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A sweet aroma wafts throughout the room, warming your nostrils and gently coaxing you out of your slumber with added help from the soft rays shining through the crack in the curtains. Despite this, the groan you let out as you throw your arm over your eyes is exasperated and full of your quickly growing annoyance, almost as if you had just been slapped awake by your mortal enemy.
No matter how many days pass, you'll never grow into being a morning person.
Can anyone really blame you though? I mean, your displeasure is warranted when you consider that mornings on your home planet were a million times better. Darkness was everlasting and the sense of time was much slower than here on earth, allowing you a plentiful amount of sleep no matter what time of day you slumbered.
Yes, now that you've thought on it more, earth mornings are downright awful in comparison to the one's that occur on the moon.
Alas, now that you've awoken, you can't slip back to sleep no matter how much you want to. Call it old habits, but your brain simply won't rest again until you're one thousand and ten percent sure your workload for the day was complete....even if that workload nowadays only consist of eating three meals a day and start the recording process of your next song you've finally finished the lyrics for.
And so, despite your body feeling as heavy as lumber and your eyes cemented closed by nagging exhaustion, you force yourself to sit upright and, with much begrudgence, begin your day.
You snap your finger on instinct and it takes an embarrassing amount of time of waiting for something to happen for it to dawn on you that nothing will. Right. You can't use your powers in earth's reality. Though it may look the part, this body your soul and conscious now inhabits is just a high tech imitation Iroha made for you. It doesn't have your celestial blood running through it — or any blood for that matter. You can't float, which means you must set aside what you were taught and allow your feet to grace the lands beneath you. Hell, you can't even perform the simplest forms of gravity manipulation and move rocks or buildings with your mind. You're as mortal as you can possibly be, you remind yourself with a grimace.
But is that really so bad of a price when considering the alternative? A powerful, noble body that was tied to a desolate, boring plain? A being capable of making the oceans do tricks for them, levitate things a hundred times bigger than themselves as if they were weightless, and move entire mountains with their mere thoughts, but be stuck with an endless list of dull responsibilities? A royal of the highest status — cut from the finest, mightiest cloth — forever destined to live an unfulfilling life bossing around others in a corporate hell until their final days?
The answer is simple; the price was a reasonable, even merciful, trade for such a payoff as this one — especially when considering that you can still very much wield your powers in the virtual world, Tsukuyomi.
Plus, giving up your old form allowed you a life with him. Speaking of which...
"Heh, it seems that the pretty prince has finally come to bless us with his presence," you heard Asahi say, and when you open your eyes, you realize that you're now in the spacious kitchen of his loft apartment....that's technically yours as well now that you think about it.
Everything here is yours now. The furniture, the food, the people that inhabit it — you're reminded that when Asahi, dressed down in a red apron, crosses the kitchen to walk up to you and brazenly pulls you in by the waist, capturing your lips to complete his morning greeting to you.
For the few moments the kiss lasted, the irritation that came with your arise had been swept away, and even when he pulled away, you could barely feel the heat of annoyance rushing back into your body as you gazed upon his handsome smirking expression.
...Not that you'd be able to tell from your facial expression.
"Must you greet me so improperly every day?" you ask with a grumble and sharp glare that would terrify the masses back on the moon. Having said that, at the sight of your clear displeasement that's dyed in a cherry red blush that matched his attire, Asahi lifts a hand to your head and ruffles your already tousled hair. His grin not ceasing for a single second as he does so.
"Yep, its what comes with that ring wrapped around your cute little finger," he tells you. You growl upon hearing that saccharine tone.
"Well it's downright insulting to someone of my status! Must I remind you constantly that I—!" he leans in again, kissing you a second time and stealing the words right out of your mouth before pulling away to finish your sentence cheekily, "—that you're the cutest guy in all the cosmos? No need, beautiful. I'm well aware."
"I—! You can't just—! ...tch, whatever..." in the end, you can do nothing but chew on your inner cheek and blush as Asahi's laughter fills the air alongside the alluring smell of mirin.
And then, a voice cuts in, "I thought that title belonged to me," it said.
Both of you pause as the pro gamer-slash-idol looks behind him to gaze upon the owner of the cool tone — his other husband, Noi Sakayori, who wore a matching white, dress-like version of his getup with light pink frills decorating the rim and a big, kitten-shaped pocket on the center.
He leaned against the counter, his hands behind his back and his face wearing a visage of the casual indifference he knows and loves him to bits for.
