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There has been a pain in his jaw for a few weeks, and he’s not sure what to do about it anymore. He’s spent his evenings with ice on his cheek to no avail. He’s poked and prodded and stared at his teeth in the mirror to catch a glimpse of the issue for days, with no answers. Countless internet searches have all turned up the same result: he needs to go see a dentist. He hasn’t. The moment he thinks about it, it makes his stomach churn. The idea of a masked stranger taking sharp instruments to his teeth sounds like something out of a horror movie. He’s much too nervous to even try and look for one.
It’s when he and Reigen are taking lunch one day that his cover of normalcy is finally blown. One wrong bite of takoyaki has him flinching to stifle a sharp pain in his jaw. He drops the toothpick, only caught by Reigen’s quick hands. “Careful! You almost wasted precious–” He pauses to take in Serizawa’s stiff posture, his hands delicately hovering around his mouth. “Bite your tongue?”
“Uh…” Something like that. He doesn’t want to lie to Reigen, or really tell him the truth, in case he tries to badger him into seeing a dentist. So he quickly stands up and excuses himself before fleeing to the bathroom, hands still flitting around his aching mouth.
In the bathroom, he tries again to stretch his jaw to some inhuman angle, to catch even a glimpse of the cause of his pain. He leans so close to the mirror that his nose pushes up against it, and his breath fogs up the glass, but still, he finds no discernible cause. With a sigh, he pulls away, and begins to miserably prod at his teeth one by one with his tongue, while rubbing at his chin to try and soothe the ache from the outside. He miserably stares at himself in the mirror. What is he going to do?
“Teeth trouble?” He hears from behind, making him jump. His eyes dart to Reigen, casually leaning on the doorframe, staring at his face through the mirror.
He quickly turns around, waving his hands dismissively. “I-It’s nothing serious! It’s just—” Reigen takes quick steps to approach him, but doesn’t say anything, just waits for him to explain himself. “Just hurts, a little.”
“Are you going to see a dentist?” He asks, straight to the point.
“Uh, ah… it’s not that simple…”
“Of course it’s that simple, Serizawa,” he says, and stares at his closed mouth like he can see through it to the problem. “Is it a cavity?”
“I don’t think so…” he says.
Reigen leans in far too close to his face, and raises a hand to his jaw. “Let me see, I’ll tell you what it is.”
Serizawa leans back in equal measure. “Eh, ah, i-it’s nothing—!” Serizawa quickly covers his mouth with his hand, suddenly self-conscious. “M-my breath—” Or heaven forbid he has something stuck in his teeth. He knows he hasn’t taken the best care of his teeth growing up, or even now. He knows some of them are crooked and chipped. He knows they’re an off-white tinge of yellow. All the more reasons to not let Reigen look at them too closely.
“I don’t mind.” Reigen tells him, but he’s the one who minds! “Come on, Serizawa, we’re friends!” He says playfully, and while that is true, is he seriously suggesting that this is something friends do? He asks him as much, behind his hand. “Do… Do friends do this?”
Reigen blinks for a moment, like he’s processing what he just said. Then he leans away, politely clearing his throat. “Maybe not.” He fiddles with the collars of his sleeves. “Well don’t take too long getting to see a dentist, or they might just have to pull whatever the problem is out.” Pull it? His tooth? Out of his face? They do that? He thought that was only in those gruesome, scary movies. Suddenly, his vivid imagination is flooded with too many new terrifying reasons to avoid the dentist. With a flourish of his hand, Reigen points a finger in his direction. “Promise me you’ll go to a dentist.”
He promises.
He’s a liar.
Another week goes by. His jaw begins to ache all hours of the day. No food and drink can pass through him without agitating it. Ice barely helps, stinging his cheek and jaw before the numbing can do its work. He talks less than usual, to try and mitigate some of the pain, to limited success. But it’s becoming almost unbearable. Brushing his teeth has become even more of a chore. He is almost considering taking Reigen up on his offer and handing him a flashlight to let him go root out the cause.
