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Homare grinned as he spun around on his office chair to face Hisoka, who was sitting on his chair on ‘his’ side of the room. Hisoka was eating marshmallows at a sleepy pace, with his head drooping forward every few seconds before he woke up again.
Homare sighed exasperatedly, albeit with fondness. “Hisoka-kun, if you are so sleepy, I suggest you make haste to your bed.”
Hisoka yawned, before moving his hand up to his face to rub at his eyes. “Carry me up then, Arisu.”
Homare huffed quietly, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I am not Tasuku-kun. I lack the core strength to do such a feat.” he responded, before he suddenly grinned again. “I do have a suggestion though… it might help wake you up a tad.”
“…I don’t want to hear it.”
“Hmp! You’d do well to be less insolent, Hisoka-kun, I think you’ll find the practice rather energizing.” Homare huffed, before he held up his hand with a placating smile. “Please? It’ll be a good bonding experience to further strengthen our bond as both troupemates and friends.”
Hisoka still looked entirely reluctantly to get up from his seat, but eventually did with a soft sigh as he placed his bag of marshmallows down on his seat. He walked over to where Homare was standing, and tilted his head in question. “…So? What are we doing, Arisu?”
Homare let his arms fall open, “Trust falls!”
“…I’m going to bed.”
“No, please wait! It’ll be fun!”
Hisoka gave Homare a long-suffering look, but relented again after a few seconds. Hisoka shook his head, “Only one time.”
Homare pouted, but even he could tell that Hisoka was genuinely exhausted, and so he found himself smiling fondly instead. “That’s much alright. Since it’ll just be one time, shall we make it more meaningful by having you be the one to do the fall? But of course, it’s perfectly fine if you are unable to. I know it was an endeavour just for me to stand behind you, so I can be the one to fall if you’d prefer.”
Hisoka silently mulled over his answer for a bit before he shook his head again. “…It’s fine. I don’t mind being the one to fall.”
For some reason, hearing that caused Homare’s face to heat up as a bashful smile lit up on his lips. “O-Oh, that’s fantastic, Hisoka-kun! I’m… relieved you feel that you can trust me that way.” he responded, before he held out his arms again. “Now… come over here, Hisoka-kun!”
Hisoka could feel a small smile twitch onto his lips as he came closer, and turned his back to Homare. While he could feel the usual nagging feeling at the back of his mind that someone was standing too close behind him, it didn’t particularly bother him anymore since it was counteracted with the hours he spent familiarizing the feeling of having Homare stand behind him.
And ah well… trusting Homare helped with that too.
“Alright, are you ready, Hisoka-kun?”
Hisoka stood in silence for moment. He was prepared to quell the protests that would bombard his mind, but to his surprise, none came up. So before they had a chance to, he let go of his momentum and let himself fall backwards.
Homare’s mouth gaped open, “W-Wait-” he tried to call out, rushing forward to hold up whatever parts of Hisoka he could.
“…That hurts, Arisu. You’re tugging my hair.”
Homare grit his teeth as he tried to maneuver Hisoka back onto his feet, with one of his hands pushing up the hair by Hisoka’s nape and one of his arms flat against Hisoka’s back. “Pardon me, Hisoka-kun, but I was expecting an affirmation before you actually-” Homare’s voice caught in his throat as pale words by Hisoka’s nape caught his eye.
Usually hidden by strands of silver hair, was words sprawled across the back of Hisoka’s neck. Homare had to fight just to not lose the strength in his arms as they trembled.
Hisoka’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “…Arisu?” he asked quietly, and quickly steadied himself on his feet in order to turn around and find out what had caused Homare to fall into silence. Just before he could fully turn around though, he let out a small exhale as Homare’s hands were suddenly on his shoulders to keep him from fully turning around. “Arisu-?”
“Ahahaha…” Homare laughed weakly, hands still trembling as he kept them on Hisoka’s shoulders. “My apologies, I think I accidentally pulled a muscle somewhere along the way.” Homare explained, voice turning watery as tears spilled down his cheeks. “My tears… they won’t stop flowing.”
Hisoka’s eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly slipped out of Homare’s hold so he could face the other man. “Arisu-” he called out. He grit his teeth when he saw Homare quickly turning and running for the door from the corner of his eye. “Don’t go-”
But it was too late, Homare had slammed the door behind him by the time that Hisoka had fully turned around and taken some steps toward him. Hisoka’s fist clenched as a few swears left his lips. “…What the hell was that, Arisu?”
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Homare always loved hearing stories about soulmates. Or, to be more exact, he loved all the art that was created due to the notion of soulmates. Just hearing the word was enough to bring young maidens into a daze, sighing, and mind ablaze with imagining how their ‘fated encounter’ with their other half would happen.
Everyone was born with words etched somewhere on their body. Some chose to keep it hidden, and some chose to keep it in the open, hoping that it’ll help their chances with finding their other half. The words were precious nevertheless; the first words given to them by their other half.
In the past, Homare was similar to those dazed maidens. His fountain pen would stop non-stop, inspiration flowing into him like an endless stream. Love this, love that, love everywhere… his collection of poems detailing soulmates still remained one of his bestsellers. Some of his poems had even been used in dramas and movies. Yet… while Homare still loved the notion of soulmates, and having an ‘other half’—
Homare was out of breath by the time he got to the courtyard. As his steps turned unsteady, he let himself fall to his knees in an unkempt heap. Slowly, he brought his head into his arms. What was he thinking? He had always been an expressive genius of many words. Having to keep secrets, staying quiet… that wasn’t his forte in the slightest.
Yet…
His right hand trembled as it reluctantly moved away from his face to grab onto his left wrist, which was covered neatly with white bandages. He had kept it hidden since the first day his soulmate mark had showed up. He could still remember the bubbling excitement that rose in his chest the day he saw the man on the television tearfully unwrapping his bandages from his soulmate mark as he begged the pretty female lead to choose him. Homare had thought that the man was awfully pathetic – why did he stop her at the airport when he had a billion other chances to do so? Humans were awfully confusing. But the point was that Homare felt such elation at the prospect of finding his soulmate, and getting the chance to tearfully unwrap his own bandages and let them be the first person to see him… all of him. His soulmate mark was albeit… a little odd, but he had always found it charming. To say the least, he should have seen it coming. But he was more than happy to continue being in denial just because he was so happy… just to be surrounded by his most beloved troupemates.
But now he couldn’t ignore it.
And he was terrified of what that meant.
Homare sighed loudly as Hisoka’s soulmate mark invaded every crevice of his mind. It would be a lie to say that a small, tiny part of him didn’t consider the possibility, but it still felt like the wind was knocked out of his lungs.
