Chapter Text
When they started dating, Ganji adored seeing William walking around in his hoodies and sweatpants. Winter had rolled around, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary for everyone to be bundling up. As a plus, the man had several cute animal sets, some with ears on the hoods or tails on the back of the pants, if not both. After a while, however, it became a concern.
The taller man refused to take off anything so long as Ganji was around, he wasn’t sure if he would take his jackets off around anyone else. At some point, bandages started poking out from underneath William’s sleeves, and that’s when the batter started to question his boyfriend. Toward the end of fall, everyone saw an increase in the amount of matches they had, and almost every rescuer and kiter suffered from this change the most. William, unfortunately, would never admit that fact.
For the most part, he’d blame some random mark on falling in the kitchen, or slipping after a floor had been mopped. Of course, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable. William was one of the most accident prone people Ganji had ever seen in his life. It wasn’t until early on a Sunday morning that he knew for certain that big idiot was lying about how he was getting hurt.
Normally, Sundays were Ganji’s days to sleep in. He’d often fallen asleep in William’s bed, entirely wrapped around his lover like a koala. Waking up in the morning to see the man still asleep had become part of his routine over the past couple of months, so one could imagine the pout on his face when he woke up to find his real life teddy bear nowhere in sight.
He grumbled to himself after rolling out of bed, grabbing one of the other’s favorite hoodies from his closet and pulling it over his head. He always felt so small when he realized an oversized hoodie on William was like a dress on him, and he could barely see his shorts.
“What’s he even doing this early? I told him I’d make breakfast.. We’re lucky if the manor isn’t burned to the ground when I get down there.”
There were several glasses clinking in the kitchen by the time Ganji got there. He crept into the doorway and pushed the door open just enough to see who was inside. Naib, Emily, and Mike were all gathered at the sink, the acrobat making fun of the mercenary for not being able to reach something, then handing him a container of sugar. It looked like Emily pulled her gloves on before walking over to the table, but what the hell was she doing working on someone so damn early?
He wasn’t sure he wanted it, but he got his answer when he pushed the door all the way open.
God fucking damn it, he should have stayed in bed.
William was seated at the table, a battered and bruised arm outstretched so the doctor could see it. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he could tell he wasn’t in good shape. Ganji stepped toward the table, and everyone turned to see him when he walked in. Naib bit his lip and turned back around to make whatever food he’d been prepping, and Mike even stopped laughing. All four people who were already in the kitchen muttered a small ‘good morning’ and went about what they were doing. William lifted his head from the table when Emily grabbed his hand to take a better look at his arm, and his heart dropped the moment he laid eyes on Ganji.
Nothing could ever make him forget the dejected look his lover wore, how quickly tears accumulated in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks.
“Ganji, I-”
“You’re what, William?” The shorter of the two replied in a stoic tone. “You’re hurt. I asked you, and I asked you every day what was wrong, why your arm did that.. That thing! Every time I grabbed it, and you kept telling me you were fine! Slipping down the stairs doesn’t do that, William! Falling doesn’t do that, and I know you’re not falling down every minute of the day. How could you lie to me like that?”
Although the only one who was physically harmed at the moment was William, Ganji was torn in more ways than one. He knew it wouldn’t help to yell, he needed to keep his composure. It just stung, seeing his boyfriend hurt like this. The fact that he felt the need to try and tough it out, to deal with his injuries alone. Emily was only helping him now because he most likely didn’t want anything to get infected, and there were quite a few open wounds trailing from his shoulder to his fingertips. His other arm was probably no different.
“I just figured that since I was in so many matches, I could wait until they were all over to come see Em or something. I didn’t want to say anything because I was fine with it. And, I didn’t lie about being fine! See? I’m in one piece. A couple bandages, stitches, and some really heavy painkillers, and I’ll be ready to bounce back in no time. No big deal!”
“No big deal? No big deal, William?! You big dumbass, you could have died! Why can’t you get it through your head that you can’t be everything for everyone?”
While poor Emily was stuck between the feuding couple, Naib and Mike exchanged a glance that screamed ‘I’m getting the fuck out of here’. The two left the kitchen, gently closing the door behind them and darting toward the ballroom. Emily was going to ask them to stop before things escalated, but it was easier to just stay quiet and finish up what she needed to do.
A small ‘sorry’ was all the forward could muster after Emily stitched him up and left, leaving only Ganji and William in the kitchen. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t get the words out the way he wanted. He would have promised not to do it again, to take care of himself. Each and every time he tried to speak, though, it felt like he might throw up. Ganji was so worried about him for weeks, and he kept this from him.
He knew it was wrong, and that still didn’t prepare him for what Ganji had to say.
“William, I don’t think we should be together..”
“Wait.. Wait. Ganji, please, I don’t-”
“Just let me finish.” He spoke through tears, sniffling and wiping his tears off on his sleeve. “I don’t feel like I’m able to help you enough. I.. I’m not breaking up with you, but I haven’t been as good to you as I need to be and I just can’t take seeing you like this. I love you, I really do, I just can’t see myself being an important part of your life.”
William jumped out of his seat with no hesitation, throwing his arms around his boyfriend and resting his head on the other’s. Not once had he ever cried in front of anyone here, but he couldn’t help the tears that flowed to his chin, or the soft whimpers he let out. “Don’t you ever say that.. You mean so much to me, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I should have gone to Emily sooner, but you can’t blame yourself for something I did.”
Ganji jumped slightly when William stood from the chair, but he quickly hugged back, his head resting on his lover’s shoulder. He didn’t know what else to say, if anything needed to be. The two stood there in silence until the taller man pulled back slightly, placing a hand on Ganji’s cheek.
“I’ll never hurt you like this again. I promise, I’ll keep myself safe.”
It took a moment for the forward’s words to process, and Ganji nodded when they finally did. He leaned into William’s hand, closing his eyes and melting in his arms.
“If you ever keep something like this from me again, I’ll cut the cat ears off of your favorite hoodie.”
“I hope the fuck you do, I will bite you."