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Chihiro was a light sleeper, for the most part. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for him to wake up because Hakuri got up from the bed.
They've been living together for nearly 3 years now. After the war with the Hishaku, they moved into an apartment that Azami picked out for them. It was definitely bigger than they both expected, but not huge, just a reasonable size for an apartment in the city.
Tonight, unfortunately, was one of the nights that Chihiro couldn't sleep. He insisted that it wasn't due to nightmares, and given that he didn't seem upset Hakuri accepted it as the truth.
“Sorry. I'll make myself some tea. You can just go back to bed. Good night.”
“I’ll join you.”
Chihiro blinked, although he wasn't really surprised. This was typical of Hakuri. Even if it wasn't due to nightmares, he didn't want him to be alone. Chihiro found it very endearing, and has told him that several times, much to Hakuri's embarrassment.
“Are you sure? I might be up for a while. You usually end up falling asleep at 3 and I have to carry you to bed.”
“Hey, I’ve gotten better at that! And you're always trying to get stuff done during these nights, so I'd like to help.” Hakuri sat in front of him at the table, and Chihiro handed him a cup of tea. Apparently he already knew there was no stopping him.
“I’d like your help with my schedule for next week, then. I'm trying to figure out when I should go visit Char…Uruha wants to come over Wednesday, and Shiba needs help with his new car’s transmission, apparently?” Chihiro put a pen to his chin.
“Wait, you know how to fix cars?! That's kinda hot..”
“Hakuri. Focus.”
Hakuri nodded and decided to abandon that thought. Or, at least he hoped that was what Chihiro thought, because in reality he was imagining his boyfriend working on a car shirtless, sweat glistening on his skin and- ok maybe he's bad at hiding that, because Chihiro laughed at him.
“What are you imagining? You were in a daze. I asked about your work schedule twice and you said nothing, just stared off into space.”
“Sorry! Hmm.. Azami says I've been working too much, so he said he'll give me the next 4 days off. Maybe we should go on a date?”
“Sure. As long as we come home before dark, I have something planned for you.”
Hakuri tilted his head. “Like what?”
“Something we've talked about doing. I won't give anymore details, even though I'm not big on surprises, I want this to be special.”
Now Hakuri was all confused. Something special after a date? Something we've talked about..? What could that be?
Seemingly amused by his lover's obvious confusion, Chihiro showed him the schedule he had planned out.
“Huh? Tomorrow?” Hakuri looked at the schedule again. Chihiro wrote the day of their date to be tomorrow. Why so soon?
“It’ll give you more time to do other things. Plus, that movie you wanted to see is coming out tomorrow, isn't it?”
Hakuri’s face lit up and he pumped his fists. “YES! FULLMETAL MAN!!” he exclaimed, far too loudly for this late at night.
“Are you trying to wake up the neighbors? I don't think Kiri will take too kindly to you interrupting her sleep.”
Hakuri immediately closed his mouth and sat back down. Kiri was an utterly terrifying neighbor. Not because she was mean or anything, just that she had the potential to absolutely take both of them out. Not that she would want to, of course. Hopefully.
“But yes, we'll see the movie. I already bought tickets. And we'll go to lunch, then we'll take a walk at your favorite park. Anything else you want to do? Go shopping, maybe?”
“Oh, I know! Can we go to the mall? I hear they have those photobooth things. I never got to try them before, so I'd like to.”
Chihiro smiled. “Of course, dear. Actually.. forget that last part. It makes me sound like a grandparent talking to their grandchild.”
“Using pet names? That's so cute, though! I always just call you sweetie or my love. I'm surprised you even thought of doing it, you never seemed like the type.”
“Just wanted to match your energy. Was it awkward?”
Hakuri smiled and got up to go behind Chihiro and hug him.
“Of course not! Well, maybe a little.. but I think sweetie or babe would sound less… parent like?”
“The thought of me calling you sweetie feels unnatural.. I think I'll just stick to calling you love like you do me.” Chihiro said.
Hakuri went back to his seat, but not before kissing Chihiro on the cheek.
“That fits you, yeah! So now that's over with, are you tired yet? I'm getting a bit sleepy myself.”
Chihiro chuckled. “Told you you'd get sleepy. Yeah,I'll join you in a minute, love. I've got some stuff to do first.”
