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Moving into a new apartment was not an easy task, Kazuki’s parents had warned him. Especially moving into a new apartment with two boyfriends, because there were a lot of factors that one needs to get used to, they said.
Kazuki wished he took his parents’ words seriously, as he watched the chaos unfold as Tooi and Enta were fighting over who gets the guest room with the en suite bathroom.
“No way, I want this room for studying and workout training, you know how I won’t leave the room for even a bathroom break when I focus on something!”
Tooi laughed, “Pfft, yeah, I know how focused you get when you draw Kazuki or me, you don’t need a room to draw either of us.”
Enta flushed a deep shade of red, much like the first time Kazuki and Tooi found his sketchbook filled with their own faces, hands, legs, and…. ahem. Not what Kazuki wanted to focus on in the middle of moving in. That could wait until they sort their apartment. That is, if they stop fighting over the guest room. Which, knowing Tooi and Enta, could go on for hours.
Deciding to intervene, Kazuki stepped in between his boyfriends. “Enta, Tooi, calm down you two. It doesn't even matter who gets which room, in the end, we’re gonna sleep in the same room.” He smiled as he held his boyfriends’ hands in each of his own.
Enta sighed, the fight leaving him almost instantaneously. “It’s just that I was so used to how things were back home, and it was too good to be true, that the three of us would be here, living together as partners rather than flatmates…” Kazuki often teases at how easily Enta got flustered, but seeing his best friend look at him with a pretty blush and a wide smile, Kazuki felt his cheeks warm. Gods, he loved his best friend so much!
Tooi looked at Kazuki and Enta in wonder. “You two really meant it when you said that?” When the two boys nodded, Tooi chuckled sadly. “Wow. I thought you were saying that as something that’s not to be taken seriously, or that you’ve changed your mind about it. I mean, I don’t hold that against you, I understand why you wouldn’t want me in the same room as-” he was cut short by Enta silencing him with a hard kiss, hands cupping Tooi’s face. “Tooi. Of course we want you there. Of course I want you there with me and Kazuki. I like you as much as I like Kazuki.”
Tooi tilted his head, confused. “But you are in love with Kazuki.”
“Exactly.”
“Ah.” Tooi flushed, feeling his heart beat faster and butterflies flutter in his stomach. Ever since the three of them started dating shortly after Tooi’s release, both Kazuki and Enta took every opportunity to let him know how much they liked, appreciated and wanted him. And while Kazuki had gathered the courage to say those three words a few months ago, whispered confessions underneath the stars, Enta hadn’t yet said anything about love, which led Tooi to believe that Enta didn’t really want for hm to be a part of his life, dating him only to appease Kzuki. But now, looking at him with a tender, lovestruck expression that was reserved only for Kazuki (Tooi would later realize that Enta has been looking at him like that for a while, too shy and scared to admit his true feelings), Tooi felt a warmth in his heart. He loves me back , Tooi thought, feeling his eyes mist at the feeling of being wanted, being connected to the ones he loved. He kissed Enta, whispering I love you s into the kiss, swiping his thumbs gently across his cheeks as tears of happiness ran down his face.
Kazuki saw his two best friends kiss, and felt his eyes sting. He knew how scared Enta felt when he realized he was falling for Tooi hard and fast, afraid that his feelings were unrequited; and he also knew how insecure Tooi felt, afraid that Enta was just putting up with him and hated him secretly. He felt so happy, witnessing the remaining walls between Enta and Tooi slowly dissolve, finally able to love each other freely, and he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his boyfriends in his arms, even if he wanted to - and he definitely didn’t want to stop.
As the three of them stood in the middle of the living room, exchanging kisses and words of love and affection, Kazuki remembered another important thing that his parents told him when he said he wanted to move in to a new place - to remember why he chose to move in with his partners in the first place, to not give up just because of a few hiccups, to communicate and look out for each other, and most of all, to enjoy every single moment of happiness, no matter how small.
After all, Kazuki was a good kid who took his parents' advice seriously.
Setting down the last box in the middle of the bare apartment, Mabu sighed deeply and took a look at their new home. It was very small, with a modest sitting room that also served as their bedroom, a genkan that could barely let two grown men enter and exit the apartment, a tiny yet functional kitchen, with a sink, oven and fridge, and a decent bathroom. It was a bit too small for two adults, and the place was really old - the tatami mats in the sitting room were worn from age and overuse.
