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It had been months, since Rinne left to go back to his hometown. Niki had stopped counting, after the fourth month had passed.
Still, he didn’t miss him. He had promised to return, and Niki trusted him.
Crazy:B had disbanded quite a while back. It just wasn’t the same without Rinne. Without his future husband.
Niki’s heart fluttered at the thought. We’re going to get married, huh?
His days were duller than usual, without Rinne around. Most of his time was spent either cooking or with HiMERU and Kohaku.
In the evenings, he mostly sat at the table, eating and waiting for a familiar voice to call out to him.
“I’m back home!”, those were the words he longed to hear. He just knew, Rinne would return any day. He could feel it.
While preparing his food one day, he swore that he heard the door opening and someone sneaking in ever so quietly. Still, he didn’t pay much attention to it, and continued to cook.
Yawning into his hand, he turned around, his food in hand.
And there he stood, grinning like the big idiot he was.
“Look who we have here, if it ain’t Niki-kyun~?”
Niki dropped his bowl of food, and honestly, he couldn’t care less, as he wrapped his arms around the older man.
Rinne chuckled a little, as he wrapped his arms around Niki, reciprocating the hug.
“D’ya miss me~?”
“I knew you’d return, Rinne-kun~”
Rinne looked a little taken aback, by the pure trust from Niki.
“Well, I promised ya, that I would, didn’t I~?”
For a while, they just stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, just enjoying each other’s presence. Finally, Rinne spoke up.
“Niki-kyun, can I ask ya a question?”
Raising his head, Niki looked up at him. He felt nervous for some reason, awaiting his question. He beckoned Rinne to go on with a slow nod.
“Ya sure ‘bout this marriage thing…? I mean, well I love ya a lot and I have to get married one day and I want it to be you, y’know?”
He smiled softly at Niki, looking so in love. Before his smile disappeared, and he frowned.
“But I don’t wanna force ya, to marry me. I want you to be happy as well, of course! I jus’ thought that after your confession ya wouldn’t mind!”
Niki was speechless. He really thought about all this?
Not knowing what to say, he settled for burying his face in the crook between Rinne’s shoulder and his neck.
He felt his hands, at the back of his head, running through his hair softly.
“I know it’s quite a lot to ask but… they expect me to marry someone as soon as possible, ya see? I jus’ don’t want ya to regret this, Niki-kyun! Because I truly care ‘bout ya.
I love you.”
Niki’s breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat.
“R-rinne-kun, I… I love you, too.”
Suddenly, Rinne pulled away from the hug, wearing a smile on his face. But his eyes didn’t smile with him.
“I hope this goes well, cause well… I dunno if I’m allowed to take ya hand in marriage…”, he looked away, looking slightly bashful.
“And why is that…?”
“’Cause ya ain’t a woman. They don’t want me, to marry a man, even though I like men and not women. They also expect me, to have my own fuckin’ kids.”
Niki’s eyes went wide. He didn’t quite know how to respond. He was too scared to respond, actually. Didn’t want to say anything wrong.
“Bu~ut, cause I’m the monarch, I’m gonna make my own rules, cause it’s my own village~ so I jus’ won’t listen to everyone else! If I can take ya hand in marriage, that’s all I need, to be happy.”
Cautiously, Niki grabbed the front of Rinne’s shirt, pulling him down a bit.
“Can I kiss you?”, he whispered, just above a breath. It just felt right at this moment.
He did it, to show him, that, yes, he loved him just as much. He also wanted this just as much.
Rinne answered him, with the press of his lips against Niki’s own. The kiss was short, sweet, loving.
As quick, as it was initiated, it was also over. Niki got out of Rinne’s grasp, his cheeks a little pink and a fond smile on his lips.
He sighed, as he saw the shattered bowl on the floor, his food had gotten everywhere. Already wanting, to clean the entire mess up, he wanted to walk away, as he felt a hand on his wrist.
“I’ll clean up, Niki-kyun! And I’ll cook for ya, as well!”
Giving him an amused look, Niki quirked his brow.
