Work Text:
Hikari wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find Mebius patiently waiting for him outside his lab.
“Hello, Hikari!” Mebius said, vibrating a little. Hikari was sure he’d be waving frantically if he weren’t holding a flat rectangular box with both hands.
“I thought you’d be at the school around this time,” Hikari said. He opened the door and extended an arm, indicating for Mebius to go in first.
“Zoffy wanted to see me about something, so 80 said I could finish early,” Mebius said, and then made a beeline for the device Hikari had positioned over one of the workbenches. It was mostly comprised of floating, glowing, slowly rotating hoops. Mebius leaned in to look at it, mouth slightly open.
“It measures dark matter particles. I’m collaborating with Yullian on it,” Hikari said, before Mebius could ask.
“Ah, Yullian mentioned this! It’s amazing!” Mebius said. Hikari held back a smile. Despite not being involved with the scientific field, Mebius was always excited to hear about its latest developments, as well as whatever Hikari was working on.
“So, are you here on an errand?” Hikari said. He’d been assuming Mebius was here to give what he was holding to someone.
Mebius straightened and looked hesitant. “Ah, no. This is a gift. For you,” he said, holding out the box. It was a dark blue, with a subtle red pattern. Hikari briefly hesitated before thanking him and accepting it. This felt oddly formal, for a gift between friends, but he chalked it up to the nervousness Mebius had started radiating. He opened it, and inside were three neat rows of small brown objects. They looked familiar.
“You mentioned you liked how chocolate tasted, so I went to a chef and worked with them to make these!” Mebius said, the words coming out in a rush.
Hikari picked one of the pieces of chocolate up. “Are these in the shape of…a heart?” Hikari said, momentarily confused. He knew the symbol was common on Earth, but he’d never seen food made in the shape of it. Then again, eating hadn’t exactly been one of his priorities, even after Bogal had been destroyed.
“Y-Yes!” Mebius said. He started to say something else, but stopped when a beep came from his brace. “Oh, Zoffy wants to see me again.”
“You’d better go see him. You can message me, and we can also talk more tomorrow,” Hikari said. After they’d come back to the Land of Light, they’d fallen into a routine of meeting up every few days, as well as frequently messaging each other. Hikari always found himself looking forward to talking to Mebius.
Mebius looked conflicted. Hikari put his hands on Mebius’s shoulders and smiled reassuringly at him. “I love the gift, Mebius. Thank you, again,” he said.
Mebius seemed to relax, and smiled back. Hikari loved seeing his smiles. They illuminated him, making him seem as bright as a star. “You’re welcome! I’ll see you then!” he said, and left.
Hikari ate the piece of chocolate he was holding. Based on his limited experience with food, it tasted quite good. By the time Yullian made it to the lab, he’d eaten his way through half a row of chocolate.
Yullian scrutinised the contents of the box, and grinned.
“Mebius gave this to you,” she said. It was a statement instead of a question, as the touch of Mebius’s light still lingered around the box.
“It feels like he gave it to me for a reason,” Hikari said slowly. A reason he couldn’t figure out.
Yullian gave him a look. “What?” Hikari said.
“How do you feel about Mebius?” she said.
“We’re…close?” Hikari said, caught off guard. He hadn’t been expecting to be asked that. He hadn’t given this much thought, because it didn’t seem like something he needed to think about. They were close, their bond forged through what they’d experienced together on Earth. Mebius had become a constant in his life, and it felt like he’d known him for several millennia, instead of merely a year.
Yullian pulled a face and tapped her fingers on the table. “You should talk to Mebius about the gift. He’ll tell you everything,” she said. Hikari nodded, still feeling confused, but she was right. Talking to him about whatever this was was the best course of action.
“Now, about the way the outer hoop is spinning…” Yullian said, and after that, they spent their time absorbed in fine tuning the dark matter device. A part of Hikari’s mind remained preoccupied with Mebius, but then, it had been that way since he’d first met him.
“I’m due to patrol with Taro in NGC-2064, and Zoffy wants us to go to the research outpost there and provide assistance. They’ve filed a report about Bemstars attacking them,” Mebius said, moving a rook forward two spaces.
Hikari looked thoughtfully at the game board on the table. Today they’d agreed to meet in the one of the garrison’s recreation rooms, and had pulled out one of the shogi boards Ultraman and Jack had created. It had become a fairly popular game in the garrison.
