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Sunlight has long turned into hues of navy and glowing street lamps by the time Kojiro and Kaoru make it home.
It’s been a long day for both of them. It's been hours of spilled ink and burnt food, of high schoolers needing help mastering tricks and blue hair that just never seems to leave them alone, even if it’s just to congratulate them on a beef well run.
Their shoes slowly come off one by one, tired feet drag their weary bodies over to the couch where they collapse on top of each other. It’s only after both of them sink into the cushions and Kaoru nuzzles threads of sakura hair into Kojiro's sturdy shoulder that the exhaustion takes over—the aching, bone-deep kind that sinks into every inch of the body and soul.
Kaoru suggests spending the night in, and though S is always a guaranteed good time, Kojiro finds that he can’t bring himself to disagree. But even if they don’t bicker about this idea, they still are Kojiro and Kaoru, which means they bicker over what movie to put on. And which snack they’re going to eat. And how high the volume is going to be set.
They are, at their core, still the same children they were when they met each other.
Children who’ve blossomed into adults, who’ve cultivated a lifetime worth of memories like one would collect shells on a beach. Thinking about it is a bit like the wine Kaoru is swirling in his glass—both men are made up of a sweet mixture of ollies and bandages, of piercings and skipped classes, of carbonara and trips abroad. Paired with a hearty helping of mutual trust; it’s a wonder it took so long for them to come to terms with their feelings for each other.
Recently, Kojiro’s been doing some contemplating (“A very difficult task for a brain as pea sized as yours, I’m sure,” a tiny voice that sounds suspiciously like Kaoru snarks at him). The question of forever has been sitting in the back of his mind since the night Kaoru’s peals of laughter rang out into the mine like the sweet notes of bell chimes and birdsong.
Forever is a heavy concept to process, though, especially when it’s taken this long for Kojiro to admit he wants no one but Kaoru’s arms around him when the sun rises and sets. Every time he musters up the courage to give them the happiness he's sure they both want, doubts snake their way in.
He would love to share his life with Kaoru, but putting that immense question on Kaoru's shoulders is the last thing he wants.
Fortunately, Kojiro’s never been one to simmer in his thoughts for too long. As a chef, he firmly believes the only thing that should be simmering is various meats and rouxs. Instead, he’s taken the idea of forever and carried it along with him by the wheels of his board. Not as the chef Kojiro, but as the wild, unpredictable skater Joe. Joe lives by his own principles, most of which Kaoru calls “uncouth” and “ape-like.”
But being aggressive isn’t just for seduction and skating. It’s also for asking your best friend of twenty-something years if he wants to turn it into twenty, thirty, fifty, sixty more years together, because waking up next to him and his pink hair that smells like his ridiculously expensive shampoo is an idea that fills you with more emotions than humans were meant to deal with.
Spending nights entangled in limbs, exchanging slow, soft kisses in the low light of the moon—Kojiro couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the rest of his life.
He wants the sassy, snarky man who wastes no time provoking him at every turn, who’s never stopped being a nuisance since the first time he took markers and scribbled all over Kojiro’s arm. He also wants the shy, vulnerable Kaoru who asks Kojiro to hold him gently and presses kisses to his forehead, who trails the featherlight promises of love and devotion all the way down to his collarbone, where the affirmation of mutual affection is planted.
He needs Kaoru in the same way flowers need the sun’s warmth to thrive, and that’s enough to convince Kojiro that the question of forever already has an answer. Has always had an answer.
Kojiro doesn’t even realize that he’s taken the ring out of his pocket and placed it in his hand until he blinks out of his reverie and feels the cool metal on his warm palm.
It's time, he thinks as it gleams at him. It’s time to give Kaoru forever, no more questions asked.
Running a hand through the silky strands of pink pearl, Kojiro shifts his hips so that Kaoru fits neatly into his lap. Resting his head on Kaoru’s shoulder, he presses a few kisses into the crook of his neck. Appreciation and admiration alike flow from his lips as he implants a line that meets its destination between the crossroads of Kaoru’s neck and upper back.
Kojiro finds himself getting lost in the divinity of seeing Kaoru at the altar—swathed in elegant black while smiling softly. He can’t wait to make that vision become real. He wants it as soon as he can possibly get it.
“Kojiro?”
Kaoru’s voice is barely an afterthought as Kojiro grasps the silver band in between his fingers and reaches forward, grabbing Kaoru’s hand as he does. The ring slides easily onto his finger—a fact that instills something giddy in him.