“But can you even cook, Rinne-kun~? And it’s fine, I’ll do it. You can go and relax in the living room.”
Still, Rinne didn’t budge.
“I insist, Niki-kyun! C’mon, ya always do so much for me, now lemme do somethin’ in return.”
“Alright then, Rinne-kun. Just don’t burn the kitchen down~”
With that, he left the kitchen and sat down on the sofa.
Letting everything sink in. He couldn’t say that he never dreamed of this. Kissing Rinne, cuddling with him.
But marriage?
This is going too fast
He leaned his head back and sighed. But well he must… and he wants it to be me
Finally, Rinne returned with a… was that a single bowl of rice? He gave him a questioning look, as Rinne started eating the rice.
“What are you-“
Rinne laughed quietly.
“It’s Ainu tradition, sweetheart~”
Blushing brightly at the nickname, Niki looked away shyly.
“Ainu tradition…?”
“Yeah… so basically, I eat half of the bowl of rice and then give it to ya. If ya eat the rest, it means ya accept my proposal. I mean, traditionally you’d have to make the rice, but eh, oh well. I felt bad, for makin’ Niki-kyun do everythin’ for me~”
Niki smiled, as Rinne passed him the half-full bowl of rice, looking at him expectantly. His heart was pounding in his ears and his hands were shaking slightly, as he stared down at it.
“R-rinne-kun… do we have to get married immediately or…?”
Fondly, Rinne smiled at him, chuckling quietly.
“We can get married, whenever ya want to.”
This reassured Niki quite a bit, as he dug into the rice Rinne had made. It wasn’t the best rice he’d ever eaten, but surprisingly it was edible (after all, Rinne made it and Niki didn’t trust him in the kitchen).
Setting down the bowl of rice, he looked at Rinne, who had this stupid smile on his face.
“Rinne-kun, do I have something on my face? And can you stop staring at me, it’s creeping me out~”
In lieu of answering, Rinne encircled Niki’s waist with his arms and pulled him down onto his chest, holding him tight.
“I can finally marry Niki-kyun~”
Heat rose to Niki’s cheeks, as he nuzzled into the others chest.
“S-shut up…”, he pouted and Rinne laughed once again, petting his hair slowly.
The domesticity felt… nice. A little embarrassing, but nice, nonetheless. A comfortable silence settled in, as they just lay there, the silence growing louder, tension in the air.
The same kind of tension when someone wanted to ask a question.
“When will we be leaving…? I mean, we still have to sell the apartment and stuff and-“
He was silenced by a kiss.
“You worry too much.”, Rinne mumbled against his lips, his hot breath sending shivers down Niki’s spine.
He sighed. “Yeah, yeah… but seriously! I still have lots of work to do here! We can’t just leave immediately, like you did, Rinne-kun”
Rinne hummed thoughtfully. “Well then just give the keys back to the landlord, pack your suitcases and we’re ready to go! We don’t need anything else. I have everything back at my home. At our home.”
His smile was brighter than ever. He looked so much… happier, than he used to.
“So, we’ll just sell this home?”, he asked, “With all of the furniture and everything? Well, I’m sure some university student would appreciate it.”
All Rinne did, was yawn and wrap his arms around Niki’s hips even harder, pulling him closer, until their chests were flush.
Craning his neck, he looked up at the redhead who was… fast asleep. Out like a light. He smiled to himself, kissing his forehead softly, burying his head between Rinne’s shoulder and neck. Finally, he also fell asleep.
~~~
After a few weeks, of selling off stuff and negotiating with the landlord – thankfully Rinne was amazing at negotiating and convincing people – it was time to go. They had said their goodbyes to everyone, even if it was oh so painful.
But it was his decision. I want this. I want to marry and spend the rest of my life with him.
It seemed that Rinne was struggling just as much with goodbyes. He knew it was for good this time, that he’d never see the others ever again.
That he will never see his little brother ever again
Still crying a little, he stepped onto the train to Hokkaido. To a new life. Rinne was holding his hand tightly, waving goodbye to the others with the other.
