Work Text:
"Kuki has a reunion thing going on in Liyue, and she invited me to come along! Isn't that great?" Itto's eyes are glued onto the onikabuto in front of them. Because of this, he misses the way a frown briefly crosses Ayato's face.
"That does sound like fun," Ayato responds, though he can't quite force his voice to sound enthused. He winces internally at how the words seem to fall flat.
"Yea! It's going to be totally awesome," Itto lets out a sound of triumph as his beetle, a red onikabuto he named Crimson Staff, tosses Ayato's onto it's back, "Dude, I won!"
"Congratulations," A sour feeling curls in Ayato's gut. He reaches out and helps his beetle back onto its feet. "When are you planning on leaving?"
Some hopeful side of Ayato begs for it to be awhile out still, so he might have the time to ask for his own vacation time to perhaps tag along. A hope, that is not very long lived.
"Like, tomorrow or something? Kuki wasn't exactly specific, she just said 'sometime this week', and since it's already Thursday, that leaves tomorrow or the next day."
"Ah," A pang of disappointment hits Ayato, and he can't keep the frown off his face this time. "I see."
"Yeh... Sorry for waiting to tell you, I only got Kuki to agree with bringing me just a couple days ago." Itto turns to face him, and upon seeing Ayato's expression, begins frowning himself. "Hey, it'll only be a few days. A week at most, okay? I'll be back before you know it!"
Ayato fiddles with his hands, gaze averted from Itto, "Of course. I expect no less... you always keep your word, afterall."
Itto raises a hand to brush Ayato's hair back from his face, fully turning to face him as he does. "I really am sorry for telling you last minute."
"I know," He can't help the disappointment that still curls in his chest, but he knows Itto means nothing by the lateness of the news, "I fear I will miss you greatly while you're gone."
"Awh, you big softy," Itto moves his hand to Ayato's shoulder, pulling him forward into a hug, "I'll miss you too. I'll make sure to bring you back a cool souvenir!"
Ayato relaxes into the hug, bringing his own arms up to return it.
"I don't need any souvenirs," He says into Itto's collarbone, pressing his face firmly to the oni's shoulder, "I just need you to come back in one piece."
"I'll do both!" Itto proclaims. He pulls back, Ayato reluctantly letting go of him so he can. Itto is grinning widely down at him, and brings a hand up to cup Ayato's face, thumb brushing against his cheek, "I'll come back in one piece, and I'll bring back the most incredible souvenir you've ever seen!"
Itto's surety and reassurance brings a smile to Ayato's face as he leans his head more firmly into his hand.
"I'll hold you to that."
--
"My lord, I know you miss him, but that's no reason to waste away in bed all day."
Ayato groans petulantly in response, dragging the covers up over his head to block out the light of the room.
"He wouldn't want to see you like this, you know," Thoma continues, his voice stern, "He'd hate to see you this way."
Ayato pouts at nothing, curling up tighter under the covers and burrying his face in his pillow.
"I'm tired of speaking to a lump of blankets. Forgive me in advance for my forwardness."
And with that warning, the blankets are ripped from Ayato, exposing his attempt at hiding away from the world. Ayato groans again, more firmly hiding his face in his pillow.
"It's hardly been three days since he's left. You've survived worse. He'll be back before you know it."
"He didn't even know when he would be back," Ayato responds, and he feels a bit like a petulant child, "How do you know?"
"Because," Thoma stresses, grabbing Ayato's shoulder to roll him over and look him in the eye, "Itto probably misses you just as much as you are missing him. He's just that kind of guy."
Ayato knows that Thoma is probably right, but he can't help the sting in his heart caused by Itto's absence. He sighs, and sits up.
"I would... hate to disappoint him..." He concedes, and lets Thoma get started on fussing over him to get ready for the day.
--
Spin.
Spin.
Spin.
Sp--
"Lord Kamisato?" Ayato's mind snaps back into place, halting the spinning of the ring on his finger.
("Heh, sorry it's been so long. I got a job so I could buy this for you! But then it turns out the guy who hired me wasn't all that great, and I ended up in jail for a bit...")
Ayato stares down Kujou Kamaji, who had called him to this meeting to discuss... Something. It probably wasn't of very much importance.
"Yes?" Ayato prompts. Kamaji is sweating, and looks rather uneasy.
"You look rather displeased. Is something the matter?"
Yes, Ayato wishes to say, It's been a week since Itto left for Liyue.