‘He may be Sleeping Beauty’… there was no going around it, those were definitely the words on Hisoka’s neck. A part of him was confused on how it took so long for anyone to find out, seeing how much Hisoka was carried around, but it was what it was.
Slowly, Homare unravelled his white bandages. It would be a lie to say he kept them on all the time. First of all, that would be incredibly unsanitary. So it wasn’t like it some huge revelation moment for him to take them off. But this was the first time he was taking them off outside of the bath and the occasional night, and he still felt strangely exposed.
He let the bandages fall in a heap to the ground as his fingers gently traced over the lettering on the inside of his left wrist.
‘Zzz…’ – it was cute, was Homare’s first thought. His parents had gone as far to think that something had gone terribly wrong, and had him brought to many different soulmate specialists. While it was certainly… unique, none of them had found any fault with his mark, which was a relief to Homare, because he actually found his mark quite beautiful with its repetition (so sue the poet in him).
He still thought it was beautiful. But instead of the usual wishful sighs it invoked out of him, it instead filled him to the core with anxiety and dread. Because it was obvious, wasn’t it?
Someone like him didn’t deserve Hisoka. He already figured he didn’t deserve most of the good-natured people in the world, but a small part of him may have been wishing for someone equally bad with feelings. Someone that he could learn and grow with, and someone that his harsh words couldn’t harm. He knew it wasn’t likely, but that was what soulmates were for, right? To be the other half to your soul?
He sighed quietly before pulling his sleeve down to cover his mark, and picked up his bandages from the ground. If he knew one thing for sure, it was that he was never going to tell Hisoka about this. Homare closed his eyes as more tears started to trickle down his face.
No… Hisoka only deserved the best. And Homare couldn’t… be that.
If he was thinking of what Hisoka deserved… his thoughts wandered to a dazzling person who would know exactly what to do when Hisoka went through bouts of nightmares, and who would know exactly what to say to calm him down in his times of distress. Someone that could… actually understand their partner’s feelings, and could make them feel loved and cherished. Someone like Homare—
“You’re always like this!”
—couldn’t possibly be that.
But there is something he could do for Hisoka…
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Quietly, in case Hisoka was sleeping, Homare unlocked the door to their room and stepped in. It was dusk, and the room was softly illuminated with moonlight and shadows. Under the wash of the moon, Hisoka looked ethereal. His hair nearly glowed a luminescent silver, and Homare found himself wanting to run his fingers through those locks. Homare imagined how soft and warm the other man must be, dozing under a cozy blanket and hugging Pen Pen to his chest.
Hisoka’s eyes opened, revealing their lime green colour. They too, nearly glowed under the moonlight. “Arisu..?”
So much for Hisoka being asleep.
Still, Homare made sure to hide his small pang of disappointment as he smiled and he waved his hand in greeting, “Hello, Hisoka-” Homare let out a soft exhale as Hisoka jumped off the sofa, and immediately dragged him into a hug. “H-Hisoka-kun?” he asked, his voice a little breathless.
“…Are you okay?” Hisoka mumbled into Homare’s chest after a few seconds of silence.
Homare’s eyes widened in realization before they softened as he moved his arms to wrap around Hisoka’s waist. “Yes, I am quite alright. I apologize, I must have worried you quite a bit, hmm?” he responded softly into Hisoka’s hair. And he was right – it was just as soft and warm as he had thought it would be. He even smelt nice. Like marshmallows and sleep.
Hisoka didn’t respond out loud, but he did nod into Homare’s chest. Homare kept Hisoka close to him for a few more seconds, before he made a move to gently pull away. Hisoka sighed before letting go, and took a few steps away from the other man. He peered up at Homare though his bangs, and had an unreadable look on his face. “Arisu’s eyes are red.”
“Why yes, they’ve always been red, Hisoka-kun. Although I’d argue they’re more fuchsia when they’re under the delicate sunbeams.” Homare smiled, with a gentle flourish of his hand.
“I meant from crying.”
“Oh.”
Hisoka’s eyes lowered. “…It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. I know I don’t always… talk either.”
“And that’s much alright, Hisoka-kun!” Homare quickly responded, “You are under no obligation to tell me, or anyone, anything you don’t wish to.”
Hisoka smiled softly, “Yeah. Thanks, Arisu.”
Homare nodded, “No need to thank me, Hisoka-kun. But ah… if you were hoping to make me feel better, I do have a suggestion…”
“…?”
Homare grinned, “Please tell me about your type, Hisoka-kun!”
“…My type?” Hisoka asked with an unimpressed look. “Where do you keep getting these things from?”
Homare nodded enthusiastically. “Think of it as another practice to strengthen our relationship as friends and troupemates, if you will. Kazunari-kun told me it’s popular amongst the younglings to talk about this sort of thing.”
Hisoka gave Homare a bland look. “We’re not exactly young anymore, Arisu.”
“Nonsense. We’re still plenty young.” Homare laughed, before he reached over to hold Hisoka’s hand in his and lead them to a sofa. “One only ceases to be young when they have lost all the wonder in the world around them.” he added. “However…”
He pulled out a notebook from the inside of his suit jacket as he peered at Hisoka curiously. “Is that it then?” Homare asked, starting to scribble down notes into his notebook. “Do you prefer someone younger? Potentially more energetic? I suppose the saying of ‘opposites attract’ really does come into play here.”
Hisoka yawned. “It doesn’t matter to me whether they’re younger or older than me. I guess… older? And I don’t want someone loud, if that’s what you mean by energetic-” Hisoka answered, before he stopped himself, and paused to mull over his answer. “…Well, as long as they’re not annoyingly loud. And not all of the time.”
Homare hummed lightly as he jotted down what Hisoka mentioned. “That does suit you, someone… quiet.” he repeated, ignoring the disappointment that welled up inside of him.
“…It doesn’t matter to me.”
Homare raised an eyebrow as the elegant script on the paper came to a halt. “Pardon me?”
“…It doesn’t matter to me if they’re loud or not.”
Homare was still undoubtedly confused, but he jotted it down nevertheless.
The rest of Hisoka’s answers were contradictory as well. Homare sighed as he set the pen down. How would he possibly find someone so… eccentric? “Let’s finish for now, Hisoka-kun. Thank you for humouring me.” Homare smiled.
“…I didn’t really do a good job.”
“Not at all!” Homare quickly refuted, “I believe… you just don’t approach others outside of Mankai often. We should go out sometime.” Homare explained, before he quickly backtracked as he realized what he said. “I-I mean, go out to find someone suitable for you.”
