Archive of Our Own ^beta

Reunions were such a romantic idea in theory. Reconnecting with someone after months or possibly years of no contact, the reignition of an old flame that used to burn so fervently… it all seemed so much easier in the movies.

In practice, it was messy and awfully difficult, anything but easy or romantic.

It had all started because of some awful convenience store food, which really, is not a good way to start any love story but when has life ever gone according to plan for Minamoto Teru?

The glaring lights of the convenience store bled together in Teru’s vision after a while. The bright colors muddled and blurred and he instinctively leaned against one of the shelves to keep himself from passing out right then and there in the middle of the store. All the late nights had been killing him lately.

The action didn’t go unnoticed by the tired cashier who shot him a look equal parts concerned and annoyed. Teru just gave his best reassuring smile and shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

After watching the slow rotation of the day-old hot dogs on the rollers for way too long, Teru headed to the counter with just a can of coffee and an energy drink. The thought of keeping anything solid down made his stomach recoil in on itself.

When he stepped outside, flurries of white drifted lazily from the sky. He held out a hand to catch one of the snowflakes and watched it melt in his hand. It was getting colder with each passing day, but the supernaturals that roamed through the world of the living never seemed to let up so neither could he. It was one of the unfortunate facts of the trade. You never got vacation time or sick leave.

Shuffling through the duffel bag at his side, Teru pulled out a thermos and popped the lid off. With a grimace, he poured the energy drink and the coffee into the container and shook it to mix the vile concoction together. He brought it to his lips for a sip and…

He couldn’t even get one swallow of it down before he was coughing it back up into the bushes outside of the convenience store. He dumped the rest of the thermos out into the grass—the most water the poor bushes had probably gotten in months from the looks of it—and pondered whether he should swallow his pride and do the walk of shame back into the store for something that wouldn’t make his stomach heave.

No, he decided in the end, he would just suck it up and see if he could find some other place open at this ungodly hour of the night.

He moved through the streets in an exhausted blur, more shuffling along like a zombie than walking. Any place that was still open would do, he didn’t quite care about much else. A bright sign reading “Coffee Time” seemed promising enough. He practically shoved the door open and-

“M-Minamoto?”

Teru’s eyes shot open, suddenly feeling very much awake and probably looking like a deer in the headlights at the same time. At the other side of the counter, holding a pitcher of coffee in one hand and a mug in the other, was Aoi Akane.

And, god. He looked different, older, but still somehow the exact same. His hair was longer, wound into a tight ponytail save for a few loose strands that fell around his shoulders, and his glasses that almost never left his face in school were nowhere to be seen. But underneath all that, there were still the rough edges that Teru had come to know all too well, the harsh brightness that dwarfed everything else in the room.

“Aoi… It’s… been a while,” Teru hung in the doorway, weighing his options carefully. He could still bolt, if he really wanted to. The thought was silly, deeply silly—him, a renowned exorcist who could cut down swarms of supernaturals running away from what was now just a harmless civilian—but it was still on the table. He hadn’t seen Akane in years since he graduated and left that era of his life behind for good. He didn’t know if he was fully prepared for everything that would go along with dredging up the past like that.

“You look awful,” Akane set down the pitcher and slid a mug of freshly poured coffee across the counter, “I think you need this more than I do…”

Teru took a tentative step forwards towards the coffee bar. When he sat down at the end of the bar—keeping a careful distance from Akane, he realized just how hard it would be for him to get up again. Bone-deep exhaustion had set in, making his every movement feel lethargic and sluggish. “I’m fine. It’s just been a long night.”

Akane smirked at him as he went back to cleaning glasses. “You know, I always found it funny how you’re such a talented liar to everyone else… but not to me. You’re an open book.”

He winced and tried to hide it by taking a sip of the coffee. “I could say the same of you, you know.”

“Ha, you wish.”

“So… You work here part time?” Teru asked. He couldn’t imagine Akane being the type to settle for a food service job. Although, now that he was thinking about it… he couldn’t remember Akane really ever talking about his plans for the future. Not that Teru had ever really asked either.

“Nope, own the place… Well, co-own it anyway. Aoi runs the flower shop, I run the cafe. Yashiro-san helps out as well.”

Teru blinked, far too tired to make much of the information he was being given. He’d missed out on so much in the years they’d lost contact, hadn’t he? At least they were all still friends no matter what awful things had transpired in that building haunted by more than just ghosts. He had the feeling that nothing could tear them apart now.

Which left him as the outsider. The one who had left everyone else behind.

Teru slumped forward, resting his chin on the bar and fighting the urge to close his eyes. That was a dangerous game when you had been put through the wringer as much as he had been. “That’s nice. I’m afraid I’m not much for conversation right now.”

“When has that ever stopped you before?” Akane shot back, but there wasn’t any bite to it. He set down the glass he was holding and began to rifle through a box under the counter. A few seconds later, a small plastic package was tossed directly at Teru’s face.

Instinct kicked in and he grabbed whatever it was before it could make contact. It was a broken, bordering on completely crushed Biscotti.

“Have you eaten anything tonight? That one broke earlier so I couldn’t sell it anyway.”

“I heard you snap it in half, Aoi.” Teru shot a knowing look at Akane who was pretending to be very suddenly interested in the espresso machine that wasn’t even turned on yet. “And you say I’m easy to read.”

Akane waved a dismissive hand at him. “You can’t prove anything, Minamoto. It would have been a waste to throw it out is all.”

With a smirk, Teru peeled open the plastic and took a bite of the cookie. Light, crisp, and crumbly with a subtle nutty flavor. “I can see how you get your customers now, because I know it couldn’t be from your winning personality.”

“You’re just lucky I’m not charging you for any of this.”

“Aw, you’re going soft on me, aren’t you?” Teru said in an all too gleefully mocking voice.

“Hard not to when you come in here for the first time in, hell, 6 years now?, looking like you’re about to pass out or worse.”

Ah. 6 years… There was no way.

“It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

All Teru received was a glare with far too much behind it for him to digest. It made his head spin, dizziness just adding onto the list of awful sensations swirling through him. He needed a full bottle of extra strength Tylenol and a nap more than anything. Subsisting off of fleeting scraps of sleep for the past month and a half was catching up to him in more ways than one.

“It has. If you’re going to fall asleep, don’t do it on my counter please.”

“Got anywhere better for me?” To his credit, Teru really did try to keep his head upright, but it was a losing battle. His eyelids never felt heavier as his cheek pressed against the cool wood counter.

