Chapter Text
The seasons changed. Maki and Satoru grew stronger, older, as Satoru continued to train his cursed energy, pushing himself to new capabilities. Maki, on the other hand, increased in her physical strength as she got older.
But Suguru fell behind. Ever since that wound, he’s never been the same. It healed. But it confirmed everything which he refused to acknowledge, despite training alongside Satoru, he was…
Weak.
The strong protect the weak. That is their chief duty–the responsibility that all sorcerers must uphold. It’s why they possess such powers, afterall. Such is the order of life. If Suguru is weak, then he can’t protect Satoru. The one he cares about the most. The one, who, he himself knows deep down, is weak. Satoru is only human, despite whatever label he calls himself or adorns himself with.
“The strongest.”
Yet weak, with Suguru. If Suguru is weak, then…
…Who will protect Satoru, if not Suguru himself?
…Who knows his inner essence, if not Suguru himself?
…Who loves Satoru, if not Suguru himself.
So, Suguru trained. He was even on the same level as Satoru for a while, always just a few steps behind.
ONE NIGHT..
Alone. Satoru stares at the sunset.
It should have been a peaceful, serene scene, with his mind blank as he appreciated the hues across the horizon. But, as he saw the color purple, his mind drifted towards its favorite topic.
Those enchanting, purple eyes. The ones that crinkle in laughter as Satoru tells him a joke, narrow as he scolds him for his various misdoings, widen in surprise after Satoru says something boldly.
The night sky, dark as his raven hair, which he loved to play with and wrap around hsi finger.
“Stop that, you’ll mess up my hair,” Suguru would scold him. But Satoru never heeded that complaint. It was too soft and silky to resist. He revelled in being the only one who could touch it, and live afterwards to tell the tale. Even his weird bang caressed his face.
Yes, where was that Suguru? Thinking too much, he turned on his intercom, and began to speak.
“Suguru! Where are you? Don’t make me use my extraordinary sense of smell to track you. I didn’t see you in your shop when I visited later this evening.”
..He waited three minutes for a reply. Even as far as Suguru would travel, he’d keep his intercom with him. Just in case. For moments such as these.
“I can’t even leave for a day without you calling incessantly. Miss me that much?” Suguru teased, the crackle of his voice carrying through the intercom.
“Yes, greatly. Please don’t go.” Satoru honestly uttered.
Suguru stared at his intercom in surprise. Unsure of exactly what to respond to such a tone, he answered simply.
“Well, I’m not too far off. I’m in diamond city.”
“Diamond City! The most guarded city in this region? How’d you get in, I thought they banned you for taking too much of the citizen’s bottlecaps and attention.”
“I’m told I have a very persuasive personality.”
Satoru conjured up an image of Suguru Geto telling him to do a task, leaning in slightly towards him.
…
“Yes, you’re quite persuasive,” Satoru said without hesitation.
The sound of Suguru’s laugh filled the air. How he loved that sound.
“Well, I'll be all right. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon, with a present. I hope you like it.” Suguru’s voice lowered.
“I’m sure I will. As long as you’re the one presenting it to me.”
“Well, anyway. It’s getting late. I’ll comm you tomorrow, okay?” Suguru said, yawning slightly.
“First thing in the morning?”
“First thing in the morning, Satoru.”
He’ll never get over the way Suguru purrs his name so softly, so smoothly. Turning the intercom off, he smiles faintly as he settles on top of his mattress.
“Sweet dreams, Suguru.” he says to himself, dreaming pleasantly.”
The night passes.
Bottle caps. Money. Money, or bottlecaps, must be earned somehow. To keep the makeshift economy afloat. Vendors, consumers. It flows around untracked, untraced, untaxed.
In a certain diamond city stall…
Suguru tied his hair back into a bun, wearing a plain brown trenchcoat. He looted it off a synth corpse, some sort of detective-looking creature.It looked…almost human. Grey skin. Yellow robotic eyes staring off into space. A shotgun wound covered his torso plate.
A cruel, radioactive world it was. To take the life of a synth..presumably innocent enough.
It was December. The month of christmas, a great, joyous day to spend with family and loved ones. Barring that Satoru and Suguru’s families were taken with the blast, they still had their trust friend, Shoko. Suguru was Christmas shopping. He found an old digimon card set–dusty, but the photos weren’t scraped off, and had no ooze to it. He exchanged the bottlecaps eagerly and went further into the market stalls.
Something for Shoko. What could that possibly be? The clothing did not suit her taste, but then eventually, he found it. A remnant of their past. A token to remember the good times they once shared so freely. An old box of cigarettes. Coveted greatly as the factories are no longer in production. He looked once more to spot with his eyes anything else that they might like. A radcola and a blue scarf, fitting the color of his eyes just right.
Success.
