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Chapter Text

Prologue
How did he get here? How could he fall for such an idiot, let alone the Head Knight?
Those were the questions Akito’s head was filled with after that faithful day, that faithful day where every fond and disgusting memory was made.

Shinonome Akito thought he could step outside the ball for a few minutes unnoticed, to finally get some quiet that he’s wanted the whole night, but Tenma Tsukasa had always found a way to catch up with him and be annoying as hell.

“Oi, Akito!” The loud blonde yells from behind him on the balcony. The ginger jumps in surprise from the sudden yell, and turns around.

“Could you be any louder?” Akito asks, rolling his eyes away from Tsukasa.

“HA HA HA! Is that a challenge from my junior?!” The idiot boasts.

“No! No. Just, can you stay quiet for a second?”

Tsukasa drops his smile, surprised to be faced with the sudden mood change the younger just had. “Is something the matter?” The blonde asks, going to lean on the balcony with the ginger.

“Ah…no. I’m just taking a break I suppose. Sometimes these balls get too loud for my liking. And besides, I got bored when Toya and Akiyama went to talk to people elsewhere.” Akito sighs.

“Oh! It seems we’re in the same boat then! Rui, Emu, and Nene also went off to do something else, but fear not! For I, Tenma Tsukasa shall keep you company!” And with that, the annoying blonde strikes one of his many poses. Akito begrudgingly gives a small smile to his idiocy and turns back to looking at the sky, actually feeling warm with the Head Knights company.

Tsukasa smiles too and unknowingly scoots closer to Akito on the balcony with their hands being dangerously close to each other. Of course, being the oblivious idiot that he is, the blonde doesn’t bat an eye, while Akito quickly notices and his face immediately goes as red as a tomato and looks away to try and hide it.

“The sunset is nice, isn’t it?” Tsukasa asks, breaking the silence between them.

As he turns back to the blonde, Akito notices the soft look on the Head Knights face, a look he hasn’t ever seen before. His orange eyes are calm, the shine in them softening, while his body is visibly relaxed. The sun hits his beautiful blond and peach hair perfectly, almost making him look like a god damn angel, he couldn’t help but find the sight in front of him more gorgeous than the sky. More soft and peaceful than the sun could ever be. Certainly better to look at that any natural sight.

What is this new feeling?

Akito is still visibly red, blushing perhaps, but what changed about his feelings towards his captain? Why is he feeling this now? Why does his heart feel like it’s racing 100 miles?

Noticing that he didn’t answer the question, Akito finally snaps out of the trance he was in, and struggles to come up with a response while Tsukasa looks at him with a mix of confusion and worry.

“Ah, y-yeah! Yeah I suppose it is nice.”

Tsukasa tilts his head a bit, his looks still laced with concern. Without warning, he lifts his hand to brush the bangs off of Akito’s forehead and lays the back of it on it. The ginger’s brain freaks out a bit, feeling his heart go even faster than it already was.

“Do you have a fever? You’re very warm, should I take you to the healers? Your face is also red…”

The ginger struggles to come up with something to say as he brushes Tsukasa’s hand away.

“No! It’s just hot out here. Ah, I’m going to go back inside where it’s cooler. But th-thanks for your concern, Tsukasa-Senpai.” Akito turns away abruptly, scolding himself that he let a stutter out. As he walks away though, he still feels the gaze of his senior on his back. But he didn’t know that the gaze was filled with the new feeling Akito hadn’t identified, the new feeling which Tsukasa himself was trying to figure out, the feeling that both of the men would soon learn, and share with each other.

Chapter 1

Akito always thought that he would die in a heroic way, saving someone, sacrificing himself for the sake of his loved ones, or just simply die with everyone in his life surrounding him, giving him comfort in his last moments of life.

But how could he get that now? How could he die with a purpose if he was lying against a tree in the middle of nowhere with a sword pierced through his stomach? This was the most pathetic way to perish. No loved ones, nobody saved, and no sacrifices made. Just Shinonome Akito, letting his guard down for a second just to get stabbed by a soldier’s sword that he should’ve seen coming and to be left behind by his own patrol. But they couldn’t see him, it was nobody’s fault but his. Besides, he wasn’t even the best Head Knight, not after…him.

’Damn it…’ Akito thinks as he tries to get up but fails. He was dying, slowly and painfully.

The blood oozing out of the sword in his stomach starts to grow gradually, only staining Akito’s armor more and more. The blood dripping down his mouth was also prominent, but not as painful.

The taste of iron was awful. And the smell, the smell of it was suffocating.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he let this happen? Hell, even Mizuki of all people tried to convince him to get extra armor under his shirt to prevent stuff like this, but yet again, Akito committed a foolish act.

The foolish act of actually thinking that nothing could touch him, that nothing could hurt him, that he was invincible. Just as invincible as the man he looked up to the most.

The man he so desperately craves to see in his final moments. The same blonde idiot who made him feel better after each day of his grueling work as a knight. Oh, how Akito missed him dearly. It’s pathetic of him to want his love so badly.

But how could the old Head Knight be here now? He’s been gone ever since…well ever since-

Akito winces as he struggles to use his remaining strength to grip under his shirt to reach an old and well-loved piece of paper. He unfolds it, revealing the picture of his idiot.

It was a simple picture of him. The only picture of the Head Knight that he has.

He was looking straight ahead, his blonde hair swooped to the side as it always was. His eyes filled with determination and brightness, ready to take on any challenge that came his way.

He was sitting with his sword draped over his legs with the rag he used to clean the mighty thing. He was looking directly at Akito, with that wide smile that he came to cherish deeply.

That smile would brighten any room, including the one’s with the ginger present. No matter how much of a shitty day you had, the blonde had always had a gift to smile and lighten up the mood.

He remembers taking the picture of the knight after a long practice filled with exhausting sparring. Yet Tsukasa’s smile was still there even after the long day.

He looks back at that moment with fondness, smiling as he always did thinking about it. But now, it seems as though that memory would die, along with Akito.

It was then he realized that he would never think again, never listen to the calming sounds of the river he would visit, never banter with Mizuki or Ena again, never have occasional chats with Toya, never watch the sunset and think of Tsukasa.

Akito would never live again.

Oh god, the thought of that was excruciating, almost as painful as the sword impaling him. He looks at the picture of Tsukasa for one more second before he sets it down and looks at the tree canopy, enjoying his last moments before death were to come and sweep him away quietly.

He closes his eyes, clutching the photo tighter to his heart, as if hoping that the one he missed most would-

After what felt like hours of silence, there were quiet footsteps from behind Akito along with a loud gasp that was accompanied by the footsteps growing closer.

Akito feels his eyes growing heavier and blurry when a figure comes into his view. They were talking, but Akito could barely hear. Was this Death?

If so, why was he talking so loudly and promptly? Why was he not whisking Akito away to peace?

As his eyes close, he could feel strong arms surrounding him, picking him up off of the cold ground he’d been stuck on for hours.

Finally, he’d be taken away from this horrid place and die.

At least, that’s what Akito thought at first.

———

As Akito sheathed his sword, he sighs after the long day that was sparring with his peers.

He stretches profusely before starting his rounds with the other knights, yet he still felt stiff and tired after the day. Nothing could make his back hurt more.

“HA HA HA! Excellent work today Akito!” The boisterous Head Knight says as he gives Akito a hit on his back, making the ginger stumble forward a bit.

He groans in pain as he puts his hand on his back, rubbing the place that the blonde hit him .

Said blonde loudly gasped as he hears the pained noises coming from Akito and quickly rushes to his side.

“AH! IM SO SORRY, AKITO!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! FOR I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE AND HURT YOU!!” He loudly shouts as he flails his arms around.

“God! Stop being so loud! You’re doing that directly in my ear! I’m fine alright! Just a little back pain!” Akito shouts at the blonde, trying to cover his ears to protect the eardrum that Tsukasa probably already exploded.

“Back pain?! That certainly won’t do! Come with me, for I know the most perfect solution to help ease you!”

“No wait, it’ll pass-“

But before Akito could finish his sentence, Tsukasa hastily grabs his arm and starts to quite literally drag him off of the training grounds.

“Tsukasa-Senpai, where the actual hell are you dragging me to?!” Akito asks as he tries to stand up and follow Tsukasa properly.

“This isn’t the way to the healers is that’s where you’re planning on going…”

Tsukasa huffs as he slows down a little, helping Akito get back on his feet.

“That was never the plan! The only thing the healers would do would give you some gross medicine! But I have a better solution. My dear friend Rui has been practicing spells to help with pain in case of anything horrible happening! He wants to try this new idea on me, but the spells could only help if you’re injured, and as you can see, Tenma Tsukasa has been keeping his streak of not getting hurt! So, seeing as though you have back pain, I’m thinking he can try it out on you!” Tsukasa beams, walking ahead of the ginger while said boy has a mix of fear and repulsion on his face.

“So you’re turning me into a guinea pig for spells I don’t even know work?! I could be severely hurt!”

Tsukasa turns around sharply, stopping Akito in his tracks as the blonde looks at him with offense.

“Well, I’ll have you know, my dear junior, that Rui has constantly made me his guinea pig for much MUCH worse spells, and I’m still here!”

He steps towards Akito a bit and smiles softly before reaching towards the ginger’s hand and taking it into his own.

Akito feels himself flush as he looks down at his hand in his seniors. His heart racing once again.

“I promise Akito, that nothing will happen. I’d trust Rui with my life, and he’d do nothing to harm me or you, I’m sure of it! Now, shall we go?”

Tsukasa smiles at him, but instead of the confident and cocky smile Akito was used to, he was met with a genuine and reassuring one.

He hesitates as his heart gives a small flutter before squeezing Tsukasa’s hand and letting it go.

“If you say so, Tsukasa-Senpai.”

“Great!” Tsukasa shouts with excitement.

And before Akito knew it, he and the Head Knight were in front of the sorcerer’s office. Tsukasa knocking on the door in the same fashion as banging on it with all of his might

“God…how long does it take for this guy to open his own door?” Akito mutters, growing more impatient by the second.

Ignoring Akito, Tsukasa continues to bang on the door yelling, “RUI! I’ve brought Akito! We were hoping to try out your new healing spells!”

Akito rolls his eyes. Just when he was going to tell the blonde to stop banging on the door, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

“Fufu~ another test subject?” The unnerving sorcerers voice says from behind him.

The ginger jumps at the sudden contact and quickly hits his hand off. The mad sorcerer only chuckles and shows him his usual creepy, cat-like smile.

“I thought only you were coming to visit me today Tsukasa-kun~. I was really looking forward to hanging out with you too.” The sorcerer pouts, finally stepping away from Akito and towards Tsukasa.

Said sorcerer continues to pout while he puts a hand on Tsukasa’s shoulder. Tsukasa huffs and shakes his head.

“I’ll still hang out with you Rui! Akito here has some back pain and I thought, ‘Why go to the healers when Rui has some spells he still needs to try out?’, so I brought our dear junior!” Tsukasa says, putting a fist to his heart.

Rui briefly glances at Akito and sighs, seemingly tightening his grip on Tsukasa’s shoulder and letting his smile ease back onto his face.

As Akito watches Rui’s hand, he balls his fists. Why did the most simplest of contact the sorcerer had with the Head Knight make Akito want to punch that smirk off of his face? To yell at him not to touch Tsukasa?

Why is he feeling this way?

“Shinonome-kun? Is anybody home?” The sorcerer asks, waving his hand in front of Akito’s face.

Akito looks back up to see Rui had taken his hand off of Tsukasa’s shoulder in favor of waving it to get Akito’s attention. Both the blonde and the purple-haired look confused at his silence.

“Ah…I seemed to have spaced out a bit.”

Rui takes his hand back and smiles again. “Fufu, that’s quite alright Shinonome-kun. Let’s go inside my office and I’ll try that new spell out on you now. I hope you’re ready, fufu~.”

Rui steps away from him and opens the door, going in while giggling to himself. The ginger wouldn’t be lying if he thought that we wasn’t slightly terrified of what was to come.

‘Well, at least he’s not touching Tsukasa-‘

Wait. Why the hell if he relieved that Rui wasn’t touching Tsukasa anymore? Why did he care about that fact in the first place?!

Tsukasa steps ahead of Akito and gives him a brief thumbs up before grabbing his arm and pulling him into the room.

Well, at least Tsukasa would be there to make sure nothing happened.

————

Where was Akito? Is he in the afterlife already? Because right now all he sees is a dull ceiling with a simple light fixture in the middle of it.

He groans as he tries to get up and fails, opting to move his head to see a relatively normal living space. Well, as normal as it could be, there was a nightstand, a carpet, and a small dresser in the corner, but other than that the room was taken up with shelves upon shelves of books.

He grunts in pain as he moves a hand to his stomach, feeling…bandages? Was he…not dead?

