Work Text:
You know it’s coming when you get a headache you can’t explain.
You can normally pinpoint exactly what triggered the headache; dehydration, barometric pressure changes, lack of sleep, etc., but this one seems completely random. And that fills you with dread.
Blinking through the pain throbbing around your temples, you set down the items you’d been carrying across the deck, just in time to see Ryusui striding confidently towards you, navy blue cape fluttering behind him.
Your relationship with Ryusui was…. interesting at the moment. While not officially dating, it was clear to anyone with eyes that there was more than friendship between you two.
Which is why he stops in front of you, smile wide as always as he says “Ahaha! How’s my favorite crew member doing?”
His characteristic volume makes you wince slightly, and you sincerely hope he doesn’t notice.
“You know, you REALLY shouldn’t be picking favorites, captain.” You smirk, hoping the lighthearted teasing would dissuade any concern.
“An excellent point!”
Seemingly (and thankfully) oblivious to your headache, he thanks you for moving the equipment, and you talk for a bit.
He tells you about the weather in the near future (clear skies with a light breeze, based on his insane reading of the temperature and clouds), and you tell him about what you’d been doing with the crafts crew (helping Yuzuriha sew a giant hole in Chrome’s shirt after he hilariously caught it on a door handle). He’s called away after only a brief conversation though, and you feel guilty for the relief that floods you.
As you watch him walk away, your mind drifts back to your current predicament. You’d been depetrified for well over a couple years now, so this wouldn’t be your first period in the stone world.
Thankfully for you, Senku, given his curious nature, had been interested to know how the people of Ishigami village had dealt with menstruation before his arrival. While things weren’t as dire as he had imagined, they still only had cloth rags, and herbal medicine for painkillers. The cloth pad-substitute was bulky and allowed for little ease of movement. Kohaku in particular complained about this the most, given her acrobatic fighting style.
Thus, Senku recreated menstrual products for the residents of the stone world.
With the pads, he simply combined the current village design with the modern one, working with Yuzuriha to design and create reusable pads that could be secured with snap-buttons on the wings.
Tampons were apparently a little harder, since he and Yuzuriha first had to introduce the concept of them to the villagers. Kohaku hadn’t been surprised, being the tomboy she was, and had actually commended the efficiency of such a method, but the horror on some of the other villager’s faces at “you just stick something absorbent up there” was expected.
So in terms of access to the appropriate hygiene products, you were pretty set. But that only made having a period suck slightly less. You figured you had at least until tomorrow before it actually started. Fantastic.
You finish up your tasks for the day and retreat to your bunk after dinner. Briefly rifling through the stash of personal affects you kept under the bed, you make sure you have enough pads. You do, but if worst came to worst, you could always ask someone else to borrow some.
Quickly excusing yourself to the bathroom, you put one on in advance before climbing into bed, because you were NOT about to deal with bloody sheets, thank you very much.
☾︎
You knew as soon as you woke up the next morning that it was not going to be a good day. Everything hurt. The base of your spine and your hips feel stiff, your legs ache like you’ve just done the splits with no stretching, and worst of all, it feels like someone is digging a hot metal spoon into your lower stomach.
‘Well, fuck you too, Mother Nature’ you think bitterly.
You force yourself out of bed and stumble about, attempting your morning routine as efficiently as someone in multiple types of pain could do.
‘I refuse to let this fuck with my work today,’ You tell yourself, as you slip on your shoes and head out the door. ‘Everyone on this ship has a part to play, and I’m not gonna let a little pain stop me from playing mine.’
☾︎
It does, in fact, fuck with your work that day.
An hour or so after leaving your room, you were halfway across the deck with a basket of vegetables from the greenhouse when you were hit with the mother of all cramps.
You stop walking, hoping that if you just didn’t move, the pain would stop. But of course, it doesn’t. It gets worse. Before you realize what’s happening, the basket slips from your hands, sending cabbages rolling across the ground. Your aching legs shake and finally give out, and you drop to your knees, hunching over.
White hot pain overtakes your entire lower stomach, spreading back towards your spine, feeling as if actual flames were licking at your insides, searing your ovaries and leaving behind the sizzling of meat cooked on a grill. You gasp and you feel sweat begin to bead in your hairline.