Hisoka frowned, “I’ll go out with Arisu, but I don’t want to find someone-”
“Marvelous! I’ll let you know if I’m going to an event of some sort, and invite you along as my plus-one!”
“That’s not-”
“You are most welcome, Hisoka-kun, no need to be shy about receiving my help! I am most delighted to offer my assistance.”
Hisoka just sighed, and moved his head to rest on Homare’s lap. “Whatever. Good night, Arisu.” he mumbled. Knowing that Hisoka couldn’t see his bittersweet smile, Homare just hummed in affirmation, and pulled the blanket over Hisoka’s thin shoulders instead.
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Homare smiled as he peered outside the window in the lounge. It was still early morning, and the sun was barely over the horizon. The barely-there sunlight filtered in through the window, and Homare couldn’t help but close his eyes and bask in the light. Cherry blossom season was in full bloom, and on his way back from his walk, he had the pleasure of walking underneath those weeping pink trees. Pink petals had fallen around him like confetti, and it certainly invoked a sense of intimacy and romance. In particular, it aroused feelings of fresh romance – a first love, in other words. He too, had that once, but…
The creak of a door opening broke his train of thought. His eyes shifted to the front entrance when Izumi suddenly opened the door, a bundle of mail in her hands, wearing her tracksuit and her hair tied into a bun. “Good morning, Director. Returning from your own fruitful walk?” Homare smiled, and started to move towards her. “Did you need any assistance with putting away the mail?”
The brunette woman grinned brightly, “Good morning, Homare-san. And I’m good, thank you! Ah, but here-“ she shuffled the mail around in her hands until she grabbed the envelope she wanted in her left hand, and held it to Homare, “-this one is for you.”
Homare’s eyebrows raised, “For moi?” he asked, a hand moving to his chest in shock. “I don’t normally get… normal envelopes. Either it’s-“
“-enough boxes to re-furnish your room ten times over, or thick envelopes with edited manuscripts, yes, yes.” Izumi said exasperatedly.
Homare chuckled, “Indeed. Still… excitement is welling up inside of me. I wonder what mysteries this envelope could be hiding.” With that, he took the envelope from Izumi’s outstretched hand without too much fanfare, “Thank you.”
Izumi’s finger tapped on her chin, “Could it be fan mail? You’re pretty popular, right?”
The poet nodded, “Yes. I’m even regarded as a writing genius to some – I get fan mail all the time. It all goes to my agency though, and they sort it for me. Now this…” He opened the envelope, immediately taking in the high-quality cardstock and gold engraving. He fell silent, however, when he read the text and saw the accompanying picture.
Doing her best to not be nosy and peek, Izumi fidgeted nervously on the spot. “Um… is it… good news?”
Homare was silent for a few more seconds before a slow smile graced his lips and he nodded once. “Yes… I believe so. My ex lover is getting married. And she is inviting me and a plus-one to her wedding.”
Izumi nodded along, a cheerful smile on her lips, “Oh, that’s great- wait, what?!” Her eyes suddenly widened, her eyes peering down at the invitation in the other’s hand. It had ‘save the date’ engraved in gold, along with a picture of a happy looking couple. “B-but you haven’t even talked to her in a while, right?” she asked, as she stared hard at the invitation as if there would be some sort of hint to explain this.
“That would stand to be correct.”
“Then why!?”
Homare shrugged gracefully, and answered as if he was responding to the condition of the weather, “She always told me the problem in our relationship was me. Perhaps this is the conclusion to her hypothesis. She wants proof that she can be happy without me, and that I’m miserable without her.”
Izumi froze slightly, “T-That’s so cold! It can’t be that!”
“Can it really not be? She wasn’t wrong when she said I was a broken cyborg, though. Ah…” Homare stopped here, and he fell silent for a few seconds before he smiled. “She’s wrong… about me being miserable without her though. Even though I was, for a while after we broke off our relationship. I don’t feel miserable now at all. I have Winter Troupe, and the entire company too. You, as well, Director. I’m very fortunate.”
Izumi smiled in response, and her shoulders relaxed, “I feel the same way, Homare-san. I’m glad you joined this company. And Winter Troupe wouldn’t be the same without its moodmaker.”
Homare laughed here, “I’m the moodmaker?”
“Who else would it be?”
“Takusu-san?”
“…Definitely not.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds before they broke off laughing together. It was a good few minutes before Izumi regained her composure. Once she did so, she moved to put the mail down on the coffee table in the lounge. “Are you going to attend then, Homare-san?”
“…”
“Homare-san?”
He came closer to her, before taking a seat on the sofa near the coffee table. “I would… like to hear your opinion, Director.”
“Oh?”
“The logical decision would be, of course, not to go right? There’s simply no merit in me going. She’s not a part of my life anymore, so why should I care about what’s going on in her life?” Homare reasoned, even though he was feeling like the Director was going to scold him for giving such an unempathetic answer. To his mild surprise, the Director started laughing good naturedly instead.
“Fufu… that’s such a Homare-san-like answer.”
“…W-Why… why can you only give me such broken, cyborg-like answers?!”
Homare frowned, and shook his head, to Izumi’s confusion. “…I think, this time, I do not wish to give a ‘Homare-like’ answer, and instead, I want to try giving a ‘pleasant’ answer. In other words, the ‘right’ answer-”
“-Arisu doesn’t have to worry about being unpleasant to people like that… give me a marshmallow.” Hisoka suddenly said from behind the sofa, which caused Izumi to yelp as she jolted in shock.
“H-Hisoka-san! Since when were you there?” Izumi spluttered, not having noticed the man’s presence at all. He was too good at sneaking up behind people, for all that he hated having others be behind him.
“A while now, Director.” Homare answered in Hisoka’s stead, as he pressed a marshmallow to Hisoka’s mouth, who ate the marshmallow immediately. Izumi felt a bead of sweat dripping down her neck. No normal person would have been able to notice Hisoka… “Ah, please slow down, Hisoka-kun, you’ll swallow my fingers too at this rate.”
“That’s impossible, stupid Arisu.”
Izumi barely contained her laughter from spilling out. The two of them really were like an old, married couple. They bickered as such, and yet, everything about them screamed fondness and familiarity. Hasn’t Homare called Hisoka his spoiled lover a few times as well? Also, for all Hisoka complained about the other man’s presence, it was only Homare and Chikage he allowed to stand behind him. And while Hisoka would never admit it, he always seemed reluctant to part from Homare’s side for too long (unless it was a ‘dumb and repetitive’ meeting with Homare’s editors).