Hakuri wasn't entirely sure what he had to get done, but was too tired to pry any further. Besides, it was probably something to do with his job as a blacksmith. (It was not.)
Hakuri crawled into bed, and Chihiro joined shortly thereafter. It would probably surprise most people, but Chihiro actually preferred being the little spoon. They were roughly the same height, so it didn't really matter who held who. He slept soundly in Hakuri’s arms, seemingly not disturbed by whatever kept him awake before. Maybe he was just nervous about their date? But why?
Hakuri was too tired to ponder, and fell asleep with Chihiro’s head buried into his shoulder.
Hakuri wakes up to the sunrise and the smell of coffee. Chihiro was always an early riser.
Hakuri made his way into the kitchen after washing his face and brushing his teeth, still in a sleepy daze.
“Hungry? I made egg toast. I already took a shower, so you can take one after you eat.” Chihiro said. He was wearing an apron with a cat on it. Char had insisted on using her allowance on it.
“Ooh! My favorite, thanks, beloved!”
“Beloved? Are you trying to step me up?”
Hakuri grinned. “Maybe! I'm the one who loves you the most, after all! Or maybe I should call you samurai…?”
“Please don't. Also, isn't arguing about who loves the other more a bit cliche? I'm pretty sure we love each other a relatively equal amount.”
Hakuri did a mock pout but ate his breakfast anyway. Delicious, as everything Chihiro made was.
“That was amazing! Ok,I'll go take a shower. Let me know when you're ready to go.”
Hakuri took a shower, humming to his favorite song and then got dressed in clothes he knew Chihiro would like.
Chihiro was simply dressed, but as handsome as ever. He usually only wore all black, but today he was wearing a white shirt. It suited him nicely.
“Should be ok to leave now. Since the movie just came out, it might be a bit busy. Is that ok? I know you're not big on crowds.” Chihiro said, just as Hakuri came out of their bedroom.
Hakuri, despite being surrounded by crowds during the numerous Rakuzaichis in his childhood, did, in fact, hate crowds. They made him feel suffocated. He'd grown a bit better with them over the years- they did live in the most populated city in the world, after all. Still, he preferred not to be in big crowds.
“It should be fine! I have you with me, after all.”
Chihiro smiled, and they walked out and got in Chihiro’s car.
Their conversation on the way to the theater was mundane talk about their friends and what they planned on doing at the mall. Apparently, Chihiro found out one of the stores there was having a sale on cookware. He mentioned possibly buying a set or two.
As Chihiro predicted, the theater was bustling with activity. Hakuri held his hand and kept close, trying not to think about the massive number of people. They ended up sitting behind a familiar face- one of the Masumi, Moku.
“Oh, hey! Are you guys checking out the movie too? Nice!”
Since the movie was just about to start, Hakuri and Chihiro just shushed him.
The movie was great, full of action and a bit of romance. Chihiro didn't seem all that interested, if anything he was just watching Hakuri's reactions.
After the movie was over, Moku invited them to lunch, but Chihiro said they had reservations at a restaurant, which was news to Hakuri. Why didn't he mention that?
It turned out to be because he wanted to surprise Hakuri by bringing him to an Italian restaurant that had recently opened. Hakuri had been talking about it for weeks, after Hiyuki told them how good it was. She managed to get a reservation weeks ago simply because she knew the owner. Whether that had something to do with how much she loved spaghetti was unknown.
The food was delicious, of course. The waiter offered them wine but they decided on water instead, neither of them liked alcohol.
“Ugh, I ate too much. We're going to the mall next, right? Can we take a break at the park first? I need to digest..” Hakuri said as soon as they left the restaurant.
“Of course. It's great weather to go to the park.”
It was indeed, they watched on a bench as ducks swam in the pond. People walked by, and Hakuri swore he saw a familiar head of blond hair speed by. What would Shiba be doing at the park?
Apparently, he wasn't the only one who saw him.
“Was that.. Shiba?” Chihiro asked. Why wouldn't he use his sorcery if he wanted to get somewhere quick?
“Ah. I forgot. He said something about exercising more. He's in fine shape, so I guess it has something to do with him being in his forties now.”
“Oh, that makes sense then. Still, I'm surprised he didn't come to talk to us.”
Chihiro chuckled. “He’s got a one track mind when it comes to these types of things, so it's not really that surprising.”