"Aw, that comment strike a jealous bone in you?" Asahi asks, finally retracting his hand from you as his other hand places itself on his hip and he turns to face the man a little more.
"Don't worry, you're also the cutest boy in the whole solar system," he says, winking.
Noi hums, seemingly satisfied with his answer as his eyes drift away from his husband to look at you — who peers at him from over Asahi's shoulder.
The moment you two lock eyes, you're darting yours away to stare off at a nearby appliance with full interest.
Noi's gaze never ceased from your being even then, and it felt like holes were being drilled deeper and deeper into you the more he looked on in silence.
Finally, he speaks, "Morning, Y/n."
And you reply with a quick, "Morning to you as well, Noi."
There was no kiss. No fond petname or mushy compliments. No silly back n forth between you two. Only awkward stillness that stretched on until you gained the courage to break it by looking back over at Asahi and pulling his attention back onto you with your question, "...Are you cooking something?"
"Hm— oh, yeah! Noi woke me up earlier saying he was craving some omurice so I thought, 'Why not have breakfast for a change?'," he explained, his smirk returning as he flicks his pointer finger your way and says, "You should join us!"
"I shouldn't," you blurt out only to realize how that sounded, pause again to switch gears, and finish your sentence by adding, "I'm no good in the kitchen. You know that."
"Yeah, sure, you aren't the best at it, but you look incredible in an apron so I think its a fair trade," Asahi says before clutching your wrist, "Now come on, lets get you dressed the part — watch the rice for me, babe! We'll be back!"
You hear Noi hum again as your yanked in the direction of your shared bedroom. You don't dare glance back — not that you really need to. You can feel his gaze on you up until the moment you're whisked away and tugged down the hall by your pushy lover.
A part of you wonders what expression he wore in that moment. Another part of you didn't want to know. An even smaller part acknowledged that it was mainly out of fear that your curiosity was killed so swiftly.
It's not that you dislike Noi. In truth, it's quite the opposite.
With pretty, shoulder length, magenta hair that swayed and danced with every little movement he made to his matching, droopy, purple eyes that painted his face in permanent gentleness no matter the expression he took on, to the lax confidence he wore for skin....it wasn't insane to say that his beauty was unrivaled in every way imaginable. In fact, oftentimes than naught, you found yourself entranced by him.
Like now, where you watched from a safe distance beside Asahi as he mixed ingredients to make the sauce for your dish at a slow, almost lazy pace. Maintaining a grip just firm enough to avoid the silver bowl in his grasp from moving too much as he stirred as his eyes gleamed with focus that shun like a star in the cosmos. You were whipped by the first glance you chanced.
That was merely one, surface-level quality about him that you found appealing. Another one was his perplexing demeanor that was both blunt and incredibly hard to read at the same time.
When he spoke, he always said what he meant in the moment, but it was never enough to truly get a full picture of how he felt or what else he could be thinking. Part of it was because of how he responded — short and to the point which shied away from a lot detail - but that way of speaking is what also added to the long list that hooked you to his line like a fish to bait. He was just so alluringly untouchable. So beautifully out of reach...
And oh so intimidating.
You been by people of the past, that at times, you could be daunting, but you paled in comparison to Noi. Even in the game reality, his cute, girlish appearance did little to undermine the impenetrable air around him. It was like he was a golden trophy perched upon a terrifyingly tall mountain no one could cross. Like an angel modeling at the heart of a dangerously strong snowstorm that anyone foolish enough to enter would get immediately swept up in. Like a gorgeous sheath decorated in ivy and flowers that hid away a frighteningly sharp blade. He was enchanting yet unreachable, but that's what you loved about him.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the beauty detested you.
He was always standoffish with you. Always staring with an narrowed expression, but never approaching. Always clipping his already short sentences even shorter when conversing with you. Always keeping the distance between you big enough to seat a small friend group. Always polite with his actions, but always teetering the edge of snarkiness with his words.
He's always been like that towards you. but its only now that you realize why — Asahi Sakayori. He loved him. Even when they were nothing more than members of Black Onyx together in the vr world, you can vaguely recall the small signs of Noi's inkling of a crush. He must've silently bided his time in yearning for a moment to finally strike — to finally claim the man's heart and take it for himself....just for you to make an entrance into the physical world the moment he does and take away the person he so earnestly strove to be the lover of.
