Work Text:
“Home sweet home” Kazuki sighed as they stepped through the front door. Rei trailed in behind him, with Miri still out cold on his back.
“Would you mind putting Miri to bed while I deal with the food?”
“Should I wake her up to brush her teeth and stuff?” Rei asked.
“Nah, just change her into pjs. One night without brushing her teeth won’t kill her.”
Kazuki walked over to the two of them and gave Miri a kiss on the forehead before gingerly taking out her hair clip, letting her bangs fall back down. They were getting long, Kazuki would need to give them a trim again soon.
He smiled and brushed them out of her face. Her little cheeks were glowing pink from the day in the sun, and she was sleeping so soundly that she was drooling on the back of Rei’s shirt.
“Man, she’s out.” Kazuki chuckled. Rei shifted her up a little higher on his back.
”She worked really hard today”. Rei said, looking at her with the softest little smile on his face.
“Yeah…” Kazuki said with just as much softness.
“Goodnight Miri.” He whispered. She babbled something that sounded vaguely like a goodnight, but it was so silly and incoherent that he and Rei couldn’t help but laugh.
“Adorable…” Kazuki said to himself, leaving one last kiss on her forehead before Rei took her to bed.
Even though they shared the food they brought with Miri’s friends and their parents, they still had a ridiculous amount of leftovers. Kazuki had admittedly gone a little overboard, wanting to show off on one of the few days he could actually make Miri’s lunch.
Seeing the smiles on Miri and her friends' faces was worth it though. Plus, now Kazuki could take tomorrow off from cooking entirely! So in his book, having an abundance of food was a win win.
Despite the sheer amount of leftovers, Kazuki had planned ahead and cleared space in the fridge, so he was able to put everything away quickly.
Kazuki was tired. A good kind of tired, but it was enough to make him look at the bags of camera equipment with exasperation. He debated just leaving them in hallway and dealing with it in the morning, but if he did Miri would definitely trip over them. So, gathering the last of his energy, he picked them up and carried them upstairs.
Just as Kazuki was finishing putting them away, he heard two quick, soft knocks on his open bedroom door.
“She’s down.” Rei said after announcing himself. He had already changed into a tank top and boxers… Kazuki mentally added buying Rei some more pajamas to his to-do list for the week.
“Cool, thanks for doing that.” Kazuki grunted as he shoved the last bag onto the top shelf of his closet.
“Need help?” Rei stood waiting in the threshold, seemingly unsure of whether or not he should fully step into the room.
“Nah, this is the last of it. Thanks though.” Kazuki winced as a muscle in his shoulder spasmed. “Man, I think I fucked up my back.”
“That’s what happens when you get old.” Rei teased.
“Hey! I’m still in my 20s for like 8 more months! I just fell weird earlier and tweaked my shoulder.” Kazuki plopped down on his bed, sighing as he finally kicked his feet up.
“Besides, it’s not like our job does my back any favors. Remember when I was doing surveillance on that Yazuka guy and had to spend all day sneaking around in the ventilation shafts of his house?”
“How could I forget when you bitch about that job all the time?” Rei rolled his eyes.
“7 hours in an air vent dude. It was cramped and freezing and miserable! You’d bitch about it too.”
“Probably not as much as you do.” Rei said with a smirk.
“My back hurt for weeks after that! I’m allowed to complain!” Kazuki cried indignantly. He attempted to rub the spot on his shoulder that was currently aching, but the source of the tension was just out of reach.
“Where does it hurt now?” Rei asked, gesturing towards Kazuki with his chin.
“Here. Where my neck meets my shoulder and then kind of down the shoulder blade.” Kazuki leaned forward and pointed out the spot as best he could. Rei examined the area and hummed in thought.
“Try this, it might help.” Finally, Rei stepped into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, near Kazuki’s feet. He then sat up straight and clasped his hands together, stretching both his arms out in front of him while he ducked his head.
Kazuki sat up and moved to sit next to him. He tried his best to copy the pose, but it didn’t seem like it was doing much to stretch out his sore muscles.
