Work Text:
Kaito was back to work about two days after coming back to life.
Chris assumed he would have started earlier if he hadn’t needed a bit of time to figure out what kind of glasses he suddenly seemed to need upon his revival.
This was just one of the many aspects of Kaito’s return Chris had questions about, but he just wasn’t certain what he was allowed to ask. Saying Kaito had ever been socially graceful would be… an embellishment, but he seemed even more disagreeable these days. And while it was clear he was given a bit more leeway with Kaito than most people (Kaito always seemed to quick to snap at his newer friends), he was acutely aware that this grace with Chris still had its limits.
And telling Kaito he couldn’t or shouldn’t do something was always one of those limits. Chris had suggested Kaito take more time to rest before getting back to work and was told it “wasn’t his place”to make that call, and Kaito had disappeared into another section of the building for the remainder of the day.
Chris could surmise this reaction had something to do with the fact that Kaito had always needed to make decisions on his own, largely unsupervised and unsupported by others. It made sense that after being overly independent for so long he would find it aggravating to have anyone try to place even good-intentioned limits on him. And as an older sibling to two teenage brothers Chris had become quite accustomed to having his advice rejected, so it hardly bothered him.
No, that wasn’t quite true. There was a very tangible fear Chris felt when he upset Kaito that just wasn’t present when he misspoke with his brothers. His family could get angry at him all they wanted, but they would always be together in some respect. Bound by blood he supposed. It was something they all took for granted at times, Michael when he would disappear for days at a time to visit his new friends, or Thomas when he would occasionally take things too far poking fun at his siblings. But Chris knew without a doubt he was the worst of any of them when it came to relying on this patience.
He wasn’t proud of the way he took out his anger on his family in the past, knowing they would never really leave him again after everything they had gone through to reunite. And he had mistreated Kaito in the same fashion, mistakenly assuming their relationship was a bit stronger than it was. Or maybe that Kaito had been his new family, or his foolish admiration for Chris was more boundless than it was. But unlike his family who would never really let him go, Kaito had.
There were no bad feelings about it. He was right to not pursue Chris after that night in the rain, truly. Kaito always had a remarkable gift for self preservation, especially for someone so often on the brink of death, and Chris certainly couldn’t fault him for it. It just meant Chris would always be nervous of pushing Kaito too far away again. They both seemed to be aware that Chris wasn’t due any more chances.
So Chris didn’t pressure Kaito not to work any more after that. He did try to help him with whatever he felt the need to work on, though. Even if it was creating “baby” bots for Orbital and Obomi, an arguably unnecessary task. It did seem to justify Kaito’s excuse of not actually doing real work at least.
Admittedly Chris wasn’t much of an engineer. He and Kaito worked well because he was better versed in the scientific theories and concepts behind making things work, and Kaito was better at actually building them. But if Kaito felt like Chris was slowing him down or bothering him he didn’t show it. In fact, he was remarkably cordial, even moreso than when they were working on the portal to the Astral World together, weighed down by the pressure of the fate of their world.
It almost seemed like they were teenagers again, trying to get to know each other at times, the way they would ask each other superficial questions about how they were doing, or how their families were. And he supposed they were in a sense, trying to understand how each other had grown and changed in the years they had spent apart. Or maybe they never really known each other in the first place. Kaito had come into Chris’s life at arguably its lowest point. He liked to think he was a rather different person before his father disappeared and perhaps another different person now.
Kaito had certainly changed. He was more reserved than he had been when they first met for one thing. Back then he was always so excited to talk to Chris about anything; his brother (“Oh, you have younger brothers too?”), the updates he was making to Orbital (“It’s not as interesting as the work you’re doing though.”), or whatever else was happening that week.
It had been a lot easier to impress Kaito back then too, and to make him happy. It was something Chris had taken for granted at the time. It was evident Kaito had never had much of a relationship with his parents and had spent most of his life before Haruto was born somewhat isolated, often spending his free time reading books around his parents’ lab or left to his own devices to meddle with the spare robot parts he could find around the tower. It was natural that he would value Christopher’s attention and enjoy having someone around his age to talk to.
Chris would never forget the look on Kaito’s face when he offered to teach him to duel. He was so so delighted he was almost confused, unsure why anyone would offer to spend so much time and energy with him. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Kaito cry, but that moment was certainly the second closest Chris had ever seen him come to it, so thoroughly relieved that someone was offering him a way to save his brother. Finally something he didn’t have to figure out by himself.
It had almost made Chris feel like he was a good person again, rather than the disgusting failure who let his family fall apart, still unable to track down his missing father or return his brothers who had been torn away from him months ago at that point.