“Shit…” Akito mutters as he looks down to see crimson stained plasters across his stomach. If he was in pain, he surely couldn’t be dead. Had someone saved him?

The ginger closes his eyes for a second thinking back. He remembered being attacked, being left in the woods lying against a tree…and someone blurry who was basically yelling in his ears.

So he was right. Somebody who happened to be walking through the woods at the time saw him in such a pitiful state and managed to drag him to their house.

‘Great, no one should’ve seen me like that…’ Akito thinks, running his hand through his hair while grunting again. He’d offer them his thanks soon, as any knight should. He just needs to get up first.

As Akito sits up, he grunts loudly and grips the bandages around him, trying to be quiet as to not disturb the seemingly peaceful nature of the room.

After what feels like a century, he finally manages to sit up straight and lean back against the headboard of the bed, hissing at the amounts of pain in his body.

Now, all the ginger needs to do is swing his legs over the bed and walk towards the door across the room. Simple as that, right?

No it wasn’t.

As soon as Akito swung his legs over the side and attempted to stand up, he fell to the ground. His shaking legs giving out beneath him. He falls to the ground and screams out in pain, clutching his stomach.

Maybe he’ll just try and rest for a minute, then-

Before he could think up a new plan to get up, footsteps could be heard climbing up and getting closer to the room.

Akito’s eyes widen. Using his arms, he manages to sit up once again. He carefully watches the door and mentally prepares himself.

He doesn’t know if the person is dangerous. They could be waiting for him to wake up so they could torture him or something. Hell, their footsteps made them sound like they were heavy.

It reminds him of something. Or someone to be exact. His Head Knight always made sure his presence was known, making it impossible to sneak out with him.

In fact, the loud steps were almost the exact same as Tsuk-

Suddenly, the door opens a bit, revealing a blonde haired man. Not just any blonde haired man…it…no it couldn’t be!

“Ah! I see you’ve finally woken up! And made yourself acquainted with the floor as well!” The loud man says.

Akito just stares.

Just stared at the man he never thought he’d see ever again. He was glad he was alive, don’t get him wrong, but how?

The blonde was physically fit, strong no less, but why did he leave in the first place? Why did he leave his home? Why did he leave his sister? Why did he leave Akito?

He couldn’t say anything in that moment. Almost as if his vocal cords were cut off. How the hell is Tenma Tsukasa standing in front of him right now? Alive and well? Acting as if nothing happened?

“Ah…not much of a talker, are you? Well that’s alright! Here, I’ll help you back up onto the bed!” Tsukasa makes his way into the room and closer to Akito, giving him one of his beautiful smiles.

The blonde kneels down and puts his arms around him. He lifts him up in a princess carry and sets him down on the bed like he almost weighed nothing. He sits down on the bed as well, still smiling warmly.

“You’ve been unconscious for a while, serious injuries to your stomach, but I managed to bandage you up even if I’m low on medical supplies. But worry not stranger! For you will be alright!” The blonde exclaims, smirking with accomplishment.

“St-stranger? What do you mean?” The ginger asks, his eyebrow raised.

Tsukasa had to be kidding, he knows Akito! Surely he saved him because he recognized him, right?

“Oh, you can speak! Well, of course. I’m not sure why you’re confused. I don’t know you and you don’t me! I saved you out of the kindness of my heart! But, we won’t be strangers any longer! My name is Tenma Tsukasa! World Future Knight!”

What? What is he even saying anymore? He’s already a knight, the Head Knight in fact! Did he just forget about everything? The ginger knows his idiot has a horrible memory, but it wasn’t that horrible. He should still remember who the people in his life are! He hasn’t even been gone for that long. 4 years couldn’t make you forget everything, right?

The blonde looks at him nervously, an awkward smile on his face.

“Would you care to introduce yourself? I have to call you something. It seems you’ll be in mine and my husbands care for a while, though I’m sure he won’t be very happy…” Tsukasa mutters the last part.

“Oh. Shinonome Akito. I- do you really not know me?” The knight asks, his small amount of hope dwindling.

The blonde looks at him in concentration, furrowing his brows and poking his tongue out. He looks over Akito with his beautiful eyes. He would always do that while he was thinking. Or even reading the most simplest of paperwork, he always looked like he was trying so hard. The ginger used to love that about the Head Knight. He’s happy he can see it again- wait.

‘Tsukasa has a fucking husband?!’

The ginger tightens his hold on the sheets at that thought, his anger boiling.

“Nope! I don’t recognize you at all! But it’s nice to meet you Akito! I hope we’ll become great friends!” Tsukasa beams.

He loosens his tight grip and sighs, looking down to see that the blonde has a ring around his finger. It was gold, with a smaller star pattern on it. Tsukasa notices where Akito’s gaze is and smiles fondly.

“My husband and I have been married for 4 years! We’ll be going on for 5 in a few months!”

Akito turns his gaze to the blonde, feeling a great amount of dread and sadness in him. Almost five years he’s been gone and he has truly forgotten about him.

Was Tsukasa really unhappy with him? Was he too stupid to notice? Did he hate Akito that much?

“Who are you married to?” He asks, turning his eyes away from Tsukasa’s.

Before the blonde could answer, a knock is heard from the other side of the door. It opens after a second.

“Fufu~ darling I’ve returned home, what are you-“ the voice stops.

Akito looks up only to have more dread than possible haunt him. The yellow eyes he was familiar with all too well fall upon Akito and Tsukasa, along with a small, condescending, chuckle.

“I really wasn’t expecting a guest today.” The sorcerer smiles.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Oh hell no.

Out of everyone who could’ve been Tsukasa’s husband, it just has to be fucking Kamishiro Rui?!

The man who basically made Akito’s life harder, constantly getting in the way of both of them.

Of course, Tsukasa didn’t see it that way, considering Rui was his best friend, but it always felt like the guy was always there when the ginger wanted some time alone with the Head Knight.

The sorcerer was considered a menace to Akito, and when he finally left the castle he had been simply overjoyed. But the feeling didn’t last long, because shortly after that, Tsukasa had disappeared and apparently forgot everything.

Back to now, the sorcerer and Akito were staring at each other. Rui with his cat-like grin and Akito with a scowl on his face. Tsukasa is genuinely confused on why the two were just staring at each other. He looks back and forth before he stands up, causing both of them to stop their little staring contest.

The blonde chuckles nervously as he goes to stand next to Rui and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry for surprising you like this, Rui. But I couldn’t just leave someone in the woods dying. Besides, maybe we can become good friends and laugh about it later! But I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just brought someone into our home without consulting with you first.”

The sorcerer looks back to Akito a moment before letting a smirk show on his face.

“Fufu, it’s alright my love. I’m just happy that you didn’t hurt yourself.” And with that, he leans down and plants a kiss on the blondes cheek while wrapping his arm around his waist, making sure to keep eye contact with the ginger.

Tsukasa becomes flustered, blushing furiously while turning away from him and stuttering. Akito’s jaw drops. How could the damn sorcerer do that to him?! The nerve that this guy had!

He glares at the purple-haired man, gripping the sheets on his bed until his knuckles turn white.

“A-ah well anyway, I should probably change your bandages Akito. Since Rui came back, we should have more medical supplies now-“

“I can do it, Tsukasa-kun. Besides, I want you resting up. You must be absolutely exhausted after taking care of our new guest! I wouldn’t want you coming down with a fever again!” Rui smiles, letting go of Tsukasa.

“No.”

There is absolutely no fucking shot that Akito is letting the sorcerer lay a hand on him.

“I can do it myself. I don’t want you touching me.”

The blonde turns back to him, hands on his hips.

“Now now Akito! You should know that Rui is very careful when it comes to tending to injuries and sickness! Believe me, I’ve had fevers many times. And besides, Rui is right, I am in fact tired. I’ve put my full trust in him, he’s my husband after all! I swear he’ll be gentle!”

Tsukasa says, changing his boisterous expression to a soft smile. Akito relaxes a bit. After all of these years, even after the blonde forgot about him, even though he was married, he is still so painfully whipped for him.

“…fine.” He grumbles.

Tsukasa smiles wider and walks out the room, closing the door behind him. Leaving him and the sorcerer alone.

Rui sits on a chair near the bed as he opens a basket Akito assumes is full of supplies. He begins rummaging through and finds a roll of bandages along with a vile of something. All while the knight is still glaring at him.

“If you keep staring at me with death in your eyes, you could at least tell me why you’re upset.” The sorcerer says as he looks up at the ginger.

“I think you know why I’m upset.” Akito seethes.

“Hm..I can’t think of a reason, please enlighten me.” Rui smirks, going to unravel the bandages around him.

He grunts a little, a sharp pain going up his torso. He thought it was quite obvious that Rui was not going to be as gentle as Tsukasa had said.

“Why did he marry someone as eccentric and weird like you?” Akito mumbled.

“Oh you wound me Shinonome-kun! How dare you call me something like that! But I would say that’s why he married me,”

He stops unraveling the bandages while pressing down on his wound abruptly, causing Akito to grind his teeth in pain.

“And left you.” The sorcerer smiles almost innocently.

The ginger widens his eyes. Was that truly why Tsukasa left him? Because he connected with Rui more than him?

He refused to believe a lie such as that. The Head Knight loved him, he said it himself on multiple occasions with a genuine voice. He loved Akito.

“He loved me. I don’t see how he could’ve forgotten me and married you with the knowledge that his love was requited. We had a chance to have a future together.”

The sorcerer’s smile twitches before he uncorks the vile and unravels the new bandages.

“Well, perhaps he realized your future together was ultimately worthless. You two were both knights after all. A dangerous job to have, and dating in that kind of field! It surely could’ve been impossible to have a life since one of you could die at any moment in battle. So, Tsukasa realized that a future with you could only cause heartbreak. He decided on the superior choice for a significant other.” The purple-haired man says as he rubs the contents of the vile onto the new bandages.

Akito stays silent for that moment, because what if what the older said was actually true? He never thought he would say this, but he actually agrees with Rui.

But not for too long.

“Superior choice my ass.” He snaps.

The bandages being wrapped around him tightened abruptly and albeit painfully as the sorcerer finally drops his smile.

“Listen Shinonome,” The sorcerer says, dropping the honorific, “since you’re injured, I’m guessing that you’ll be staying here until you’ve completely recovered. I f I throw you out, my husband will surely be upset with me. But, if you tell him anything, and I mean anything! I will drop everything just to leave you outside and die. Don’t even mention his life with you or when he was a knight or his family, or I will not hesitate in getting you out of our lives forever.”

The sorcerer looks at him in a way that he’s never seen on the usually carefree and unserious man. And he hates to admit it, but he is a little afraid.

Rui takes that silence as an agreement and gets up. “Now, get some rest. Tsukasa will bring you some food later.” He smiles, changing his demeanor entirely.

He walks to the door, and closes it shortly after, leaving Akito with his thoughts.

“What the hell…” Was all he could muster up in that moment. The sorcerer who Tsukasa once told him was harmless, just threatened him. And told him not to mention anything about their time together as knights.

The ginger finds that confusing. First of all, Tsukasa introduced himself as a “world future knight” when he already was the Head Knight. That was surely something he should’ve remembered. Tsukasa loved being Head Knight and took his job seriously.

Every other knight loved him and adored him. Not only that, but every villager would light up whenever he went on patrol in their village.

He was the best Head Knight the kingdom ever had, as he’s been told many times even after Akito took his place after his disappearance.

Akito couldn’t even compare to the blonde’s skill and wits. It was only another stab to the heart he had to suffer.

Second, the sorcerer said to not mention his family. Tsukasa’s beloved family that he talked about daily!

Could he not remember his own sister?

Saki, being the only remaining family member Tsukasa had, had been adored by her brother. Ever since they were little, the blonde had taken care of her. Whether it was when she was ill, or after their parents died.

Either way, Saki was extremely important to Tsukasa. That’s why everyone was so confused when he disappeared. Because the Head Knight would never leave his little sister behind.

Akito still remembered how she looked after the search for her brother was cut off after 2 weeks. Everyone lost hope, and she was upset with the fact.

Now, being the only Tenma left, Saki had been pressured by everyone to find someone to marry. To “continue the Tenma legacy” as Tsukasa once put it.

The ginger didn’t see the blonde girl for weeks after that. Shiho eventually told him that she had been locked in her room while her friends Ichika and Honami were taking care of her.

Tsukasa surely had to know how upset his sister would’ve been if he left, so why did he? And why did he only leave just to marry his best friend?!

Akito grinds his teeth together at the thought of it, anger rising at Tsukasa’s selfishness. Seriously, the Head Knight could be so full of himself sometimes. He left to marry someone other than Akito, never contacted anyone after he left, upset his sister, pissed off Akito, and-

‘Maybe he didn’t choose to leave’

Akito stops his furious thoughts as that sudden realization came to his mind.

“He didn’t choose to leave…” Akito mumbles out loud.