All Teru heard was an annoyed huff from in front of him and the opening of the flip bar counter to his left before an arm was snaked under his armpit to help him to his feet. He felt almost weightless with exhaustion as Akane guided him to…. Well, honestly he wasn’t so much concerned with the destination as long as it was somewhere he could rest.

The stairs up to Akane’s loft above the coffeeshop were, frankly, annoyingly difficult. Teru’s feet just refused to cooperate, his body tired of functioning for its neglectful owner that refused to take care of it in return. By the halfway mark, Akane was nearly hauling Teru forward and upward by the arm. Although, he never uttered a single complaint about it the entire time. Just grinned and bore it.

That was just so like him. A people pleaser to the end.

At the top of the stairs was a quaint little flat. There wasn’t much in the small room. It looked more like an attic than a bedroom, but there was a certain charm to it, he supposed. Who was he to judge other people’s living spaces anyway when he barely touched his?

Teru was half shoved and half fell forward onto the small futon in the corner of the room. It took everything in him to not slip away into unconsciousness the second he hit something remotely soft.

“Get some rest, Minamoto. We’ll talk when you wake up.”

“Wait, Aoi.” Teru reached up and grabbed Akane’s sleeve before he could walk away.

“Do you need something?”

“I did miss you. I thought about you a lot. I didn’t want you around me… because it would have been dangerous for you. Like it was back then…”

Akane stared down at him, expression unreadable, before he pulled his sleeve out of Teru’s hand. “I suppose I know now if I want you to be honest I just need to deprive you of sleep for god knows how long first.”

“I loved you back then, you know that right?”

Akane looked away, effectively closing the door between them, locking Teru out entirely to what was going on behind those fiery eyes. “Well, that was a long time ago. I’m not the same person I was back then.”

“Aoi…”

“Whatever version of me you loved at some point,” Akane continued, “is long gone by now. I know that probably disappoints you.”

He didn't think it was possible to miss someone that much, even when they were a mere few feet in front of you, so close that he could hear his steady intakes. Teru opened his mouth, hoping for the words that could fix this, that could bridge the gap would come to mind… but they didn’t and he closed his mouth again.

“I don’t know if you just thought things could go back to how they were, but we’re not dumb teenagers anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Aoi.”

Akane sighed and shook his head. “For what it’s worth, I am happy to see you again, Minamoto.”

Teru blinked and Akane had already retreated back downstairs, leaving a thousand words unsaid. He felt the heartache distantly, belatedly in his tired state. He just had to sleep it off.

---

Teru awoke slowly, not wanting to burst the blissful bubble of sleep when he was so comfortable. But, eventually, his surroundings started to come back to him one by one. Above him there was the soft glow of string lights covering the walls and pictures attached to them. Akane, Aoi, and a few other familiar faces all smiling at the coffee shop, the beach, an amusement park… His eyes fell on one image in particular of Akane and Aoi standing side by side in front of the coffee shop flower shop hybrid with the caption “Opening Day” written beneath.

He smiled. They had all stayed together despite it all. He could only wonder if there was still room for him in that mix after so much time had passed.

“Ah, good, you’re awake.” That voice drove away any remaining traces of sleep from Teru’s tired mind.

“What time is it?” Teru asked, noting that Akane was no longer wearing his barista uniform.

“Around 4pm. You’ve been sleeping for a while. You do realize you stumbled in here at 6am this morning, right?”

“Ah, crap. I gotta call home. Kou and Tiara must be-”

Akane put a hand up, stopping Teru from immediately jumping out of bed to scour the room for his phone. “No need. I already spoke with your brother. He knows you’re here. He stopped by earlier, actually, brought you a change of clothes.” He gestured towards the desk right next to the bed with a neatly folded stack of clothing on it.

“Oh… I see.”

“Get changed and then come downstairs. I saved you some breakfast from this morning.” Akane was halfway towards the staircase when he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Are you mad at me, Aoi?”

Akane didn’t breathe for a few moments before he let out a painfully slow exhale. “You’ve been gone for 6 years without so much as a call or a text. I would have even settled for a letter. Anything.”

Shit, he’s mad. Teru thought.

“And then you just- waltz in here out of nowhere exhausted, dirty, and covered in bruises. Hell, I’ve been so busy worrying about whether or not you’ll wake up or not anytime soon all morning that I accidentally spilled coffee on a customer earlier.”

“I’m fine, Aoi. I’ve survived much worse than this. I just… overdid it a little is all,” Teru tried his best to sound reassuring and failed miserably based on Akane’s unimpressed look.

“I just…” Akane took a deep breath that came out almost like a hiss, “wish that you would have called. Or visited. Something at least. If it weren’t for your brother, I wouldn’t have known if you were alive or dead or worse.”

Teru sat up and scooted towards the edge of the bed, half debating whether Akane would punch him if he tried to give him a hug. He couldn’t even say he didn’t deserve it either. “I didn’t… think you would want to see me after everything that happened.”

Akane’s hand hovered over his stomach, the words twisting over the scar tissue there. Time had scabbed over the wound, but it was still there, always present in the background just waiting to resurface. A gentle bleeding that never ceased. “You could have asked. Of course I still wanted to see you, idiot.”

“I was trying to protect you,” Teru said, realizing how bitter the words felt in his mouth when they left his lips. He wasn’t trying to protect Akane, he realized soberingly, it was always about protecting himself, about not letting himself fly too close to the sun, about being afraid to let himself be happy lest it be taken away from him.

It was like Akane said. He was a different person now, he’d grown and changed into someone Teru only recognized in spirit. And Teru… he hadn’t changed at all.

“You really do have a knack for protecting people in all the wrong ways. I never asked you to do that. I never needed to be protected from you.”

The silence that followed was stifling and awkward. It was nothing like the comfortable silence they would spend hours in when they were working in the student council room together every afternoon. He could only hope they could return to that, in time.

“Nevermind all that,” Akane was the one to finally break the silence, trying to smooth over the painful remnants of their history. “Just… get changed. There’s some people who would very much like to talk to you downstairs.”

Before Teru could get another word in, Akane was gone again. Next time they were going to have a heart to heart, Teru would have to glue his feet to the floor.

Regardless, Teru finally worked up the strength of will to pry himself away from the wonderfully soft futon that was just begging him to lay in it for a few more minutes. He changed into the fresh set of clothing that Kou had brought for him, almost mortified that Akane had probably talked to his little brother more often over the past few years than him, before shoving the thought away with his old clothing into his duffel bag. He’d just have to thank Kou later for always looking out for him.