On the night that Kaito and Chris finally finished building Orbital’s children Chris suggested they go back to his place to relax and celebrate. It was a stupid thing to offer, seeing as his family had moved into a separate wing of Heartland tower, functionally a 5-10 minute trip from where Kaito and his family lived (it was more efficient now that Chris and his father were working in the building and Michael could meet up with Yuma on his walk to school from there). But nonetheless it seemed to earn him a rare smile from Kaito. It wasn’t nearly as brilliant as when he had promised to teach him to duel, but it melted Chris’s heart, just a bit, regardless.
“I don’t know if having more Orbitals around is something to celebrate, but that sounds nice,” Kaito agreed.
——————————————————————
The part of Heartland tower the Arclights resided in seemed more like an upscale hotel than a real home, but it suited them just fine. Each of them had a room to themselves with an attached bathroom and kitchenette area. Down the hall was a proper kitchen and dining area and a sort of lounge where they tended to spend most of their time together in the evenings.
Living and working in the same building was rather comfortable for Chris. It had been incredibly stressful moving locations constantly as their family had done for some time upon reuniting.
Chris absently remembered a time when his father used to complain that it couldn’t be healthy how Faker never seemed to get outside much, too focused on his current projects. But these days it was rather difficult to get Tron outdoors himself, understandably considering the state the left half of his face was in.
When they arrived at his room Chris flicked the lights on and paused by the kitchenette.
“I don’t know that I have any champagne specifically, but would you like a glass of wine anyway?” Chris asked.
Kaito laughed lightly as if amused by the offer. “Sure, why not?”
Chris paused in front of the wine. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Kaito drink.
“Red or white?” He asked.
Kaito shrugged. “I’ve can’t say I’ve tried either. Whatever you prefer I guess.”
Chris grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet and opened a bottle of his current favorite white wine, pouring some into both glasses while Kaito watched.
“I don’t know if you’ll like this,” Chris admitted, “but I don’t have anything too atrociously sweet.”
Kaito rolled his eyes but accepted the glass anyway.
As Chris put the remainder of the bottle of wine away he noticed Kaito glancing around the room.
“I’m sorry if I left things a bit messy,” Chris said. “I was thinking we would just sit outside on the balcony.”
Kaito was probably the only person Chris knew who was tidier than he was himself. Mostly because he seemed to not have many person affects (or maybe more accurately he kept a lot of photos and things in Haruto’s room).
“Oh no, it’s fine. I was just thinking that I haven’t been over to this part of the building since it was rebuilt,” Kaito said. “It’s different.”
Chris watched as Kaito carefully lifted the glass to his lips and took a small sip. He wrinkled his nose a bit before putting the glass down again, apparently displeased.
Chris couldn’t help but smile. “Yes it is very different,” he said, walking past Kaito towards the sliding glass doors to the balcony. “But I can’t say I miss the old training facilities that were here before. And the view of the city is pleasant.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Kaito admitted, following Chris as he opened the door and stepped outside.
He was immediately greeted by a gust of wind and regretted not bringing something to tie his hair back with. He had to set his glass on the ground in order to use both hands to get his hair in order. When Chris was finally able to tuck enough of his hair behind his ears to see he looked over to find Kaito standing next to the railing staring at a nearly full moon sitting above Heartland City.
His heart sank. How could he have been so stupid! This whole thing had been a mistake.
“I’m sorry, we should go back inside,” Chris apologized quickly.
Kaito sighed, leaning against the railing as he looked out over the city below. “I haven’t told you what it was like after I died on the moon,” he said. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked.”
“I… didn’t know if I was allowed to ask,” Chris admitted.
“Allowed to ask?” Kaito rolled his eyes. “You’re so overly formal all the time. I used to find it endearing when I thought it was just how you were, but now that I know your whole family is that way it’s just… exhausting.
“I’m not part of you family,” he continued, somewhat pointedly looking over at Chris. “You don’t have to worry about things like that with me.”
It was clear to him what Kaito was referring to. Maybe some part of him had been lashing out after such a devastating and unexpected loss in the WDC semifinals, having all his life points wiped out in a single turn by someone who had never defeated him in a duel previously.
And maybe it was because of his wounded pride he had been trying to push Kaito back down in his place telling him he and Haruto were like younger brothers to him. The implication of course being that Kaito was still unable to understand the difficult choices Chris himself had needed to make, but would have to shoulder the weight of trying to save the rest of his broken family regardless.
And clearly his effort to knock Kaito down had worked. Chris had seen the recordings of his and his father’s duel. Even after Haruto had been saved Kaito was incredibly unfocused, lost in his rage just as Tron had wanted. He certainly paid the price for it, nearly dying by his father’s hand. Only his real brother had been there to stop it.
