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Chapter Text

Autumn came and brought with it all the things Keigo had tried to dismiss the past two months. It was hard to turn the other way upon seeing the leaves redden on the trees, and it was downright miserable to see the river run under the bridge, the ripples reflecting like diamonds of a million wedding rings.

He stood by the bank, hands clutching a small box as he glared at the small town he grew up in, lived in, and would eventually die in.

It was the third of October now, the exact day two months ago when he felt his body begin to rot from the inside out. Not literally, but he did have a heart for the dramatic and would insist upon it if told otherwise. The first week after what he dubbed ‘the incident’ occurred, he couldn’t leave his bed. The next week, he got back to work. The third week, he picked up drinking. Since then, it’s been a cycle day in and day out, trading nutrients for poisons after wearing his muscles down from long hours of labor.

August third.

The third.

The third of every month, an extravagant carriage road into the town of Wisenet. It would stop in the center of the plaza, which already was cleared in preparation for the arrival of the earl. Once the driver opened the door, a mountain of a man would step out, a snarl across his lips and a hand on the sheathed sword at his hip. Following him would be his wife, one of the kindest ladies Keigo ever managed to exchange words with on a few occasions. After her, there’d be their four children. Keigo could never puzzle together how they all managed to fit into the car, but didn’t mind upon seeing the children go out with glints in their eyes.

The youngest was Shoto, who couldn’t have been any older than six years old. Though half of his face was bandaged due to an accident, he always was the most eager to play with the children by the brook. He would apologize profusely if he ran into anyone on his bad side, head reeling from the collision.

The middle children were Fuyumi and Natsuo. They would go around to the shops by themselves. It wasn’t uncommon to see the two chatting with the different merchants, cracking jokes to make them all howl with laughter. Sometimes, if there were issues afoot, Fuyumi would step in and try to calm the citizens down.

Lastly, there was the eldest. Always shrouded in silk and gold, he still managed to stand tall. He typically followed his mother, tending to her and helping her sit down when she had a dizzy spell. His skin, what was visible of it, was pale. His eyes, the only part of his face left uncovered were blue. Occasionally, if Keigo was paying close attention, he’d see a spot of his ruby red hair from underneath the heavy fabrics.

His name was Touya. It rolled off Keigo’s tongue nicely whenever he’d whisper it into the night, imaging the glints of fireflies were actually the moonbeams bouncing off Touya’s jewelry as he danced around the fields.

He could vividly remember when he met Touya. Keigo was in a rush to deliver papers, pedaling faster than he ever had before. As he turned to look for traffic, he collided into something tall and sturdy. He later found out it was a lantern pole, but that didn’t matter at the moment he opened his eyes.

Two beautiful, big eyes stared down at him, looming over like an angel. Keigo choked on his words. “I-I’m so sorry.”

Wrinkles appeared by the eyes and the man shook his head. “You have no reason to fret. You are the one with a crack in your head.”

Keigo winced. So that’s why his mind felt so dizzy and numbing.

“My mother is getting bandages. It’s best you don’t move until she gets back.” The man placed a hand above Keigo’s eyes to block the sun, his veil riding up a little as he moved. Keigo could have sworn he caught sight of something dark beneath the fabric, but it disappeared before he could get a good look.

“Thank you,” Keigo sighed out, wriggling his fingers to test out his mobility, “I don’t mean to trouble you. Are you visiting? I don’t recognize you from around here.”

“I don’t come to town often. I live in the hills.”

“The hills…” Keigo chuckled to himself. “Which family?”

The stranger stared down at him. “Todoroki.”

Once his mother came back, Keigo was sat up. He noticed with a bright blush that he had been resting his head on the Todoroki’s lap the entire time, but he was distracted from it immediately as the pale woman began to tend to his wounds. Keigo managed to figure out the man’s name as he assisted to the best of his ability. Touya Todoroki.

“That’s where you ran off to,” A loud voice grumbled as the woman finally cut the last bit of tape and stepped back. She didn’t bat an eye as she began to clean up the supplies. “Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shoto are already back to the carriage. We are heading out.”