Meanwhile, Satoru Gojo was training, acutely aware of the season and the traditions surrounding it. Christmas day. He got to spend Christmas Day with someone special. But what to give him in the desolate surroundings accompanying them? He’d much rather give him something useful, to keep him safe when afar. But how he loved the winter season. Perhaps a garment? The nights were awfully cold..Ah, a panda hat. Satoru was skillful at crochet, and he often used to partake in it as a hobby. He knew keeping these yarn spools would pay off. So he wove. Spinning his crochet hook in asynchronous rhythms, the hat began to take shape. After several hours, he added pom-poms and little plastic eyes.
He then began to write a note with a piece of scratchpaper and his favorite purple-inked pen.
To Suguru,
I hope this keeps your head nice and toasty. Smile more for me, won’t you?
Love,
Satoru.
He discarded the pen and folded the message neatly.
Christmas Eve
Suguru came to Satoru’s dwellings with a Christmas gift wrapped with his kimono’s sash, and a handwritten Christmas card on top of it. But Satoru paid no attention to the artifact he was holding tightly–well, most of it, anyway. Instead, he stared at the yellow yukata sash that Suguru would wear.
He remembered how he’d wear it to the fall festivals they went to. That seems so novel and magical now, burning something just to see the beauty of the sparks without a care in the world. The candy apples were delicious. And his attire..as he would hold his hand..
He looked handsome in that yukata.
The thought of owning it for himself set his mind a whir.
“You like the present that much? Here I thought I was the real gift, you know.” Suguru said, somewhat jealously as he shifted from heel to heel impatiently outside.
“Ah–well, yes, I appreciate the thought–but–you wrapped it with your yukata sash..” Satoru sputtered.
“Oh? Well I thought it’d suit the gift nicely. Looks pretty, right?” Suguru smiled, heading inside as he closed the door behind him.
Satoru did not think it to be wise to reveal how it really made his heart feel.
“Put your gift by the tree,” Satoru commanded.
“...It’s fully wire. Did you make it yourself? Cleverly made,” Suguru Remarked.
“Yeah, just cause it’s the end of the world, doesn’t mean we can’t be festive.”
Suguru hummed, placing himself on the couch, where Satoru immediately sat right beside him.
“Next time, don’t bother with bringing me a gift. It’s not the same without you here.” He whispered his heart’s uttering into his ear.
At that, Suguru giggled and moved facing slightly away from Satoru.
Satoru would have none of that, so he laughed, and shifted closer towards Suguru, till they were face to face.
“That’s not the christmas spirit—”
“It is too! Don’t you remember that one Mariah Carey song they played in malls before the sky turned orange?”
“Yeah, Good riddance to that time. Couldn’t get it out of my mind.”
“Well, I think the message still counts,” Satoru huffs as he leans back, sinking into the couch cushions.
Some time passes as they comfortably sit next to each other in silence, observing the metal wire work of the new christmas tree, with the yukata-laced gift and Satoru’s own little boxes down by it, too. Suguru wondered where he got the time to do all of this in a day, as it wasn’t there before.
“I’m cold,” Suguru complains.
“I could warm you.”
“You just want physical affection.”
“Can you blame a man? You’ve been gone so long…and…”
Satoru paid close attention to Suguru, staring at his face.
“You’re right here now, within my grasp.”
..His sharp, angular brows..slightly red face, with soft…tantalizing lips…
How he adored Suguru wholly. What better way to display his affections, then..?
“Come closer.” Satoru commanded, coaxing him gently with his hand.
“Satoru…” Suguru whispered his name. The tone made Satoru melt.
“You heard me, Suguru. Come closer, please.” he was not above begging.
“..Well, since you asked so nicely.”
So Suguru slowly inched closer, till there was but a fraction of an inch surrounding them.
Eventually, Satoru couldn’t handle the proximity and leaned in, closing the distance, caressing his lips with his in turn, sighing with contentment as he continued to feel it. It was soft, and sweet as honey. He tasted faintly like tea, lavender tea. Satoru held onto his hair, grasping it tightly, as he continued to taste him.
Suguru gasped, and Suguru, seizing the opportunity, tasted inside him greedily, laying Suguru to the couch greedily.
..The kiss was sweet, conveying all the feelings that Satoru needed to express.
Once done, Suguru blushed immensely, and looked to the side.
Their first kiss.
Satoru held his face, turning it towards him and cradling him ever so softly.
“Suguru..”
Nothing else needed to be said.
The fireplace crackled, embers flying carrying the intense emotions from within their hearts. Relief, excitement, joy, but most of all, love.
“Merry Christmas Eve, Satoru.”
Satoru hummed, caressing his hair softly as he pulled him back upright into his chest.
“...”
The soft sounds of breathing filled the air, as they stayed together in that position for quite a while that night. Tomorrow would have its worries, gifts, bottlecaps, cursed spirits, ghouls,
But none of that compared to the feeling of the other so close by.