Work Text:
The only time Asougi Kazuma ever let Naruhodou Ryuunosuke call him “Kazuma” was when they were in bed together.
Of course, Ryuunosuke understood why. They were both male students at the top of their class, at the top university in the whole of the capital and maybe even in the whole of the country. And, with the country opening having opened recently, in addition to their university’s direct connection to multiple Western figures, Ryuunosuke and Kazuma’s… involvement would have spelled worlds of trouble for both of them.
So they kept it hidden. Stolen kisses behind closed classroom doors, loving whispers hidden behind hands that cupped ears, careful touches behind the many, many shelves of the university library.
Blossoming romance hidden as boyish camaraderie. That was the life they lived.
“I want to go to Britain,” Kazuma murmured one summer night at the start of their second year, his arms wrapped tight around Ryuunosuke and his eyes fixated on something far away in the distance that Ryuunosuke couldn’t see through the darkness of his room. “I need to go.”
Certainly, Ryuunosuke didn’t quite know what had brought this on, nor why Kazuma wanted to go. There were so many things he could have said or asked about that somehow, language could not even properly convey.
So, he did not say anything. Instead, he nodded and leaned up to rest his forehead against Kazuma’s. “Okay,” he whispered back, and pretended that he didn’t notice the way Kazuma’s body slumped with relief. He pretended that he didn’t notice the nightmare that wracked Kazuma’s soul and body that night.
“I want to change Japanese law for the better,” Kazuma told him the next morning over a cup of houjicha, and Ryuunosuke pretended that he did not notice Kazuma’s eyebags; all he did was nod and smile and say that Kazuma was just the person to do it.
They continued on after that night as if nothing had changed, because in truth nothing had. Kazuma took his certification exam and passed. Ryuunosuke won yet another speech tournament. They shared sukiyaki meals and study notes and kisses, all the same. Ryuunosuke loved him, all the same.
And then, with the ring of a gunshot, Ryuunosuke’s life changed.
“You could become a great defense attorney one day,” Kazuma told him that day in the courtroom after the trial had ended. The murky darkness behind his eyes kept Ryuunosuke awake all night, overly aware of Kazuma’s arm slung around his waist.
“I want you to come to Britain with me,” Kazuma said to him two nights later, his voice still breathy as he held Ryuunosuke’s hand over his heart. Ryuunosuke, with his own heart and soul in Kazuma’s hands, could only say yes. That night, the flickering shadows in Kazuma’s room that were normally familiar to him seemed almost… frightening and unknown to him.
Ryuunosuke spent his last night on Japanese soil in Kazuma’s bed, unable to sleep. Kazuma shifted slightly, his arms sliding tighter around Ryuunosuke’s waist, and the slightly deeper inhale of breath told Ryuunosuke Kazuma was about to speak.
“What’s the matter, Ryuunosuke?”
The question didn’t come as a surprise, yet somehow Ryuunosuke still struggled to find his words—for what could he say? Finally, after a moment, he responded in a small voice because it felt like that was all he could muster. “I’m worried.” Worried, perhaps, did not cover it. He was worried that he would be discovered, was worried that Kazuma would be blamed, was worried that this would go wrong, and everything would come crashing down around not only him, but Kazuma. If anything or anyone was to be ruined, he could not let it be Kazuma.
Kazuma’s touch was gentle, running his thumb along Ryuunosuke’s cheekbones and brow bone. “I know. But I’m here. As long as we’re together, everything will be alright.”
He felt, more than saw, the kiss that Kazuma gave him; Ryuunosuke kissed him back, leaning into Kazuma’s touch and revelling in the comfort he received from a mere act of affection. He was right. They’d be alright. Everything would be alright. “I love you,” he whispered.
Kazuma kissed him harder. “I love you too,” he murmured back, and Ryuunosuke’s heart grew, grew, grew until he felt it might burst.
And then he had been faced with the reality of that white chalk outline on the floor of the SS Burya.
No matter what had happened, what he did, what he hoped had happened, what he hoped he had done, the outcome was and would always be the same.
~ / . / . / ~
As soon as they stepped foot into his new home of 221B Baker Street, Ryuunosuke was hit with the overwhelming urge to lay down and fall asleep right then and there.
“Naruhodou-sama, I don’t believe that’s appropriate. I know it’s been a long day, but you do have a bed upstairs.”
There Susato went again, reading his every thought. He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “I suppose I do…” Each step felt like a chore, but he knew in the end that it would be worth the good night’s rest on a mattress rather than… well, the cold wooden floor of the doorway, where he could risk being trampled on at any given moment by people barging into the home looking for Mr. Sholmes’ services.
When he turned to bid Susato a good night, however, he instead found himself met with a somber expression that had not been present downstairs. “Susato-san? Is something the matter?”
“Ah, um… well, it’s nothing, really, just a rather selfish thought…”
“What is it, Susato-san?
She seemed to steel herself—taking in a deep breath and lifting her chin—before answering him. “Might I… be allowed to hold Karuma?”
The answer was as clear as day to him. “Of course.” Wordlessly, he unstrapped Karuma from his hip and held it out to her, forcing himself to suppress that pang in his heart that came inevitably when he had to separate from Karuma (from Kazuma’s soul). She took it with both hands, admiring it for a moment before clutching it close to her chest.
