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The world held many secrets. What interested Heizou was the different types of secrets there were. He preferred the kinds that could be solved by clues, ones where the secret was meant to be exposed. But there was a new kind of secret he was learning to appreciate.
It came in the form of faint touches, unspoken words, and silent feelings. A secret where his stomach would turn and tumble in excitement. A secret that he hoped the world would never unravel.
It was the type of secret to only be shared with one other person. For Heizou, this person was someone he had overanalyzed since meeting. A singular red streak that was more beautiful than the autumn leaves; red eyes that shined just for him; a soft voice that weaved poems so lovely that even Heizou was left speechless. His movements were always swift and deliberate, but they also held a sort of elegance to them that reminded Heizou of the flowing wind.
There was something thrilling about having a secret of this sort.
Heizou’s secret stood in front of him, leaf to his lips as he played a gentle tune that Heizou barely registered. He was focused on how the wind danced across the ash-blond strands in a playful manner. They twirled and swooped as the tune continued. Almost like the strands were responding to the melody itself.
The waves crashing against the rocks below them allowed for the seawater to shower them gently, faint rainbows appearing as light bounced off the mist. They had met earlier by coincidence on the small cliffside that overlooked Inazuma’s waters. Heizou knew there was no such thing as coincidences, yet he wouldn’t voice it out loud. That would be another secret he’d be revealing. The scene before him was a picturesque moment that surely every artist would be begging to capture on canvas.
Heizou’s throat grew tight. This was a sight that only he wished to witness.
“What’s wrong?” The soft voice came from his companion.
Heizou brushed it off. “It’s nothing.”
Bandaged fingers touched him gently. A flare of heat warmed Heizou’s hand immediately. He wanted to pull away. He also wanted to move closer. He ended up doing neither, letting the bandaged fingers entwine their fingers together. Heizou could do nothing but stare as his hand was lifted to meet soft lips as they pressed a kiss into his knuckles.
“How long are you staying for?” he asked, finally pulling his gaze away from their connected hands. They instead landed on the face that had been etched into his mind. A face he’d be able to recognize even if it was badly drawn on a wanted poster.
Kaedehara Kazuha was an enigma. One that Heizou had still yet to figure out despite his countless hours of observation. If he held a pocket watch it’d surely have broken out of pity for all the hours, he had spent thinking about the man in front of him.
What started out as an unlikely duo of an ex-criminal and a detective joining forces to solve a case slowly grew into something more. For a pair where one was always off, busy solving some new case and the other travelling the world, their time together was always short but memorable.
No two meetings were the same. They met at every hour from the golden hues of the sunrise to the red glows of the sunset. Heizou wasn’t picky. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they sparred, and sometimes they didn’t say anything at all and let their bodies speak for them. Heizou enjoyed it most when he could relax and listen to Kazuha’s tales from wandering. Of the people he’d met, the mysteries he was introduced to yet had to pass on. It made Heizou’s fingers itch with excitement wanting to get out there himself to see what the rest of this star had to offer. But at times when he was in Kazuha’s presence, Heizou felt like he didn’t need anything else at all.
“However long you’d like me for,” Kazuha replied.
“Don’t let me get greedy,” Heizou warned. There was no way he could stop himself from asking for the impossible. When it came to Kazuha, Heizou had learned that he had very little self-discipline. He’d eagerly lay out his secrets bare, exposed, waiting at the mercy of the other person involved if Kazuha so wished for it. He was greedy in that way that he wanted all of the wanderer’s attention. If he was given any sort of opening, he was willing to take it.
“Is it greed if we both want the same thing?”
Yes. It’s Heizou’s greed, which had overflowed and drenched Kazuha in his desires.
Kazuha’s thumb brushed against Heizou’s skin, rubbing slow circles. The motion was repetitive and easy for Heizou to focus on. “How to catch a wanderer,” he murmured to himself. His eyes closed as he thought. “Certainly, a case I haven’t dealt with before.”
“Is it interesting enough to capture your attention?”
