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When Raidou opened the door and entered the apartment, the intense, spicy smell of pumpkin immediately wafted around his nose. He stopped for a moment and simply enjoyed being home again. The mission had lasted almost two weeks and stressed him out a lot. It was not surprising that exhaustion crawled up his limbs and made them heavy as lead.
Raidou sighed and took off his cloak, then his shoes, and entered the small kitchen at the end of the hall. A pleasant warmth crept up inside Raidou and the corners of his mouth twitched upward as he looked at Genma, who was standing by the stove and seemed not to have noticed him yet.
"Genma," he said softly and took another two steps toward him. The addressed paused for a moment before placing a pot on another stove top and then turning around. Raidou held his breath as he became aware of the many emotions on Genma's face.
"Rai ... welcome back," Genma whispered in a faltering voice before taking the senbon out of his mouth and putting it away.
"I'm glad ...", Raidou managed with a wry smile, before two arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Raidou also held Genma tightly against him and returned the kiss. Genma's gentle warmth and the intensity of his embrace let Raidou sigh softly into the kiss. Finally, he was back where he belonged. In Konoha. With Genma.
Gently, he ended the kiss and tucked some of Genma's hair behind his ear before pressing his forehead against Genma's. Raidou closed his eyes, enjoying being close to the man he loved so deeply.
No words were needed to describe what Raidou felt at that moment. Genma's presence gave him comfort and the much needed inner peace that he could put the last days behind him.
"I missed you," Genma finally murmured, before putting his hands to Raidou's cheeks. As if he needed to make sure Raidou was really back with him.
The corners of Raidou's mouth twitched upward and he felt himself blushing. Unlike Genma, he still found it incredibly difficult to show his feelings openly, even when he was alone with him. All he could do was hope that Genma knew how much he meant to him anyway.
Gently, he placed one of his hands on Genma's and the other on his neck.
"I'm glad to be home."
Genma's answer was a smile that went through Raidou's spine and again that pleasant warmth rose up inside him.
Genma broke away from him and turned his attention back to the pot that was sitting on the stove.
"If you want to take a shower before dinner, you'll need to hurry up. The soup will be ready soon. And after that, I'd like to show you something that I bet you'll like," Genma said as he stirred evenly in the pot.
Raidou's eyebrow twitched as he unknotted his hitae-ate and took it off. "Show me something? Like what?"
Genma turned back to him, a cheeky smile on his face. He clicked his tongue and put a hand on his hip. "Uh, uh, uh, Rai, just be patient. You'll see soon enough."
He crossed the short distance between them and gave Raidou a quick kiss on the lips. When Genma broke away, Raidou could feel his warm breath on his skin and he withstood the urge to kiss Genma again and pull him into their shared bedroom.
He swallowed and finally nodded. "I'll be right back. Make sure the soup doesn't boil over." Without waiting for Genma's answer, Raidou left the room. A shower really sounded like a good idea.
Now clean and dressed again, Raidou entered the kitchen, sat down on a chair, and watched Genma briefly as he retrieved plates from one of the kitchen cabinets.
"Do you need some help?" Even though exhaustion stuck deep in his bones, Raidou felt awkward just sitting there doing nothing.
Genma paused for a moment, smiling at him before shaking his head.
"Nah, it's okay."
Raidou sighed, but then nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. His stomach growled loudly and Genma made a soft, amused sound before placing a full bowl in front of him. Raidou smiled sheepishly, and watched as Genma placed a second bowl on the table and grinned proudly at him..
"I really did a great job with the soup today, trust me. You're going to love it."
Raidou smirked and shook his head. "You know yourself that your food has always been damn good so far, Gen. You probably just like to praise yourself from time to time, don't you?"
"Me, praise myself? Never! I don't even know where you get that idea, Rai," Genma replied with a playfully indignant look, gripping his chest in an overexaggeratedly theatrical gesture. "If you heard something crack, that's the pile of shards your words left behind. I think you should come up with something to patch my heart back together later. That would only be fair, I think."
Genma fell silent, blinked once innocently in Raidou's direction, and then went to eat his soup.
Raidou grumbled softly as he felt the heat creeping up his cheeks again. Damn, of course he already had an idea what he could do with Genma later, but at that moment he was too hungry and too tired for that.
Hoping that Genma might not have noticed his embarrassment for once, Raidou began to eat as well.
For the most part, they had eaten their dinner in silence. Genma didn't ask about what Raidou had experienced on the mission, and Raidou was grateful for that. They both rarely talked about what they saw and did during missions.
"So? What do you want to show me? I've waited long enough now, haven't I?" Raidou asked as they finally retreated to the small living room and sat on the comfortable couch. Genma's head was resting against his shoulder and he was gently rubbing Raidou's thighs in circular motions. These touches gave Raidou a feeling of security and affection. He knew he could let himself go and Genma would be there to catch him, no matter what the reason. At that moment, he felt calm and content with himself.
Genma clicked his tongue again before looking up at Raidou and showing him that smile again that Raidou loved so much.
"Hmm, yes, I think you're right. But put some warm clothes on, the surprise is outside in the garden."