Now that he thinks about it, it was somewhat suspicious about the way Tsukasa looked and acted. His hair was a bit longer than it used to be, almost reaching his shoulders. He was still very loud, but his tone was much softer. He was almost a different person.

Something was definitely wrong his Tsukasa.

———

‘Seriously something is VERY wrong with this guy.’ Akito thought to himself.

The Head Knight was showing off his 100 poses to himself and Mizuki, forcing him to watch Tsukasa’s stupid posing and to hear Mizuki constantly giggle beside him.

“And now I will show you my greatest pose yet-!“

“Tsukasa-senpai. Enough already! You’ve said that for the other poses too! I can’t believe you made me come here to watch you do something stupid.” Akito grumbled.

The Head Knight looked offended, putting his hands on his hips and pouting. He sighed, eventually sitting down in his chair across from him and Mizuki.

“Little bro you’re such a killjoy! Tsukasa-senpai was just having fun, and besides, I caught you smiling a few times during the poses when he required a volunteer.” Mizuki giggled.

Akito’s face flushes a bit and looks away from them, “Shut up!” He yelps.

“Little bro~ why’s your face so red, was it something I said? Y’know you liked watching Tsukasa-senpai pose for you~” They pry, grabbing his shoulder and trying to get him to face them.

“Quit it Akiyama! No I don’t!”

The blonde rolls his eyes playfully, leaning back in his chair, watching the two with amusement on his face.

The two keep squabbling, the petty argument soon turning into punching each other’s arms, growing more rough by the second.

“Oi, stop before you hurt yourselves! If you want to fight why not take it out on the training grounds, maybe that’ll get you tired out for the day.”

The two knights stop punching each other’s arms, both rubbing them and turning away while mumbling their agreements, staring daggers at their eyes before grabbing their swords hanging on the wall.

Once they were on the training grounds, Tsukasa listed off the rules to have a fair fight.

“Alright! Remember to keep your swords sheathed, no fists involved, whoever touches the other with their sword first wins and the argument will be settled!”

The blonde places his hands on his hips and nods his head. “I will now countdown from three! Have your swords ready!”

As the Head Knight said this, Akito got into position, keeping his feet steady on the ground and adjusting his grip on the handle of his sword, ready to attack once the Head Knight counted down.

Mizuki did the same, looking at Akito with determination and a bit of mischief as well, cracking their neck to loosen up.

“Alright! 3!”

Akito rolled his shoulders back, giving Mizuki a smirk.

“2!”

Mizuki clicked their tongue, narrowing their eyes.

“1!!”

And they both launched themselves at each other, sheathed swords clashing. Akito jumped, attempting to hit Mizuki in the side, before it was quickly blocked by them.

“C’mon little bro~ is that all you’ve got?” They taunted him.

They sidestepped him, going for Akito’s side, and at the last second he managed to tilt to the side, barely missing the hit.

“That was a close one! But I’m not going down that easily Akiyama!” The ginger hit the pink-haired’s sword away from him and instead decided to confuse them.

By doing this, he rolled under their sword, with his foot, he kicked their ankle, chasing them to ultimately lose their footing and fall flat on their back.

Akito swiftly stood back up and pointed his sword directly at their chest, letting the triumphant smirk show on his face again.

Overall, a very quick spar, but an effective won, after all, the ginger had come out victorious and won the argument.

“And that’s it! A very nice fight between my two juniors!” The Head Knight says, beaming.

Akito takes back his sword and extends a hand to Mizuki, who is very much wearing a pout in their face.

They get up and Mizuki crosses their arms, turning away from the ginger.

“You got lucky this time little bro! But next time I won’t go so easy on you!”

“Sure Akiyama. I’ll be waiting for the one day you can kick my ass.” He scoffed.

Tsukasa clicked his tongue before coming over to the two, rolling his eyes in the process. “Akito! Watch your language! But, I think you did a very nice job with your fighting, I have no further remarks!” He smiles.

He stands beside Akito and without warning, lifts his hand to be in Akito’s hair, ruffling it and beaming. The two were closer together than they usually were, and he could already feel the heat rising up is neck at the contact.

For a moment, Tsukasa’s hand just rests there, eventually stopping and his bright orange eyes have a soft look on them, his facial features softening.

As the older’s hand rests in his hair, Akito could only imagine how it would feel for Tsukasa’s hand to be on his face. Would his hand be soft? Or would it be calloused like his own? He would like to find out, but it’s clear that his senior surely doesn’t feel the same about him.

He feels his face flush now as Tsukasa slowly retracts his hand from his hair. The ginger finds that he misses it, wanting to reach for Tsukasa to bring his hand back to his hair, or maybe his face-.

Nope. He does not have feelings for the Head Knight. Akito turns his gaze away and it eventually lands on Mizuki, whose face is contorted in a funny expression he couldn’t read, but they had a slight smile on their face.

Ah..well anyway! I just remembered I have paperwork to do! Yes! Lots of paperwork! Farewell my juniors! HA HA HA!” And the blonde turns away quickly and speed walks off the training grounds.

After Mizuki confirms that the Head Knight is gone, they let out a loud laugh while looking at Akito.

“Oh, little bro you should’ve seen your face! You were the equivalent of a tomato! Oh that was gold! I’d pay to see that again!”

The younger grumbles, also turning away to leave the training grounds.

“Little bro! Wait!”

The ginger feels his wrist being grabbed, knowing it could only be one person who could’ve done it.

Akito looks behind him and is met with an unfamiliar sight, Mizuki has a soft smile on their face.

“I’m..sorry for laughing at you, but, do you have feelings for Tsukasa-senpai?” They tilt their head.

“No.” He says without hesitation.

Because no way did he develop feelings for someone like Tsukasa. Akito couldn’t fall for someone that easily, he’d just have to bury any thoughts of the Head Knight.

He hasn’t developed feelings, right?

Chapter Text

He smiled widely as he hugged the man he hadn’t seen in a few weeks.

“R%#! Where have you been?” He asked as they both stepped away from their embrace.

The man smiled, but deep inside he was nervous about what he was about to do.

“T$*k&$&, would you be willing to come test out a new experiment for me? There’s something I need to find out, and nobody else is willing to be my subject.”

The man continued to smile, scratching the back of his neck in a fidgety manner.

T$*k&$& tilted his head a bit. The man didn’t seem to answer his question, which was strange for him, he also noticed that the man was acting more nervous and quiet than usual.

He guesses the last part makes sense, after all, they were at his quarters, other people among them were asleep by now, and it would be rude to wake them up, so he didn’t think anything about it.

‘Oh what a mistake that was…’

“Of course R%#! But why now? You should be asleep! Don’t tell me you’ve been skipping out on resting!”

The man’s smile faltered.

He reached out and took his wrist in his hand, starting to drag him to his lab.

“My apologies…it’s just the thing that I’ve been working on, ah…only works at night!”

He gave him a questioning look before shrugging. Sure this new experiment sounded weird…but everything the man made was weird! He was used to this by now, so why not continue to follow him, that’s what best friends do!

After all, he trusts R%#! He would never do anything to hurt T$*k&$&!

Right?

Finally, they get to the man’s lab and he opens the door in a rush, closing it right after and locking it after he made sure T$*k&$& wasn’t looking back at him.

“So, what’s this new thing I’ll be trying out! As long as I don’t explode it should be…!” He started before he turned around to see the man before him.

He had a weird look to him, his posture slightly slanted over and looking directly at him. His eyes were wide as he held something behind his back, a spell it seemed.

“R%#? Are you alright-“

“Ah…I’m sorry to do this to you…” and the man cast the spell at him muttering the words to carry it out.

His vision starts to fade…head filled with fog. T$*k&$& didn’t know what was happening to him..ah…

It’s getting hard to stand up…his knees shake as his vision continues to blur, the man standing in front of him had his smile back on his face.

“H-help…” he says to the man as he falls to the ground.

“Sweet dreams, darling~” the man giggles.

He trusts the man…

He trusts him…because he would never do anything to hurt him, right?

Oh, everything’s dark now.

                         ———

After what feels like hours lying on his bed and staring at his ceiling, he hears someone come up the stairs and knock on the door to his room.

It could either be the damned sorcerer again, or Tsukasa. Akito didn’t really want to risk it, so he closed his eyes pretending to be asleep.

The door opens with a low creak, along with a voice speaking in a soft tone saying, “Oh, Akito, are you asleep?”

The ginger quickly opens his eyes, hearing the familiar man’s voice. “No, I was just resting my eyes for a little while.”

He slowly sits up against the headboard of the bed as the older closes the door and walks over to Akito, holding a tray of food.

“I have prepared this meal for you! Apologies if it’s not good enough for you, but I belief that it should suffice your hunger. You probably haven’t eaten properly for a while, huh?”

The blonde sets the tray of food down on his lap, pulling the chair closer to the bed to sit next to Akito.

The ginger looks down towards the food and gives a small smile, the food looked great, as it always did when they were together. Simple miso soup with a side of rice and water, a comfort meal it seems.

As he begins to eat, he notices Tsukasa staring at him, not saying anything, which was rather uncomfortable for Akito, since the blonde was always the talkative type.

“Are ya gonna stare at me the whole time?” Akito asked, his mouth full with the rice he was eating. The older widens his eyes a bit before smiling.

“Ah, sorry! I’m just not used to seeing another face. It’s just been me and Rui for as long as I remember. We really don’t have guests over that often.”

Akito fights back rolling his eyes at the mention of the sorcerers name. He simply goes back to eating his food, swallowing it down with the glass of water.

“You don’t have any friends that you can talk with?” He says, putting down the glass.

Tsukasa’s face falls for a bit as he looks off to the side somewhere. “Well, usually friends are such a hassle to have, I suppose. Rui says that nobody’s ever been patient enough when it comes to my personality. I’d just rather do other stuff than have fun I guess..” he chuckles nervously.

The younger frowns at that, what does he mean having friends is a hassle? Tsukasa loved his friends, he basically had a million of them back home.

Tsukasa continues to chuckle nervously before putting a genuine smile on his face. “I’d rather not talk about myself right now, but later once you’re feeling better you can sit at the dinner table with us and Rui and I can tell you all about ourselves. So what about you, Akito? Where are you from?”

Could Akito tell the truth about where he was from? The sorcerer said that if he mentioned anything about Tsukasa’s life he would kick him out, but surely Tsukasa would be none the wiser about it.

“I’m from a kingdom…far away from here. I also work as a knight at said kingdom.” Akito decides to say, not bothering to say the name of his kingdom.

The blondes eyes widen at the mention of him being a knight and he smiles. “What’s it like being a knight? Do you face action everyday? Do you make a lot of friends? Are you good at fighting?” He questions, leaving no breathing room.

“Ah well I suppose it’s fun. And yes, I do have a few friends, all of which I get to fight along with. And I’d say my fighting is good enough.”

Tsukasa nods along excitedly. If only he knew that he already was a knight. The best knight there ever was, actually.

“Although it might become subpar if I spend my days resting instead of training.”

“Oh! Well, in a few days I can help you get up and walk, surely your strength can come back again, and when you feel like it, you can teach me some of your fighting strategies! We have enough space in Rui’s garden that I use to train sometimes!”

Akito smiles softly at the idiot. He loves that he’s able to talk to him again and do things they always used to do, train the day away and walk along the castle gardens hand in hand, talking about nothing in particular. Just enjoying each other’s company.

“That sounds great Tsu- Tenma. I would be grateful for you to help me.”

“Ah, actually my last name is Kamishiro! I apologize for not telling you the first time I introduced myself.”

With a smile still on the younger’s face, his eye twitches a bit. Of course he took his damned husband’s last name. ‘OF FUCKING COURSE!’ he screamed in his mind.

“I introduced myself as Tenma Tsukasa because it rolls of the tongue better, but don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I can call myself a Kamishiro! But besides, there’s no need for formalities! You can call me Tsukasa, since I get to call you Akito.”

“Sure Tsukasa." He grits out from behind his teeth.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you and Rui meet anyway?” Akito asks, trying to keep a clam demeanor when in actuality he was pissed that Tsukasa held the same name of the man he hated.

“The memories are kind of fuzzy, I struggle with memorizing important things, but I believe that I’ve known Rui since we were…16? 17? Like I said, it’s quite hard to remember. But I recall that we always shared a special bond. Spending almost every day together, we slowly fell for each other, and then Rui confessed and we’ve been together ever since! And gods, our first kiss was-“

“Thats great, Tsukasa.” The ginger interrupts before he heard any more of that.

He was already upset at the fact Tsukasa mentioned Rui with such love in his eyes and after he’s witnessed seeing the purple-haired man kiss his cheek, he think he’d kill the man with his bare hands if he were to see the two actually kiss each other on the lips.

The blonde looked past him at the window in the room and sighed.