Touya folded his hands, eyes trained to the ground. With both of the Todorokis backed off from Keigo, he got a clear view of a man he was familiar with. An Earl. Enji Todoroki. Without complaint, the two began to follow after Enji.

It seemed like the end of it, but Touya stopped in his tracks after a few paces. His parents continued, not noticing his soft footsteps had ceased.

He turned back to Keigo and held out a pale hand to help him up. Keigo noticed his bony wrists and slightly bruised knuckles, but otherwise his skin was a pearly white. They were soft too, like feathered pillows. “Are you feeling better? Does it still hurt?”

“I,” Keigo began, but his words got caught in his throat, “I will be fine. Thank you so much for your help. If there’s anyway I can repay you, please, tell me.”

The crinkles by Touya’s eyes came back, a clear sign of a sign hidden under the veil. His other hand reached up and combed some hair out of Keigo’s forehead. Keigo could feel himself sink on his toes, leaning closer to feel more of the man’s gentle touch.

“It isn’t right to think of yourself as indebted to me,” Touya mumbled, eyes flickering downward, “but if it is no trouble, I’d like to see you again. The third of every month is when I am allowed to come down. I’d like to see more of this town. Perhaps you could be my guide?”

That day, Keigo accepted his third job. Every third, he’d wait near the plaza until Touya came, still covered in thick fabrics, but this time with a rush in his steps. There was never much to see in town, but Keigo did his best to keep him entertained by showing him around to the shops, helping him wade his feet through the creek, and introducing him to merchants. Touya, as the days went by, seemed to be having more and more fun, sometimes greeting Keigo immediately with a request like, “Can we go skip rocks again?” or “Fuyumi told me there was an amazing bakery with delicious bread. May we go there?”

Keigo didn’t mind helping the noble around, especially when Touya would grab hold of his hand to tug him along, or clutch his arm in fear upon seeing a three foot drop in their path.

“I’m not scared of falling,” Touya would insist, “but if I get dirty, I will never hear the end of it.”

Keigo looked up at him, grinning. “I thought you wanted to go into the woods today. Did you expect it to be tidied up for your arrival?”

Touya crossed his arms, staring helplessly down at where Keigo was waiting. “Is there another way?”

“Not to where I want to go, no. Just jump.”

“J-Jump?” Touya’s eyes were wide as he stepped back a step. “Are you serious?”

“You won’t get hurt! It’s not as far as it looks. I’ll catch you.” Keigo opened his arms, gesturing to the man. Touya shifted closer to the jump. His eyes caught Keigo’s before his shoulders sank a little.

“Do you promise?”

Keigo scuffed. “If you won’t hear the end of getting dirty, I’m going to get killed for dropping you. I wouldn’t dare.”

Touya laughed at the comment, knowing full well his father tried hard to keep Touya from sneaking off, but only managed to ruin one of Keigo and Touya’s outings.

Keigo caught Touya with ease, hands wrapping around his waist and pulling him close until their bodies were flush. With ease, he set the taller boy down, hands slowly returning back to his sides. One was stopped seconds later as Touya grasped it.

“Lead the way.”

Keigo smiled and began to guide him deeper into the forest, trying to clear his head from an odd detail he spotted when Touya fell. He could have sworn he saw something dark underneath his veil.

The clearing in the center of the woods was wide with only one crooked tree standing in the center. It’s branches were wiry and a maze. Keigo was happy when Touya didn’t insist upon climbing it, as it would definitely get him dirtier than the jump would have. The hand in his squeezed a little before slipping away as Touya circled the tree with curiosity.

“I come here to think a lot. It’s always called to me, if that makes any sense.” Keigo sat down on a large root, staring up at the barren branches. It was beginning to get colder every day. He wished he had shown Touya the tree when it was a vibrant green or beautiful red like his hair. Touya eventually wandered back to his companion, giving a nod to the tree.

“It’s beautiful. I understand why you like it.”

