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Rei has made a grave miscalculation.
He had thought he was prepared, when he was handpicked to be head of security for the impending Ooka-Sera wedding, to spend an inordinate amount of time in the presence of one Akai Shuuichi in the days leading up to the ceremony. It would be awkward, he knew – there was really no way around that; they haven't seen each other in years, and they hadn't really ended things when Shuuichi returned to the United States, so his heart has spent half a decade in limbo – but he's a professional, and this is a job.
The reality, however, is that meeting Shuuichi again sneaks up on him in a moment when he least expects it: as he's making his rounds at the wedding venue, days before the ceremony, in order to establish security weak points to keep an eye on. With several prestigious families in attendance, due to both brides' connections, he's taking his role as seriously as he possibly can.
It is a bit embarrassing when, even as diligent as he is, he completely misses Shuuichi in his peripheral until the man in question says, breathless, "Rei-kun?"
Rei's heart skips a beat just from hearing his voice, and as he turns to meet Shuuichi's eyes, he realizes he was never going to be ready for this moment. The pain of the last five years, that he had carefully locked away inside himself in order to focus on his work, comes rushing back, and suddenly, the room feels too small. He wants to run – or pull Shuuichi into his arms and keep him there, forever. Anger and confusion and elation mix into one nauseating mess, and he forces his mask of professionalism into place far too easily.
"Akai," he greets, politely distant. "What are you doing here?"
Shuuichi's face falls at the address, even as he blinks at the question, as if it's unexpected. "My sister is getting married."
Rei lifts an eyebrow at him. "Yes, I'm aware; I'm leading the security team for the event. But the wedding isn't for another three days. Why are you here?" As far as he's aware, the families are gathered at the Ooka estate; there's no reason for Shuuichi to be at the reception hall.
"Ah." Shuuichi shifts slightly on his feet and fidgets, looking toward a window. "I wanted to check this place out. But, if you're here, then I'm not as worried about it."
Rei almost – almost – reaches for him, then, to comfort him. He knows all too well that urge to check everything, to make sure there are no surprises; old, ingrained habits are hard to break, and paranoia doesn't just disappear because the known enemies are out of the picture. His fingers twitch, but he resists. Instead, he aims for levity to break the tension. "And I'm sure you were uncomfortable around all of those high-class types."
A grin flickers at the edges of Shuuichi's mouth, and it's all Rei can do to keep his hands to himself. How many times has he kissed that sly little smile off Shuuichi's lips? The thought tries to take hold of him, but he pushes it away. He is, after all, still working.
"I do prefer my company blunter and with a little more fire," Shuuichi concedes. "Do you mind if I join you on your walk-through?"
Rei wants to object. Shuuichi is a distraction at best, and a liability at worst. There are so many reasons, mostly pertaining to his own sanity, as to why this is a bad idea. "I don't mind," his traitorous heart compels his mouth to say for him.
"You sounded surprised to see me earlier," Rei says abruptly, after several long, quiet minutes. "Sera-san didn't tell you I'd be here?"
"She didn't, no," Shuuichi answers. "With all the wedding planning going on, I'm sure it slipped her mind."
"Right." Something about that line of thinking doesn't quite sit well with Rei, though. Not when he knows that Sera-san is at least somewhat aware of their past relationship.
Shuuichi frowns at his uncertain tone. "Rei?"
Rei waves him off. "Ah, it's nothing. I just thought it would be a common courtesy to warn you that your ex would be here. Especially since–" He stops short at the awed look on Shuuichi's face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You think of us as exes?"
Combined with his wonderstruck expression, it seems a strange question to ask, so Rei calls him on it. "Surely you can't think we're still together?" It's only after the words leave his mouth that a realization hits him: perhaps Shuuichi never saw them that way in the first place. "Oh. You mean–"
Before he can get the full thought out, though, Shuuichi grabs his shoulder to get his attention. "Don't go jumping to wrong conclusions, Rei-kun. I thought I made it clear enough that I thought of you as mine back then, I just didn't think you felt the same about us. Or that you considered us an us at all." His voice drops lower, then, quieter. "I know things ended when I left, but I've never thought of you as my ex."
A lump forms in Rei's throat at Shuuichi's confession, and he swallows around it, fighting back his emotions. "And how do you think of me?"
Shuuichi's eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles; it steals Rei's breath away. "Often. Fondly."
Rei has been avoiding him ever since their conversation at the reception hall – three days ago. He's been careful not to make it obvious, and to use the guise of work whenever he feels the need to remove himself from a situation, but Shuuichi knows him and his mannerisms well enough, even now, to recognize the signs. Not wanting to put too much pressure on him, Shuuichi let him have his space before, but the wedding ceremony is over now, and the reception is in full swing. As the brides make their way through the crowd of guests, Shuuichi's eyes stay locked on Rei.
Not that he could look at anyone else if he wanted to – Momiji seems to have picked his outfit specifically to draw Shuuichi's attention, given the color (a deep navy blue that makes his eyes seem all the brighter) and the cut (perfectly fitted and tailored) of the custom suit she'd chosen for him. Apparently she'd chosen suits for each of the security team, but none of them look half as good as Rei.