“...You loved him.”
Her words cut through the veil of drowsiness like a sword. Suddenly Ryuunosuke was wide awake, with only one answer on his lips because it was all that he was sure of after spending all these months with Susato. “So did you.”
Susato pursed her lips for a moment, clearly contemplating her words. When she spoke again, it was with a voice so fragile it felt like even the gentlest breeze could steal it away. “Yes. I suppose I did. But… I was to serve as his judicial assistant. Nothing more, and nothing less. If I could have seen his dream achieved… that would have been more than enough for me.”
“...Somehow, I don’t think he felt that way,” Ryuunosuke murmured, his fingers dancing instinctively along his hip where Karuma’s hilt would have been, had it not been in Susato’s hands.
“Might I ask what makes you say that?” she asked, her voice somehow even softer than before.
And what could he say in response to that? Through all his time with Kazuma, there had always been signs. The way he had always insisted on going to the university laboratory when he knew that she was visiting, even though the laboratory and the law class halls were on the opposite ends of campus. The way he had always dropped everything to run across the library, only to say his greetings to her and then run back to his desk and continue studying. The way he had always looked at her with something more than just pride in his eyes, with something more than just platonic affection for the woman he’d always told Ryuunosuke was just his childhood friend and judicial assistant.
The way he had called for her, even in the most intimate moments shared between himself and Ryuunosuke.
None of that was something he could definitively say to Susato though, for fear of exposing the truth that he and Kazuma had worked so hard to hide even now, weeks after his death.
But he should’ve known that Susato would see right through him. In fact, she even lifted Karuma to hide her smile behind her hand and shook her head. “Naruhodou-sama… just as you seem to be thinking of all the times Kazuma-sama spoke of me, he had also spoken of you to me. And one does not need to be a lowly judiciary assistant such as myself to put together the pieces of this puzzle.”
Somehow, he could only find one thing to say in response to that revelation—“Ryuunosuke.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You… you always call me Naruhodou-sama. I know it is improper and informal of me to ask this of you, but… please. When we are alone, I’d like you to call me Ryuunosuke, just as I call you Susato-san.” Maybe this was his last attempt to hold onto some remnant—any remnant—of his time with Kazuma. Or maybe, this was him trying to close the gap between himself and Kazuma’s first love.
Regardless of what it was that had compelled him to say such words, Susato answered in a way he had both expected and hadn’t expected her to. “...Very well, Ryuunosuke. Then… when I do so, I would ask that you not use honorifics. We are merely Ryuunosuke and Susato here.”
Ryuunosuke managed a nod. “Of course… Susato.”
Again, she brought the sword up to conceal her smile. “Wonderful.” Lifting her chin to look Ryuunosuke in the eyes, she continued to speak. “I look forward to our time together in London. Know that I will always be here, no matter what problems—law-related or not—may occur.”
He knew he shouldn’t have. He knew he shouldn’t be. But somehow, looking at her here before him with that ever-so-fond look in her eyes, he began to understand—beyond a shadow of a doubt—why Kazuma had loved her.
Ryuunosuke kissed her for the first time that night. Susato kissed him back, her touch as familiar as the feeling of Karuma slung across his waist.
~ / . / . / ~
“I still love him,” Susato murmured that night as Ryuunosuke set that fateful mask down atop the metal chest that served as their dining table. “But I also love you.”
And although he shouldn’t have wanted to hear those words now of all times, should have instead hated the very idea, the very concept of the woman he loved loving both him and another man as any other person in his situation would have, he didn’t.
“I know,” he replied instead, and before he could stop himself the words came tumbling out of his mouth. “I love you too.”
The relief that swept through Susato was apparent; her shoulders sagged and she let out a soft sigh. She’d been prepared for the worst. Somehow, that was just like her. “Perhaps, one day…” she started, a hopeful glint in her eyes. Ryuunosuke waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. She simply looked up at him, her lips set in a tight line that seemed to contradict the positivity she had been filled with less than a second ago. “What will happen? What will become of us…?”
“I… don’t know,” he admitted. This wasn’t like in court, where he had evidence that could tell him the answer, nor was it like the deductions he did so often with Mr. Sholmes, where he had his skills of observation and logic to lead him down the path of inescapable truth. “But whatever fate has in store for us… I would like to think that we’re ready.”
It would never be the same again. Karuma was not on his waist, but Kazuma was not at their side. Kazuma was fulfilling his dream of coming to Britain, but it was not behind the bench on the defense attorney’s side of the courtroom. They had both arrived in the queen’s capital, but they were not tearing up the streets like they spoke so fondly of doing before.
Yet somehow, he was coming to discover that everything being the same was not what he had wanted after all.
Scanning the room for a moment to ensure that they were alone, Ryuunosuke turned and wrapped his arms around Susato. She started for a moment before hugging him back—arms tight around his waist and face tucked into the crook between his shoulder and his neck. “...I’m just glad you’re here,” he whispered.
He felt her smile against his skin. “I’m glad to be back, Ryuunosuke. I’m ever in your care.”
~ / . / . / ~
“I would like you to be by his side. This is my wish to you,” Kazuma said, feeling his lips turn upwards in an instinctive smile.