“Am I doing this right?” Kazuki turned his back to Rei so that he could check his posture.
“Use your hands to pull your shoulders forward while you keep the rest of your back straight.” With a light touch, Rei’s hands slid over his shoulders, encouraging them to roll forward. It was only a slight change, but it already felt like it was making a difference.
“Yeah…just like that.” Rei coaxed.
Hearing those words in that low, encouraging tone of voice immediately made Kazuki’s face feel hot. He was suddenly imagining Rei saying that sentence to him in a very different context.
Stop it. He’s just helping you stretch, you pervert. Kazuki mentally scolded himself. He ducked his head further between his arms to hide how red his face was, and tried to focus on stretching.
Once Kazuki took a couple slow, deep breaths in the pose, the tension in his muscles began to fade. Rei kept his hands on his shoulders, acting as a guide to make sure Kazuki kept the proper posture. After a couple small pops that Kazuki felt more than heard, the knot in his muscle finally unwound.
“That’s much better,” Kazuki sighed. “Thanks.”
Rei nodded. Kazuki was expecting for Rei to say goodnight and head to the couch to game the night away. However, for about the hundredth time that day, Rei surprised him. This time by gently squeezing the sore muscles in Kazuki’s back.
Holy shit, he’s giving me a backrub right now! Surely, Kazuki had to be dreaming, and the last thing he wanted was to wake up and for this to end, so he didn’t dare say a word about it.
Though this was uncharted territory for them, it also felt strangely natural. So he closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy the feeling of Rei massaging his shoulders, even leaning back into him slightly. He was thoroughly enjoying being pampered until Rei hit a particularly tender spot.
“hmm…AH! Reiiii!” Kazuki moaned. His hands flew up to cover his mouth, but it was too late. Rei jumped back as if he had been burned.
“Sorry!” They said in unison.
Kazuki blinked a couple times, processing the fact that Rei looked entirely too guilty even though Kazuki was the one who made it weird. “Wait…why are you sorry?” He asked incredulously.
“Because I hurt you.” Rei said slowly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“What? No you didn’t.”
“Oh….” Rei said, guilt giving way to confusion. “Then why did you make that noise?”
”Um… it actually felt really good.” Kazuki sheepishly mumbled. Rei’s eyebrows raised.
“That’s the noise you make when something feels good?” He deadpanned, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly.
“Shut up! It’s not like I did it on purpose. You don’t have to make fun of me” Kazuki groaned, hiding his burning face in his hands.
“Well…if it felt good. Do you want me to keep going?” Rei asked. The change in tone from teasing to sincere made Kazuki look up.
“You don’t have to if you’re getting tired.”
“I don’t mind…and if you’re injured we should take care of it now…” Rei shrugged. Kazuki supposed that was a fair way to look at what was happening here, but for them treating injuries usually involved cleaning wounds and resetting bones, not massages.
Not that Kazuki was complaining, of course! Plus, he wasn’t sure what had gotten into Rei that made him want to do this for him, but whatever it was, Kazuki wanted to encourage it.
“Alright then” Kazuki smiled at him and turned back around to reassume their previous positions. Rei put his hands on Kazuki’s shoulders again, but hesitated.
“Actually, could you lie on your stomach so I can—-?”
“Sure!” Kazuki scrambled into position before Rei even had a chance to explain his request.
Rei, thankfully, didn’t seem phased by his eagerness at all. He sat on his knees, straddling and hovering over the backs of Kazuki’s thighs. His hands slipped under the back of Kazuki’s t-shirt, and they were so warm that they almost felt like two small heating pads coaxing Kazuki’s stiff muscles to unfreeze.
He started with a light, cautious touch, only increasing the pressure when Kazuki didn’t react negatively to his ministrations. Kazuki occasionally let out a tiny groan or sharp exhale, but thankfully, no more embarrassing moans.
After a while Kazuki turned his head to the side to watch Rei while he worked. He was laser focused, much like he would be on a mission or a game, except right now all his attention was focused on making Kazuki feel better. His determination was honestly really touching.