One morning, Reigen comes in and hands him a package of cookies. “I got these from the convenience store, but I ended up not liking them. Please don’t let them go to waste.” Serizawa thanks him, but when he gets a look at the cookies, he thinks that he spoke too soon. They look rock solid, wholly inedible. He glances at Reigen, who nonchalantly spins into his office chair to get started for the day. He doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. He supposes that he’ll try one now to appease him, and throw the rest away at night school.
The first bite sends a shock of pain down his entire jaw, up into his ear and down his neck. It’s like he’s bitten down on metal. The cookie muffles his shout of surprise and pain, and makes him sputter and cough. Reigen slams his hands on the desk, standing straight. “I knew it!” He exclaims, pointing a finger at him. “I knew you didn’t go to the dentist!”
He’s a bit too preoccupied to reply, letting chunks of cookie fall out of his mouth onto the table below, trying to dislodge the remnants stuck in his throat. His hands spasm about his face, confusedly trying to help. He makes to stand up, “Water—” he gasps, and it’s quickly placed in his hand, like it was already prepared. He drinks it greedily, but even the coolness of the water stings his teeth and has him grimacing. He gasps as he sets down the empty glass, wiping at his mouth, coughing a few more times. He stares at Reigen in betrayal. “Why did you—?!” He sputters between coughs.
“Because you lied about going to the dentist!”
Serizawa guiltily covers his mouth and looks away. “That was a dirty trick.” He mutters petulantly.
There’s a hand on his shoulder. “You’re right, you’re right. Sorry about that. It was a very weird way of saying that… I’m kind of worried about you.” He looks at Reigen from the corner of his eye, and finds a rare glimmer of genuine concern on his face. Serizawa is honestly getting pretty desperate for answers, and if he trusts anyone with his teeth, it’s Reigen before anyone else.
So when Reigen moves his hand to cradle his aching chin, pulls Serizawa down, asking “Let me help?” How can he say no to that? He reluctantly moves his hand, and lets Reigen delicately lower his jaw. He can only take Reigen’s concentrated stare into his mouth for a few seconds before his eyes shut themselves tight with embarrassment. He feels Reigen pull his chin lower, and he complies all too quickly. “Hmm…” he mutters. “I don’t see anything…” He could have told him as much, he thinks to himself.
The proximity is practically unbearable, his boss/friend/crush is so close to him, staring so intensely at such a crude part of him. Has he no shame, or Serizawa far too much? “Have you had your wisdom teeth out?” Reigen asks, and his hand finally lets him go.
He snaps his jaw shut and and stands back up with a nervous swallow. “W-Wisdom teeth?” He’s not familiar with the term, so the answer is most certainly no.
“Third molars? It’s like, an extra set of teeth that we all have. I got mine out in high school, but…” The implication seems to finally land on him. “You probably didn’t…” Serizawa turns his head away. His hand raises to cover his mouth again out of shame.
“O-oh,” he starts. “Well…”
“I think you need to see a dentist, Serizawa.”
The excuses come almost too easily. “Uh, well, you know, with work and night school, I hardly have the time—”
“You can have a day off.”
“Ah! W-well… I-It’s a bit expensive, isn’t it…?” He has no idea how much a dentist costs, but he imagines it’s not cheap.
“I can help cover the cost.” Serizawa stares at him incredulously. Why must he be so kind?! Reigen finally steps back out of his personal bubble. “As your employer, your health is of utmost importance, Serizawa!” He says with an extravagant whirlwind of gestures. “And as your friend, you’re kind of overdue to get these out.” He continues, with only a small degree of awkward sincerity.
Reigen is far too kind. It seems he’s been cornered. There really is no avoiding this. He sighs. It’s time for his ultimate weapon, blunt honesty. “Reigen-san. I-I have a confession.” He takes a deep breath and bows forward, practically shouting his confession to the floor. “I-I’ve never been to a dentist before!”
He keeps his head down, refusing to see Reigen’s reaction. “Eh? Ever?”
“Never.”
“But what about—”
“Never.”
There’s an awkward silence. He keeps his head low as he rises.