Upon seeing the delighted expression on his face, Susato mirrored it with a bright smile on her face and a vigorous nod of her head. “...Of course!”
“I presume you don’t intend to tell Naruhodou until the day of the departure, then?”
At that, Susato crossed her fingers and looked away, a guilty look in her eyes. “No…”
Kazuma sighed, crossing his arms. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised that Susato would have decided not to tell Ryuunosuke. “And knowing him, he won’t ask you… very well. I’ll keep your secret. And I promise that I’ll be there to see him off… and to see you off as well, Susato-san.”
“Ah… really, you don’t need to, Kazuma-sama, I—”
“I insist. I do so out of my own will, Susato-san. I will be there to see you both off. You two are my greatest friends, after all.” Both of them were more than worth making the trip down to Port Dover for, after all.
“Are you sure…?” she asked, not out of doubt but out of necessity. That was just who she was. Kazuma dared to reach out and rest a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t start at the contact.
“I’m sure.”
(Were his eyes playing tricks on him, or was that glint of delight in her gaze true?)
But he didn’t have time to question it. Susato nodded, hiding her beautiful smile behind the shadows of her hand. “Very well. I look forward to seeing you at Dover Port bright and early then, Kazuma-sama.”
The hand that Kazuma had not laid on her shoulder tightened into a fist instinctively at the sight. He wanted so badly to reach up and remove that hand from her mouth, to let that smile be on display for him and the whole world to see.
She was beautiful. Stunning. After all this time apart, she was still as radiant as before.
Suddenly, he remembered that he was still touching her. Quickly, as if the moonlight filtering through the glass windows of Lord van Zieks’ office had burned him, he withdrew his hand from Susato’s shoulder and coughed in an attempt to regain his composure. She didn’t seem to mind—just looked up at him with those glittering eyes that never failed to enthrall him and spoke.
“I’m so glad… I really am. After all these years… you’ve accomplished your goal.”
Kazuma chuckled, shaking his head. “You are glad, but you should also be proud of yourself. You accompanied me through all these years. Without you… I wouldn’t have made it here.”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t presume to—”
“It’s the truth, Susato-san.” He lowered his eyes, casting his gaze off to the side.” Without you… who knows how far I would’ve gotten? Perhaps I would not have even become a defense lawyer, if not for your support.” It felt good, to get that off his chest. Shaking his head then, Kazuma crossed his arms and chuckled. “But I’ve kept you long enough. It’s getting late. Let me hail you a carriage.”
Susato covered her mouth, hiding that pleasant smile again. “No need to worry. I’m always happy to be able to speak with you, Kazuma-sama. Thank you very much for your time.”
The carriage was already waiting for them by the time they emerged from the Prosecutors’ Office, highlighted in the dark of night by the gas street lamps that had been lit hours ago by the patrolling constable.
“To 221B Baker Street, please,” Kazuma told the coachman, and when the coachman nodded he turned to Susato and gestured for her to climb aboard. “Be careful,” Kazuma advised, offering her his hands for support. Susato nodded with gratitude, taking hold of them. He helped her up onto the carriage, but he could not find it in him to let go of her hands—to let go of her—just yet.
“Susato-san…”
“What is it, Kazuma-sama?”
Perhaps this would be the first and last time. And so, ever so carefully, Kazuma stepped up onto the carriage and pressed his lips to Susato’s cheek. It was fleeting, and as soon as he pulled away from her he hopped off the carriage, but the slight gasp that escaped her lips and the redness on her cheeks was not lost to him—even in the darkness of night.
It took him a moment to find his voice. When he did, the words came tumbling out. “...Thank you, Susato. For everything. For your constant care and attention all these years. For vowing to be my companion, no matter what, and for seeing that through to the end.”
“No, Kazuma… it was my honor.” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, and her hand was so gentle that it felt as though she were a phantom. Pushing his hair aside gently, she leaned over to press a kiss to his forehead before drawing back and allowing the coachman to push down the wooden boards that secured her into her seat.
As Kazuma watched her leave, the horse-drawn carriage drawing further and further away in the flickering gas street lamps until he could no longer see any indication that someone he knew and cherished had been there mere moments ago, he knew that that would not be the last time he kissed Mikotoba Susato.
~ / . / . / ~
“Are you sure you don’t want to move into my room, Susato?” Ryuunosuke’s voice was pitched with worry; when she snuck a glance over at where he was unloading a few of the contents of his suitcase onto his desk, she could see his brow was furrowed.
Smiling, she smoothed out his bedsheets before carefully taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s alright, Ryuunosuke. Even the first-class cabins are just enough for one person to live in, let alone two. Not to mention, my father is in the next room over. I’m sure he’d be curious to know why I am always in your room, after all.”
“Oh. That’s right.” There was a slight red flush coming over Ryuunosuke’s cheeks, the sight of which was so adorable that Susato dared to laugh without holding her hand up to her mouth.
“Although, I’m sure I could ask my father if I could move into his room. I…” she trailed off then, noticing that Ryuunosuke was staring at her with an unnatural look in his eyes. “Ryuunosuke? Is something the matter?”
He blinked, and then started. “Oh! No… nothing’s the matter.”
