head over heels

57 ~ the day after friday

[A/N - KEI. IS. SUCH. AN. INTERESTING. CHARACTER. heck i'm so excited to release his povs later on]

Evan felt like he'd blacked out the rest of friday.

He remembered Kei gently ushering him inside. He remembered Natsu making them tea. He remembered crying on the couch, then on Kei's bed. He remembered Gus nosing him gently, something like actual worry in his eyes.

He remembered Kei, completely unwilling to let go of him for even a second.

That was it really, until he woke up on Saturday morning feeling like he'd been hit by a truck, but in the way that he'd cracked his head open on the concrete so hard that he just couldn't feel much of anything.

He woke up in Kei's arms, which wrapped around him tight enough to render him breathless.

Gently, he peeled himself away and took stock of his limbs.

All intact. Surprisingly. Apart from his hip, which fucking burned.

He'd thought it was fine last night, but he'd been so distracted by everything that he'd just not told Kei. Now he wasn't really sure how too.

He hoped beyond all hopes that he hadn't fucked it up somehow. He resolved to ignore it and hope it went away.

He picked himself up on strangely unsteady legs and dragged himself to the kitchen, trying not to limp at the pain shooting up his leg. He needed coffee, maybe that'd make him feel more like a human again.

In the kitchen, he found Natsu. She sat on the bench with her laptop on her knees.

"Hello—" she said idly, not really looking up at him.

"Hey," Evan croaked, realising his voice was embarrassingly gone. Oof. He hated to think what state he'd been in the night before. God— she'd probably seen him bawling his eyes out like a total idiot—

"I meant to thank you," Natsu said suddenly.

Evan blinked, "Thank— me?"

She shrugged, "I've never seen Kei so—" she made a vague gesture, "I dunno, happy?"

"O-oh."

"I was worried about him when I left," Natsu sighed, "What with Mom and all. Her therapy tirade is tiring." Then she shrugged. "I don't know what's worse. Her being here, or her being gone. Kei doesn't like being alone. This house can get very lonely."

Evan nodded slowly, "I got that impression."

He remembered back then, back when he'd first come over. It was almost haunting, how empty it was. He couldn't imagine living here alone.

"Promise me you'll be good to him," Natsu murmured.

Evan nodded, "Yeah, I promise."

Natsu patted the bench beside her, setting her laptop down. "You want coffee?"

Evan watched her, feeling slightly dumbstruck by the normality of it all. Yesterday had been well— a lot. He felt like he still hadn't really come back from it. His head felt muddy, numb.

It was like normal was alien all over again.

"Uh," he coughed, trying to get his bearings, "Yeah, thanks."

He winced hard as he dragged himself onto the counter. 

So, Natsu made him a coffee and he just sat for a long, long moment with the girl absorbed in something mechanics related on her laptop.

He held onto the steaming hot cup tight in an attempt to warm his hands, which weren't even cold, not really, just— numb.

He sat like that until Kei stumbled out of his room blearily, relaxing as soon as he laid eyes on Evan.