“Well, I can recommend you to a very nice dentist.” Reigen starts, but what does a ‘nice dentist’ even mean? That they will warn him before they pull his teeth out? He’d rather pull out his own teeth at home. Perhaps there’s a YouTube video. Maybe he can use his powers to do it. He doesn’t want to go. He won’t go. He doesn’t want to get a tooth pulled. A hand suddenly fists into the lapel of his jacket, and he startles back into himself. “Serizawa!!” He looks up.
Everything is floating, Reigen included. His books, the printer, and computer. Even his desk too is slowly beginning to rise. “A-ah, sorry!” He carefully sets him down. “I-I…” he has no excuse, really. He’s supposed to be better than this.
Reigen’s silences are a loathsome thing to be on the receiving end of. In those silent seconds, he is dissecting his target so thoroughly that when he opens his mouth again, there is no escape from a flawless execution. Eventually, he speaks. “This is obviously a large point of anxiety for you.” He sheepishly nods, his head lowering to stare at his wringing hands. “Well, I can tell you that lots of people are scared of the dentist, Serizawa. It’s perfectly normal.” That’s somewhat reassuring, he thinks. “Even Mob was reluctant to go when he was younger. He even told me once that he had his younger brother hold his hand the entire time he had a cavity taken care of.” He gives a small laugh at the mental image.
“The dentist I go to is very good.” He goes on to say. “They’re very kind and patient. They can offer breaks. And if you’re nervous, you can have someone in the room with you.”
Eh? Is Reigen suggesting…? “I-I don’t—!” He doesn’t need that. He couldn’t possibly ask that of him.
“I’m just saying!” Reigen responds, sounding equally flustered. “Regardless! Dentists can be scary, but I can recommend you one that might work with your anxiety the best.”
“Well…” he supposes there is no arguing this. He might as well heed Reigen’s advice.
“Actually,” Dimple interjects. When did he get here?! Reigen seems to have the same question, both of them jumping miles apart. “If Serizawa is so nervous about just imagining the dentist, he should probably have someone go with him.”
It’s hard to argue with that. “You make a good point, Dimple.” Reigen looks back at him then. “Should I accompany you?”
“Ah, if it’s not too much trouble…” Closing the office for a day for just a dentist appointment? It is far too much trouble. But Reigen seems keen on this course.
“I’ll give them a call and make an appointment.” He says.
“Ah, I-I can do that! Reigen-san. If it’s really not too much trouble to take a day off… I can give them a call…”
He looks happy with his answer. “Right. Let me give you their information.” He claps a hand on his back and walks him to his desk, where he scribbles down an address and phone number.
He stares at his phone, bracing himself to make the call.
Reigen tries to not make his fondness for Serizawa too obvious, only giving him quick glances from the corner of his eye as he slowly dials the number. He watches him bring the phone to his face, standing ramrod straight. “H-hello!! Yes, I’d like to make an appointment! For… um… pain. Yes. Yes. Today? Uh, well… today is…” Serizawa gives him a desperate look and Reigen replies with a thumbs up, much to his devastation. “Okay… this afternoon? Sure. Thank you very much. Right. Yes. Thank you. See you soon.” The call couldn’t have taken more than a minute, and yet Serizawa seems absolutely exhausted, collapsing into a chair with his head in his hands.
“Nice job, Serizawa!” He gives him another smack on the back. “When are we going?”
“Um… three o’clock.” He looks ill, sweating and pale. This is clearly beyond just plain nerves. “Is it really okay to close the office early, Reigen-san?”
“Of course, Serizawa! Your health comes first.”
No clients come in before they close. He likes to imagine that this is the Universe’s way of cutting Serizawa some slack, to give him less to worry about.
On the walk to the dentist office, he tries to ease Serizawa’s worries again. “Remember, they’re not going to do anything drastic. We’re just going to see if they can find the source of your pain. Nothing has to get done today, and they won’t do anything without asking you first.” Serizawa nods robotically. “I’m gonna be there the whole time.” Nods again. “Want me to hold your hand?” He asks, half as a joke.
To which Serizawa responds sincerely. “Um… I would like to see how long I can try and hold out on my own, if that’s okay.”
He schools his surprise. “Sure.”
He lasts until they tilt him back in the dentist’s chair, then he shoots his hand out towards Reigen, who eagerly grabs it. The dentist repeats all the same platitudes Reigen had told him earlier, and Serizawa stiffly nods again.