Not only was the gesture in and of itself incredibly sweet, but Rei clearly knew what he was doing. He seemed to know all the right places to apply pressure in order to make the pain go away.
“You’re good at this,” Kazuki hummed.
“It’s not hard if you know basic anatomy,'' Rei said nonchalantly. He began tracing the muscles on Kazuki’s back with the pads of his fingers, naming each one and explaining how it was connected to the muscles around it.
Kazuki, admittedly, barely actually processed anything he was saying. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to listen, but the sound of Rei’s voice was just too mesmerizing and calming, almost like a lullaby. The longer Kazuki listened to it, the calmer and happier he felt.
“What?” Rei eventually asked when he noticed the way Kazuki was staring at him like a lovesick fool.
“You have a nice voice.” Kazuki said dreamily. He was too blissed out to feel embarrassed or try to come up with a lie that Rei probably wouldn't believe anyway.
“I…do?” Rei had the faintest hint of a smile on his face and a glimmer of pride in his eye.
So he likes compliments…noted.
“Mmhmm.” Kazuki closed his eyes and continued. “I like listening to you talk, especially about things you like. And it was really cool getting to hear you cheer for Miri earlier today.” He hoped that when he opened his eyes again, Rei’s smile would be even bigger and prouder.
However, that plan quickly backfired. The silence became tense and awkward. The hands resting on Kazuki’s back stilled, then withdrew completely.
“I’m going to bed.” Rei mumbled. He tugged Kazuki’s shirt down and stood up to leave.
“Huh? Hey wait a second!” Kazuki’s arm instinctively shot out and caught his wrist. “What’s wrong?”
Rei only responded with a grunt, staring at a section of the floor as if he was annoyed at it.
“If I said something that made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not you.” Rei mumbled, still staring at the floor.
“Then what happened?” Kazuki pressed. Usually he respected Rei’s boundaries when he didn’t want to talk, but the thought of Rei going back to the bathroom, curling up in the tub and dealing with whatever was bothering him alone made Kazuki’s heart ache. It had been such a good day, he wanted them all to have a good night too.
They both knew Rei could easily get his arm away from Kazuki if he really wanted to, but he made no attempt to escape. It seemed like he wanted to respond, but was having trouble finding the words and getting more and more frustrated with himself because of it. His entire body was tense as he continued to glare helplessly at the floor.
“Hey…” Kazuki said softly. He shifted his grip to hold Rei’s hand instead of his wrist. “I’m here for you. Okay?”
That seemed to get Rei’s attention. He looked at Kazuki for a moment, eyes wide and contemplative. Kazuki gave him a little encouraging smile and his hand a reassuring squeeze before coaxing Rei back down into sitting on the bed next to him. Rei followed willingly, still staring at their joined hands. He didn’t speak for a while, but that was okay. Kazuki would be as patient as he needed to be for Rei to find his voice.
“It’s my fault Miri lost her race...I shouldn’t have yelled at her.” Rei finally mumbled. Kazuki’s eyes widened.
“Wait…is that why you were upset earlier?” Kazuki had noticed that Rei seemed a little off after Miri’s race, but of course didn’t blame Miri losing the race on him, so he didn’t connect the dots. As a result, Kazuki had just chalked up Rei’s sulking to being momentarily tired or overwhelmed, especially since he perked up again fairly quickly.
“I thought that was obvious. She only tripped because I distracted her.”
“Rei no…no no no…You didn’t yell at her, you were cheering for her, there’s a huge difference. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I should have just kept my mouth shut.” Rei pulled his hand away and turned to curl up in on himself. He was clearly going down a shame spiral that Kazuki was all too familiar with himself. Kazuki wouldn’t wish that feeling upon his worst enemy, let alone someone he cared about as much as Rei.
“Is it alright if I give you a hug?” Kazuki asked gently. Rei shrugged.
”If you want…” He said quietly, though he didn’t move to face Kazuki.