And yet.
Mabu was extremely happy to be here. Because it was their place. His and Reo's. Their own little space, carved out in the world. Their home.
He smiled as Reo entered their home with two duffel bags, which held their remaining possessions. Dropping their bags next to the box, Reo flopped onto the floor like a starfish, groaning in contentment. "Ah, home sweet home," he sighed happily, closing his eyes. Mabu wasted no time in sitting next to his partner, curling up next to him.
Ever since Keppi brought them back to life, both Mabu and Reo were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe Mabu still needed to fix his mechanical heart, or maybe this time it was the brain? What if he had trouble eating? Or feeling emotions? Turns out, they needn't have worried, because Keppi wasn't like Otter, which kept toying with their desires and using it against them. No, Keppi was too kind, and expected nothing in return, except for their happiness. He could understand why Sara chose to give her affection to the kappa prince.
Mabu suddenly found himself staring at the ceiling, Reo's head pillowed on his chest and his body squeezing against his like a boa constrictor. His eyes were closed as he silently listened to his (very human) heartbeat, hands gently petting his bare waist underneath his shirt. He wrapped his arms around his partner, kissing his forehead.
After a few moments of blissful silence, Reo let out a content sigh. “Finally, our own home.”
Mabu couldn’t help but agree, kissing his partner again. “Our home,” he agreed.
Keppi had offered them both their immortality and their former position as his guards, but Reo and Mabu chose instead to remain in Asakusa and live out the rest of their lives peacefully. Keppi instead gave them his rickshaw and enough money to sustain them for a few months (at the couple’s insistence that Keppi doesn't give them too much money), and the former policemen pulled rickshaws for a living, spending their days outside and the nights in ryokans and shrines, saving up enough money over the year to buy a tiny property for themselves.
They’ve never had a place to call home, at least not since the Kappa Kingdom. And as much as Mabu considered his lover to be his home, it didn’t hurt to have a physical place of residence that was exclusively theirs. Mabu was already thinking about dragging Reo to the nearest konbini to buy ingredients for making yakisoba. That would have to wait however, as he was tired, and Reo was on top of him, not budging an inch.
Mabu was pulled out of his thoughts by Reo asking him a question.
“Will you marry me?”
Mabu gasped and looked up at Reo, who hovered over him, blushing deeply. While the question came out of nowhere, what really threw Mabu off was the uncertainty in his partner’s face, as if Mabu would still say no despite all the things they’ve fought against, just so that they can remain by each other’s side.
While they were partners, lovers, soulmates, connected even in death as in life, Mabu’s traitorous heart yearned for yet another connection, the final one that would mark Reo as Mabu’s, and Mabu as Reo’s, for the entire world to see. And yet Reo feared he’d say no.
In a sudden show of strength, Mabu pushed Reo onto the mat and dropped his entire body onto his partner, kissing him deeply, feeling tears of happiness stream down his cheek. He never wanted this moment to end. Loving Reo was all he wanted to do, all along. With a sudden laugh, Mabu realized that he could do that now. No more stupid machines, no more stupid rules about emotions, none of that. Just Mabu, who had always loved Reo so much.
“ Yes, ” Mabu whispered after they parted from the kiss. “ It’s always a yes.”
Epilogue:
“We should invite Sara and Keppi-sama for the wedding, Reo,” Mabu whispered later that night, happily exhausted after a long evening of celebrating their engagement privately.
“Mabu,” Reo panted. “We are going to elope, not arrange a wedding.
“Well, I still want my daughter and our boss by our side, celebrating us when we get eloped,” Mabu pouted. It still took him by surprise when he exhibited his emotions so freely, but then again, it was only Reo who got to see this side of him.
“Fair enough,” Reo hummed and nodded.
After a moment of silence, Mabu added, “and the kids too.”
Reo looked at him, shocked. “Why?!”
“As an apology, and also as a promise. That we’ll be better people, for our sake and theirs.”
The shock and guilt on Reo’s face slowly transformed into a small yet genuine smile.