Noi was never one to share. Whenever someone eyed his food, he always moved his plate closer to himself and gave them a sidelong look. Rai has told you stories during some downtime together about times in his childhood where Noi would hog their sole game console for himself -— even going as far as to try and hide it from him. Furthermore, when he joined Black Onyx, he singlehandedly managed to shift their theme of strictly gaming to taking the hybrid route of being an idol group as well in order to widen the spotlight on himself. He was an all for himself kind of person, and yet, here he was, sharing his partner of all things and that, you thought, was reason enough to despise you.
"Baby, not to rush you or anything, but you gotta fold it now if you don't want it to burn!" The panicked exclamation from Asahi startled you out of your spiraling thoughts and yard-long, sullen-faced admiring, and forced you back to the present where you were currently tackling a pesky egg on the verge of causing a house fire.
The oil crackles at you impatiently, and with shaky, unsure movements, you try your damnedest to fold the yellow blanket over the bed of wonderfully-smelling filling but to no avail and it causes you to yell out in equal-sounding panic.
"Wh- Wha—?! How am I supposed to do that?!" you shout. Your grip growing more and more unsteady with every failed attempt at flipping the egg until Asahi finally moved in to aid you — gripping your hand which held the handle and guiding you through sharp motions until, at last, the omurice had been folded. You both sigh out, feeling relieved now that the hard part's over.
And then, with complete audacity, he comments, "Huh...you really do suck at this."
You turn to him with a wide eyed, small-pupiled look of utter rage.
"I had told you that already, but you don't listen! You simply wish to amuse yourself by mocking me!"
"I was kidding! Kidding, I swear! Don't get so upset!" Asahi says, throwing his arms up in the arm for a moment and then inching them back around your waist, saying, "Although...you do look really cute all worked up like this..~"
You push him away with a harsh shove from your elbow, face heating as you snap, "Unhand me!" You gain laughter as a response.
"Hehehe~! See? Absolutely adorable!" he shamelessly compliments, moving back in to wrap his arms around you a third time — this time leaning his head into the crook of your neck as he pulls your back flush against his chest.
You can feel his breath tickling your neck for only a moment before he dives in, nibbling at your collarbone. You don't mean to, but having been taken off guard, you let out a shrill squeal.
"A- Asahi! I- I have told you time and time again that it's not right to touch someone of my status like th—!" you yell, beginning your lecture on Asahi's very obvious touching problem when a sharp clink and a firm grasp to your wrist startles you silent.
You whip your head around and are met with the sight of Noi's side profile being much closer to you than before. You, on instinct, attempt to move away and put space between you two, but that causes him to tighten his grip on your hand to the point it begins to hurt a bit.
"H- Hey," You say, "Why are you—" "You almost dropped my omurice."
Your brows narrow in confusion but when you look down, sure enough, the pan has slipped off the eye of the stove and was tipping off the edge. The egg blanket threatening to slip right off the edge and onto your foot below.
"Oh, uhm, my apologies..." you mumble, your eyes unable to look at anything else but your hand securely wrapped in his as he led it — and by extension, the pan — over to where he stood with an awaiting plate that he must've retrieved at some point during the catastrophe of your cooking struggles.
His hand is so cold compared to Asahi's — almost as if no blood coursed through the veins that connected his fingertips together — and it presented a rather shocking feeling to your own, warmer hand. At least, that was the excuse you settled for when you realized how badly your hand was shaking in that moment.
For a moment, you wondered if the man would notice and comment on it only for your mood to sullen further at the undenibale truth; noi couldn't care less about your wellbeing and was only tolerating you, if that, for the sake of not losing what he strived so hard to gain — his beloved. That likely played a hand in why he even bothered to intervene when he noticed you were about to have a sizzling hot, stuffed egg land on your foot.
...Actually, he probably helped out because this omurice was his. It's rather self-centered of you to assume that he cared about you to even that extent.
The moment the omurice was safely transferred onto his plate, Noi sets you free and it felt as though you could finally breathe properly again. You don't dare look at him even when you set the pan back on the stove and clicked it off, every possible comment you could make to relieve the awkward silence that grew between you being second-guessed and ending up caught in your throat before you can even think of saying them aloud.
Thankfully, Asahi clears the air for you both as he throws a smile Noi's way, "Thanks for the save, babe. I was not looking for an unnecessary mess to clean today, lemme tell ya..!"
Noi hums in place of verbal acknowledgement of his husband's gratitude, spurring the man leaning his weight against you to move away momentarily and peck his lips. You glance over at them just as Asahi begins to pull away, observing the way Noi chases after his lips to steal one last kiss, causing the raven-haired man to laugh into his lips. You look away as they began to pull away from each other a second time.
"I'm done prepping the sauces," you hear Noi say.