So instead, Kazuki came to him. He scooted forward, wrapped his arms around Rei’s midriff, and rested his chin on Rei’s shoulder. He felt Rei’s body relax ever so slightly in his arms.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Kazuki continued. “Miri trips all the time, remember when she knocked over your entire game collection?”
“Which time?”
“Exactly. She did it all the time before I bought you that shelf for them.” Kazuki chuckled. “Kids just do that, they get distracted and trip over their own two feet. But the important thing is that she didn’t get hurt. Not only that, she didn’t give up and got right back up and finished that race. That’s way more important than a silly gold metal.
“I guess…” Rei conceded.
“Trust me, she’s not gonna remember whether or not she won the race. But she is gonna remember how excited she was to hear her Papa Rei cheer so loudly for her for the very first time.” Kazuki said firmly.
“You really think so?”
”I know so! Even in 10 years when she begs us not to be loud and obnoxious at her sports days, she’s still gonna be happy we’re there cheering her on. Mark my words.” Kazuki chuckled.
“You think we’ll still be at her sports days…in 10 years?” Rei asked softly.
Kazuki blinked a couple times as he processed the weight of what he had just said so casually: That 10 years from now they would still be doing this; working together, living together, and raising Miri together.
Realistically, they were both painfully aware that their situation may not last another 10 hours , let alone 10 years. They had both learned the hard way just how quickly attachments could become collateral damage in their line of work.
Plus, even without the whole issue of them being assassins, saying they would still be together in a decade implied a level of commitment that had never been discussed. A commitment to Miri, of course, but also a commitment to each other.
They weren’t married, they weren’t dating or lovers. Yet, when Kazuki thought of what the future looked like, Rei was now always in it, standing by his side and raising Miri with him.
“Yeah…maybe it’s delusional to think that far ahead…but I’d like to think all three of us will still be together in 10 years.” Kazuki answered honestly.
Rei looked back down at his hands. “I..we can’t…I’m running out of time…The boss-“
“I told you, you go back to him over my dead body.”
“That’s what I’m worried about…” Rei said grimly.
“Er…sorry…poor choice of words.” Kazuki chuckled. “But I’m not worried.”
“You’re not?” Rei turned slightly, bumping his cheek against Kazuki’s as he did so.
“Nah, It’s not the first time I’ve had an in-law threaten me. Did I ever tell you about when I first met Karin? She literally sat me down and gave me a whole power point presentation about all the ways she would torture me if I ever hurt her sister.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She went into very specific detail…even had pictures” Kazuki shivered at the memory, being dramatic on purpose in hopes that it would lighten the mood.
“Is that why you avoided her for so long?” Rei asked.
It was a genuine and innocent question, but it caught Kazuki completely off guard. “Ah…not exactly”
Now that he thought about it, Karin never gave any indication that she blamed Kazuki for Yuzuko’s death, even after she learned the truth about what really happened that night. She never was angry or vengeful, she just wanted to make sure Kazuki was okay.
I guess she really didn’t think it was my fault… For some reason, that fact never really clicked in Kazuki’s head until now. Even since their conversation several months ago, he assumed that Karin had simply forgiven him, not that she never blamed Kazuki in the first place.
It was definitely something he needed to unpack at some point, but right now he was too tired to fall down that rabbit hole.
“It’s complicated, but Karin and I are good now.” Kazuki said. Rei seemed satisfied with that answer, even if it was vague. “In any case, I promise we’ll figure something out so you don’t have to go back to your dad. Okay?” Kazuki assured him.
Rei nodded like he agreed, but his posture was tense and his hands were still clenching and unclenching nervously.
“Something else on your mind?” Kazuki asked, hoping doing so would remind Rei that this was a safe space to talk if he still needed to.
“You shouldn’t call him your father in law...” Rei grumbled.
Kazuki jumped backwards, surprised by how cold Rei’s voice had suddenly become.
