Coming to Rest (Sex Therapist, Tsuzuki/Kain)

Tsuzuki was still half-asleep when he answered the door at just past three in the morning. He hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights yet, hoping that whoever it was could be shooed away and he could get another five hours of sleep before opening the shop. It took him a minute to recognize the wet, shivering figure huddled under the awning. The rain was coming down hard. He had heard it through the thick cement walls of his apartment, and the wind was blowing the rain onto the veranda, bits of the spray hitting his face as he opened the door.

“Come in.”

Kain seemed thinner than Tsuzuki remembered. His clothing was in disarray and he was hunched in on himself. It’d been a few months since Tsuzuki had last seen Kain, seminary and the recent opening of Tsuzuki’s café had kept them both busy. Kain seemed to shrink further in on himself when Tsuzuki flipped on the light. He’d toed off his shoes by the door but that didn’t seem to help very much. Kain’s socks were soaked and he was dripping on the carpet, a small puddle forming around his feet.

Tsuzuki sighed. There was no helping it. “Come on, let’s get you dried off.”

He started towards the bathroom. After a long moment, Kain followed, shuffling his feet. Tsuzuki couldn’t help but feel curious, Kain’s entire posture was dissonant from what Tsuzuki was used to. He pulled a large towel from the cupboard and held it out to Kain, but Kain didn’t seem inclined to take it. He raised an eyebrow and draped the towel over Kain’s head, brusquely drying Kain’s hair. That was one thing familiar about the current subdued version currently in front of him – no matter what, Kain was always a handful.

“Can you at least get your clothes off or do you need help with those too?”

Kain stiffened for a moment and then reached up. His hands shook as he tried to undo the first of the buttons on his shirt. Tsuzuki sighed again and pushed Kain’s hands away. The shirt was likely ruined. There was mud splattered on parts and it was ripped, the worst of the damage was around the neck but there were several smaller tears on the hem and sleeves. It clung to Kain’s skin and as he peeled it away he revealed a patchwork of bruises covering Kain’s chest.