Shinya’s been used for worse, but hardly anything would change if Mika’s up front about using him. There’s no real need for Shinya to know, and he’s perfectly fine with that. Too much knowledge might just make things worse, after all, and neither of them need that.
Though, he’s confused as to why Mika’s apologizing – he’s not done anything wrong. Unless he’s about to, but Shinya doesn’t think that’s it either. He runs a hand through his messy hair, blowing his bangs out his face. Another moment, and he’s up, sliding off the mattress with the soft scuff of his feet being the only noise he makes until he reaches the bathroom.
He doesn’t pay Mika much mind, and simply moves to retrieve his first aid kit from under the sink. “I don’t know how much you know about administering first aid,” he says, setting the plastic box down beside the younger. “I mean, I can’t call this first aid – second aid, maybe third. I’ll talk about what to do to distract you.”
Because it’s going to hurt, but he leaves that unsaid and just goes to retrieve a rolled up towel to tap on the boy’s shoulder. It’s more for Mika to strangle than anything else. “Shirt off, kiddo. I’ll go as quick as I can.”
☆彡 His hands trembling in his lap, the boy listened as Shinya got up and gathered what he needed. Second aid would probably be the best way to describe it, if not first-and-a-half. That was a mouthful, though, and there were more important things than to debate technicalities.
Mika reached up and grabbed the towel. He tried to keep his hand from shaking as he did so because he didn’t want the elder to see how nervous he was, but it probably didn’t work as well as he wanted. Still, he set the cloth in his lap before he pulled his sleeves over his arms, working to get the shirt off in the least painful way possible.
It wasn’t entirely the cuts that he didn’t want Shinya to see. There were various bruises marring the skin of his torso as well, but with any luck, those wouldn’t get much attention paid to them. Once his arms were on the inside, he grabbed the front of the collar, leaning forward as he pulled the clothing off.
In response to the elder’s words, the boy nodded and took a deep breath. “Alright.” It seemed fair enough, and as long as it didn’t take longer than necessary, the boy was sure he could deal with it.
