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"There you go again~ I still haven't forgotten about that passionate night, you know?"
"Eh…? In regards to this matter, whether it is true or not I will be spreading it around at once!"
"Whatever. Just please, both of you, get out already."
Shinoa kept true to her word.
Within the first week of Shinya barging in on him to ask about his new squad, apparently having had enough of keeping his nose of out that particular business of Guren's, Mito had nearly crashed his door down as she walked in, demanding an explanation, with a teary-eyed Sayuri following after her and asking how he could be so heartless and deceptive towards Shinya of all people. Yoichi had looked at him like he was some vile creature, and when the sniper came to bother him the next time, catching him walking in the hallways, the whispers behind their backs hadn't stopped until Guren finally lost it and turned to glare at them over his shoulder.
Frankly, Guren doesn't care about what the military were thinking about him and Shinya's relationship, so as long as they were willing to stay obedient under his command. It wasn't the first time the two of them were thought of as a couple and anyway, it's not like they were that far from the truth. Except most of them somehow seemed to be under the impression that he had taken Shinya by force. Guren did not understand why. It was pretty much the sniper who was always all over him, after all.
Still, it wasn't really a matter of caring for people's opinions. It was a matter of having his gears grinded to the point of explosiveness, and at some point he was done with putting up with the curious looks and the rumours.
He snaps one day and goes to Shinya's office, slamming the door open without a single knock. Shinya's face—formerly a chagrined one as he went through his paperwork—immediately brightened up when he saw him.
"Guren! Good day."
The dark-haired man walks forward, ignoring the greeting as he stands before the desk and crosses his arms, "You better clean up your little sister's mess. It's fucking annoying."
At first, Shinya blinks in confusion, and then raises his brows in realisation, "Oh, that."
"Yes, that." Guren scoffs, moving to sit down on the couch.
Shinya lets out a laugh, getting up from his place to approach him. There's a certain gleam in his eyes, foul lips twisted into a coy smile. Once he stands before him, he places his hands on Guren's shoulders, lifting one leg to slide his knee between his thighs.
"Hmm, but they're not wrong, are they?"
Guren rolled his eyes, "Yes, they are. Since when did I force myself on you? And what the hell is up with that anyway?"
Shinya chuckles. He leans down closer to him, "Well, you did pull off my clothes while I was in such a vulnerable state…"
Guren blinks, confused for a moment as the white-haired man settles down on his knee, leaning down to trail kisses along his neck. Once he realizes exactly what Shinya was going on about, he pulls away to level him with an unimpressed stare, "You're fucked up. You were almost dying and you call that a passionate night?"
"That's an exaggeration." Shinya replies simply. Then his face softened into a warm look, and he presses his forehead against Guren's, "But even if it was so, that night was the first time Guren held me in his arms, that's why it would still be passionate. Passionately beautiful."
Guren pauses, ready to make a sarcastic retort, but just ends up laughing in response, raising a hand to run his fingers through Shinya's hair.
"You're such a sap."
Shinya merely smiles and leans down, connecting their lips in a soft kiss. The light touch sparks warmth through him, and he closes his eyes, leaning into the kiss readily. The reminder of that night remains in the back of his mind, but the memory is lost along with his original objective of coming here, as Shinya's arms tighten around his neck and he deepens their kiss.
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Five years prior...
He was going to kill Kureto.
He was sure of it. This time he won't even think of the consequences. Even if his entire squad clung to him and begged him not to he'll do it. No matter the amount of gentle coaxing and soft convictions Shinya would use, he won't rest until his sword was pierced through that fiendish dictator's gut.
Rain pelted down mercilessly in a harsh, icy shower. The relentless force weighed down on Guren's figure, the cold drops of water seeping through his uniform, making it cling to him in a maddening way. He was surprised his body hadn't broken down underneath the pressure yet, already feeling so tired from the exhaustion and slowly healing wounds. He felt quite ready to collapse right there, on a barren ground with endless rain freezing him, inching him closer to death.
A small noise came from his side. A tired whimper, and it resounded through his entire being, brought him the reminder that it wasn't just his own life that he was carrying.
Guren's lips pressed into a thin line. He squinted, saw the outline of a familiar building through the frightening darkness, and made up his mind once more.
He'll make it. He'll make it to safety, come hell or high water.