“We will come back again when it’s teeming with life. You’ll be amazed.”

Touya paused. His eyes flickered to the dirt as he fiddled with his hands. Keigo hadn’t noticed at the time. Not until much, much later.

“We will?”

Keigo tilted his head. “Unless you don’t want to, but I insist. It is truly a sight worth seeing.”

Touya nodded, wringing his fingers. “I’d like to see it. During winter, summer, spring… I want to see it. I want… Keigo?”

Something felt off. Keigo sat up, staring up at the noble with a crease in his brow. “Touya, is everything okay?”

“... I don’t feel well.”

“Do,” Keigo looked around, “do you need to sit down? Lay down? I can rest my jacket down-”

Touya cut him off. “I think I might be catching a fever, but I can’t tell.”

Keigo stood, trying to find something to help, but Touya caught his hand before he could do anything major. Eyes trained on Keigo’s, he lifted the man’s hand to his forehead. Keigo blushed upon feeling the heat beneath his fingertips. “You, uh, you feel warm.”

“Sickly?” Touya asked, voice suddenly different from his previous concerned tone. He moved Keigo’s hand. Taking a bold step forward, he pressed his forehead against Keigo’s. He began to feel faint as Touya’s hand held his wrist firmly, as if to keep him from backing away. As if Keigo actually had the brain power to move with the way he felt he was overheating. “Is this better? Warm?”

“That- I- You don’t-”

“Close your eyes,” Touya urged, eyebrows furrowing, “and focus.”

Keigo gulped and did as he was told. He tried his hardest to feel the warmth and access the damage and not the fact he could feel Touya’s warm breath against his chilled lips and

Oh.

Keigo stumbled back, but as soon as he opened his eyes, Touya was already fixing his mouth viel back in place. He gave him a smile, easily identifiable by the way his eyes shone and squinted. “Must have just been nothing, I’m feeling much better now.”

Once the band was situated back in place, Touya sent him a little wink before turning back toward the way they came. “They must be expecting me back now.”

The walk back was silent. Keigo’s cheeks were stained dark red as he walked Touya walk with confident strides, not once looking back at his trailing companion. Keigo helped him up the steep jump wordlessly, deciding then to take the lead to guide them back to the town.

When they reached the end of the woods, Touya spoke up. “I’m sorry for tricking you.”

Keigo turned toward him. “That’s- It’s okay.”

Touya shook his head. “It… It wasn’t. I… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I hope you forgive my assumption, I thought that we…”

Touya kicked some dust, looking down to the dirt. The sudden change from his confident strut was enough to make Keigo feel even more dizzy than before. Still, he managed to take a shaky step forward.

He slipped one of his calloused hands in Touya’s soft ones. “You didn’t. I didn’t mind.”

Touya glanced into his gold eyes and smiled. Before any words could be exchanged, a loud bang was heard along the road. Keigo jumped and looked to the road to see a beautiful carriage bouncing along the holes in the road. A pristine white stead lead the charge into town.

“I don’t recognize that carriage,” Keigo noted, frowning a little as Touya’s hand clutched his.

“We should be heading back now.”

Chapter Text

Keigo passed over the bridge on the outskirts of town two months since the incident. His feet were like lead and dragged through the old bumps in the road from carriages passing every day. His eyes stayed stuck to the ground, his pockets weighing him down like stones on a witch before she is tossed into a ravine.

Touya came into town on the 11th. Much sooner than any other time, but that wasn’t the only difference that caught his eye. Instead of his uncovered hands, there was sleek white gloves covering them. His head was bowed down. At this point, he’d have snuck off or glanced over the crowd in order to try and spot him. However, he stood stock still as her mother and father exited the carriage. No one else accompanied them to the plaza.

Keigo frowned as his father grabbed his upper arm, insistently tugging his toward a certain shop. A tailor? He had never seen the family, aside from Fuyumi and Natsuo, enter the shop before. Tailors were expensive to commission, so it was a little odd to suddenly be in search for one.

