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“Um- Vice Captain, Sir?”
Reno broke the relative silence in the back of their transport as another pothole- seriously, who was maintaining these roads?- rocked the armoured car. Vice Captain Hoshina glanced up from the book he was reading,
“Yeah? I’m listenin’.” he raised an eyebrow as he surveyed the look of slight distress on the recruits face. “Something the matter?”
“It’s just- I think Hibeno is about to throw up again, sir-”
“Wh-” he blanched, just for a split second. He snapped his book shut, tossing it aside in a hurry as he glanced over to Kafka- hands clasped over his mouth, visibly pale. “Lead with that, next time-!”
He jumped to his feet to open the back door, as Kafka audibly gagged- he’d rather not have to stop and clean up the mess halfway to the Sixth, if he could help it. Reno was making a pretty valiant attempt at helping somehow, though it seemed encouraging words didn’t exactly do much in the face of Kafka’s road sickness.
Poor Akari looked a little pale next to him- what a great idea that had been, putting the guy that gets road sick and the girl with the sympathetic gag reflex in the same transport. Poor planning on his part- better get Kafka out before he ended up with double the mess on his hands.
“Hey- jeez, stop the car already-!”
…
“Okayy, easy, big guy.” Hoshina pats him on the back, shaking his head. “Let it out.”
“Sor- hrk- ” Kafka gags, again, making a further mess- on the concrete, at least. “Sorry, Vice Captain-”
He goes to look up at him, and Hoshina has to quickly push his head back down. He didn’t need that happening in his direction, thanks.
“Keep yer head down- n’ don’t talk, for crying out loud- You’ll choke.”
“Sorry-"
“What did I just say, Hibeno-?”
Hoshina sighs, shaking his head as another wave of nausea seems to roll over Kafka before he can open his big mouth again. Thank god they hadn’t actually been in a hurry- There were no kaiju waiting to be exterminated, today. Just regular training, joint with the Sixth division. They’d left in good time early that morning, so with no real emergency to be rushing to, they could afford to pull over at the side of the road for a few minutes and let Kafka get the nausea out of his system. They’d narrowly avoided a total mess in the back of the car, this time. He’d take his wins where he could get them.
In truth, he didn’t mind the delay, he thought as he watched another of their cars go past them. They must have fallen right to the back of the line, by now… Good. He’d honestly put off getting to the Sixth for as long as he could- precious fewer minutes to spend on the same base as his brother. He rolled his eyes at the thought. There were less messy ways to delay their arrival, but this would do, as things stood.
This was fine- he was no stranger to people getting motion sick. Out of every batch of recruits, there was bound to be one or two- he’d been one of them, for a time- and he was long past being grossed out about it, that was for certain. But he could do without it being Kafka. As much as he’d usually like to see him squirm, this was quite a bit different- It didn’t exactly bring him any joy, to see him suffer through this every time. He made a mental note, as he coughed next to him, to try and work something out to alleviate it before they needed to make the journey back. Not that he wasn’t sure kafka would have tried most everything by now.
Hoshina reaches over to rub Kafkas back up and down as he shakes slightly, gagging again. He casts a glance along the side of the road, a few hundred metres down, where Reno and Ichiwaka have wandered off- with permission- to ‘stretch their legs’. As if it wasn’t an excuse to go off and be all lovey for a bit. Hoshina would have to be half blind not to see them holding hands at that distance.
Seriously, it was a straight road, and they were only a scant two hundred metres or so down. If they were trying to be sneaky, which they didn’t even have to be- he discouraged relationships in the unit, hypocrite that he was, but he wasn't gonna chew them out for it- they were doing a terrible job of it.
Putting aside the non-issue of their love life, he turns his attention back to his own- currently dry heaving at the side of the road, still. However did he get so lucky?
“Jeez. You’re sure gettin’ it rough today.” he sighs lightly, softening up on him a little. “I did warn ya at breakfast, didn’t I? ‘Long trip’, I said, ‘don’t stuff your face or you’re gonna regret it’-”
“Guh, I know…” Kafka whines, raising his head and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, groaning. “For the record, i didn’t-”
His voice wavers for a second, and Hoshina briefly flinches back, not particularly wanting to be thrown up on today. But after a beat, he seems to swallow hard and get himself back under control. Close one.
“For the record-” He continues, shuddering. “I didn’t actually eat that much, to be totally fair-”
“That so?” Hoshina tilts his head. “What’s got ya so queasy this time, then? Yer not normally this bad off.”