Chris laughed dryly. “I’m sure there are others words you could use to describe my family besides ‘exhausting’ if you were serious about dropping the pretense of formality.”
Kaito frowned. “Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?” He asked.
“Of course.”
Kaito nodded and continued. “As you know, there are other places of transition between the Astral World and the Barian World. And perhaps there are other worlds as well. It’s difficult to say.
“Everything was sort of scrambled at that moment, as the Barian World was converging with ours, then the Astral World. As a result I think a lot of the traffic between worlds had sort of stopped you could say.”
He paused for a moment. “It’s very difficult to describe what it’s like when you die. You’re a person and not a person. I was sort of between worlds, between existences I guess you could say. And I never really ended up where I was supposed to go. Or maybe I was always supposed to end up back here.
“But the part I remember most vividly was that my mother was there to greet me. It was strange, all the worlds were falling apart, and I didn’t know where I was or what I was, but she somehow managed to find me. I couldn’t even tell you how I knew it was her. Just a strong feeling.”
He shook his head. “I feel bad. I don’t even really think about her most days any more. She’s been gone for so long now. But she was still there waiting for me.”
Kaito paused as if remembering something else he didn’t wish to say. Chris wanted to go over and comfort Kaito in some way, maybe hold him and tell him everything was ok, and he didn’t have anything to feel bad about. He was so much of a better person than Chris could ever hope to be, giving up everything for those he loved constantly and without hesitation, but he still spent so much time and energy being consumed by guilt.
“Kaito…”
Kaito sighed. “Anyway, the reason I’m telling you this is I’ve realized the most meaningful way to show someone you care about them is just being there. Especially when they need you most.
“I think I’ve always felt that way even before I knew how to articulate it. That’s why it’s been so important to me to defend Haruto no matter what he’s going through or where he’s taken. I’ve done a lot of terrible things to that end, but I’d never take it back. It’s what had to be done to protect him, so he never had to feel alone in this world.”
“But the one thing I do regret is not following you the day you left,” he admitted. Kaito looked up at Chris again. “I’m sorry for how I was back then. I was so focused on my goals, I didn’t realize how much you were hurting. That you needed help too.”
Chris was taken aback. “Kaito, you don’t have anything to apologize for!” He frowned. “You keep… embarrassing me. I’ve been trying to find the right way to tell you for so long. It wasn’t fair for me to take out my anger on you like that. None of that was your fault, and I knew that. I should have handled it better. And I should have told you earlier. I may be older, but you’ve always been much braver and kinder. I have a lot of catching up to do,” he admitted.
Kaito exhaled sharply. “You’re ridiculous. You’re hardly older than I am. You put way too much pressure on yourself to have all the answers. But we were both just teenagers back then, weren’t we?
“Anyway, I just wanted to say you mean a lot to me. I don’t want to abandon you ever again,” he continued. He turned his gaze back down towards the city. “I’ll always be around… in whatever capacity you need.” His face looked a bit red for a brief moment, but it could have been a reflection of the city’s lights.
Chris remembered how his father had once described his relationship with Dr. Faker. Byron had been so fascinated by his genius he had dedicated himself to following him everywhere and helping him with every project, even if he didn’t understand his intentions or goals. And it had ended in their family’s ruin.
Chris couldn’t fathom what possible virtues Kaito saw in him, or understand why he was so willing to just forgive him, even before he had even found the words to apologize properly. He hoped they weren’t repeating their fathers’ mistakes.
But he wasn’t going to dwell on those worries now. It was his turn to have courage for once.
He walked over to the other side of the balcony, closing the distance between him and Kaito. Kaito tilted his head up, watching Chris expectantly.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’m going to always be in your life from now on,” Chris promised.
And he leaned down, gingerly tucking his hair behind his ear once more and kissed Kaito.
Time seemed to slow for a few dizzying moments while their lips moved together slowly.
When he finally pulled away and opened his eyes Chris could tell that Kaito’s face was certainly very red now, but it was also unequivocally the happiest he had ever seen him.
“You should tell me when I’m being ridiculous more often,” Chris smiled at him.
“… I tell you that all the time,” Kaito stammered.
——————————————————————
Despite the awkward start, the rest of the night went very comfortably, and it was easy for Chris to lose track of the time.
Eventually Kaito said, “I’m getting kind of tired. It must be the wine.”
He looked up at Chris. “Is it alright if I sleep here tonight?” He asked in a somewhat quieter voice.
Kaito’s glass looked entirely untouched.
Chris smiled. “Of course. I’m sure I can find you some sleeping clothes to borrow.”
And everything felt better than it had in years. Or maybe more than it ever had been. It was much easier to fall asleep next to Kaito than it ever was alone. Unsurprisingly, it seemed Kaito had been right after all.