“Hmm, if you say so.” Finally feeling less bloated, he and Chihiro made their way to his car and went to the mall. It wasn't as packed as the theater, but still a little crowded.
After going through a couple clothing stores and buying some clothes, they went to buy the cookware that Chihiro wanted. To their surprise, Uruha was there, staring at a set of dishware.
“Hm..” He muttered, confusing the couple even more. It was a well known fact that Uruha couldn't cook, and he didn't seem like the type to want something fancy to eat on.
“Hello, Mr. Uruha. What are you looking into?” Chihiro asked, and Uruha jolted up from where he was crouched over.
“Oh! Well, Natsuki's birthday is coming up, and I accidentally broke one of his dishes, so I was wondering if I could buy him some more.”
‘“I see. I should get him something too. I owe you both a lot for helping Hakuri during the Kamunabi raid.”
“Oh, as I've told you before,it's nothing! I'm sure Nacch-I mean, Natsuki feels the same.”
Hakuri raised his eyebrow on what seemed vaguely like a cutesy nickname. He knew they had become closer over the years, with Natsuki more or less getting over the grudge he held. It was probably nothing, though. He called Kiri cutesy nicknames too after all, much to her chagrin.
“Well, I think he'd love that set. It's practical but still pretty. Although I doubt he really cares about the design.” Chihiro said.
Uruha’s eyes lit up.
“Really? That's great! I'll buy it then.” He then rushed off to the checkout counter, skillfully managing to not break a single plate.
“That was.. odd. I never expected he'd come to a place like this.” Chihiro said, seemingly as surprised as his partner was.
“Yeah. Makes me wonder how many plates he broke to need to buy him so many..”
Was it possible for someone so graceful to break something that easily? Hakuri was truly confused. Oh well, they'll find out the reason soon enough. Uruha wasn't exactly the best at keeping things secret.
After successfully buying the set of cooking utensils and pans, they made their way home.
Chihiro seemed.. off, as if he was nervous. Hakuri couldn't exactly determine why. What was this surprise?
When they opened the door, the Hakuri immediately noticed that the kitchen and dining room were covered with flowers. Specifically, roses. Whatever he had planned, he wanted a romantic mood.
“Hinao went a bit overboard with the flowers..” Chihiro commented, and it finally clicked with Hakuri what he was planning to do.
Chihiro got on one knee. “Hakuri, will you marry me and be with me for the rest of our days?”
Hakuri had to wipe tears from his eyes and immediately jumped to hug Chihiro, toppling him over.
“Yes! Of course! You are my samurai, after all!”
Chihiro laughed as Hakuri covered him in kisses.
“Well, that nickname has grown on me, embarrassing as it is.” Hakuri nuzzled his neck as Chihiro slipped the ring on his finger.
“By the way, the reason Shiba sped past? He's terrible at keeping secrets. I didn't want him to spoil the surprise.”
Yeah, that tracks. That man was an open book unless it was something absolutely important.
“Wait, what about Uruha? He's the same way.” Hakuri asked.
“Well.. Unfortunately, I thought it was better to just not tell him until it actually happened. He tends to overreact sometimes.”
Understatement of the century. Still, he'd be among the first to know after the actual proposal. After Char, of course.
It turned out that Chihiro was already planning the wedding, which was what he was finishing up the night before. They still had a couple months until the actual thing, but Hakuri was sure it'd be perfect.
“By the way...” Hakuri said after he finally calmed down from all the excitement.
“Yes, my love?”
“What are we going to do with all these flowers?”
“Ah.”
It appeared he didn't think about that.
All in all,it was a successful proposal. They ended up giving the flowers to another couple who were trying to save money on their wedding, and Uruha immediately came over after they did that, trying to give them a surprisingly large amount of money, to which Chihiro refused. Even after he insisted on it being for their honeymoon. Which Hakuri was completely fine with because he didn't want anyone else to have to pay for their honeymoon.
Char, of course, elated to find out they were getting married. Basically everyone they knew was invited, including Iori, who now lived back in Kyoto. She was more than happy to take the trip to Tokyo to go visit them before the wedding.
Whether the wedding was going to be as chaotic as most of their gatherings remained to be seen. Whatever happened, it'd be something they'd never forget for the rest of their lives.