When the metal first makes contact, Serizawa’s grip turns painful. Reigen refuses to let it show, instead, he gently pets his thumb along the back of Serizawa’s hand, trying to exude calm and reassurance. He can see Serizawa’s nervousness and unease in his eyes, which skitter across the room, to Reigen, the dentist, the light, the ceiling. “Look at your friend,” the dentist says, and he does. Reigen tries to give him a big smile and a thumbs up, as if to say, you’re doing it buddy! He’s not sure if it makes a difference, but he’s proud to say that nothing is floating, so he’ll call it remarkable progress.
After many minutes of probing, he notices Serizawa hesitantly beginning to relax. First, his grip slowly starts to loosen, in small, minute fractions. Next, his gaze, which normally scatters in its stare around him, only looking at him in brief flickers, begins to linger on his face for longer and longer each time before retreating. All the while Reigen tries to encourage him to keep up the restraint and control he’s showing. Eventually, he seems to find some kind of settling ground, and his hand significantly softens, and his eyes drift between him and the wall freely. He supposes that Serizawa is nothing if not adaptable, even in a situation such as this. After a few minutes more of technical talk between the dentist and a technician, they finally move back and sit him up, letting Serizawa close his mouth, and stare into his lap. “We’re going to need to do an x-ray.” They say, and he feels Serizawa’s nerves spike all over again.
“Um, any chance I can stay for that too?”
“Well…” the dentist hesitantly looks back and forth between them. “I’m usually against free blasts of radiation.” He can feel Serizawa grow even more tense. “But I’ll make an exception for today. I’ll get you an apron.” They walk out, and Serizawa finally turns to look at him.
“I-I-I…” His eyes nervously flit back and forth between him and the door, like he doesn’t want them to hear whatever he has to say.
Reigen doesn’t need him to explain, and jumps right back into reassuring him. “It’s okay, they do x-rays all the time. It doesn’t mean anything.” He steps closer and tries to place a reassuring hand on him. His shoulders are hiked to his ears, so he gently works his fingers into the muscles, trying to relax him. “They’re just going to stick a piece of plastic between your teeth, and take a few pictures. Nothing too crazy.” Serizawa nods again, murmuring his words back to himself. After a few shaky breaths, the dentist comes back in, gowning them both.
When all is said and done, the dentist shows Serizawa his x-rays. “Well it’s definitely your wisdom teeth. See this one here?” They tap to a part of the screen. “Massively impacted. It had to have been hurting for a while.” Reigen stares at the back of Serizawa’s head in surprise, which he has a feeling he is pointedly ignoring. “We should remove it as soon as possible. In fact, I have an opening tomorrow morning.”
“T-t-tomorrow?!” Serizawa turns to look at him. “T-t-the office—”
“The office can wait another day.” He says. The last thing he’s worried about is missing work. “He’ll need someone to pick him up, right?”
“Yes, and stay with him for at least a little while.” The dentist looks back at Serizawa. “You’ll be partially sedated for the procedure, so you’ll need to be looked after until it wears off, and maybe a little longer depending on how you’re feeling.” The dentist moves the monitor away. “The procedure shouldn’t be more than an hour, give or take. Let the receptionist know if you want to book for tomorrow, and she’ll let me know. Here is the paperwork for your consultation.” The dentist quickly vanishes from the room.
Serizawa’s eyes scan over the pages quickly. He’s not sure if he’s actually reading them or just pretending to. “Tomorrow…”
Reigen chirps in. “Doesn’t have to be tomorrow. I’m sure you can live with it for a little longer if you don’t feel ready.” He tries to be reassuring, but Serizawa quickly stands up and reaches for his coat.
“No, let’s do it tomorrow, Reigen-san.” He says. With his back turned to him, he can’t see his expression, but his posture looks confident. Reigen follows him out the room, surprised by his sudden change of heart. At the same time, he’s relieved to see him coming out of his shell and getting braver. And soon, it will pay off, because he’ll be pain free.
