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“Atsushi.”
Atsushi balls up tighter beneath the blankets. He knows without opening his eyes that it’s some ungodly hour, almost as if the tiger doubles as an internal clock. He expects Chuuya to join him beneath the blankets in whatever state of dress he desires. His fiancé is probably coming home from an oddly quiet night at Port Mafia Headquarters, which means they can cuddle for a little while before Atsushi has to get up and go to work at the Armed Detective Agency.
At least, that’s usually how it is. He remembers he has a day off tomorrow. And they’re reaching one of their shared clusters of days off soon, too. While he waits for Chuuya to join him, he starts pondering over what they should do. By now, Chuuya should be there in bed with him, and tomorrow morning, he should get to sleep in a little longer than he usually does.
Instead, the bed remains empty, and Chuuya gently shakes him. “Atsushi…”
He grumbles and dives deeper into the bed that smells like laundry soap mixed with a trace of Chuuya’s cologne.
“Tiger…”
Giving up, he finally emerges. “What’s the matter, Chuuya-san?” he asks, rubbing his eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“No, beautiful.” Chuuya’s weight settles on the edge of the bed. “I’m not hurt.”
He stretches his arms above his head. “Are we in danger?”
The instant Chuuya’s fingers wind into his hair, he knows that’s not a possibility. Still, Chuuya grins and says, “If we were in danger, I’d have taken care of it without waking you up.”
Atsushi hums and smiles, leaning into Chuuya’s touch. “Then?”
“Put a shirt on and come with me.”
He blinks.
“I want to show you something.”
Covering a yawn, Atsushi tosses the blankets back. The room feels unfairly cold, but as soon as he pulls a shirt on and steps into his pajama pants, Chuuya pulls him into a warm hug. He nuzzles the side of Chuuya’s neck, kissing that bare patch of skin between his choker and the shirt collar. Softly, he starts to nibble it.
“Ah… tiger. Your fangs…”
“Sorry,” he murmurs, pressing an appreciative peck there and rising. “If we’re not in danger and you’re not hurt, did you wake me for a reason, Chuuya-san?”
“Yeah, I did.” He grins again. “I kind of regret not letting you sleep. After all, you’re so cute when you do.”
“I thought was cute all the time,” Atsushi counters.
Chuuya chuckles and touches his hand, fiddling with his engagement ring. “The truth is, the sky is lovely tonight, and I want to look at it with you.” As Chuuya speaks, he leans closer. Atsushi lets the redhead catch his lips, smoothing his lower back. Before their kiss becomes too involved, Chuuya pulls back. “Come on, beautiful. It’s actually pretty warm outside.”
“We can still cuddle afterwards, right?”
For his question, he receives another kiss. It’s a wordless answer, one Atsushi understands by this point in their relationship.
Chuuya’s hands fall away from his face and close around his again. Slowly, the mafioso leads him towards their bedroom doorway, through their dark living room, to the balcony they hang their laundry on. Oh, Atsushi thinks, listening to the glass door slide open, then letting Chuuya tug him out into the night air. Atsushi pushes the door shut with one hand. Once it is, Chuuya’s fingers lace around his again. Through Chuuya’s glove, he feels the engagement ring. Smiling, Chuuya fiddles with the gold band on his own finger again.
It’s hard to look away from Chuuya’s face long enough to admire the sky, but he sees why Chuuya called him out here. The sky is mostly overcast, and it’s pretty hard to see stars in Yokohama anyway. What’s truly eye-catching is the moon, starting to descend as day draws closer, surrounded by an iridescent ring of light.
“A lunar halo,” Chuuya explains as if reading his mind. “It’s damp and a little misty, and since the weather’s like this, the moon throws enough light to… well. Make the sky look like this.”
Atsushi squeezes Chuuya’s hands and stares at the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
Chuuya squeezes them back. “I know,” he murmurs.
Atsushi glances at him. “Chuuya-san, you’re looking at me.”
“Because I can’t stop. You’re just so damn cute.”
Snickering, Atsushi says, “Takes one to know one, sweetheart.”
They both laugh. Hands still laced together, they manage to move their gazes back to the sky, illuminated by the moon, backlit with clouds, painted with the rainbow ring of light hovering around the full moon.
“It really is beautiful,” Atsushi murmurs. He turns to Chuuya. “You really are beautiful.”
Chuuya’s thumb skims the back of his hand. “How about we get married at night?”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t have to be anything special like this. Just… something about being under the stars with you…”
“Like the heavens themselves are listening to our vows?” Atsushi chuckles.
“Come on. The moon’s got a fucking ring around it. Plus, it would be romantic.”
