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Akito knew it the moment he opened his eyes.
That dull, ominous weight low in his abdomen. The horrible, creeping sense of betrayal from his own body.
Mother nature's (unfortunately) monthly visit.
He saw it coming the moment he woke up feeling like he’d been hit by a truck.
Not the dramatic, metaphorical kind either. The unfortunately very real, and very specific kind, where something had plowed straight through his abdomen and decided to park there for presumably the next 5 to 7 days.
He stared at the ceiling for a long moment, breathing shallowly, already aware of the dull throb curling low in his stomach. It wasn’t unbearable... yet.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered hoarsely into his pillow.
As if on cue, the sharp twist of pain hit.
He sucked in a breath and rolled onto his side, pressing a hand against his lower abdomen. The cramps were starting to bloom outward, radiating dull soreness down his thighs and up his spine like they were trying to claim new territory.
He hasn’t had a period this bad in months.
“Of course it’s today,” he grumbled.
He dragged himself out of bed with the kind of reluctance usually reserved for his morning runs—which he usually skips on the week.
By the time he shuffled into the bathroom and confirmed the situation, the ache had sharpened from dull to pointed.
By the time he made it to the living room, it had escalated into full-on stabbing cramps.
He collapsed onto the couch, one arm flung over his eyes. “I hate this."
Moka, who had been perched on the backrest, blinked down at him.
She did not care. In fact, Akito was pretty sure she looked vaguely judgmental.
Keeki padded in from the hallway, tail flicking lazily. She hopped onto the armrest aswell, then onto the couch cushion beside Akito, peering at him with bright, unimpressed eyes.
If cats could snicker, he swore Keeki was doing it to him right now.
Absolutely no sympathy.
Another cramp twisted sharply through his abdomen.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth.
Okay.
This one was worse than usual.
His periods weren’t typically this bad. Uncomfortable, yes. Annoying, definitely. But this? This felt like someone had reached inside and was attempting to wring out his organs.
He pressed a hand to his stomach.
“Ugh…”
Toya, who had been sitting next to him on the couch with a book resting open in his lap, looked at him.
“It started?” he asked earnestly.
Akito groaned again. “Yeah.”
Toya stepped fully into the room, already holding a glass of water and the small bottle of painkillers Akito kept forgetting to take preemptively.
Of course he knew.
Toya tracked his cycles better than Akito did.
There was a calendar app on Toya’s phone with discreet little notes. Reminders. Gentle check-ins. He never made a big deal about it, just quietly adjusted things when needed.
Right. And Akito had also been trying to take his Concerta more consistently. Which meant Toya had been keeping track of that too. Though he couldn't take Concerta while he was menstruating, since it wasn't as effective.
“Here,” Toya said softly, kneeling slightly to offer him the water and painkillers.
Akito took them without protest, swallowing quickly.
Another cramp hit.
He curled more tightly.
Moka decided this was the perfect time to step directly onto his lower abdomen.
“OW— Fuck! Moka, get off!”
She did not get off.
Instead, she settled in.
Keeki, apparently deciding that this was now a group activity, hopped delicately onto Akito’s thigh and turned in a slow circle before plopping right down.
Akito stared at the ceiling.
“I’m being bullied in my own home.”
Toya set the empty glass on the coffee table and stood there for a moment, thinking. He hesitated for a second, like he was trying to remember something.
Then his expression shifted.
“Oh,” he said quietly.
Akito cracked one eye open. “What.”
Toya stood up abruptly and walked toward their bedroom.
“…Where are you going?” Akito called out weakly.
“I’ll be right back. I just remembered something...” he said.
Toya walked toward the bedroom. Akito narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
When Toya returned, he was holding—
“Is that a doll?” Akito asked, pointing at the doll. It was a stingray. Soft grey fabric dotted with white, beady black eyes, wide flat body and pectoral fins.
Toya nodded.
“Dude... you got another one?” Akito asked.
This was not unusual behavior for Toya.
He won claw machine dolls at an alarming rate. Their bedroom had an entire corner that was just… plushies. A pile—a small mountain of questionable prize acquisitions that the cats occasionally climbed up and played with.
It was weird that he bought one.
“We already have like two stingrays,” Akito added, gesturing weakly at... basically nothing. Not like he could gesture at the pile when the pile wasn't in his line of sight.
Toya shook his head slightly.
“This one is different, Akito.”
“How.”
“It’s weighted.”
Akito stared at him.
“…The hell are you talking about?”
He shifted slightly, wincing as another cramp stabbed through him.
“I already have Moka on my lap,” he continued dryly, almost sarcastic. “I don’t need another weight.”
Moka flicked her tail at him indignantly.
Toya sat carefully on the edge of the couch, holding up the plush.
“You can put this in the microwave and heat it up.” he said with a smile, almost like he was interested himself whether it worked or not.
Akito blinked.
“…What.”
“It’s meant for cramps. Or muscle aches. You heat it in thirty-second intervals so it doesn’t overheat. Up to sixty seconds total.” Toya explained. He had clearly already read the instruction manual for this plushie.