He took the tentative steps towards the staircase before stopping short. He couldn’t see much from his vantage point; all it looked like was a simple storeroom. He had no idea what he was walking into and that didn’t bode well for him.

It’s not like you’re walking into an ambush, he chided himself, You’re being dramatic. They’re your friends.

He sighed, making some final adjustments to his appearance so he could at least look somewhat presentable. He supposed he always knew this day would come if he wanted to reconnect with Akane and the rest of them. The longer he put it off the worse it would be, he knew that much, but that didn’t make this step any less daunting.

Aoi was the first one that greeted him when he stepped out of the storeroom and into the dining room. She waved him over with a smile that wasn’t all artificial sweetener anymore. Her hair was cut shorter, not even reaching her shoulders in length, and she had never looked happier for it. Good for her.

(“I’ve always wanted to cut my hair,” Aoi confessed to him one early spring morning as they walked towards the school gate together. They’d talked before, of course, almost every morning but it never breached anything other than surface level small talk. The polite, agreeable conversation that was to be expected from an upperclassman and their junior, but it was different that day. It was such a small statement, something that he wouldn’t bat an eyelash at coming from anyone else, but such a shockingly personal confession coming from Aoi.)

Sitting next to Aoi in the booth was Nene, her hair tied back into a messy braid and splotches of dirt on her cheek that she was trying to discreetly wipe off with a napkin. He smiled, feeling a little more at ease if they were going to be there. Akane would have to be a little more polite if Aoi was there to keep him in check at least.

“It’s good to see you again, Minamoto-kun,” Aoi gestured for him to sit in the seat across from her, the one right next to Akane.

“It’s been such a long time,” Nene agreed, “I honestly wasn’t sure if we’d ever see you again. Kou said you were always so busy.”

Akane kept his gaze carefully trained on the table, but slid over a plate of food to Teru without a word. He wasn’t sure how much more of this awful silent treatment he could take. He’d almost rather Akane just punch him in the face so they could be done with this little feud.

Teru didn’t realize just how hungry he’d been for some food that wasn’t from a gas station until then. On the plate was a breakfast muffin, a few egg bites, and a cup of coffee that had gone cold but still smelled heavenly.

“Yeah, it’s a full time job. So you guys all run this place now? That’s pretty impressive.”

Nene nodded, practically beaming at the opportunity to talk about the shop. “Yeah, me and Aoi run the flower shop next door and Akane-kun handles the coffee shop. It’s grown bigger than any of us ever imagined it would honestly.”

“Yeah, we have actual employees now,” Aoi said, pointing behind him towards the coffee bar, “In the beginning, it was just the three of us and a few friends helping out.”

Akane shuddered beside him. “I don’t miss those days. All those doubles probably shaved a good year or two off my life.”

Teru turned to look at the barista only to be hit with that sudden feeling of wrongness that always signaled something supernatural nearby. “That girl. She’s-”

Akane put a hand on his arm to prevent him from causing a scene. “Calm down, hero complex. We know.”

“That’s Tokiko-chan,” Nene said, still apparently all too comfortable with anything occult or supernatural. “She’s the new Clock Keeper at Kamome.”

The girl—Tokiko, gave a sheepish smile and waved at him. For a moment, he wondered if his reputation for hating all things supernatural preceded him even after he graduated.

“After I was released from my contract with the Clock Keepers, I wanted to find the next person who would take my place so they wouldn’t have to go through it alone. I even gave her my enchanted glasses,” Akane explained.

She was wearing his glasses, he noticed when the sudden adrenaline spike was over.

“How sweet of you, Aoi,” Teru offered in a voice just dripping with sardonicism.

He probably deserved the hard kick he received to his ankle underneath the table. Aoi just laughed.

It was a strange feeling to be surrounded by familiar faces. They’d all grown up and moved on from Kamome in their own way. Aoi had cut her hair, finally allowing herself to be more free from the expectations of her peers. Nene had turned her passion for gardening into a career. And Akane…

He didn’t quite want to think about that yet. And then there was Teru Minamoto, in all of his messiness and stubbornness. Still risking his life day in and out as an exorcist, never letting anyone get too close lest they risk getting caught in the crossfire. Being friendly to everyone and friends with no one.

Everyone else had moved on. Why couldn’t he? Why was he the only one stuck in the past reliving high school?

“We were thinking about moving into a new building actually,” Aoi said.

“Oh, why?” Teru asked.

“We’ve had a good run with this building, but there isn’t much room for us to grow here. We wanted to start our own plant nursery so we’ll need more space.”

Akane hung his head down with a frown. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do with all the empty space when you guys find your new place.”

“Maybe you could give yourself a room a little bigger than a closet,” Teru suggested, anticipating another kick to the ankle that never came.

“Hey! I like my little loft. It’s got personality.”

“I think he lives more down here than up there,” Aoi said, covering her smile with a sip of her tea, “I found him face down in a bag of coffee beans once.”

“I thought we agreed to not mention that again,” Akane’s voice dropped to a half whisper.

“I agreed to no such thing.”

“Well, if you ever need help moving, I’ll be around,” Teru said, and he could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Either that or everyone’s eyes on him had him feeling like he was plunging into icy waters.

Akane rested his cheek in his hand, his eyes narrowed in contempt? Anger? Teru couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know, Minamoto. I don’t think it’ll take another 6 years for them to find a place.”

Ouch. He probably deserved that much.

“If you’re planning on sticking around, we’d love to have your help,” Nene said, pointedly choosing to ignore Akane’s comment, “All of us.”

“Of course.” Teru smiled and for the first time since he first stumbled into the cafe half delirious from lack of sleep, he felt like the world wasn’t tipped on its axis.

---

As soon as Teru stepped through the door to the Minamoto family home, he smelled the wonderful aroma of Kou’s cooking. He kicked his shoes off and immediately headed for the kitchen where Kou was still standing in front of the stove.

“How did it go?” Kou asked, before Teru could even get in a “Hi, hello, thank you for earlier.” “With Akane-kun and the others I mean.”

In typical Minamoto fashion, Teru decided to ignore this question. “Thank you for bringing me a change of clothes earlier. What are you cooking? It smells good.”

Compartmentalization was a word he learned and kept close over the years. He had to, with a job like his. He couldn’t let trivial things distract him when his life and the lives of potentially hundreds depended on him having a clear head. He didn’t even want to think of what would happen if he started to unpack everything now.

“Chicken Katsu.” Teru could already tell based on the smell of the oil, but it was more of a formality. The polite things you’re supposed to ask to show interest.