“Are you sure? You didn’t seem to be listening…”
Ryuunosuke scratched the back of his neck, that ever-familiar sheepish smile on his face. “I… well, I was just thinking, it’s nice to see you smile and laugh out in the open like that.”
At that, Susato felt her face grow hot immediately. “Oh.” She certainly hadn’t exactly expected an answer like that; how in the world was she supposed to respond? It wasn’t often that she found herself at a loss for words, but this situation certainly warranted it. “I… my apologies. I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what to say to that. Although… I suppose you are correct. It would be improper of me, but I certainly would like to allow myself more moments such as these. After all, I truly am happier than I ever was before.”
“Susato, I—”
“He kissed me that night. Kazuma-sama.” And now, all of a sudden, she found herself breaking the silence on what had long been hidden between the two of them—on the looming question that they had never dared to breach. But now that she had, she could not and would not stop. “When he spoke to you this morning—”
“I know.” The mattress dipped slightly as Ryuunosuke took a seat beside her. “He has his own resolve to accomplish, as well as us. We may have parted, but the day will come where we meet again. And then…”
“It will all be alright,” Susato picked up, smiling. Her hand found his; their fingers intertwined.
Some might have said that two broken halves still made a broken whole. But they were not broken halves. No, they were nothing like that. They were three people who perfectly made a whole, and there was nothing in the world that could change that.
~ / . / . / ~
Letting out a sigh through gritted teeth, Ryuunosuke tucked his folder of court documents under his arm as he pushed open the entrance to his home. Perhaps he should have expected it, but the moment he had stepped foot back into Japan he had been inundated with defense requests. Even now, a year after returning, his workload had barely lessened.
Susato had chased him out of the office early under the reasoning that he had an investigation to attend the next morning and that all this paperwork was something she could do, although she had promised she would visit him tonight. And so here Ryuunosuke found himself, back home at one in the afternoon with nothing to do except to review the details of all the court documents in preparation for the investigation.
“I guess that’s all I can do,” he muttered under his breath as he bent down to remove his shoes. Placing them neatly by the entrance, he intended to make a beeline for his office at home, but something in the dining room stopped him. A flash of bright white in the corner of his peripheral vision that most certainly was not there most of the time cut through the forefront of his mind, making him stop in the middle of the hallway and backpedal.
All thoughts of court or trial or investigating the scene tomorrow morning left his mind. He couldn’t help himself from yelling at the top of his lungs, his voice cutting through the silence of the house like a sword.
“Kazuma!?”
Kazuma, ever-so-nonchalant, folded the newspaper he had been reading and laid it down on the dining table. “Ah, there you are. I’ve been waiting for hours. Don’t you know it’s rude to keep your partner and best friend waiting like this?”
He was here. Asougi Kazuma was here in the flesh after a year apart, with such a familiarly smug smirk on his lips, and Ryuunosuke hadn’t so much as been informed.
Kazuma was damn lucky he’d decided to wait in their house rather than visiting the office.
Ryuunosuke threw his arms around Kazuma’s neck and kissed him earnestly. Kazuma started, letting out a noise of surprise that was muffled by Ryuunosuke’s lips before he smiled and pulled Ryuunosuke closer.
It had been almost two years ago now that they had last been with each other like this, but time or place didn’t matter. Being like Kazuma like this was something that Ryuunosuke never would forget, and something that he never wanted to forget. It came instinctively, the way Ryuunosuke wrapped his arms around Kazuma and traced his fingers along Kazuma’s back.
And, just as it was instinct for Ryuunosuke to do so, he was sure that it was instinct for Kazuma to rest one hand on Ryuunosuke’s cheek and another on the crook between Ryuunosuke’s neck and his shoulder. It was instinct, the way they were when they were together because right now? There was nothing else in the world that mattered.
Finally, Ryuunosuke pulled away—although he did not let go of Kazuma. “I… what are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I requested a month away from Britain, to visit my homeland. It has been a long, long time since I last came home. Since I last saw you all, as well. As for why I never told you, I asked Professor Mikotoba to keep it a secret. I wanted to surprise you… as well as her.”
Of course he had. Ryuunosuke shook his head and simply held Kazuma tighter for a moment before letting go. “There’s so much we have to talk about,” he murmured.
And of course, because it was Kazuma, he didn't ask Ryuunosuke to clarify. His hand simply found Ryuunosuke’s, and squeezed reassuringly. “I know,” Kazuma murmured with a smile. “But there is time. For now, I simply wish to be with you, Ryuunosuke.”
He was here. No longer was Kazuma’s soul being embodied by the sword at his side, nor was it connected to him from halfway across the world. Kazuma was here, and that was all Ryuunosuke cared about right now.
~ / . / . / ~
This time, it was Ryuunosuke’s idea that Kazuma should hide in a large suitcase to surprise Susato.
“Ryuunosuke… what is that?”
“A gift.” Kazuma resisted the urge to laugh, physically holding a hand over his mouth to stifle any noise that could come out.
“What kind of gift?”
“The kind that is for you. It’s too big to wrap, so I had to put it in my travelling case to hide it.”
“Well, Ryuunosuke, I suppose I can only hope a dead body is not inside this suitcase. Let me see…” There was the sound of someone fiddling with the clasps on the suitcase, until a loud click resounded and light began to filter in. “What is in here…?” In one motion, the lid was pushed back and Kazuma grunted slightly at the invasion of light. “It’s—!” She cut herself off then, hands flying to cover her mouth as she stared.
