'Black and Blue' (Hikari Sentai Maskman, Kenta/Akira, PG-13)
Fandom: Hikari Sentai Maskman
Pairing: Kenta/Akira
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for the entire series
Author's note: This is my first time doing this kind of challenge, and I've just started trying to write for these two, so sorry if the quality's not that great. =/
Disclaimer: Not mine
#1, Air:
Ever since they lost Akira to Unas it’s been getting harder and harder for Kenta to breathe, until he has to literally force the air into his lungs now.
#2, Apples:
Kenta’s lived with Akira and his apple addiction long enough to know that Akira’s asking him “What do you wanna do today?” in the middle of chewing the fruit.
#3, Beginning:
When he first meets them, they all seem so ready for anything that Kenta’s suddenly not sure he belongs here anymore, but then the kid in the baggy coat comes up to him and talks to him, and the then he feels a little more easy about the task at hand.
#4, Bugs:
Kenta knows that Akira’s more… abrasive traits tend to bug the rest of the team, but it’s never really bothered him that much.
#5, Coffee:
Akira’s never been too fond of tasting coffee when he kisses Kenta good-bye in the morning, but he can’t expect someone older (especially when they were as old as Kenta) to have his youthful energy, so he doesn't complain.
#6, Dark:
“It’s dark, so I’ll walk you home,” Kenta ignores the protests as he leads Akira back-- Maskman or not, he’s still not letting someone who just turned sixteen wander around the city at night.
#7, Despair:
He wants to stop, just stop and give into the despair of knowing that Tube and Unas have taken Akira from him… but he also knows that he and the rest of his friends are the only chance Akira has left... and that if Akira were here now he would’ve punched him silly for even thinking like that.
#8, Doors:
His arms are full of the care package his mother sent him, so Kenta holds the doors open for him as Akira staggers into his room-- somewhere between trying to keep the box from falling and keeping himself from falling, he manages a thank you.
#9, Drink:
He’s exhausted from training, so it takes Akira a moment to notice that Kenta is offering a sip from his water bottle-- he grabs it, and several greedy gulps later smiles as he hands the bottle back to a wide-eyed Kenta.
#10, Duty:
Kenta isn’t just Kenta anymore, he’s also Black Mask with a duty to the earth, which is why things could never work out with Miyuki… or Akira.
#11, Earth:
Akira’d had him pegged the moment he saw him, an earthy, earnest, but overall inept guy from the mountains… and then he saw Kenta in action.
#12, End:
He was so happy that the search had ended and that Kenta was within reach again that Akira never noticed the look of blind terror on his friend’s face when they found him… at least, not until Kenta broke away from him.
#13, Fall:
It had been like falling into darkness, and he was stumbling desperately to find his way home, only he got more lost each time he tried… but then he heard Kenta and the others call out to him, so he followed their voices and found his way back up to the light.
#14, Fire:
The polite thing would have been to say thank you, but Akira was too frozen to do anything but get as close to the fire Kenta had built as he could without burning himself-- and realize that knowing someone who’d grown up in the wilderness came in handy sometimes.
#15, Flexible:
Akira is quick and flexible in his attacks, keeping Baraba off balance long enough for Kenta to land the hard hits, and they keep moving in the unconscious rhythm they’ve always seemed to have as the battle continues.
#16, Flying:
He’s been in machines that can dig under the ground and fly through the air, but for Kenta nothing quite beats the simple satisfaction in being alone with Akira.
#17, Food:
Kenta's mother died before he could remember, so he doesn't expect to understand just how deeply Akira misses his mother (or the betrayal he felt when Baraba's mother lied to him), but he's hoping that with his attempt at home cooked food (keyword: attempt), he might be able to easy both aches.
#18, Foot:
… Finally, finally Akira gives him something similar to a smile before he goes off to bed, and as he walks away, his footsteps the only sound in the hallway, and even though this was the best case scenario Kenta can’t shake off the feeling that he should have done something else… only he’s not sure what.
#19, Grave:
Akira’s mother said he was where he was every Thursday, visiting his father’s grave, so Kenta drove out there and made his way through the cemetery until he spotted him-- but then stopped mid-step, knowing that this was something his friend needed to do alone… but he wants Akira to know that he’s here for him once he’s done.