Rinne stepped onto the train, tugging at Niki’s hand, beckoning him along. Still, he had a little hesitation in his step, as he stepped onto the train next to him, dragging his suitcase along. Then, the train departed.
There’s no more back now
And Niki wouldn’t want to go back, didn’t feel a sign of regret.
Already exhausted from doing absolutely nothing, he slumped down in a booth next to Rinne, resting his head on his shoulder.
He could already feel his consciousness slipping away, as he felt Rinne’s lips on his temple.
“I love you”, he whispered. That was the last thing he heard, before he fell asleep.
~~~
Their sleep was rudely interrupted by one of the train conductors shaking him awake, telling both him and Rinne that their train had arrived.
Rinne’s head was resting atop of his own, drool sticking in his hair. Quickly, he apologised to the conductor, before shaking the others shoulder, waking him up.
Rinne blinked, confused as to where he was. He looks kind of cute, when he’s like this, huh~?
“G’mornin’ Niki-kyun~~ where ‘m I?”, his words were slurred and heavy with sleep. Niki sighed.
“The train has arrived; we have to go~”
“Carry me, Niki-kyun!”, Rinne whined, like a little child. He gave him his cutest puppy-dog-eyes, he could muster, and Niki was just about to break.
“Eh~? But what about the suitcases?”
Honestly, that was the best argument he could give, when Rinne was pouting and giving him a cute stare and just looking plain adorable.
“I mean… I guess we could ask the conductor to take them…?”, he asked, looking at the conductor in mind, who nodded, looking a little confused. Still, he grabbed their suitcases.
Rinne’s eyes lit up, as Niki bent down to pick him up, carrying the taller man like a bride.
“You’re heavy, Rinne-ku~un!”, Niki whined, still carrying him out of the train and onto the platform of the main train station of Sapporo, Hokkaido. Quite a few people stared at them, most people out of amusement or confusion.
Still, some people looked disgusted. Niki gulped, as he set Rinne down slowly, not saying a word as he felt all the stares on him. A blush dusted his cheeks; one of shame. Sometimes he forgot that it still wasn’t 100% socially acceptable for a man to be dating another man.
Rinne gave him a look of concern, as he grabbed his suitcase, instead of his hand. As always, he could read the air well, and the current atmosphere practically yelled don’t you fucking dare hold his hand. He walked off, not paying him a second glance.
It stings, Niki thought, he’s not doing it on purpose, but still…
Sighing loudly, he shook his head, forcing those thoughts into the depths of his mind. He walked after Rinne, who was walking out of the train station and towards the bus stops.
“My village is a bit outside of Sapporo. We’ll have to take a bus, to get there, ‘kay? The bus ride’ll take a bit, though~”
Niki gave a little hum of acknowledgement, still feeling way too aware of the looks people gave them.
Completely lost in thought, he didn’t even notice when Rinne completely stopped in his tracks right in front of him.
“Why did you stop?”
He felt Rinne’s hand wrap around his, as the redheads voice lowered.
“If they wanna stare, let’s at least give ‘em a little somethin’ to look at~”, he chuckled quietly. “If that’s fine with ya, that is~ jus’ ignore all them stares! All them people are idiots anyway~”
A little surprised, but also intrigued by Rinne’s proposal he stared down at his bigger hand wrapped around his. Smiling slightly, he intertwined their fingers, squeezing his hand slightly as they continued walking.
Rinne looked unbelievably smug and proud, as they walked through the middle of the city, holding hands.
Most people didn’t pay them any mind. Niki felt relieved. Hmm, this isn’t so bad, huh~?
As time passed, he forgot about the stares and all focused on was the sensation on Rinne’s thumb rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand.
And so, they walked hand in hand all the way to the bus stop.
~~~
The situation in the bus, was similar to the one in the train. Just this time, Rinne rested his head on Niki’s lap, still very tired as it seemed.
Mindlessly, tangling his fingers in the thick red locks of his, Niki stared out of the window, watching the passing landscape; the city centre, the outskirts and finally nothing but forest. They had the bus entirely to themselves, as all the other passengers had gotten out sometime earlier, obviously not having any business outside of Sapporo.