"Is something the matter?" He asks instead, "Perhaps, you are realizing this meeting did not require my presence?"
Kamaji sputters something, probably apologizing, and Ayato turns his attention away again. The window is open, letting in a pleasant breeze.
Spin.
Spin.
Spi--
Outside, a good distance away, there is three men, stacked on each other's shoulders. They all wear identical, conical hats. The one on top is waving rather vigorously in Ayato's direction.
Ayato stands up, rather abruptly, turning back to Kamaji.
"I apologize, but seeing as I am needed elsewhere, of actual importance, I will be taking my leave," Kamaji sputters again, and starts to beg Ayato to stay. Ayato ignores him and turns away, leaving. He tries to not feel like he's hurrying too noticeably.
Thoma falls in step beside him as he leaves the meeting room.
"Did everything go well, my Lord?"
"It was all terribly droll. I have a feeling we will be getting a missive about not being rude during meetings of this nature soon. Make sure it ends up in the garbage," Ayato says, long stride carrying him to the doors of the Tenryou commission and out into the warm sun.
Thoma makes a confused noise behind him, speeding up slightly to keep stride with Ayato's pace.
"And... Where are we going now?" He asks.
"I've been called away to an urgent meeting."
The two quickly make their way to the Arataki gang, who are easy to locate based on the fact that they were currently surrounded by Tenryou guards. It looks like, at some point, they had fallen over. Mamoru is clutching a pair of binoculars, most likely how they had spotted him. The guards are in the middle of putting handcuffs on Akira when Ayato and Thoma finally reach them.
Ayato clears his throat.
"Now, what do we have here?" He asks, catching the attention of the nearest guards, who quickly stand at attention.
"Sir Kamisato! We were just arresting these hooligans. They're well known deliquents around these parts. Eyewitness reports state that they were seen waving towards the Tenryou Commission building, and seeing as their leader isn't around, we assume he's up to something there. We currently have guards searching for his whereabouts," One of the guards debriefs, and Ayato has stop the foul look he wants to give the man before it has the chance to warp his face.
"Well, seeing as these 'delinquents', as you put it, were in fact waving to me, I hope you're not implying that I may also be a hooligan up to no good." Ayato sighs disappointedly, and watches the poor man tense up beyond belief. "Do me a favor and release my friends, would you?"
The guards scramble to comply, profusely apologizing in a way that makes Ayato want to roll his eyes. He barely controls the impulse. He shoos the guards away as soon as they're done removing the cuffs from the gang members, and he can faintly hear Thoma apologizing to them for the troubles as they turn tail. Turning to face the Arataki Gang, Ayato is slightly taken aback by how they're staring at him with stars in their eyes. He quickly locks his gaze above their heads.
"Bro, that was so awesome!" Akira yells, pumping his fist in the air.
"They were totally scared of you, they ran away like a bunch of wimps!" Genta says, and Ayato holds a hand up to stop them there.
"I only did so with the intention to interrogate you myself," Ayato says, and sharpens his gaze into a glare, "Why on Teyvat would you do something that draws so many unwanted eyes to you?"
"B-Because!" Mamoru starts patting his pockets, before pulling out a piece of folded paper, "Boss sent you a message!"
The words barely leave the man's lips before Ayato is snatching the paper from him, quickly opening it. He barely gets halfway through reading the note before he can feel his face shutter off. He passively hands the note off to Thoma, turning away from the group watching him keenly.
"Thoma, cancel my meetings for tomorrow, will you?" He starts walking away. He wishes doing so would stop feeling like running away.
"My Lord, I can't just--" Thoma starts, eyes scanning the note rapidly himself. He lets out a soft gasp, "My Lord, this is--"
"Either the meetings are cancelled, or you will have to deal with facing down angry politicians face-to-face because I will not be there." He makes sure his tone leaves no room for argument. He barely stops his voice from wavering.
"Ayato, bro!" Akira calls out, "Are you okay?"
Ayato rather feels like his heart is breaking, but he doesn't say that.
"Make sure you lot don't get arrested again," He says instead, waving over his shoulder.
The walk back to the Kamisato Estate is silent.
--
Sorry bro! We ended up getting in a bit of trouble, so the stay is getting extended another week while I try and repay some people. I promise, we'll be back A S A P!!!!