“It’s getting late Akito. You should get some rest, and I’ll be here in the morning to bring you some breakfast! And then we can work on helping you get up.”

He gets up and takes the tray off of Akito’s lap, walking towards the entrance of the room before turning back and smiling at him.

“Have a good rest, Akito.” And he closes the door behind him.

“I love you too…” Akito whispers after hearing the blonde walk down the stairs.

He flops back down before looking at the ceiling again, suddenly remembering something.

He notices his clothes near the end of the bed and slowly reaches for them, grunting before pulling them back with him. He ruffles through them, going through each pocket before going through the pants he was wearing.

‘Fuck…’ he thinks

He huffs in anger as he throws his clothes down, covering his eyes with his hands in annoyance. During the time he was rescued by Tsukasa, his only photo of his idiot was gone.

It had probably fallen out while Akito was being carried, how could he be so stupid to let it go as easy as that?! That was his only memorabilia of the Head Knight and just like that, it was long gone.

And knowing his time seeing Tsukasa again wouldn’t last long, he’d probably never get anything from him to remember.

“I’m such an idiot…” he mutters to himself, a tear slipping from his eyes.

How was he supposed to sleep now? Knowing that his only comfort was gone?

“Idiot…”

During his wallowing, he failed to notice another pair of steps coming to his door. It opened without knocking, and the menace himself walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

“Fufu~ is Shinonome-kun crying?” The sorcerer says with a smirk on his face.

The ginger glares at him before sitting up slowly, not taking his eyes off of him.

“What the fuck do you want?” He asks.

The sorcerer shakes his head, chuckling creepily. “You should treat your senior more kindly, after giving you a place to stay too…so rude fufu~. But I came because I’m making sure you didn’t tell my husband anything about his past life.”

Akito rolls his eyes. He was annoyed with the fact that he had to tiptoe around what he could and couldn’t tell Tsukasa.

“I didn’t. But I still don’t see why he doesn’t remember anything himself.”

“Yes…I do wonder. How could he forget about you? He did tell you his poor memory, didn’t he?”

“I already knew about his poor memory, dumbass. But it’s not that bad that he makes up stories about how you two met.”

The sorcerer chuckled again. “I doubt that it was made up…I hope he mentioned our first kiss, oh how magical it was, his soft lips against mine, it was truly amazing.” The older smirked, eyes full of mischief.

Akito narrowed his eyes, hands yet again finding the sheets on his bed and gripping them.

“Fuck off already. I doubt your first kiss was when you were younger, you probably kissed him after you kidnapped him or something…”

The sorcerers eyes widen for a moment before going back to normal, the cat-like smirk appearing on his face. “Careful what you say, Shinonome-kun. I’m sure you know what would happen if said something like that in the presence of Tsukasa-kun.” And with that, that sorcerer opens the door and exits quite quickly, slamming the door behind him.

Akito sits still after his leaves, gears moving throughout his head. After Akito said “kidnapped” the sorcerers eyes widened, just a small reaction.

A small reaction that wouldn’t go unnoticed by a trained knight. Fuck this, the sorcerer was hiding something, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Chapter Text

Akito tapped his foot in an annoyed manner as he crossed his arms and watched the scene happening in front of him. There had been a mission that he along with Tsukasa and Mizuki were supposed to go on, a missing child last seen playing near the forest.

The worried mother had been insistent that the best knights should go find her son, so here he was now beside Mizuki, both of them watching the conversation unfold.

They were supposed to leave about 10 minutes ago, but a certain sorcerer caught wind that Tsukasa was going into the forest and insisted on going with them. Right now the ginger was watching his senior whine in front of Tsukasa, a clear pout on his face while wiping his fake tears.

“But Tsukasa-kun! You know how dangerous the woods are! I wouldn’t want you or Mizuki getting injured in there, so I must insist again that I should come!” The sorcerer said.

Akito’s eye twitched briefly as he noticed the sorcerer didn’t mention him, failing to notice that the younger knight was standing right there along with Mizuki.

“Rui!! We have swords! And it’s daytime, what do you possibly think will happen?! Besides, that poor child needs to be rescued and we have to go, and I couldn’t ask you to go with us. Surely you must be very busy with work!” The blonde puts his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

The sorcerer huffs, still not backing down much to Akito’s displeasure. “Tsukasa-kuuuuun. Maybe I can try some of my healing spells if the child is hurt! That’s another reason why you should let me come!”

“No offense to you Rui, but” Mizuki chimes in, “your healing spells don’t work that well. Isn’t that right, Akito?” They poke his arm with their elbow, smiling cheekily.

They were referring to the one time that Tsukasa managed to convince him to let Rui try his healing spells on him when his back hurt. As nervous as the ginger was, he found that the spell had cleared his pain.

For about a second, because shortly after the purple-haired finished his incantation, an immense pain hit him with even more force than the aching he had before. Tsukasa apologized profusely after that incident and Rui did too, with much less enthusiasm than the blonde.

Akito thought the sorcerer had done it on purpose, but he didn’t say that out loud. He had to stay in bed for a week after that.

A dramatic gasp from Rui. “Mizuki! My old friend how dare you! I was just trying to ease Shinonome-kun’s pain and made a mistake! You can’t possibly expect every spell I make to work, I’m only human!”

Akito rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms, stepping forward. “Kamishiro-senpai, it’s not that serious. Really, you should just let us go, by the time we leave it’ll be nighttime which will only make it harder for us and more terrifying for the damn kid.”

The sorcerers expression falls for a moment before deciding to embrace Tsukasa from behind, tightly wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. “Then if I can’t go Tsukasa-kun can’t go either.”

Akito narrowed his eyes, fists clenching as he watched the blonde struggle in the sorcerers hold.

Now he was starting to get on Akito’s nerves, he’s gotten all touchy with Tsukasa, which made the ginger impossibly more upset than he was before and he was delaying their mission, but he was more caught up with the fact that his two seniors had absolutely no space between them.

He didn’t know why he was so upset, because why should he care what Tsukasa and Rui do? It shouldn’t bother him at all, but now it seems that this gesture alone makes him boil with anger.

As Tsukasa continues to struggle, Mizuki eventually sighs and clicks their tongue. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. Tsukasa-senpai, I say we let Rui come with us so we actually have time to find the kid.”

Tsukasa thinks it over for a second before giving in, nodding. “Alright, Rui you can come! Just let go of me before I run out of oxygen!”

The sorcerer smiles with satisfaction before letting go of Tsukasa and putting his hands behind his back. “Very well! Since you insisted I might well come with you.”

“Alright! Let’s go knights of white! And Rui as well! HA HA HA!” Tsukasa laughs and takes the lead, starting to walk ahead of them to the woods, the sorcerer trailing after him eagerly.

Mizuki started waking too, taking a glance back at Akito before he starts the walk beside them. They started walking at a quick pace, but regardless still kind of relaxed.

They begin looking everywhere for the lost child, behind every tree and stone, yet still nothing.

The whole time Rui was sticking close to Tsukasa, giving an occasional bit of contact, such as a pat on the back, ruffling his hair (which Tsukasa always scolded him, talking about how Rui ruined his perfect hair), and as well as randomly grabbing his hand, dragging him somewhere else, all of which didn’t go unnoticed by the ginger. At each touch he’d feel his face going red.

Again, he doesn’t know why he cares so much, the two weirdos have always been like this, but it seems that the ginger has begun to notice these things even more than before.

Mizuki gives him a look as Rui lets out a low chuckle at Tsukasa’s antics, they continued walking. How horrible it was that all he could think about was Tsukasa instead of focusing on the importance of the mission, is he seriously getting worked up at something so petty?

As Rui and Tsukasa walk ahead of them bantering like usual, Mizuki caught up with Akito, who was still grimacing at the PDA the two in front him were showing off.

“Little bro if you keep furrowing your brow like that you’re going to get wrinkles before you turn 18! C’mon liven up a little!” They say as they smile themself.

Without stopping, Akito looks back at the pink-haired impossibly frowning more than he was before. They step away a little, a hint of mock fear on their face. “Geh. Don’t look at me like that, that’s creepy.” He turns back to in front of him to see Rui gripping at Tsukasa’s hand as he drags him further ahead. He scrunched his face in disgust as Mizuki carefully examines the expression.

Apparently, something finally snapped in their head and a small smirk made its way onto their face. “Oh ho ho I see what the problem is.” They giggle, stepping in front of the ginger and blocking his path.

“Akiyama. Move it. We have to continue the mission, we can’t be slacking off.” He says as he stops, trying to side-step them.

“Well from what I observed, it seems you aren’t focusing on the mission either! Every time you look at those weirdos, your face is showing every sign that you hate what you are seeing. And you told me that you didn’t have any feelings for Tsukasa-senpai! Ha! I should’ve said something before I’d have to watch you get upset over something a stupid as this!”

Akito flushes for a moment before grumbling, “I already told you that I don’t have feelings for him. And I don’t like what I’m seeing because these two weirdos can’t keep their hands off each other.”

The pink-haired gives him an unimpressed look as they pinch the bridge of their nose. “Look, I’m surprised that I’ve been the first to notice your look when you’re around him. If Ena found out about this she wouldn’t go as easy on you as I am right now.”

“I have a look when I’m around him?” The ginger asks.

Mizuki looks up at him and puts their hands down to their sides. “Of course you do. You look so happy when you see him that it’s almost adorable. Cute even.” They put their smirk back on their face.

“Oi. I’m not cute. Don’t ever call me that again .” He gives a tiny smile.

Mizuki giggles before patting him on the shoulder. “Really though. If you do have feelings for him, you should tell him before you lose him forever. And I doubt that you would want that.”

Akito’s mouth parts, wanting to say something, but he found that he couldn’t, so he instead nods before continuing to walk to catch up to the Head Knight and sorcerer.

“Akiyama! Akito! Come quickly!” Tsukasa shouts from a distance.

They make haste as they run to where they heard Tsukasa call out. They stop after seeing a child in the Head Knights arms and Rui curiously looking him over for injuries. The poor kid was crying while clinging to Tsukasa, wiping his snot induced nose over his pristine uniform. The blonde didn’t seem to care, trying to calm him down as he rubs his back in comfort.

Mizuki goes up to the kid and starts to wipe at his tears. “Hiya kid! What’s got you crying? Are you hurt anywhere at all?” They ask, giving him a soft smile.

The child shakes his head, before wiping his own tears with his sleeve. “M-my cat is stuck in the tree! I followed her into the woods after she ran off to try and find her myself like my sister would! I couldn’t climb the tree…” he sniffles as he continues to cling to Tsukasa.

“Ah, a cat in a tree hm? This shouldn’t be any issue for Head Knight Tenma Tsukasa! Do not fret little boy! For I shall get your cat out of the evil tree!” The blonde announces, placing his free hand on his hip.

“Tsukasa-senpai. That seems a bit dangerous don’t you think? The cat might climb off it eventually, but we need to get this kid back to his mother before the sun goes down.” Akito says, coming closer while rubbing his neck.

“Hm. Perhaps you’re r-“ he starts before the child lets out a sob. He glances up at Tsukasa with wide eyes, gripping his uniform.

“P-please Mister Knight! I promise not to run into the woods again if you get her down! I’ll be good and ask for help next time!”

Tsukasa hums in thought before handing him over to Mizuki. “I’ve decided that I shall get the cat down! Rui! Could you hold my sword for me?” The Head Knight says, unstrapping his sword from his belt.

“Tsukasa-kun are you sure? I don’t want you getting hurt at all.” The sorcerer nervously smiled while taking Tsukasa’s sword from him. Tsukasa shakes his head before making his way to the base of the tree and giving a small stretch.

“You shouldn’t worry! Besides, if I fall my dear junior will catch me!” He says while winking at Akito.

The ginger blushes a bit before grumbling and going closer to the tree with Tsukasa. The sorcerer briefly frowns before putting his smile back on his face, going to comfort the child with Mizuki.

The Head Knight begins climbing up surprisingly fast as he grabs each branch with precision. Finally, he makes his way to where he sees a small tabby cat. He situated himself to be straddling a branch before hesitantly reaching out to the cat opposite of him. “Here kitty.” The cat hisses before moving farther back on the branch, claws unsheathing.

Quickly, Tsukasa lurches forward and suddenly grabs the cat, it immediately digging its claws into his arms. It scrambled out of his hold and makes its way down the branches itself, landing on the ground and situating itself to be sitting where Mizuki and the child are standing.

“Kitty!” The child cries out in relief and goes down on his knees to hug the cat. “Thank you Mister Knight!” He shouts up to Tsukasa.

Akito smiles, watching the cat look uninterested as it’s embraced by the crying boy.

“HA HA HA! You are welcome little boy! This shows that Tenma Tsukasa is always able to-WAH!” He yelps as he loses balance and falls out of the tree, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Akito’s eyes widen before he starts to run over, but is immediately pushed away by none other than the sorcerer, who yells the Head Knights name as he crouches down to lay Tsukasa on his lap.