They drove all the way to the last stop, Rinne drooling all over him. Again.
But Niki really couldn’t get mad at him. Not when he looked so… cute.
When the bus finally did arrive, Rinne immediately woke up. Like it was some kind of instinct, which he had honed. Like he knew exactly where they were.
And this time, he was even willing to walk by himself.
Getting out of the bus, Niki looked in around and lo and behold; they truly were in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
“Rinne-kun…? Where’s the village?”
Throwing his head back, Rinne laughed loudly. “Oh, you really thought it was right here? Nah, we gotta walk a bit, Niki-kyun~ should I carry ya~?”
“How far is it…?”
“Hmm… about 10 kilometres, I’d say? Not that far!”
So that explains his strong legs and insane stamina? Jeez
“10 kilometres…? The sun’s already setting! We’ve already travelled for like 12 hours today and I’m tire~ed”
“Ya slept through almost all of it though, didn’t ya? I can carry ya! Piggyback ride!”
He looked extremely excited for a piggyback ride.
Niki sighed. “You can’t, we still have the suitcases… And which way is it?”
Rinne pointed at the forest.
So, we have to drag these things through a freaking forest?!
Already too tired and fed up with everything, he grabbed Rinne’s hand. “Lead the way”, me muttered quietly and so they started walking.
~~~
Dragging a suitcase through the forest was honestly not as bad as Niki expected. Or well, it was the least of his struggles.
His legs were cramped up, from sitting all day and now they were aching from walking, and he felt awfully and utterly tired and irritated. For some goddamn reason, Rinne was doing perfectly fine. Or maybe he just didn’t show it.
Niki sighed for the umpteenth time, as his suitcase got caught on the root on a tree. Looking a little concerned, Rinne turned around and looked at him.
“Are ya okay? We’re almost there, and I mean it! Like maybe 10 more minutes, and then ya can go to sleep in a proper bed!”
“Last time you said that there are 15 minutes left and that was at least half an hour ago!”, Niki snapped, his irritation showing.
Rinne let go of his suitcase and just picked up Niki. “I’ll take the suitcases later, gotta take the princess to bed first after all, eh~?”
Only just now, did Niki notice how utterly exhausted he actually was. He knew that he was tired, sure, but not this tired.
“Thanks…”, his words were completely slurred, as he stifled a yawn and wrapped his arms around Rinne, almost immediately falling asleep right then and there. In the middle of a forest.
In the arms of his beloved
~~~
The next morning Niki woke up, he was in a foreign room in an unfamiliar bed. He sat up quickly, having forgotten how he got here.
Two familiar arms were wrapped around his waist and suddenly he remembered where he was, and how he got here.
Sighing, he lied back down, snuggling back into – what was probably – the most comfortable bed he’s even slept on in his life. Not really being able to fall back asleep, he just stared at the ceiling. For some reason he was excited. Today was the first day of his new life.
Smiling to himself, he turned his head to look at Rinne, who was lying next to him. When he was asleep, he looked ever so peaceful and beautifully graceful. For a few moments, he just lied there, staring at a sleeping Rinne. Carefully, as to not wake him up, he grabbed the others hand, just holding it in his own.
He felt happy when he was with Rinne.
Suddenly, Rinne started smiling, his eyes still closed. “Stop staring at me, would ya~?”
Niki was a bit startled by his sudden answer and blushed. “You were awake all this time…?”
Teal eyes opened slowly and looked right into his bright blue ones. “Jup~ good morning~”
This whole ordeal felt so incredibly domestic and Niki just about melted. For a while, they just basked in each other’s presence, still half asleep, until someone knocked at the door. Rinne got up, tiptoeing towards the door, and opening it a little. Niki could just about see a young woman in a traditional kimono, with a tray of food. Said young woman was conversing with Rinne.
“So, where is your future wife, Rinne-sama?”
Niki could see Rinne tensing up a little.
