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Matthias stopped walking to take in the sights around him. The rain poured on his skin, droplets trickling down his face and dripping to the floor. The sights of Nagoya were breathtaking in the rain: the buildings stood tall, illuminated by the light.
He couldn’t really look at the incredible buildings around him, though, when a sight a million times better turned around to look at him.
Ninomiya turned around, an umbrella positioned over his head, multicoloured hair damp from the rain. He grinned at Matthias, colours reflecting in his eyes, droplets of rain running from his hair. His outfit, normally just a shirt and jeans, was now adorned with accessories that he didn’t have access to in the game.
They’d done it. They’d managed to escape the game with everybody alive, with the help of Monomoko. Thanks to her, he had the sight of Ninomiya running towards him, sweeping him into a hug and covering him with the umbrella.
Ninomiya laughed, holding him close.
“Dude, what are you doing? You’re gonna get wet!”
Matthias laughed, watching his breath fog out in front of him. His own hair was falling in front of his face, watching Ninomiya talk to him from behind his obscured vision.
“I wanted to take in the city! It’s beautiful, Ninomiya! It’s authentic!”
Ninomiya hugged him tighter at his words, moving to brush wet hair off of Matthias’s forehead and take him by the hand.
“Just you wait, man. We’ve got a lot of places to visit yet.”
Matthias blushed from the contact, moving to hide his face in the scarf he brought. He wore the same outfit from the killing game, but he’d purchased a few accessories and alternate clothes since then. He was staying with Ninomiya in Nagoya for the time being, but hadn’t visited any areas properly.
He was initially nervous about staying with Ninomiya, scared that he’d leave him or report him for his past. But the longer they fell asleep on the couch together, or stayed up late watching awful movies, the more he believed that he was finally free, with someone whom he loved more than life itself. He loved him because he was life to him. He was freedom, he was love, he was someone who made him feel like he was worth loving. Matthias loved him so dearly, and it was nice to admit it to himself.
He’d known that he was in love for a while. Every time he walked into the kitchen to the sight of him making breakfast, or every time he looked in his direction with that look in his eyes, or any time he told him of his band practice while wearing the world's most genuine grin on his face, it made him realise how much he meant to him. Standing under an umbrella with him, being dragged around a city that meant something to him, had only affirmed his feelings again.
He was in love, and being in love felt unbelievably free.
Matthias walked with him, hand in hand, only separating to point out a specific building that he wanted to look at.
-
They came to a stop under a streetlight outside of Nagoya station. The rain continued to fall on the floor around them, leaving them to huddle under the umbrella. By this point, they were soaked. They had been sightseeing for the entire day - visiting shrines, cafes and his old apartment, which he had to move from because of an ex. Matthias’s heart was full. He couldn’t really believe that someone had put that much care into showing him a part of their identity. Judging from the look on Ninomiya’s face, he was just as happy.
“So, you like?”
Ninomiya looked at him like he was looking at the world itself, reflecting Matthias in his bright eyes. He was breathing heavily from walking, his chest rising and falling in a rhythm. Matthias wanted to tell him everything. He settled for nodding instead, staring into his eyes.
“Mhm.”
Ninomiya squeezed his hand.
“That’s good, man! I was worried this would be boring, but now I’ve taken you with me, Nagoya seems a lot more fuckin’ awesome than it looked before!”
Matthias laughed at that.
“Are you saying that I make Nagoya better?”
Ninomiya thought for a moment, staring at the rain, before looking back at him.
“You make it… meaningful to me.”
Matthias felt his heart skip a couple of beats.
“Meaningful? How so?”
Ninomiya sighed, trying to figure out how to word his sentence.
“I mean- before I met you, Nagoya was just another place I lived in, right? I had a couple of people in my life who made it a pretty rough place to be. But, now that you’re here, I feel… proud? To show it to you? Does that make sense?”
Matthias grinned, nodding his head rapidly.
“That’s exactly how I feel! I know nothing about Nagoya, but now that you’ve shown me around, I feel really connected to it! You make it special, Ninomiya!”
Ninomiya stopped swaying, standing completely still for a few minutes, listening to the melody of raindrops dropping onto their umbrella. They stood, basked in the glow of the streetlight and neon signs, watching each other’s faces morph into smiles of pure joy.
Matthias wasn’t sure who leaned in first.
Kissing Ninomiya seemed to put a lot of thoughts into place for Matthias. First, Ninomiya tasted of smoke and cherries, which was a combination that he thought he’d hate a lot more in his dreams. Secondly, his lips were incredibly soft, from the amount of Chapstick he went through. Lastly, the feeling of hands on his lower back, his own arms wrapped around Ninomiya’s neck, their lips moving slowly together, were feelings he’d kill to experience again.
The umbrella swayed to the side, forgotten by both of them, letting rain move between them as they held each other under the light.
They had no idea how long they had stayed like that for. When they broke apart, they smiled, laughing together and grasping their hands closer than before.
After all, they never had to let go again.