Work Text:
It was far too early in the morning when Kaoru woke, feeling warmer than she had in so long. Beside her, his chest rising and falling with each breath, lay Kiryu Kazuma. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, his brow smooth for once, his jaw relaxed. Kaoru remembered the way he had breathed out her name against her skin, leaving kisses in his wake. How tender he had been, his breath heavy and his muscles taut, but his expression so soft as he leaned over her just the night before.
Now she could see him better in the pale light of a coming dawn, and she reached out to cup his cheek, leaning over him to softly kiss his lips, before settling back down beside him, draping her arm across his bare chest. It had been one week since the incident with her brother and the bomb at Komurocho Hills. One week since she confessed to being in love with Kiryu, and in that time she had found herself with him more often than not.
Beside her Kiryu stirred, blinking awake. When he glanced over and saw her, his expression softened and he smiled. “Kaoru…”
“What an uncharacteristically warm expression, Kazuma,” Kaoru smiled as her partner leaned over her. Kiryu didn’t respond, instead he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. She took in a breath as he deepened the touch, just for a moment, before pulling away.
“Stay,” he said, his voice hoarse from sleep.
“For how long?” she queried teasingly.
“Forever,” he replied. “Please, I…” his voice broke.
“Kazuma…” she whispered, frowning, gently tracing her thumb across his cheek, “What…?”
“When we were on the tower,” he said, “You said something before I faced Ryuji…”
She had a feeling she knew where this was going. “What I said up there was the honest truth. You know that already though.”
“Say it again,” he whispered.
She blinked in surprise, “What?”
“Please?” He dropped his head to her shoulder, taking in a deep breath. “Say it again.”
Kaoru smiled, gently threading her fingers through his hair, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, “I love you.” She said simply. She felt him tense in her embrace and she frowned, cupping his cheek with her hand and lifting his face so she could look him in the eyes. “Kazuma?”
There were tears brimming the edges of his eyes, something she never imagined she’d see. Her throat tightened, her heart clenched. “Are you alright?”
He nodded, actually smiling, “Never imagined… someone could actually love me,” he mumbled.
“Kazu—”
“Don’t say anything…” he sighed, “I love you too, Kaoru.”
The utter warmth in the way he spoke, in the shine of his dark brown eyes. Kaoru melted deeper into his embrace, pulling him down into her arms. She had never felt so exuberant.
“So you’ll stay?” Kiryu asked, pressing a lingering kiss to her collarbone, and then sitting up to lean over her. He looked like he was pleading with her, almost as if he knew she had been considering a teaching position in the United States. Now though… now everything was different. She would be turning that job offer down.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. Kiryu instantly relaxed, letting out a soft huff as he smiled involuntarily, resting his forehead against hers. He was a man of few words, a man of even fewer smiles. But she knew what he meant. For now, one “I love you” was just enough.
Instead, he kissed her tenderly, one hand tracing down her side to her hip, his fingertips warm against her bare skin. She felt a thrill of excitement jolt through her as his hand gripped her thigh and his kiss on her mouth deepened. She thought maybe, with a spark of heat burning in her middle, that they might lose themselves to passion once more. But, just as Kiryu’s hand slipped between her legs, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
Kiryu let out a throaty groan, brows drawn together in frustration, his free hand gripping the sheets by Kaoru’s head until his knuckles turned white. Kaoru sighed, gently resting her arm over his shoulders.
“Uncle Kaz? It…It’s H-Haruka.”
Kiryu bolted to his feet, practically falling on his face by tripping over his snake-skin shoes. He was yanking on his pants before Kaoru had even pulled herself away from the futon. She quickly fumbled with her nightshirt and shorts, and managed to get them on just before Kiryu opened the bedroom door.
Haruka was standing in the hallway, dimly lit by the bathroom nightlight. Even in the darkness of the room, Kaoru could see that the little girl’s eyes were brimming with tears, her face flushed like she was feverish.
“Haruka!” Kiryu gasped, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Big tears rolled down Haruka’s cheeks as she shut her eyes tight. “I had a t-terrible dream,” she choked, and then she dove into Kiryu’s arms, clinging to him like she might never let him go. Kiryu held the girl, gently patting her back.
Kaoru stood, crossing the room, and crouching beside the two on the floor. “Haruka-chan…? Do you want to talk about it?”
Haruka glanced up, her face streaked with tears. “Uncle Kaz,” she said, still sobbing, “He died !”
Kaoru immediately noted Kiryu’s whole body tensed. “I-I’m right here, Haruka…” he breathed, “It’s okay, alright?” For one moment, Kaoru wondered if Haruka dreamed about this often. Too many times had she seen her father-figure suffer from awful attacks and traumatic wounds—things no child should ever have to witness. Kaoru stood, crossing the room and kneeling down next to the two on the floor.
“Haruka, do you want to sleep close to us tonight?” She remembered on nights when she was scared Mama would let her drag her futon close to hers. Kaoru always felt safer close to her adopted mother after a horrible nightmare.
Haruka gently pulled away from Kiryu, glancing up at Kaoru tearfully. She nodded once. Kiryu gently tousled her hair and guided her to Kaoru’s embrace.
“I’ll go get your futon.”
As Kiryu left, slipping into the main room of Kaoru’s tiny flat, Kaoru pulled Haruka into a gentle hug. “Your Uncle Kaz is the strongest person I know, Haruka,” she murmured. “And he’s not alone. He has a lot of people who love him and want to help him.”
“Like you?” Haruka sniffed.
“And you!” Kaoru smiled, wiping Haruka’s tears away with her thumbs.
“I’m not strong,” Haruka whispered.
“Nonsense,” Kaoru said, hugging the girl again. “Your uncle draws strength from you, Haruka.”
“Promise me you’ll always be here, to take care of Uncle Kaz.”
Kaoru rubbed Haruka’s back, “Let’s promise to take care of him together.”
Haruka nodded just as Kiryu entered the room again with the guest futon in one arm. He rolled it out beside Kaoru’s futon. “Haruka,” he gently patted the top of her head, “We have a couple more hours of sleep we can get in.”
Kaoru helped Haruka stand, leading her to the futon. “Let’s get some rest.”
It didn’t take long for the girl to fall back asleep after Kaoru tucked her in, and then the two adults slipped back under their blankets. Kaoru laughed softly, cupping Kiryu’s cheek with her hand as she nuzzled closer to him.
“We’ll have to finish where we left off some other time,” she murmured against his ear. She watched with a smile as Kiryu’s face flushed red in the dim light of the bedroom.
He was quiet for a minute, and then he changed the subject. “You’re very good with Haruka. Thank you.”
“She and I have a pact,” Kaoru beamed, closing her eyes.
“What kind of pact?” Kiryu frowned.
“It’s a secret,” Kaoru said, teasingly. “Girls only.”
Kiryu hummed in response, and then wrapped his arm around her.
A moment passed, just a breath, and then Kaoru spoke again, “Kazuma?”
“Hmm?”
“Will you say it again?”
“Say what again?”
“What you said earlier… What you asked me to say again earlier.”
Kiryu was quiet for a moment, and Kaoru thought she saw his lips twitch in a small smile. “I love you, Kaoru,” he whispered, his eyes still closed.
The warm feeling of victory and contentedness washed over her as she rested her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes, reaching for his hand and clasping it in hers before she murmured her response. “And I love you.”