#20, Green:
“I’m no chef, so I’m not sure what this is, but I’m pretty sure that it shouldn’t be green,” Akira says to himself as he tosses out whatever it was Kenta had stuffed in his fridge since God knew when-- good thing he was here now to make sure Kenta actually ate his food instead of letting it turn to mold.
#21, Head:
He’s going to get a swelled head, Kenta thinks to himself as Akira goes over how he single-handedly defeated Kiros (for the third time), but after everything Akira’s been through maybe he’s earned the right to brag-- a little.
#22, Hollow:
Later, Akira corners him and makes him tell him everything that he did when he was Unas-- Kenta tried to avoid the topic at first, but Akira could be very persuasive when he wanted to be (especially with eyes as dark as his were)-- and when it was over, and Akira looked up at him and said, “I really did all of that?” in such a hollow tone, he suddenly wishes he wasn’t so easily persuaded.
#23, Honor:
He's not sure if it's Kenta's honor or some misguided sense of chivalry that's keeping him from acting on the spark that both of them know is there-- so Akira decides to act on it and jumps him.
#24, Hope:
When it’s Akira-- Akira, not Unas wearing Akira’s face-- who blinks at them in understandable confusion, Kenta feels hope swell up in him for the first time since this whole horrible thing happened.
#25, Light:
Akira groaned as the first rays of morning light hit him before burying his face in the crook of Kenta’s arm-- this was his day off damn it, and he was planning to enjoy every minute of it.
#26, Lost:
If what Prince Igam says is true, and Kenta truly has lost Akira to Unas, then he will make damn sure that Igam pays for that.
#27, Metal:
Akira’s swordmanship-- moving so fast that he’s really nothing more than a flash of metal-- never ceases to amaze Kenta.
#28, New:
When Akira kisses Kenta's neck, the sensation is so sudden and good and new that the gasp comes out on its own.
#29, Old:
Now that his mother’s gotten older Akira’s taken over the shop, and while he misses seeing his friends everyday, Kenta’s regular visits keep him from getting lonely.
#30, Peace:
So much of Akira's life has been about preparing for/battling Tube that the idea of peace still seems... odd, but as he wakes up with Kenta next to him, he realizes that there are parts of this whole peace thing that he could get used to.
#31, Poison:
When Unas's gaze falls upon the warrior clad in dark armor, he feels... something, but then Igam's words seep into him like poison, and his mission is clear to him once more.
#32, Pretty:
He’s seen prettier girls than her before, Akira sulks silently as Kenta slobbers over the drab young woman who asked him for directions-- hell, even he’s prettier than her.
#33, Rain:
Akira was about to complain about how the rainy weather had ruined any chances for training today when Kenta (in the middle of a rainy day nap) unconsciously snuggled against his shoulder, and suddenly he was trying to deal with Momoko and Haruka gushing on about how cute they looked together.
#34, Regret:
Akira knows that it was Unas, not him who tried to kill his friends… but then he’ll notice that faint scar on Kenta’s leg as he gets dressed for the day, and all the old regrets comes rushing back again.
#35, Roses:
Akira wasn’t exactly Kenta imagined his one true love to be like-- that had usually involved a pretty girl with vague features, candy, and roses-- but Akira was proving to be a lot better than anything he could ever imagine.
#36, Secret:
Momoko thinks it's weird that Akira of all people is trying to keep what he has with Kenta a secret-- but if he's trying (and failing) to keep them from finding out it must be real, not just some silly crush, and she knows that she has to play along, at least until they feel they can tell them.
#37, Snakes:
Kenta feels like a snake: Takeru's still nursing a broken heart over Mio-- no, Princess Ial-- and here he is with Akira... but when he is with Akira, nothing else seems to matter.
#38, Snow:
It's snowing outside again, but Kenta doesn't mind: Akira is curled up next to him, and that's all the warmth he'll ever need.
#39, Solid:
Akira peeks over his shoulder once, then twice-- and Kenta is still there... and then he wonders who he was trying to kid as he runs up to him and kisses him as hard as he can, losing himself in Kenta's solid warmth.
#40, Spring:
"Look, flower buds-- guess spring is finally here," Akira says as he tugs on a branch, and smiles up at Kenta-- who smiles back, but thinks to himself that watching Akira's face light up is much more enjoyable than a few flowers.
#41, Stable:
Things are quiet now-- stable even, Akira realizes: he'll still have that dark blur of hazy, violent memories in the back of his mind... but he'll also have Kenta to keep it at bay.