“Tsukasa-kun! Are you alright?!” He frantically asks, holding the Head Knights head in his hands. The blonde smiles before sitting up quickly.

“I’m fine! Just lost my balance is all!”

Akito huffs a sigh of relief before holding his hand out for Tsukasa to take. “You scared me for a second Senpai.” He says.

Tsukasa grips his hand, but before he fully gets up, he lets out a pained cry when he puts pressure on one of his feet and falls back on the ground. Rui shrieks again as he quickly examines Tsukasa’s legs. He rolls up his cuff wear his pants lie, and lo and behold, the blondes ankle was beginning to swell.

“Tsukasa-kun…you twisted your ankle. We have to get you back to the healers before it gets worse.” The sorcerer says with a frown on his face.

Mizuki, who has been quiet this whole time that this has been happening, smirks as they makes their way over to the group, the child and the cat in tow. “Well I have an idea! Since Tsukasa-senpai is injured and probably can’t walk properly, little bro could carry him back to the castle!” They smirk as Akito’s mouth lays agape.

“Mizuki, I can carry Tsukasa-kun just fine! I wouldn’t want to leave Shinonome-kun to carry him by himself when I’m perfectly capable of helping.”  Rui says.

“If both of you help Tsukasa-senpai, then i’ll be left to walk back alone through the woods. A defenseless young teenager with a child, oh what would happen! We could be kidnapped!” The pink-haired whines dramatically, putting on a fake pout.

“You have a sword though-“ Rui starts before the knight grabs his arm and lifts him up off the ground.

“Then I’ll require you to help me keep this kid and his cat entertained! Come on now! Little bro, make sure to bring our senior back in one piece!” They say as they begin to drag Rui and the kid away back from where they came from.

With just the two knights left, Tsukasa looks at Akito expecting him to say something. The ginger turns to his senior quietly before situating himself to start to lift up Tsukasa.

“I’ll pick you up, but I swear if you make this awkward, you’re going to have to  crawl back to the castle.” Akito mumbles.

He was bluffing at the last part, he would never leave Tsukasa in the woods alone at night, he wouldn’t forgive himself if something were to happen to the Head Knight.

Tsukasa chuckled briefly and wraps his arms around Akito’s neck, smiling at him. The ginger slowly picks the blonde up into a princess carry and stands up, starting to walk in the direction of where Mizuki left.

With the close proximity they had, Akito was trying his best to keep his face a normal shade. With Tsukasa’s arms wrapped around him, it was almost impossible to not blush. He was looking everywhere except the blond, because if he were to see those bright, orange eyes fixed upon him, he thinks his face would bloom into an embarrassing red.

The silence between them was comfortable, though. Both of their breaths intermingled as the sun started to slowly lower in the horizon. Akito didn’t mind the quiet. With the blonde around, he thought he would never be able to get it, but here they were. Tsukasa keeping a tight grip around Akito’s shoulders while the ginger was equally keeping a firm hold on Tsukasa’s back.

He could get used to this.

“You’re very strong Akito…” Tsukasa decides to say out of nowhere.

Caught off guard, Akito coughs and looks down at the man in his arms. The older was looking at him with his stupidly cute smile. His eyes were softened as he slightly giggled at Akito’s newly reddened face.

“You made this more awkward Senpai.” He mutters.

“Did I? This seems like something that’d be normal to me.”

Akito looks back down at him in surprise and with even more embarrassment showing on his face. If Akito had feelings for him (which he was starting to wonder if he did), did that mean that he could have a chance of Tsukasa reciprocating?

He smiles at the thought.

“Oh, it’s sunset.” The older says, looking up at the sky.

“Y’know, the sunset always kind of reminded me of you.” Akito blurts out.

He didn’t mean to say it, but apparently it made Tsukasa flustered. He’s never seen his seniors face be this red before, but he couldn’t help think that he looked…beautiful like this.

The remaining sunlight made his hair brighten, his face glowing with small freckles showing themselves in the light. The blonde chuckles, squeezing the gingers shoulder. And Akito couldn’t help but squeeze back.

Maybe having a crush on Tsukasa wasn’t so bad.

                               ————

He wakes up in a dark room, lying on the ground, faintly feeling something around his wrists.

T$*k&$& grunts as he comes to, starting to look at his surroundings, well he tried. The room was basically pitch black, no windows and only one door with a small light on from under it.

He tries to get up, but realizes that both his ankles and wrists are wrapped by chains attached to the wall behind him. “What the hell?!” He yells out on impulse, struggling against the chains.

He inhaled slowly, catching his breath. ‘Okay memories. Think about how you got in this situation.’ T$*k&$& thinks to himself.

He remembers being asleep in his quarters, and someone had come to the door. Yes, and that person kidnapped him! But the only person he could remember coming to his room that night was-

No. It couldn’t be. He refused to believe that the man kidnapped him. No. It wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t…

He could hear footsteps approaching the room. He starts to panic, struggling against the chains that bound him. He could see someone’s feet through the door crack as they unlocked it and stepped in. The shadow of a tall man stood before him as he chuckled.

“Fufu~ it seems you’ve finally awoken, my dear.” R%# says he closes the door behind him  and turns on the light. The room illuminates as he comes face to face with the man who kidnapped him.

“R%# what the hell are you doing?! Let me go this instant!” He yells at him as he pulls against the chains.

“Why would I? I restrained you for a reason you know. But careful, I wouldn’t want those chains to hurt your wrists.” He comes closer to T$*k&$& and promptly lifts his chin up with his index finger.

“Don’t touch me!” He jerks out of his hold and steps backwards before he hits the wall behind him.

The man frowns briefly, before sighing. “That’s alright, darling. But you have to understand that I can’t let you go. After all, you’ll never be going back.”

“If you let me go I’ll never tell anyone what you’ve done. I want to go back. People need me to be there.” T$*k&$& says.

“You don’t get it. You realize that they don’t need you, right? They can get along just fine without you.” R%# says as he steps closer to him.

“You’ll probably be replaced soon. After you’ve been gone for a while, all of them will forget about you eventually. And you can stay with me,” he says as he corners him into the wall, “forever.”

The man reaches down to take his hand and kisses the back of it gently before T$*k&$& rips it out of his grasp.

“Fufu. Maybe some food later will change your views.” The man winks flirtatiously before  stepping away from him and walking out of the room, locking it again.

T$*k&$& slides down the wall and places his head in his shaking hands once he sits on the ground.

How could he have been this stupid?

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, Akito began to grow accustomed to seeing Tsukasa daily just like he used to. He would see his favorite person morning, noon, and night, all over again, just like when they were younger.

The blonde would bring him all sorts of meals he made and would sit and chat with him while Akito ate, being energetic as ever, yet saying things in a new mature and calm way.

Along with spending more time with him, he’d constantly help Akito regain his strength and would assist in making sure he wouldn’t hurt himself trying to walk. The ginger would have to stop himself from blushing each time the older touched him. But he must admit, Tsukasa’s constant contact with his body was simple touches, friendly touches. Nothing more than that.

Akito missed when the blonde used to let his touch linger and give him a meaningful look, but now, he’d never had any romantic gazes towards the younger, he just saw him as a friend.

It honestly made the ginger upset, everything he and Tsukasa worked towards in their past relationship was instantly thrown away. The trust Akito had with Tsukasa was seemingly erased, now that Tsukasa had married his best friend. By now, Akito probably should’ve lost feelings for the blonde all together and gave up, but the younger still expected foul play on why Tsukasa was acting this way and why the sorcerer was acting so off (well, more than he usually was).

With Tsukasa visiting his room, Rui had always been close behind after he had left, always asking if the ginger had told his husband anything, which he still hadn’t. Every time, the sorcerer would smile creepily and nod his head, leaving shortly after Akito gave his confirmation on the matter. He was starting to wonder if the sorcerer would continue with this.

Akito had been there for about 2 and a half weeks now, and he had started to regain some of his strength and was able to stand and walk a distance. Tsukasa smiled at this seemingly small accomplishment, giving Akito a pat on the back.

“Well since you’re able to walk better, why don’t you come downstairs so you can have dinner with me and Rui?” Tsukasa asked.

Akito stared down at his lap for a second, pondering. As much as he really didn’t want to dine with the sorcerer, he didn’t want to waste an opportunity to try and find out more about Tsukasa’s life now. He looked up at the blonde and smiled while nodding his head.

Tsukasa beamed and helped Akito up, going to the door and opening it, waiting for Akito to go ahead. As the ginger walked out, he realized there was only his room and one other, each room on opposite sides of each other with a staircase in the middle. “Over there is another storage room, in case you were wondering. Rui has been collecting books for his spells and he’s run out of room in his office, so we store most of his stuff up here.”

Tsukasa is quick to start going down the stairs, Akito trailing behind. As he walked down, more of the bottom floor was revealed and he found it to be much bigger than the top floor. As they both stop descending the stairs, Tsukasa begins to lead him around his house, showing him the living room, where his (he didn’t want to call it his and Rui’s room for obvious reasons) room was, and the kitchen connected to the dining room.

“Ah, what about this room?” Akito asks, pointing to a door backed into a far corner of the house. Tsukasa lets out a hum in confusion before he realizes.

“That’s Rui’s office. You and I aren’t allowed to go in there, so don’t even think about it, alright?” He says, his face turning serious.

The younger had seen the blonde serious before, but those kinds of faces were always rare, they managed to always catch him off guard whenever he saw the older without a smile on his face. But why wasn’t Tsukasa not allowed into that room? Was the sorcerer hiding something from him? Perhaps he would have to investigate later…

The ginger nodded as he headed back into the living room to look more thoroughly than he did in the brief tour Tsukasa gave him. It was all kind of bland, almost temporary in a way. The only form of decoration was above the fire place, a long glass case with a sword lying inside.

Looking closer now, Akito could feel his eyes widen. This was no ordinary sword, this was…

Tsukasa’s sword.

Him being the Head Knight, it would only make sense it would be made especially just for him. Therefore there had been his initials carved into the handle and star pattern running along the base where the handle and the start of the blade met. It was still as shiny as Akito remembered, Tsukasa had always made sure to take care of it well, polishing and sharpening it whenever he got the chance.

It was so Tsukasa, it almost made Akito want to tear up, all the memories of his Head Knight coming back to him at once. He reached out a hand and laid it on the glass case, closing his eyes briefly.

“Akito! It’s time for dinner!” Tsukasa called from the kitchen.

He takes one more look at the sword and hesitantly takes his hand off of it before going to the dining room. Already sitting there was the sorcerer, a book in front of him on the table and his head propped up with his hand. The ginger sits down across from him while the sorcerer spares him a glance.

Then Tsukasa comes into the room with two plates in hand. “Rui! No reading at the dinner table!” The blonde scolds the purple-haired as he sets down the food in front of him. The sorcerer closes the book and thanks him, grabbing Tsukasa’s free hand and leaving a quick kiss on his knuckles, causing the blonde to blush before setting the other plate of food down in front of Akito.

The ginger turns his eyes to his plate, pretending to not see the romantic gesture that the sorcerer had done. He realizes it’s the blondes favorite, ginger fried pork. He smiles while he waits for Tsukasa to join them.

As soon as the older sits down next to Rui, they begin to eat. Akito picks up his fork and gives a taste to the food, giving a slight smile when the familiar flavor reaches his tastebuds. “This is very good Tsukasa.”

The blonde looks up from his own plate and gives him a smile. “Why thank you Akito! I pride myself on being able to cook a good meal!”

“Fufu~. Tsukasa always makes the best meals, it’s one of the best qualities that come from him.” The sorcerer says as he winks at the blonde.

Tsukasa looks down at his food shyly, his face tainted pink. Akito frowns in confusion. Usually, the blonde lived for praise, barely getting flustered at compliments and instead tried to pry for more. Even after he and Akito started dating he’d never look away in a shy manner when the ginger complimented him, sure he would blush but he’d be just as cocky as he always was.

‘Another thing that’s suspicious..’ Akito thinks to himself, taking a bite of his food.

“Well anyway, Shinonome-kun, how’d you end up nearly dying in the woods?” Rui nonchalantly asks.

Tsukasa smacks his arm and scolds him briefly while Akito glares at him. The ginger sighed before putting down his fork. “I was on a patrol with my fellow knights, we were looking for enemies spotted in the woods by a villager and we went there to find them. Clearly we found them just fine, because they attacked us, causing me to be injured and left behind by the other knights, presumably because they all ran after the enemies.”

Tsukasa looks at him sympathetically while the sorcerer just has a smirk on his face as he continues to eat his food. “I’m sorry Akito. But once you’re all better Rui and I could accompany you safely to this kingdom you come from!” He beams.

“My Star…you know you probably can’t go, it’s probably a distance away, isn’t it? You’d get tired and I don’t want you to pass out.” Rui says as he shifts his gaze to him.