As far as Izumi was aware, the two of them weren’t dating… yet. The gears in Izumi’s mind suddenly shifted as the scene in front of her unfolded. “Homare-san… I think you should go to the wedding. With a plus-one.”
Homare and Hisoka snapped out of their conversation (a one-sided attempt from Homare to get Hisoka to at least chew before he swallowed). “…I see.” Homare answered, eyes closed in thought. “But I’ll need someone to be my plus-one though. I wonder if I can find such a person on a short notice.” he said, while eyeing Hisoka obviously.
When Hisoka didn’t say anything, Izumi realized that he would need a push in the right direction. “I can-“ Izumi started, sounding serious even though she had no intention of actually going through with it.
“-I’ll do it…”
Jackpot. Izumi’s hid her smile as she looked to Hisoka, who for all his current sleepiness, looked dead serious. “…Don’t want Arisu to be gone too long. No marshmallows.” Hisoka explained, not liking the way his Director was smiling knowingly at him.
Homare seemed completely unphased, “My dear Hisoka-kun, I wonder if you’ll ever find any merit in my presence other than my supply of marshmallows.”
“…You try finding it, Arisu.”
Before Izumi could speak, some voices and shuffling from the hallway leading to the lounge interrupted her. “What’s this, what’s this? Fake dating IRL? Ktkr.” Itaru chuckled lowly, his signature princely smile not matching his words in the slightest.
“Oh? The hardworking salarymen duo has shown up. Good morning.” Homare said, giving them a small wave.
“Nng… morning, Chikage.”
Itaru smiled, completely unphased. “I’ve been completely ignored by Hisoka-san, lol.”
Chikage sighed wearily, his breath pushing his bangs out briefly. “…Good morning, Director, and others.”
“And ‘others’. You’re so unromantic, senpai.” Itaru sighed as well, shaking his head as if he were dealing with someone hopeless.
“Good morning to everyone except Chigasaki.” Chikage corrected.
“Ding ding… minus 100 affection points for the most unromantic senpai.” Itaru deadpanned, his face neutral.
Hisoka blinked slowly, glancing at them in a bored manner. “…Don’t you two have to get to work instead of bantering like idiots? Or are those suits just for show?”
Itaru made a pained noise and clutched his chest, even though his neutral frown remained. “Ouch, major damage. I should have raised my DF. Where’s my healer? …But yeah, we should get going, senpai… senpai?” Itaru trailed off, turning his head when he didn’t get a response. He made an annoyed noise when he noticed that the taller man wasn’t next to him anymore.
“Chikage-san left halfway when you were talking, Itaru-san!” Homare supplied with a smile, as he continually pushed more marshmallows into Hisoka’s mouth.
“…Better get going before he leaves without you.” Hisoka added.
Itaru sighed good naturedly with a smile. “That’s senpai for you… I’ll be going now.” he replied with a wave of his hand, getting a chorus of ‘take care’s back.
Homare reached into the bag to pull out another marshmallow, but he hand grasped at nothing but emptiness. He frowned as he peered into the bag, only to see that it was empty. “Ah, there’s no more. Then, I suppose that since I’ll be attending the wedding, I should go buy a wedding gift and outfit while getting more marshmallows.”
“I’ll come too.” Hisoka murmured into Homare’s arm, where he had been lying his weight against on the sofa.
“Nonsense. You needn’t worry yourself, I can mange just fine by myself, dear Hisoka-kun.” Homare smiled, placing his hand on his chest.
“…”
“Oh? You’re going to hang off my arm? Have you run out of ways to amuse yourself?” Homare laughed, moving his free hand to run his fingers through Hisoka’s hair as the other man clung to him.
Izumi looked nervously between the two. She couldn’t help but wonder if they would be alright.
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Homare stretched the fabric of the dress shirt across Hisoka’s chest, and nodded approvingly. “Aptly just. I’d wager that this would look fantastic on you as well, Hisoka-kun. Will you try this on too?”
“…This is the twentieth thing you’ve given me to try.”
Homare nodded, the smile on his face never leaving. “It is, more or less.” he replied, not understanding that Hisoka wasn’t asking for a confirmation.
Hisoka just sighed in response, and gingerly took the dress shirt from Homare’s outstretched hand, and headed back into the dressing room. After multiple other outfit changes, Homare was finally satisfied with the final look.
“My, this really does suit you well, Hisoka-kun. Surely, someone at the wedding will have their heart ablaze with passion the second they lay their eyes on you.” Homare complimented, walking with Hisoka towards the cashier.
Hisoka just reached into his fresh bag of marshmallows, and nodded mutely to acknowledge that he had heard Homare. Homare paid for the both of them, smiling politely as the cashier made small talk about if the fancy clothes were for an event.
“Why yes, we will be attending a wedding together.” Homare smiled, gesturing to Hisoka with his hand, who was sleepily slumped against his shoulder.
“That’s so sweet. I hope you two have a good time.”
There was something off about the way they had said ‘that’s so sweet’, said in a way that implied that they thought Homare had said something adorable, but he tried to pay it no mind. “You have my gratitude. I’m sure it will be an enlightening experience.”
“…E-Enlightening?”
Hisoka yawned tiredly. “Let’s just go, Arisu.”
“Yes, yes.” Homare answered, taking the bags of clothes from the cashier. “Take care now.” he smiled.
“You two as well.”
The two left the shop, and walked shoulder-to-shoulder down Veludo Way. It was bright out, and the sunshine passed through trees and buildings to cast a glow upon the street. Hisoka pushed the bag of marshmallows against Homare’s arm, and slumped his head against the side of Homare’s shoulder again. “Too warm… sleepy…”
Homare couldn’t help but smile indulgingly as Hisoka leaned against him again, and he reached over to run his fingers soothingly through those silver locks. “Just a little bit more. We need to get a gift for her.”
“Coal.”
“No, Hisoka-kun. We need to get her a nice gift.”
“…Coal with marshmallows?”
Homare laughed, and shook his head. “That’s something you’d like, we should get her something that she’d like.” he responded. He looked around Veludo Way, until a stall caught his eye. “Over there. Let’s take a look at that stall, Hisoka-kun.” He took Hisoka’s hand in his out of habit (from all the times the sleeping beau wandered off while half asleep), and brought them over to the stall that seemed to be selling different ceramics.
There was an elderly lady manning the stall, and she was sitting at a small table with a cup of tea in her hands, and a steaming teapot next to her on the table. When Homare and Hisoka’s shadows casted on her, she turned her head to smile at them. “Ah… good day, my friends.” she smiled. “Could I interest the two of you with a cup of tea?”
