How did you get here?” he decides to try and ask despite the fact that it doesn’t seem like he understood much language.
“Live here. Hunting, Takemitchy prey.” Oh, that’s right, he was about to die.
“I’m not prey! Friend! I'm a friend! Don’t fucking eat me! I won’t taste good!” He pushes himself away from Mikey abruptly, fast, too fast. Pain erupts in his ankle, hot white pain, his hands rush to his ankle and hold it. “Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” he starts to tear up, it hurts so damn bad. He can’t even think.
“Weak.” Mikey smiles at him, Takemichi gawks.
“Am not!” he shouts through his tears, still holding his twisted ankle. How dare this stupid caveman call him weak? At least Takemichi knew how to speak in full sentences and run a bath! Maybe he was a little weak but what’s so bad about that??? He got around just fine by himself thank you very much!
What a nice smile he has, his smile is the kind that makes you feel reassured, the kind that lets you know it’s all going to be alright. His smile is all sharp teeth that just a second ago had him trembling in fear. Why did Takemichi feel as if he knew this boy for years? Like he was a friend even closer to him than Akkun?
Oh shit. Akkun. He needs to get back home, and he now has a twisted ankle! How the hell is he going to get home? At this moment Takemichi realizes he might’ve fucked up. As kind as Mikey seems, he is still… Well, whatever he is. And that means that he’s dangerous. He tried to rip his throat out like ten minutes ago and now he’s immobilized. This is really really bad. “Mitchy is hurt.” and now Mikey definitely knows he’s vulnerable. “I help Mitchy.” Before Takemichi has time to process it, Mikey picks up Takemichi and throws him over his shoulder. Standing up fully now on two legs. It’s now that Takemichi realizes just how short Mikey is, in fact he’s positive that he’s actually taller than Mikey.
“What are you doing?” Takemichi squawks, strong dirty nasty hands grip his thigh so that he can’t move. God, Mikey really does reek. “I help Mitchy”. That seemed to be his final answer. “You need a bath really badly Mikey.”. The hand on his thigh sinks to his knee as he’s pulled down to face Mikey directly, all too fast. Takemichi startles and wraps his arms around Mikey’s neck for support. Eye to eye, faces all too close, Takemichi flushes and leans backwards. Mikey leans forward effectively trapping him. “What is bath?” Mikey’s face scrunched up in curiosity, his sharp canine teeth especially pointy from up this close.
“You know, um, like water… and soap on your body? And you scrub it in to get all the um, dirt off of you.” Takemichi averts his eyes, unable to stare straight into Mikey’s eyes. “Show me.” Mikey says with a renewed vigor. Takemichi gets an idea. A smart, but also very very dumb idea. “If you bring me back home, I can show you all about baths!” Mikey’s mouth flickers into a smile, Takemichi’s breath catches in his throat, he gulps. “Okay!” Mikey starts to run with Takemichi still attached to him facing forward. Mikey seemingly forgot all about the help he promised in light of this new, exciting, experience. It’s at this moment Takemichi realizes that he never even told him how to get to his home, but Mikey is following the path he was on before he was chased.
How long has Mikey been following him for? Watching him? And he had absolutely no clue. What else could be going on under his nose? He’s wrapped around some strange wolf boy who’s going to take a shower in his bath, oh god, he’s going to have to bathe him. He wonders what Mikey will look like when he’s clean. He’s going to be bathing a stranger. A feral stranger, one that could kill him. Takemichi holds on tight to Mikey. He will deal with it later. Right now, thinking feels too hard, breathing feels too hard, he feels like a sack of bricks, but at the same time as light as a grain of sand. His brain slowly glides around until it hits the corners of his head and bounces off to repeat the same motion.
“Mitchy, home?” And Mikey’s right, he turns his head to see the white picket fence surrounding his large, lonely, home. Thank God no one's home. “Mhm, my home.” Takemichi begins to let go of this short, stinky, boy, but Mikey grabs onto his thighs tight and presses him into his stomach. “Stay”. Well. That’s pretty concrete. Mikey creeps up to the front of the house, eyes predatory, scanning the area as if it isn’t safe. When they finally land in front of the door, Takemichi goes to reach for his back pocket. Mikey’s hand meets his there and Takemichi squeaks, his face flushes a bright red. “Hey! That’s my ass buddy! Hands off! I need to get the key! Off! Off boy!” Mikey scans over Takemichi’s expression, slowly he removes his hand from what he now knows is called an ass. “Is ass okay?” Takemichi freezes, he sharply exhales, and then starts to laugh, he twists his body so that he can unlock the door while still being in Mikey’s death hold.
“Can you let me down now?” Takemichi looks into Mikey’s eyes, a slight smile on his face as he says so. Mikey lets him down.