“Oh I know! I just meant…you know…from an outside perspective it looks like your dad would be my father in law! Kazuki hurriedly explained. “Since Miri calls him Grandpapa and people at daycare assume we’re partners. I mean we are partners but—“
“Well he’s not.” Rei repeated, just as cold but with this time much louder.
Shit…shit shit shit… Kazuki had overstepped. He had misread or imagined the years worth of signals Rei had been giving him that maybe, one day, something romantic could blossom between them.
Kazuki’s throat felt like it was closing up from the sting of rejection. He desperately tried to string together a sentence to fill the silence, but was overwhelmed by disappointment he didn’t even feel justified to feel.
Rei, of course, didn’t owe him anything, but Kazuki had been dumb enough to get his hopes up and now he was paying the price.
God, they weren’t even dating! And yet Kazuki basically implied he wanted to marry him.
I’m such an idiot…
He was about to apologize profusely when Rei began to speak again:
“Father always told me that my sole purpose in life was to carry on my family name.” Rei continued. All Kazuki could do was hold his breath and wait for Rei to tell him that he was disgusted and never wanted to see him again.
“It was drilled into me from birth that the Suwa family was royal, noble, better than everyone else, and that I should be proud of the blood that runs through my veins…But I…” Rei’s shoulders began to shake. As much as Kazuki ached to reach out to soothe him, he still wasn’t sure where Rei was going, and didn’t want to overstep.
“I don’t care about any of that. I hate my father, I hate being a Suwa, I hate the organization and this stupid killer's blood that he’s so obsessed with. I hate just being a weapon for the organization to use as they see fit. I hate all of it.” Rei said sharply, in a voice loud enough that it probably would have woken Miri if she wasn’t the heaviest sleeper in the world.
Kazuki was speechless, still recovering from the whiplash of going from thinking Rei hated him to realizing the issue really had nothing to do with him.
“I know I’m stuck with him. But…I don’t want him anywhere near you or Miri. I don’t want to drag you down with me... I…I’m sorry.” Rei started strong and confident, but the longer he spoke the more soft and shaky his voice got.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Kazuki quickly assured him. He cautiously leaned forward again, slid his arms under Rei’s and his hands and onto Rei’s palms. Rei’s fingers closed around his, and Kazuki finally felt air reentering his lungs at the confirmation that their relationship was still intact.
“Look…I know you and your dad’s relationship is…complicated.” Complicated was the understatement of the century, but Kazuki continued on. “And I’m totally fine with having nothing to do with that jerk…but just because you two are blood related, it doesn’t mean anything. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I don’t?” Rei whispered.
“Not at all! From what you’ve told me, he’s never treated you like family, so why should he expect you to do the same?” Rei didn’t seem to have an answer to that, and just looked back down at their intertwined fingers contemplatively. “Family takes care of each other. They pick each other up when they stumble and fall. They cheer each other on and try and make each other happy.” Kazuki let go of one of Rei’s hands to fish a folded up notecard out of his pocket. The ink was slightly smudged, but it still very clearly read:
FAMILY
“If you don’t believe me, then believe Miri.” Kazuki said softly. “We’re your family, and that’s why you belong here, with us. We’ll find a way.”
Rei took the piece of paper from Kazuki, handling it gently, as if it was one of the most valuable items in the world. He used his fingernails to carefully smooth out the creases, and seemed to relax further into Kazuki’s arms the longer he gazed down at the small piece of paper.
“The person who always makes sure you are okay and comes to save you is your Papa…” Rei said after a moment.
“Huh?”
“Miri told me that once.” He explained. “It was the day before we tried to find her mom. I asked her why she called you Papa if she knew you weren’t her biological father, and that’s what she said…”
“Really? Man…she is a smart kid.”
“My father never did any of that though. The one who always made sure I was okay and who saved me…it was you…” Rei softly admitted.
Kazuki didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and ended up doing a little of both. He rested his forehead on the top of Rei’s shoulder.
“You saved me too…” Kazuki whispered into the warm skin of Rei’s shoulder. Of course, in a literal sense, Rei had saved him on missions more times than either of them could count, but he had also saved Kazuki in a much deeper way. Taking care of Rei gave him a purpose, and made Kazuki feel like his life actually mattered when he was at his lowest.
