Chapter Text
Next morning the pair woke up to a calm sunrise. The sky was painted nice mixes of red and orange, even along with some pink hues.
Kazuki was the first to wake up. He looked out of the window, and found it a shame he might lose the only person he’s ever loved like this on such a beautiful sunrise.
He decided to get ready before kazuha woke up, and just hope that kazuha wouldn’t want to ask him about last night anymore. Or simply forget about the whole ordeal.
He was wrong. Obviously.
Kazuha was everything but the type to forget promises or brush off his concerns, so as soon as he woke up and got ready he walked straight in the tiny kitchen of the inn where kazuki was already sitting down on a small wooden chair.
Kazuha grabbed himself a cup of water and sat down next to kazuki.
“Good morning”
“…morning”
“Do you want something to drink?”
“…i’m fine”
Kazuha looked at him with a concerned expression.
“You’re clearly not fine, kazuki”
Kazuki just stayed still. Staring into space. After a long while, he sighed, and willed himself to stare straight into kazuha’s crimson eyes.
Kazuha’s eyes looked as if they were burning holes into kazuki’s, as if trying to access kazuki’s secrets by himself.
“You can tell me anything. I just want to know”
Kazuki kept trying to get the words out, but he didn’t even know where to start. As he continued to look into kazuha’s eyes his emotions deepened, and he began to feel a mix of anger, sadness, and guilt.
“I just want to know”
…
-Alright- kazuki thought.
And just like that, he spilled everything. Starting from how this was his reincarnation, how he erased himself from irminsul in his past life, wich he spent almost entirely in the fatui committing countless sins. How he was abandoned by his creator, and, of course, how he’d met kazuha’s ancestors, and…what he did to them and the other clans.
At first he tried to look directly into kazuha’s eyes while he admitted everything, but after seeing the samurai’s eyebrows furrow and that look of slight surprise on his face, he couldn’t anymore, and instead slowly lowered his gaze to kazuha’s chest.
Kazuki didn’t know what he really expected. Maybe he wanted pity, understanding, empathy…but he knew that would be impossible. So he decided to just tell it like it was.
It was better to get it all out of the way instead of hiding more secrets kazuha was bound to find out sooner or later.
That was if he even decided to stay with him any longer.
…
Kazuki finally decided he’d said enough, and by the end of it he was gazing longingly at kazuha. The samurai just stayed there, looking down in a mix of concern and shock.
He thought about it for a while. A long, long while.
All that trauma caused by his clan’s downfall, the raiden gokaden incident, the delusions given out during the vision hunt decree…the death of so many people…of so many comrades…
These were all things he simply couldn’t ignore.
However…
He didn’t dare compare kazuki to his creator.
Because unlike her, kazuki had fully owned up to his wrongdoings, he’d changed. In ways kazuha was almost unable to imagine. In ways he didn’t even know existed, even managing to gain the approval of the dendro archon herself.
And, kazuha had seen his change with his own eyes.
He’d seen how kazuki’s gaze softened around kids, how he pulled down his hat when he got embarrassed, how he observed his new vision as if it were the most precious thing in the world, because in the end, he, like kazuha, had only ever wanted freedom.
A seemingly long time passed where both stayed in silence.
Until kazuki decided he couldn’t deal with it anymore.
“…i’m sorry”
The puppet didn’t even bother looking at the other man as he slowly stood up and made his way to leave the inn.
How stupid. How awfully stupid of him to think a simple samurai would understand him, pity him even. His vision was getting dark and fuzzy as he reached for the door handle, as anger slowly overtook him once more. As another betrayal had made its way into kazuki’s fate…
And just as he was about to twist the handle he felt a strong tug on his other hand. His eyes widened, and he barely had the time to turn around before he was wrapped in what seemed to be…
a soft embrace.
His anger that seemed to have come in less than a second left just as fast, all he could feel instead were kazuha’s warm arms tight around him.
Kazuki couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged him. The feeling felt all too strange…too good. Too warm for someone as cold and empty as him.
But maybe that was just because it was kazuha hugging him.
Kazuki smiled. A small, innocent smile.
He quickly hid it however when kazuha pulled back from the hug, and stared once again into kazuki’s deep blue eyes.
“…i admit, i’ve never met anyone quite as intriguing as you” kazuha started.
“What you did in your past life…was…terrible. I don’t think I would’ve been able to forgive you if i met you then, kazuki. But, you’ve changed. A lot”
…
“I can tell”
He looked down.
“And even if i may be wrong…i don’t think i can do anything about it now”
Kazuha hesitated a bit before continuing, a light smile appearing on his face, before he looked back up at the man in front of him.
“I don’t think i’ve ever liked someone more. After your confessions, I understood many things about you that I couldn’t before, and that only made me more drawn to you.
Kazuki felt like he on clouds. Was this even real?
Then it hit him.
Kazuha could easily be lying.
Kazuki stepped back, his eyes slightly watering.
“…you’re lying…aren’t you…”
He stared right at kazuha, a worried and resentful look on his face.
Kazuha almost immediately understood the puppet’s worries, and put on a solemn expression.