“I’m very much alive, I promise you,” Kazuma said with a smile, pushing himself to sit up out of the suitcase. Susato, still holding her hands over her mouth in shock, didn’t reply; Kazuma glanced over at where Ryuunosuke was sitting in the dining room, observing them. “Ryuunosuke, I told you this wasn’t a good idea.”
At that, Ryuunosuke fixed him with a familiar deadpan glare. “Who was the one who was sitting in an empty house in complete silence, hoping to surprise me just a few hours ago?”
Kazuma sighed. Of course, he should have expected an answer like that from Ryuunosuke of all people. “Guilty as charged, I—”
“Kazuma-sama!” Susato threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close—or, as close as they could get with Kazuma sitting in a travelling trunk. “Oh, Kazuma-sama…”
The two of them truly did love pulling him in for unexpected gestures of affection, didn’t they? Kazuma hugged her back with a smile, letting himself revel in the familiarity of her touch. Here and now, more than ever, he felt as though he was truly at home.
When Susato pulled away, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she whispered that she was so glad that he was here, Kazuma felt some part of his heart shatter like glass. Carefully stepping out of the suitcase, he knelt beside her and hugged her again.
“I’m here,” he murmured. For months now, their only reminder of him had been Karuma, slung around Ryuunosuke’s waist. Even before their separation, when they had been in Britain, Karuma had still been their only reminder of him. But in this moment, he was more than someone halfway across the world from them.
He was here, in their lives, and there was no question about it.
Kazuma felt more than saw Ryuunosuke kneeling beside them and wrapping his arms around them both, although he couldn’t help but lean into his touch. Susato laughed shakily and just nestled closer to Kazuma.
“You’ll stay, won’t you?” she whispered against his neck.
“However long you two will have me,” he murmured.
“Forever, then,” she said, and then she was kissing him and it felt like everything in his world had brightened. No more hiding, no more sneaking around. They would have him forever. He would be theirs forever.
“Forever,” Ryuunosuke reaffirmed when Susato pulled away. When Ryuunosuke kissed him again, it was unlike the passionate, excited reunion kiss that they had shared earlier. It was slow and soft and earnest and patient. They had said forever, and they had meant forever.
What had he done to deserve people like them? “Forever,” he repeated back to them in affirmation, and felt his heart soar.
Ryuunosuke’s bed just barely fit all three of them, and somehow Kazuma found himself sandwiched between the two of them. His feet were almost dangling off the end of the bed, and if Ryuunosuke rolled over Ryuunosuke was dangerously close to falling off the edge. Halfway through the night, they all gave up on space management and trudged across the house to attempt to sleep in the family-sized futon in one of the guest tatami rooms, only to discover that it was actually smaller than Ryuunosuke’s bed. When sunlight began to filter through the shouji doors, both Kazuma and Ryuunosuke groaned loudly and buried back under the covers. “You’ve started kicking,” Ryuunosuke grumbled into the pillowcase beside Kazuma’s ear. Susato’s arms were iron-tight around his waist, and somehow they got tighter when she mumbled that if they were going to talk, they should do so out of bed. Kazuma’s first attempt at making Susato’s favorite matcha failed so miserably that not even Susato herself could salvage it. Ryuunosuke almost tripped in broad daylight and spilled Susato’s homemade miso soup on his favorite bonsai tree.
Somehow, it made life seem all the larger—that here, they could be truly, wholly, and unabashedly themselves.
~ / . / . / ~
Two years after her return to Japan from the Great British Empire, Mikotoba Susato attended her first marriage as its bride.
Two years after his return to Japan from the Great British Empire, Naruhodou Ryuunosuke attended his first marriage as its groom.
Two years after he had made the decision to stay in the Great British Empire as a prosecutor, Asougi Kazuma attended his best friends’ wedding as a simple guest—or so, that was what everyone was told.
Of course, both Ryuunosuke and Susato knew the truth behind Kazuma’s presence. He was more than a friend, and he certainly hadn’t made the trans-Atlantic journey just to attend their marriage.
“You’ve certainly gotten skilled at sneaking around like this, haven’t you?” Ryuunosuke asked as soon as he slid open the shouji door to his backyard.
Kazuma dusted off his coat and bent down to kick off his shoes. “Yes, well, whose fault is that?” Kazuma asked with a scowl, although that expression quickly disappeared when Ryuunosuke kissed him. Slightly dazed (it would always be adorable to Susato, the way that she and Ryuunosuke could completely distract Kazuma with even the simplest of actions), he let Ryuunosuke lead him inside the house. “Where’s Susato?”
At that, Susato could hide her presence no longer. “Right here,” she said, stepping out from where she’d been hidden in the hallway. Kazuma practically leapt out of Ryuunosuke’s grasp to pull her into a tight hug. “Oh, Kazuma. What’s the matter?”
He shook his head and kissed her temple. “Nothing. I’m just glad for you two. You were beautiful.”
Ryuunosuke approached the two of them, smiling when Susato pried one arm away from Kazuma to offer him a place in the hug as well. Of course, he gladly accepted it. “Don’t talk like that,” he said, kissing Kazuma on the cheek. “This is also your day. We’re married now.”