#42, Strange:
“No, you didn’t,” Kenta murmurs as he lets one hand rest against the side of Akira’s face-- it’s… strange that Kenta would reach out like that, but Akira is in no mood to pull away-- “It was always Unas.”
#43, Summer:
It's summer now, and the heat makes training all the more difficult, but when Kenta sees Akira pushing himself even harder, he knows that he's found his inspiration.
#44, Taboo:
Considering what happened to Takeru and Ial, and Ryo and his love, sometimes Kenta wanders if maybe fate's trying to tell them that a Maskman in a relationship is a taboo... and then Akira thwaps him, reminding him that they're just fine, even after the whole thing with Unas, and if that isn't fate's blessing, he has no freaking clue what it.
#45, Ugly:
Kenta's going to be sporting an ugly bruise for the next few days, but right now he's too happy knowing that their training has finally paid off and Akira's found a way around his defenses to care-- and judging from the way he's bouncing around, Akira feels the same way.
#46, War:
Akira doesn't understand why Commander Sugata is only letting Kenta help Takeru sneak into Tube's territory (we're all part of this war, damn it), all he understands is if Kenta gets killed while he was just standing around here, he'll... he doesn't know what he'll do.
#47, Water:
Kenta comes to his room in nothing but a towel, wanting to go on about the day (you'd never guess, but he's comfortable around you he can talk you ear off), and Akira just nods his head at the right moments, because if Kenta keeps talking he won't notice that his attention is currently fixed on the beads of water still trailing down his body.
#48, Welcome:
Kenta tries to catch his breath, but when Akira's looking at him like that-- face flushed, eyes dark and intense-- he realizes he's fighting a losing battle... so instead he kisses him again (it's not nearly as passionate as Akira's was, but not everyone could be as passionate as Akira) as he murmurs, "Um, you're welcome?"
#49, Winter:
When Kenta comments that he’s been unusually cuddly after sex lately, Akira barks back that it’s winter; it’s cold and he needs all the extra heat he can get-- only there’s no bite in his tone when he does.
#50, Wood:
Kenta unloads the fire wood from his car-- now that Akira's here with him the woods really are his home again, and he wants his-- their home to be cozy as humanly possible.
Pairing: Kenta/Akira
Theme set: Delta
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for the entire series
Author's note: This is my first time doing this kind of challenge, and I've just started trying to write for these two, so sorry if the quality's not that great. =/
Disclaimer: Not mine
#1, Air:
Ever since they lost Akira to Unas it’s been getting harder and harder for Kenta to breathe, until he has to literally force the air into his lungs now.
#2, Apples:
Kenta’s lived with Akira and his apple addiction long enough to know that Akira’s asking him “What do you wanna do today?” in the middle of chewing the fruit.
#3, Beginning:
When he first meets them, they all seem so ready for anything that Kenta’s suddenly not sure he belongs here anymore, but then the kid in the baggy coat comes up to him and talks to him, and the then he feels a little more easy about the task at hand.
#4, Bugs:
Kenta knows that Akira’s more… abrasive traits tend to bug the rest of the team, but it’s never really bothered him that much.
#5, Coffee:
Akira’s never been too fond of tasting coffee when he kisses Kenta good-bye in the morning, but he can’t expect someone older (especially when they were as old as Kenta) to have his youthful energy, so he doesn't complain.
#6, Dark:
“It’s dark, so I’ll walk you home,” Kenta ignores the protests as he leads Akira back-- Maskman or not, he’s still not letting someone who just turned sixteen wander around the city at night.
#7, Despair:
He wants to stop, just stop and give into the despair of knowing that Tube and Unas have taken Akira from him… but he also knows that he and the rest of his friends are the only chance Akira has left... and that if Akira were here now he would’ve punched him silly for even thinking like that.
#8, Doors:
His arms are full of the care package his mother sent him, so Kenta holds the doors open for him as Akira staggers into his room-- somewhere between trying to keep the box from falling and keeping himself from falling, he manages a thank you.
#9, Drink:
He’s exhausted from training, so it takes Akira a moment to notice that Kenta is offering a sip from his water bottle-- he grabs it, and several greedy gulps later smiles as he hands the bottle back to a wide-eyed Kenta.
#10, Duty:
Kenta isn’t just Kenta anymore, he’s also Black Mask with a duty to the earth, which is why things could never work out with Miyuki… or Akira.