Ayato sighs again, tossing in bed as the note repeats in his mind. Even the part where "we" had been crossed out in bright red and replaced with "just Itto" makes him feel terribly fond. The fondness slowly morphs back to loneliness, and he sighs in frustration, throwing his blankets back as he climbs out of bed. He paces, angry at his own sadness, raising one of his hands to shake it to help get rid of the emotions. Another thing that just leads back to Itto. Despite knowing him for a relatively short amount of time, it feels like all roads lead back to him.
Ayato can't help the frustrated noise that leaves him as he leaves his room, grabbing his collection box of TCG cards on the way out and making his way to his office. He sets the box down on the desk and sits. He then takes to rearranging his cards into different possible decks for the next several hours.
It's only when he's four hours deep that he realizes most of the decks include Itto's card.
He can't help but feel rather pathetic with it all. Two weeks is nothing. They'd been apart for two weeks before, and it hadn't hurt nearly as much as this does. He knows, in theory, that there had been a time before Itto, but he struggles to imagine it now. It feels like something had opened his ribs and removed half of his heart.
He must fall asleep at some point, because the next thing he knows, he's waking up to birdsong outside, and a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Brother, you shouldn't be sleeping on your cards like that. You'll crinkle them," Ayaka stands next to him, shaking him awake. He slowly rises from where he had fallen asleep with his head pressed to the desk, and looks down at his cards. He finds that Ayaka is right, as (one of) his Itto cards has fallen victim to his sleeping face, one of the corners bent at and odd angle. He feels distressed about this, but it feels like he's feeling it through a fog. He knows it's there, but can't quite grasp the feeling. He picks the card up with a sigh, rubbing his eyes with his other hand.
"This is pathetic of me, isn't it?" He asks quietly, like he doesn't really want the answer.
"No," Ayaka responds readily, "It just means that you love him quite a bit, right? If anything, it's cute."
He can feel his face heat in response to her words, and tilts his head away from her.
"Come on, Thoma is making breakfast. We can't keep him waiting."
"I suppose," As Ayato stands to follow her from the room, he tucks the card away into his sleeve.
--
"I've had enough of this. I'm getting a boat and going to Liyue to drag him back myself," Ayaka says, her polite expression belying her firey tone of voice.
"I don't think that would be the correct action to take, my Lady," Thoma responds, a sad look on his own face.
Ayato ignores them both in favor of picking at his food with his chopsticks, pushing it around the plate. He hasn't felt truly hungry in days, only eating in order to not worry his family, but it's all getting to be a bit too much. Nothing feels right anymore. He's not sure if he enjoys the power that Itto's presence has over his mood, if merely being away from him for a week and a half is enough to have him feeling so dour. It feels like a loss of control, something that Ayato has never liked. He gives up on pretending to eat, setting down his chopsticks in order to wind his hands together in comforting motions. Over-under-through on repeat, constant motions to go with his rapidly moving thoughts.
What kind of trouble had Itto gotten into? He hadn't specified, just that he had to repay someone. Perhaps Ayato should have been more worried? Perhaps he should have sent mora to Itto, to help him pay back his debts? Is he being too complacent here, waiting for Itto to return like a lovesick maiden in one of Yae's light novels? What if Itto's trouble was physical? What if he was injured, this whole time, and Ayato has been sat at home twiddling his thumbs?
He chews on the inside of his cheek, brows knitting together with worry. The thoughts circle in his brain viciously, unending.
What would Itto think of him, if he was here? Surely he would find this pathetic. Surely he would think poorly of Ayato, for not being able to last two weeks without the oni at his side.
A hand catches his shoulder, and he emerges from his thoughts. Ayaka is staring at him in concern from across the table, and Thoma has his hand reassuringly placed on Ayato's shoulder. He feels like a child.
"Ayato," Thoma rarely drops his title, and the thought that he's worried them so makes Ayato frown just a bit more, "Everything will be alright."
"Of course it will," Ayato responds, and his voice falls even flatter than usual. It almost makes him wince.
"I'm giving that man a piece of my mind when he gets back, I swear to the Almighty Shogun herself," Ayaka grumbles.
"He's an oni," Ayato replies, a distant lecture from Itto himself playing in his mind, "Not a man. That's disrespectful to say, Ayaka."
"Pardon me then. I'll give that oni a piece of my mind."
Ayato nods, before standing from the table and brushing Thoma's hand from his shoulder as he does. "I'll be retiring for the evening then."
