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He froze at Hakuba’s words and blushed. A strangled noise escaped his throat in an attempt to say something back. His hand resting on the cheek jumped slightly before he stroked his thumb along the cheek bone, under the eye in three quick swipes before retracting it and leaning back. He tilted his head back to hide the blush that seemed to be spreading along his face and collar bone.

He bit his bottom lip and tried to ignore the way his fingers kept brushing against his skin. “Right …” He said slightly breathless and smacked a hand over his mouth.

Now he wanted to crawl away from that touch and his embarrassment. 

He really shouldn’t have said that and he knew it, but Hakuba couldn’t exactly take it back. Besides, there was so much already on the table, adding more was simply a drop in the metaphorical bucket. 

The sutures went into place without much trouble, and he recleaned the area before applying another bandage, pressing gently as he had the night before to make certain that the seal would hold tightly to his skin. 

“Sorry, I would have given you another shot of local anesthetic, but…” he smirked, glancing back up to him. “I have to admit that I forget, sometimes, that you’re not completely impervious to pain." 

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“But resting is so boring.” He whined playful. “And besides I get to feel your hands.~" 

He was digging himself even deeper in this but he was also curious as to how far Hakuba could go before he just snapped. Even though he was teasing him there was something soft in his voice. Gently he reached out and stroked the back of his hand down the side of the detective’s face. It was impulsive, yes, but somehow felt needed. Just to have and give the reassurance that he was there for him and Hakuba was still there in front of him. 

"You don’t have to undo my hard work just to feel my hands,” Hakuba said, though he really didn’t know how to feel about the implications of what he just said. The action distracted him from his thoughts, though, and he hesitated, hands stilling while Kaito touched his face. It relaxed him, somehow, and he closed his eyes just briefly to appreciate it before he set to work again. 

Bloodied cotton swabs aside, he took out a fresh suture kit to snip the damaged pieces away before getting the needle to repair it. 

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He hadn’t gotten farther than the arm of the love seat before Hakuba was snapping at him. Flinching he obeyed the command out of reflex and seat on the arm. 

“Sir, yes sir.” He replied cheekily and grinned. It was going to be different to be coddle but maybe that is what he needed. He bowed his head comfortably and relaxed.

It was impossible to resist rolling his eyes at the response, and Hakuba shook his head as he dragged the duffel over. “God, you’re so difficult,” he muttered, pulling his supplies up onto the couch to dig through. Fortunately, it was a simple matter to remove the soiled bandage and clean the area, assessing the damage with a frown.

“You are going to have to promise me that you’ll rest after this… I don’t want to restitch the same wound over and over again.”

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“Ooooo~ Hakuba. That’s going a bit fast isn’t it and thank you for the compliment.” Kaito winked and blushed a bit but stood and moved away from the detective. He reached for his belt and slowly dragged it free then unsnapped the button. Careful of his leg he slowly shifted the fitting material down his legs. Once off he swung the pants over his shoulders and leaned back against the couch to stay off his leg and to access the damage to it.

“Done.” He stated in a calm serious tone. The damage to his leg wasn’t too bad only two out of the six sutures had torn free but that didn’t mean the pain was any less. He moved stiffly towards the stair intent on get the first aid kit.

Hakuba stared, startled all over again, and glanced from Kaito down to his hand and the severed connection, taking a moment to recover. And then it was pantless Kaito that had his attention, and he blinked several times to comprehend…  

“Ah – hey now! You stay right there, I’ll handle the sutures; everything is in my duffel!” He struggled to get to his feet, not nearly so graceful or agile as Kuroba had been, and hurried to his own supplies. “You sit your ass right down and let me take care of it, Kuroba-kun!”

It was odd how they could come so far so quickly and snap right back into their banter with only seconds of separation. It left the detective’s head spinning, but he was determined to take charge. For now. 

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Out of fear that Hakuba was leaving Kaito gripped onto his hand and looked up worriedly. When the detective sat down next to him he relaxed some and leaned against him. Shoulder to shoulder he began to stretch out his legs. He hissed and jerked his knee up on his bad leg. Glancing down he watched blood start to seep through the denim. A memory of Hakuba fussing at him about popping his stitches peeked through then vanished. Unable to stop he snorted then began a steady building laugh. Till he had to cover them with his hand. It was the irony of it that got to him.

“I tore my stitches.” He sniffed through some of the giggles.

The seriousness of the conversation dissolved again as Hakuba glanced down, then up at Kaito’s face at the announcement. The expression he wore was one of pained and tried patience, jaw slacking as he ran his free hand down the side of his face. “Oh, bloody hell, Kuroba-kun! I told you not to…!  GOD!" 

He hung his head in defeat, fingers carding through his hair, rubbing at the back of his head in frustration. It was humorous, he had to admit, but it was no time for literary cycles and inter-piece references. 

”God, you’re going to have to take your pants off all over again so that I can restitch you up… bloody hell. You’re a fucking lunatic, you know?“

At least he just sounded mildly irritated instead of genuinely upset. 

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Kaito shot his head up and gave him a half glare. He was too strung out to try anything more. He laid his head back down tension had settled into his lower back and was refusing to budge. Now he was being teased and he wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not. At least now he could sympathize with those he teased.

He’d hoped for a laugh, but with that failed, the smile faded. As if the silence weren’t enough, the glare certainly conveyed what Hakuba believed he meant. He felt bad about it, too, holding onto his hand as he moved to sit against the wall next to him, looking straight ahead. 

“I do need you, too, you know.” He sighed. “And… thank you for being honest with me.”