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Night falls over Tokyo, and with it, the city goes to sleep.
It never truly rests, though. It breathes quietly, allows creatures to hush about unnoticed, keeps its alleys and corners dark enough so shadows can chase one another. The few street lights scattered throughout the streets provide little relief, their faint golden glow merely allowing the damned to be spotted more easily.
A man is among them tonight.
Shibusawa’s steps are hurried as he paces down the forlorn streets, pulling his coat and scarf tighter to block out the wind whipping all around him. The darkness drains the colour from his surroundings and makes everything look the same bleak shade of grey. Leaves skitter along the ground, the sound sending a chill down his spine. All he can do is walk forward and hope to find what he’s looking for without getting lost himself.
A low, guttural howl comes from behind him, agonisingly long. Cutting through the night, chasing away even the last few bits of peace that managed to stay alive past sundown.
Shibusawa freezes for a moment, the noise replaying in his mind, ghastly and bone-chilling. Then he continues walking. He’s searching for something, and he knows he’s running out of time.
Shadows reach for him. They close in on him, pull at his legs, scream for him to turn around and look at them. Shibusawa breathes quicker. Each drag of air into his lungs is searing cold, but the adrenaline makes it all feel like flames burning him from the inside.
There’s the sudden clatter of metal behind him. Trash cans toppling over, the squeak of a startled rat, the thump of something heavy falling on concrete.
Then wailing so desperate and loud, it actually makes Shibusawa whip around to catch a glimpse of the horrors behind him.
Hundreds of glaring blue eyes poke out of a sea of writhing, tentacle-like appendages, darker than the night. Intricate patterns glow bright across all of its limbs, almost hypnotising with how they twist and curve, and when the creature rises to its full size, towering over everything before it, blue spirals that pull him under its spell are all Shibusawa sees.
Despite its horror, it vaguely looks like a human.
It moves like a human as it lurches forward and two claw-like, shadowy hands reach out for Shibusawa, growing bigger and bigger before his eyes.
He’s frozen in place as for a quick second, he’s entranced by the otherworldly sight. Time stands still, and in that moment, he knows he’ll never forget what he saw tonight. The creature looks like a twisted god against the moonlight, a sight that is grotesquely beautiful in its own way.
Survival instinct sets in, and Shibusawa just barely manages to dodge a swipe of a shadowy claw. It shifts again, then, all its tentacles unfurling and shooting out into all directions as it lets out a bone-chilling howl. Shibusawa manages to stumble back and throw himself to the ground to narrowly dodge a swipe of one of the shadowy appendages that leaves dark smoke in its wake, and that’s finally when the situation clicks with him.
Instead of turning tail, though, Shibusawa stays.
He keeps his eyes on as many of the writhing tentacles as he can, observing their every move in fear of the next swipe as he gets back up from the ground. The creature lets out a howl, and he raises his hands in surrender.
Signalling that he won’t hurt it.
“Hey, calm down,” Shibusawa says, as low and soothing as possible as he slowly comes closer. He flinches as the creature lets out another wail. “It’s just me.”
His words seem to have no effect as the creature spreads out its tentacles and builds itself up even higher. Its patterns twist and turn before Shibusawa, hurting his eyes, glowing so bright he’s sure the creature is gearing up for an attack that will have more purpose than just intimidating him.
He swallows hard, and takes another step forward.
“It’s Shibusawa. You can stop playing the scary monster now, you know?”
Against all odds, that makes it hesitate, limbs freezing as its many eyes blink at the human before it. They lower slowly, slither back towards the creature over the ground to wrap back around it, and when it sinks to the ground and becomes half its size again, it looks almost defeated.
Time seems to stand still then, and suddenly, there’s silence between Shibusawa and the creature that feels much heavier than the tension of the chase just did.
Shibusawa lets out a breath as he looks at the sight before him. His body relaxes, knowing he’s out of danger, and he steps closer, opening his arms.
“Come here, big guy.”
The creature’s eyes light up at those words, all its wilted limbs springing to life immediately. It slithers forward with sudden vigour, then hesitates briefly and waits for another confirmation. Shibusawa nods with a smile, and it’s enough to animate the creature into throwing itself around the other with all its might. Shibusawa lets out a startled laugh as he tries to not fall over again, and winds his arms as best as he can around what seems to be the middle of the creature.
It lets out another wail. Agonising, chilling, fear-inciting.
Shibusawa scoffs, but it relaxes into another soft smile. “You’re so dramatic. Give me a break, my arms are only that long.” He doesn’t mind how much the appendages coil around him, how the shadowy mass almost swallows him whole in its twisted affection.
