Work Text:
“Hey Natsuki, I'm back!” Shin called from the doorway.
Nothing answered him, he must be deep into a project. The esper toed off his shoes and made his way over to the room they dubbed, “The Lab.” In reality, it was just the second bedroom that Natsuki used as his workshop. The room was originally meant for Mafuyu, but he had gagged at the offer.
“Living with you two lovebirds? Pass. That's gross and unsanitary,” he'd sneered. He decided that he would share a place with Toramaru and Amane after they all graduated, saying that he was grown up and could handle himself.
Natsuki had tried to be nonchalant about it, but Shin knew that he was upset. They had been through a lot with their parents and relied on each other pretty heavily, even if they wouldn't admit it. Shin held him tight that night, comforting him as Natsuki sniffled in his arms. As much as they bickered, Shin knew that they were very close and Natsuki would miss him. It reminded him of himself and Lu, which prompted him to convince Mafuyu to visit every once in a while. Not that he needed to say much. Shin suspected that Mafuyu felt bad for what he said and took the out that he was given.
The room stayed empty until Shin encouraged Natsuki to use it to work on his inventions at home. It meant that he wasn't spending night after night at the JCC, and it was much safer. No girls from the poison department coming over to the workshop for a "visit." Natsuki only used the JCC workshop now when he was working on something particularly explosive. Slowly, the room started to build up with boxes of tools, materials, and half-finished tech.
Natsuki worked on commission, building things that assassins requested of him. Occasionally, he would also sell inventions born from his own ideas to the JAA. Maybe it still wasn't the most morally sound, but he didn't get directly involved with any missions anymore, which did wonders for Shin's stress. He himself still worked at the Sakamoto store, and he didn't plan on changing that anytime soon. Neither of their jobs were all that glamorous, but they paid well and that was enough for them.
After still getting no answer when knocking, he peeked inside. There his boyfriend was, hunched over his desk and tinkering with something that looked super intricate.
“Heyyy, Natsuki?” He raised his voice an octave and that finally got his attention.
“Hm?” He sat up, stretched, and turned his head to the side. “Oh hey, Shin. Welcome home. What's up?”
Shin wrapped his arms around him from the back and kissed his cheek. He reveled in the squishy thoughts that always came from Natsuki after receiving affection. He really was a softie. “Mmm, nothing new at the store, really. Sakamoto and Heisuke had a challenge to see who could eat more pork buns.”
“Who won?”
“Mr. Sakamoto, although Piisuke gave them both a run for their money.”
“The bird? How?”
“Wish I knew. What are you working on right now?”
Natsuki faced his project again. “Oh, ummm. A nonexistent room?” Natsuki may be a genius in his field, but he wasn't always the best at explaining to other people his thought process. Shin was lost.
“...What?”
“Yeah… The idea is a portable box but when you turn it on, walls will form that block out light, sound, radio waves, anything. A room that you can't see, hear, or even hack into any devices that are inside. No leaks, perfect for exchanging classified information.
Shin was impressed. That would be an absolute game changer in the hitman world. “Natsuki, that's really brilliant! Is it going well?”
He didn't miss the small grin that appeared after the praise. Natsuki normally didn't care much about what others thought—good or bad—but he soaked up any admiration he could get from Shin. He leaned back further into his chest. “Sorta. The invisibility aspect isn't a problem since that uses similar formulas as my suit. I'm confident in the sound thing too. It's the other stuff. There's so many different ways to hack something, it's hard to cover it all.
“Makes sense, but you'll figure it out. Do you want a break for now though?”
…
“You wanna keep working?” He wasn't surprised. When Natsuki got in the zone working on something, he wouldn't stop thinking about it.
“No… I can stop,” he said hesitantly.
I wonder if I could fix one of the issues by adjusting the wiring.
Shin laughed when he heard that. “It's okay, you can keep going. I'll be over here,” he said before giving him another kiss and moving over to the recliner he insisted that they have in there.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, all good. Promise. Just as long as you're not burning yourself out.”
“I'm not, thanks.” And with that, he started fiddling with the wires again.
Shin really didn't mind Natsuki continuing. Part of the reason that he wanted a comfy chair in the room was to be close to him while he messed with his projects. He liked to listen to Natsuki's thoughts while he worked. It's not like he understood any of it, but hearing Natsuki's voice in his head muttering technical lingo relaxed him like nothing else. It reminded him of a white noise machine but with the added comfort of it coming from his favorite person.
He settled into the recliner and took out his phone to read some manga while listening to his boyfriend.
Maybe if I move this wire over here? No, that'll mess with the power source. I should take another look at the formulas. Move the five and carry the two over. Gotta remember to look out for malware too.
Shin wasn't able to get very far into what he was reading before he found his eyelids getting heavy. Whatever was on that last page hadn't been retained at all. It's insane, he was wide-awake ten minutes ago, but he could feel himself drifting off now. It's not fair how much Natsuki affected him, but to be honest, he didn't really mind that much at the moment. Even so, he had every intention to stay awake until Natsuki wrapped up, but his inner voice had such a calming effect on him that Shin was soon asleep.
