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Scars.
Sanemi Shinazugawa has a lot of them.
He doesn’t like them. In fact, he hates them. It reminds him how much of a shitty person he actually is and how he doesn’t deserve to be with someone as sweet as candy.
Giyuu Tomioka had fallen in love with the wrong person, he figured. Sanemi was a man with pale skin, white hair and bright violet eyes that stared into your soul because of his albinism. Meanwhile, Giyuu had beautiful dark skin, the deepest blue eyes and messy raven-colored hair that he loved to run his hands through.
Giyuu’s favorite thing since they became partners was to run his fingers over Sanemi’s scars whether it be after sex, just cuddling or sometimes he’ll do it subconsciously.
Sanemi shivers as Giyuu runs his hand over the x-marking across his chest, delicate fingers glazing over his pecs before tailing them down the vertical scar on his abdomen, palms running over his thickly defined abs.
“Giyuu,” Sanemi says, almost out of breath as he makes his way to his pelvis and his thumb runs over one on his left hip. He moves his body down the bed as he carefully traces every scar on his leg with the simple touch of his finger. He sees a y-shaped scar on his left calf and a z-shaped one on his right thigh, an interesting result of battle markings in an alphabetical fashion.
“Sanemi.” Giyuu responds without looking up. He takes the time to notice how Sanemi’s bare body—save for his boxers—is so pretty in the moonlight; legs and arms cleanly shaved and glistening in the icy blue light, face and chest still red from their session an hour ago and white hair tousled in different directions.
Giyuu climbs onto his husband, laying horizontal to the man and resting his head on his chest. He looks up and sees Sanemi’s violet eyes staring at him half-lidded and full of wonder. Giyuu chuckles. He brings one calloused hand up to gently caress the scar running over his right cheekbone, brutalizing the bridge of his nose and the one cross-cutting over his right eyebrow and his forehead.
Sanemi twitches.
“Love, that tickles.”
He retracts his hands and wraps them around his neck.
“How’d you get the scars on your face?” Giyuu asks. Sanemi has probably told him this before, but he likely doesn’t remember and just wants to hear him speak.
“Why do you ask?” Sanemi runs his hands up and down Giyuu’s waist.
Giyuu shrugs, “Just curious. They’re my favorite thing about you.”
Sanemi smiles. He points to the ones on his face and says, “These ones I got from my father.”
“What happened?” Giyuu cocks his head curiously. Sanemi sighs.
“When I was fourteen, he and Ma got into an argument. He chucked a glass bottle across the room and while she dodged, it hit Genya and I square in the face.”
“Oh.” Giyuu continues tracing the scars on his face in an affectionate manner. He frowns slightly, only imagining the scream that came from Shizu that night as she saw her two oldest sons’ faces get brutalized by their father. “I’m sorry.”
“‘S fine. He got what deserved anyway.”
“That’s a pretty drawing you have there.” Sanemi says. His little sister Teiko has drawn a picture of her and Sanemi holding hands, albeit in little stick figures.
“Thanks, ‘Nemi!” She smiles and holds the paper in front of his face. Then she flaunts it to all of her siblings. “Look, Sumi, look at my drawing.”
“Wow, Teiko!” Teiko’s twin sister smiles, “that’s so awesome!”
“Thank you!”
“Hey, why’s it Sanemi and not me!?” Hiroshi, Sanemi’s second oldest brother, frowns.
“Be quiet, you’re gonna wake Koto…” Sumi says.
“Stop complaining!” Shuuya gently smacks his brother on the back. “At least Teiko can draw, unlike you!”
“Boo, you’re mean!” Hiroshi crosses his arms, scowling.
“Hey, be nice.” Sanemi scolds them. He hears the commotion between his parents outside, Kyogo screaming at his wife in a drunken manner, speech slurred. Sanemi and his five year-old brother Genya share a look before asking Teiko to look over their other four siblings while they go outside. She nods, turning her attention back towards her sister before Sanemi and Genya both get up, holding hands and exiting the play room of their rather large house. Genya, being smaller, peeks around the corner first while Sanemi stands behind them.
Sanemi frowns. Shizu is flailing her arms around wildly, angrily yelling at her husband where Kyogo sits on one of the stools by the kitchen counter. Sanemi watches him take a swig from his beer bottle every few seconds, further enhancing his drunken state.
Shizu pauses, panting. So out of breath from yelling at her husband, she barely has the energy to turn around and look at her eldest.