Another whimper came, and the body pressed against Guren's side, leaving almost all of his weight for him to carry, seemed to shift closer, leaning more towards him. Not that it was possible, Guren thought, but he tightened his arm around that lean waist anyway, pulled on the wrist he was holding so he could bring him closer. He turned his head, looking at a delicate, pallid face marred by bruises. Those rosy lips were a little paler, ashen eyelashes just barely able to blink open to reveal dimmed blue eyes.
The sight made a new weight settle upon him, somewhere in the middle of his chest, and it made his throat tighten. Those eyes fell shut, and Guren felt numb for a moment.
"Shinya," he called, raising his voice over the pitter patter of the rain, "Shinya! Wake up." He shook the other young man with the arm around his waist.
A small noise left him once more, and Guren felt slightly more at ease as he saw those blue eyes blink open once more.
"Stay with me." He said loudly, hearing the urgency in his voice, "Don't fall asleep, we're almost there."
"Hmm…" Shinya mumbled tiredly in return, blinking, "So tired… Guren…"
"I know. But I need you to stay with me." His arm tightened even more, fingers digging into sullied, torn clothes, pressing into the flesh beneath. An unconscious attempt at keeping Shinya awake, keeping him with him.
He has to keep Shinya with him.
A pained noise came in response to the gesture, and Guren quickly relaxed his too hard grip.
His wounds haven't healed yet.
He gritted his teeth.
"Just a clean up mission," my fucking ass.
He was going to kill Kureto. Or if not him, whoever was lousy enough at their job that they gave these false information. Whoever was the reason Shinya was left in this state. A state where Guren could barely bring himself to look at, bothered at just how much it affected him to see his friend this way. At the true extent of his fear to lose him.
Shinya's head lolled on his shoulder.
"Guren, I don't… wanna walk anymore… too tired…"
"We'll freeze our asses. Be quiet and stay awake."
There was no response. Guren steeled himself and glanced down, saw blue eyes still peeking through long lashes, and sighed in relief.
The sky continued to cry, and they continued to walk. Or Guren did, and dragged Shinya along.
Guren didn't know how they made it, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that, at some point through their trail, they finally reached that vague outline of a building, barely noticeable in the darkness.
The small military base was deserted of anyone but them, and Guren was just barely able to make it into one of the rooms, dropping Shinya down unceremoniously on the bed situated there. He almost fell to his knees then, his entire body aching, freezing from the wet clothes sticking to him. The dry place was a blessing, a heaven in comparison to the seemingly endless downpour outside, but it was exactly warm either. Still, he resisted, moving forward to pull the covers over Shinya.
Before his own comfort, he wanted to make sure that by tomorrow, the sniper would be alright, as healthy as he'd usually be.
Just as he was about to cover him, however, he realized.
There was no point in covering him when those clothes were still there.
Shinya's paled lips trembled along with the rest of him, his body curling up into itself a little. Along with his labored breathing, battered uniform and a bruised face with wet locks of hair sticking to it, he looked so much frailer than Guren could remember him being.
For a moment, Guren stayed there helplessly. Seeing Shinya looking so fragile, he felt afraid to touch him, to even call out to him, as if a mere sound could harm him. It was irrational, he knew, and yet the fear was there, nagging at him, telling him he'll end up hurting Shinya somehow.
And that mere thought made him feel even colder than he already was.
Perhaps it was because of Shinya's current state, the way that light that seemed to emit from him was now so dimmed, that the perpetual smile on his lips was absent, but at that moment, Guren felt ready to do anything, anything to keep him safe. It was a sense of protectiveness that far outweighed the one he usually felt for his friends, and he wondered why. This apprehension, this need to do something and yet being afraid to do so…
… It was similar to how he used to feel about her, those first times she broke down before him, showed her fragile side no one else was allowed to see. With that kind of sight in front of him, seeing her who seemed to shine as strongly as the sun, he'd felt abashed. Felt afraid, when she reached for him, fearful that he might touch her and do something wrong, mar that flawless treasure more precious than anything else.
And the realisation that he was looking at Shinya the same way in that moment, thought of him as someone equally important and cherished, left him breathless momentarily.
"Guren."
The quiet call of his name made him stiffen.