“Well I don’t really have a wife, ya see?”
The young maiden gave him a confused look. “But I thought that you were going to come back with your future partner?”
Rinne looked nervous, shuffling around a bit. It was weird, seeing him so nervous, anxious, scared of what might happen.
“Well, my future partner is… he’s a man. Not a future wife, but a future husband.”
The young woman dropped the tray she was holding, completely shocked. “B-but you can’t…! W-what will the village elders say to that…? And you need to have children as well!”
“I can. I don’t really give a fu- don’t really care, what the village elders may think. I’m gonna marry, who I wanna marry, and that someone is Niki-kyun. And the kids? Ya can always adopt some! Damn, y’all really don’t have any valid arguments, eh?”
Sighing, she looked at him. “I’m just worried, Rinne-sama. They might attack Niki-sama. It’s too dangerous, Rinne-sama.”
“They won’t attack him.”, Rinne said, voice firm.
“What makes you think that?”, she asked, absentmindedly, as she started cleaning up the things she had dropped.
“If they lay a single fuckin’ finger on ‘im, they’re dead meat.”
She looked absolutely terrified at his statement. “Y-you can’t do that…!”
“I do whatever the hell I want. But like, c’mon! It’s my village now and I’ll jus’ change the rules, to make same-sex marriage legal, ya hear me?”, taking a deep breath, he composed himself, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap, but like… c’mon, jus’ ‘cause Niki’s a man, means I can’t marry ‘im? That’s bullshit! And also, I ain’t killin’ anyone. But if they do attempt to hurt Niki, they’ll have to get past me first. Fuck, these rules are fuckin’ dumb…”
“Watch your language, Rinne-sama. You don’t want the others hearing you speaking like that!”
Rinne just shrugged, not really caring.
“Well anyways… is there no way, that we can disguise Niki as a woman…? I just don’t want anything to happen to the both of you.”
“Asuka-chan is always so nice to me~ but seriously, to need to worry ‘bout us, we’ll be fine~”
She smiled at him, taking her leave. Rinne shut the door, turning around, and sitting down on the bed.
“Did ya listen to the conversation, Niki-kyun~?”
Niki nodded, slightly scared now, which apparently was visible.
“There’s nothin’ to worry ‘bout, Niki. I’ll protect ya.”
Not caring anymore, he wrapped his arms around Rinne and just started crying. Not exactly knowing why he was crying. All he knew was the fact that Rinne heartbeat calmed him down.
“I love you, Rinne-kun. So much…”
“Love ya too”
They fell into silent, as Niki calmed down. Once again, Rinne spoke up. “I have to introduce ya to my mother and grandmother, Niki-kyun.”
“Right now…?”
“The sooner, the better! Anyways, I left ya some clothes back, that ya can wear. D’ya know how to wear a traditional yukata?”
Niki nodded into his chest, as he pulled back from his warm embrace
~~~
Stepping into one of the many traditional homes, this one being quite a bit bigger than the rest – similar to Rinne’s – Niki felt a little nervous. Rinne pushed the door open and there sat an elderly lady and a younger one. The younger lady, probably in her late 40, had the same fiery red hair as Rinne. The older one had the same intense eyes.
Niki spared a glance at Rinne and he looked… at peace, happy.
“Hiya mother! Hello grandma! Gotta introduce ya to someone~”
The younger woman, Rinne’s mom, smiled slightly and walked up to them, pulling Rinne into an embrace.
She was quite a bit shorter than Rinne, but her arms looked strong.
“Mother, you’re suffocatin’ me!”
Niki chuckled quietly, watching them.
“Oh, hush, Rinne-chan! I’m not suffocating ya, you’re just weak!”
Rinne’s mother was a lot like Rinne in a way, huh? As they bickered, he realised that the elderly woman, Rinne’s grandma, beckoned him forth. Feeling a little awkward, he walked towards her.
“Ah, so who we have here? Are you Rinne’s girlfriend?”