“I can try and make it! I don’t want to be left alone when I can try my best! I’ve been feeling better recently, maybe we can-“

“Tsukasa.” The sorcerer says sternly.

The blonde pouts, picking at his food while Akito raises an eyebrow. Why would Tsukasa of all people pass out from a journey? The blonde was more than capable to walk a long distance without even breaking a sweat, he was constantly exercising back when he was Head Knight, and hell he looked even more fit than he was before. He really shouldn’t have a problem with taking a trip that wasn’t even a full day long.

Curious, Akito speaks up, “Why wouldn’t Tsukasa be able to make it?” He asks the sorcerer.

The sorcerer hesitates for a moment before letting his cat-like smile appear on his face. “Well, simply put, he has a chronic illness preventing him from doing much. Along with walking long distances, he can’t exert himself too much or else he’ll pass out or develop a fever. And that reminds me. Tsukasa, did you put your medicine in your food or drink?”

As Tsukasa sighs, Akito feels himself grip the fork in his hand a bit tighter. ‘Tsukasa has Saki’s illness?’

No it couldn’t be…that was basically impossible. Sure the two are related, but he didn’t think that her illness was common enough to spread to family members. He remembered Tsukasa telling him it was rare. There could be a possibility that Tsukasa somehow developed it, but he doubted that.

“Ah, I’d like to change the subject if that’s alright.” Tsukasa solemnly says, taking another bite of his food.

“You didn’t answer my question, darling.” The sorcerer says.

“Of course I took it. I always do. Every day every night.” The blonde confirms.

The sorcerer smiles again before putting his hand over Tsukasa’s as an apology. He rubs his thumb over Tsukasa’s knuckles quietly while continuing to eat. “Shinonome-kun, I couldn’t help but notice you were looking quite intensely at the sword we have over the fireplace.”

Tsukasa’s eyes light up before smiling. “Ah so you saw my sword! Well, future sword. I’ll be using it once I become a future knight! Rui got it custom made just for me and I think it fits me perfectly! My husband knows me so well!” Tsukasa praises Rui, turning to him while the sorcerer chuckles.

The ginger grimaces. What a fucking lie. He knew damn well that Tsukasa’s “husband” never got a sword custom made for him. Sure it was made specially, but the sorcerer didn’t buy it, Tsukasa himself did. The sorcerer was lying about everything.

“How did you get enough money to buy it?” The younger asks.

“Rui teleports into the market located far away and sells his potions! That’s how we pay for everything around here, and it seems to work pretty well, considering that we have a nice enough house. Although I do wish I could help more…” the blonde says with a sad smile on his face.

“Now now. I don’t need you to help me when just being married to you is enough, my love. I just need you to take care of the house while I’m away, and I’ll stay happy.” The sorcerer squeezes his hand.

The ginger rolls his eyes and before he knew it, all the plates on the table were empty and Tsukasa had started to clean up, grabbing the dishes and walking into the kitchen.

All while Akito has been glaring at the sorcerer while said man was smirking at him. The ginger takes a quick look into the kitchen and finds that the blonde is humming, scrubbing plates in the sink. Seeing this as a good opportunity, he whisper yells to the man across from him.

“What the fuck did you do to him?!”

The sorcerer only chuckles, leaning back into his chair. “What makes you think I did something to him?” He asks in a low tone.

“Because I know damn well Tsukasa doesn’t have his sister’s fucking illness!” Akito snarls at him.

Rui chuckles again while taking a glance at the kitchen himself. “Well he could’ve managed to get it from her. Of course I’m no healer, but I believe that her illness has come from a distant family member.”

Akito clenched his fist, grinding his teeth together. “Not only that, but you didn’t buy his sword. He’s had that ever since he became Head Knight, so I’ll repeat, what the fuck did you do to him?!” He started to raise his voice.

The sorcerer pretends to think about it for a moment, before abruptly getting up and walking over to the ginger. “Well, I’d say it’s pretty easy to figure out, and I’m sure you’ll have no trouble doing so. The only thing I’m concerned about is whether you’ll tell him or not.”

“What do you think would happen if I did?” The ginger threatens, keeping eye contact with the purple-haired.

The sorcerer chuckles creepily and leans down close to his ear. “Well, first I’d start with erasing all of his new memories with you. And then, I’d simply make him more dependent on me. More than he is how.”

The gingers eyes widen as he feels a bead of sweat drip down his forehead.

“I’d take away all the humanity he has. He would never think for himself again, staying in the house all day, doing what I tell him, I would make sure he would never find burdens like you in the woods. My darling wouldn’t even be a person anymore, Shinonome-kun. He’ll be nothing more than my perfect and doting husband, staying with me forever. Fufufu~. I suggest you keep quiet until your time with us is through. If I find out you told him anything, the remaining personality that he has now will be gone.” He steps away before Akito could say anything else.

Soon enough Tsukasa steps out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. “Akito, are you alright? Your face looks like you saw a ghost.” the blonde asks with clear worry on his face.

The ginger shakes his head, coming back to the present. “Yes sorry. I spaced out for a second there.” Tsukasa looks at him suspiciously, but decides to ignore it as he throws his towel over his shoulder. The purple-haired goes up to Tsukasa, puts his arm around his waist and shamelessly pulls him closer to himself. “Perhaps Shinonome-kun is tired?”

‘Yeah, maybe that’s why I look so worried.’ Akito sarcastically thinks.

“You’re right Rui! Akito, would you like assistance walking up the stairs?” Tsukasa asks.

He looks over to the sorcerer for a moment, seeing that he was giving a look clearly saying to decline, making Akito shake his head. “That’s alright Tsukasa. Thank you for the meal.” He gets up and bows slightly before making his way to the stairs.

“Good night Akito!” Tsukasa yells back at him.

As he’s walking up the stairs, he thinks back to the eventful dinner that he had. He confirms to himself that he was right when thinking that the sorcerer had done something to alter the way Tsukasa acted, but how was he supposed to figure out how he did it? There were always spells, but he doubted that the sorcerer managed to find one that could completely change a person. He thought back to Rui’s office that he along with Tsukasa wasn’t allowed in, perhaps he’d be able to find something there?

He would definitely have to wait to find out what was in there, maybe when the sorcerer was gone. He opened the door to his room, closing it behind him and sliding down to sit on the ground.

He also thought about what the purple-haired said. ‘I’d take away all the humanity he has’. He was fine with the fact that the sorcerer threatened him, but he threatened to do something to Tsukasa if he did anything remotely wrong, and that’s what worried him the most. ‘My darling wouldn’t even be a person anymore’. The thoughts of what he said kept coming to him. If he didn’t save him soon, Rui would control Tsukasa forever.

The thought of it terrified him, but as a knight, he’d have to figure out how to help him. Even if it resulted in him getting killed in the process, he promised to himself that Tsukasa will be going home no matter what.

To his actual home.

And Akito would try to be there with him, whether it’d be in spirit or in person, his sunset will return to where he belongs.

All in good time.

                             ———

It wasn’t even a few hours later when the man came back. Smiling, acting as if he didn’t just kidnap T$*k&$&. He was carrying some food and water.

“Hello my dear! I’ve brought back a meal worthy of a star! I’ve been practicing cooking just for you, you know.” The man giggles, closing the door behind him and sitting in the ground in front of T$*k&$&.

He sets down the plate of food and water, smiling eagerly. T$*k&$& continues to sit against the wall, as far away from the man as he could manage. “Darling~. Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten in 12 hours…” he pushes the food closer to him, expecting him to start eating.

“You’ve put something in it.” He mumbled, adjusting the chains around him to be more comfortable.

He wasn’t stupid, he was a knight after all, he was trained to suspect these things.

The man puts the back of his hand against his forehead, whining. “Oh how you wound me! That hurts my feelings my dear~. How could I of all people manage to concoct something suspicious to put in a meal?” He puts a pout on his face.

“R#%. I’m not an idiot. Why do you expect me to eat something of yours after you betray my trust like this?” He glares at the man.

“Fufu. I truly love how smart you are. Fine, I admit I did put something in the food. But you’ll get hungry eventually and I can wait here for as long as you want. But if you don’t eat, you’ll die, and I’d rather you not do that.” He giggles again.

He squints his eyes at the man, trying to bury himself further into the wall he was lying against. “Get the fuck out.” He says sharply.

“Anything for you. I’ll leave this here, call for me if you need anything my love.” R#% says as he stands up.

He goes over to T$*k&$& and runs his fingers through his hair briefly before he’s forced off. The man gives a soft smile and leaves, leaving the light on and locking the door behind him.

He looked at the food in front of him before turning away and lying down on the hard floor beneath him. It’s true he didn’t want to die, but he didn’t want to be poisoned by whatever R#% put in the meal.

‘I miss you so much.’

He didn’t think he was there for long. Maybe it had been 2 days? He wasn’t so sure. The man didn’t come back, but T$*k&$& found himself looking at the plate of food. Well, he found his gaze directed at the water instead.

He could handle the hunger. He could handle the pain. But he was so thirsty.

Humans couldn’t survive long without water, and he so desperately wanted to soothe the dryness of his throat. It almost hurt to breathe at that point.

A sip couldn’t hurt, and perhaps R#% didn’t put the poison in the water. He suspected that if he did, the water would be a unique color, but it was clear.

He dragged himself to the water, pushing the plate away and took a small sip.

He’s truly gave into the temptation. As much as he hated to admit, the water felt so good on his tongue and immediately cured the dryness, but not without making him unusually tired. He felt himself lay down, his eyes growing heavy while thinking his last remaining thoughts in is consciousness.

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

‘I want to go home.’

‘Someone please help me.’

He’d done it.

He gave into the temptation.

Chapter Text

He doesn’t truly feel awake. He doesn’t feel his body at all, everything feels like he’s underwater. Sinking deeper and deeper to the bottom. He wants to swim, to reach for the surface but he can’t move. His limbs are paralyzed. Arms and legs refusing to move.

And the amount of pain his head is facing. A continuous pounding over and over again. It hurts, but he can’t do anything to help it.

Now that he thinks about it, every part of his body is in so much pain. Not like there’s open wounds on every inch of his skin, just an aching feeling that he’s never experienced before. It almost wants to make him cry out in pain, but he finds out quickly that he’s unable to. Someone has to see him in pain, save him, even if it were someone who simply killed him, he wouldn’t mind at all. It would put him out of his misery.

Yet nothing happens. He continues sinking deeper and deeper, until he could feel something. A slight hold on his hand, a guiding light tugging him upwards from the deep. He finds himself being relieved in a way. Finally, he’d get the help he needed.

He becomes conscious as he returns to his own body. He’s no longer in the water, but somewhere comfortable. Soft. The pain in his head and body is still present, but he finally feels like he’s safe.

Something is gripping his hand, furthering his relief. Could it be his love he was waiting for? He was so happy to be in his comforting presence again.

Almost excited, he musters up the strength to open his eyes. Everything around his peripheral vision was white and cloudy, but he could vaguely see what was in front of him, and that was a ceiling. He looks over curiously, expecting to see familiar orange hair, but is met with someone he wasn’t expecting.

The man was sitting in a chair next to the bed he was lying in, holding his hand and holding a book in his free one. All the memories of what he did came back as quickly as a flood, instantly ruining his feeling of comfort and instead replacing it with fear.

He wants to scream at the man, demand why he was doing this to him, why he was in so much pain, and give him answers. But he only let out a small groan, the pounding in his head getting the better of him.

The man looks up from his book and smiles once he sees him awake. He closes it and puts it aside, leaning closer to him and squeezing his hand.

He blinks in confusion, in terror as he tries to say something, but he only manages to get out a grunt. The man has the nerve to giggle as he lets go of his hand and starts to run his fingers through his hair.

The man doesn’t say anything, only smiling as he scratches his scalp and plays with the strands, seemingly enjoying the softness. His hand eventually goes down from his hair to cup his cheek, running his thumb over the smooth skin.

He continues to trace over everything on his face and eventually lands on his lips. He presses his thumb softly into them and seems to smile wider, letting his previously contained excitement show a little. The man giggles as he caresses his cheek with his knuckles.

All of this happening while he lays there stunned. He wants to hope that this is a horrible nightmare. He wants to hope that’d he wake up in the arms of the one who he truly loves.

But at the end of the day, his hoping is meaningless, because he’s fully awake and aware that this is one of the worst living nightmares he’s ever experienced.

The man goes back to enjoying playing with his hair, the wide grin turning into a soft smile as he looks down at him.

“You must be very confused right now.” The man speaks, briefly pausing his hand to untangle a small knot in the blonde hair.

He looks at the man through his cloudy vision for a second before tearing his gaze away. It was no secret that he was upset, but seeing as though he can barely even keep his eyes open, he couldn’t respond with distaste.