Now at his full height he can tell, he’s taller than Mikey, although only by maybe two inches. Mikey is cute like this. His eyes are wide and curious, if he had a tail surely, it’d be wagging, “Follow me.”, and Mikey does, noticing the limp in Takemichi’s walk. “Hurt, help you after… bath.” Mikey stands side by side with Takemichi and offers to support him, Takemichi smiles and declines, and keeps on limping to Mikey’s dismay. Finally, they reach the bathroom. “I’m going to get towels and some of my clothes, I can try and clean your um, fur? After your bath.” Mikey goes to follow him, “Stay here.” Mikey huffs. Mikey doesn’t understand half of what Takemichi is saying to him. Mikey has been watching Takemichi for a while, he’s been entranced by this boy, his family back home makes fun of him for it, Draken calls it puppy love, Baji tells him he doesn’t have to watch his prey that intensely. Emma tells him to spend that energy on finding a mate.But now, here Mikey is, in the black sheep's home, about to figure out what a bath is. Mikey hopes it’s a word that means we kiss and hold hands in water with a special herb, and then you stay with me where you belong, happy. But by the look of all these strange man-made utilities, it’s nothing of the sort. This room smells strongly of the scent Takemichi uses over his scent. It’s intoxicating and makes him feel dopey.
“I’m back!” Takemichi makes Mikey alert once again. He’s holding a fluffy towel and some clothes that he has, a loose white shirt with black shorts, as well as underwear he never used, although he isn’t sure if Mikey even wears underwear. I guess I’ll find out soon, he thinks. Takemichi has also changed, he is in a light undershirt and tighter fitting shorts, throwaway clothes. He would hate to damage the nice expensive clothes his family got him, so old clothes that don’t fit very well are what he’s got. Mikey eyes him looking at everything inquisitively, and then stares into Takemichi with such intensity Takemichi blushes. “Ass.” Takemichi blushes harder. He doesn’t respond, only limps over to the bathtub and turns the faucet. Mikey starts growling at the water that fill the tub. “Hey tough guys it's okay, just water, see?” he reaches his hand in there and shows that this isn’t some kind of demon liquid from hell.
Now for the awkward part. “Okay, this is going to sound weird, but um, to bathe you need to take off your clothes, like the um, the animal fur, and whatever else you have on.” Takemichi averts his eyes as he motions to his clothing. Mikey gets the idea and starts to strip. Standing there naked, he creeps closer to Takemichi. Takemichi gets to see now just how well-defined Mikey is, he has abs, deep, hard, abs. His whole chest is just impressive. Takemichi looks towards the tub, “Um, now you get in!”.
Mikey stalks his way towards the bath in the same way he did the door, he puts his foot in, and as soon as he figures out that it is indeed, just water, he’s quick to get in. “Good!” he smiles. “Really good!” Mikey is like a baby splashing and playing in the warm relaxing water. “Now for the washing part, are you ready?” Mikey nods his head, if washing was anything like bathing, then he was in for a treat. When a cloth separating Takemichi’s hand from his bare skin with some clear substance finds its way to Mikey’s shoulders and back, he melts. Mikey lets out groans of enjoyment, this is heaven, Takemichi’s soft hands paired with the cloth and warm water made him even more happy about finally pouncing on his Mitchy. Takemichi’s hands meet Mikey’s face, Mikey opens his eyes, unaware of the fact they were even closed to begin with. Takemichi rubs Mikeys face softly, Mikey reaches out with his wet hand to Takemichi’s face as well. “Come” Mikey says quietly. He feels as if the slightest bit louder he’ll break this moment, and he doesn’t want it to ever end. “Let me drain this water and then I’ll get in to wash your hair.” Takemichi’s eyes look kind.
As the water drains, the pout on Mikey’s face deepens. And when Takemichi starts it again he’s gifted the biggest smile Mikey has shown him all day. Takemichi stops the water and begins to undress. Mikey stares at him. Takemichi tries his best not to turn red. “Ass.” he says again.
“Will you stop it with that???”
“Big ass!”
“HEY!!”
Takemichi gets in and splashes water at Mikey, Mikey splashes water back at him. The two boys laugh and play until Takemichi settles him down to begin washing his hair. If Mikey thought getting his body washed was heaven, then this was like being kissed by a thousand angels. Soft fingers massage his scalp, and the scents are so Takemichi he feels as if he’s drinking him, he loves baths.
Takemichi smiles at Mikey, he really is a big puppy, he thinks. His hair is incredibly soft, and strong too, it feels amazing to just run his hands through it and knowing that Mikey was enjoying all of this made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. When Takemichi rinses Mikey’s hair, Mikey leans into his chest, he brings his hand up to the right side of Takemichi’s neck, and his mouth to the left side, he kisses him which causes him to stop breathing, and then bites. Takemichi gasps, feeling rather hot.
“Mine.” was all Mikey said
He could get used to being his.