“We appreciate the offer ma’am, but we’re actually looking for a gift for some… friends at a wedding we’ll be attending. Do you have anything appropriate, by chance?” Homare asked, taking a quick look at the different things around the stall. There was fine china, teacup and teapot sets, and interesting looking artifacts.
The elderly lady closed her eyes in thought, “For a wedding, you say… ah I did have this come in just this week.” she answered, pointing to a teacup set near the front of the stall. “Where I’m from, red is a lucky colour, especially for weddings. Each teacup was individually hand painted with pure gold, to symbolize good fortune to come.” she explained, taking a sip of her tea.
Homare nodded, and turned to Hisoka. “This appears suitable. What do you think, Hisoka-kun?”
“Looks pricy… could buy so many marshmallows with that much money.”
Homare resisted the urge to press a kiss to the side of his head from the sudden awash of fondness that hit him. Where had such an urge even come from? Was it due to their soulmate marks? Homare had ought to be more careful… “Well, I’d buy marshmallows for you either way, so that’s not something you ever have to worry about, Hisoka-kun.”
“Ohoho… you take care of each other well. That’s good to see.”
Homare’s smile turned a little bashful. “Is that so? But yes, I do enjoy taking care of this sleeping beau… and Hisoka-kun looks after me as well. That’s what they call good companionship, correct?”
She nodded, a slightly wistful look on her face. “That’s true. Me and my lover were like you two once upon a time.”
“Oh… I see. I’m sorry to hear that.” Homare offered, as Hisoka blearily opened his eyes to look up at Homare.
“…I won’t leave Arisu because Arisu hates being alone. I’ll take care of Arisu forever.”
Homare hadn’t hoped to choke on nothing in a random stall, in public, on a fine afternoon stroll with Hisoka on Veludo Way, but here he was. “H-He doesn’t- mistake- not like that!” Homare forced out in between his coughing fit.
“That’s good, make sure to keep an eye on this one. They seem a bit… eccentric.” the elderly lady replied, taking another sip of her tea as Homare continued to simultaneously choke and babble out protests at the same time.
“Okay.” Hisoka answered blandly, wrapping his arms around Homare’s forearm.
That was too much for Homare, who could feel his face starting to grow warmer and warmer. “W-We’ll take it!” Homare quickly opened his wallet, and threw some bills onto the counter. He didn’t even wait for the elderly woman to respond before grabbing the neatly packed package the second the elderly woman finished tying a bow onto the box she put it into.
“Oh, this is too much-”
“Thank you, have a nice day too!”
With that, Homare started running back towards the dorm with Hisoka clinging onto his one arm, and the package in his other hand.
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Once they were back in their room, Homare realized that he and Hisoka had not spoken for the entire way back. Mostly because of the speed that Homare was running at, but it was strange for the both of them to be silent during an outing. Homare placed the package down on a nearby table after closing the door behind them, and turned to look at other man, who was still clinging onto his arm.
“Hisoka-kun… are you awake?”
Hisoka made an inaudible sound. “Want to sleep. Stay with me.”
Homare had the strangest urge to run away. A premonition of sorts. But Homare Arisugawa was man of many talents, as well as faults. And being a coward when it came to trying to understand his own feelings, and others, was one of the biggest faults he had. Before he could run though, Hisoka tightened his hold on Homare’s arm.
“Let’s take a seat, Arisu.”
The words repeated in Homare’s hand, almost like a mockery. But outwardly, he just nodded mutely and let Hisoka bring them to the sofa to sit. After a few moments of silence, which Homare found himself unable to bear, he said the first thing that popped into his mind. “What is your type, Hisoka-kun?” he asked again.
Hisoka’s eyes remained closed. “…It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as they’re not annoying to be with, and they feed me marshmallows.”
Homare didn’t know why that answer just wasn’t good enough for him. It was almost as if…
It was almost as if he was desperately praying for Hisoka to say something that would disqualify him immediately as a potential partner.
The annoying piece should have been good enough, but with how Hisoka was clinging onto his arm still, he had a feeling Hisoka didn’t find him that annoying, despite the fact that Hisoka always called him loud. His palms and face were getting overheated again as he waited with a bated breath. He desperately wanted Hisoka to crush any hopes he had. Any and all hope, so he wouldn’t have to fall from such a distance. He could fall from his own terms, because then Hisoka would never know-
“Arisu, show me your soulmate mark.”
Homare immediately jolted, and almost jumped off the sofa. “P-Pardon me? What are you talking about, Hisoka-kun?” Homare smiled uneasily, trying to yank his arm away casually. He realized, with his breath quickly shortening, that the arm Hisoka was holding onto the entire time was the one that bore his soulmate mark on his wrist.
“…You saw my soulmate mark, didn’t you? That’s when you started acting strange.” Hisoka answered, not looking at Homare, but instead, at the other side of the room where the door was. “You panicked, and ran away.” he explained, his eyes downcast. “You made me really worried.”
Homare stopped trying to yank his arm away at that, his eyes widening in surprise before they fell to his lap. He could both feel and hear his own heartbeat beating erratically in his chest, almost as if it was trying to jump out of his chest. “…My apologies for worrying you.” he forced out. His voice was strained, and so his words were horribly enunciated, to his inner poet’s horror.
“You keep asking me what my type is… I’ve been thinking over what answer to give you ever since you asked the first time. I think I have it now.”
Homare gulped, and nodded as he braced himself for impact. “Alright, let’s hear it.”
Hisoka’s eyes never left Homare’s face, even as Homare’s eyes hadn’t left his own lap. The way that Homare’s cheeks were tinted pink, just a tint lighter than his eyes, and he looked nearly defensive, made Hisoka want to— “…The type of person that can ground me.”
That at least made Homare look up at Hisoka hesitantly. “…Pardon? I’m not sure I understand what you are referring to-” Homare’s voice caught in his throat when he saw that Hisoka had gotten much closer to him than he realized.
Hisoka’s expression was calm, but there was something in his expression that stole Homare’s attention. Perhaps it was the way that his eyes were as soft and sleepy as they always were, but there was something intense in them as well.
A small part of Homare wanted to be swallowed alive by that intensity.
To Homare’s mild disappointment, the look was gone before he could lose himself in it. “My memories are missing, Arisu. I’m fine for the most part… being here with Mankai and Winter Troupe. But any human needs to feel stability, whether… whether I realized that back then or not.”