Kou handed him a plate and Teru eagerly sat down at the table. Between the leftover breakfast and Kou’s dinner, it was probably the most real meals he’d eaten in… frankly, a concerning amount of time.

“You’ll drop dead from all that sodium,” Akane had told him back in high school when his diet mostly consisted of cups of ramen. And after that, Akane always made a little extra dinner to bring as leftovers for Teru the next day. All while saying he didn’t care if Teru did die from sodium overload and clogged arteries, because of course he didn’t.

Kou took the seat next to him, giving him a carefully appraising look. Their family survived off pretenses, always too polite to ever broach the real issue at hand.

“He wouldn’t stop talking about you, you know,” Kou said, halfway through dinner. He didn’t elaborate, leaving Teru an out if he was determined to let this subject die.

“I would say good things I hope, but that seems a little too optimistic.”

Kou set his plate down and leaned forward, an almost grim look on his face. “He was surprised to see you again after so long, but I think he was happy.”

“He hates me,” Teru said, and he’d never believed anything to be more true. Grass is green. The sky is blue. Akane hates him.

Kou stayed quiet, waiting for Teru to continue or drop the line of thinking completely.

And Teru, for just a second, let himself stop being the eldest son of the Minamoto family, the wise, strong big brother, the golden child. His throat tasted like a storm as he continued. “I messed up. I thought he wouldn’t ever want to see me again. I didn’t intend on seeing him again either. I’m kinda at a loss for what I should do.”

“Well, showing up is a start, at least.”

---

Showing up was a start.

Teru was halfway through the journey to the cafe when his phone buzzed.

Akane: I’m off in ten if you wanna stop by

Thank god for small progress.

Teru stared at the message as he waited for the crosswalk light to change. What to reply with?

“Great, I was in the neighborhood anyways. Be there soon.” That was fine wasn’t it? Or was that too excited, too eager? Would it be weird to say he was already on his way over there? Obviously, Akane wanted him to show up, but he wasn’t sure. He deleted the entire message and started over.

Teru: Omw.

He shoved the phone into his jacket pocket and continued walking.

It was easier when they were in high school. He didn’t have to worry so much about such silly things. But Akane was different now. He barely knew him, but he wanted to know him again.

“Good to see you again, Minamoto,” Akane greeted him. He was at the door when Teru walked in, putting his coat on. “Take a walk with me.”

They walked along the waterfront that lined the row of the shops. The running stream and the whistling of the wind around them was oddly calming, almost serene.

“I was thinking last night,” Akane walked slightly in front of him, keeping his expression concealed, “That I’ve… been a little unfair.”

“Oh? How unlike you to admit fault.”

“Shut up, I’m being serious. I haven’t asked at all about what you’ve been up to this entire time.” He stopped abruptly, leaning against the railing to watch the water. “How have things been?”

Teru stopped as well, sitting with his legs dangling over the river. “Well, my father died 3 years ago.”

Akane breathed in uncomfortably through his teeth. “Shit, man, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s fine, really. He was a mean old bastard anyway. Wasn’t around much ever.” He falls just short of I’m glad he’s dead. That was unacceptable behavior for the eldest son. Honor thy father, don’t speak ill of the dead.

“How did it happen?”

“Hunting party. He’d gone on similar ones many times before. There wasn’t anything different about this one. He just got unlucky. One of the other hunting party members came to break the news. He hadn’t even finished telling us how he died before I was asked to step up as the Head of the Family.”

(He remembered the night it happened so vividly even 3 years later. It was raining outside when Teru answered the door, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and only dressed in a robe. He liked to think the storm was his father’s last hurrah of sorts as the end of a life marked by lightning. The man recounted the story of his death with a clinical detachment, like he was just talking about the weather or who had won the game last night. Teru held Kou and Tiara as they cried, grieved for the father who they had never gotten to know and now never would.

The funeral took place in the same week. Closed casket. He’d heard whispers from the other hunting party members that whatever they had been fighting had ripped his head clean off.

A gruesome death for a gruesome man.)

“You’re so young, though.”

Teru just shrugged. He was only 4 when he first held a sword even if it was just a wooden one. He was 5 when he killed his first supernatural. 9 when he was first invited to come on a hunting party. You didn’t get to be young as an exorcist. You were alive or you weren’t. That was all that mattered. If you were treated like a child, you would die as one.

“It’s not so bad,” he settled on saying, “I get to travel a lot. The pay isn’t terrible either.”

Slowly, Akane sat down next to him, kicking his feet forward in the wind. “This probably sounds stupid after everything that happened, but I miss it sometimes. Being able to see supernaturals, I mean, getting to be a part of that world. I never thought I would. I hated it at the time.”

“I think I understand what you mean. I don’t know what I would be without it.” Happier, probably, but even more aimless. “I can help you.”

Akane raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I trust this. You and helping never end well for me.”

Teru just smirked. “Aw, come on, Aoi. You wound me so.”

“Well, at least tell me what it is first.”

“The enchantment I put on your old glasses to prevent you from seeing supernaturals also works in reverse. It’s a relatively easy spell. I probably have everything I would need for it at home already.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, but I want to.”

---

Teru stopped by a glasses shop on the way home to pick out a pair of frames.

He almost envied the ability to opt in and out of seeing the supernatural world at will. It was a luxury he would never be afforded… but if he could give that luxury to Akane again he wouldn’t hesitate.

Once the enchantment was done, he tucked the glasses into their case and stowed them away in his bag. At least it gave him an excuse to visit again.

---

And visit again he did. Akane was behind the counter again this time, in the middle of working his shift, but he immediately waved Teru over to come sit down. The way his eyes lit up like a solar flare didn’t go unnoticed and he felt just a little justified in his smugness.

“Good afternoon, Minamoto,” Akane slid a cup his way again before Teru could order anything. On the house again. Or so he hoped anyway. His wallet was crying just from the thought of the tab he must have been racking up if it wasn’t.

He spared a passing glance at the other patron sitting at the bar and offered a polite smile before he sat down. “I have to come here while you’re working more often. That way you’ll have to be civil with me.”

“Your evil knows no bounds, Minamoto.”

Teru placed the glasses case on the counter in front of Akane. “I brought you something. I didn’t know if they were quite your style, but…”

Akane gently flipped open the case, examining the glasses for a moment as if inspecting them for any tricks. Slowly, bordering on methodical, he placed them on the bridge of his nose.

He took a deep breath, waited, and then took off the glasses. “Don’t see anything different.”