He's fairly certain that isn't just his bias speaking, but, truthfully, he hasn't spent much time looking at the rest of Rei's team.
"He looks good, doesn't he, Shuuichi-san?" For seemingly the first time since the ceremony ended, Shuuichi tears his gaze away from Rei to see his brand new sister-in-law beside him, Masumi and Kudou Shinichi in tow – trouble on three fronts.
"You'll burn a hole in the side of his head with all that staring, Niisan," Masumi teases, and, for just a second, he sees that eighteen-year-old girl who clung to him before he left the country, begging him not to go. Not for the first time this week, guilt creeps in; he has a lot to make up for. "Have you tried talking to him?"
"We've talked some," he answers vaguely. Granted, they haven't talked as much as he would like, and they certainly haven't sorted things between them out – but they have spoken to each other, so he's not technically lying. "He's made it quite clear that he'd rather not be distracted while he's working."
"A few years ago, you would've considered that an invitation," Shinichi says, deadpan, then slips off with an airy, "I'm going to see Furuya-san."
Shuuichi's eyes track him all the way back to Rei, and he watches, enraptured, at the smile that lights Rei's face when he spots Shinichi, his own heart beating faster in response. Rei's genuine smiles are so few and far between that he can't help but be pulled into their orbit, unable, once more, to tear his eyes away again.
"You really should go talk to him," Masumi urges, nudging him. "After all the work we put in to get him here…"
"What do you mean?" Shuuichi asks, without sparing his sister a glance.
It's Momiji who answers. "We sent him a guest invitation first, but he declined." Even without seeing her face, he both hears and almost feels the mischievous aura surrounding her, as she adds, "But I'm not one to give up when my dear bride wants something, so I pulled some strings."
"You're welcome!" Masumi adds cheerfully. "Don't screw things up this time."
Rei looks up then, catching his eye across the room; it's faint, but Shuuichi could swear he smiles, just a little, when he finds Shuuichi watching him. "I don't intend to."
"Furuya-san!"
Rei looks toward the direction he hears his name coming from and grins when he sees Shinichi approaching him, delighted to see him and amused at how he fidgets in his suit, reminded once again at how similar he and Shuuichi turned out to be, despite very different upbringings. "Shinichi-kun. I see the brides finally freed you from their grasp."
"They got distracted teasing Akai-san for the way he's staring at you," Shinichi shoots back with a sly smile.
Rei lets out a small huff. "Surely he isn't," he says, earning an eye-roll from Shinichi.
"Oh, please, like you haven't noticed."
"He is being rather blatant, isn't he?"
Shinichi snorts, but the question doesn't require an answer. "So… are you taking him back?"
Feigning ignorance, though he knows it's futile in the face of such an astute detective, Rei asks, "Taking him back where?"
"To your hotel room, if he has his way." Rei shoots him a disapproving look at that remark, but Shinichi just snickers. "I know you know what I meant."
"If you ask him, we were never together in the first place," Rei answers, his tone cynical to cover the sting of their conversation several days ago. Shuuichi had tried to smooth things over, but Rei's pride still took a blow.
Shinichi, though, seems unconvinced. "And how unfair is that interpretation of whatever he said? You know he's bad at talking."
Rei falls silent, replaying their conversation in his head. 'I thought of you as mine,' Shuuichi had said – past tense. Which means he doesn't still feel the same way, right? "He said he doesn't think of me as his ex."
"Of course he doesn't," Shinichi responds, grumbling a little. "Look, I may not really get romance, but I'm pretty sure most people don't like using that word for the love of their life, even if it is technically true. And you two always just sort of made sense to me – after you sorted your shit out, I mean."
"Shinichi-kun…" Rei starts, but trails off as he makes his biggest mistake of the night: looking up and catching Shuuichi's eye. It's not that he hasn't looked at Shuuichi tonight – he couldn't have avoided it, and Shuuichi does look so good all dressed up, even despite how uncomfortable Rei suspects he is – so maybe he'd stolen a glance or twelve; he just hasn't been quite ready to face the reality of talking to Shuuichi again.
A soft smile pulls at his mouth, and he doesn't even try to stop it.
When he finally tears his eyes away from the man across the room, it's to find Shinichi wearing the smuggest grin Rei's ever seen on his face. Before he can say anything, Rei forces a subject change. "Are you sure I can't get you into the Public Security?"
Shinichi once again rolls his eyes, but goes along with it anyway. "Nah, I'm going to stay with Hattori in Osaka for a while. We've been talking about it for ages, and I need to get away."
And Rei doesn't need to ask why. He knows from their infrequent conversations that things are still strained between Shinichi and Ran, and with the buffer that is Masumi now permanently living in Kyoto with her wife, Shinichi undoubtedly needs a friend he can lean on that doesn't harbor any ill feelings toward him, deserved as they may be.
"I think that'll be good for you. If you change your mind, the offer's open."
Shinichi wrinkles his nose, but grins anyway. "No thanks. But if you decide to become a private detective and want a partner, you have my number."