#11, Earth:
Akira’d had him pegged the moment he saw him, an earthy, earnest, but overall inept guy from the mountains… and then he saw Kenta in action.
#12, End:
He was so happy that the search had ended and that Kenta was within reach again that Akira never noticed the look of blind terror on his friend’s face when they found him… at least, not until Kenta broke away from him.
#13, Fall:
It had been like falling into darkness, and he was stumbling desperately to find his way home, only he got more lost each time he tried… but then he heard Kenta and the others call out to him, so he followed their voices and found his way back up to the light.
#14, Fire:
The polite thing would have been to say thank you, but Akira was too frozen to do anything but get as close to the fire Kenta had built as he could without burning himself-- and realize that knowing someone who’d grown up in the wilderness came in handy sometimes.
#15, Flexible:
Akira is quick and flexible in his attacks, keeping Baraba off balance long enough for Kenta to land the hard hits, and they keep moving in the unconscious rhythm they’ve always seemed to have as the battle continues.
#16, Flying:
He’s been in machines that can dig under the ground and fly through the air, but for Kenta nothing quite beats the simple satisfaction in being alone with Akira.
#17, Food:
Kenta's mother died before he could remember, so he doesn't expect to understand just how deeply Akira misses his mother (or the betrayal he felt when Baraba's mother lied to him), but he's hoping that with his attempt at home cooked food (keyword: attempt), he might be able to easy both aches.
#18, Foot:
… Finally, finally Akira gives him something similar to a smile before he goes off to bed, and as he walks away, his footsteps the only sound in the hallway, and even though this was the best case scenario Kenta can’t shake off the feeling that he should have done something else… only he’s not sure what.
#19, Grave:
Akira’s mother said he was where he was every Thursday, visiting his father’s grave, so Kenta drove out there and made his way through the cemetery until he spotted him-- but then stopped mid-step, knowing that this was something his friend needed to do alone… but he wants Akira to know that he’s here for him once he’s done.
#20, Green:
“I’m no chef, so I’m not sure what this is, but I’m pretty sure that it shouldn’t be green,” Akira says to himself as he tosses out whatever it was Kenta had stuffed in his fridge since God knew when-- good thing he was here now to make sure Kenta actually ate his food instead of letting it turn to mold.
#21, Head:
He’s going to get a swelled head, Kenta thinks to himself as Akira goes over how he single-handedly defeated Kiros (for the third time), but after everything Akira’s been through maybe he’s earned the right to brag-- a little.
#22, Hollow:
Later, Akira corners him and makes him tell him everything that he did when he was Unas-- Kenta tried to avoid the topic at first, but Akira could be very persuasive when he wanted to be (especially with eyes as dark as his were)-- and when it was over, and Akira looked up at him and said, “I really did all of that?” in such a hollow tone, he suddenly wishes he wasn’t so easily persuaded.
#23, Honor:
He's not sure if it's Kenta's honor or some misguided sense of chivalry that's keeping him from acting on the spark that both of them know is there-- so Akira decides to act on it and jumps him.
#24, Hope:
When it’s Akira-- Akira, not Unas wearing Akira’s face-- who blinks at them in understandable confusion, Kenta feels hope swell up in him for the first time since this whole horrible thing happened.
#25, Light:
Akira groaned as the first rays of morning light hit him before burying his face in the crook of Kenta’s arm-- this was his day off damn it, and he was planning to enjoy every minute of it.
#26, Lost:
If what Prince Igam says is true, and Kenta truly has lost Akira to Unas, then he will make damn sure that Igam pays for that.
#27, Metal:
Akira’s swordmanship-- moving so fast that he’s really nothing more than a flash of metal-- never ceases to amaze Kenta.
#28, New:
When Akira kisses Kenta's neck, the sensation is so sudden and good and new that the gasp comes out on its own.
#29, Old:
Now that his mother’s gotten older Akira’s taken over the shop, and while he misses seeing his friends everyday, Kenta’s regular visits keep him from getting lonely.
#30, Peace:
So much of Akira's life has been about preparing for/battling Tube that the idea of peace still seems... odd, but as he wakes up with Kenta next to him, he realizes that there are parts of this whole peace thing that he could get used to.
#31, Poison:
When Unas's gaze falls upon the warrior clad in dark armor, he feels... something, but then Igam's words seep into him like poison, and his mission is clear to him once more.