“‘Course not. I’m very good at my job. Why don’t you come with me tonight?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were asking me on a date.”

“And if I was?” Teru asked, trying his best to make his voice sound as nonchalant as possible.

“You’re such a talented liar to everyone else… but not to me.” had never rang more true.

“I’ll text you when I’m off then.”

---

It was just before 9pm when Akane finally texted him. Teru was beginning to wonder if he would at all.

Akane: I just got finished up at work. Where did you want to meet up?

Teru sent him the address, a local park near a forest where some spirits had wandered out from. They weren’t particularly dangerous, but could still attack and kill if they felt threatened like any other supernatural.

Akane: 10 minutes away. Be there soon.

Teru put his phone away, clutching at the sword at his side tightly. He always preferred to hunt alone. Even in the hunting parties he attended, he always was the first to push forward. His elders called him reckless. He called it independence. He knew his skill level, knew how not to bite off more than he could chew.

Exactly 10 minutes later, Akane showed up, wearing his glasses already. “So, what are we looking for exactly?”

“Low level forest spirit,” Teru explained, “They aren’t much of a threat, but their low spiritual power makes them easy to see even to ordinary people.”

They moved together in tandem with Akane scanning the treeline for any sign of the spirits though he didn’t exactly know what to look for. Teru’s sixth sense was their only guide to finding the rogue spirits, a general estimate, a feeling of intense wrongness that led them like a compass.

“Is that it?” Akane whispered, pointing to a moving shadow hunched over by a trash can. They could hear it rummaging through the garbage and letting out a low moaning sound that made Akane’s skin stand on edge.

“Stay behind me, Aoi.” Teru stood from his crouching position, already pulling the sword from his side.

The spirit looked up from the trashcan and was about to make a run for it when in a flash of dazzling light and heat, a lightning cage appeared around them, trapping the creature in place. It scurried to the very edge of the cage, letting out a low whine. What a pitiful spirit. This one probably would have faded from the near shore if left to its own devices for long enough.

Teru raised his blade for the swing that would end things. In a quick, decisive movement, the sword sliced clean through the spirit’s form and it crumpled to the ground, spewing a black liquid from the gash before it disappeared.

Akane clapped slowly. “Show-off.”

Teru bowed. “I’ll be here all night. There’s still more of them around here.”

“We better get looking then.”

The next spirit they encountered wasn’t as weak. This one had been on the near shore for longer, probably killed a few of its own kind in order to get stronger. But still, it barely registered as a threat.

Despite its meager status, it was still a vicious spirit, one that wasn’t quite ready to leave this world behind. Teru destabilized it with a blow from the side and got ready to send a volt of anti-spirit lightning straight into its soul. The spirit kicked and screamed and let out horrible, blood-curdling gurgling noises. Teru just pressed a foot down on its chest to keep it in place while he turned to talk to Akane who was watching with morbid curiosity.

“What a glamorous job I have, right?”

Akane was about to respond, probably something snarky and sarcastic, when his face twisted in horror and he lunged forward to push Teru out of the way. “Watch out-!”

The spirit had reared forward, sharp teeth gnashing and snapping, about to dig into Teru’s chest before Akane had shoved him out of the way and stomped on the creature as hard as he could. Teru felt the storm bubbling in his chest as the creature raised its long claws in one last ditch effort to survive. Three long, jagged scratches raked down Akane’s arm before Teru could regain his focus and gave the monster a volt of anti-spirit energy that could take down a spirit ten times the size.

Akane let out a hiss of pain, holding his arm as blood seeped from the wound. His sleeve was completely shredded, hanging in bloody tatters.

Teru breathed and all he could taste was ozone. “Why would you do that?”

Akane blinked at him, completely baffled. “Wh… What do you mean?”

Teru took a step back, sheathing his sword again. “You shouldn’t have done that. I could have handled it and you got hurt and-”

“That thing was going to rip into you if I hadn’t!” Akane said defensively, holding his bleeding arm behind his back as if the damage hadn’t been thoroughly burned into Teru’s memory already, just another thing to feel guilty over.

“I would have been fine! You’re a human now, Aoi, get that through your thick skull! Even the weakest supernatural can kill when cornered!” Teru practically spat, feeling like a dying star about to explode and burn out. His chest ached.

“A little scratch isn’t going to kill me-”

“What if it hadn’t just been a scratch!? What if it had ripped your arm off? Would it be okay then?”

“It was my choice!” Akane yelled, his voice taut like a fraying rope, “I chose to do it because I didn’t want you to get hurt again! Haven’t you hurt enough!?”

“Haven’t you!? IT ALMOST KILLED YOU BACK THEN!”

And Akane froze, looking like a deer in the headlights, just like he did back then. This wasn’t about the scratch, he realized belatedly. It never had been.

“You were a supernatural back then. You had more defenses,” Teru continued, feeling almost breathless. His heart was pounding against his sternum, the steady thump, thump, thump ringing through his ears. “And it still almost killed you. Twice. It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough. I couldn’t protect you.”

“I’m not some fragile little flower you need to protect! I survived. Both times! I’m fine! We’re all fine!” Akane’s hands were shaking, but his eyes were resolute, angry. Fire burned in his veins hotter than Teru’s lightning ever could.

“How can you just pretend what happened didn’t happen!?” Teru demanded.

Not a day went by where he didn’t think of it. How he had failed to protect Aoi, how she had been stranded alone in the far shore for almost a full month. How Akane had almost died in his arms, how he held onto him as blood stained the water beneath them red. How Yashiro had completely shut down. How Kou had wanted to die. All because he couldn’t protect them.

He couldn’t be the hero they needed. He couldn’t even stay to pick up the broken pieces with them.

“I’m not pretending!” Akane’s voice was strained, pain overshadowing the previous anger. “Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed of being back there? How many times I’ve seen No. 6 holding you up, your arm hanging by bloody threads!? How many times I’ve woken up in the middle of the night, clutched by the fear that the world has forgotten my best friend again! How many times I’ve had to call her just to make sure she’s still there! I’m not pretending! I’m trying to move on!”

“Aoi-”

“No!” Akane interrupted him, advancing on him and grabbing the collar of his shirt. “Listen to me, okay? You just left me, left all of us. Stop pulling this “you don’t know what’s best for you” shit on me! I’m fine. I’ve been taking care of myself for the past 6 years while you’ve been god knows where!”

Teru was shaking now too, grinding his teeth together like a wild animal. “It wasn’t-... You were only 16 and you almost died because I couldn’t live up to my responsibility!”

