The door swung open, and Niaaki braced himself, staring up into Yuuki's pale, drawn face--and feeling terrible. Did he look sleep-deprived because of the baby, or because of him? No, that wouldn't make someone look like they wanted to break down. Oh gods, was he really that upset? That worried? Had he been crying? Over him? That sick feeling in his stomach returned, the realization that he'd hurt him. That he should have said something, found his way back sooner and let him know he was okay, that it wasn't fair to do this to him. He hadn't meant to...
But he also hadn't been thinking about anything but himself.
He opened his mouth to speak, to try and explain, but before he could get the words out, Yuuki had pulled him into a hug and Niaaki dropped Butch so he could embrace him back, squeezing him tightly and burying his face against his chest.
"Yuuki, I am so sorry," he blurted out when Yuuki pulled back and held his face, and he met his eyes. "I'm really, really sorry, I didn't mean to--I'm okay, it's okay. I just got lost and--"
He cut off, because that was when Yuuki's expression changed and he started to look him over. Ack! He reached up to try and stop him, but already it was too late. He'd seen them.
The conclusion he drew, however, was unexpected, and the knowing smirk that replaced the worry...oh goodness.
"Wha? Brothel? Oh! No, no! No. Nothing like that. Uh. Not a brothel," Niaaki said quickly, stumbling over his words and feeling his face heat up. Oh gods, was that what it looked like? Did he look that bad, like he'd been assaulted by whores? And how was he supposed to explain this? Well, Yuuki had seen the hickeys, and if not a brothel, Niaaki could only imagine his brother jumping from there to the worst conclusion. The man was nothing if not protective.
"Uh, yeah. Just...just a tavern." He scooped Butch up off the ground and rubbed the side of his neck self-consciously, covering one of the hickeys. "...And a house."