It was true. Ryuunosuke had worn Karuma to the wedding for a reason. They had chosen to use it as the ceremonial sword for a reason. Kazuma might not have been up there with them during the ceremony, but he was an irreplaceable part of their lives.
(Of course, nobody could know.)
Kazuma chuckled. “I suppose so. Married… it doesn’t feel real to me, although I suppose it isn’t real for me—legally, at the very least.”
“It doesn’t feel real to me either, and I was a part of the wedding ceremony,” Susato murmured with a smile, because it was true. It was truly surreal to think that she was married now. After a moment, she let go of Kazuma so she could lean over his shoulder to give Ryuunosuke a kiss. “You should check the house before it gets too late.”
He nodded. “I should. I’ll be back soon.”
“Stay safe,” Kazuma murmured, squeezing Ryuunosuke’s hand before letting go. It had been a tedious chore at first, having to check the house to make sure that no one could either get in or see inside, but at this point they had gotten used to it. This was a part of the life they had chosen to live, after all. For each other, they would do anything necessary.
Susato turned to Kazuma then, extending her hand with a smile. “Come get ready for bed with me,” she requested; Kazuma took it with a similar smile and let her lead him to the bedroom, although not before Susato turned and called out, “Ryuunosuke! Come join us when you’re finished!”
Kazuma chuckled, the sound sending goosebumps down Susato’s arms. “As if you need to tell him such a thing.” He followed her to her vanity and, without so much as a word or a prompting from her, began to undo her hair. Susato smiled and leaned into his touch, letting him kiss her cheek and her neck and her shoulder and then up her neck again. Never in her life would she have imagined that she would be letting Asougi Kazuma kiss her the night she had married Naruhodou Ryuunosuke, but reality somehow always turned out to be stranger than fiction.
“I want to marry you in Britain,” he murmured, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke.
“What about Ryuunosuke?” she whispered.
At that, Kazuma’s eyes strayed to the hallway, where Ryuunosuke was somewhere. “What about him? He knows I love him just as much, after all. And, if I can’t marry him… I’d like to marry you, at least.”
Personal records were rarely ever exchanged between countries for purposes like leisurely travel, and even then, it was limited to the use of passports, which never reported marital status. More often than not, if they received permission for Ryuunosuke and one another to travel, Susato would never be so much as investigated. If they wanted, Susato and Kazuma very much could get married in Britain without anyone knowing. They did run the risk of someone like Mr. Sholmes finding out and sending news of it to her father, but that was the risk they ran, living this kind of life in the first place.
“We’ll ask Ryuunosuke,” she responded finally, although she was more than certain that he could glean the answer just from reading her expression. He just kissed her with a smile as all-knowing as Karuma was sharp.
The next morning, Kazuma got down on one knee and asked her to marry him in Britain.
~ / . / . / ~
There was a point in his life where Ryuunosuke never would have believed that he would have been coming to the Prosecutors’ Office in Britain right off of the boat from Port Dover entirely out of personal volition.
Yet, here he was, doing that exact same thing. He waved nervously to the police officer standing outside of the door that led into the office at the very end of the hall, daring to speak as he drew closer. “Excuse me, we’re Ryuunosuke Naruhodou and Susato Mikotoba… I believe Prosecutor Asougi may have said something about me coming to visit?”
“Ah! Yes! Lord van Zieks is currently visiting as well, but you are free to enter whenever you would like!”
Lord van Zieks… he hadn’t expected to come face-to-face with the legendary prosecutor so quickly. Ryuunosuke cast a gaze over his shoulder at Susato, who nodded encouragingly. If she was ready, then so was he.
Carefully, he pushed open the door.
Kazuma looked up from where he was standing by a table in the middle of the room, a slightly irritated expression on his face. He had clearly opened his mouth to make some sort of remark towards whoever had entered the room, but when he saw Ryuunosuke that anger and upset turned into joy and excitement. “Excuse me,” Kazuma murmured to Lord van Zieks, pushing himself away from the table to greet the two of them. “You’re both here… good. My apologies for being unable to meet you at the port.”
“Really, it’s alright, Asougi. There’s work to be done. I’m just glad to be able to see you again.”
At that, Kazuma paused for a moment before smiling and nodding his head. “I suppose you’re right. It’s good to see you again, partner.” He flashed Ryuunosuke a smile—a real, genuine one in contrast to the cheeky smirk he seemed to default to when they were together that made it really hard for Ryuunosuke to resist pulling him in for a kiss—before turning and opening his arms to Susato. “And it’s good to see you again.”
Susato hesitated for a moment before carefully stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his waist, a soft smile on her lips. “It’s good to see you as well, Kazuma-sama.”
That was right. Here in Britain, Kazuma and Susato were the couple—the ones to be wed. Playing the part of simply the best friend, Ryuunosuke found himself crossing the office to greet someone he never imagined he would be greeting voluntarily.
Surprisingly, it was Lord van Zieks who started the pleasantries. Perhaps not a first, but certainly something that Ryuunosuke hadn’t been expecting. “Mr. Naruhodou. It is nice to see you again.”
“Lord van Zieks. It's, um, it’s nice to see you as well.”