Heizou opened his eyes, noticing crimson red eyes staring back at him. He’d only seen a blood moon once in his life, but now he saw it whenever he looked into Kazuha’s eyes. All other lunar eclipses dulled in comparison. “I already have a few leads.”
Kazuha smiled, the corners of his lips curving in such a way that it made Heizou’s cheeks blossom with colour.
This type of secret wasn’t analytical in the slightest. There was no equation that Heizou could plug the variables into and come to a concrete conclusion. Human emotions were so fickle. Usually, it helped Heizou to apprehend criminals. Their hearts would always waver at least once, making them slip up and making it easier for Heizou to catch them. Now he was on the other end. Stuck trying to squeeze the unyielding puzzle pieces into place with fumbling hands.
“There’s a simple answer that someone like you might overlook,” Kazuha said. He pulled on Heizou’s hand, beckoning him forward.
Heizou moved into Kazuha’s space, one he was becoming quite accustomed to. It was a place he’d never leave if he had the choice. He’d stay, embraced by those strong arms, listening to the sound of their combined heartbeats and how they both beat for the other.
A hand cupped Heizou’s cheek, trailing down to his chin where it tipped his head ever so slightly. Heizou’s eyes locked with Kazuha. A fire was lit behind pools of red liquid. Heizou wasn’t scared of the flame. He knew it was gentle and wouldn’t burn him. He felt a tug at his chin as Kazuha closed the distance between them.
When their lips met, Kazuha spoke a silent language. One only Heizou could understand. Kazuha told Heizou many things with how his lips were soft but firm against Heizou. The way his tongue flicked out to ease Heizou’s mouth open. How his hand on Heizou’s chin trailed back into Heizou’s hair, weaving strands against the pads of his fingers.
Kazuha told Heizou a secret.
A secret about how the winds kept leading him back to his birthplace when he thought he’d moved on. How his most recent poems all revolved around one subject. How for once in his life, he wanted to stay for a little bit longer than usual in one place.
Heizou told Kazuha a secret.
A secret about a pressed maple leaf in his detective’s notebook tucked away on the last page where he hoped a new story would begin. The way he would watch the ocean, hoping a familiar ship would appear on the horizon. How, after all this time of working alone, he’d come to rather enjoy the company of someone else.
These secrets were ones that Heizou was willing to keep in his heart forever. Ones that would only be spoken between the two of them. Ones where the rest of the world could try and pry from them, but they would never yield. He’d bury all the clues, and burn the evidence as long as it could remain between the two of them.
Kazuha pulled away to press his lips against each of Heizou’s beauty marks under his eyes. He continued downwards, cupping Heizou’s face with both hands to place kisses over every inch of skin. Every spot he touched tingled with warmth. Heizou’s eyelashes fluttered as he closed his eyes. A small smile tugged at his lips, which Kazuha captured easily, claiming for himself. For once, Heizou was willing to play the role of the criminal and let himself get caught.
Heizou wrapped his arms around Kazuha’s neck, pulling himself close. He breathed in the earthy scent that the other exuded, wondering if the scent of nature had ever smelt that good before. While Kazuha reminded him of autumn in appearance, Heizou would describe him as the warmest shade of yellow. A shade that wraps around Heizou like a blanket that keeps him safe and warm.
When they broke for a second time, Kazuha rested his forehead against Heizou. The air between them mixed together as they remained in place.
“How long do you want me to stay?” Kazuha whispered. “You have long since captured me, detective. Case closed.”
Heizou had a secret. One that had been festering deep within him, that at first not even he realized he had. It was a type of secret only to be shared with one other person. It was a type of secret that had many routes depending on what one did with it. It could illuminate the world, showcasing a world of colours one had yet to see. It could tear one down from the inside out, creating a dark void of emptiness. It could be a sense of comfort and security that one hadn’t realized one needed. It could be all of those things wrapped into one.
For Heizou, his secret was overwhelming to the point of bursting. Actions could only say so much on the matter. It wasn’t a debate at this point. This was a secret to be spoken of in the most intimate of moments. A moment like this.
Heizou leaned in, lips brushing against Kazuha’s ear and in the warmest tone to ever come from his lips, confessed.