“So…in that case does that mean we’re each other’s Papas?” Kazuki chuckled. Even though a couple tears had managed to slip out, Kazuki really didn’t feel like crying right now, and decided laughing sounded like the better option of the emotions currently fighting for dominance in his head.
“I don’t think it works like that if you’re the same age.”
“Aw. Come on, you can still call me Daddy if you want!” He teased, poking Rei in the sides.
“Not happening.” Rei huffed, but since Kazuki was still holding him, he could feel the trembling of Rei quietly laughing at the cringey joke.
The sheer adoration he had for Rei completely overwhelmed his ability to speak, so instead Kazuki just giggled along and squeezed him tighter. Rei also didn’t seem to have anything more to say, but as long as he was feeling better, that was all that mattered.
“Wanna see the photos I took today?” Kazuki offered, figuring it would be a good excuse for Rei to hang out without him having to talk much in case his social battery had finally burnt out. Much to Kazuki’s delight, Rei nodded.
“Great, let me get my camera.” Reluctantly, Kazuki finally let Rei go and went to his closet. He grabbed his camera and decided to change into pajamas while he was up. This time, his shoulder didn’t hurt when he reached above his head to remove his shirt. Rei really was a good masseuse.
They had changed in front of each other countless times before, so Kazuki didn’t think much of momentarily stripping down to his underwear in front of Rei. However, he turned back around just in time to see Rei quickly looking away.
And. Damn… Maybe it was the last remnants of the sunset outside, or maybe it was a slight sunburn, but Rei’s face was pink.
Was he…checking me out?
The thought made Kazuki feel fuzzy inside. Pretending to be oblivious, he turned off the overhead light and sat back in his original spot.
Other than turning around halfway to face him, Rei didn’t budge from his spot in front of Kazuki. He seemed apprehensive…like he wanted to ask for something but didn’t know how. It was only when Kazuki saw his gaze momentarily flick up to his chest that he understood.
“Come here.” Kazuki opened his arms and shamelessly made grabby hands for Rei to scoot closer. Clearly relieved that he didn’t have to ask, Rei scooted between Kazuki’s slightly parted knees and leaned back against his chest. Once he was settled, he let out a small, content sigh that absolutely melted Kazuki’s heart.
They were basically in the same position they were before, just leaning backward instead of forward, but it felt so much more intimate than that. It soothed an ache deep within Kazuki’s soul, not to mention Rei was practically a heated, weighted blanket that also soothed Kazuki’s tired muscles.
It was so warm and wonderful that Kazuki almost forgot he was supposed to be showing Rei pictures. So he grabbed his camera from the nightstand and began scrolling through.
Much like with the food, Kazuki went a tad overboard with the photography. On this camera alone there were over 300 photos.
Now he was glad he had taken so many though. More pictures meant he had an excuse to bask in this cozy moment with Rei for a little longer. Despite the fact that neither of them said much as they scrolled, it was the most connected to somebody Kazuki had felt in a long time. Maybe it wasn’t the most platonic thing to be doing, but, in Kazuki’s opinion, that stopped mattering a long time ago. Considering they did everything together and were literally raising a kid together, it felt like they were more than friends at this point anyway. As long as they were both happy and comfortable with cuddling like this, Kazuki didn’t see the harm.
Eventually, they reached the end of the album. The final picture was the one that Ms Anna had taken of the three of them after they won the parent child race.
Kazuki lingered on it, particularly on the little endearingly awkward smile Rei wore that actually reached his eyes.
“I’m really proud of you,” Kazuki said softly. Rei tilted his head back to look up at him. “You really stepped outside of your comfort zone for Miri today. I know that wasn’t easy, so I’m proud of you.”
That beautiful glimmer of pride flickered across Rei’s face again, along with a small, almost bashful smile. He didn’t seem to know how to verbally respond, but that was okay, his reaction was more than enough.