It’s then that you vaguely register the telltale listing of the ship, which usually meant someone had just jerked the wheel, and the sound of quick footsteps coming towards you.
“What happened, what’s wrong?!”
It was Ryusui’s voice. You feel his cape brush your legs as he kneels down beside you. As the intense cramping finally, FINALLY begins to fade back into a dull ache, you dazedly turn your head to look up at him, ready to apologize for making a scene.
You stop with your mouth still open.
Ryusui’s usual impishness was gone, his confident smile replaced with a look of frantic concern. His eyes dart up and down your body, searching for an injury or something, anything that would tell him what happened and how he could fix it.
“I..I’m sorry it’s….its ok, I deal with this every month, I just need like a painkiller or something and I’ll be fine-”
You were still slightly out of breath, and it was hard to find the words to explain to your..boyfriend?..that you just started your period and it’s really not going great, and that you didn’t just get stabbed by an invisible assassin as your reaction would suggest.
It turns out you don’t need to say more, because as you finish speaking, a look of realization crosses his face, and his expression softens from frantic concern to just regular concern.
“Can you walk?” He says, in a surprisingly soft voice.
“Oh uh, yeah..” You say, very much not confident in that statement.
You stand shakily, and after a moment of watching you walk on visibly trembling legs, Ryusui sighs and scoops you up into his arms in a bridal carry.
You yelp. “Wha-HEY! Put me down! I said I can walk! Why even ask if you’re just gonna manhandle me anyway?!”
He doesn’t answer, instead turning and carrying you in a direction you quickly realize is the way to his personal captain’s quarters.
He carries you through the open doorway and walks to the bed, slowly lowering you down onto it. You’re too surprised to move much, and the relief of finally being able to lay down means you’re not in much of a rush to get up.
After shutting the door and unclasping his cape, he sits down next to you. His expression is unreadable for once. He’s not looking at you, gaze straight ahead and pensive, but you can still tell from where you are that he lacks the trademark firecracker eyes and bright smile. It’s a bit disconcerting, actually, seeing him without his usual expression.
After a few moments of silence, he finally speaks, voice low. “Why didn’t you just take the day off?”
He doesn’t sound accusatory, or even angry at all, but instead like he genuinely doesn’t understand why you didn’t take a sick day for something you’ve been dealing with since age 11.
You look away, exasperated. “Ryusui, honestly. This mission we’re on, it’s important. Like, ‘fate of the world’ important. Everyone on this crew was chosen, BY YOU, to help complete the mission.”
You pause and curl onto your side, hoping the new position would relieve the ever-present ache in your lower abdomen. It also means that he can’t see the humiliation in your face.
“Every part of the machine needs to work in order for it to run smoothly. One part can’t just decide to take a day off. This ship needs every crew member doing their best and working hard if we’re gonna get to America on time for that damn corn.”
It’s silent for another few moments.
“But you’re not a machine part. You’re a human.” He says.
You huff. “Yes, obviously, but you know what I meant”.
You feel his hand on your arm, thumb stroking it slightly. His palm is rough, and…really warm.
“I know you were just making an analogy, but… it says a lot about how you view yourself. Nobody expects you to be working at max efficiency all the time, and nobody will get mad if you need to rest, especially if it’s because you’re in pain.”
His words catch at something inside of you, something raw that you hadn’t even been aware of until that moment.
You think about being 12 years old and begging the gym teacher to let you sit this class out because your cramps were so bad, and getting denied with a scoff.
You remember being 15 and getting in trouble for leaving class early to go lay down in the nurses office, curling into the fetal position on the cot and wishing the pain would stop.
You remember your freshman year of college when your professor told you that your absence wouldn’t be excused if you missed class “just because” of your cycle.
And here was Ryusui, the hardest worker you knew, captain of the ship on a mission to save all of humanity, telling you earnestly and in gentle tones that it was ok to rest.
You sit up, trying to think of something to say, but as your gaze finds his sharp amber eyes, there are tears welling up in yours, and a lump in your throat that stops your voice in its tracks. You try desperately to keep from crying, because god that’s embarrassing, but your progesterone-addled brain wins over and tears start to slip down your cheeks.