“We were both just kids! So cut yourself some slack!” Akane gripped Teru’s collar harder, almost like it was the last thing keeping him upright. “You need to forgive yourself for what happened…”

“I can’t,” Teru forced out, nearly inaudible, “You don’t know what it was like.”

“Then tell me,” Akane pleaded, “Help me understand and stop blocking me out. Quit telling me that you’re doing it for my sake. We both know you’re not.”

Teru’s knees felt weak and in an instant they were both kneeling on the ground, holding onto each other tightly. They hugged like they would never see each other again.

“I dream about it too. I think about what would have happened if you didn’t make it out alive. Or if Akane-san hadn’t. I think about my brother and how far he was willing to go to save everyone.” He felt like a condemned man admitting to his crimes.

“It’s okay. We’re alive. We’re going to be okay,” Akane reassured him. He sounded so sure that Teru so badly wanted to believe it.

“After everything that’s happened, all the danger you’ve been in because of me, all the pain, I never wanted you to have to be strong for me again. I never wanted my brother to have to become a protector. Never wanted Akane-san or Yashiro-san to be exposed to the types of things they were.”

“You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone. Let me share it with you. You need to stop torturing yourself like this.”

“Do you think there’s hope for us?”

Akane pulled away, cupping Teru’s face in his hands. “Of course. There always is.”

Teru looked away, the act of watching, of staring into his eyes again after so long apart, was too painful to bear. “And did you ever… Nevermind. It was a stupid question.”

“No, please, ask it. We can’t keep letting this hang over our heads. I don’t want any more secrets between us. Not ever again.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Like you said… the old you is long gone by now, but did you ever love me back? Even a little bit, even if only for a moment.”

Akane breathed slowly, feeling his lungs rattle in his chest. A bittersweet smile tugs at his lips. “Yes, I think so. I did.”

---

When Teru returned home, he fell face forward onto his bed, fighting back the urge to yell as loud as he could into his pillow. There was a time and a place for that and 12am when your siblings were sleeping was not it. He laid there in silence for a long time, listening to the sound of his heartbeat and replaying the conversation he’d had with Akane in his head.

You need to forgive yourself.

He wondered if Akane had gone to a hospital like Teru had advised him to. Probably not. Just another thing to worry about.

You need to stop torturing yourself like this.

He rolled over onto his back, staring at his messages on his phone. He hovered over Aoi’s contact, wondering whether he should text her or not. He needed someone else, someone that wasn’t Akane, to talk to about this.

Teru: Hey sorry this is so late

Teru: Can we meet up? Tomorrow maybe if you’re able.

He dimmed his phone, not expecting a response until tomorrow morning at least. His heart jolted when he got the notification sound almost immediately.

Aoi: Of course.

Aoi: 8am work?

Teru: That’s perfect. Text you the address?

Aoi: Sounds like a plan :)

---

The place Teru chose was a small cafe a few miles away from Akane’s. He ordered something to steady his nerves as he waited for Aoi to arrive. He chose a booth far away from most of the other tables and one that would give him a clear view of the door. You could never be too cautious.

“Our good friend owns his own coffee shop and gives us coffee for free and yet you wanted to go here?” Aoi said as she took her seat across from him.

“He’s too generous for his own good,” Teru said, giving a lighthearted shrug, “He’ll bankrupt himself off all the free coffee he’s giving out.”

“You could stop taking him up on the free coffee he’s offering.”

Teru shook his head, more resolute in this than almost anything else. “Never. Out of the question.”

“Ha, I’ll be sure to tell him you want to pay full price, then,” Aoi said, resting her head in her hand.

“Ohh, I can feel my wallet crying already.”

“Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Teru wasn’t sure where to even start with that. The night before had just proven how much he had left unsaid, how much had been rotting under the surface, just waiting to be thrown into the light of day. He figures “I’m sorry” is as good a place as any to start.

“I wanted to apologize to you,” Teru said, such a small action, just a few simple words that make him feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Talking to Aoi feels natural. It feels like a friendship should. They’ve always been two sides of the same coin, afterall.

“What for?” Aoi asked in between sips of her tea.

“After what happened,” It still feels like a shard of glass being pulled through him to put a name to the incident. “The Severance. I left. I ran away and left you, all of you, alone.”

Aoi watched him carefully over the rim of her teacup, keeping quiet to let him get everything off his chest.

“And I never apologized for it. I figured I was helping you by not being around anymore. Not knowing… Not seeing the things I see… Sometimes that’s the best way—the only way to protect someone.”

Aoi set her cup down lightly, the soft clink sounding all too loud in Teru’s racing mind. “I was never afraid of the other side. I knew it was there. I loved the rumors, but I was afraid to show it. It didn’t fit with my image. I wanted to be a part of that world, like Nene-chan and Akane-kun were. That’s why it hurt so bad when I found out that they had been keeping it from me. Even after everything that happened, I was still glad I got to see it for myself. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“How did you make it stop hurting?”

Her lips twisted into a sad smile. “It never stops hurting, but you learn to grow around it. You turn it into something useful, something you can live with. You nurture it like a thorny flower.”

“Grow around it?”

“I didn’t talk to Akane-kun for months afterwards. I thought that we could never be friends again. I realized I knew almost nothing about him despite him always being by my side and he knew nothing about me in return. I thought it was the end for us.”

“What changed then?” Teru asked.

She kept her eyes on the table between them instead of on Teru. “We did, I suppose. We started over, as strangers instead of lifelong friends. It was hard and I wanted to give up more than once, but I’m glad I did it in the end.”

“I wish I had been there for it.”

“Akane-kun… He worked really hard to get where he is now. We both did. He wanted to be a better person. To be better for you, and for me, yes, but most importantly for himself. I think that you being around lately has just made him remember that again.”

“Yeah, he told me that the old him was long gone.” His hands trembled, but his voice remained steady. He took another sip of his coffee. “I’m worried the new him outgrew me. That he’ll want nothing to do with me because he’s changed. And I haven’t.”

“You’ll just have to meet him all over again then like I did. Are you up for it?”

“Of course I am.” Teru didn’t realize just how much he meant the words until they left his mouth. Whatever it takes. “Because… Well…”

“Because you’re in love with him?” She offered, drumming her fingers along the table casually.

“Am I that obvious?” Teru asked, and for the first time since the night before, he smiled and meant it.

“To anyone who's seen the way you look at him, yes.”

Teru ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m afraid I really messed things up with him. We got into a fight last night. Well, an argument at least.”

“What about?”

