Work Text:
Rantaro's hands are warm against Shuichi's skin. He's currently obscuring his eyes while walking him to the bedroom, cautiously warning Shuichi about carpet borders.
It's his birthday, the first one with Rantaro. He never really celebrated, because there was no reason to, but when Rantaro asked him if he'd be up for a surprise, he happily agreed.
"Alright. Don't look yet, yeah?" Rantaro pulls his hands away and the door shuts behind Shuichi with a soft click.
He smiles. A warm feeling spreads through his chest. Excitement.
"Okay. You can look now."
Shuichi blinks. The bedroom lays in dimmed orange light, like always, but on the bed is a pile of plush orcas and lit glowsticks. Rantaro shifts and scratches the back of his neck.
"Amami-kun, just how many of these did you get?", Shuichi chuckles and approaches the bed, settling at the edge of it and takes one of the plushies.
"All they had", Rantaro returns, "They reminded me of you."
"But they all look the same."
Rantaro scoffs. "Well, they all reminded me of you, then. Can't just leave them behind, yeah?"
Shuichi looks up. Rantaro looks somewhat anxious, his smile not quite staying in place.
"You don't like it?", he asks after a moment.
"What? I do! Amami-kun, this is so sweet. Really."
"Hah." Rantaro presses the back of his hand against his chin and waves the other to the plushie pile. "Check under them."
Shuichi furrows his eyebrows and starts sorting through the countless orcas until he finds paper. Looking closer, it's a flyer for a boat tour.
"It's, uh."
Rantaro's voice sounds thin. Shuichi pries his eyes away from the flyer to look at him.
"It's a one week tour in Norway. Um, to watch orcas and humpback whales. Under the polar lights. The chances are good to see both! The dates start at the end of October and all through November. You just need to say the word and I'll book it."
Shuichi can't do much more than stare. Rantaro remembering his side note about liking orcas is one thing - but gifting him his lifelong dream of seeing them in real life is a whole other level.
"I-"
"Before... Before you say anything, um."
Rantaro's hands shake when he pats his pockets and a small box appears.
Rantaro, who's always calm and level headed and appears like nothing can faze him. Rantaro, who would never admit to something scaring him. Rantaro is the perfect liar, and yet there he is, all stripped of his perfect facade to show Shuichi his most vulnerable side - anxious, shy and scared of rejection.
He kneels in front of Shuichi and opens the gift box. There's a silver necklace with a golden key inside. Shuichi takes it out of the box and inspects it. The key has an S shape and he smiles, feeling his heart beat faster.
"If you say yes - to, to the trip, yeah?"
Rantaro smiles a little more genuinely and pulls his shirt off his shoulder. There's a new tattoo there - a lock with an S shaped keyhole.
"I'd like to ask you, properly, to say yes to another question. Not now, not right away, I know we haven't been together for that long and you should have time to think it over. Just... as a thought. I know I'm not the best at holding things down but I want this. I've never wanted anything as much as this, with you."
Shuichi feels his eyes well with tears. Rantaro looks so nervous about this whole thing, when Shuichi can't remember ever being so happy.
"Yes", he presses out and it sounds a little choked, "And I'll say yes, if you ask me another question too."
Rantaro fumbles with his fingers and takes both of Shuichi's hands into his own, holding him tight, like he's afraid he's just dreaming and imagining things.
"I've never thought about a future. Didn't think I deserve one, because I'm useless and such a disappointment."
"Amami-kun..."
"But meeting you, Saihara, it's like... It made me want things. With you. It made me dare to dream and to crave and to imagine a life by your side. You gave me so much more than I can ever repay you. I just... I don't know how to begin to tell you just, how much-"
His voice cracks and Shuichi simply leans forward and pulls him into a kiss. Rantaro hums against his lips, leans in heavily, squeezing Shuichi's hands.
"I love you", he whispers, "So much, you hear? Happy birthday. I... I hope it's a good one?"
Shuichi laughs softly and presses his forehead against Rantaro's. "It's the best I ever had."
Rantaro pulls away and props himself up to the bed, wraps his arms around him and leans his heads against Shuichi's shoulder.
"You really got a tattoo because of me?", Shuichi asks after a couple of moments pass in content silence.
"Well I figured getting your name inked would be a little too much", Rantaro responds, "Not that I wouldn't. But... Things never stay with me, Saihara. They always leave and get lost and I... I wanted to show you that I mean it."
"Would have believed you anyway."
Shuichi searches for Rantaro's hand and presses the necklace inside. He leans back in turn and opens it, layering it around Shuichi's neck, gently brushing his hair aside to close it on the back.
"Now you're mine", Shuichi chuckles, turning the key between two fingers.
Rantaro taps it with his index, sighing. "Always have been, always will."
He hums and grabs his phone from the nightstand, reaching around Shuichi's shoulders to show him the screen. There's a few pictures from the boat trip and the polar lights and Shuichi has a hard time imagining seeing that all in real life.
"I really hope we see them", he says, "If not, we can just - book another trip, I wouldn't want to disappoint you."
"I wouldn't be", Shuichi says, "What's better than a week with you at sea? Amami-kun, I love it. Don't worry." He grabs one of the plushies and pushes it against Rantaro's chest. "You already brought them to me, anyway. God, where do we put all those?"
Rantaro turns the screen off and puts the phone aside.
"Could leave them in the bed. They make a great pillow pile."
Shuichi laughs. "And where's the space for you?"
"I'll manage."
Rantaro tilts his head and kisses the side of Shuichi's neck. He hums and leans to the opposite side, bathing in the feeling of warm kisses over his skin.
"How am I gonna live up to this for your birthday?", he asks. Rantaro exhales in a short huff, his breath parting over Shuichi's neck.
"Just be there. That's all I want."
"Consider it done."
Shuichi smiles, and a small content huff escapes him, leaning his head against Rantaro's. "Let's pick a date."
Rantaro scrambles for his phone again, but once he manages to fish it out it keeps slipping his grasp and he awkwardly catches it before it can bounce to the floor.
Shuichi can't help but start laughing over it. Rantaro looks a little worried for a moment, before his face softens and he closes his eyes, laughing too. The soft, giggly kind of way that made Shuichi fall for him, the very first time he heard it.
His heart feels warm and flutters in his chest. This might just be the happiest birthday he ever had.