“I mean… ugh. It’s probably just nerves?” He sighs, shaking his head. “I dunno. We’ve not been to the Sixth before, so I’m just… eh, skittish, I guess..?”
“Nothing t’be worried about.” He reaches over, squeezing his shoulder, gently. ”They’re not gonna eat ya, Kaf. S’just another division. Same as ours.”
“Same as ours?” he looks up, questioning.
Hoshina blinks. “Well- ours is cooler, obviously . Not 100% the same, but ya get it. They’re comrades, is what I mean.”
That earns a weak laugh as Kafka shakes his head. “Gah, yeah. I know it’s silly. Just- new place and all, plus…”
He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. Hoshina leans down to look at him, head cocked to the side. “...plus? Spit it out, Kaf.”
“Well, y’know. I mean, it’s a silly thing to be worrying about. ‘specially since… Y’know, no one actually… knows about us. As it were.” He murmurs, almost imperceptible, as if he was worried the others would hear from either behind a quarter inch of armour plating, or from 200 odd metres away. “But, your brother’s the Captain, right-?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. But is that what’s makin’ ya nervous?”
“Not the fact he’s Captain. More that…” he lowers his voice to a barely audible, embarrassed mumble. “I haven’t met any of your family, before..?”
Hoshina blinks. And bursts into laughter, before he can stop himself, unable to even make an attempt to muffle it behind his hand. He vaguely hears an indignant squawk over his own cackling, and a hurried attempt at some kind of verbal defense, before it seems as though the nausea once again catches up to him, leading to them both doubled over at the side of the road, for wildly different reasons. Hoshina manages to pull himself back together first, face red, and wipe his eyes before reaching out to rub Kafkas back once again, trying to contain his remaining giggles.
“Pftha, jeez- that’s what’s gotcha all nervous?” He pats him on the back, grinning still.
“Ugh- don’t laugh-!” Kafka groans, embarrassed. “I told you it was stupid.”
“No, no. Hah, I just wasn’t expecting it-” He assures. “But jeez, ya don’t have t’worry that much about it. Did ya seriously worry yourself sick over meeting one of my folks?”
“I mean, only a little-” Kafka whines. “It was mostly the road… but yeah, a little.”
“Ya don’t have to worry about it, Kaf. Hell, you ain’t meeting him, if I can help it.”
“Wait, how come..?” Kafka looks up, blinking- Hoshinas tone had dropped, for a second- shockingly serious for how he’d been laughing a minute ago. “I mean, he’s your brother, right?”
“Mmh. We don’t get on.” He scowls, in the vague direction of Himeji city. “He’s always had a thing for breakin’ my toys, so frankly, I’d rather keep ya away from him.”
“Wait, how come I’m a toy, all of a sudden?” Kafka questions, in a whine.
“S’just for the sake of the expression- jeez, work with me here.” He grins. “Besides you’re-”
Hoshina straightens up in time to spot Iharu and Reno walking back in their direction before continuing with a possibly incriminating sentence. He coughs behind his hand, turning to them for a moment.
Kafka put his head back down, more in embarrassment than nausea at this point given the flush on his face, as Iharu went on ahead to get back in the car, patting him on the back on the way past. Reno stops next to him, leaning down slightly next to Kafka, who remains looking at the concrete, ears burning.
“Are you feeling better, sir…?” He pats him gently on the shoulder. Hoshina felt a little like brushing his hand off, but kept that impulse to himself.
“Yeah-” Kafka replies, hoarsely. “A little- still need a minute, I think-”
“Ichikawa?”
It was a little funny, how quickly that made the kid stand up straight and to attention- next to Kafka, still crouching, head down. He chuckles a little behind his hand.
“At ease. Be a pal and grab Hibino here his canteen outta the back, will ya?”
“Ah- yes, sir. Just a second-”
He watches as Reno hops back into the back of the car- and wanders over after him, hands behind his back. After a moment of rummaging, Reno retrieves the flask from Kafka's belongings and comes back to pass it to the Vice Captains waiting hand.
“Thank ya kindly.” He turns it over in his hand- still plenty heavy, mostly full. Good- he’d probably need it. He turns to address the recruits at large, chatting among themselves. “Get yourselves settled- shouldn’t be long until we're moving again.”
Akari pipes up, from the back. “Is Mr Hibeno okay, sir..?”
