Work Text:
It was late. Way too late. Koga sighed, glancing at the night sky. It was almost late enough to qualify as early and he was exhausted. How many days in a row was it by now ?
The house was quiet and it was good to know at least one thing never changed. The wraiths were coming in waves, him and the rest of the Yokai in the Capital were getting caught in a human war for…revenge ? Power ? Who knew, he’d never gotten all the reasons for humans to kill their own. The shadows in the Entertainment Quarter were getting longer and he could constantly feel eyes on his back. He didn’t know who was keeping tabs on him or if were just him but the itch was there day and night. Futaba Saotome was growing into her power but it was a slow and painful process, and he could almost feel the twin Tsukumogami press on her on two fronts, both asking for things she simply couldn’t give right now.
But no matter what happened, the one constant in his life would be…
He did his best not to make noise, turning lamps off as he went in. Ah, yes.
Draped in white and pale blue, the soft robe he’d bought only…Koga frowned. Recently. But still. In that same robe, with wings neatly folded behind him and hair obscuring his face, Kuya slept as deeply as possible, chest rising where he could see the robe had fallen open. And while the house was more than warm, he was just laying there. Which would not do, not when he was barely covered and on the path of the one draft that sneaked from the front door to the hallway.
Koga paused to rub his face and try to bring some clarity to his mind. Honestly, how long had it been since he’d had a decent night of sleep ? Or, any night of sleep ? He saw the edge of one of the thicker blankets peek from a chest by the opposite wall. Because for the last weeks all he’d gotten were a couple of hours at best, staying long after seeing Futaba home after patrols and making sure to keep the Capital moving. Extinguishing small fires before they could turn into infernos.
The tension that ran through the city was thick enough to cut through with a knife and he knew the local Yokai were one wrong move away from an outright war. So he was playing mediator. All of his usual business was put on hold and all he did was talk spirits out of fighting each other. Asking them to stay away from shrines, from the entertainment quarter, from the Guard. Trying to charm anger away from old rivals and forgotten enemies.
And the worst thing was he knew it wasn’t good enough.
Tucking the fluffy blanket around Kuya, he carefully covered his shoulders and back while not restricting his wings.
It wasn’t enough. He turned off the lamp in the living room, letting the remaining hour or so of moonlight to give enough shape to the shadows in case someone got up. Not that anyone would, he knew Kuya was dead to the world right now and would be until…Who knew. And he himself knew he would drop on his futon and try to force his mind to stop for long enough to fall asleep.
It would never be enough. Not like that. They were fighting blind, the wraiths coming in waves, never stopping, and they still didn’t know who was summoning the damned things or why.
He dropped the several layers of his clothing in a pile by the door of the bedroom. He would regret it next time he needed something from there or when it was time to wash them but right now he didn’t think he could summon enough fine coordination to actually fold anything.
Completely bare, he dropped to his knees and hissed. Oh, that was bad. He had to remember he wasn’t fifteen anymore. Last thing he needed was to mess his body out of spite. Because he was tired and…what ? Annoyed to the world ? Because after taking care of the Capital for so long now it was really showing it needed him ?
Such thoughts were more than pointless anyway. He didn’t have time to waste on worrying. He needed to get as much rest as possible with as little sleep as he could squeeze in his schedule. Rolling to his back he blinked at the dark ceiling. Even the light chill in the air wasn’t bothering him or making him reach for the covers. He could swear he’d gone numb from his toes all the way to his horns. Now, if only his brain got the memo…
Some time later, while he was still squeezing his eyes and trying to find the most natural sleeping position, he heard the door shuffle open. The room was fully dark, even the moon having disappeared behind some heavy clouds, and he listened carefully. He knew nobody would be stupid enough to attack an Oni in his own house, especially not this one specific Oni, but people were getting desperate. And he still remembered the eyes of the man who led the Onikiri, Aizen, and how he’d looked at him as if he was lower than dirt. He had no illusions that they would be allowed to just keep on living as usual after the whole business with the wraiths was done.