“Also, thank you again for the back rub, my shoulder feels so much better.” Kazuki added.
“That’s good.”
“Heh. Maybe when we quit being hitmen you could get a job as a massage therapist.” Kazuki chuckled. At this, Rei scrunched up his nose.
“No thanks.” He said flatly.
“Why not? You’re really good at it.” Now that Kazuki had figured out that Rei liked being praised, he evidently couldn’t stop complimenting him.
“I don’t like touching people.” Rei said in that same, flat tone of voice.
“Says the guy laying on top of me,” Kazuki pointed out.
“You don’t count, obviously.” Rei said it so casually, but the sentence shot straight to Kazuki’s heart and flooded it with warmth.
“Obviously?” He couldn’t help but tease and squeeze Rei a little tighter. “Awww!”
“Shut up” Rei huffed, though he also playfully headbutted Kazuki: A gesture that Kazuki had discovered was his way of showing affection when words were difficult.
“…What would you want to do if we manage to quit?” Rei asked a moment later. His voice was small and curious, but also…hopeful?
“I’ve always wanted to run a restaurant.” Kazuki confessed. It had been a pipe dream of his ever since he was a little kid. “Nothing fancy, just like a little hole in the wall brunch place, you know?”
Rei seemed to ponder this for a second, “I could make rice balls and French toast.” He said seriously.
“Only if you don’t put gummy candy in the rice balls.” Kazuki sighed.
“Miri liked them.” Rei countered.
“Miri’s 4.”
“So?”
“Okay, tell you what, if Miri still likes rice balls with gummy candy in 10 years, we’ll add them to the menu” Kazuki bargained.
“Deal.” Rei said through a yawn. Kazuki smiled. Even though it was a silly bet, it was the first time they had explicitly discussed the future at all as a when and not an if. Just knowing that Rei hoped for some kind of future together too made Kazuki feel like he could conquer the world.
“Getting tired?” Kazuki asked when Rei yawned again. He nodded, head lolling back onto Kazuki’s shoulder. Kazuki smiled fondly and ran a hand through Rei’s hair to comb it back out of his eyes.
“You need a haircut.” Kazuki remarked when he felt how long his undercut was getting. “Maybe I can give both you and Miri a trim tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” Rei murmured.
“What else do you want to do tomorrow?” Kazuki asked through a yawn of his own.
“Video games.” Rei said without any hesitation.
“That’s it?” Kazuki softly chuckled at just how Rei that answer was.
“Mmhmm…that okay?” Rei mumbled, words beginning to slur together with exhaustion. Normally Kazuki would protest having a lazy day, as he was often too antsy to just sit around, but Rei was right. They deserved to relax tomorrow.
(The fact that the person requesting said “lazy day” was currently being so stupidly adorable had absolutely NO influence on his decision, for the record.)
“Yeah…that’s fine.” Kazuki promised. He could always find some chore to do if he got too antsy.
Kazuki began telling Rei about a new clipper set he wanted to buy, absentmindedly playing with Rei’s hair as he did so. The faint scent of vanilla from Rei’s shampoo wafted off of it, and while Kazuki normally didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, he couldn’t get enough of the sugary fragrance.
Every time he ran his fingers through Rei’s hair, Rei seemed to succumb further into sleepiness, letting his head rest on Kazuki for longer and longer as his eyelids got heavier and heavier.
“This is nice…” Kazuki eventually sighed. He didn’t mean to say the words out loud, but it was the truth, and didn’t feel like he had to be embarrassed about telling Rei the truth anymore.
Rei made a noise that vaguely sounded like an agreement. “You’re soft.” He mumbled.
“I’m not soft! I have enough muscle to carry you and Miri through a hail of bullets. Thank you very much” Kazuki reminded him.
“Comfy…” Rei mumbled, finally letting his head rest fully on Kazuki’s shoulder. Kazuki bit down on his lip to keep himself from turning and kissing Rei’s forehead.
Though, part of him wondered if Rei would even mind.