“Kojiro, what are you doing?”
“Hm?”
Kojiro manages to pry his eyes away from Kaoru’s delicate fingers to look at his face instead.
The face that stares back at him is not awestruck, or even a little bit happy. It looks more like when Kojiro drops a plate of pasta and gets tomato sauce everywhere. Seeing his face scrunched in bewilderment sends Kojiro hurtling straight from cloud nine back to earth, and it suddenly occurs to him that he’s just silently placed a ring on Kaoru’s finger without any preamble, which is perhaps not his smartest move.
“So, um,” he says as the reality of what he’s done smacks him in the face. “I should probably explain what this is all about.”
Kaoru gives him a look that makes him feel like an idiot. In this case, it’s perfectly deserved. “Yeah, you think?”
Kojiro winces as he slowly reaches for Kaoru’s hand, taking the ring and placing it back in his pocket. He then attempts to intertwine his hands with Kaoru’s, and when Kaoru doesn’t squeeze them like he’s trying to pop Kojiro’s fingers off, relief floods through him. Kaoru isn’t mad. This is a good start.
“I’ve been thinking for a while now, about us. How many years it’s been since we’ve been together, and all that. I’ve been trying to find the perfect time to tell you, and I maybe got kind of carried away in my fantasies?”
Kojiro shoots for a lazy grin, but ends up landing somewhere between nervous and panicked when he sees Kaoru’s eyes narrow. He feels like a bug being scrutinized under a microscope.
“So that’s it then?”
Kojiro feels his stomach make a quick exit from his body to the floor. “Wh-huh?”
“You just place a ring on my finger with no context and no warning? That’s the proposal I get? The great and mighty flirt Nanjo Kojiro, who talks big about being aggressive with skating and seduction, just silently gives me a ring without some grand gesture?"
Kojiro sheepishly rubs the back of his neck and searches for literally anything intelligent to say.
"Uh, yes?"
Kojiro is beginning to think Kaoru was right about intelligence not being his strong suit. Luckily, he’s saved from his mortification by Kaoru’s mouth curving upwards in what looks like the beginnings of a smirk.
“You really are an idiot.”
And Kojiro can’t help but smile too. Because Kaoru’s tone is too tender, too fond, for him to actually be upset.
“Yeah, I know,” he says, a little sheepishly.
Kaoru leans forward and presses a featherlight kiss to Kojiro’s nose, then lightly bumps his forehead against Kojiro’s. “You may have muscles for brains, but I wouldn’t have my husband any other way.”
My husband , he says. My husband .
Kojiro feels his heart sing.
“Kaoru, I’m gonna take such good care of you,” he whispers, pressing a chaste kiss to his boyfriend’s (fiance’s!) lips. “I may have messed up the proposal, but I’m not gonna mess up anything else from here on out. The wedding is going to be perfect.”
Kaoru only huffs a laugh. “Is that so? That’s a lot to live up to, seeing as your brain is stuck in its primitive stages.”
“I’m glad I got such an encouraging and supportive partner,” Kojiro deadpans, rolling his eyes.
“It’s not too late to back out.”
Kojiro takes a minute to gaze into the twin pools of gold that stare lovingly back at him. The moon is reflected in Kaoru’s eyes, and Kojiro can’t help but get lost in the memories of the many moons they’ve shared together before this one.
Kojiro thinks he would be a fool to give up all their remaining moons together. He’d be a fool to give Kaoru up.
With one last kiss shared between them, Kojiro makes his final declaration.
“I’m never backing out on you. You’re stuck with me for the rest of our lives, whether you like it or not.”
Kaoru smiles. “That’s the most appealing punishment anyone has ever offered me.”
If Kojiro could freeze time and suspend himself in the euphoria of this moment forever, he would. If he could hold Kaoru for the rest of his life, if he could dedicate himself wholly and entirely to his happiness, he would. But for now, they silently agree that the excitement of the night has drained them, and they must go to bed and prepare for whatever tomorrow may bring.
But tomorrow is also the first tomorrow they’ll be officially bound together. And nothing can dampen Kojiro’s mood knowing that.
“Uh, Kojiro? Where exactly did you put the ring? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.”
Okay, maybe Kojiro still has a long way to go to achieve perfection. At least he’ll have the rest of his life to make up for this night, though.