This time, the noise it lets out is almost comically small in comparison, and sounds suspiciously like a pout.
It makes Shibusawa grin in amusement, and he stands on his toes, pressing a little kiss between the creature’s eyes. “Scaring innocent people in the dead of night. You know, I’m glad I found you safe and sound.”
The creature rumbles contently, relaxing fully around the human, and as much as Shibusawa wants to get home already, he can’t resist relaxing into its embrace and just staying like this for a few moments. The night is cold and harsh around them, but it’s warm and safe here.
Shibusawa closes his eyes, presses his head against the creature, and listens. Maybe it’s his imagination, but he can make out a human heartbeat, and he decides right there and then that it’s the best sound in the whole world.
“Let’s get you home, big guy,” he mumbles. A little whine is his answer.
He separates himself reluctantly from the creature, looking up into its many eyes for a second before breaking away with a chuckle. “You know, I don’t even know where to look first,” he grins. “So many eyes, and you can’t even recognise your boyfriend.”
They all blink at Shibusawa in sync, then the mass before him makes apologetic noises. He simply laughs and pats it. Its surface is warm to the touch, smooth and a little bit rubbery.
“Follow me and keep to the shadows. I’ll get us home safely, ‘kay?”
The creature immediately changes shape and slithers up against the walls, almost becoming one with the shadows, closely behind Shibusawa, morphing itself to better fit into the nooks and crannies of the city to stay hidden. Shibusawa gives it a nod, then starts to make his way back, creature in tow.
It takes them a lot of manoeuvring, but Shibusawa is nothing if not used to this, and after a long walk taken tentacle in hand, they finally arrived home.
Shibusawa acts quickly, pulling the double door to their porch wide open so the creature can squeeze through. Hinges creak, glass rattles, but with one hearty push from Shibusawa against its backside, it slips into the house, Shibusawa laughing as he follows.
“You’re putting on weight,” he teases the creature with a hum, dodging an offended tentacle lunging for him and holding his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just joking. Wanna move over to the sofa?” He dims the lights, takes his coat off, then flops down on the sofa already, spreading his limbs out with a pleased sigh. All the stress of his nightly search and the walk home got to him more than he thought.
He closes his eyes as he takes a deep breath, feeling the stress fall off his shoulders. A bit away from him, he hears shuffling and small whimpers that sound more dramatic than anything else. Shibusawa smiles to himself as he hears sounds of the creature approaching the sofa, knocking over various furniture in the process. He can’t even be mad—Shibusawa is used to this.
He is ripped out of his bliss rather unceremoniously as the large mass of shadows and tentacles flops down on him instead of anywhere else on the sofa, wheezing as he feels the air being pushed out of his lungs. “You’re— you’re cuddly today,” he heaves a breath, pushing it back with all his might to sit up and get at least a bit of necessary air.
He comes face to face with hundreds of determined blue eyes, and immediately softens at the sight. “You can stay, but don’t crush me, ‘kay?”
Grumbling is his answer, and he takes it, soothing it by stroking up and down its backside as best as he can, pressing another little kiss to the space between a few of its eyes. It seems to work as the creature slowly deflates again, its tentacles slowly curling around the human as it spreads itself out more over the sofa to take a bit more weight away from his chest.
Shibusawa acknowledges its efforts with a hum, then blindly grabs for the throw blanket he knows is behind him, draping it over the creature and himself as best as he can. It makes noises akin to purring at that, and Shibusawa returns to cuddling it with a chuckle.
They stay like that for a while, enjoying each other’s company, Shibusawa occasionally pressing kisses to the dark mass in his arms that reciprocates by caressing his face with a few tentative tentacles sometimes. Slowly, carefully, as if afraid it could hurt him. Shibusawa feels warm at the display of care—warm and loved.
It’s too comfortable and he’s worn out from the day—his eyes fall shut on their own after a while, Shibusawa dozing off a few times, always waking up again due to movement on top of him.
The next time he opens his eyes, the weight on top of him has gotten much lighter, and on his chest lies a man looking up at him with a loving smile and sleepy eyes. They glow bright blue in the dark, and Shibusawa’s heart does a little flip at the sight.
“Hey there,” he whispers, hand reaching out to brush a curl of dark hair behind his boyfriend’s ear.
Takuto smiles bashfully, leaning into the touch while closing his eyes, enjoying it. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened,” he mumbles.