The heat rose to his cheeks, as he shook his head. “I’m his b-boyfriend…”
She nodded. “Ah, I see! Finally, Rin-chan found someone. Because, you see, he never was interested in any of the girls, that we tried to marry him off to. It’s nice, that he has you, sweetie. What’s your name?”
What? She doesn’t mind?
“Oh, uh, my name is Niki Shiina, it’s nice to meet you, miss!”
She smiled at him and then looked at Rinne. “Take good care of Rin-chan for me, ya hear me? He deserves it.”
Niki nodded and looked over his shoulder. Rinne and his mother were still bickering.
The old woman glared at them, and they still didn’t shut up.
“Harumi! Rin-chan! Would you please stop arguing, we have a guest here!”
“Don’t call me that!”, Rinne said, slightly embarrassed about the nickname. Niki snickered.
He’s cute when embarrassed
Rinne’s mother, Harumi, sighed. “Sorry, ma~”
The elderly woman gave them both a disappointed look. “Well, anyways. Rin-chan, are you sure, that you want to marry him? You know what the others are like…”
Rinne nodded frantically and bowed his head to her. “Please. I want to. No matter what.”
Niki felt like a lighting had struck him, his heart beating even faster at the pure genuine wanton Rinne expressed for no one other than him.
The elderly woman’s smile softened up. “I would love to say yes. If it’s what makes you happy, but we need the next leader for the village.”
Harumi stood next to Rinne and glared up at her mother. “Ever heard of adoption, hag?”
She sighed. “I assume adoption will do as well… Just- just be careful out there, Rin-chan, okay? You know how everyone else feels about same-sex marriage.”
Rinne nodded. “Thank you, grandma. Love ya!”
“No problem, dear. Now go, go~ I have a wedding to plan~”
“Yeah, yeah, see ya around~”, and with that, Rinne left, dragging Niki behind him and closing the door softly.
“Rinne-chan looks happy with Niki, doesn’t he~? Let’s just hope, the others will accept them as well… love is love, after all.”, Harumi sighed, looking at her mother.
She smiled. “Just trust him for once, will ya? He’ll figure something out.”
~~~
Niki had settled in fairly quickly. Some things were still very weird about this place, but nonetheless he enjoyed it here.
He also found out that Rinne could literally whatever the hell he wanted. When he wanted a certain food? He got it.
One time he even ordered Asuka to let soundproof walls be built for… reasons. Asuka had just blushed at the implications and ran off.
Another thing he found out, was how good Rinne was with kids. He was always so kind and fun with the kids of the little village.
Still, the entire village thought he and Niki were “just friends”, apart from Rinne’s relatives and Asuka, who turned out to be Rinne’s personal servant who he’s known since childhood.
She was a very friendly girl, albeit a little clumsy and shy at times.
“I’m gonna tell the village ‘bout our weddin’ tomorrow.”
Rinne said one day, absentmindedly.
“Are you sure?”
“Ya still worried, Niki-kyun? I already told ya, not to worry ‘bout anythin’! I have everythin’ under control~”
“Yes, I know, I trust you. I just don’t know how they’ll react. I-I’m frankly scared…”
Rinne hummed and knocked their foreheads together.
“Everythin’ will be fine, don’t worry”
Ever so gently, he kissed the tip of Niki’s nose, his cheek, his temple and finally his lips. Wrapping his arms around Rinne’s neck, he deepened the kiss, slithering his tongue in the others mouth.
The kiss grew more and more heated and so did their desires for each other.
Thank god the walls are soundproof
~~~
Rinne stood on some kind of podium, as the entirety of his village was gathered beneath him. Niki stood a little behind him, also having a view across all the people, who just stood there. Some with confused, some with curious looks on their faces.
Clearing his throat, he began talking and immediately all the people who were still speaking, stopped.
“Hello everyone. I wanted to address something personal today.”, he spoke in a very mature manner, in proper Japanese for once.
The villagers looked at him, with big curious eyes.
Rinne took a deep breath, continuing his “speech”, which he obviously hadn’t planned, because it’s Rinne for god’s sake.