Blinking, he quickly pushed the resurfacing memories away, forcing them down along with the earlier thought. This wasn't the time for him to think of such things anyway. He needed to take care of his friend, first and foremost, and afterwards himself.
He focused his attention on Shinya's once more, and was met with half-lidded eyes still tired and yet brighter than before, and lips tilted up into a small smile. A face that formerly looked almost lifeless had a little more colour, a little more life.
Guren felt relief in a way he couldn't remember ever feeling before. Not at that moment, at least, with his eyes locked with Shinya's.
He's okay.
His hand moved before he knew it, stroking his fingers through Shinya's hair, brushing it away of his face. He stiffened when he realised what he was doing, and was ready to pull his hand back when he noticed the way Shinya seemed to lean in to the touch. Instead of feeling awkward, Guren felt his face soften at the sight.
"Oi, you still alive?"
A soft, shaky laugh came in response.
"Hm… Byakkomaru healed my wounds, but I'm still so tired. And I think I'm freezing too." And certainly, he was still shivering, curling into himself more.
Guren smirked, "No shit."
That brought him back to earlier thought of how to keep warm. He could hear the rain outside, and that wasn't the only issue. The weather was frigid enough that the base itself was starting to feel cold as well. They had to find a way to keep as warm as possible with the minimal amount of blankets around.
Well, there's that thing they do...
Guren let out loud sigh. Shinya wasn't going to let him live this down for a while.
Crossing his arms—both as a stern gesture and an attempt to return some heat to his body because it really was cold—he raised his chin and said in his most commanding tone, "Take off your clothes."
Shinya's eyes widened, blinking up at him, "E-eh? Guren's so eager to do it in this kind of situation—"
"Shut up and just do it!" Guren snapped, before promptly turning around and leaving.
There were only two other rooms that had a proper blanket on top of their beds. For a moment, Guren contemplated just staying in one of them, to hell with that earlier plan, but then he decided against that thought, seeing as he's already told Shinya to strip and even he wasn't callous enough to just leave him hanging like that. It wouldn't be as warm like that anyway.
So he quickly grabbed those blankets and headed back into the room, intent on getting past the inevitably awkward moments quickly and hopefully get some rest. At this point, Guren was surprised at the resilience of his own body.
He headed back into the room, only to find Shinya on his back… with his clothes still on.
Brow twitching, he quickly approached the bed, tossing the blankets down and glaring at Shinya.
"I told you to take off your clothes."
Shinya met his eyes for a moment, and then glanced aside, letting out a shaky laugh, "Y-yeah, you did. Umm… I can't."
Guren's face went blank for a moment, "What?"
"I can't, Guren."
"… Shinya, this is not the time for you to suddenly become a shy little princess—"
"N-no, I mean… Can you give me your hand?"
Guren narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to just ignore the request and demand that Shinya stripped once more, but he conceded, letting out an exasperated sigh and offering his hand to him. Shinya slowly raised his arm, closing his own hand around Guren's… in a weak, shaky hold, so much that the dark-haired man could barely feel any pressure.
Guren blinked.
"Byakkomaru took up all my stamina—well, that much that I have left—to heal my wounds, so…" His arm dropped then, and he continued to look away, a small, uncertain smile across his face.
Oh…
Well, it did look like it was taking up half his energy just to speak properly. He never had that much stamina to begin with. Somehow, seeing the extent of Shinya's vulnerability in that moment seemed to cool his hot temper. That earlier fear of unintentionally hurting him came back too, however, but this time Guren didn't take the time to dwell on it. Instead, he busied himself with reaching forward, grabbing at the buttons of Shinya's uniform jacket and beginning to undo them.
The move clearly startled the sniper, and he turned his gaze toward him once more.
"G-Guren?"
"Someone's gotta do it for you." He murmured as he finished unbuttoning. He gave one look to Shinya, and then grabbed him by the back of his neck, pulling him up into a bit to take off the jacket. He kept him in that semi-sitting position as he pulled his undershirt too, leaving his torso naked. He let go of his nape then, watching as he shivered, and then moved to take off his pants. He moved to remove his boots next, and Shinya immediately stiffened when he grabbed his belt, and stayed like that when Guren undid it, took it off and then unzipped his pants. The dark-haired man barely payed attention to this, and once the trousers were off, took a moment to stand back and appraise him. Shinya immediately turned his head away, and this much, Guren could tell was a display of bashfulness and insecurity.