The purple-haired giggles before grabbing his chin and turning his head towards him. “I know you’re probably very upset with me right now, but I assure you this pain you’re feeling right now will be gone in a day, the hard part of my plan is over. You made it my dear. But first I have to influence you.”

The blonde inhales sharply as he hears the last part. He was terrified to find out what “influencing him” meant. Would the man torture him? If so, would it be mentally or physically?

He wasn’t sure, but maybe he made his fear too obvious, because the man frowns as he’s cupping his face. “My love…you’re trembling. I promise that this is the easiest part, and soon enough you’ll be as happy as you were before I took you. Just without him.” He adds with a smirk.

The man shifts his hold on his face to go back to his hand, picking it up and pressing a few kisses to the back of it. Moving them to be on his palm and then his wrist.

“Let’s get this straight,” he begins as he places another peck to his wrist.

   “Your name is Kamishiro Tsukasa,”

“And you are married to me, Kamishiro Rui. I know 20 is a little young, but we both agreed that we were ready. We got married a month or so ago, and you have been the happiest you have ever been with me.” Rui says as he moves Tsukasa’s palm to be cupping his cheek.

Tsukasa expected himself to be shocked by what he said, but he found that he…didn’t care at all. Well, of course he did care, but something in his head almost made him believe that this information was completely normal. It was horrible to think about accepting what the sorcerer told him, but he was surprisingly fine with it.

“And that reminds me.” Rui says as he slowly drops Tsukasa’s hand on the bed. He pulls something out of his pocket and reaches over him to grab the blonde’s left hand.

He slowly slides a ring onto his finger and lifts it up so he could see. “Here is your wedding ring. Beautiful isn’t it? Only the best for the love of my life fufu~.” He giggled.

“Yours has stars on it while mine has a moon. I got them made for us with the only intention for us to match so we’re bound together until the end of time.” He kisses the ring on Tsukasa’s hand before putting it back down.

“Now. We’ll go into the not so fun stuff.” He smiles sadly as he goes to hold the blonde’s cheek in his palm.

Tsukasa didn’t know what he was talking about, considering he doesn’t necessarily think that being forcefully married to someone he didn’t even love was fun at all.

“Let’s start off with this,” the purple-haired continues, “you are not Head Knight. You want to be a knight, but you are unable to because of the chronic illness you’ve had since you were a child. Because of this illness, you had trouble socializing with children your age and never found anyone who would talk to you, until you and I met when we were 17. We fell in love over a few months and I confessed my feelings to you.”

As Rui finishes, Tsukasa could only stare at him in confusion. This isn’t what he had in mind when the sorcerer said this wasn’t supposed to be fun, he was expecting this to be a lot worse, and don’t get him wrong it was bad, all of this stuff didn’t even happen and he recalled that he didn’t have the same illness as…

‘As…who did I know that had a chronic illness?’

Tsukasa wonders, trying to assemble his memories, but all he was seeing was almost unfamiliar faces and Rui.

“Fufu. I think this is working.” Rui giggles as he caresses Tsukasa’s cheek with his thumb. “I’ll have to keep going then. Next, you have no real family. I’ll keep the fact that your parents passed a long time ago, but now you don’t posses any siblings. You’ve been alone for as long as you remember, living in an orphanage where we first met. I am the only family you have left. So you are very clingy with me and rely on me almost whole heartedly. Which I don’t mind at all.” Rui says, every word making his grin grow.

And Tsukasa can’t do anything more than agree with him. Letting him touch him like this, letting him tell lies, and he can’t do anything about it.

All he wants to scream, to rip the sorcerers hand away from his face and to just run, back to where he was taken from, wherever that may be, he can’t seem to remember where he lived before.

“We’ll take a small break from all the background information so I can tell you about our house. It’s secluded, deep into the woods where nobody will be able to find us. It’s a relatively big house, but it’s still a little quaint. I think it’s perfect for us. We can finally live together Tsukasa! Just the two of us and no one will be able to take you away from me. Not again. And I just-“

The purple-haired interrupted himself as he raises his hand to his eye to wipe a brief tear.

“I can’t believe you’re finally mine. I tried so hard for you to fall for me and you ended up with someone that didn’t even deserve you! You had no idea what you did to me Tsukasa, playing with my heart like that, I forgive you, just because you trusted me enough to let me take you away. Fufu, I finally have my happy ending with the person who gets me!” He lets out a wet laugh and grabs Tsukasa’s hand in both of his and brings it up to his lips. He presses a chaste kiss to his knuckles and looks down at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry to do this to you my dear. But it needs to be done. Just remember that I love you.”

Tsukasa feels his hand tremble as he hears this, fearing for the worst part of this already long and painful process. Just wondering what he would hear just made his head and entire body hurt with the aching he still wasn’t used to.

“Okay…how should I start this? Well to put it bluntly, the life you knew before is gone. And it will never come back no matter what you do. You’ll probably be a little different as well, your whole demeanor will be quieted down but I’ll love you just the same.” Rui says as he squeezes his hand.

“Everyone you knew aside from me will be forgotten and you will probably never see them again. Your friends, your sister, and your…previous significant other will all be wiped from your memory by tomorrow. I’m sorry my star. But rest assured you’ll be very happy with me and I’ll take better care of you than they ever could.”

The blonde inhales sharply. The overwhelming feeling of forgetting everything made him feel like he was helpless, that he couldn’t defend himself. He felt so stupid to be taken like this, to be controlled and to be made to become a different person, for his personality to be changed.

Suddenly the feeling was overpowering his composure and he starts to tear up, furthering his already terrible field of vision.

Having no other choice, he lets the tears fall onto his cheeks. The sorcerers eyes widen before he smiles softly at the blonde. “Oh my love, I’m sorry.” Rui says as he leans closer to his face.

He kisses his cheeks softly, all of Tsukasa’s tears landing on his lips as said blonde closes his eyes. Maybe if he fell back asleep all of this could just be a cruel dream, that he would soon wake up to meet the comforting gaze of…of…

He can’t seem to recall the person who he longed for most, he only saw Rui. Is that who he wanted to wake up to? Is Rui the only person he’s ever known? As far as he remembers, it seems that it’s always been Rui.

But if it’s always been him why does it feel so wrong for him to be kissing his cheeks like this? Why does every press against his skin feel like it burns? It all feels so wrong, but he can’t do anything to fight it.

Tsukasa stops crying briefly and opens his eyes and the sorcerer takes the chance to move down to his lips, giving a quick peck before pulling away. “I know what will make you feel better.” He says as he stands up and walks over to the other side of the bed. He crawls under the covers with the blonde and turns Tsukasa to be facing him. The purple-haired wraps his arm around his waist and uses the other to put it in his hair, pushing the blonde to his chest.

He strokes his hair as he quietly hums, trying to calm him down. “Everything will be alright my star. You’ll wake up tomorrow and all this pain you’re feeling now will be gone. You’ll be a little sore, but nothing I can’t help you with.”

He kisses his forehead before pulling him impossibly closer, continuing to thread his fingers through the strands.

“I can’t believe it, Tsukasa. You’re finally mine.” Rui giddily says. “And you’ll stay. You’ll stay with me until you no longer can’t.”

                 “You belong to me.”

Tsukasa feels another tear fall. Of course he’ll always belong to Rui, he has no other choice. But he can’t help but think,

       ‘Did he truly have a life without Rui?’

Oh well, it’s not like he can remember anyway.

Chapter Text

After contemplating for what felt like hours on the floor in his temporary bedroom, Akito eventually decided that we would need some rest. So he tried to push himself off of the floor. Emphasis on tried, because after making no progress he gave up and just pitifully crawled to the sheets and blankets waiting for him.

He manages to get his upper body onto the surface, but left his legs behind on the ground. Thinking that this was the best he was going to get, he sighed and let out the tension he’d been holding and the almost familiar pain hit him.

‘Maybe I should’ve ignored the sorcerer and let Tsukasa help me. I’d probably be a lot more comfortable if my entire body was the on the bed.’ The ginger thinks to himself.

He tries to close his eyes and get rest after the eventful dinner he had, but his mind refused to relax, as he kept going back to how he could save Tsukasa. His eyes flutter open as he grumbles. ‘Thinking of a plan it is then’.

He opens his eyes wider and begins thinking. Rui’s office seemed to be where he wanted to start first. Since Tsukasa and himself weren’t allowed inside, and the natural curiosity and new aspiration to save Tsukasa fueled his need to find a way to get inside.

Seeing as though he only got a glance at the door, the first step in getting into the office was to scope out the area a bit. He wanted to see if there were any locks on the door, a keyhole to look through, or if it just opened without any defense. (He didn’t think it would be that easy. Seriously, letting someone you hate roam around your house with an unlocked room that probably has confidential items? The sorcerer would have to be stupid to not lock it.)

Next, he would most likely find a key or something close to a lock pick. In any other circumstances, Akito would be able to kick the door down without a problem. But being injured, he was already weak in one aspect, that being strength.

Besides, since Tsukasa barely leaves the house, he’d probably hear the door being broken and wouldn’t hesitate to tell the sorcerer.

Anyways, if Akito had to guess, a key would most likely be on the sorcerer. Perhaps in a pocket or on his belt. But he’d have to see if the door had a lock at all. If the key was being carried by the purple-haired, he would definitely have to find materials for a lock pick.

Finally, when he makes it in, he’d try and scour through the office to see if he can find exactly what is making Tsukasa act different. Either that or he could find information to hold over the sorcerers head as blackmail. Not the most developed plan ever, but the ginger was starting to grow tired.

‘I’ll think about it more tomorrow…until then, this is the best plan I’ve got to get us both out of here.’ He thinks to himself as he closes his eyes again.

Akito awakes abruptly the next morning when he hears a loud shriek come from across the room. His eyes snap open as he realizes the noise came from Tsukasa. “Akito! Are you alright?! What happened?” The blonde says as he quickly comes to his side, setting a tray with breakfast down.

“I must’ve…moved a lot in my sleep.” The ginger lies. If he told Tsukasa what really made him end up with only half of his body on the bed, he knew that the man would likely force him to be bedridden. And he didn’t want that. He had some investigating to do today anyway.

“You have to be more careful. I don’t want your injury getting worse. Let me help you up.” Tsukasa says. He gathers Akito in his arms and sets him to be sitting up in his bed. He picks up the breakfast tray and sets it down on his lap and the ginger starts to dig in. The blonde pulls up the chair he usually sits in and just watches him eat quietly.

After a while, and after Akito looked at him after eating, he finally sighs and says, “Well I was thinking that maybe I’d take you outside. But since I found you like that this morning I think you should lie down-“

“Kasa I’m fine.” The ginger spits out without thinking. The blonde widens his eyes, being startled at the nickname, while Akito silently curses himself and tries to hide his blush.

‘Fuck! I can’t call him that anymore, if I said the around Kamishiro he’d surely kick me out.’

The blonde lets out a soft laugh before saying, “Alright. If you insist. Let me know if you want to go outside. I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen.” The blonde grabs the tray and stands up, promptly leaving the room without saying anything else.

Akito runs his fingers through his hair in frustration, gathering his thoughts after saying something that embarrassing. He takes a shaky inhale and continues to breathe to make the blush on his face subside and finally stands up, opens the door, and goes downstairs.

He takes a small break in between going into the kitchen, looking everywhere to see if the sorcerer was there, then his gaze shifts to the office at the far side of the house. As quietly as possible, he makes his way to the lone door and finally gets a good look around. Although the door is made out of wood, it seems thicker than the other ones, probably to keep people out. It was also quite taller than the others for some reason and Akito was right to think that there may be a keyhole, because there was.

He tries to doorknob just to make sure the door was locked, and sure enough it was. So finding a lock pick or making one is what he would have to do to get in. There probably wouldn’t be one lying around, so the ginger confirms to himself that he had to try his best to make one. Usually knights just kicked down doors, but there was a brief moment when his sister of all people taught him how to make a lock pick out of common materials, since she figured it could be a good skill for him to have.

Ena taught him with as much patience as she could handle on the condition that he promised her that he would never use it on her door. But all of that happened almost 5 years ago now, and he wonders if he could find the right materials to make it. ‘Maybe the sorcerer keeps scraps for his weird inventions somewhere…’

He was about to try looking through the keyhole to figure out if he could see what it looked like inside. But as he was bending down, a bone chilling chuckle came from behind the ginger.

Akito stands up straight and turns around to see the purple-haired. “Are you lost Shinonome-kun?” Rui teases, his cat-like smile on full display.

The ginger glares at him. “No. I’m not.” He says.

The man chuckles again before walking away, presumably to the kitchen. And as he was, he said, “Nice try. But I put a spell on that keyhole to prevent people from looking in a long time ago.”

Akito grumbles. He looks back at the door and decides to look through it anyway. As he does, he realizes the sorcerer was right. He was only able to see pitch black and nothing else. He gives up and goes to find Tsukasa.