The truth is, Serizawa is still terrified of the dentist. But, he has quickly discovered that holding Reigen’s hand is much more entertaining and fun to focus on than whatever was happening with the dentist. To focus on the relieving pass of his thumb, or his small reassuring smile, these were certainly preferred to the masked stranger rooting around in his mouth. Was it entirely appropriate to take advantage of Reigen’s kindness in this way? Or perhaps, entirely the point of it? He refuses to think about it too hard.
Looking at it from the outside, Reigen can certainly see how a dentist might be a scary place to some, especially during a procedure like this. There’s a non-minimal amount of blood, a bunch of hands in Serizawa’s mouth, and a disturbing combination of mechanical and human noises that any person more squeamish than him would have certainly fainted by now. Much like how Serizawa chooses to focus on Reigen, he chooses to focus on Serizawa. On how his eyes drift lazily around the room, and on the rare occasion that they land on him, and he gets surprised, like he’s forgotten that Reigen was even there. On how he thinks he might be holding onto Serizawa tighter than Serizawa is holding on him, but he supposes that’s somewhat expected. On how, when he strokes his thumb across the back of his hand, Serizawa can’t smile, but his eyes light up and scrunch just the faintest bit.
When they sit Serizawa up, mouth stuffed with gauze, head softly lolling, and tell him he can go home, he’s not sure if he really registers it. He takes his time to rise from the dentist’s chair; with Reigen passing around to the other side, and holding out his other hand for Serizawa to grab and pull himself up with. He does the first half well enough, but it’s like he’s lost in his own little world, simply looking at their connected hands with a small crinkled smile, one that really shows in his eyes more than anywhere else. It’s not until Reigen slowly starts stepping back that Serizawa seems to get the cue to rise, and quietly follows him out the door.
There is something endearing about having a strong giant like Serizawa so pliant and docile. In the taxi, he leans on Reigen heavily. Not that he minds, passing his arm across his back to steady him. Reigen’s other hand is fondly cradled between Serizawa’s own, residing in his lap. His head is low, with exhaustion or some other feeling he can’t really determine, but he imagines it’s easier for Serizawa to focus on something more stationary until his bearings return to him. The nurse had described the experience to be something like being drunk, and he knew from experience that both he and Serizawa were incredible lightweights. He keeps that in mind on their way home.
Getting into the apartment is… an ordeal, to say the least. Pulling Serizawa out of the taxi is itself a slow, delicate process. Go too fast and he threatens to topple over. Go too slow, and he won’t move at all. He makes sure he doesn’t hit his head either. Getting him up the stairs is another test of patience, that Reigen will say he generously passes on account of Serizawa being so adorable. Serizawa’s typical emotional range primarily consists of three states: happy, scared, and serious. But today, he wears a new look that Reigen is absolutely fascinated with, and keen to remember every detail of. Things like the small, confused furrow in his brow. The glassy, far away look in his eyes, the way they light up as he tries to re-focus every few seconds. The grasp of one of his hands in Reigen’s, and the other on the bannister. The hesitant raising of each foot to the next step, which has him wavering just a little, so Reigen keeps his hand splayed across his back to steady him. For Reigen, there was no better place to be, and no reason to rush.
Taking Serizawa’s shoes off could have served to be the penultimate challenge, if Serizawa hadn’t chosen to ignore them entirely, instead leaving Reigen at the front door and shuffling off to his bedroom. “H-hey, hold up—!” Reigen calls out as he hops through his entryway, pulling off his shoes and tossing them carelessly behind him. He distantly takes in Serizawa’s apartment on his way to the bedroom. At a glance, it’s… decorated, he’ll say. He enters the bedroom to find Serizawa kneeling at the foot of his bed, half laying on top of it, clearly spent. It seems like Serizawa was desperate for any kind of rest he could manage. With a small sigh, Reigen kneels down behind him, and takes off his shoes to make him more comfortable. He lets out a small whine, but otherwise barely stirs. Reigen still isn’t sure what Serizawa was thinking to wear his suit to the dentist. Maybe he didn’t have many casual clothes. He can hardly argue that, he came in his suit too, for that very reason. He looks around the room, grabs the clothes that were on the bed, and gives Serizawa’s shoulder a gentle shake. “Your pyjamas?” Serizawa lifts his head up for a brief moment, grabbing what’s in Reigen’s hands, and nodding. “Right, I’ll just— leave you to it.” He quietly excuses himself, leaving the door open a crack behind him.