Shin woke up some time later to arms under his knees and back gently lifting him up. He could feel that Natsuki was carrying him princess-style. Maybe he should be embarrassed, he's older after all, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Nastuki was warm and comfortable and safe. Shin slowly blinked his eyes open and was greeted with the pleasant view of his boyfriend's face. He looked slightly tired, but when he noticed Shin was awake, a small smile broke out.
“Sorry, tried not to wake you,” Natsuki whispered.
“Mmm, it’s fine. How long was I asleep?” He mumbled as he adjusted himself in Natsuki’s arms. Shin's fingers curled in his shirt, and his head rested on his collarbone. Perfect fit, just for him.
“Couple of hours. Are you hungry, did you wanna eat something before bed?” Natsuki asked.
“I'm good, I ate at the store. What about you?”
“I'm fine too.” Natsuki paused when Shin moved his head and narrowed his eyes at him. His boyfriend had a habit of forgetting to eat.
“Hey, don't look at me like that. I ate not long before you got home, okay? I swear.”
Shin searched his face—and head—for a few seconds before settling back against Natsuki's chest, satisfied. “Okay, good. Let's go to bed, then.”
Natsuki snorted. “Your wish is my command, Your Highness.”
Shin tried to ignore the way that his stomach swooped and face burned hearing that. He might've just been teasing, but his voice held the perfect balance of deep affection with some sarcasm laced in there. He tried hiding his face, but he was still able to catch Natsuki's smug grin. Oh, he so knew what he did.
“Invisible bastard,” he muttered.
Natsuki just laughed harder. “And don't you forget it.” Shin chose to answer by just pouting and crossing his arms. At least until he heard Natsuki's voice in his head. Apparently he wasn't done.
Heyyy, my stupid esper? Are you mad at me? I can give you an apology.
Shin faced his head back towards Natsuki to sharply retort. He never got the chance though, because his boyfriend cut him off with a deep kiss. Any snarky comment he may have had immediately fizzled. It wasn't important anymore when Natsuki was this addicting. He responded quickly and kept one hand on Natsuki's chest and cupped the other on his cheek. Natsuki was an absolutely greedy kisser, not that he was complaining. Shin had long accepted that he was weak against Natsuki's kisses. He invaded Shin's mouth with his tongue, only letting up to graze his bottom lip with his teeth. Occasionally, he would press a few quick pecks on the corner of his mouth, jaw, neck just so Shin could barely catch his breath before he dove right back in. Everything about it was almost too much but also perfect at the same time.
Shin didn't know how long they made out for, but eventually they parted, still keeping their foreheads together. Even in his kiss-drunk mind, Shin wondered how Natsuki was still carrying him with seemingly no issue. It's not like he was petite or anything, he still kept up his muscle from his hitman days with regular training. But now in his arms, Shin was a pliant mess and it was pissing him off how composed Natsuki was in comparison. Dammit, everything about his boyfriend was so attractive and that cocky smirk on his face showed that he knew it too.
“Does that apology suffice, Your Highness?” He was still trying to wind him up. “Or would you prefer Your Majesty?”
Shin’s eyebrow twitched, but he stayed calm. Two could play at that game. He grabbed Natsuki’s jacket for balance and brought his other hand to his hair—his weakness. Shin threaded his fingers through the curly locks ever so gently and Natsuki instantly melted. Then in a quick movement, he grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down. Not enough to hurt, but certainly enough to startle. He stumbled just a bit, and Shin smiled cheekily. A small victory.
Before he could gain his bearings back, Shin tilted his head and nibbled on his earlobe. He then whispered, “Bring me to the bed, and I’ll give you a reward,” and lightly licked the shell of his ear to finish.
Shin knew that Natsuki was affected because he shivered, swallowed thickly, and his eyes darkened with want.
What was that?! Wow, that’s hot. I want him to do that again. What a sneaky fox. Hot. Hot. Bedroom. Now. God, I love him.
Natsuki’s flustered thoughts came pouring in, and it made him giddy. One of his favorite pastimes was to tune into his boyfriend’s brain. Depending on what he was thinking, it would have a different effect on Shin. His work-mode thoughts may be a one-way ticket to soothing him, but these thoughts proved to do the exact opposite and rile him up. Despite that, Shin remained calm on the outside. Another win for him.
“Come on, don’t you want a reward?” He teased further.
Natsuki quickly snapped out of it and grinned excitedly. “As you wish,” he said as he started rushing towards their room.
Shin held on tighter and giggled. It never failed to amaze him how perfect the two of them were together. Both were completely wrapped around each other’s fingers, but they also kept each other in check when needed. He may act like smug asshole sometimes, but Shin appreciated so many things about Natsuki, and he wanted to show that.
“Hey Natsuki, do you want a bonus reward?”
Being that he was very focused at the moment, he didn’t pause as he shuffled through the bedroom door. Apparently he did hear Shin though because as he was lowered onto the bed, Natsuki asked, “What’s that?”
“Come a bit closer.”
He looked a bit confused, but also eager, and bent down again.
Shin softly smiled, gave him a chaste kiss and said, “I love you.”
Natsuki stilled for a moment, not expecting that, but quickly recovered and smiled back in adoration. “I love you too,” he replied. His thoughts echoed the same sentiments. “Are you sure this is only the bonus reward? I’m not sure you can top that.”
Shin laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll like what’s coming.”
Natsuki leaned in for another kiss. “Can’t wait.”