“Boys, I know you’re there.” She says softly. Genya squeaks, hiding behind the wall whereas Sanemi steps out from the darkness of the hallway.
“Mommy, Daddy, what’s going on?” Genya asks. He steps into the light, still holding onto Sanemi’s hand while Shizu walks over and gently pets Genya’s head. She tries to offer a smile, but it eventually falters.
“Your father and I are just having a little discussion,” She says, her fingers scratching behind her ear. “Go back into the playroom with your siblings. I’m sure they—”
“Mom, stop it.” Sanemi snaps. “What’s happening? You and Dad have been yelling at each other for over an hour now.”
Shizu stands up and sighs. “Sanemi, please. Go back into the room. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You guys are cursing each other out!” Sanemi stomps his foot on the ground, spooking the small boy next to him. “That’s not how lovers treat each other!”
“‘Nemi, s-stop yelling,” Genya cries, “It’s hurting my ears.”
“Sanemi, please go back into the room.”
“No!” Sanemi lets go of Genya’s hand and marches up to his father, but Shizu, albeit with what little strength she has, pulls his arm and holds on tightly. “Just what the hell are you screaming at Ma for? I can hear you from the other room!”
“Sanemi!”
“Get away from me, you faggot,” Kyogo slurs, taking another swig.
“What’d you just call me!?”
“Kyogo!” Shizu cries.
“What? Am I wrong?” Kyogo narrows his eyes. “He’s kissin’ boys in his free time like the fag he is. Do you want to spread that to the rest of our children?”
“Kyogo, please stop.”
“Sanemi’s a bad influence, we should kick him out.”
“Please don’t take ‘Nemi away!” Genya is properly weeping at this point as Sanemi and their father exchange words of obscene language, the older woman slipping off her feet and bringing her son down with her. Her eyes widen as she sees Kyogo throw his alcohol bottle at his wife, Sanemi noticing and pushing his mother out of the way as Genya runs over and the bottle splits open on Sanemi’s face and a shard swipes Genya across the cheek, Shizu letting out a scream of horror, Genya screaming at the same time.
“Boys!” Shizu screams and grabs two of the nearest washcloths, frantically crying as she applies pressure to their wounds and hoping the remaining alcohol hasn’t infected their wounds.
“Mom I’m sorry—” Sanemi starts apologizing, “I’m sorry, you told me to leave and I didn’t and—”
“Shh, it’s okay.” She says, “Genya, oh god, Genya.”
“Mommy, it hurts so much!” He cries, fisting her shirt with his small hands.
“I know baby, I’m so sorry. Mommy’s gonna help you get cleaned up.”
Sanemi still remembers that night. It was the first time Kyogo had ever hurt them intentionally, and he can still feel the blood running down his face. He also remembers getting looked at by his friends and peers in school the next week when he returned from his visit to the hospital.
“What about this one on your chest?” Giyuu traces the x-mark on his chest with both of his hands, palming his pecs and looking up at his lover through black bangs. He leans his head down and listens to the sound of Sanemi’s heartbeat.
“Got into a fight in early high school and someone pulled out a knife.”
Giyuu hums. He looks at Sanemi’s arms and notices just how many scars the man has. How many jagged pink indents there are in his otherwise pale white skin. How many battle markings he’s accrued over his years of being a delinquent in school. How Sanemi’s over-aggressive appearance immediately captured his attention the first time he saw him.
“Woah, who’s that?” Giyuu looks up when he hears Sabito speak. He’s about to put a serving of ramen in his mouth when his mouth falls open at, arguably, the most attractive person he’s ever seen.
“Oh, him?” Shinobu cocks her head to the side. “That’s Sanemi Shinazugawa. He’s the school's delinquent, and is big trouble.”
“He’s hot.” Giyuu blurts out. Shinobu chokes on her water, Sabito staring at his very gay friend completely slack-jawed. “What?”
“Dude, he’s like, a total weirdo. I mean, look at him!”
“Exactly, look at him.” Giyuu points to the white-haired man sitting across from a boy with long choppy black hair and a girl with brightly-colored tri-braids. “Are you going to tell me he’s not attractive?”
“Yes.” Sabito and Shinobu both speak in unison.
“Okay, well, Shinobu, you don’t count because you’re lesbian.”
“I can still find men attractive. And he is NOT it.”
Giyuu rolls his eyes, putting his neglected ramen spoonful in his mouth and slurping it up while he continues admiring the senior across from him.
Shinobu speaks up again, “He sits at the back of our math class.”
“Really?”