Raidou raised his eyebrows, but allowed Genma to press a quick kiss to the scarred side of his face without resistance.Then he stood up and pulled him up with him.
"Don't be so suspicious, Rai. It's nothing bad, I promise."
"It's not? All right." Raidou put a hand to Genma's cheek and gently stroked it before brushing a strand of hair behind his ear again. "Show me."
Dressed up in warm clothes, he followed Genma out the back door and into the small garden that lay behind their apartment. The garden had been one of the main reasons they had chosen this very apartment. Raidou liked to spend time on the small wooden bench that stood under a pine tree, reading, or simply taking a moment to relax.
Raidou pulled his scarf a little higher as the cold wind hit his skin and buried his hands in his coat pockets. Another hand snuck up and wrapped around his right hand, squeezing it for a moment. Raidou felt himself blushing again. The air felt even icier than it had a few seconds ago, and Genma's grin didn't make things any better.
"Genma..." he muttered sheepishly, but the thought of removing his hand instantly vanished when Genma stroked the back of Raidou's hand with his thumb.
Raidou sighed softly and shook his head. Genma had this effect on him that he sometimes didn't understand. And yet, this attraction between them helped him to rise above; to allow more closeness than he ever thought possible.
He turned his head slightly and pressed his forehead against Genma's for a moment, enjoying the contact until he pulled away again.
"I know what you're going to say, Raidou. But we're alone, just you and me. No need to get embarrassed," Genma said softly. But before Raidou could answer, Genma pointed with his hand on the ground next to the small wooden bench, visibly proud. "Look. Didn't those two turn out great?"
Raidou looked closer. When he realized what was on the floor, his mouth dropped open. He tilted his head, detached himself from Genma, and took a few steps toward the two pumpkins lying on the ground next to the bench, looking at them critically.
"Genma?" he asked quietly, pointing with his index finger at them, "what is that?"
" Well, isn't it obvious, Rai? Those are pumpkins."
Raidou gave a soft sigh as he could hear the innocent undertone in Genma's voice all too well.
"I am aware of that, Genma. But why do they look like that?" Raidou looked doubtfully at Genma, who chuckled softly and winked at him. "Why wouldn't they? They're perfect like that, and I sacrificed one of my senbon for them, after all."
"No one said you had to do that. That was your decision alone."
Raidou rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. Somehow he was completely overwhelmed with this situation and he couldn't stop his cheeks from feeling hot again.
"I didn't want to carve the same boring faces into the pumpkins that everyone else does. That's why I thought ... well ... they turned out well though, didn't they?"
Genma's voice suddenly sounded a little quieter, more uncertain, so Raidou sighed softly and wrapped an arm around Genma's shoulders. Gently, he stroked his fingers over the jacket's thick fabric.
"The resemblance is unmistakable. So yeah, they turned out really well" Raidou replied in a slightly more calmly tone before glancing at the two pumpkins once more. "You know what? We'll move the bench to the right and put the pumpkins right under the tree. Then we'll get a blanket and some tea and sit on the doorstep. What do you think about that? We could enjoy the night a little more before we go to bed."
Genma's answer was a nod and his unique smile, which made Raidou's knees go weak.
Raidou took a sip of his tea and pulled the warm blanket a little tighter around himself and Genma, leaving him no choice but to slide even closer. Genma's pleasant body heat lulled him, better than any blanket could, and smiling slightly, Raidou snuggled his head against Genma's.
This moment was peaceful and he felt so happy that Raidou wished time would stop. Just for Genma and him.
Raidou's gaze fell on the two pumpkins again and he wrapped an arm around Genma's waist.
"How long did it take you to make the two pumpkins?" The corners of Raidou's mouth twitched as Genma yawned softly.
"Hmm, I don't know. Three hours maybe? It was kind of relaxing, that's why I decided to take my time."
"I can see that. The work looks really neat from here," Raidou praised and, oblivious to the world around them, briefly stroked Genma's thigh once before his hand rested on his hip again.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? You do know that Aoba and Koji in particular will find the pumpkin heads pretty funny when they get to see them, right?
Genma just grumbled softly and Raidou decided to let it go for today. The night was far too beautiful to let it end with a discussion because of something like that. And somehow the idea was quite funny after all.
Raidou didn't know how much time had passed since they had sat down at the doorstep and enjoyed the night silence together. Half asleep, he noticed someone taking the cup from his hand and gently pulling him to his feet. Dry, cool lips brushed the scar tissue on his left cheek, leaving a warm tingle. Raidou leaned a little into the touch and sighed softly. He allowed himself to be guided without resistance until finally he was pressed down on something soft and pulled out of his clothes. As much as he wanted to help, he couldn't. Exhaustion had him firmly in its clutches and his limbs now felt even heavier. His head barely touched the pillow before he was sleeping soundly.
Outside, protected from the cold wind thanks to the big pine tree, the two pumpkin heads continued to glow. One wore a piece of cloth over its reinserted lid, and one of Genma's senbon was stuck in a corner of its mouth. On the other pumpkin, a scar-like wave pattern covered the left side of the face. 'Happy Halloween' was written in thick black letters above the carved-out eyes of both pumpkin heads.