#32, Pretty:
He’s seen prettier girls than her before, Akira sulks silently as Kenta slobbers over the drab young woman who asked him for directions-- hell, even he’s prettier than her.
#33, Rain:
Akira was about to complain about how the rainy weather had ruined any chances for training today when Kenta (in the middle of a rainy day nap) unconsciously snuggled against his shoulder, and suddenly he was trying to deal with Momoko and Haruka gushing on about how cute they looked together.
#34, Regret:
Akira knows that it was Unas, not him who tried to kill his friends… but then he’ll notice that faint scar on Kenta’s leg as he gets dressed for the day, and all the old regrets comes rushing back again.
#35, Roses:
Akira wasn’t exactly Kenta imagined his one true love to be like-- that had usually involved a pretty girl with vague features, candy, and roses-- but Akira was proving to be a lot better than anything he could ever imagine.
#36, Secret:
Momoko thinks it's weird that Akira of all people is trying to keep what he has with Kenta a secret-- but if he's trying (and failing) to keep them from finding out it must be real, not just some silly crush, and she knows that she has to play along, at least until they feel they can tell them.
#37, Snakes:
Kenta feels like a snake: Takeru's still nursing a broken heart over Mio-- no, Princess Ial-- and here he is with Akira... but when he is with Akira, nothing else seems to matter.
#38, Snow:
It's snowing outside again, but Kenta doesn't mind: Akira is curled up next to him, and that's all the warmth he'll ever need.
#39, Solid:
Akira peeks over his shoulder once, then twice-- and Kenta is still there... and then he wonders who he was trying to kid as he runs up to him and kisses him as hard as he can, losing himself in Kenta's solid warmth.
#40, Spring:
"Look, flower buds-- guess spring is finally here," Akira says as he tugs on a branch, and smiles up at Kenta-- who smiles back, but thinks to himself that watching Akira's face light up is much more enjoyable than a few flowers.
#41, Stable:
Things are quiet now-- stable even, Akira realizes: he'll still have that dark blur of hazy, violent memories in the back of his mind... but he'll also have Kenta to keep it at bay.
#42, Strange:
“No, you didn’t,” Kenta murmurs as he lets one hand rest against the side of Akira’s face-- it’s… strange that Kenta would reach out like that, but Akira is in no mood to pull away-- “It was always Unas.”
#43, Summer:
It's summer now, and the heat makes training all the more difficult, but when Kenta sees Akira pushing himself even harder, he knows that he's found his inspiration.
#44, Taboo:
Considering what happened to Takeru and Ial, and Ryo and his love, sometimes Kenta wanders if maybe fate's trying to tell them that a Maskman in a relationship is a taboo... and then Akira thwaps him, reminding him that they're just fine, even after the whole thing with Unas, and if that isn't fate's blessing, he has no freaking clue what it.
#45, Ugly:
Kenta's going to be sporting an ugly bruise for the next few days, but right now he's too happy knowing that their training has finally paid off and Akira's found a way around his defenses to care-- and judging from the way he's bouncing around, Akira feels the same way.
#46, War:
Akira doesn't understand why Commander Sugata is only letting Kenta help Takeru sneak into Tube's territory (we're all part of this war, damn it), all he understands is if Kenta gets killed while he was just standing around here, he'll... he doesn't know what he'll do.
#47, Water:
Kenta comes to his room in nothing but a towel, wanting to go on about the day (you'd never guess, but he's comfortable around you he can talk you ear off), and Akira just nods his head at the right moments, because if Kenta keeps talking he won't notice that his attention is currently fixed on the beads of water still trailing down his body.
#48, Welcome:
Kenta tries to catch his breath, but when Akira's looking at him like that-- face flushed, eyes dark and intense-- he realizes he's fighting a losing battle... so instead he kisses him again (it's not nearly as passionate as Akira's was, but not everyone could be as passionate as Akira) as he murmurs, "Um, you're welcome?"
#49, Winter:
When Kenta comments that he’s been unusually cuddly after sex lately, Akira barks back that it’s winter; it’s cold and he needs all the extra heat he can get-- only there’s no bite in his tone when he does.
#50, Wood:
Kenta unloads the fire wood from his car-- now that Akira's here with him the woods really are his home again, and he wants his-- their home to be cozy as humanly possible.