“I want to protect him, but I know he doesn’t need or want that from me. I just can’t bear the thought of him getting hurt again because of me. I never thought of him as weak. Hell, he’s stronger than I am in some ways, but… I don’t know.”

“It’s just what you’re used to,” Aoi said, confident on this point, “But it doesn’t have to be all one-sided. You protect each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“Akane-kun is always looking out for you, isn’t he? He makes sure you’ve eaten. He forces you to rest when you’ve overexerted yourself. That’s a form of protection too.”

He thought about it for a second, the pieces all finally clicking into place. And for the first time in a long time, a weight was lifted from his heart. His chest no longer felt stuffed with lead.

“I think… I need to talk with him again.”

---

Nene and Akane were having a conversation when Teru stopped by later in the afternoon. He didn’t even get to say hello before he was already being dragged into whatever disagreement they were having.

“Minamoto! Perfect,” Akane waved at him from behind the counter, “I know you’ll take my side on this.”

Nene was sitting on the other side of the coffee bar, resting her temple in one hand. “Minamoto-san, maybe you can help him see my point.”

Teru took the same seat he always did right in the middle of the bar and Akane handed him his cup without having to ask. It had become a routine, comfortable even. “What’s this about?”

“She’s trying to force me out of my own store,” Akane said, dramatically closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Nene huffed, looking rather indignant at the accusation. “I am not! Minamoto-san, I’m trying to prevent him from working himself to death! Aoi and I are thinking about putting a deposit down on this building for our plant nursery soon so I thought it might be nice for him to take a vacation before things start getting hectic with us moving.”

“And let my store burn to the ground while I’m gone? No, thank you.”

“We’ve already worked out a schedule for while you’re gone. Everything will be fine. You have my word.”

Nene stared at him, refusing to break eye contact with that same earnest look she always had back in high school.

Akane was the first to look away with a groan. “You’re really not going to drop this subject, are you?”

Nene just crossed her arms, looking triumphant in a way that made Teru have to hold back a laugh. There really was no arguing with her when her heart was set on something. “Nope!”

“I think a vacation could be good for you, Aoi. Maybe it’ll do something about your attitude problem,” Teru agreed, crossing his arms as well.

“Oh, my attitude problem, huh? Well, fine, I’ll take this involuntary vacation on one condition.”

Nene’s eyes practically sparkled. “Okay, just name it.”

“He has to come with me.” Akane tilted his head towards Teru. “I’m not the only one who’s been working far too much lately.”

Teru blinked, only giving himself a second of surprise before he was coming up with a reason he couldn't go. It was something he was used to after years of practice. All of the times he had to turn down a classmate’s invitation to get lunch or hangout after school because he was too busy sleeping in preparation for his nightly duties. “You know I can’t do that, Aoi. My job isn’t one I can just take days off with.”

“Oh, don’t give me that crap,” Akane didn’t look impressed whatsoever, “Who takes over for you whenever you go on your ‘business trips’?”

“That’s not the same-”

“I’m not budging.” Akane stamped one foot on the ground for emphasis. “I’m not going if you’re not going. Your move, Minamoto.”

Nene’s pleading gaze was directed at him now. Great. “Wouldn’t it be fun to take a vacation together? You could go to the beach! Er… I guess we’re not really having the weather for that right now… Or an onsen! Or-”

“I’ll… see what I can do,” Teru said, trying to put it as delicately as possible, “I’ll contact some other exorcists in the area and see if they can cover for me. But I can’t make any promises. I hope you understand.”

—

Teru knew he could find someone to cover for him if he really wanted to. Being Head of the Minamoto Clan commanded quite a bit of respect and admiration, giving him a lot more power and sway than he had as a teenager. All it would take is a few phone calls and he would be free for the week or however long this impromptu vacation was going to last. The question was… was he ready for that?

He had never been on a vacation before, at least not a proper one. Sure, his job sometimes required him to travel in order to join hunting parties or to go after particularly troublesome supernaturals. But those hardly counted as vacations. They were far from relaxing or restful.

Teru sighed, pacing around his darkened bedroom with his phone in his hand with Akane's contact already pulled up. He hadn’t gotten to speak with him about what Aoi had reminded him of yet.

Fuck it.

Teru: I talked to some people

Teru: And I should be able to go with you

Akane: I’ll book the tickets then. See you Sunday morning?

Teru: I’ll be there.

Mind racing a mile a minute, Teru shut the phone off and returned it to his pocket. It would be fine. It wasn’t like it was a trap. Akane had invited him on this trip. Obviously he wanted him to be there at least a little bit.

—

Sunday morning came far too soon and Teru met Akane at the train station. They’d decided on a few days in the countryside. Akane had already booked a small rental cabin for them to share. A place of solace from the constant noise and movement of the city. Neither of them packed much for the journey ahead.

Teru spent most of the several hour long train ride sleeping, slowly dropping his head onto Akane’s shoulder in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner. Akane didn’t say much of anything about it, just kept reading the book he’d brought along to kill time. And for once, the silence between them didn’t feel stilted or awkward. There was no unspoken tension or argument brewing between them, just them and the constant hum of the train moving along the tracks.

The surroundings outside the little window in their shared compartment passed by in a blur as they left the city behind, cutting themselves off from everything that was familiar and comfortable. The trees had lost most of their leaves already, signaling that winter was not far behind. The pale sunlight shimmered across the darkening grass.

The sky was ablaze with yellow and orange hues when they finally arrived. Their cabin was thankfully only a short walk from the train station. The temperature had dropped significantly and Teru held his coat tighter to him as they made their way to their new home for the next few days.

The early evening passed in almost a blur as Teru got to work starting a fire in the fireplace and Akane cozied up on the couch with his book, now almost finished. The fire cast the rest of the room in a soft glow, the shadows dancing along the walls. Once he was finished, he retreated to the other couch in the living room, careful to keep a little distance. He wasn’t sure what he was so afraid of. Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.

The cabin was almost irritatingly peaceful. The gentle crackling and occasional popping from the fireplace, the way the floors creaked and groaned as most old houses did, the sound of paper being turned every time Akane had finished reading a page. It made him feel restless, stir crazy even. Calmness like this never boded well for him. He didn’t deserve this peace.

A sudden flash from across the room interrupted his thoughts. Akane had placed his book down on the coffee table and in its place was a polaroid camera. Teru blinked, eyes burning slightly from the camera flash.

“Sorry, the lighting was too good to pass up.” Akane smiled, shaking the printed photo in his hand. He stared at it, nodding approvingly. “Yep, this one’s one for the wall.”