“Kazuki…”
He gently took a step towards him and lightly cupped the other man’s cheek in his hand.
“I’m serious. Ever since that afternoon we spent together you haven’t left my mind for a second. All i wanted to do, all i needed to do, was spend everyday with you. Listen to you, your ranting, your laughter, the little insults you made whenever i said something too romantic. Even just simply looking at you, gazing into your indigo eyes, admiring how they complement your soft hair and pale skin…it was enough to make my whole day, even if i’d just seen you for a few minutes.”
“You’re everything i never thought i needed, but i long for you oh so much now kazuki. Please, don’t ever think I’m lying to you. Not for a second”
Kazuha pleaded as he looked into kazuki’s now even more watery eyes, the wanderer’s cheeks turning redder by the second as he quickly looked down, not knowing what to say.
He didn’t have to say anything after all. Kazuha lifted kazuki’s chin and saw his expectant eyes light up once more. He slowly brought him closer, and closed his eyes as their lips met.
Kazuki’s eyes widened once more. His body filled with heat as kazuha caressed his face with his thumb.
The wanderer closed his eyes and sneaked his arms around kazuhas neck to keep the other man in place, never wanting the warm kiss to end.
For he felt this was the only way he could tell kazuha how much he meant to him, something that couldn’t be expressed with simple words.
It was far too deep and complicated for that.
Kazuha smiled against kazuki’s lips, bringing his arms tight once more around the puppet.
The two stayed like that for who knows how long, neither attempting to deepen the kiss, and instead enjoying each other’s embrace.
Kazuha pulled away, breathless. He lightly chuckled, all too excited about what’d just happened.
As he caught his breath however, kazuki gripped his hair and pulled him back into the kiss, suddenly starving for more.
After all, how could kazuha reject him? If kazuki asked him to, kazuha would kiss him until he passed out.
And he would do a lot more than that too.
And strangely, hearing his past made him fall for this blue haired man even more. It was like he was his other half, the one both had spent so long trying to find. They completed each other, almost as if the stars had aligned right from the beginning in such a way that the two were destined to find each other, to heal each other.
As kazuha reflected on these thoughts, he held kazuki even tighter.
Kazuki had now become the most precious thing to him, and he’d do everything in his power to protect him and give him all the love he deserved, both from kazuha and from the people who should’ve given it to him.
Both would never let each other go.
The pair spent the next twenty minutes talking, kissing and teasing each other, until kazuki stated he wanted to sleep some more, since he “hadn’t gotten enough” last night.
Kazuha said that was more than alright. They both sat on the couch and kazuha picked up a novel he’d been reading since he arrived in sumeru while kazuki allowed himself to rest his head in kazuha’s lap.
“How often do you need to sleep?” Kazuha asked. He did have a few new questions about kazuki after all since he’d learned the man didn’t have a fully human body.
“Mmm. Why do you wanna know?” Kazuki smirked.
“I figured things like sleep and food would be a little different for you” kazuha replied.
Kazuki thought to himself for a bit. The truth was, he didn’t really need either. Eating was merely something he did for entertainment, and as for sleep, he didn’t need much.
Generally he only slept once every few months, though he’d do it every night if he was trying to blend in with humans.
Kazuha didn’t need to know that though.
“I don’t need food. I only eat when I’m bored, or just feel like it” kazuki stated.
“Hm. And sleep?”
“…i’ll tell you when i wake up”
Kazuha smiled. It seemed the closer he got to kazuki the more he teased him.
(He’d have to teach him a lesson on that soon.)
But as for now he only wanted to spoil the boy, mostly with love and poetry, since he didn’t really have much else.
Kazuha gently ran his fingers through kazuki’s soft indigo hair, and admired every single detail about the wanderer’s body.
Until he noticed he wasn’t breathing at all.
He’d noticed kazuki’s chest didn’t rise and fall, but he’d only assumed it was because he didn’t show it much.
Yet now that he was up close, he’d realized it.
Hmm…maybe this was why kazuha seemed to have been the only one out of breath during their kiss earlier.
He chuckled to himself, quiet enough to not wake up the sleeping puppet on his lap.
It was small details like this that made kazuha like him so much. That made him so…intrigued.
He rested his hand on kazuki’s head and decided to continue reading his novel, unaware that the puppet was thinking about him aswell.
Except in a dream.
Kazuki always had the ability to dream, but only recently had he started having nice ones.
And this one was by far the best he’d ever had.
Although everything was very vague and unclear, he seemed to be floating in a beautiful red sunset. He slowly opened his eyes to see a figure above him, gently reaching out.
Kazuha.
He had the softest smile on his face as the wind blowed his hair from side to side. His crimson eyes gazed into kazuki’s, transmitting all the emotions he couldn’t with mere words.
Kazuki felt his warm hand on his face, and soon his other arm wrapped around him, and kazuha leaned his forehead onto the wanderer’s, continuing to gaze into his deep blue eyes.
And just like that, the light poured the dream out of focus.
Yet kazuki heard something before the dream faded away.
Or maybe he heard it while waking up…
…
“I love you”