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Jakurai hadn’t even lost his place in the book he was reading when a familiar tuft of pink hair entered his field of vision, Ramuda was fresh out of the shower and still slightly damp as he plopped face down on the couch across from the doctor. He had a white towel wrapped around his hips and his usually pale skin was tinted red from head to toe.
“Jakurai~” the younger complained with a heavy sigh, “It’s always too hot in the summertime.”
“You should stop taking such warm showers, Ramuda-kun,” he responded and flipped to the next page in his book.
There was a whine from the other side of the room, but Ramuda didn’t argue any further and returned to trying to cool off. Limps draped over the couch in directions that shouldn’t be physically possible, and the towel around his waist had undone itself and was simply laying on top of his hips now.
“Are you at least going to get dressed?” Jakurai asked with a slight chuckle upon observing his partner, smiling fondly at his antics.
“Yeah, yeah I guess, I have to dry my hair anyways.” He stood up from the couch and padded down the hall back to the bathroom, taking his wet towel with him.
Ramuda was rather picky with his hair, if he didn’t style it now it would dry in slight waves, a pink ocean adorning his head that he’d try to tame with pastel and rainbow clips. Jakurai would think it looked adorable, but the other would complain all day about how much of a mess it was, and an unhappy Ramuda usually meant an unhappy Jakurai.
About ten minutes later, the younger man returned with freshly dried fluffy hair, dressed in one of Jakurai’s sleep shirts that fit like a dress on him, hiding the black boxers he had on underneath.
The doctor felt his heart clench in his chest. He was so lucky to have him, to have Amemura Ramuda as his own, the same Amemura Ramuda that was known to flirt with every girl he met, the same Amemura Ramuda who had done more than enough questionable things in his lifetime. He loved him so deeply, a passion burned for him since the very day they met all those years ago. Even through all their struggles, all the rough situations they had faced, neither of them had fallen out of love with each other - despite some harsh words that had been thrown at each other.
“I know I’m gorgeous but you better quit drooling, old man,” Ramuda teased, pulling Jakurai out of his thoughts. He wore a playful smirk as he bounced over to crawl into the older’s lap, straddling his thighs and coming face to face with him.
“My apologies.” Jakurai closed the book he had been reading, placing it on the table beside the couch he was seated on. Now he was fully ready to give his lover all of his attention, which was a requirement when dating Ramuda, he needed attention on him at all hours of the day it seemed. He got in certain moods when he was working where he wouldn’t care much about talking to anyone as long as he was trimming, sewing, and designing. Perhaps he used that time to reflect, Jakurai had never bothered to ask him.
His large hands practically engulfed the smaller man as they rested on his hips, being a doctor always had him worried about Ramuda’s health, not only as a clone but as an individual human. He watched him to make sure he was eating real food and not just the lollipops he needed to keep his body running properly, he made sure his portion sizes were large enough too. Call it overprotective, call it creepy, Jakurai cared too much about this man to lose him anytime soon.
Ramuda had placed his hands on Jakurai’s chest, curious sky blue eyes staring into lighter blue ones. It was like he was trying to analyze the doctor just from his eyes, look into his soul and pull the secrets right out of it, that was something he was always good at. Despite everything, all the fights and bad nights, the misunderstandings, they always seemed to come back around to each other and see the other person in a new light. It was certainly a complicated relationship and bordering the line of annoying with how much they argued, but neither of the two wanted this to stop. If a fight once a week would give them another moment together like this, that was worth it for both of them.
“You’re beautiful.” Jakurai lifted his hand to cup Ramuda’s cheek, his thumb stroked small lines over his pale cheekbone.
The younger man scoffed, as if it was a fact that was obvious to him, but both of them knew better. Both of them knew the kinds of doubts Ramuda had in his mind, being one clone of many was something that haunted him, the thought of the identical copies of himself that wore his face unsettled him. He still put on a sly smirk and covered his thoughts and emotions, his tone lacked the enthusiasm he usually sugar coated it with, “Tell me something I don’t know, why don’t ya?”
“You don’t have to pretend, Ramuda-kun,” Jakurai said earnestly, trying to coax out the ‘real’ Ramuda he had only seen so few times before. More than anything, he was intrigued by his lover which naturally convinced him to want to learn everything about him, much to the other’s dismay. He was a private person, for the sake of his sanity and for the sake of his survival.
“Yeah, yeah I know,” he sighed and let his muscles relax, a small frown coming to rest on his face. “I don’t want to think about anything right now, so just shut up and kiss me, eh?”
A kind smile was shot his way before he nodded, something Ramuda always found so endearing yet so frustrating when it came to Jakurai was his patience. He could be a real brat when he wanted to or let his true thoughts and feelings bubble up to the surface, but each and every time something like that happened the doctor simply countered him with disinterest or gave him what he wanted. It was so hard to get a rise out of the old man, Ramuda thought, and yet he still stayed with him.
He still stayed with him after the Dirty Dawg disbanded, he still stayed with him after what his clones had done to his family, he still stayed with him even after he had been tasked with using a true hypnosis mic to brainwash him - a mission he refused. It was unknown to even him why he put himself through this, why he disobeyed his orders and kept running back to a certain tall, purple haired doctor. The closest explanation he ever found was love, but for someone like him, a concept as complicated as such was surely a sight fallen on blind eyes. At least, that was how it should have been.
Everyday that he visited Shinjuku to see Jakurai was filled with even more reasons to fall in love with him, it gave him hope that they could make this work once and for all together. He couldn’t get rid of their bond no matter how hard he tried, though he had decided long ago that he didn’t mind it after all, anyways.
Ramuda shifted in Jakurai’s lap, their heads leaning to meet each other as they began a slow and soft kiss, the kind Jakurai loved the most. Where the younger of the two preferred things to be fast paced and full of excitement, the other appreciated the smallest of touches and subtle acts of affection. They met in the middle most of the time to compromise for their differing tastes, which created a blend of their likes and formed something entirely new that they were both fond of. Slow, languid movements of their lips and tongues accompanied by the passion and force, the push and pull of each other’s emotions and bodies.
Moments like these weren’t uncommon, but they wished they could stay here forever, in their own protected bubble outside of the world of divisions and rap battles. Away from the business of their life and jobs, existing only in a place where the two of them were comfortable and happy and in love. Where fireworks exploded behind their eyelids as their lips touched and the beating of their hearts synched with one another's, tapping a tempo they would write lyrics to and trace into each other’s skin, a lovely melody of intimacy.
But they couldn’t stay there in that fantasy world, only a few seconds at a time were they allowed to enter the pearly white gates of that heaven, before they returned to the reality around them. Ramuda made up for those moments with unexpected hugs and hand holding, kisses to Jakurai’s cheeks, forehead, chin, neck, arms, anywhere. The sugar rush he felt when their bodies were connected in any way was better than anything the cigarettes he smoked or the copious amount of candy he ate could give him. While Jakurai was a quiet observer, happy to sit back and watch the pink haired man bounce along the streets they walked or sketch a new design at the kitchen table of his apartment. He studied his lover the way he would any other topic that interested him, just being able to know Ramuda was enough for him to be satisfied.
“Ramuda…” The doctor breathed as they pulled away from each other, faces merely inches apart.
Ramuda had a dopey grin plastered on his face, a soft yet bubbly tone replacing his more loud and assertive one, “What’s up?”
“I love you.”
“Well you’re in luck, because I just happen to love you too, Jakurai.”
They shared a laugh and another kiss, sighing as they settled into each other like a house on it’s foundation, the doctor mumbling fondly, “I’m glad you do.”