Homare nodded, eyes softening in concern as a flash of loneliness flashed through those lime green eyes. Concern for the other man overtook any nervousness he was feeling, as was often the case. It was hard to worry about himself when Hisoka was in need of comfort. “I believe that I comprehend what you are saying, Hisoka-kun…” he murmured, reaching out a hand to gently pat his hand on top of Hisoka’s head. He smiled when Hisoka’s eyes widened slightly in response to the movement. Hisoka wasn’t particularly fond of people being close to him, or touching him, and even worse, touching him close to his bangs, but Homare was relieved that Hisoka didn’t seem too annoyed with his touches. “It’s as you say. As humans, we require connections with others. A life with no connections is similar to… curry with no spices, as the Director would most aptly put it.”
Hisoka nodded, but gently enough that it didn’t shake Homare’s hand off. “That sounds right. So you do get it after all, Arisu.”
Homare’s eyes closed as he smiled, “I suppose I have shocked you, haven’t I, dear Hisoka-kun? You didn’t expect such sentimental and moving words from a cyborg, now did you?”
Hisoka was silent for bit, before he reached forward to gently cradle Homare’s cheek in his palm, which had Homare’s eyes opening in confusion. “Hisoka-kun?”
Hisoka blinked quietly for a few moments before he tilted his head. “…I wouldn’t. But I’d expect them from you.”
“Hisoka-” Homare began, before Hisoka moved his hand from Homare’s cheek to cover his mouth, and prevent him from speaking further. Homare couldn’t help but notice how soft Hisoka’s palms were against his lips. Would the rest of him be just as soft?
“You’ll get it, I think.” Hisoka instead replied, and in a rare show affection, smiled at Homare genuinely. “At the wedding, I mean.” he added, before moving his hand away from Homare’s lips. Homare blinked stupidly in response, opening his mouth but finding it hard for once to figure out what he wanted to say.
What a travesty… the famed Arisugawa-sensei at a loss for words because his soulmate is smiling at him.
To Homare’s further shock, Hisoka reached his hand closer to his face again, but this time to stop Homare’s jaw’s from gaping open. “It’s odd when you’re quiet. Just keep being the noisy you, Arisu.” Hisoka murmured, before sleepily leaning back on the sofa.
Homare was still blinking stupidly in silence as Hisoka peacefully slipped off to sleep.
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Homare walked down the gravel trail in the forest with Hisoka close beside him. It was their usual thing, where Homare would share the inspiration that was welling up inside of him out loud, and Hisoka would bob his head up and down as he dragged his feet. Was Hisoka listening, or was he falling asleep? Homare wasn’t sure, but as long as Hisoka didn’t complain verbally, he usually took that as permission to keep talking.
And even when Hisoka did complain that Homare was being too loud, Homare didn’t tend to stop either, but clearly Hisoka must like his poems to some degree. Otherwise… why would he spend so much time with Homare? Marshmallows, yes, but there were certainly quieter ones in Mankai who could also feed the sleeping beau.
So, it must be his genius keeping the other man invested. It was most certainly that.
The wedding ceremony would be held a little further down in the garden. Originally, Homare had thought there would be more people on the trail with them, and they did pass a few people here and there, but for the moment, it was just him and Hisoka. Homare turned to peek at Hisoka from the corner of his eye, and upon analyzing the other man, he nodded subtly to himself. The outfit truly did suit Hisoka, but that was to be expected with Homare’s eye for detail.
He frowned slightly however, when he noticed a crease in the otherwise pristine suit. “Hisoka-kun, just a moment please.” he called out, interrupting his speech on how the trees seemed to be reaching towards an unseen fate in the cloudy sky. Clouds, huh… Homare could have sworn that it was sunny just a moment ago. He hadn’t noticed how dark the sky had gotten with the clouds moving over the sun. Hisoka stopped walking, and turned to face Homare. His face was aloof as ever as Homare came closer, and deftly moved his fingers to smooth out the crease in his suit jacket. Homare laughed, “You didn’t take a nap behind a tree somewhere behind my back, did you?”
Hisoka grunted slightly in answer, leaning closer to rest his forehead on Homare’s shoulder, which caused the other man to laugh boisterously. “Hisoka-kun, I can’t fix your suit if you’re on me like this.”
“…Arisu.”
“Hmm?” Homare ruffled Hisoka’s hair gently, and wrapped his other arm around Hisoka’s thin waist. Homare couldn’t help but think that Hisoka had such a fragile waist that was anything but. He knew that under the lithe form was trained muscle, and yet-
“It’s going to rain.” Hisoka mumbled into Homare’s shoulder.
“Pardon-?” Homare got cut off when a raindrop fell onto his cheek, which slowly dribbled down the curve of his chin before eventually slipping into the neck of his suit. “A-Ah, it appears you are correct.” Homare quickly said, before grabbing Hisoka’s hand. “Let us hurry and find some shelter from this dreadful weather.”
Hisoka nodded, and removed his head from Homare’s shoulder so that he could look up at the sky. It was nearly entirely dark now, with dark grey clouds blotting the sullen sky. “Follow me, Arisu.” he said, and pulled Homare’s hand to keep him close as he started running off the trail, towards the trees on the right.
Homare’s eyes widened slightly, “A-Ah, Hisoka-kun!”
Hisoka didn’t respond, and continued carefully pulling Homare as they both weaved through trees as the rain got heavier. More rain droplets fell onto Homare’s face and clothes, but he found it hard to pay attention to that when the warmth of Hisoka’s hand was still covering his, and his surroundings blurred to nothing as rain fell into his eyes and stung them. He wasn’t scared though. The outline of Hisoka’s back was as clear as ever, and he knew that he’d be fine as long as they stayed together.
Homare yelped as Hisoka suddenly changed direction, jerking Homare’s body rather harshly. He was about to question the other man before he realized that there was an absence of pitter patter against his face and neck. He looked around, and noticed that Hisoka had lead them to a cave of sorts. “How did you find this place, Hisoka-” Homare was once again cut off when he turned around to see Hisoka slipping off his suit jacket. The dress shirt underneath had turned translucent with the rain, and clung to Hisoka’s body.
Hisoka was toned.
A droplet from his hair fell into his eye, which broke him out of his reverie where he was seriously considering how well a poem that waxed on and on about the curvature of Hisoka’s muscles would enrapture his readers. “Rolling like hills, upon hills, upon hills-”
Hisoka sighed, and came closer to wipe a gentle hand against Homare’s forehead to wipe away some of the rain droplets. “Not right now, Arisu. You should at least take your jacket off. It wasn’t too much rain, so we don’t need to strip entirely, but let’s try to keep your shirt as dry as possible.”