Leaving behind his duties for his job at the time, Keigo crept over to the shop and slipped in through the door. His father was in front of the tailor, raving about something specific and intricate that Keigo couldn’t bother to care about. He glanced around the shop once more to see Touya sitting on a cushion with his mother fixing his headpiece.

“Nervous jitters?” She asked Touya, pulling away with a smile on her wrinkled cheeks. Keigo turned to look around the rest of the shop to see how easy it would be to stroll in without catching Touya’s father's eye. It wasn’t like Keigo was dressed nicely and could act like he owned the place, not with the way dirt seemed to cling to his boots and with the countless patches haphazardly sewn into his pants.

“You have nothing to worry about.” Keigo turned back to the two sitting on the other side of the room. “I’m sure you will be happier in Hestiane.”

Hestiane? The port town? Keigo paled.

“... Will I be able to come visit often?” Touya mumbled, fiddling with his hands.

His mother scuffed. “I’m certain you will be able to if that is what you desire. Lord Hakamata seems like a considerate man. And he has enough money to pay for your fare dozens of times over.”

Touya’s mother grabbed his hands. Gently, she peeled back the white gloves, revealing his soft, pale skin. As the fabric was pulled away from his fingers, Keigo’s hair stood on end. A beautiful golden ring sat on his finger, filled with large white and green gems. It was bulky and gaudy, just as one would expect from high families.

Keigo couldn’t remember much else from that day. He didn’t speak with Touya. He didn’t look into his blue, beautiful eyes that day. He refused.

His heart was in pain. Not something he could go to the clinic for. No. The remedy was something elusive to Keigo. It made him sit up for hours at night. It made him begin to skip meals. It caused him to not buy a thicker jacket when the winds from the north began to creep in and take autumn leaves away. The illness made him pick up more work. Newspaper delivery, factory work and any other odd ends he could pick up.

The illness ceased the next month, just as Touya stepped out of the carriage. Instead of the dark colors and patterns that usually covered his body, he wore light colors, just a few shades off of pure white. Keigo noted the white gloves covering Touya’s hidden ring and his jaw felt tight.

He arrived to the alley after Touya had, which wasn’t common. It was weird seeing Touya waiting for him, hands locked as he patiently stood. Keigo approached, the bump in his throat growing. When he met Touya’s eyes, he could see something reflected in them that he hadn’t seen before. It made the situation more real to him.

“Keigo,” Touya breathed, stepping forward to meet him halfway, “you look… Are you okay? Please, sit down. You look pale as… Do you need water? The bakery is just across the street.”

He hadn’t slept decently in quite a while, but he wasn’t ready to tell Touya that. “I am fine. How are you?”

“Keigo, you look like you have one foot in the grave.” Touya shook his head, hands coming to rest on Keigo’s upper arms. “Are you sick? Let me buy you medicine, please. As payment for all the tours and-”

That made Keigo’s illness hit him like a tidal wave. He felt nauseous. “You feel you owe me something?”

Touya’s eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t intend for it to come out that way. You’ve never let me get you things, yet you’ve paid for me more times than I can count. I want to help you.”

“So it is kind of like an ‘owe’ thing,” Keigo muttered, “even if you don’t want to say it.”

Touya dropped his hands to his sides. “Is something wrong?”

Keigo stared at the ground. After so much preparation and thought, it seemed harder to enact his plans. It was harder to tell if his thoughts were delusions or if Touya really…

“You kissed me.”

Touya took a step back. “I-If that’s what this is about, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I… just assumed…”

“Assumed what?” Keigo pressed.

Touya’s eyes met his once more, a glint of confidence shining through. “I assumed you’d feel the same way that I do.”

“In that case.. do you feel that way too?” Keigo felt his knees begin to buckle.

Touya froze for a moment. He bowed his head a little to the ground, hand tugging his left glove up subconsciously. “Keigo, there’s something-”

“Do you?”

Touya sighed a little, but nodded his head. “I do. I really do.”