“No less romantic than anything else you’ve done for me,” he says, smiling and peering at the sky again. They’ve kissed many times: on top of the bridge, in hotel rooms, in every room of Chuuya’s apartment, on the beach they visited… but never under a lunar halo. Part of Atsushi doesn’t want to turn away from the magnificent sky, but that part of him vanishes when Chuuya’s lips meet his in something soft, simple, and sentimental.
“Love you, Future Mr. Nakahara,” Chuuya murmurs.
“Love you, too.” Atsushi pulls Chuuya close. “Future husband.”
Chuuya chokes, and Atsushi laughs. Pretty soon, they’re both snickering quietly, mindful of what time they’re standing out there on the balcony. Below, Yokohama’s skyline stretches. The ring of light around it is starting to dissipate as it’s shadowed by a particularly thick cloud. As it fades, the sound of falling rain starts to pick up.
“Come on. Let’s go inside. Unless you need to smoke.”
“I just need to snuggle with you, tiger.”
“I can arrange that,” Atsushi murmurs, pecking his lips one more time before leading Chuuya inside. Now that the spell of that night sky is no longer on them, Atusshi can move on to more practical questions. “How was work?” he asks.
“Good,” Chuuya answers.
Atsushi never wants any more information than that. His work is his work, just like Atsushi’s job remains one of the few things he keeps private. It’s enough for him that Chuuya comes home safe. But he always asks because it feels like something a normal couple would do.
“Is there anything you want to do on our day off tomorrow, Atsushi?”
“Hmm…” He stares at the rain outside and wonders when it’s going to let up. “For starters, let’s sleep in tomorrow. Then, we can pick something from our date list.”
“Maybe we can finally dance in the rain.”
“Chuuya-san, I’m no good at dancing.”
“I’ll teach you, tiger.” Chuuya caresses his face. “No one’s good at it at first. Ane-san used to say I had two left feet.”
“And now?”
“Now…” Chuuya spins him around, and Atsushi laughs. “I have enough rhythm not to step on any toes.”
“If I step on yours—”
“I already forgive you.” Chuuya lowers his arms. “That way, next time it does rain, we can dance in the street where everyone can see us. Plus, you should probably learn to dance for the wedding.”
Atsushi’s stomach flutters, and he smiles. “You’re not in a rush to get married yet, right?”
“Hell, no.” Chuuya grins and shrugs off his suit jacket. “All that stuff I said about getting married tonight… I mean, I’m going to enjoy my engagement to you first. But the sky is lovely tonight, and I had to say something. Now…” Chuuya caresses Atsushi’s face again, and his heartbeat quickens . “Let’s go get under our covers, Atsushi.”
Our covers in our bed, he tells himself. Another unreal part of his life. Atsushi seeks out the warm spot beneath the blankets, but they must have spent way too long outside admiring the sky because he can’t find it.
He’s comfortable, but then, Chuuya joins him, balling up against his chest, pushing his shirt up to feel his skin.
“Was work really okay, Chuuya-san?”
“Mmhmm,” he answers. “I’m just fucking happy to be home and back in your arms, beautiful.” In the dim light, Atsushi catches Chuuya’s grin. “After I teach you how to dance tomorrow, you want to cook something?”
“Sure. We have some vegetables in the fridge that we should use up.”
“I’ll buy us some good fish.”
Atsushi smiles and shuts his eyes. “That next few days we have off…”
“Hmm?”
“We should go to a Japanese Inn.”
Chuuya hugs him closer. “The nights are still cool enough to soak.”
“Tomorrow, though,” Atsushi continues, “Maybe we should buy another notebook.”
“You mean it’s not enough you have one and I have two?”
Atsushi opens his eyes. “A white one. To plan our wedding.”
“God, you’re so fucking cute.”
Atsushi blinks, then finds himself on his back. “Chuuya-san, what…”
Somehow, the redhead snuggles closer. “I’m still so fucking happy you said yes.”
“I really couldn't say anything else,” Atsushi admits. “I mean, I love you. You love me. You’ve done a lot for me.”
“We’ve done a lot for each other,” Chuuya corrects him.
Atsushi smooths the scar on Chuuya’s shoulder, relieved he has gotten to a point where it doesn’t hurt either of them anymore.
“There’s just one problem.”
“Hmm?” Atsushi asks.
“White is too cliché for a wedding notebook. Why don’t we find something purple and gold?”
“Or blue,” Atsushi puts in.
Chuuya snickers. Atsushi sighs as the mafioso’s weight rests on his chest again. “Well, shit.”
“Chuuya-san?”
“Now, I’m too excited to sleep.”
“Why?” Atsushi winds his fingers into Chuuya’s hair.
“Because the sky’s so beautiful tonight.” He feels Chuuya’s hand trace his jaw. “And so are you.”