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It could be seen in every detail: the force he opened the door with, the loud footsteps that echoed in the hall. Ryunosuke already knew something was wrong.
Worried, he put down the dish he had been washing and went to see Kazuma.
“Good night," he said kindly. He found him sitting on the divan, with his arms crossed.
“Good night," Kazuma mumbled.
Ryunosuke sat next to him, leaving a small gap between them. For a few seconds, he kept quiet, not talking about it. Until Kazuma slapped his palms against his knees, and exclaimed:
“I had a fight with Barok, okay? That’s what happened.”
Ryunosuke nodded gently. He placed a soft hand on his back. It seemed like a good idea, because Kazuma didn’t regret his touch.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Kazuma gritted his teeth. Ryunosuke began to rub his back gently, up and down. Then, suddenly, Kazuma exclaimed:
“It's so silly. We were talking about what we were having for dinner or something like that. The thing is, we didn't agree on some things, and…" he sighed. “I don't know. It escalated very quickly.”
“And then you came home?”
“Yes. I didn't want to fight anymore. It didn’t make sense.”
He let out a deep sigh. He leaned on Ryunosuke's shoulder.
“It's just that... sometimes he's so…”
“What?”
“So... closed-off. He never opens up with me. He never tells me how he really feels…”
Ryunosuke continued to caress him gently, searching for something to say.
“You know Barok has issues with that.”
“I know… I know. And I try to understand. But sometimes I feel like he does not trust me, and... and it's too much.”
He shook his head. He pulled away from Ryunosuke's touch, to run a hand through his hair. His breathing was still heavy because of the anger.
“All of this started because of a fight over dinner?” said Ryunosuke. It was a thought at first, but the words came out loud.
“Maybe. I don't know," he said, tension trembling through his body. Ryunosuke looked at him kindly. He spent a few moments searching for some answer that would make things better.
“Look, you are very tense right now. You should try to relax and we can talk about this later.”
Kazuma responded with a sound that Ryunosuke did not recognise. It almost sounded like a grunt. Nervous, Ryunosuke continued to look for ways to help.
“Do you want me to prepare you a bath?” he asked. After a few seconds, Kazuma nodded.
The house regained some peace when Kazuma was in the bathtub, submerged in the hot water, with a cloth over his head.
He would be there for a long time. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ryunosuke wrote a small note and left the house. He hoped it wouldn't make the argument worse, he hoped Kazuma would understand.
His other boyfriend needed him, too.
A night carriage took him to the mansion. He knocked on the door, and had to wait a few long minutes before Barok appeared.
“Oh," he said, in a tired voice. “Good night, Ryunosuke.”
He invited him in. Ryunosuke accompanied him, quietly, through the empty corridors. To his chambers.
Ryunosuke pursed his lips as he looked at the table, the open bottle of wine on it.
He sat down on the divan, next to Barok, and then he tried to start a conversation.
“Barok" he said, "Kazuma told me you two had a fight.”
He heard a sigh, full of exhaustion.
“That's right. I'm sorry you found yourself in the middle of this embarrassing situation.”
“What happened?”
Barok shook his head, his hand on his scar.
“It was something absurd. A disagreement over office decorating that escalated quickly...”
He frowned.
“Office decorating? I thought it was about the dinner.”
“Dinner? What could dinner have to do with it?”
Ryunosuke sighed.
They didn't even know why they had argued in the first place. Because of moments like that he knew how much Kazuma and Barok were made for each other. Sometimes, too much.
Maybe that's why he needed to talk things through.
“Barok," Ryunosuke whispered, approaching him softly, "What made you angry? Is something about Kazuma bothering you?”
From the way he sighed, he knew he had asked the right question.
“He... when he gets angry, he can be so stubborn," Barok replied. “Refusing to listen to any criticism, not accepting that he may have made a mistake...”
Ryunosuke nodded, showing that he was listening.
“I understand what you are saying. Sometimes he is like that. I think it's part of who he is. But maybe tomorrow he will be over it and things will be easier.”
“It's easy for you to say that. You and Kazuma never fight.”
Ryunosuke frowned.
“Where do you get that from?”
“Isn't that right? I've never seen you two argue about anything. You always agree, always understand each other.”
“That's not true, Barok," Ryunosuke said, serious. All couples fight. And before we started dating, we did, too. It's... it's normal, with the people you are close to.”
Barok was quiet for a few seconds. Those words did not seem to help.
Finally, he asked a question.
“And when that happens to you... what do you do?”
Ryunosuke stopped to think for a moment. In the end, he came up with a little answer.
“I was once given the advice to never to go to sleep angry. And so far, it has worked for me. But it doesn't have to work for you two. If everything is too tense tonight, maybe it's better to talk things over in the morning, after you've rested.”
After seeing Kazuma, and then seeing Barok, Ryunosuke felt it was the best option.
Barok nodded slowly. He looked too uncomfortable and tired to know what to say. His boyfriend noticed how his eyes stared at the bottle. After a few seconds, he took a breath and summoned the courage to say one more thing.
“I have another piece of advice, if you want to hear it..." Barok accepted it. "Don't drink tonight, alright? Even if it seems like it will make things better, tomorrow it will only complicate everything. Please… don't.”
The prosecutor did not respond. Ryunosuke reached for his hand, and held it gently.
“Do you want me to stay here?”
After a few moments, Barok shook his head.
“It’s alright. Go with Kazuma.”
In the end, Ryunosuke returned to his apartment. The rest of the night was silent. As he watched Kazuma cower on his side of the bed, still with too much anger in his body to sleep, he could only wait for morning to come, and hope it would make everything a little easier.
***
It was Ryunosuke who opened the door. On the other side he found Barok, looking tired and waving at him awkwardly.
“Kazuma is in the kitchen," he said, and that was all.
He was making tea, his back to the door. Barok stood under the frame for a few seconds, not daring to approach him. Ryunosuke, staying at a point in the living room where he could see them, just waited.
It took Barok a few seconds more. He approached him in silent steps. He reached out his hand, didn’t get to touch him, and then lowered it. He half-opened his lips, but nothing came out of his mouth.
When he summoned the courage, he went too far. Suddenly, he was hugging him from behind, tenderly. Kazuma gasped in surprise, and dropped the teapot. But he did not pull away.
“I'm sorry," said Barok. Kazuma didn't answer, didn't look at him. “And I'm sorry it took me so long to apologise. I don't like it when we're angry.”
A long sigh was heard. Then, without breaking his embrace, Kazuma turned to him.
He rested his head on his chest, and suddenly he was hugging him too.
“Don't apologise. It was me who started it and made it worse. It's my fault. I'm sorry.”
He hugged Barok tighter. Barok held him, one hand around his shoulders, the other on his head, stroking his hair gently. Neither of them needed to say anything more. Their breaths and hearts had calmed in that hug.
Watching them from the distance, Ryunosuke smiled.