“Does it matter? You’re safe now.” Shibusawa presses a kiss against Takuto’s now-human forehead, pulling him further up to properly tuck his boyfriend under his chin and hold him in his arms. “I couldn’t ask for more.”
“Are you sure?” Takuto sounds too nervous for Shibusawa’s tastes, too concerned about the same thing they talked about hundreds of times already.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Shibusawa smiles, hands tracing circles into Takuto’s back. “You know I don’t lie to you.”
It’s quiet for a few long moments where Shibusawa only hears the sounds of their breathing and feels the steady thump of Takuto’s heartbeat against his.
“All of this is probably still very strange and stressful for you,” his boyfriend then mumbles into his neck, the exact words Shibusawa expected him to say. “I’m so sorry for just… running off. I shifted, and suddenly I felt so ashamed in front of you… the next thing I knew, I was already running.”
Shibusawa moves one of his hands up to softly brush through Takuto’s hair. “You know I’m never bothered. Not like you can control it, right?” Practised fingers easily find the few knots in it, and he detangles them while pressing another kiss to Takuto’s forehead.
“I should learn to,” Takuto sighs, eyes closing once more to savour this act of affection. “Nobody wants to be with a monster.”
Shibusawa laughs quietly. “Couldn’t be me. I love this little monster with all my heart.” More kisses all over his face that Takuto leans into with an expression that’s equal parts relieved and guilty. Shibusawa kisses the frown off his lips next, then kisses him some more until he feels Takuto melt into his arms, the stress visibly flowing out of his bones.
Shibusawa smiles into the kiss, leaning their foreheads together once he separates their lips. The look on Takuto’s face is equal parts soft and intense, his eyes overflowing with affection. The way he looks at Shibusawa never fails to make him feel like a teenager again, like the first time he looked into Takuto's eyes and wondered what it would be like to kiss his friend instead of a girl.
Seeing how far they’ve come since then makes him much too sentimental now, especially looking at his boyfriend’s journey. Not even becoming a demonic mass of tentacles and eyes could keep Shibusawa from loving him.
In fact, while he acknowledges the problems that Takuto shifting his form brings with it, the advantages outweigh them for Shibusawa. He’s always loved Takuto’s eyes the most. Getting to look at hundreds of them at once is honestly a plus, once you get past the strangeness of it.
“I think you should stop overthinking it,” Shibusawa concludes with a last kiss to Takuto’s lips. “You give great cuddles when you’ve shifted, you know. I think by default that makes you the best boyfriend one could have.”
Takuto actually laughs at that. “You’re just trying to cheer me up, aren’t you? But alright, I won’t complain.” He settles back onto Shibusawa’s chest, then lets out a long breath. “Hey, can we stay like this for a while before going to bed?”
“Does it matter if we cuddle in bed or on the sofa?”
“I think I want to enjoy this moment a bit longer.” Takuto cranes his neck up, looking at Shibusawa with a little smile. “Indulge me?”
How could he not? He’s never been able to resist those eyes. Shibusawa wants nothing more than to keep his boyfriend safe and shower him with all the affection he deserves. Show him every day that Shibusawa loves him not in spite of his other side, but with it.
His fingers brush through Takuto’s hair gently. “Alright, but don’t go falling asleep on me. Not gonna carry you to bed again if you do.”
“Sure,” Takuto chuckles, resting his head in the crook of Shibusawa’s neck again. “You always say that, and then I magically wake up in our bed the next morning.”
“You’re not the only one with supernatural abilities.” Shibusawa grins. “See? We’re a match made in heaven. Perfect fits.”
“Truly.” Shibusawa feels Takuto smile against his skin. “I’m glad it’s you. My perfect match.”
He's heard the words a hundred times before, considering how generous Takuto is with his affection, and yet Shibusawa feels as affected as the first time he heard them.
“I’m glad it’s you too,” he mumbles, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s hair.
Takuto falls asleep soon after, just as predicted, and while Shibusawa knows he should get them both to bed now, he can’t resist staying in this moment for just a little while longer.
He hears the wind howl outside, hears the soft pitter-patter of the starting rain against the rooftop, sees the windows fog up from the autumn chill. The outside looks cold and unwelcome, but in here it’s warm and cosy. Their shared body warmth chases away even the last remnants of the cold, the hold they have on each other secure and a promise for the future. It’s domestic enough to make Shibusawa sentimental, even after all those years.
Takuto and him are together now, and he doesn’t need more than that to be happy. Even if Takuto loses control and runs away again: he would go to the ends of the world if it meant getting his boyfriend safely back into his arms.