“Yullian and I have discussed going to that outpost. They’re investigating dark matter over there,” Hikari said. He and Yullian had been talking to the Ultras stationed there and reading their reports, and the two of them had agreed it’d be a good location to test their device. Yullian had been quite eager about it, as she always was when the possibility of going into deep space came up.
“Oh, really? Then maybe you two could come with us?” Mebius said. He was fiddling with one of the game pieces, and Hikari’s eyes were drawn to his fingers. They were slender and gentle, but he’d seen first hand the strength of his punches.
“I’ll go talk to Zoffy about it now,” Hikari said, standing up, the wheels in his brain turning. He was fairly certain Zoffy would give them his approval, as he and Yullian would’ve eventually submitted a request to go to the outpost anyway. This way, they’d be able to field test their device while providing support for Mebius at the same time.
Mebius looked mildly alarmed. “Right now? But…” he said, trailing off.
Hikari remembered what Yullian had said, and abruptly sat back down. “About the chocolate…” he said, not sure how else to approach the topic.
“I’m glad you liked how it tasted!” Mebius said happily. “I can make more, if you want! I’ve learnt how to do it, so it’s no trouble.”
“I’d like that,” Hikari said, smiling slightly. He usually didn’t eat or drink anything, but this time he’d make an exception. “Mebius, I very much appreciate the gift, but…was there any particular reason for giving it to me?” he said, figuring he might as well get right to the point. Friends gave each other gifts all the time, but he was definitely getting the sense this held some kind of significance to Mebius.
Mebius’s smile faded slightly, and he didn’t say anything for a moment. “On Earth, there’s a custom of giving chocolate to…people who are important to you,” he said haltingly.
“Oh, I see,” Hikari said, feeling himself deflate slightly. This wasn’t anything too special. Mebius had probably given chocolate to his other friends and family as well.
“But I….uh….” Mebius seemed to want to say something else, but no words came. He quickly stood up, accidentally bumping the table and jolting some of the game pieces out of position. “Let’s go talk to Zoffy!” he said, a bit too loudly.
Hikari stared at him. “Mebius—” he started, but Mebius was already gathering up the pieces and packing up the board.
“The sooner we get approval, the better!” Mebius said, and was already moving at a quick pace to Zoffy’s office. Hikari was baffled, feeling like he’d only gotten half an answer out of Mebius, but followed him anyway.
Yullian immediately agreed to the trip to the outpost, and, as Hikari expected, Zoffy gave his approval for the change to the original mission. He also rostered Taro onto another mission, as he felt the three of them would be sufficient for this. They quickly made their preparations. Hikari rescheduled a meeting he’d been intending to hold in a few days time, and made sure his current projects would continue running smoothly in his absence. Later, when he was back home, he stared at the ceiling and thought about how what he was doing now was exactly what he’d done prior to taking that fateful trip to Arb. Things were different now, though. He was different. He’d be coming back this time, he was certain of it.
Yullian gleefully told Hikari that she wouldn’t be required to attend a rather important official function. He’d always wholeheartedly supported her attempts to duck out of these events, as he knew just how tedious they could be. He tried to talk to Mebius before they left, but Mebius kept rushing off or changing the subject. Hikari eventually gave up and let him be. It wasn’t like he could avoid him forever, and nor would he actually do so. Mebius would talk to him about whatever this was when he was ready.
The day arrived and they were off, the green glow of the Land of Light slowly receding behind them. Thankfully, it was an uneventful trip. When they reached the research outpost, Yullian and Hikari wasted no time in setting up the dark matter device. Yullian cheered and Hikari smiled when the first set of readings came through without issue. They’d had every confidence in their work, but it was always good to have confirmation that everything was working as it should (the exact opposite had been happening far too often lately to Hikari).
After some discussion with the other Ultras at the outpost, it was decided the three of them and a few other combat ready Ultras would go deal with the group of Bemstars currently in the area. The mission would’ve gone perfectly well if there hadn’t been more of the monsters than they were anticipating, and if Mebius hadn’t pushed Hikari out of the way and subsequently gotten swallowed by a Bemstar.