When he pokes his head back in, he finds Serizawa curled up under the covers, dozing. He’s lying on his side, blankets practically covering his head. It would be adorable, if Reigen wasn’t so very familiar with the dentist’s instructions. He had been told to sit up for the first few days. So Reigen lets himself in, and hesitantly approaches his bed. He knows he should probably give him space to rest, but the last thing he wants is for Serizawa to return to the dentist because of complications, and he thinks Serizawa would agree to that.
So he lowly whispers, “Serizawa…” And gives his shoulder another gentle shake. A small furrow forms in his brow, and on instinct, Reigen’s hand moves to try and smooth it away. He calls out to him again. “Serizawa…” His hand moves lower, cupping his jaw, stroking his thumb soothingly along the ridge of his cheekbone. “Wake up…” he murmurs.
Serizawa finally gives a small stirring, pushing up into his hand. “Come on, we’ve got to sit you up.” He says, sliding his hand down his neck, his shoulder. He rubs at his arm to gently jostle him up, and distantly notes the fabric of his dress shirt. Serizawa makes a small noise at his efforts, before gently turning away, burrowing his face deeper into the pillow. “Come on, Serizawa, work with me, and then you can go back to sleep.” After much internal deliberation, Serizawa slowly pulls his arm beneath himself and begins to push up. “Yes, yes, good.” He says, and tries to take some of the weight off of him to make it easier to turn around. He quickly realises that Serizawa is almost certainly planning to turn over and flop back, no plans to sit up at all. So he makes the executive decision to wedge himself between him and the headboard, so Serizawa falls back against his chest. “Good, good,” he praises, even though he’s not certain if Serizawa is still listening. He keeps talking to him anyway. “Here, sit up,” he gently pushes on his upper back, “good.” He adjusts the pillows behind him nicely, planning to transfer him off his chest.
But Serizawa’s head leans back precariously, heavy like lead, seeking somewhere to rest. He doesn’t have enough pillows to give him that support. As much as he desperately wants to give it to him himself, he’s not sure it’s the right call. “Serizawa?” He asks. Serizawa finally, tiredly, cracks open an eye to take him in. Then, with a deep breath, Serizawa summons the strength to sit forward, giving Reigen the space to settle in, should he choose to. He peeks at Reigen again with a tired eye, almost expecting him to stay. So he smoothly settles Serizawa between his legs, and gently pulls him back towards him. Serizawa seems to go limp at the touch, falling back into Reigen’s chest rather roughly, head careening back loosely. Reigen has a feeling he’s not getting up any time soon. He hardly has a problem with it.
He fiddles with the material of Serizawa’s dress shirt. “You didn’t change your shirt…” He comments, hoping for nonjudgemental. Serizawa sighs, and lifts one hand up with visible effort, making uncoordinated, weak, grabby motions with his fingers. “I see…” The pyjama shirt is still on the bed next to him. “Did you want help?” He asks. Serizawa just shrugs. “I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable.” He continues, and soon, Serizawa’s head is faintly nodding against him. That’s all the permission he needs to get to work, deftly undoing the buttons that Serizawa had been too clumsy to do. He gently pulls it down and off him. “Undershirt too?” He asks, and Serizawa gives his most emphatic response yet, shaking his head no, then turning to hide his red face in Reigen’s neck. That’s… fine. He bunches up Serizawa’s pyjama shirt and places his arms in his lap, smoothly pulling the shirt up his arms and over his head. When it’s all over, Serizawa returns to his limp position against him. “There,” Reigen says. “Much better right?” He asks, to which Serizawa only replies with a hefty sigh. “Right, right.”
Pulling the blankets up, he winds his arms around Serizawa’s midsection, and relaxes against him in equal measure. He lets his eyes drift shut, and gently dozes to the rhythm of Serizawa’s breathing, trying to enjoy Serizawa’s warmth. He doesn’t necessarily sleep, just drifts. He lets himself stay like that for as long as he can.
It’s the best sleep Serizawa’s had in a long while.