“I will be getting married soon. And before anyone asks, it isn’t Asuka-chan or whatever, she’s just a friend. It’s… someone else.”
Then, the people started whispering excitedly. A bunch of names from young women of the village could be heard.
Rinne smirked, looking proud.
“I’m marrying Niki~”
All hell broke loose. People started yelling things like “a man can’t marry another man” and started throwing things at Rinne, all of which he dodged with ease, still looking smug.
As soon as Rinne’s grandma came out, everyone stopped. “Let him speak.”
Sending her a grateful smile, Rinne took a shaky breath.
“Yeah, I know, I know. A man marrying another man? Something like that has never happened in our village before! You know what I say to that? To hell with that! Everyone should be able to marry who they love and well… I love Niki. I love men. It’s that fucki- freakin’ simple, ya hear? I know it’s supposed to be tradition and all that crap but why shouldn’t I be allowed to marry, who I want to?”
That seemed to shut everyone up, as they considered what he just said.
A little kid spoke up at first, looking up at the redhaired man, with big curious eyes.
“A man can marry another man…? I thought that was impossible! How does that work?”
Jumping down from the podium, Rinne ruffled the little boys’ hair.
“It works jus’ like a normal marriage! There’s a wedding an’ everythin’! A girl can also marry another girl if she wants to.”
More of the kids gathered around him, asking him questions about it. Sitting down in the grass, Rinne let the kids climb all over him, as he answered their curious questions and ruffled their hair. Finally, Niki came out from behind the podium and sat down next to Rinne.
The kids immediately lost interest in Rinne and started staring and poking at him. The kids found his ponytail to be exceptionally interesting, as they wouldn’t stop pulling on it.
“I didn’t know boys can have long hair!”
Some kid exclaimed. Most kids remarked that he looked like a woman and asked him if he really was getting married to Rinne.
Most parents looked fairly amused by the kids’ enthusiasm and didn’t pay any mind to them anymore.
Still, some of the older people, gave them some judgemental looks, but were immediately silenced by both Harumi and Rinne’s grandma.
The kids seemed to have taken a liking to Niki and suddenly he realised just how much he wanted to have some his own.
A pink hue dusting his cheeks at the thought, he turned his head to look at Rinne, who was happily playing with the kids and telling them stories.
“You’d be a great dad, Rinne-kun…”, he said, without really thinking, as he braided a little girl’s hair.
Those words seemed to startle Rinne a bit, as he looked at him, his mouth slightly hanging open.
“Ya think? Well, you seem to be quite good with kids as well~”
He smiled to himself. I like this life a lot more than I imagined I would, eh~
~~~
A few months later, the big day arrived. They were going to get married. Niki was nervous as hell about this.
Rinne’s mother was currently giving him some slight makeup, to “make Rinne have a heart attack, when he sees ya”, she said.
He was wearing a fancy yukata, which Rinne’s grandma had made specifically for him and honestly, he felt honoured.
“How are ya feeling, Niki-chan~? Ya excited?”
“Ju~p. But I’m looking quite forward to it…”, he smiled and closed his eyes, as he felt some kind of brush against his eyelids.
“Ya know? I’m happy that Rinne finally has someone, who loves him for himself… I mean he has me and his grandma, but he never really had any proper friends, or well a boyfriend. He was always… lonely. His little brother, Hiiro… He didn’t know, that Rinne actually loved him. I was so horrible to Hiiro, there’s no way he’ll forgive me.”
Niki didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to. He just stayed silent.
“I-I wasn’t the nicest to Rinne either, y’know? Never really let him live his dreams and whatnot… I just raised him, as the next king, that’s all I did. Didn’t raise him a real child. Are ya sure, that ya want to stay here forever…? I’m sure you’d be doing way better in a city of some sort.”
Admittedly, Niki had thought back on the times in Tokyo. He didn’t exactly hate the old-fashioned life here but… He sighed.
“Sometimes, I do wish to return back to Tokyo.”, he admitted. He was sure that Rinne felt similarly to him.
He looked happy here, but he wasn’t 100% acting like his usual self.