“Yep, juust fine. We’ll be back up ‘n going soon, so dontcha worry about a thing.” He nods, and that seems enough to put her at ease.
He returns to Kafkas side, crouching next to him and handing him his canteen. He takes it from his hands gratefully, popping it open.
“Feelin’ better?” He asks, watching as he takes small sips- he’d been ready to scold him for drinking too fast right after he’d thrown up, but he should’ve known he’d be sensible about it. It wasn’t like he was a stranger to getting queasy, between the carsickness and his old job. “We oughta get moving again, pretty soon.”
“Mhm. I think I’m okay?” He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about this all, Vice Captain…”
“I’m not rushin’ ya, to be clear.” Hoshina huffs out a laugh. “And c’mon. No one’s listenin’- y’can drop the titles until we’re back in the car.”
“Eh, I mean… sorry, then. Soushiro.” He glances away. “I feel like I’m holding everyone up, here.”
“Don’t be. I’m not exactly in a rush to go see my dear brother, so.” He shrugs, easily. “You’re doing me a favour. I don’t think anyone's complaining about getting a minute to stretch their legs, either.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Nooope, no buts. We’ll work something or other out, for ya. You’re not the first carsick recruit, ‘n you won't be the last.”
Kafka looks up like he wants to say something else in argument, but Soushiro frankly doesn't want to go back and forth over whether he should feel bad about holding everyone up or not- so he checks that no one is looking, and leans back down, grabs his chin, and kisses him. Kafka freezes for about half a second- and then pulls away with an indignant squawk, looking up at him with big eyes. Hoshina bursts out laughing again at the shocked expression on his face, holding his sides.
“You- wh-” Kafka fumbles. “That’s- I literally just threw up, dude, that’s gross-”
“Oh, jeez- your face- ” Hoshina half wheezes, wiping a tear from his eye. “Oh, I don't even care. Your face was worth it. In fact-”
He steals one more, crouching to be at his level, so he’s not making Kafka crane his neck up like the first one. He makes a similar, indignant noise into his mouth, but doesn’t immediately jump away again- he lets Hoshina hold it for a few seconds until he’s satisfied. He looks bewildered when Hoshina pulls away, and the expression is almost enough to set him off laughing again.
“Seriously-” He’s still wide eyed, but more than a little red in the face. He blinks owlishly, mumbling. “...Gross.”
“Hah. Don’t care.”
“You should, that’s- don’t lick your lips at me- dude! ”
“I just kissed you, Kaf, don’t you call me dude-”
Kafka groans, still looking morally affronted. It takes everything in Hoshina not to double over laughing again. Or kiss him again. Instead, he stands up straight, and offers Kafka a hand to get to his feet- which he accepts, and he hauls him upright. He stumbles for just a second before he gets his footing, Hoshina still steadying him, letting him lean his weight on him until he’s steady.
“Ready?” He asks.
“Mhm, yeah. I think I’ll be fine. I might ask Igarashi to swap seats with me, ‘’n sit at the window, or something…”
“Yeah, good idea.”
“Oh, and Soushiro- ow- !” Hoshina leans over and flicks his ear. “What the heck-”
“That’s Vice Captain again, now- we’re gettin’ back in.” Hoshina teases. “What were ya sayin’?”
“I was trying to thank you, jeez-” Kafka rubs his ear, whining.
“Pft. I’ll spare ya the pushups this time, in that case.” Hoshina opens the car door again, motioning him inside. “In ya get-”
Kafka clambers back in, to the tune of Reno immediately asking if he’s feeling alright, now, does he need anything- mother hen that he is. He affectionately rolls his eyes at the chatter as he settles back in his own seat, lets it go on for a few more moments as Kafka negotiates a seat swap, then claps his hands together.
“C’mon, people, get yourselves seated-” He calls out. “Let’s get this back on the road-”
There’s a resounding ‘yes, sir-’, and he signals to their driver to get them moving again- Kafka’s already looking out the window, eyes fixed on some faraway point that would almost make him look thoughtful and contemplative if Soushiro didn't know he was just trying not to throw up again.
He picks his book back up from where he tossed it aside in a hurry before they pulled over, realising that he lost his place in the commotion, no bookmark to be found. He starts skimming for the right paragraph, clicking his tongue.
…He’s got a bad taste in his mouth. Completely by his own fault, of course.
Not that he particularly regrets it.