“Mebius!” Hikari screamed. There was a deep gash along his arm, light particles escaping from it, but that didn’t matter. He couldn’t lose Mebius like this, they’d barely—
“Hikari! Combination beam!” Yullian yelled, who had seen what had happened. Hikari forced his mind away from his current train of thought and they did the beam, unleashing enough heat energy to get the Bemstar to release Mebius, but not enough to destroy it. Hikari immediately dove at the disorientated Mebius, carrying him safely away so Yullian could do another energy attack to destroy it.
“Mebius, you didn’t have to—” Hikari said, the exasperation in his voice masking the leftover dredges of worry and fear.
“I wasn’t going to let you get hurt!” Mebius said indignantly.
Hikari spent a long moment considering Mebius’s words, staring into the pale yellow of his eyes. He sagged back onto the bed, feeling tired. Thankfully, Mebius hadn't been stuck inside that Bemstar for long enough to get hurt, and the only injury Hikari had was the one on his arm. The healer had firmly told them they could do with some rest, though, and had steered them to one of the outpost’s spare rooms. Hikari did get up once to check on the dark matter device, but returned shortly as Yullian had everything under control. She’d also told him to rest, as, in her words, ‘you can practically see the tiredness radiating from you’. She knew him too well.
Hikari gingerly touched the wound. It hurt a little when he applied pressure. In a day or two it’d be completely healed, leaving behind smooth skin. Mebius’s eyes followed the movement of his hand. Hikari could tell he was concerned, even though he didn’t need to be.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt either,” Hikari said. He remembered how frantic he’d been when Mebius had disappeared into the Bemstar. He could barely stand to consider the prospect of Mebius dying, but if he ever did, Hikari would be able to move on, as painful as it’d be. He wasn’t going to let vengeance and grief cloud his mind again.
“Hikari…” Mebius said. “I know you don’t need to be protected, but I’ll always be there to support you, no matter what.”
“I know,” Hikari said, and he knew Mebius could sense the unspoken, I feel the same way. He could feel their bond in his bones, and knew it would last, through the death of the universe and into the beyond.
They were quiet for a while. Hikari looked over at Mebius. He was curled up on his side, facing away from him. Hikari studied the red lines running over his back and legs. He’d always thought Mebius was beautiful.
“What are you thinking about?” Hikari said quietly.
“…Curry,” Mebius said.
Hikari couldn’t help laughing. “That’s a human food, isn’t it? Did you develop a taste for it?”
“I did. “ Mebius sounded slightly embarrassed.
“The next time we go to Earth, you should take me to the favourite places you like to eat at,” Hikari said. Mebius’s chef acquaintance might be able to make chocolate, but they couldn’t replicate the atmosphere of a human restaurant or cafe.
Mebius rolled over to look at him. “Really?” he said eagerly.
“Really,” Hikari said. He regretted how they hadn’t been able to do anything together other than fighting when they’d been on Earth.
Mebius smiled widely at him, and then sat up. “Hikari, there’s something I have to tell you,” he said. He seemed nervous but determined.
“Is this about the gift?” Hikari said, though he already knew what the answer would be.
“Yes!” Mebius hesitated, and then said quickly, “Humans give chocolate to their friends, but also to the people they’re romantically attracted to!”
Hikari stared at him, feeling the pieces fall into place. He knew what this strange, sometimes overwhelming feeling was now. How didn’t he realise sooner? It was so obvious.
Mebius looked down at his tightly clasped hands. “Hikari, I…it’s alright if you don’t feel the same way, but I just wanted you to know—”
“Mebius,” Hikari said softly. He held out his hand, and let a wisp of his own light coalesce in it. “I…I feel the same way. You shine as brightly as a thousand stars, and I would very much like to be with you.”
Mebius, speechless, held out his own, slightly shaking hand, and did the same with his light. Hikari went over to him and curled their fingers together, feeling a warmth spread through him as they absorbed each other’s light.
“Hikari!” Mebius cried out, and flung his arms around him. “I didn’t think you-you’d—”
“I do, Mebius. I do,” Hikari said, hugging him back. He could feel Mebius’s light resonating with his own, and it felt like coming home.
After they’d returned to the Land of Light, Hikari pulled out a blueprint for a multifunctional bracelet, and spread it out next to the half-empty box of chocolate. He was planning on designing it after a mobius strip, and making it the same shade of gold as the markings on Mebius’s body. Hikari smiled. Mebius was going to love it.