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Though many things may have changed, maintenance never did.
It may have been affected by other changes, like their separation largely cutting down how often it happened, but the routine itself had mostly stayed the same throughout everything, like a rock stood firm against the tides. There was never any need for it to change, as simple as it was.
After all, it's not like it hindered Mika's efforts to become more human. Humans did stuff like this to each other all the time, even if it was under a different name, like relaxation or care. And maybe Mika should call it something different now too, to prove this change, but he didn't really have the heart to, because even as a doll, he had always felt closest to being human during those sessions, under Shu's steady touch.
Plus, he liked the way the word fit in his mouth, the vagueness of it like a secret shared between him and his beloved Oshi-san, so he kept using it, without sparing much additional thought towards a replacement. It's not like what it was called mattered all that much.
Mika's flight had landed directly into the depths of the Parisian evening, and while his sparkling excitement to see Shu again gave him a burst of energy as he went through the motions of the airport, it still left him exhausted and very much in need of a maintenance session, yearning for the relief and contact.
Shu, who was fully aware of how taxing the long haul flight could be, took him by the elbow and steered him to the taxi stand with a gentleness Mika had just about managed to get used to, by now. "Once we get home." He promised right by his ear to combat the airport's noise, sparking a warm candle in Mika's chest.
Mika hadn't asked for maintenance yet, but he didn't need to. He had started with that request when they were reunited enough times for Shu to notice the pattern, attentive as he was.
The taxi ride passed in a blur of colour, Mika resting his head against Shu's shoulder as he watched the city unfurl beyond the window with big, eager eyes, wanting to love it just as much as Shu did. Shu's voice drifted in the air in waves as he pointed out places of interest, his Japanese slipping to French to address the taxi driver every so often. It lulled Mika further as he enjoyed the familiar sound, finally undistorted by phone audio.
As soon as they arrived at Shu's place, Mika was sent to take a warm shower and to change into his pyjamas, to refresh himself. It was as nice as any warm shower was, especially after the flight, but with the knowledge that Shu was just beyond the door, Mika didn't waste much time on it. The warmth of the shower was nothing in comparison to the warmth of Shu's hands, and he wanted to savour it as much as possible while he could.
Maintenance was an old, familiar thing that never really changed, so there wasn't any awkward segway or need for further discussion. All that was needed when Mika stepped out of the bathroom was for him to lock eyes with Shu across the room with a tired double blink, and Shu let out a sigh, ushering him over.
Technically, there were two versions of maintenance - one was for pre-performance, which involved a lot more prettying up, like hair and make-up and perfume, and all that. The other was for general wellbeing, focused more on relaxation and the base condition of Mika's body, as opposed to its appearance. At such a late time, in the privacy of Shu's home, today's maintenance would naturally be one of the latter.
Either way, both versions followed the same initial step - stretches, a combination of individual and assisted ones. Shu led him through them with practised ease, and even though Mika knew them like the back of his own hand, and could very easily do the individual stretches without any additional support, Shu still helped to hold him in place.
It was a habit kept from the very beginning, when Mika never quite knew how long to hold the stretches and would straighten up prematurely, to Shu's everlasting chagrin. Now, Mika could count it down to the millisecond himself but he didn't point that out, soaking up the assured pressure of Shu's palms against the ache of his limbs as they worked through the routine.
Once the stretches were done, they moved onto the next step. For pre-performance, this would be tidying his appearance, but for this, it was a massage. Shu directed Mika to a chair, pulling another over from across the room and taking a seat in front of him.
"We'll start with the right." He announced, because they always started with the right, tapping his knee expectantly. Mika swung his right leg up to rest in Shu's lap, and was met with Shu catching his ankle, pressing his thumb into the divot of his ankle bone in soothing circles. They always started with his legs because, as Shu had said in passing ages ago, Mika was, firstly, a dancer and so he would naturally wear his legs out quicker.
Shu ran his hand firmly up his calf, and Mika sank into the warm friction and the velvet seat. Shu was humming as he worked on kneading the tension out of Mika's skin, and it took Mika a few sluggish moments to realise he was humming Acanthe. It was slower, far more lazy and languid than the original song, but Mika thought it was comforting.
