Chapter Text
Shinra doesn’t exactly know when this whole thing started. All he knows is that Arthur is really, really enjoying it.
“Honeybun, what did you do with my Mintendo controller?” Arthur’s doting tone contradicts how he looms over Shinra, staring down at the boy curled on the sofa reading.
“I hid it. You’ve been spending too much time on it lately,” Shinra says. “And will you quit it with the nicknames? It’s embarrassing.”
Arthur hmphs. “Stealing things, are we? How unknightly.”
Before Shinra can interject that he’s not even a knight in the first place, Arthur pats Shinra’s head.
“There isn’t even anyone around to hear us, dear. How is it embarrassing if no one else is even present?”
Shinra’s face burns. He knocks Arthur’s arm away with a huff. “It just is, okay.”
He can feel Arthur staring at him and tries his hardest to focus on the dull words of his book.
“I see,” Arthur says, but Shinra is positive he doesn’t. “Well, you’ll just have to get used to it.”
“But—”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, sweetheart, I have a controller to find.” Arthur raises a hand in farewell and leaves in the direction of their shared room.
Shinra groans and buries his face in his hands, lips tugging up in his trademark nervous grin. His heart really shouldn’t be pounding as fast as it is.
“Head over heels, are we?” Maki giggles from behind him, and Shinra nearly jumps out of his skin.
“Where did you come from?”
Maki winks. “A maiden never reveals her secrets!”
Shinra presses his forehead to the cool of the kitchen table, eyes closed and arms stretched out before him. Today is one of those days, where the memories of his house burning and the loss of his mother are stronger than usual.
By some miracle they haven’t been called for any jobs today, and since Shinra sat down everyone’s kind of just left him alone. He’s grateful for it; he doesn’t particularly think he could face anyone as he is right now. But at the same time, he wishes someone would ask if he were okay just for extra reassurance that they care.
He sighs, trying to think of more happy things, like how his brother is still alive, his favourite band is releasing a new album tomorrow, and the smile on Arthur’s face when Shinra accepted his invitation to play video games with him the night before.
Ah. There he goes again, daydreaming about Arthur like some whipped schoolboy. It’s been happening more frequently lately, and Shinra wishes he knew why. He also wishes the table would swallow him whole.
The flicker of a flame flashes in the dark, and he opens his eyes before the memories become visible. He stares down at the blurry patterns on the table— it’s wooden, which you would think is a disaster waiting to happen in a building full of pyrokinetics.
Before the stupid tears can fall, a bowl is placed in front of him.
“Here, love,” Arthur murmurs. Shinra raises his head meekly and the familiar smell of ramen floods his senses, electing a growl from his stomach. “You should eat something.”
Shinra flushes down to his neck. “Thank you,” he mumbles, accepting the dish. “You made this?”
Arthur licks his lips. “You see, Excalibur and I went on a perilous quest across the city to fetch this, so if you really think about it, it would not have been made if not for my efforts.”
“You could’ve just said no,” Shinra fights back a laugh, but he guesses Arthur spots the tiny smile that made its way onto his face if the gleam in his eyes is anything to go by.
“That’s not even important. Eat, and then we can go and watch one of those cheesy hero movies you love so much,” Arthur says as Shinra snaps his chopsticks apart.
“Wait, really? You’ll watch with me?”
“I can make an exception this once.”
Shinra feels warm. But a good warm, unlike the warm when he’s surrounded by flames. It makes him feel invincible, as if he could fly without the aid of his powers.
“You don’t have to—”
“No objections, pumpkin,” Arthur interrupts. “I’ll go get it set up. Make sure you eat all of that.”
He’s gone before Shinra can get another word in.
“Why does he do that?” He mutters, raising his chopsticks to his mouth.
“Do what? Treat you like you’re his wife?” Tamaki quips, rounding the corner holding an empty glass.
Shinra nearly chokes on his food, and Tamaki fills the glass with water before handing it to him. “Thanks,” he gasps after downing the drink. “He does not treat me like his wife—”
“Mhm, totally.”