“Yea. We’re always in the front, and you’re so focused on school you never turn around unless it's me you’re talking to.”
“Fair.” Giyuu sighs. “How old is he?”
“Same age as you. Just a little older.”
“When's his birthday?”
“November 29th.”
“What’s his favorite color?”
“Green, I think.”
“Does he have any siblings?”
“Yea. Six of them.”
“Wow.” Sabito’s eyes widened. “How do you know so much about him, Shinobu?”
“Oh, because he’s dating my older sister.”
Giyuu chokes on his ramen, coughing as he spits out his serving and the peach-haired man pats his back.
“He’s— What?” Giyuu says, looking up at his friend.
“You didn’t know that?”
“No? Why would he? He never pays attention to anyone but us.”
Giyuu elbows Sabito in the side, the man wincing.
“Damn it,” Giyuu curses. “Do you know if he’s into men?”
Shinobu shrugs. “Why? Do you think you’ve got a chance?”
Giyuu shakes his head. “No. Kanae’s literally perfect. Shinazugawa’s such a lucky man…”
Sabito smiles at him solemnly, “It’s okay man, there’s plenty of hot guys in this school.”
Giyuu rolls his eyes and goes back to eating his foot, mildly disappointed.
The sunlight filters through the window as the moon sets, coating Giyuu and Sanemi intertwined bodies in a vermillion glow. Tucked tightly under the covers, Giyuu rests his head on his husband's chest as his eyes open slowly. He spots a crack in the door from the corner of the room where two heads of white hair and purple eyes peek through the slightly-open doorway. Giyuu lifts his head and crawls off his lover watching as his two daughters come into the room, plushies in hand as their small feet pad across the floor.
“What’re you two doing up so early?” Giyuu says as he hops out of bed, kneeling down in front of them and tucking a strand of hair between each of their ears.
“Saiko had a nightmare…” Saori says, clutching her sister's hand tightly. “A really bad one where she started crying.”
“Oh,” Giyuu says softly, hugging the little girl tightly to his chest. He wipes the tears off her puffy and red face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Papa?” Saiko says, pulling back from her father and looking at the pink line poking out from the sleeve of his nightshirt. She points to it, lifting it up slightly as curious eyes trace over his tan skin. “What’s this line on your arm?”
“That’s called a scar.” Giyuu says softly. “I got it when someone tried to hurt me.”
“Like a bully?” Saori asks.
“Sort of.” He says, “I have another one right here.” Giyuu pulls down the collar of his shirt where there’s another thin pink line running across the left side of his collarbone.
“Did it hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Woah, Daddy must be really strong then.” Saiko asks as she climbs onto the bed, sitting by her father’s chest. “He has so many cool scars!”
“Shh,” Giyuu says, sitting cross-legged as Saori also climbs up, teddy-bear in hand. She gently lays her matching head of white hair on Sanemi’s bare chest and exhales. Giyuu watches with a sweet smile on his face as his husband opens his eyes, matching violet ones identically to his twin daughters.
“Saori?” He asks groggily as he sits up. He pets his daughter's hair as his second one barrels onto his lap also, a cheerful smile on her face.
“Papa was just telling us about your scars!”
“Yea! Tell us all about them! I wanna hear about the ones on your face!”
Giyuu chuckles as Sanemi eyes him, mouth curving into a tiny smile as he looks down at his lookalikes. “Maybe later today after I pick you up from school.”
Saiko gasps, “Really!?”
“Sure. I do have so many of them after all.”
“Even on your legs?!”
“Um, yea.” Sanemi chuckles. “My arms. My chest. My back. My face. Everywhere.”
“Did you beat people up?” Saori asks curiously.
“No, Daddy’s just an awesome warrior!” Saiko punches the air with both of her fists while Giyuu and Sanemi both let out small laughs. “I wanna be just like Daddy!”
“I want to have scars too! Hey, Dad, did your scars hurt too?”
Giyuu tunes out the conversation as he watches his lover converse lightly with his daughters. He hears the birds chirp outside the window and the soft feeling of fur against his ankle. He looks down and sees Kanza, their fluffy birman cat purring as he bonks against his leg. Giyuu picks up the animal and scratches his neck lightly, whispering words of affirmation to the animal.
He turns his head back to his family; Saori’s tracing a couple scars on Sanemi’s arms with her hands as Saiko palms his face and is super close to poking his eye with her tiny little finger. Sanemi’s briefly explaining the story about each scar she passes over while he tries not to get stabbed in the face.
Giyuu smiles.