Ryusui says nothing, just scoots closer to you and opens his arms, and you don’t even hesitate before wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face in his coat. He’s so warm, and he smells like carpentry and ocean spray, and though his arms feel so solid and strong around you, the hand stroking up and down your back is gentle and soothing.
The softness of it all completely overwhelms you, and you try not to sob as the tears come faster. There’s pressure on the crown of your head and you realize that he’s resting his cheek there, his long blond hair tickling the side of your face.
You both sit like that for a while, just soaking in the physical contact, you listening to his steady heartbeat, but of course cursed Mother Nature has to come and ruin that too, and you let out a pained whimper as another intense cramp overtakes you.
Ryusui pushes back a bit, and upon seeing you clutching your stomach, he stands suddenly.
“I’ve got an idea! Are you familiar with yoga poses at all?”
That familiar fiery glint has reappeared in his eyes.
“Uhh..yeah?” You say, confused as to where this was going. “I’m not sure how yoga is going to help me right now though”.
“Just trust me on this.” He grabs a large fluffy pillow from his bed. “Can you do child’s pose?”
“Yeah…” You’re even more confused now, even as you’re shifting on the bed, kneeling and spreading your knees apart to start child’s pose. “But leaning down like that, wouldn’t that make the pain worse?”
He smirks and snaps his fingers. “Haha! That’s where you’re wrong!”
And then he’s shoving the pillow lengthwise between your open knees. He kneels on the bed next to you, placing his hand between your shoulder blades and gently urging you forward. His voice is softer now as he says
“Now just lean forward and stretch your arms out towards the end of the pillow”.
You do as he says, even though you’re thoroughly doubtful of this, because it’s Ryusui, and he looks so damn excited at the prospect of maybe helping you.
It’s….wow. You turn your head to the side against the pillow, stretching your arms up slightly and around it, sort of like how you’d hug someone. There’s a slight stretch in your hip flexors, but it’s a good stretch, relieving the tightness there and at the base of your spine that had been lingering since that morning. And…holy shit. Holy SHIT. The cramping lessens more and more the longer you stay like that, the burning and tension fizzling out into a barely noticeable twinge.
“Ohhhhh my goooood.” You groan in relief, your muscles relaxing bit by bit. “Why the hell does this work so well???”
A sudden thought crosses your mind. “Wait, how the fuck did you even know to do this?”
His hand is still resting on your back, and he starts to rub gently again as he speaks.
“Ah, that’s actually an interesting story!”
You hum in contentment against the pillow, satisfied to listen to one of Ryusui’s signature long-winded stories. His voice, no matter how enthusiastic he got while telling epic tales, always had a soothing affect on you. The slight gravely quality of it reminded you of old nature documentaries, and how the narrator would lower their voice to describe what was happening on screen.
“When I was a kid”, he began, “I always wondered why people called ships ‘she’”.
You huff a small laugh. Of course he starts by talking about ships.
He continues, gesturing dramatically with his free hand. “I learned that there’s many different historical reasons for it: sailors named ships after their mother or wife, ships were sometimes named after female goddesses, and so on. So naturally, I started to think about why I called my ships ‘she’.”
“A ship isn’t controlled by the sailor, like some people think. It’s an equal exchange, ship and sailor working together to reach the destination. It’s just like a relationship should be; an equal exchange. In addition, ships are glorious, strong, and beautiful, just like women!”
As he says this, you open your eyes a bit to glance up at him, and see he’s gesturing triumphantly with his petri-scarred hand, a wicked grin plastered on his face.
“About the same time I came to this conclusion” he continues, “my private tutor was teaching me about health, and the anatomy of the human body. I learned what menstruation was, and that women had something called a period every month.”
He drops both hands to your back now, and begins to massage lightly with his thumbs and fingertips. You hum in satisfaction as he diligently starts to work out any lingering tension.
“Of course, Francois then took the liberty of filling in the gaps of that education. They taught me about gender and sexuality, and that not everyone who menstruated was a woman.”
That made sense. Based on what you’d heard from rumors and from Ryusui himself about the Nanami conglomerate, they probably would’ve given him only the most bare-bones sex ed. Teaching something more in-depth didn’t directly benefit the future of the company, or educate their future heir about how to bring them prosperity. But of course Francois, being a fantastic butler as well as Ryusui’s surrogate guardian, would step in to teach him the rest.