“Want to sleep here tonight?” Kazuki asked before he could overthink it. Rei responded by turning his head towards Kazuki and nodding, the tip of his nose tickling Kazuki’s cheek.
“Okay, cool.” Kazuki breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out to try and hit the switch on his bedside lamp, but Rei stirred at the movement. “You good?”
“You too…” Rei murmured.
“Sorry. I didn’t catch that.” Kazuki was pretty sure he missed a word or two in there, so he leaned his head closer.
Rei’s brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to fight off the sleepies. “You stay too.”
“I stay too?” Kazuki repeated. Rei nodded.
“Mmhmm” Rei’s brows were furrowed into a pout that was way too endearing. He rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arms and legs around Kazuki, preventing him from escaping.
“Don’t leave.” Rei commanded in a low, groggy voice. He’s so cute I’m actually gonna explode.
“I’m not going anywhere, just turning off the light.” Kazuki promised. Rei grumbled again and didn’t move.
“Rei…” Kazuki quietly called. Rei tilted his head up to look at him, eyes open just a sliver. “I just need to scoot over like, 3 inches for a second and then I’ll be back. Swear”
“Fine.” Though Rei still didn’t seem happy about having to move, he slowly rolled off of Kazuki and onto the bed.
Kazuki reached over, shut off the lamp and pulled the blankets up over them. They were laying partially on the sheets, but Rei was completely pliant and cooperating when Kazuki had to maneuver him a little to get off of them. The amount of trust Rei had in him was not something Kazuki took lightly, so he did his best to be as gentle as possible as he moved Rei’s relaxed limbs around.
Kazuki initially maneuvered them into a spooning position, as it was basically the same position they were before, just on their sides. However, once they were settled under the blankets Rei almost immediately turned around and snuggled up with his face in Kazuki’s chest.
“Night...” Rei mumbled, his lips ever so slightly grazed the skin on Kazuki’s throat. Kazuki was a little surprised by the sudden boldness, but once his brain caught up he happily wrapped his arms around Rei tightly.
“Goodnight…love you.” The words came tumbling off Kazuki’s lips as if it was the most natural thing ever. They enveloped the two of them like a warm blanket, only adding to the feeling of comfort they were sharing.
However, the words themselves fell on deaf ears, as Rei had seemed to finally succumb to sleep and was now effectively dead to the world.
That was okay, just saying the words out loud, hearing them in his own ears and speaking them out into the universe, felt so right.
One day…I’ll tell him when he’s awake. Kazuki promised himself. As nerve wracking as it was, he looked forward to that day.
Kazuki usually tried not to let himself look forward to the future, but for once he let himself indulge.
He wanted to introduce Miri and Rei to Karin and Yuzuko. He wanted to see Miri graduate high school, college even. He wanted to travel and show his daughter all the wonders of the world. He wanted to help Miri pick out her prom dress and wanted to take cheesy family photos for every holiday and put them on the fridge so he could see them every time he walked by. He wanted to cheer Miri on for every victory and console her for every loss.
Kazuki wanted to be a father, and, one day, maybe even a grandpa.
Rei shifted slightly in his arms, bringing his attention back to the present moment.
He was too tired and too hopelessly in love to resist the urge anymore, so he gave Rei a featherlight kiss on the forehead. Kazuki felt an inaudible hum reverberating in Rei’s chest as he burrowed closer
Kazuki wanted to kiss him when he was awake too: On the forehead, the cheeks, the lips, really wherever Rei would let him. He wanted to see if he could set a new record for the number of smiles and laughs he could pull out of Rei every day. He wanted to keep teaching Rei to cook. He wanted to fall asleep with Rei every night and wake up with him every morning. He wanted to shower him with compliments and love and affection, not because he was expecting anything in return but just because Rei deserved it.
He wanted to be his partner, in crime and in life, and one day, maybe even Rei’s husband.
Kazuki was probably getting ahead of himself, but something about today gave him a feeling…a really good feeling, that they would survive, they would get away from the organization. Suddenly, the things he dreamt of no longer felt impossible.