"Great, then we can finally eat!" Asahi replies, patting your shoulders. You look directly up at him and he flashes you an even, perfect set of teeth, "Come on, let's all sit so we can dig in already. I'm starving!"
You nod along in agreement to his words, eyes traveling back down as you readjust your head forward.
Noi's staring again whilst wearing that blank, unreadable expression of his and you find yourself shying away under his gaze once more. The instinct to make yourself as small as possible growing bigger and bigger by the second. He watches you look away and retreat in Asahi's apron like a bug that was nearly stepped on before looking away to focus on tying and taking off his apron.
Asahi watches you both, sighing and shaking his head knowingly. He shouldn't butt in. This is hurdle for the two of you to tackle yourselves, he has to remind himself before speaking once again — this time telling you to shed yourself of your apron alongside him and for Noi to help him set the table afterwards ( much to his husband's displeasure ).
"That's a terrible idea!" Came your dark-haired husband's loud cry from your left as his silverware fell down onto his plate with a dramatically loud clank!
Breakfast time was now finally underway at the ripe hour of noon and everything was fine for a while. Conversation was light — if not a bit on the awkward side when it came to your nervous chatter and Noi's short, sometimes nonverbal responses, but having grown used to your dynamic by now, Asahi was able to keep chatting amongst you three flowing and amicable as you dined. Despite your senses being not so up to par, everything tasted like heaven to you under the cool island lighting and the tension in your body was gradually easing away with every bite.
...And then, the topic of Noi's up and coming birthday was brought up and everything went downhill. ( Granted, the hill was a relatively small one to fall down before your husband blew it out of proportion. )
Noi simply wanted to chill around the house on his special day and maybe order some takeout, but Asahi wasn't having it for a second, claiming that his idea was lame and that he needs to rethink it. Alas, when the man did and proclaimed his new idea of sleeping in all day, his dark-haired partner had a rather visceral reaction..
"You can't just sleep away a day like that!" the older man said, to which Noi asks in between a bite of rice, "Why can't I?"
You two watch as Asahi crosses his arms against the dark brown short sleeve that covered his torso, smirking as he leans in close to the man on his left, "Because that day celebrates the birth of one of the two prettiest boys of mankind and that deserves more than just a day of no work and some cheap takeout."
Noi dodges just in time to avoid what would've been a kiss to his lips. Asahi looks at him puzzled, you look on in surprise, and Noi turns his attention back to his food, muttering as he takes in another bite, "Gross. Not while I'm eating."
"What...?" Asahi whines, wearing a face of absolute defeat that's downright comical. You snort.
Asahi whips his head around, mouth to the floor, "Are you seriously laughing at me?! I just got the meanest rejection of my life just now and by my husband of all people! I've never been rejected like that in like by anyone like...ever!"
"That's surprising."
Asahi spins around to look at Noi, "What is that supposed to mean?!" Noi doesn't answer him. Instead, he sticks his tongue out and goes back to eating.
That did it for you. With your body trembling under the pressure of your barely contained laughter, you finally come undone into a fit of snickers right there where you sat. Both men turn to you with differing expressions.
"Don't tell me you agree with this prick?!" Asahi animatedly says, your laughter intensifies.
"Pft—! His comment didn't stray too far off the mark I'd say, haha~!" you respond through your fit of uncontrolled hysterics. The gamer visibly deflates.
"Great, so the one time you two can get along it's at my expense. What did I do to deserve..."
He begins his sob story as he glances between the two loves of his life, catching Noi's expression as he stares at you — the look of subtle shock painted in pale pink blush that crawls down his neck and up to the tips of his ears. There's something else swirling in his eyes as well that gives them a rather forlorn dull. Asahi recognizes what it is quicker than Noi can hide it by turning his head away, but chooses to hold his tongue again.
There's a conversation that needs to be had. An elephant in the room that needs to be addressed, but it's a chat that he knows better than to start. It'd be better if you two tackled that mountain alone as a pair, but alas, with the way things are going, that won't happen for quite some time.
If only he had a way to give you both that push, he thinks.
As your laughter finally begins to die beside him, Asahi raises his hand to Noi's face and, with slow and tender movements, hooks his index finger under his chin and directs his head back in his direction, forcing eye contact between them.
"C'mon, babe, you gotta give us an idea on how to celebrate you — an actually good one," he tells him as the man in question grabbed his hand and moved it away. His blush had pretty much subsided at this point along with his expression, which reverted back to normal also.
