Chapter Text
Gau was at work when it first started. Raikou came in, which wasn’t terribly unusual, and sat in a chair behind the counter. He would never stay long, and it was especially slow, so there would be few people to gossip about. As such, Gau figured he’d be gone within the hour. So when three hours had gone by and only a handful of customers had come, Gau was beginning to get suspicious. Well, maybe he wasn’t really suspicious so much as annoyed.
Raikou had a bright pink bag in his hands, and was pulling out some kind crackers and eating them one after the other. The crunching in the quiet store was starting to grind on his nerves. He didn’t normally have a short temper with Raikou, and really one couldn’t call getting a little peeved after three hours of this torment ‘short tempered.’ Also, there were a lot of crumbs. Finally, the bag was empty though, so Gau thought he’d get some peace. That is, until the older man pulled a second bag out of his satchel.
He’d been too busy trying to look busy to see what it was Raikou was eating, but now Gau stormed up to him and snatched the bag out of his hands, “What are you eating?” He turned the bag around to face him, but what he saw stopped him short, “Stauf…. An Coo I….” He turned to Raikou, “What’s it say? I don't know much English.”
“They’re iced cookies shaped like animals,” he snatched the bag back. “Juuji gave them to me.”
“Juuji?”
“Yeah, she has a pen pal in America who sent them to her, but she hates sweets.”
“When did you see Juuji?”
“When Raimei and I went to talk to Saraba about the rebuilding of the Shimizu house.”
“What? You went without me?”
“Well, we didn’t know how we would be received. I didn’t want you in danger again, Gau.”
Gau blushed and looked away, “Still, I wish you would have told me you were going. What if something had happened to you?”
“If I had told you, you just would have followed us. Besides, it went well. The Fuuma are going to help pay for the rebuilding of the actual house on the old Shimizu property.”
“That’s great! Do you want it to be rebuilt the same as the original? I have the blueprints.”
“No, it’s going to be pink,” Gau almost laughed, but Raikou’s face was like stone.
“No,” Gau said. Raikou raised an eyebrow and, tearing open the new bag, took a cookie out and popped it into his mouth, crunching extra loud.
“Pink,” Raikou said firmly.
Gau reached out for a cookie, not because he wanted one (really!), but just to spite Raikou. He was too quick though, moving the bag away and using his longer arm length to hold Gau back. Clearing his throat, Gau stopped struggling and moved as though to get back to work. Raikou wasn’t having it though. He crunched even louder, but Gau was determined.
Finally, pouting that he had once again lost Gau’s attention, Raikou threw an animal cookie at him. It bounced off Gau’s head and landed on the floor. Gau stared at it for a moment before kneeling down and picking up the cookie. He met Raikou’s gaze and held it before bringing it up to his mouth and blowing on it. Raikou swallowed hard, though Gau was pretty sure he hadn’t eaten another cookie.
Smirking, Gau put the cookie to his lips and let his tongue dart out, licking the iced side. His gaze didn’t waiver, holding Raikou’s. He stuck one end of the cookie into his mouth, gently nibbling it a little. Finally, he slowly slid it into his mouth, moving it around, savoring the flavor, before finally biting down with a loud crunch. The noise made Raikou jump a little, and Gau smirked. Blushing, Raikou looked away first.
Gau’s smile softened. He knew how much Raikou hated going to the Fuuma to ask for their help as a Shimizu, and that he worried it would compromise their ability to act without bias in the future. He also knew Raikou was feeling guilty about not telling him that he was going to see the Fuuma. On all fours, Gau crawled till he was in front of Raikou’s chair, “Permission to have an audience with the Lord Shimizu.”
“Gau!” Raikou said, startled. “You know you don’t have to ask for something like that.”
Smiling, Gau crawled the rest of the way forward until he could rest his arms atop Raikou’s legs, setting his head on top of them and looking up at him, “Can I have another cookie, my lord?”
Raikou seemed like he would protest, probably Gau calling him lord, but just smiled and shook his head. He reached into the bag and pulled out a cookie. Gau opened his mouth and Raikou put it in, letting a finger run along his bottom lip as he did so. Munching quietly, Gau watched Raikou eat a few more cookies before saying, “Are you really going to paint the house pink?”
“Of course,” Raikou said.
“I don’t think Shinobi are going to take anyone who lives in that house seriously if you do, Raikou.”
“So? It’s not your house.” Gau startled and Raikou froze. Immediately, Raikou tried to backtrack, “Gau, I didn’t mean-” Gau let his arms slide off of Raikou’s lap and made as though to stand, but Raikou’s hand held him firm, “Gau, please let me explain.”
“Explain? There’s nothing to explain. I’m not a Shimizu, so you’re right, it’s not my home. I haven’t had one of those since before I came to the Nabari world.”
Hands reached out and framed his face, forcing Gau to meet Raikou’s eyes, “You’re right, there is nothing to explain. That was completely and utterly wrong of me to say, Gau. The only thing that can be done is to apologize. I’m sorry, Gau. Really, I truly am. So long as I’m alive, you will always have a home with me, if you want it.”
Gau let the barriers that had immediately gone up around his heart at Raikou’s unintentionally hurtful words fall, and tears sprang to his eyes. He grabbed Raikou around the waist, burying his face into his chest as he cried. Raikou ran his hands up and down Gau’s back until he had calmed. He heard Raikou take in a breath, knew that he was getting ready to speak, when the chime on the door rang.
Jumping to his feet, Gau wiped his face quickly and went up to the counter. The customer was an elderly woman who was hard of hearing. It took Gau fifteen minutes to help her find what she was looking for and finally see her off. Meanwhile, Raikou had sat quietly. Gau, once again behind the counter, turned to find Raikou standing in front of him. The samurai put one hand against the counter and leaned into Gau’s space, and put a cookie to his lips with the other. He watched Gau as he chewed slowly and swallowed, before leaning in and sealing his lips over Gau’s.
Raikou pulled away too soon for Gau’s liking, but when he tried to follow the taller man’s lips with his own, Raikou held him back. His eyes were intense, his face serious, when he met Gau’s gaze, “You are a Shimizu, Gau, and I’m going to prove it to you.” With that, Raikou left the store.