Lord van Zieks’ gaze flickered away from Ryuunosuke’s face for a moment, and involuntarily Ryuunosuke found himself following the other man’s gaze—an instinct from all those spectacular dances of logic and reasoning with Mr. Sholmes. Naruhodou found himself staring at his own hand. What exactly…?
“I see there have been some developments since we last met,” Lord van Zieks stated, his voice laced with something that sounded awfully like amusement. “...Congratulations.”
Even though it had been years since Lord van Zieks had so much as called him his Eastern learned friend, Ryuunosuke couldn’t help the way he started involuntarily at the kind words—blinking incredulously for a moment before bowing slightly. “Ah! Yes, um… thank you. I’m… very lucky to have found them.” Somehow, he wasn’t surprised that Lord van Zieks noticed the golden band on his left ring finger, glinting in the sunlight that filtered through his windows.
Ryuunosuke tried to ignore the way Lord van Zieks raised an eyebrow curiously, simply offering an innocent smile. Perhaps his wording had made the truth of the situation all too obvious, but the nuances of the English language made it easier for Ryuunosuke to conceal the truth of the arrangement between him, Kazuma, and Susato.
“Are—” Lord van Zieks started, and then stopped; his eyes narrowed at something over Ryuunosuke’s shoulder. Ryuunosuke turned, disoriented for a moment by the rare but almost blinding sunlight. It took a moment for him to take in the scene before him that had caused Lord van Zieks to stare.
Kazuma was standing with his hand tucked behind Susato’s ear, a slightly sheepish smile on his lips. From the look on his face, it seemed that he had been saying something and then had forgotten—likely because he had been distracted by Susato. Susato laughed, the sound audible even from where Ryuunosuke and Lord van Zieks were standing on the opposite end of the office, and reached up to take his hands in hers.
“...Mr. Asougi mentioned a delightfully surprising event approaching,” Lord van Zieks murmured, drawing Ryuunosuke’s attention away from the two of them. “Am I to infer that…?”
“Yes, Lord van Zieks. They’re to be married soon in Britain.”
He crossed his arms, watching Susato and Kazuma with an indiscernible expression on his face before he nodded slowly. “I see. What of the judiciary assistant, then?” At the sight of the certainly owlish stare Ryuunosuke was giving him, Lord van Zieks continued. “Will she be moving to London?”
Oh.
Oh no. They hadn’t discussed this beforehand.
Of course, Ryuunosuke should have known that Lord van Zieks would ask a question that would shatter any ounce of confidence he had. Years of not meeting in the courtroom, and yet Lord van Zieks could (and would, it seemed) still have the same effect—whether Lord van Zieks himself knew or not. Still, he did his best to scrounge together an acceptable answer. How reminiscent. “I, um, I don’t believe so. Asougi talked about possibly coming home, and Susato-san is much more experienced in assisting a defense attorney than a prosecutor, so…”
Again, Lord van Zieks raised an eyebrow, and again, all Ryuunosuke could do was offer an innocent smile. “Well,” he started in a low drawl, “I suppose I have intruded long enough.” He turned then, catching Kazuma’s eye. “Mr. Asougi. I shall see you tomorrow, then?”
Kazuma nodded. “Yes, Lord van Zieks. See you then.” When the door shut behind Lord van Zieks, Kazuma looked back over at Ryuunosuke with a slightly exasperated expression. “Why do you have that look on your face again?”
“Huh? What look?”
Tilting her head and holding her cheek with her hand, Susato shook her head. “Oh my… what’s the matter, Ryuunosuke?”
“Nothing! Nothing, really!”
“I hope you know that you’re surprisingly awful at lying.” Kazuma held out a hand to him. Ryuunosuke tried not to stare at the way Kazuma seemed to glow in the sunlight, Kazuma’s white suit only accentuating his presence. “Come over here. We have plenty of time to make up for, and I have an idea of where to start. Shall we tear up the streets of the queen’s capital like we always wanted to?”
And how else was Ryuunosuke supposed to respond to that except to take Kazuma’s hand and say, “of course”?
~ / . / . / ~
Even though thirteen-year-old Kazuma had known that he couldn’t in good faith have a grave without a body, he had still insisted on making one for his father in the back of their family home.
It was strange to think that the last time he had been here was close to five years ago, when he’d been preparing to leave Japan via the SS Burya for his assassination mission disguised as a study abroad program. He had had so many hopes for the future back then, but he never could have imagined that he’d end up as a prosecutor in the very country his father had lost his life in.
Laying the small vase of flowers atop the stone grave, Kazuma then reached out to dust off the headstone. “How long have I left this grave unattended…?” he murmured, his fingers tracing out the characters instinctively. Asougi Genshin.
He knew everything he wanted to know now. And perhaps it wasn’t how he had imagined, but he had everything he wanted now, too. His father’s name no longer felt like a stab to his heart like it had ever since he had read that newspaper sent to his home all those years ago, and more than anything, it was not his doing alone. If anything, chasing after his father’s legacy had made him lose himself.
Now, he had his own resolve. He was following his own path; he was doing what he himself wanted. And so—
“...Thank you, Father. And goodbye,” he whispered, and then pushed himself to stand up. He turned around then, keenly aware of the two sets of eyes on him. “Thank you for coming here with me.”