With a sigh, he turned to start stripping himself.
"Um, Guren?"
"Body contact for warmth, Shinya." He answered the unasked question with a tone of exasperation. He turned once he was done, leaving his own underwear on as well, and met Shinya's wide blue eyes.
"What?"
"Ah—nothing." The sniper shook his head, glancing away once more, almost shyly. Guren raised an eyebrow, and then moved forward, shoving at him a bit.
"Move."
Shinya obediently scooted back closer to the wall. The bed wasn't actually big, and Guren was surprised he even managed to fit atop it, pulling the covers over them, though they were completely pressed against each other right away. Shinya's arms pressed against his chest when he raised them, as if he wanted to put some kind of barrier between the two of them. Guren was confused at the lack of stupid comments and bothersome teasing, and thought that it probably had something to do with Shinya's lack of energy and newfound abashment. He was obviously foreign to this kind of thing, that much he could tell.
Well, no matter.
Guren moved his arms, placing that around him and pressing their bodies closer, if that was possible. He barely noticed it, but his movements were slowed, as if he didn't want to scare Shinya. Said sniper became as stiff as a board, and Guren rolled his eyes, knowing Shinya wasn't able to see it, his head tucked underneath his chin.
"Oi, I'm not gonna stab you."
Warm breath brushed against his neck as Shinya laughed a little, his body relaxing a bit. Guren closed his eyes, the feeling of a another person pressed against him not an unfamiliar thing, and yet, he was still a little uncomfortable, simply because, strangely enough, he wasn't reminded of her, in that moment, wasn't reminded of the times he held her in his arms. No, Guren felt… content. Warm, secure, right there with Shinya's in his arms. Enough that he forgot about the disastrous mission they had, his worries about where the rest of his squad were, and his strengthened murderous intent towards Kureto.
Shinya's forehead pressed against his shoulder, hair still damp, and Guren barely noticed it.
"Thank you…"
He didn't have a chance to ask what the sniper was thanking him for. Shinya's breathing evened, and then he'd drifted off into sleep. Guren didn't know why, but he felt his lips curl up into a smile, and he slowly shut his own eyes, not feeling so cold anymore.
They woke up the next morning to an embarrassed scream. Or well, Guren did, and he slowly sat up, turning his head towards the doorway, and his eyes meeting the appalled gaze of Mito who proceeded to demand what kind of vile things he'd done to Shinya last night while he was vulnerable, already coming up with the number of deaths she'll make him suffer for it. Said white-haired man continued his sleep, not the least bit bothered until Guren sighed when Mito, face as red as her hair at the sight of his bare torso, refused to accept his explanations, and turned to shake him awake. The adopted Hiragi sat up, rubbing his eyes, and if possible, Mito's face turned even more crimson when she saw his state of nearly full nudity as well. Shinya had then sleepily reassured to her that, indeed, Guren had not violated him in any way last night, and that they were merely using this as a method for keeping warm. Mito seemed to relax then, before quickly turning around and ordering them to get dressed so they could leave.
They get up and do so, and Shinya seemed avoid his gaze. Guren didn't why, nor the reason why it made him somewhat uneasy. Perhaps it was the lack of jokes and annoying remarks Shinya should've been throwing at him then.
The sniper suddenly turned to him, however, and gave a bright smile, "Guren was so gentle and sweet with me last night. I will make sure everyone knows how kind he can be."
"Fuck off." Guren replied coolly, turning around to walk out of the door so Shinya wouldn't see his smile. He refused to admit about how the return Shinya's usual bubbly self made him feel a little lighter than before, just as much as the knowledge of his squad's safety had.
Shinya laughed in response, following after him. They meet the rest of his squad, Sayuri quickly coming up to fuss over them and only calming down after Guren's forth reassurance that they were perfectly fine. Goshi curiously asked Shinya about why he looked cheerier than usual, to which the white-haired young man happily replied, "Well, I got to spend such a passionate night with Guren, after all!"
Goshi looked like all his nightmares have come to life, and Mito sighed as Sayuri and Shigure simultaneously choked.
Guren ignored them as he went on his way, the loud chatter that begun behind his back a reminder that they were alright, all of them.