“—and I meant the pet names. Why does he keep calling me with them?”
Tamaki blinks once, twice, then she appears to realise something. “You truly are an idiot. Just ask him.”
“I’m not an idiot!” Shinra protests, but she brushes him off, snatching the glass back and refilling it again.
“It’s not too hard to just ask a question, is it? Maybe it’ll help with whatever else you’re thinking about too,” Tamaki says. Shinra is left stunned. “I’m going back to my room. Enjoy your date.”
...what does she mean by his date?
“Ah, man, I’m exhausted!” Shinra stretches, a few bones cracking loudly. “I needed that shower.”
Arthur hums vaguely, not looking away from his game. “Good work out there.”
“You weren’t even there.” Shinra eyes him sceptically, tugging on a nearby hoodie.
“I don’t need to be there to know you did a good job, darling.”
There he goes again. Faintly, he remembers Tamaki’s advice.
“Hey, Arthur?”
“Hm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Just a moment. I’m almost done with this fight.”
Shinra bites back a sharp retort, instead drumming his fingers on the desk beside him. That along with Arthur’s furious tapping of buttons prevent silence, which, in all honesty, Shinra would prefer right now.
“Okay, done.” Arthur switches his game off and places the controller onto the table, then turns to Shinra and spreads his arms. “C’mere, sugar.”
Shinra blanks. “Uh… what.”
Arthur purses his lips. “Come here? We can cuddle.”
“Cuddle? Why would we—”
“You’re tired, and I missed you, so the solution is obviously cuddles.”
Somehow Shinra finds himself unable to argue with such logic. So he sits on the sofa and crawls into Arthur’s arms, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Arthur’s arms wrap around him, strong and comforting, and Shinra immediately relaxes. This is normal, right? Two best friends cuddling in the privacy of their room, the idea of personal space thrown out the window.
“So what did you wanna ask?” Arthur says, voice low and much closer than Shinra is used to.
Oh yeah. That.
“I was, uh, just wondering why you always call me by those pet names.”
Arthur scoffs, but it’s fond. “Why wouldn’t I? We’re dating, are we not?”
Shinra’s mouth goes dry. “Wait, hold on, we’re what?”
The other boy tenses, and suddenly Shinra realises—
Oh.
“Head over heels, are we?”
“...he treats you like you’re his wife…”
“Here, love.”
Oh.
Shinra thinks that, maybe, just maybe, he is an idiot.
“Fuck,” Shinra says lowly. “What the fuck.”
Arthur goes to say something, but Shinra pulls back just so slightly from their embrace so that they’re face to face and grabs him by the shoulders.
“I like you, Arthur. Like, like like you,” He declares, no doubt in his mind that his face must be as red as his eyes.
Arthur cocks his head to the side, brow furrowed in confusion. “Yeah, I know. You told me before, remember?”
“Wha— when?” Shinra racks his brain, trying to think of what he possibly could have said that made Arthur take it that way, but nothing comes up.
“Last month, that one night.” How helpful, Shinra stops himself from saying. “I said to you that I liked that new move you came up with, but you turned to me and said, “I like you too.” Did you not…?”
Oh, that? Shinra remembers it now. He’d been half-conscious, fatigued from training at Captain Shinmon’s as usual, and any words spoken to him had sounded slurred and only been half acknowledged. Shinra thought Arthur was just seeking a bit of attention, so he gave it to him before promptly collapsing onto his futon and falling asleep. He hadn’t thought Arthur would take it as a romantic confession, but thinking about it now his feelings definitely stretched back that far, probably further.
Shinra smiles, finding it in him to meet Arthur’s inquisitive gaze. “Dummy. Oh well, what’s done is done.” He lets himself fall back into Arthur’s arms, snuggling closer than he had before.
“So you do like me…?” Arthur’s voice is hesitant.
“Of course, idiot. That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”
“Oh,” Arthur says dumbly. “I like you too.”
“I know,” Shinra grins. He can certainly get used to this. “Sweetheart.”