Maybe that was just because Shu was humming at all, though. It made Mika feel fuzzy with a starlight sort of happiness, because it felt like unshakeable proof that Shu was calm and happy himself, in a way that he had never been just a year ago.
If Mika was a little less exhausted, the thought might have stung a little more, but as it was, the bliss of Shu's contentment and the grounding weight of his hands was enough to send him into a slight doze, even with Mika doing his best to stay fully aware so he could enjoy the contact to its fullest. Shu didn't scold him for it this time, though his humming did trail off as he finished with Mika's legs, dropping them back to the floor.
The bump of his feet against the floor was enough to get Mika to blink some of the drowsiness from his eyes, watching as Shu rose from his seat and rounded Mika's chair. Shu's hands landed on his shoulders, gently running along to trace the plane between his nape and his arms with his palms, before digging his fingers into the flesh.
Mika's hard-earned clarity quickly dissolved into a sleepy half-awake state yet again, sinking even further into the comfort of his Oshi-san's hold. He blamed this sleepiness for his delayed reaction to the press of lips against the slope of his shoulders, Shu's hand shifting to the side slightly to accommodate it.
"Mnh.." Mika mumbled in content, before his brain suddenly caught up with what he had felt, and he jolted. "Ngah! Hang on a sec- Oshi-san?!"
He twisted around to look Shu in the eyes, and Shu looked back with an unreadable uptick to his lips. "Is something wrong, Kagehira?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, but his eyes remained soft.
Mika considered asking him about it, but wrote it off as something he imagined while groggy, indulging in a fantasy. So he shook his head and smiled sheepishly, fidgeting with his sleeve. "Uh, 's just that- can ya skip my arms 'nd take a look at my wrists now? They ache a li'l."
Shu's gaze flicked towards Mika's wrists, as if he could assess them through sight alone. Still, he didn't argue - this was not the first time the order of their massage was mixed up a bit, whether on Mika's request or Shu's whim - sweeping around to reclaim his seat in front of Mika.
Shu held out his hand, and Mika readily set his wrist into his grasp, slumping his shoulders as Shu pressed his thumb into the joint. "What have you been doing to strain your wrists? Another sewing project?"
"Silly question." Mika snorted as Shu gently rolled his wrist, watching as he moved slowly down the wrist to his hand. "I've always got a sewin' project or another goin' on, and ya know that, 'cause I got that sorta work ethic from you ."
"Nonsense." Shu huffed quietly, an amused sound more than an annoyed one, as he diligently worked from his open palm to his fingertips, one by one. "Your work ethic is ridiculous all on its own, and has been long before you came into my care, I'm sure"
Then, without any warning, Shu flipped Mika's hand over and pressed a quick kiss to his knuckles.
Mika squeaked out something strangled, almost pulling his hand away from surprise, face dusting red. He couldn't write it off when it happened right in front of him like that! He wondered if he had actually already fallen asleep, and was in the middle of a dream.
Because maintenance was an old, familiar thing and it had never involved kisses .
His reaction wasn't very subtle, so of course Shu noticed it, gaze darting up towards him before darting to the side just as quick, almost bashful. "Are you not comfortable with that? Perhaps that's my fault, I should have asked first-"
"No!" Mika yelped, waving his free hand because even if it caught him off guard, he didn't want to discourage Shu from ever doing it again, dream or not. "Nope, no, that's fine! Just surprised me, 's all. Mngh… why- why'd ya do that fer?"
Shu made a flat noise, not responding for a moment, but he started to run his hands up and down Mika's arm in long strokes, so his response must have reassured him.
"No particular reason." He said eventually, tone a little clipped and ears pink, before he softened. "...Did you like it?"
"Mhm." Mika admitted readily, his knuckles still tingling from the brief press of lips. The thought brought a giddy little smile to his face. "'s nice. I like it."
Shu smiled slightly at that, lifting his wrist and kissing the joint. "Good." He murmured, more to himself than Mika, which was good, because Mika couldn't really think of a response past the heat collecting in his face.