He knew his sword was within an arm’s reach. He also knew that if someone had managed to get through all the locks and spells around the house, his Tachi would probably not do much. And yet he wasn’t going to go down without a…
The footsteps were too light to belong to a human. Even to a trained human. He kept his breathing deep and his eyes – closed. Whoever it was, they knew where to step not to make a sound, knew which boards to avoid and where the sparse furniture was. Koga almost reached for the sword, fingers ready to curl around the sheath when suddenly…
- You’re the worst. – It was more of a heavy sigh then actual words and yet he felt them as if they’d been spoken in his mind. In the still pre-dawn air not even a feather fluttered and while he was probably almost sleepwalking, Kuya still didn’t make a sound…until he did.
The Tengu walked around him, his breathing the only thing giving his position away, and then lowered himself gracefully behind Koga. His blanket was tugged from behind his back and then he was being pulled in a tight hug, Kuya using their height difference to press his face in Koga’s neck. The blanket was…arranged, somehow, over the two of them, and then he felt warm lips press on his bare shoulder.
It was…Koga didn’t know how long after that when he woke up. Slowly. There was warmth at his front, he was being held tightly, another body completely tangled with his, and the room was still dark. At least from what he could judge from behind his closed eyelids.
He could tell his nose was pressed in Kuya’s chest which meant they were in the world’s most awkward hug ever. And yet, with an arm heavy and tight on the small of his back and another buried in hair, fingers only lightly touching the base of one horn, and a leg thrown over his hips, he felt as safe as he could imagine possible. In the deep midnight dark of the early morning he was hugged and held, and could allow the responsibilities and problems to wait. Right now they belonged to Koga who was out there in the Capital, resolving problems and fighting wraiths.
And now he was Koga who was alone with his best friend. Roommate. Lover. His other half.
He rubbed his cheek in the warm skin his face was pressed to and felt the answer in the long fingers in his hair shuffling the strands lightly, extremely careful around the horns. Something in the warm air was…odd, since he knew his face wasn’t under the blanket, but it was still dark and he was too comfortable to think about it too much.
So he allowed himself to reach and curl his arm around Kuya’s neck, and fall back asleep.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump and reach for his sword…Only to find himself free of any bounds . The Tachi felt comfortable in his palm and he allowed himself to breathe, tuning to look back at where he could feel another’s presence. Only to meet a pair of golden eyes blinking sleepily under a messy fringe.
Koga let the point of the sword drop, finally noticing he was still naked and his lover – fully dressed and leaning on the doorframe.
- Some people are here looking for you. Something about a meeting or…yeah. – He finished it with a shrug and a sigh.
A meeting. Koga frowned. Meeting, meeting, the only meeting he had scheduled was for the early afternoon and he knew it must have been an hour after dawn at best because the room was bathed in sunlight and…
Sunlight.
Their bedroom didn’t get sunlight in the morning because Kuya had complained, loudly, when they’d moved in, that it disturbed his sleep patterns. Koga had wisely not mentioned that what he had was a lot of things but definitely not a pattern. And now…
He looked around. The light was golden and warm, sharp and bright. Nothing like the soft greyish of foggy mornings.
- What…time is it ? – Kuya raised his eyebrows and shrugged again. Koga didn’t blink. The Tengu kept the eye contact for a few more seconds before dropping another heavy sigh and tuning to look behind him where Koga knew the hallway clock was.
- Quarter past two ?
Koga felt everything in his mind freeze. Two. Quarter past two. In the afternoon. The meeting had been for one. How. He remembered waking up once and it had been still too early. He knew it had been because it had been…
He blinked at Kuya’s midnight wings, currently folded behind his back.
It had been dark. On his face. Not in the room. Because he’d been pressed against a creature who was an expert in providing his own shade when sun was disrupting his nap space.
He met Kuya’s eyes but the Tengu didn’t react. Koga knew it wasn’t even because the man was a good liar. No, in this specific case it was simply because he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. He…
- Can you buy me a few minutes ? I need to wash my face. And, - He looked around. – put some clothes on.
Another long look and an even longer sigh, and Kuya turned around, letting the door fall closed behind him. Without another word.
Well. That was done. And he was feeling better and more rested than he could remember in the recent past.
He loved Kuya, he really did, but sometimes…Sometimes he didn’t know what to do with him. Although in this specific case he knew the best place to start would be with freshening up. He couldn’t imagine how his hair looked and if it was Futaba and twins in his living room, he had to look at least moderately presentable.
Stretching up and feeling every joint loosen up, he shook his head. Time to face the day.
Or at least what was left of it.