As Akito enters the kitchen, he was met with a sight that he wasn’t expecting. And he must say,

He fucking hated what he was seeing.

Tsukasa was standing at the sink, scrubbing away at a stain on a plate. His face was red and his mouth was spewing out words a mile a minute, but that’s not what the ginger was upset about. The blonde happened to have two arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and there was a person nuzzling into the man’s neck, leaving small kisses upon it.

The ginger clenches his fist in anger, his teeth grinding together. The blonde turns his head to see Akito and chuckles awkwardly, wiping his hands off on a towel and putting his hands on top of Rui’s afterward. “A-ah Rui. Could you let go? This is embarrassing…”

“But my star~ I’m showing you how much I love you.” The man teases, kissing his neck again.

“But Akito is here and it’s probably very awkward for him. I’m sorry about Rui. I don’t know what came over him.” The blonde smiles apologetically while prying Rui’s hands off of his waist.

The purple-haired whines pathetically after being ripped away, before his face changes into a mischievous smirk.

“So Akito! I was hoping that today you would-!” Tsukasa starts. Before the man could get another word out, the sorcerer grabs his waist, making sure Akito was watching, and pulls Tsukasa into a kiss. He pushes until the blonde has his back arched. Rui holds his waist tightly while said blonde seemed to show resistance, softly beating his fist into the man’s shoulder and scrunching his eyes up.

And Akito seethed. He couldn’t even look away in time to shield himself from the pain that this one sight could cause him. The ginger looks away angrily, eventually letting his clenched fist rest at his side.

Seeing this was…excruciating to say the least. He was reminded that Tsukasa wasn’t his anymore. He still remembers when the two would sneak out to a nearby field and tenderly kiss like that. Akito remembers when he was the one to hold Tsukasa like that. When he used to hold him as tightly as Rui was right now. The sorcerer knew what he was doing. He knew how to piss him off and to cause him pain, and so far he hasn’t done anything to prevent these things from happening. He can’t.

But…Akito didn’t fail to notice how Tsukasa didn’t look like he was enjoying the kiss, but he quickly pushes back the thought to focus on what was happening now.

Eventually Rui lets his husband catch his breath and brings him back up to be standing straight. The blonde covers his red face quickly, seemingly thinking about something for a moment before pushing himself away from the purple-haired, grabbing Akito by his arm and leading him outside. When the ginger looks back, he sees the cursed sorcerer smiling and waving, which fuels Akito from feeling useless to just back to being angry again.

The blonde slams the front door and takes a deep breath, letting Akito go and leaning against the house, his face warping back into the same thinking expression he had a second ago. He takes another minute before standing tall and putting on a small smile. “My apologies. As I was saying, I was hoping you’d give me pointers on being a knight! That is what I was going to say before I was interrupted!” Tsukasa chuckles.

“Fine. But I have a question” the ginger says, not bothering to hide the fact that he was upset. He decided that now would be a perfect time to investigate why the blonde acted against the kiss.

The blondes eyes widen. “Of course! What is it?”

“Do you usually resist when your husband kisses you like that?” He asks.

Tsukasa stood starstruck for a moment before turning away from him, losing his smile. “It-it was just out of nowhere. To answer your question, no I don’t resist when he kisses me because for the longest time he’s always asked before he did something like that. And I just find it weird. He’s gotten more clingy, even more than he already is, since you came to stay with us and…I will admit I’ve felt a little uneasy with him doing these affections with someone around.”

Akito’s face softens, deciding to keep his anger at bay while he listened. “What do you mean by uneasy?” He asked the man.

The blonde grunted, burying his hands in his hair pondering. “It feels wrong. Something in the back of my head is telling me that letting him touch me or kiss me is betraying someone’s trust. And this picture of a person is just sitting in the back of my unconsciousness and I don’t know what they look like.” He looks back at Akito. “And something about you is causing me to think like this.”

The ginger frowns. Could it be that Tsukasa was starting to remember him? Could Tsukasa figure out what Rui did to him without Akito’s help? He wasn’t sure, but trying to finish his investigation could help the blonde finally wake up.

“P-please don’t tell him about this,” Tsukasa says, grabbing Akito’s forearm. “Hearing this might break his heart and I don’t-I don’t want to hurt his feelings. I love him.”

The ginger sighs. As much as he wanted to talk to Tsukasa about his whole “life” being made up, he didn’t want to harm him in any way. So he puts his hand on top of Tsukasa’s and nods. The blonde’s wide grin comes back on his face as he gives Akito his thanks.

‘This information could be important in the future for me.’ Akito thinks to himself.

“Now, let’s give you some pointers.”

———

After that fateful day in the woods a few weeks ago, Akito has noticed that he and Tsukasa were being more…romantic. For example, they definitely started to naturally gravitate towards each other and would stand closer together. On top of that, Tsukasa had started to ruffle and play with the ginger’s hair when he was bored. He would always tell Akito that he was simply fixing it or getting a leaf out, but the blonde was making it a habit, doing it almost every day and for long periods of time too.

But the Head Knight wasn’t the only one guilty of doing physical affection. Akito usually stood next to the blonde (he was his general after all), but lately, he would stand closer and even keep a hand perched on Tsukasa’s shoulder, even putting his whole arm around both shoulders if he felt like it. The blonde didn’t seem to mind it. He would just smile widely with a huge flush on his face.

Although, the one thing that both of them did that could actually make people they they’re dating, is the fact that they held hands. Usually when they were alone in the castle hallways, one of the them would slip their hand in the others, and said other would quickly squeeze it. They had done this multiple times now, but somehow, only two people have noticed. The first being Mizuki, who had been walking behind them both while heading to the dining hall.

Akito thought they wouldn’t notice if he subtly looped his pinky finger around Tsukasa’s, but when he did, the pink-haired gasped dramatically, causing the ginger and the blonde to stop walking. Once Tsukasa turned around to ask what was wrong, Mizuki stuttered and struggled to come up with an excuse before landing on saying there was a bug on the ground, which caused Tsukasa to shriek and cling to the gingers arm, which then caused Akito’s blood to rush to his face.

Mizuki apologized to him later and asked if what they saw was true, to which Akito begrudgingly nodded. The pink-haired got excited, asking when they started dating, which Akito had to awkwardly explain that they weren’t.

The second person to notice was, of course, the sorcerer. He and the Head Knight were running around the halls of the castle, hand in hand. Akito leading the way while Tsukasa was struggling to catch up. The blonde was yelling about how they shouldn’t be running and while the ginger was turning to look at him, he quite literally ran into the sorcerer. He knocked him over a bit and Rui turned around in confusion.

“Ah, Rui! Sorry about that! Akito, you have to be more careful!” Tsukasa said to him. The sorcerer smiled at the blonde before his eyes traveled to their entwined hands. His smile faltered, instantly turning into something more nervous.

“Say Tsukasa-kun. Since you’re here now, I was hoping you’d be willing to try out some new-“

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline this time, Rui! I’m Akito’s for today.” The blonde interrupted, grinning widely at Rui.

The sorcerers eye twitched as he clenched his hands together. “I see. I suppose I’ll see you next time Tsukasa-kun.”

The ginger smirks as he watches the sorcerer walk away, he won this time. It seems as though Tsukasa had finally grown a backbone and said no to Rui.

“Let’s go Akito!” Tsukasa says as he starts to drag Akito down the hall.

Hopefully it would stay like this.

Spoiler alert, things did not stay like that for for ever.

Shortly after Akito and Tsukasa’s running around, there had been news. A whole recruit of knights in training had been officially knighted by the King himself, and because there were many knighted at one time, more than the past, the King agreed to host a small party in the ballroom to celebrate this milestone.

Well, perhaps small wasn’t the best way to put it, because every knight in the army attended to congratulate the new recruits and enjoy the party itself.

The cruel part is that the sorcerer had suggested the idea to Tsukasa, and the Head Knight agreed to it without any thought and suggested the idea to Toya, who then brought it up with his father, who just happened to be the King.

Now, Akito didn’t know this at the time, but he was actually somewhat excited for this party. As much as he was embarrassed to admit it, he really wanted to share a dance with Tsukasa, and maybe, just maybe, finally confess his feelings to him.

Mizuki suggested this to him after they had heard about the party being planned, and kept bugging him until he had enough and agreed to confess. So he spent his time training. Building up enough courage and thinking of the right words to say, and how to not mess up when asking Tsukasa for a dance.

But, little did Akito know that the sorcerer himself was planning something for the same night.

So the party comes, everyone congratulates the recruits, Tsukasa gives a speech, and everyone starts to converse and dance with each other. Just as Akito was about to ask Tsukasa for a dance as promised, Rui suddenly swoops in and takes Tsukasa’s hand in his, bowing down and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. The ginger can only stand in silence as he watches the man he was supposed to ask for a dance be swept away from him.

Before getting upset, he takes a deep breath and steps aside, opting to get a drink instead. Akito thought that by the time he finished his beverage, the song would be over and he could ask for Tsukasa for a dance. But when that time came, he saw that the sorcerer just pulled him into a second dance!

Okay. That’s fine. Akito can wait another song! He’ll just wait again and the sorcerer will get tired. So he waits again, watching the blonde being swept side to side by the purple-haired with a huge smile on his face, as always. The next song ends, and it looks like the sorcerer is finished, but he exchanges a few words with Tsukasa and he grabs the blonde’s waist and takes him across the ballroom to Kusanagi. After talking to her for a bit, Tsukasa proceeds to lead her into a dance!

This routine keeps going and going. Tsukasa has a dance with basically everyone he knew except Akito, and by the time the ball was almost over, he still hasn’t danced with anyone except for Ena, who nagged him for being grumpy the whole time. And that pushed him to his limit.

Finally getting away from his sister, he walks through the crowd to the sorcerer and the Head Knight and stops behind the both of them. The blonde eventually turns around, and when he sees Akito he greets him loudly, despite being sweaty and tired.

“Akito! How has your evening been? Mine has been full of dancing! Rui really exhausted me out there!”

“Fufu. Well Tsukasa-kun is quite a good dancer. I needed him to teach me his ways.” The sorcerer smiles.

At this point, the ginger was sick and tired of his antics and without a word, he grabs Tsukasa by his arm and starts to push through the crowd. “Akito! Wait! Slow down a bit! Where are you taking me anyway?!”

The ginger only spares the blonde a glance as he finally makes his way to the hallway outside of the ballroom. Not yet satisfied, he continues to pull Tsukasa to a small storage room across the way. He opens the door and shoves Tsukasa inside, enclosing them both into the dark, small, room. He crowds the Head Knight into the shelves behind him and takes the chance to breathe.

As he looks up at Tsukasa’s face, he only just notices how close they were in the cramped space. Their faces were only inches apart. What was he thinking when he decided to do this? Did he have too many drinks? No that’s not an excuse they were non-alcoholic…

Tsukasa is looking at him with his face flushed. His hair was a mess and there was visible sweat running down the side of his face.

“Senpai…” Akito breaks the silence. He almost didn’t know what to say in this moment. He could always lie and go back to the belief that he had too much to drink, but the blonde was smarter than that. He couldn’t think of an excuse. The only thing he could really do now is to…tell the truth.

“Akito. Is something wrong?” Tsukasa asks, tilting his head to the side.

Swallowing, Akito decides to have the courage to say something. And this time, he will do it. He won’t let his sister or Mizuki mock him any longer! He will confess! Right now! He’s doing it!

“You…didn’t give me the chance to ask you for a dance.” He finally blurts out.

Tsukasa’s eyes widen at Akito’s statement. For a moment, he just stands there like a gaping fish, until he lets out a breathy laugh. He moves his hand up and it comes to Akito’s cheek. “Is that what it is?”

Akito gasps before his own face flushes. Being bold again, he lays his hand on the blonde’s waist. “That’s part of it.” He says.

Tsukasa laughs again and rubs his thumb over Akito’s cheek. “And is there anything else that you would like to say to me? What’s the other part that you wish to tell me?”

Well, it’s now or never.

“I want to confess to you. I’ve found myself falling you Tsukasa-senpai and I’ve been waiting to tell you the entire night.” Being embarrassed about his last sentence, he leans down to hide in the blonde’s neck.

The Head Knight hums, and lifts his other hand to run his fingers through his hair. The ginger could feel his heart beating out of his chest as they stand there embracing each other for a few minutes.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say those words. I was thinking that I would have to confess first. But I’ll be honest, I’m happy that I waited for you, Akito.”

Akito lifts his head up from the man’s neck and shamelessly looks down at his lips. He notices that the blonde does the same, and he lets a small smile slip onto his face. He places both of his hands firmly on the Head Knight’s waist as Tsukasa puts his hands on his shoulders.

“Let me do the honor of rewarding you for your bravery.” Tsukasa murmers as he leans in.

And that first kiss would never be forgotten.