“Over the years I noticed a huge gap in general health knowledge with regards to female anatomy. Of course, I desired that knowledge! So I researched everything I could about it! I wanted to give all the beautiful women in my life the proper care, comfort, and respect they deserved! And also Francois, even though they’re not a woman! Anyway, the pose was something I saw a yoga instructor do online. The video had hundreds of comments from people talking about how much it helped them.”
‘Ah, so that’s how he knew’ you thought. You knew Ryusui yearned to have and know everything, but you were so used to men being ignorant, or even outright disgusted by the subject.
But now that you thought about it, of course Ryusui was different. This guy loved and respected every woman. He thought every woman was beautiful, but not just in appearance. He thought they were beautiful in spirit, mind, and heart.
He treated every single one as his equal, and would do anything to ensure their happiness.
You were startled from your thoughts by a soft but firm knocking at the door.
You jump a little, but strangely, Ryusui doesn’t seem surprised. He stands from the bed and walks to the door, peering through the small peep hole. He then opens the door to reveal Francois standing outside.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” they address Ryusui first, and then look to you, holding up an object you hadn’t noticed them carrying “but I’ve brought some heat packs for you”.
You sputter. “What? How did you…I mean, thank you! But how did you know?”
Francois steps through the doorway, nods at Ryusui (who grins back at them), and walks to the bed.
“I observed you fall earlier, and noted you seemed to be in a very specific kind of pain, localized around your lower abdomen, based on how you were hunched over. From that, I assumed you were most likely experiencing menstrual cramps”. They say matter-of-factly, handing you the heat packs.
You were speechless, but Ryusui simply laughs.
“Ha ha! I should have expected that you’d deduce what was going on, Francois!”
Overcoming your momentary disbelief, you take the packs from Francois, turning one of them over in your hands. It’s wrapped in plastic, and seemingly vacuum sealed. Your eyes widen as you recognize the concept.
“Oh! It’s like one of those hand warmers!” You find a divot in one corner of the packaging, and rip the plastic open to reveal a small, rectangular, sack-like item that, when unfolded, was large enough to cover your entire lower torso.
You shake it a bit, then place it against your stomach, on top of the pillow underneath you. The steadily growing warmth instantly soothes your pain even more, and you sigh.
“Thanks! But…why do we even have these?”
Francois straightens. “Senku made them for the strength team to combat muscle stiffness.” Their lips turn up slightly before they add “Ginro also seems to be using them to keep warm in the morning while on lookout duty”.
You giggle a bit at that. ‘Looks like Senku’s been busy trying to keep the crew sane.’
“Thank you Francois….you’re the best.”
A small smile appears on their face and they bow politely. “I will leave you and Master Ryusui to your….conversation”.
You blush a little at their pause.
They take their leave, and Ryusui closes the door behind them, chuckling.
“They really are the best butler in the world. I would’ve never figured out what was wrong if you hadn’t said anything.” He muses.
“Even with your apparent vast knowledge of the menstrual cycle?” You tease.
He smiles and shakes his head.
You slowly begin to come out of the yoga pose, stretching your arms above your head. You felt better, definitely, but your legs would undoubtedly still shake if you tried to stand, and you were sure to have more cramps later.
Still, you sigh. “I should get back to work. Thank you for the break, and please thank Francois again for me for the heat packs!”
You move to stand, but are stopped by Ryusui’s hand on your shoulder.
“Not so fast! When I said it’s ok to take a break, I meant it! You’re gonna stay here and rest.” His smile is still there, but his expression is determined.
“But-!”
“Nope!” He interrupts your attempted protest. “You’re staying here, and I’m staying with you!”
“What?! But you’re the captain! Aren’t you needed to…I don’t know…steer the ship, or….batten the hatches, or whatever?”
He chuckles at your attempt at using sailing terms. “The weather today is calm, so it should be easy enough for another crew member to steer for a few hours.”
He sits down on the bed again and leans back against the pillows, crossing an arm behind his head and patting his chest with the other. You blush, realizing he wants you to lay on him.