Rei laughs a little; it's not an option he's considered, but it doesn't sound half bad – maybe something to think about for the future. "I'll keep you in mind."
It's late when Rei finally gets to leave the venue. By the time the brides and all of the guests have left – save one persistent former sniper – and he's wrapped things up with his security team, it's nearly one in the morning. Ooka-san had been kind enough to book his room for tomorrow, as well, so he won't need to be up early to check out, and he doesn't need to be back at work in Tokyo for another couple days. So, at least that's something. It's not quite a vacation, but even he can admit he's looking forward to a short break.
Coincidentally – or perhaps not at all coincidentally – Shuuichi's lodgings are at the same hotel, so he's not the least bit surprised to find himself with a companion as he steps out into the cool night air.
"Fancy meeting you here, Rei-kun," he greets with a smile.
Later, Rei will blame his exhaustion for the way he laughs at such a ridiculous comment. "You expect me to believe you haven't been planning this for hours?"
Shuuichi smiles, but doesn't refute the accusation. The walk to the hotel is only a few minutes, but the streets are quiet, peaceful at this time, so Rei relishes in the short time they have, as Shuuichi's fingers brush his.
"It was brought to my attention that you declined an invitation," Shuuichi says, breaking the silence.
Rei clears his throat, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I was invited in the first place. We've seen each other a few times in passing, and we're on friendly enough terms, but I'd hardly say we're close enough to warrant me being invited to Sera-san's wedding." Although, he supposes she's not 'Sera-san' anymore.
"You accepted the security role, though?"
Rei raises an eyebrow. The two are very clearly different situations. "It's one thing to decline a personal invitation from your little sister, and another thing entirely to deny a professional request from the former prime minister's granddaughter, especially if I don't want it to be a mark against me for future prospects."
Something seems to dawn on Shuuichi then, because his eyes widen momentarily and he utters a quiet, "Ah. I see. Momiji is quite shrewd, isn't she?"
It's a bit strange to hear Shuuichi refer to Ooka-san so informally, but, on the other hand, it is Shuuichi, and he's never been particularly fussed with observing proper manners. And Ooka-san is his family, now.
"I think she would have to be, to flourish in that family as she has." Their conversation lulls there for a moment, before Rei says, "Shinichi-kun gave me something to think about."
Shuuichi's fingertips touch his again, with too much intent behind them to be an accident. "Oh?"
Rei means to bring up the subject of becoming a private detective, he really does. Instead, he opens his mouth and the words that come tumbling out are, "He thinks I'm the love of your life."
Immediately, he wishes for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. How utterly mortifying.
While he's still reeling from the sheer humiliation of his own words, Shuuichi hums thoughtfully. "He always was too sharp."
Rei freezes, right there in the middle of the sidewalk, and stares at him, confusion and pain swirling inside him once more. "If that's true, then why did you leave?" he asks, hating how hurt his voice sounds.
"I told you, didn't I?" Shuuichi eyes are far too soft as he looks at him. This time, when he reaches for Rei, he doesn't stop at just barely touching him. Squeezing Rei's fingers, he says, "I made an incorrect assumption about your feelings. I'm sorry."
"Next time, just ask me," Rei insists, frustrated, then horrified all over again when he sees the way Shuuichi's eyes widen and thinks over the words he just said. "I mean–"
"Rei." He snaps his mouth shut when Shuuichi cuts him off. "My heart has been yours for a very long time now, but I need to know what you want. Tell me to stay, and I will."
"It can't possibly be that simple," Rei murmurs, refusing to get his hopes up. Shuuichi still has his FBI job, as far as Rei knows – he certainly hasn't implied otherwise, although, admittedly, Rei hasn't given him many chances to do so – and his citizenship is probably going to be an issue. And Rei isn't moving out of Japan, that's out of the question; Shuuichi must know that.
He said he'd stay, after all. In Japan, with Rei was implied.
"I'm making it that simple."
Rei's heart pounds in his chest, and his voice refuses to work – now, of all times – so he doesn't answer verbally. Instead, emboldened by the adoration shining in Shuuichi's eyes, he steps forward and kisses him, short and sweet and hopefully enough of an answer for now.
He awakens sometime in the late morning, tangled up in the sheets and Shuuichi's arms, to find his lover already awake and watching him. His smile is as lazy as his sluggish body as he whispers, "Hi."
A grin splits Shuuichi's face at the sleep-rough quality of his voice, and his eyes do that cute little crinkling thing at the corners again. He leans in and whispers back, "Hi," against Rei's mouth, then kisses him gently. Rei's hand finds its way to Shuuichi's side, his fingers trailing along warm skin as their kiss continues.
"Shuuichi," he says when they part, and Shuuichi nuzzles along his jawline, planting kisses in his wake. "Stay with me."
With a quiet hum, Shuuichi murmurs, "I quit my job before I left the US. I brought everything I wanted to keep with me. I'm yours, Rei."
It's a testament to how thoroughly distracting Shuuichi's mouth is that Rei doesn't hit him with a pillow for not mentioning those things sooner.