He turns away before he can catch the concerned looks that Ayaka and Thoma share, and leaves to the faint protests of the two.
--
Two weeks and two days has passed.
Ayato feels rather foolish, for placing so much of himself into the hands of another. Was he not taught all his life to stay distant from others, for the sake of his health? For the sake of his clan?
He'd had a meltdown the day previous, the constant roiling emotions in his heart clashing with the thoughts in his head, combined with the noise of nesting birds right outside his office window as well as the feeling of the fabric of his clothes against his skin sent him spiraling until he couldn't contain it. There's a rather large bruise on his head from where he hit himself.
He sighs heavily, pulling his blankets closer against his body, exhausted from the day. He thinks on how much easier everything seems to be when Itto is there, and in the same thought curses the oni for making him feel such a way.
Mostly, he just wishes Itto was with him.
Vaguely, he can hear raised voices somewhere else in the Estate, harsh tones softened by the walls between him and whoever is making the racket. He frowns, but deigns to ignore it for now, hiding his face in his pillow.
He must nod off, because the next thing he knows, the door to his room is slammed open, loud voices spilling into the room as it does. He jumps, head whipping towards the door, and his breath stops in his chest.
Being shoved into the room (rather forcefully, Ayato will have some words with Ayaka later), is Itto.
A weak sound leaves him as he sits up in bed, meaning to stand up so he could meet Itto at the door, but instead he gets bowled over, landing back on the bed with an oof! as Itto tackles him back into bed. Arms tightly wrap around him, and he can feel the spikes on Itto's belt start digging uncomfortably into his gut, but he doesn't really care about that in the moment. Heat pricks behind his nose and eyes as he wiggles his own arms out from under the oni in order to wrap him up in a hug as well, tucking his face in closer under Itto's chin as he does. He doesn't cry often, it makes him feel sick when he does, but he can't control the way tears leak from his eyes in the moment.
"I missed you so much dude, I thought I was dying. I'm so sorry," Itto's voice is subdued, and Ayato hugs him even tighter, "I got some fun stories to tell out of that, but I don't think any of that was worth not seeing you for so long."
Ayato wants to respond, he really does, but he also knows that if he opens his mouth at all in the next thirty minutes, instead of words, all that will leave his throat will be sobs, and he doesn't want that. Instead, he nods in agreement. He feels... overwhelmingly happy, in the moment. He can't help but kick his feet (as much as he can when half pinned under an oni larger than himself), a pleased noise leaving him as does. He sniffles lightly, tears making it near impossible to breathe through his nose, and he feels Itto very rapidly tense. The oni quickly sits up, and Ayato mourns the closeness that disappears as he does. Hands are immediately on his face, Itto staring down at him in concern.
"Awh, dude, don't cry, it's okay, I'm here now," He says, wiping away the tears on Ayato's cheeks. Ayato smiles widely up at him, moving his own hands to Itto's face. It feels like a dream, to have the oni here in his arms.
Using his grip on Itto's face, Ayato draws him down to his level, bumping his forehead against Itto's affectionately.
"I missed you," Ayato manages to whisper, sniffling again, "Never leave like that again, I beg of you."
Itto stares down at him with stars in his eyes, and nods minutely in response. "Yea, of course. Anything you want."
Ayato, overwhelmed by absolute joy coursing through his veins, gives no thought to pulling Itto down even more and placing a kiss on his lips. It's a chaste kiss, short and sweet, but when Ayato pulls back he can see tears brimming in Itto's own eyes. Slightly alarmed, he makes a noise and makes to sit up but before he can, Itto is wrapping him back up in a tight hug.
"I love you," Itto whispers, a secret just for the two of them, "Like, so much."
Ayato feels his face flush rapidly, joy and love swirling through him in tandem with each other. It's the first time Itto's said that to him, the first time either of them have voiced it out loud. His feet kick again, and he wiggles in Itto's embrace.
"I love you too," Ayato responds, less quiet, but he's so overcome with emotion that he doesn't think he could control his volume if he tried, "So much."
(Later, after the two compose themselves and they've left Ayato's room on account of the way both of their stomachs rumble, Ayaka finds them. The dressing down that she gives Itto is embarrassing to both of them; Itto, for getting chewed out by his partner's little sister, and Ayato for how she reveals Ayato acted while Itto was gone. The result is an Itto who grabs onto his hand and refuses to let go, even throughout their meal.)