Like most illnesses, they fade with a perk. Whether it be immunity towards that illness or a sweet release from life. This illness, the one that has starved, overworked and took every bit of strength in Keigo’s bones, had a perk in the form of a silver band with wave like engravings. Every last penny he could muster was put into it, only having his hopes of Touya reciprocating his feelings to guide his way.

“Then will you marry me?”

Touya stared with wide eyes at the ring, tears creeping from the corners of his eyes. He reached out to Keigo, but before his hand could graze the skin of his cheek, a large hand encased his lithe arm. Touya jumped, turning quick to see the threat as his father stood over them, glaring dead into Keigo’s soul.

“What is the meaning of this?” Enji spat, huffing upon seeing the poor excuse for a wedding ring. “To think you’d encapture the hearts of such common trash with such guts. If only you could do the same for Hakamata.”

Touya was jerked back behind his father, yelping in pair from the manhandling. Keigo’s hand tightened around the band. “Let him go! You are hurting him!”

The snarl on Enji’s lips twitched. “Who do you think you are talking to? Tch, street scum.”

Keigo watched as Enji’s free hand reeled back into a fist, but then the world went dark. Before he slipped off completely, he could have sworn he heard Touya cry out.

Keigo awoke in a nearby shop. He was laid across a table with a wrapped cloth of ice settled on his eye. He winced as he sat up to see three townsfolk around him, talking amongst themselves. He recognized a friend of his among them. Rumi was also the first to notice he was awake.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. You got quite the shiner there.”

With a frown, Keigo put the ice bag back up to his face. His other hand felt around, soon finding his ring in his pocket. “How long have I been out?”

“Well, lover boy, it’s been an hour or two.” Rumi shook her head as she walked over. “Touya’s long gone. Enji stormed out of here after you did that. Didn’t I tell you to do it somewhere more private?”

Keigo laughed off the pain. “I guess I got ahead of myself, huh?”

Rumi rolled her eyes. “You think?”

She sat down with him and held up a mirror to show the damage done. Keigo was impressed by the large bruise size and swelling, but didn’t bother to complain about it. He put a hand to the mirror to block his reflection from staring back at him. As he opened his mouth to ask about after he passed out, Rumi decided to begin speaking.

“I was about to throw hands myself upon seeing how freaked out Touya was- getting pulled out of that alley and all. Rei came swooping in to diffuse the situation though, nice lady she is. She also wanted me to tell you something if you did wake up.”

“Is that so?” Keigo smiled. “Is it an apology for her monster of a husband?”

“I’m pretty sure that came out too,” Rumi hummed, tapping her chin, “but that’s not the important part. She said, ‘Touya has told me so much about him. He seems really happy to see this young man, and he often tells me about all the things they do and their adventures. Touya told me about this beautiful tree… You make him happy, but I don’t want to be the one to decide things for him. He… if he would like to accept your proposal, he will meet you at the tree tonight. Please, wait for him at midnight.”
Keigo’s heartbeat sped up. His lips twitched into a wide grin.

“So, I collected some friends.” Rumi gestured to the other two in the room. “A florist and apprentice seamstress to help you prepare for tonight. And I’ll try my best to make that mug look presentable.”

Keigo sniffled, setting the ice pack down. “Can I… Thank you so, so much.”

Chapter Text

Keigo could feel specks of snow falling down and brushing his cheeks. He dodged branches as he made his way through the woods. The leaves were mostly covering the ground. Snow began to build on top of the last bits of autumn, wiping clean what the forest lost. Life. Beauty.

He promised himself to never come back to the crooked tree in the clearing, but he had a mission. He, too, had to take on a clean slate. Cut his ties and move on, like Rumi told him. Like the bartender told him. Like his boss told him as he hung up his hat at the end of the day.

The mere sight of the tree evoked emotions Keigo wasn’t ready to address. His hands grew clammy in his ratty jacket’s pockets. His bony knuckles nudged a case deep inside its folds and he felt his heart squeezed uncomfortably in his chest. As he walked closer, he could see himself standing there not too long ago. Hair slicked back, bouquet and ring in his hands. He didn’t check the time before leaving, but he knew he was there around midnight.