“I didn’t know you were into photography, Aoi.”

“I’m not. Not really. It was a birthday gift from Aoi. I just like to keep memories like these.” Akane shrugged, placing the camera and the photo right next to his book. “Anyway, want to tell me what you’re brooding over so intensely over there?”

“I’m not brooding,” Teru corrected him, “I’m thinking.”

“Didn’t know there was a difference when it comes to you. But seriously, what’s up?”

Teru’s throat constricted, finding it suddenly hard to talk anymore, and he averted his gaze.

Fight or flight kicked in and Teru chose flight. “Nothing. I’m going to go out for a bit. Don’t let the fire go out while I’m gone.”

“...Okay. Be careful.”

A part of him hoped Akane would stop him, ask him to stay, or maybe follow him out the door to wherever it was he was about to wander off to. But he didn’t and for a second Teru wondered if the rift between them can ever be patched.

There was a corner store not far from the cabin, the same place where all of Teru’s troubles started. The bright fluorescent lights made his head ache and the smell of nicotine made his nostrils burn, but he ignored it. He headed straight for the cooler section, scanning for a particular fizzy orange soda when the thought hit him that he didn’t even know if it was still Akane’s favorite. It was a dumb thing to feel anxious about, he knew that much, but the thought gnawed at him.

Once the drinks and a few snacks were paid for, Teru loitered around the area for a little longer, not exactly eager to return. Starting over was a lot harder than he had anticipated.

It was a little after 10pm when Teru finally returned to find Akane sleeping soundly on the couch and the fireplace reduced to dying embers. Setting down the bag of snacks, Teru went to tend to the fire.

“Oh, you’re back,” Akane sat up again, rubbing at his eyes and yawning, “Sorry, I tried to stay up until you came back.”

Teru just offered an almost painfully plastic smile and continued to shift the firewood around with the poker, trying to get the embers to spread again.

“Will you just talk to me please?” Akane said, dropping all of the pretenses between them, “I can’t stand how you’re closing yourself off again. You’re shutting me out. What’s wrong?”

“I talked to Akane-san the other day,” Teru admitted. A small truth was a start, kindling.

“So you’re in cahoots with my best friend now?”

“No, I wanted to apologize and talk about how things were after I left. She told me about how you didn’t talk for months after the Severance.” The word still felt like a bitter pill stuck in the back of his throat. “I didn’t know any of that. It never crossed my mind. Aoi, I’m-”

“Do you think I hate you?” Akane asked, the tiredness gone from his eyes and replaced with a burning conviction he hadn’t seen in a long time. Adding gasoline to kindling.

“Do you?”

“I’ve never hated you… Teru.” A leap of faith, an exercise in trust. “Not once. Even when you were gone, even on my worst days. I was angry, yes, but I didn’t hate you.”

Teru felt like a live wire, exposed and torn open for all to see. He opened his mouth to speak, finding no words would come out.

“I’ve been a real prick lately, I realize,” Akane dragged a hand across his face and sighed, “I was afraid I think. I wanted to push you away because it would hurt less if it was my choice. I was scared that you would leave again, afraid of what that might do to me.”

“I can’t say that I didn’t deserve it, at least most of it,” Teru said and offered a weak smile. A spark ignited between them.

“No, that’s not all of it. Aoi told you that we didn’t speak for months after the Severance, but even after that it was hard to rebuild what we have now. It took years. Trust is so easily broken and terribly difficult to gain back.” Akane stood from the couch, taking the spot on the floor next to Teru and staring almost longingly into the fireplace.

Teru made the split second decision to close the gap between them and pull Akane into a hug. It was messy and raw and they fought for space that wasn’t there, but it’s exactly what they both needed. An inferno of grief consumed them.

“I don't know that I was in love with her, not in the real way. I loved her for sure. I know that
much at the very least. She was my best friend. She always will be. But I don't know if I was ever in love with her. I don't think that people like me can be in love. My love... It's like poison. I poisoned her. I didn’t want to do the same to you.”

My love is poison, he said. I could take poison. Of all the things that could kill me, this one wouldn’t be so bad, Teru thought.

“I’ve been a real hypocrite,” Akane continued, “I said I didn’t ever ask for your protection, but I’ve been trying to protect you from me this entire time.” He laughed, but there was no humor to it.

But it doesn’t have to be all one-sided. You protect each other.

“We’re both awful, aren’t we?” Teru held on tighter, running a hand through Akane’s hair. “I’ve been terrified this entire time that you would have changed too much, that you’d have outgrown me, that you wouldn’t want me around anymore because I haven’t changed at all.”

“Of course I want you around. I’d be pissed if you left again. I’m putting a lot of trust in you so you better not make me look like a fool here.”

A laugh rose from Teru’s chest, wheezy and light. “That’s all I’ve wanted to hear this entire time. Can we start over?”

Akane laughed too. His smile was a wonderful sight to behold. The glowing light of the dying fire settled perfectly on Akane’s face. He was so beautiful.

“I’d like that. I want to know about all the places you visited over these 6 years. I want to know about the supernaturals you’ve seen. I want to know all of it.”

“And I want to know about how you started your business. I want to know all the weird things customers have asked for. I want to know you again.”

They talked into the night, only stopping when they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

—

Teru awoke to Akane gone from his side. It was early morning from the shadows cast through the window and his heart ached. Slowly, he stood up, feeling his joints voice their discontentment about sleeping on the floor instead of the nice, soft bed that came with the cabin. Feeling the cold winter air sharpen his skin, he stepped outside onto the porch where Akane was leaning over the railing with coffee in hand.

His sleeves were pulled up to his elbows and Teru could see the three long gashes from the week before. An act of protection, Akane’s choice, not something Teru needed to burn up inside over.

Frost had crystalised over the grass. He stood there for a moment, taking everything in and watching his breath turn to mist.

“Good morning. You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you. ”

Just as winter will always come and spring will always melt the frost, Teru felt forgiven.

He bridged the space between them, stealing a kiss from Akane’s lips. He could still taste the coffee on them.

Ristretto.

—

A few weeks after they returned from their vacation, Aoi and Nene were finally ready to move everything into the new plant nursery. A rental truck awaited outside of the coffee shop and they all did their part to haul the leftover stock from the flower shop. It was absurd, honestly, how heavy some of the plants were, but Teru just grinned and bore it.

“It’ll be sad to see them go, won’t it?” Teru asked, standing side by side with Akane.

“It’ll be for the best in the end. It’s just a new beginning. For all of us.”