“Hmm, I thought so~ And I’m sure, that Rinne would appreciate going back more, wouldn’t he? I’m sure there’s people ya miss back there, hm?”
He couldn’t really nod right now, as Harumi started braiding his hair. Braiding in all sorts of flowers and pearls.
“Y’know, the town was doing just as fine, without a leader. I’m sure, the only reason Rinne is happy here, is because of you, Niki-chan. I also know, he wouldn’t want to raise a child in this kind of environment. He wouldn’t want a child to have the same fate as him.”
“I’ll talk to him after the wedding, Harumi-san.”
“You do that~”
After about 20 more minutes, Niki was ready to go. He was shaking a little, nervous about this whole ordeal.
~~~
The wedding felt like a big festival, more than an actual wedding. It was held outdoors because well, there’s wasn’t really an altar anywhere around here.
Rinne looked indescribably handsome with his usually messy hair slicked back and also wearing a traditional yukata. Where there usually were black rings in his ear lobe, were golden pearls in two of them a small, dangling ornament in the other.
He also was wearing slight makeup, and it looked absolutely amazing.
Niki himself, looked absolutely ethereal to Rinne. Like an angel.
His usually loose ponytail, now an artistic braid with all sorts of things woven in and fuck his subtle makeup. Slowly, Rinne walked up to him and brushed a loose strand behind his ear.
“You look like an angel, Niki-kyun~”, he whispered, sending shivers down Niki’s spine. Gulping, he turned towards Rinne, looking at him.
The entire village had already found its way there and was patiently waiting for the ceremony to start. And when it finally did, Niki didn’t really know where to look.
If he looked at Rinne, he wouldn’t be able look away. Lost in thought, he completely missed the entire speech.
He was awoken from his trance, as he heard Rinne quietly whisper.
“I do”
The person who was holding the entire speech, who was no one other than Rinne’s grandma, looked at him and repeated what she had said before.
“I do”
And with that, they kissed. The kiss was slow, loving, passionate but not heated, simply beautiful.
The crowd erupted in cheers at the newlywed couple and honestly, Niki couldn’t be happier.
~~~
It was a few days after the wedding and Niki finally had the guts to ask the question, which had been burning within him for the past few days.
“Rinne? I- can we- can we go back?”
Rinne immediately stopped whatever he was doing and turned his head.
“What?”
“You- ever since we arrived here, you haven’t been acting like your usual self, you know? Something is just… off. I know that you want to go back to Tokyo and… so do I.”
Rinne visibly relaxed, as Niki explained himself. “I’ll follow you, wherever you go.”
Softly, he kissed Rinne. “Thank you”, he whispered against his lips.
“I’m so in love with you”
~~~
Niki was crying a little, as he bid goodbye to the village, to the kids, to Rinne’s grandma and mother. He loved the village but… he just preferred it in Tokyo. And well, so did Rinne.
This situation was like the one from months ago, when they bid their goodbyes to Hiiro and the others.
Tokyo… that’s where I belong. Where we belong.
Once again, they went the exact same way back to Tokyo, as they did when they made their way here.
Like last time, they had the bus all to themselves.
“Oi, Niki, do ya think that Kohaku-chan will let us live with ‘em for a while? We don’t have a home, in Tokyo, after all~”
“Let’s hope he will…”, Niki laughed faintly, having completely forgotten about the fact that they no longer had a home in Tokyo.
“I also have another question for ya!”
“Yes~?”
Rinne looked embarrassed and slightly sheepish.
“Do you want to… adopt children…?” he asked quietly, barely audible. His face was completely flushed red.
Niki’s smile softened up, as he kissed Rinne’s cheek. “Sure~”
“Thank you…”
And with that, Rinne fell asleep on Niki’s shoulder, Niki resting his head atop of his, arm around his waist.
This was the life I wanted
~~~
“Dad? How did you and Papa meet?”, Chika asked curiously, their pet dog in tow.
Rinne laughed and sat down on the floor next to her.
“Do ya wanna know the full story, dear~?”