“R-Right…” Homare responded, his cheeks heating up as he let Hisoka pull the jacket off his shoulders. It was a strange feeling. He was used to helping Hisoka in and out of clothes, since the other would often times be too sleepy to do it entirely himself during those early mornings he needed to get ready for events and morning practice, but this was probably the first time Hisoka had helped him undress. It felt… intimate. Even though he knew it was a perfectly normal and platonic action. Very platonic. True to his words, his jacket was pretty heavy with rain, and taking it off allowed his dress shirt to feel less restrictive. Homare smiled as he took a step back and held out his hand. “You have my gratitude, Hisoka-kun. Here, you can pass me the jacket, and I can place it in an appropriate spot to dry.”
Homare raised an eyebrow as Hisoka let the jacket fall from his hand and onto the floor in a crumpled mess. “Hisoka-kun?” Homare asked, before he froze when those fingers moved to gently grab onto his wrist instead. Homare couldn’t help but shudder against the touch, and tried to pull away, “N-No-” he stammered.
“Arisu, wait please.” Hisoka’s hold wasn’t a vice grip or anything, but Homare still felt paralyzed by fear. Hisoka was touching, he was too close, he was touching his mark-
“L-Let go of me, Hisoka!” Homare yelled, his voice turning shrill as his eyes watered.
Hisoka listened this time, and let go of the other man’s wrist. Homare immediately brought it to his chest protectively, and raised his other hand to cover it as he hesitantly took some steps back. The silence in the cave was heavy, and the rain growing harsher behind them did not help with the thick atmosphere.
Hisoka’s face was as calm as ever, but he didn’t chase after Homare, and let him have his space. “…I’m sorry. I should have listened the first time.”
Homare hesitantly raised his head, and forced himself to muster up a strained smile. “I-It’s much alright, Hisoka-kun. You were trying to say that my bandages are wet and that I should let them dry, right? My apologies as well for yelling at you when you were just merely concerned about my well being.” he sighed, bringing his hand away from his chest to instead run it through his hair. What a mess this was. Perhaps this was the way the powers above were saying that he should have never accepted this wedding invite in the first place.
Hisoka shook his head. “No, that was on me.” he replied, before stilling for a moment. Hesitantly, he raised his head to look at Homare and reached his hand behind his neck to press his fingers against his mark. “…Arisu, will you listen to me for a bit?” he asked quietly, returning his hand to his side. Homare gulped quietly, but he nodded. He always loved listening to Hisoka talk for a change, but he had an inkling he knew what Hisoka was going to talk about, and that scared him.
He was genuinely afraid, and what a strange feeling it was to fear his most dearly beloved.
Hisoka nodded, and turned around to look at the rain pouring down outside of the cave. “I never cared about soulmates.” he started, before his hand moved to clasp over his wrist. Behind him Homare jolted and nearly bit down on his tongue accidentally. Hisoka continued on, “Or anybody except my family, for that matter.”
Homare frowned as he stared at the back of the other man. Like this, seemingly so far away in this small cave, with the rain up ahead, Homare felt something like dread building up inside of him. “Stop it.” he called out, words pouring out of his mouth before he even registered them.
Hisoka raised an eyebrow, and turned his head around to hesitantly look at Homare. “Arisu…?” he questioned quietly.
Homare shook his head, and took some steps forward. “I-…” he started, before he shook his head again, and instead extended his arms out somewhat awkwardly. He nervously shifted his eyes to the ground, but for once, he was at a complete lost for words.
Luckily, Hisoka knew him quite well by now.
Hisoka’s footsteps echoed as he ran inside the cave, and Homare braced himself for impact when the weight of Hisoka jumping into his arms was enough to knock him off of his feet. His back certainly felt the impact (as it would for most likely many days afterwards), but his head was safely cushioned by Hisoka’s arms wrapped around his neck.
Homare held the other man close to his chest, and tightened his hold around the other man’s waist. They were quiet for a few minutes as they both held each other, and Homare found himself taking in all the small details about Hisoka that he had missed before. Like how Hisoka’s hair was not pure white, but instead silver, and the colour was even darker when it was damp. Like how Hisoka’s breathing was always shallow, as if he was trained to not breathe too loudly, no matter what. Like how Hisoka was both lithe and toned at the same time. His body wasn’t bursting with muscles, but holding him so closely like this, he could feel those muscles shifting behind pale and soft skin.
Hisoka Mikage was an enigma of the greatest kind, a selfish lover, and his soulmate.
“…My memories aren’t fully back yet. Maybe they’ll never come back. And I’m fine with that… until I’m not. But when I’m with you, it helps keep me in the present. When you smile at me and tell me your poems so loudly that my ears ring, I can only pay attention to you. I forget how lonely I am, and the moon’s calling gets a little weaker. Do you get it now, Arisu? You keep me steady as the actor, Hisoka Mikage.”
Homare’s eyes widened slightly, before what definitely wasn’t rain droplets slipped down his cheeks. He hid his face into Hisoka’s neck. “…I ground you.” he murmured weakly.
Hisoka nodded, and pressed a kiss to the side of Homare’s head. “You do.” he answered simply, and those two words finally allowed Homare to take a full intake of air. He breathed in the scent of rain, of dirt, and Hisoka’s personal scent that always reminded him of marshmallows and sleep.
“You ground me too, Hisoka-kun.” Homare murmured after a few beats of silence. Hisoka didn’t respond immediately, and instead listened patiently. Homare carried on, “When I get too lost in my own mind, when being a genius takes its toll on me, just the thought of you helps clear my head.” he admits, smiling as his cheeks started to warm. “When I take care of you, I am overwhelmed with affection, and think ‘ah, so this is what it’s like to take care of someone’, and I can forget what a broken cyborg I am-”
Once again, Hisoka covered Homare’s mouth with his hand. “Not a cyborg. You’re my soulmate.” he said calmly.
The weight seemed to have fully lifted off of Homare now. Instead of the fear that a small part of Homare was still expecting to well up within him from those words, it was instead fondness and love that filled him to the core. Homare smiled, and moved his hand to caress the back of Hisoka’s neck. The touch made Hisoka shudder, and duck his face closer to Homare’s. With Hisoka being so close, Homare could see the gorgeous green shade of Hisoka’s eyes up close. “I’m your soulmate.” Homare agreed, and closed his eyes as Hisoka leaned closer slowly. He then tilted his head so that Hisoka could finally close the distance and press their lips together. “…I’m your soulmate.” Homare repeated again quietly when their lips parted.