“Okay, okay,” Keigo whispered to himself as he set the bouquet down. It was very dark. The moon had guided him through the small trees with ease, but the massive tree shrouded a good part of the clearing. It was pitch black there. He didn’t think Touya would be lurking in the dark, never seeming like the type to play stupid pranks when something important was occuring.

“With this hand,” Keigo began to recite, “I will lift your sorrows.”

He knew he couldn’t be stuttering all over the place and embarrass himself in front of Touya, but the words started to slur with each excited breath he took. His fingers played with the ring, tossing it back and forth between his hands a few times as he waited.

And waited.

Keigo waited a long time. He picked up the bouquet a few times to see if the arrangement still looked nice. He recited his vows enough times to make himself dizzy, but it didn’t make him arrive any faster.

He then continued to wait until he was shaking from the cold. His fingers fumbled once and the ring fell to the ground. Keigo cursed, stooping down to graze his hand along the dark ground. His fingers brushed something moist as he found the ring, also finding it coated in the dark substance.

Keigo took out his handkerchief and cleaned the liquidy mud away before tossing the cloth to the ground. Standing up with shaky legs, he placed the ring into his pocket and stared at the bouquet on the ground.

“He… He isn’t coming, is he?” Keigo laughed bitterly.

“He didn’t,” Keigo replied to his memory as he approached the tree, now with a pile of snow building up around the base. Carefully pulling out the ring box, Keigo stared at the tree with an empty expression.

“And I guess it’s now my time to leave something here.” Keigo held the ring, a feeling of hatred stewing in his bones as he stared at the item. It mocked him. “It was stupid to hope something so stupid. He never felt the same.”

Though, Keigo couldn’t find it in him to completely hate Touya. His beautiful, innocent eyes that would light up with joy while Keigo showed him around was breathtaking. His bright red hair was a rare sight, and one he’d pay anything to see and maybe run his hands through. His lips so soft.

“With this hand, I will lift your sorrows,” Keigo huffed out, aggressiveness in his tone at the mere thought of Touya repeating this with honesty, “Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light my way in darkness.”

Keigo felt as though he was snuffing the candle out, but that was for the best. It was good to turn a blind eye instead of dwell in hopelessness any longer. The heartbreak was already tearing him apart. Any longer and he’d be as good as dead. Rumi kept checking in on him daily. He didn’t want that anymore. He wanted her to be free of the burden he placed and he wanted to be free from the one he thought he’d love forever.

“With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” Keigo placed the ring on a thin, spindley branch poking from a bundle of snow at the base of the tree. It looked human like. It looked like Touya’s beautiful, pale fingers. Keigo closed his eyes, suppressing tears building in the corner of his eyes. “And with these words…. And with these words, I let you go.”

“Why on earth would you let me go?”

Keigo’s eyes opened, startled from the gruff voice that seemed so… close. He scanned over the clearing, standing. “W-Who is there? Do you need something?”

“I don’t need anything.” The voice answered, now right behind him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as two arms snaked around Keigo’s hips from behind. A chilled breath rolled over a part of his uncovered throat. “Not anymore.”

Keigo burst from the strangers arms. He stumbled forward a few feet before daring to turn to the man. The moment he did, fear coursed through his veins. What stood there was not a man. It had a bone structure similar, and from afar one could easily mistake it for a man. It wasn’t. Men’s cheeks weren’t cut ear to ear and stapled back haphazardly. They didn’t have rotten flesh peeling off their neck and jawline. Their eyes weren’t that lifeless. The creature stepped forward, rotting hand reaching forward. Keigo’s eyes flicked and briefly caught the sight of silver on its finger. Before he could take off running, the creature’s putrid hand caressed his cheek, its smile unwavering as it loomed over him.

“I do,” It whispered, leaning down. Keigo was frozen as two cold lips met his. He felt some of the creature’s black hair against his forehead, black and fried. “I love you.”