Akito stared at the stingray.
Then at his partner.
“You’re not allowed near the microwave.”
Toya’s brows drew together slightly, almost frowning. “I am.”
“The last time you microwaved something, the thing exploded the microwave.”
“That was one time."
"Yeah, in this house."
Akito couldn't argue any further as another cramp ripped through him. He tried to push himself upright. “I’ll do it myself.”
He did not get very far—as the second he engaged his core muscles, pain shot through him, forcing him back against the couch cushions with a frustrated hiss. He sucked in a sharp breath and definitely regretted the attempt.
Toya immediately set the plush aside and moved closer, one hand steadying his partner.
“Don’t,” he said. “Sit down Akito.”
Akito glared at him weakly.
“I can—”
“You can’t,”
Moka, as if sensing the shift, adjusted her position slightly higher on Akito’s stomach. Keeki crept closer too, their combined warmth at least marginally comforting.
Toya picked up the stingray again.
“I’ll heat it up properly,” he promised.
Akito squinted at him.
“…Thirty seconds.”
“Yes.”
“And if it explodes—”
“It won’t.”
“And if you burn yourself—”
“I won't, I’ll use the mitts.”
Akito sighed.
“Fine.”
Toya basically beamed, before disappearing into the kitchen. Akito could hear the microwave door open. Close.
The hum starting.
He stared at the ceiling, breathing through another wave of cramps.
Thirty seconds.
The microwave beeped.
Another pause.
Another thirty seconds.
It beeped again.
There was a faint rustle of fabric and the soft thud of the oven mitts being pulled on.
A moment later, Toya reappeared, carefully holding the stingray with both mittened hands.
It looked the same. Just slightly puffier.
He approached Akito.
“Moka, Keeki... baby, please move,” he murmured gently to the cats. He mainly needed Moka to move, since she was directly on Akito's lower stomach.
Akito didn’t have the energy to argue.
Toya lightly nudged Moka aside, lifting her just enough to clear space on Akito’s abdomen. She protested with a small 'mrou' but relocated to his hip instead.
Keeki shifted slightly but remained close. Akito thanked whatever force was not having her be all attention seeking with his partner on a day like this.
Meanwhile, Toya carefully lowered the warm stingray onto Akito’s stomach.
The heat sank in almost immediately. Akito sucked in a breath.
“Oh.”
It wasn’t scorching—since he always placed heat packs and similar over his clothes to not burn himself. The weight pressed evenly across his abdomen, the plush stingray's pectoral fins spreading outward and covering more surface area.
Toya adjusted it slightly, smoothing it so the broad fins rested comfortably across Akito’s lower stomach.
“Akito, did you know their fins are called pectoral fins? They're fused to their head and trunk, forming a broad, flat, disc-like body shape that functions as a single wing." Toya rambled. "They rely on these, rather than a tail, for movement and hunting—"
Akito chuckled. “…Flop parts, hehe.” he muttered to Toya.
Toya huffed softly.
The warmth spread deeper, seeping into the tight knot of muscle beneath.
Another cramp came—
But this time, it didn’t spike as sharply.
Akito let out a pleased sigh.
“…Okay,” he murmured. “That’s— actually... pretty nice.”
Toya’s shoulders relaxed.
“Good.”
Akito reached out blindly and grabbed the front of Toya’s shirt.
“C'mere,” he muttered.
Toya didn’t resist.
He slipped off the oven mitts and carefully settled beside Akito on the couch, adjusting so the stingray stayed in place.
Akito shifted closer immediately, pressing into Toya’s side.
“Warm,” he mumbled, half into Toya’s shoulder. Which was completely untrue by the way—Toya normally ran cooler, while he ran warmer. Maybe his drowsiness was making him switch things around... or maybe he was just that down bad.
Toya wrapped an arm around him carefully, mindful of the plush and the cats. Yet Moka decided this was now a communal heating station and climbed partially onto both of them, settling across their hips—Keeki following suit, curling against Toya’s thigh with a pleased meow.
Toya’s hand rested lightly against Akito's shoulder, thumb tracing small, absent patterns through the fabric of his shirt.
“Better?” Toya asked quietly.
Akito thought for a moment—but he really didn't have to. “…Yeah.” he replied.
Another minute passed.
Akito’s eyes drifted half-closed.
The warmth of the plush, the steady presence of Toya, the combined body heat of two cats—it created a little pocket of comfort. The cramps eased another notch.
Akito shifted slightly, pressing his face into Toya’s shoulder.
“Feels way better—holy fuck,” he muttered.
Toya smiled. “I’m glad.”
They stayed like that for a while. The stingray held its warmth steadily against Akito’s abdomen, the weight grounding in a way he hadn’t expected.
After several quiet minutes, Akito finally spoke up.
“Can you buy more of these? They’re nice.” he said drowsily.
Toya’s hand paused briefly before resuming its gentle motion.
"Of course, Aki.”