It only got worse when Shu switched to his other arm and greeted it with a kiss to his wrist bone first before beginning the massage. Mika tried to muster up some kind of response, but it turned into unintelligible sounds in his throat. He loved the little kisses, they made him so happy he could burst, but he still didn't expect Shu to give so many at once!
"Have you been remembering to do those wrist and hand exercises I showed you?" Shu asked casually, as if Mika wasn't currently imploding. "Three times a week at the very least, to minimise your aches."
Unfortunately, he obviously expected an answer, so Mika pushed through his own floundering to respond. "Mnh- uh-huh, 'course. I've been doin' all that!"
Shu nodded, then kissed his knuckles to show he was done with his hand, and Mika managed not to fall apart further. He considered this to be a show of iron will.
In a sudden twist, Mika found himself wide awake in the same chair he was falling asleep in just minutes ago. He felt like a live wire, hyper aware of every touch as Shu kneaded his way up his arm. Shu started humming again, but this time, Mika didn't recognise the tune. It must be a new idea for a melody.
When he finished with his arm, Shu leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, lingering just long enough that Mika caught the warmth of his hum through his shirt. Mika bit his lip to stop from openly giggling and just about succeeded, simply going along with the motions as Shu slid his hands up and down the sides of his neck, tipping his head back slowly to accommodate.
Shu's hands eventually settled on the sides of his face, cradling his jaw as he carefully tilted it back and forth, this way and that. He rubbed circles into the hinge of Mika's jaw as he brought him back to face him properly, smiling even though he didn't quite meet Mika's eyes, mapping out his features instead.
Shu leaned forward and kissed Mika's cheek, then the other. And then, then Shu leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth, and another on the other side, and Mika was convinced he could feel his skin burning under his lips.
Mika wanted to lean forward himself and press their lips together, he wanted to so bad , a craving from the depths of his soul, but he didn't. He knew his Oshi-san was a romantic, even if he didn't act like it sometimes, so a proper kiss on the lips was probably really important to him in a way all these other kisses were not. Shu may not admit it, but he'd want something picturesque and pretty, like a fairytale, and Mika wasn't going to mess that vision up by being too quick.
Still, he thought it was a bit unfair that Shu got an excuse to shower him in kisses like this. It made him flustered, heart light in his chest, and Shu's face was full of fond amusement, close to playful, so he must know what he was doing to him. Even if it wasn't on the lips, Mika still wanted to kiss him too!
So, encouraged by the intimate feeling of Shu's breath against his cheeks from their closeness, Mika suddenly leaned forward and did just that.
Right on the tip of his nose.
Shu reacted instantly, jerking back slightly and just about managing to catch any noises of surprise in the back of his throat. One hand came up to cover his nose, and the other slipped off Mika's cheek too, which might have made Mika regret his actions if Shu's face wasn't so pretty covered in a rosy tint.
"Cheeky." He muttered, and it might have sounded more like a scolding if Mika couldn't see the faint smile behind his fingers, precious and fragile.
"You started it first, Oshi-san!" Mika laughed, joy bubbling in his chest like champagne. It quickly gave way to a yawn that left him teary-eyed, though. Turns out his exhaustion hadn't evaporated, it had just been pushed down.
"Yes, and it looks like I should finish it now, too." Shu chuckled quietly, like Mika's laughter was infectious, and wasn't that a nice thought? He pressed one last kiss to his forehead before rising to his feet, as if he wanted to get the last laugh. "Come on, let's get you to bed now or you won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning with all the jet lag."
Mika would have protested it more, but he knew maintenance ended once the face was done, and he also knew that they'll probably end up in the same bed now anyway. He was looking forward to curling into Shu's side.
"M'kay." He sighed, with a little pout that didn't fool either of them. He got out of the chair and, to get the last laugh instead, pressed a kiss to Shu's shoulder as he leaned against him. "Bedtime, then."
Shu turned his head to face away from Mika in response, but didn't move away from the kiss, wrapping a loose arm around him to keep him close as he led them out of the room. It was nice, Mika thought, to see Oshi-san flustered too.
Maybe maintenance could change too, just like them. Just a little bit.