Hisoka seemed to think over his words for a moment, before he responded, “Before I got close to you, I didn’t want a soulmate. I didn’t like that fate was choosing something for me again. I didn’t like not being in control. But… even if it weren’t for this,” Hisoka murmured, reaching one of his arms behind him to press his palm against Homare’s hand on the back of his neck, “I would still choose you. Every day. Forever. In every lifetime.”
Homare laughed, but it was strained due to the tears streaming down his face. “You would want to monopolize my care and affection in every one of our lifetimes? Well, I have no qualms about that, my one and only selfish lover.” he responded fondly, before holding Hisoka tighter in his arms. He lowered his voice to an affectionate whisper, “After all, I do love you so. So much so. My soulmate.”
Hisoka nodded, but instead of repeating the words immediately, he instead opted to bring Homare in for another kiss. It might be blasphemy for a poet to admit, but Homare didn’t need words in this instance. Perhaps Hisoka had precisely wanted him to understand it without words. Hisoka loved him back.
His soulmate loved him back.
“Thank you.” Homare said when Hisoka pulled away. His eyes shone brightly inside the cave as he grinned. “This is going to provide so much material for my newest manuscript! As you know, I’ve been stuck in a bit of a writer’s block for a while now, and this will surely provide some fresh and riveting prose for this installment. Perhaps I should write this book in your honour. Dedicate my book to my beloved soulmate. Let all my readers know that the famed Arisugawa-sensei is off the market, as the youngsters would say. What do you say to that, Hisoka-kun?”
“Arisu, be quiet.” Hisoka responded instead, but the blush on his cheeks betrayed any seriousness he was trying to convey.
Homare closed his eyes and laughed, before he felt the warmth of something hitting his cheek. He opened his eyes, and peered to the left. A smile crept on his lips as he nudged his head towards the entrance of the cave. “Look, Hisoka-kun, it’s sunny again.”
Hisoka made a non-committal sound, and butted his head into Homare’s neck.
“It was sunny the day that we met too.” Homare continued, running his fingers through Hisoka’s hair, as Hisoka laid his head on his chest. “You might not remember. With you being asleep and all when we brought you into the dorms.”
Hisoka mumbled something incomprehensible into Homare’s chest.
Homare hummed in question. “What was that, darling?”
Hisoka reluctantly lifted his head, and now that it was brighter inside the cave, Homare could see more clearly the blush on the other man’s face. “I asked… what your first words to me were.”
Homare’s eyes widened slightly, before they softened. He smiled lovingly as brought a hand to cradle one of Hisoka’s reddened cheeks. “I said… he may be Sleeping Beauty.”
Hisoka nodded softly to that, before his eyes turned to Homare’s wrist. Homare noticed his gaze, and he smiled as he started to hoist them both into a sitting position, but still kept the other man close to him. “Here you go, Hisoka-kun.” Homare said, holding out his wrist to Hisoka.
Hisoka had a slight questioning look in his eyes, as if he was trying to gauge if Homare was truly serious. When he found what he was looking for, he moved his hand to carefully unravel the bandages from Homare’s wrist. The bandages fell like ribbons to the cave floor, and he took a moment to both admire how they contrasted against the floor, and to brace himself. When he felt that he was ready, he raised his gaze to look at Arisu’s wrist. He didn’t show any surprise on his face, but he did make a neutral sound of affirmation. “...And it took you this long to figure out it was me?”
On Homare’s wrist, was three perfectly shaped, faint, silver-lined ‘Z’s. ‘Zzz’ to be exact.
Homare’s jaw fell slack. “H-Hisoka-kun!” he admonished. Homare flushed from embarrassment this time as he averted his gaze. “I-It’s not as if I had not even a vague glimmering, but I- it was-”
Homare got his words cut off by the sound of Hisoka laughing gently. Homare slowly moved his head to face Hisoka again, who had a soft expression on his face as he laughed. It was utterly and completely mesmerizing, and a part of Homare wondered how he thought that he would be fine with anything other than being by this man’s side.
He could have said anything at this moment. Perhaps a poem about how much he adored the sound of Hisoka’s laughter, smile, face, everything really- but instead, as Hisoka’s laughter started to die down, he instead smiled and pointed to the outside of the cave. “The clouds. The day we met. The clouds looked like that.”
A part of Homare had expected Hisoka to roll his eyes at him, or brush him off, but instead, the other man turned his head to take a look. “…Is that so.” Hisoka instead replied, a soft smile on his face. “They’re nice.”
“They remind you of marshmallows, do they not?” Homare chuckled.
“…Yes.”
“Come, let’s go get some marshmallows, darling.” Homare said, holding out his hand for Hisoka to take, which the other man did. “…After the wedding, of course. If we didn’t miss it all by now.”
Hisoka groaned, and laid his head against the side of Homare’s shoulder as they both stood up. “I hope we did…”
“Hisoka-kun.” Homare sighed, but it was more out of fondness than any real exasperation. “Let me at least send her a message-”
Hisoka raised an eyebrow when Homare suddenly stilled in his words. “…Arisu?”
Homare was silent for a few more moments before he suddenly coughed, and put his phone away into his pocket. “Um… do you happen to recall how I had taken a picture of the invite, and you helped me burn the real invite as a form of er… ‘self care’?”
“…Yes?”
“W-Well, when I had taken a screenshot of the zoomed-in date on the picture, it appears I had er… taken it of the rvsp deadline, and not the actual wedding date…”
“…”
“…”
“I told you no one plans a wedding in four months.” Hisoka sighed. “I’m sort of relieved though. I didn’t really want to attend anyway.”
“We still have to attend later, Hisoka-kun.” Homare chided lovingly with a smile.
Hisoka merely sighed in response, and let the side of his head fall back onto Homare’s shoulder.
Homare looked around nervously for a moment, before he forced himself to carry on with a strained laugh. “And ah… I’m sure a wedding planned in four months could be done... I-I mean to say, if the couple were dedicated enough…”
Hisoka peered up at him from beneath his eyelashes. He took in his soulmate’s burning face, averted eyes, and nervous smile, before Hisoka nodded. “Okay.”
Homare blinked a few times before carefully lowering his eyes to the top of Hisoka’s head, jolting slightly when they met lime green eyes instead of the silver locks that he was expecting. “…Okay?” Homare asked hesitantly.
“I said okay, Arisu.”
Homare grinned brightly, and laughed genuinely this time. “Okay!”
Hisoka lowered his head again, and hidden from Homare’s view, he smiled into Homare’s arm as he tightened his hold on his soulmate’s hand.
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I would still choose you. Every day. Forever. In every lifetime. I love you, Arisu.