“A-are you sure?”
Ryusui nods, smiling softly, and splays his bent knees apart. He then opens his free arm, beckoning with that hand.
You scoot towards him, making sure the heat pack is still pressed to your stomach, and slowly lay between his legs, letting your head rest on his chest. You feel his arms come up to rest on your back again.
You feel completely enveloped by him, like a nice warm, protective shield from the world, and from the pain you’d experienced that day.
He hums in contentment, and you turn your head to look at him.
This close, you can see all the little details of his face. The dark hair of his bold eyebrows, his sharp brown eyes, and, to your surprise, the faint freckles dotting his nose and cheeks.
Not thinking, you reach a hand up to brush over them. “Oh! You’ve got freckles! I’ve never noticed.”
It’s only after a few moments of brushing your thumb across the constellation patterns on his cheeks that you notice his expression.
Ryusui’s eyes are half-lidded, and while he’s definitely looking down at you, the sharpness in his gaze is absent, and his eyes are glazed over. He’s also definitely blushing. The freckles you’d been studying were slowly disappearing beneath the redness in his cheeks. You don’t think you’ve ever seen Ryusui blush before.
You squeak, and start to lift your hand away from his face. “Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
Lightning-fast, a hand comes up to grab your wrist. It loosens after a moment, and slides up to cover the back of yours. He presses your hand back to his cheek, leaning his face into the contact and closing his eyes.
“Mmmyeah.” He murmurs. “Most of my day is spent in the sun. ‘Course I have freckles.”
His voice is low and quiet, and he looks so….subdued, but not in a bad way. He’s not his usual boisterous self, but he looks relaxed and…satisfied. His expression kind of reminds you of a cat being scratched in its favorite spot.
You smile fondly. “That’s true. I guess I just never got close enough to your face to notice.”
He opens his eyes a bit at that, and you can tell he’s just realized your proximity. You watch his gaze slip down to your mouth, and slowly back up, until you’re making eye contact. He’s gazing at you from beneath his eyelashes, and there’s a silent question there; a request for permission.
You smile softly, and nod. He moves his other hand to cup your jaw, and it’s so gentle it’s almost reverent.
The way he connects your lips is reverent too. His mouth moves against yours, gentle and slow, almost lazy. There’s no rush to it. You brush your thumbs across his cheeks again, and he hums contentedly into the kiss, slipping his fingers through the hair at the sides of your head.
When you pull back, he’s grinning like a madman.
“What’s that look for?” You ask incredulously. It’s the same look he gets when he and Senku scheme about money.
“Aha, it’s just that you got on my case about not picking favorites earlier, and here you are forcing my hand!” He says, cheshire grin morphing into a lopsided smirk as he tries to hide it.
‘Jesus fucking Christ. This guy…’
You blush and push his face away, groaning, trying to think of something to top that as he bursts out laughing at your reaction.
You stop struggling and watch his head tilt back, his sharp canines fully visible, smile lighting up his entire face. You sigh internally. ‘God, he’s pretty.’
☾︎
“Y’know” he says, “way back when, people used to believe that the menstrual cycle was tied to the phases of the moon.”
You were currently lying in child’s pose again, with Ryusui kneeling behind you, massaging your lower back and hips.
He’s been talking for a while, but you definitely don’t mind. He keeps his voice soft to match the ministrations of his fingers on your back. You’re not falling asleep, but you still feel as if you’re drifting, relaxation seeping into your bones.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. The lunar cycle and the menstrual cycle are both around the same length, so people thought they were connected.” You say, your voice muffled slightly by the pillow you rest your face against.
You inhale sharply as Ryusui leans down to press a gentle kiss to the space between your shoulder blades.
“How poetic would THAT be if it was actually true? Your cycle controlled by the same force that controls the tides?” He murmurs against your shirt.
He snickers a bit after he says it, like he realizes how ridiculous and sappy he sounds. “I’d have a much easier time preparing if that was the case.”
You smile fondly. Even though you’re faced away from him, you can hear the affection in his voice. That was a promise he just made, you realized. He was telling you he’d be taking care of you every time you went through this.
“That’s ok” you assure him, “I’ll do the tracking, you just…keep a spot on your bed warm for me.”