“Of course,” Susato responded, taking a step forward to take his hand in hers. “We’re always here, Kazuma.” Kazuma intertwined his fingers with hers, smiling. At times like these, Susato was almost too good at comforting people.
“I know. Thank you.” When Ryuunosuke wrapped his arms around Kazuma from behind, Kazuma let himself relax. Here, he was safe from the blades of falsity and lies that history had hurt him with. Here, with them, nothing else mattered.
The ghosts of the past would haunt him no more.
~ / . / . / ~
“Kazuma. There’s a rip in my pants.”
Of course, said man was entirely undeterred from his reading. “Mm.”
“Oh my… is that what you two were up to while I was away?” Susato chimed in from where she was sitting in the tatami room that they had designated as a sunroom (a concept that Kazuma had suggested as soon as he had returned from London that year).
“No, no! We were—”
“Could you not tell from the way Ryuunosuke’s eyes are darting around like his first time in the courtroom?” Kazuma still hadn’t bothered to look up from his book, eyes flitting up and down as he continued to read. Sitting in the living room in a regal armchair Mr. Sholmes had shipped over completely unprovoked with his visage highlighted by the sunlight filtering in through the window, Kazuma was entrancing. Ryuunosuke had to force himself to look away out of fear that he’d lose sight of his train of argument and lose yet another debate to Kazuma.
“Because you are reading a horror book, Kazuma. Some of the things you’ve read out loud to me are not exactly what I want to hear.”
Kazuma turned a page noisily. “Well, then, why did you approach me about your ripped pants?”
Gods above, this man was going to be the death of him someday. Ryuunosuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and forced himself to speak in a calm, collected manner. “Because I’m talking about the pants from yesterday. The ones that I know you know you ripped.”
“I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re talking about.”
Throwing up his hands in frustration, Ryuunosuke glanced over at where Susato had started walking towards the two of them. “Susato, you were a witness to the incident! You saw exactly what happened! You know what he did!”
“Well, perhaps I did, but there’s no need to argue. Come, I made us some tea. Take a break, both of you.” Before Ryuunosuke could interject, she spoke up again. “And yes, I did prepare you some castella cake to go along with it.”
“Ah! You’re the best, Susato.” Of course she had; she always was so attentive to what each person liked. He hurried to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. “Thank you.”
Susato beamed up at him; she stood on the tips of her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth. “No need to thank me, Ryuunosuke. Here, I’ll mend your pants for you.” Before he could even say a single word, she had already turned away from the direction of the sunroom and was heading down the hallway towards their shared bedroom.
“Ah! Wait, Susato-san, it’s alright! Don’t—”
It was Kazuma who caught Susato by her hand and stopped her. “I believe you yourself suggested tea as a break. Why shouldn’t you enjoy it with us?” Saying that, he inclined his head towards where Ryuunosuke was standing. “Shall we?”
“Oh, but…” Susato started, a clearly hesitant look on her face.
“Ryuunosuke’s pants are material. Time is not.”
“Easy for you to say… but Kazuma’s right. I’d much rather spend time with you than have you mending my pants.”
At that, Kazuma finally let out a loud laugh. “Alright, I understand. You’re upset at me for ripping your pants. You don’t have to keep saying it.” Letting go of Susato’s hand, he enveloped Ryuunosuke in a hug and pressed a soft kiss to his temple. “I’m sorry.”
“And say sorry to Susato, too. She’s going to have to mend it later.”
“If she comes to tea with us, then I will whole-heartedly apologize to her.”
Susato giggled, the sound of which made Ryuunosuke’s heartbeat quicken—and it seemed he wasn’t the only one. Kazuma took in a deep and sharp breath, his arms tightening around Ryuunosuke. Ryuunosuke shot Kazuma a knowing smile before turning his attention back to Susato. “Well, in all honesty, that was much more convincing than was necessary. I would have taken tea with you two, regardless. Although, I do appreciate the effort. I expect that apology, Kazuma!”
She gave them both a kiss before offering her hands to them. Ryuunosuke took one hand, and Kazuma took the other. The bright smile that she gave them seemed to make the sun dim in comparison. When she turned, leading them to where she had slid open the doors to the tatami room so they could enjoy their tea outdoors, Kazuma’s lips found Ryuunosuke.
They sat under the sun’s watchful gaze, their swords laid to the side because here there was no need for violence. More than that, there was no need for remembering or reminiscing. Their swords were no longer a physical reminder of the people they had sworn to love on the other side of the world, because all of those people were here.
“Be careful. It’s hot,” Susato warned as she held out the tea cup to Ryuunosuke.
“Do you want to at least try having the tea without castella cake for once?” Kazuma asked with that ever-familiar smirk on his lips. Five minutes later, after Ryuunosuke failed to do just that, he read out a list of tongue twisters he had learned over the past few months as revenge—both in Japanese and in English this time. Susato repeated them back perfectly. Kazuma, unsurprisingly, could not.
Nothing had changed between them. Here they were with each other, shoulder-to-shoulder-to-shoulder, behaving like they had five years ago when they had first fallen in love with each other. The world had changed, people had changed, life paths had changed, but here? They never would. They would be eternally and forever whole.
“I love you both.”
“We know.”
“We love you too.”
Yes. This was how it should be.