Chapter Text
There was a ring on his balcony. Laying there on the floor, right in the middle of it, just next to the chair Makki had found at the side of the road and taken home with him; right in front of several plants who were threatening to overtake the whole balcony with how much they had grown under Makki’s care. A ring.
Makki knelt down and carefully picked it up, fingers grasping the surprisingly warm metal. Huh. It felt warmer than the air around him. Warmer than his body, even. And it was not like the sun was shining onto his balcony yet.
As he raised it up to his face he could see the tiniest engravings on the otherwise smooth metal. It was dark, almost black, and Makki actually wasn’t sure what kind of metal it was. The engravings looked like tiny vines that were snaking their way around the ring. It was pretty. Beautiful, really. And Makki had no idea how it got here. It was not like he lived close enough to the ground floor that someone could throw it onto his balcony. And it was not like there were any apartments above his own, either. And he hadn’t had any people over in the last two weeks.
So really, technically there should be no chance that there was a ring on his balcony. Practically, however, the ring was currently resting im Makki’s palm, still warm and pretty.
Nobody would blame him if he kept it, surely. And if he found the original owner he could still give it back. That plan was acceptable. With a hum Makki slid it onto his ring finger. It felt good, which was not something he usually thought about wearing rings, but something about it just felt like the right description for wearing this ring.
Stretching out his hand he inspected the metal band on his finger for a moment before he turned to water the plants and then go back inside to spend his free day as he should: playing video games.
It was already evening when finally left his apartment for the first time that day to take a walk in the woods that were close by his house. Part of the reason why he had chosen his current apartment was because of them. He had wanted a peaceful and quiet home, spacious and calm where he could feel relaxed. Even the longer commute to the city was worth it (it was not like he wasn’t switching jobs a lot anyway). He took a lot of walks around the area and by now he knew every little tree of it. Well, most of them, anyway. As he strolled along the paths he once again felt the ring on his finger. The temperature had not changed ever since he had picked it up but somehow he felt like the ring enjoyed the forest walk. “What a funny thing to think,” Makki thought to himself as he carried on.
Walks like this really relaxed him. There weren’t many people around on his walks, which gave him the opportunity to sing whatever song was stuck in his head that day without risking embarrassment or angry neighbours. And when he finally came home he was pleasantly calm and ready to slip into bed after a short hot shower. Tomorrow surely was going to be a good day.
——
The next day didn’t go as planned. First thing in the morning Makki realised he had apparently left his tumbler in the forest during his walk. Just great. That one had been one of the cherry blossom ones that kept his drinks just the right temperature. He had liked it and now he had maybe lost it forever, if he was unlucky enough and couldn’t find it again on his next walk. He was far too good for his taste at losing and misplacing things. But usually they weren’t items that big. If he hadn’t had a job he might have gone and searched for the bottle, but getting to work on time was sadly the higher priority right now.
One might think that this was where the trouble for the day stopped, but it came worse. This time in form of a meeting with his boss, in which Makki was -after having been given a talk about different values and new chances- ultimately fired. During the meeting the boss had stood at his window overlooking the city, with his arms clasped behind his back like some big evil corporate guy from some video game or movie. Makki tried not to draw any parallels. He was even told to only stay the rest of the day to finish up loose ends before never having to come back again. Well. Great.
Then the bus on his way home got stuck in traffic and that was the point where Makki knew that today could not become worse. At least tonight he would have time to calm down and even sleep in the next day. He had to focus on the positive aspects, right?
——
As he unlocked the door of his apartment and he stepped inside he felt like something was off. Not really thinking much of it Makki shrugged both the feeling and his coat off, letting the piece of clothing drop onto the chair in the hallway close by the door. He could put that away later. Or, tomorrow, since his plans had just been practically cancelled. With a deep sigh he walked into his living room. It was probably just exhaustion from today’s chaos. No way anyone would break in here, anyway. He wasn’t exactly rich and his apartment didn’t look like it, either.
And still, when he finally looked towards his couch, onto which he had just wanted to drop face first with the deepest sigh he could muster, he froze.
There sat a man on his couch. The first thing Makki thought was “tall, dark and handsome”. The second thing, and probably the one he should have thought first, was “who the fuck is that and how did he get in here?”.
“Welcome back,” spoke the stranger with a calm and deep voice and Makki just blinked twice in stunned silence.
This was not what robbers usually did or said, right? His contact with robbers so far had been close to zero, so it was not like he had reference points except for movies or… common sense. But it felt off. In his mind Makki went though possibly reasons why this man was here… and came up empty. The stranger’s hair was curly and dark black, falling over his ears and framing his face, shimmering in the light. It almost seemed like the full rainbow was reflecting in it, and Makki wasn’t sure how that was possible. Makki KNEW he was staring at the guy, though he supposed in this situation it was acceptable. The guy did not seem intimidated, though, and just sat there on the couch.
”Thanks. Missed me?” Makki shot back, too perplexed to actually call the guy out just yet. At least his voice neither broke nor sounded afraid, which he counted as a definite win.
“I did, yes. You had a good day?” the stranger asked and sat up straight. Makki’s gaze fell onto his clothes. They were… dark. Goth, he’d say, or dark academia vibes, based on natural fabrics, and Makki was sure the guy could be a model with how he looked. He was sure he wasn’t, though, because the least place Makki would expect models was on his couch.
”Not particularly a good day, no. Uh- and you?” asked Makki before stepping towards his kitchen to get a can of soda. He hesitated and took a second one, wondering if today’s stress had somehow erased his memories of a roommate. As he walked back he held out the can for the stranger. He took it and Makki froze when their fingers touched. It felt a bit cliché; but really, Makki felt electrified when their fingers touched, which was apparently only enhanced by the fact his ring started to feel… warmer and somehow tingly.
“Thanks,” the stranger said with a very sly smile and opened the soda can, taking a sip while Makki decided to sit down on a chair and inspect the stranger once more.
About a minute went by without any conversation while the dark-haired guy sipped on his soda and seemed like he felt completely at home in Makki’s cluttered living room. The clock was ticking in the background and Makki felt the cool condensation on his soda can against his palm. He shuddered; also because of the fact that the stranger was watching him quite intently. Man, had he ever seen eyes this intense?
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Makki finally broke the silence and tried not to sound desperate or uncool. Even if this was just a very confused and polite robber, Makki definitely did not want to make a bad impression, for whatever reason. “WHO are you?”.
The stranger took a long sip of his drink before he put the can down onto the coffee table. “What an odd question. I’m your fiancé, of course.”