Finally, Noi sighs, shrugs, and turns his head back to his plate for the final time, saying, "You pick then. I'll go along with whatever you decide as long as it isn't lame."
"Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of doing something cool and extravagant together that you want to do?" Asahi asks only to pause when realization strikes him. This could be his chance, he thinks, smirking once more.
"Fine then. If I'm the one choosing then we're celebrating the birthday boy in the place where it all started — Tsukuyomi," he announces as he leans back in his chair.
"Don't worry about what we'll do there, I'll plan it all out. You just gotta show up when I give the call and have the time of your life when you get there!"
It's been a little over half an hour since you were summoned alongside Noi. Akira is still nowhere to be found.
You sit, kneeled on the clay tiles that make up the roof of the old-fashioned Japanese temple Black Onyx has deemed their hangout spot, as you stare down at the colorful array you know fondly as Tsukuyomi.
At some point you had considered seeking the oni out — it'd be a cakewalk now that you're in your original body — but then you remembered that you were given the task to keep Noi company until everything was prepared which deterred you greatly. Eventually leading you up here when you decided it'd be of some good to bide your time watching life flourish in the vibrant utopia a distance away.
Like many who visit here, this simulation holds a special place in your heart. In the beginning, it had been your new home — your first and only taste of the interesting plain known as earth. You were stuck here, unable to transpire upon the real world, but it was so fun and spirited and so enthusiastically different from your homeland that you were more than satisfied living out your days here.
Here, you've been able to explore so many things. Playing idol, modeling in gorgeous silks that differ from your usual fashion, using your powers for things other than mass rejecting, passing, and writing papers, and form bonds and memories you wouldn't otherwise be able to on the moon. Even now that you have a physical body and can finally experience the real world, this fictional one will always sit on a special throne in your heart that no other could touch.
"You suck at your job." You tense, body snapping rigid with surprise as the warm breath used to whisper those words get swept away by the gentle wind.
You don't need to turn your head to know that it's Noi who's found you so you don't, answering without looking instead, "How so...?"
He replies, still so close — too close — that his words are able to physically heat the shell of your ear when he asks, "Aren't you in charge of keeping me company while we wait?"
"I- I am..." you don't mean to, but your response comes out more nervous-sounding than you would've preferred it to, "....I had just...gotten wrapped up here and let time slip away from me 's all.. I apologize."
"Don't. I didn't ask for one."
"Right."
You don't dare speak a word after that, allowing silence to fill in the gap your absence of conversating left. Noi allows it to pool, not saying anything either as he finally moves away from you.
You begin to sigh out as relief began to finally sink in a little...only for him to sit right beside you — you suck it back in, muscles growing taut all over again.
You finally decide to chance a glance at the man beside you and, just like in the real world, you find yourself bewitched. It seems that the idol had changed his avatar to fit the occasion for today.
He was still a demon cat with the feminine, cute build you were familiar with, but he had styled his hair differently and changed from his typical maid-looking attire.
Instead of the usual slim pigtails, light pink and black hair were braided upwards to swirl and crisscross into thick twin buns — save from the few strands that were left to hang over his forehead and serve as his usual straight-fringed bang look.
Furthermore, a kimono-esque top hugged his petite figure — taking inspiration from his everyday attire with the excessively long, flowy sleeves and painting the black silk in clusters of pink flowers with bright green stems. He wore a pink skirt that stopped halfway down his upper thigh, but used the bareness to his advantage and added knee-high, white stockings with a singular pink kitty face on the sides of them. He also added chunky, black shoes that were cut low and rounded at the tips. They bore a similar appearance to his typical shoewear.
What truly tied the look all together was the makeup. It was showy on its own; with the pink, glittery eyeshadow winking at you were every flutter of his thick lashes and a paler tone of it below to freckle his cheeks and compliment the slightly darker shade of his lipstick — but when paired with his outfit, it all looked so....
"..stunning..." you didn't catch it until Noi turned to you again and cocked his head, but you had accidentally uttered that aloud.
"Uhm—! You...look really nice tonight," you rephrase, but the catboy doesn't cease in his sideways staring.
He raises a question, "Do I not always look nice?"
"I- I don't—" you begin, caught off guard, but Noi doesn't wait for your answer and changes the subject, "Have you ever thought of painting your nails?"
"Huh — oh, uhm, once or twice, I suppose.." you respond, tripping over your words a little as you attempt to recover from the whiplash he jsut gave you in the matter of thirty seconds. Noi doesn't seem nearly as frazzled, humming along to your answer with a smiling, neutral visage that's a mix of his real life and game default expression.
And then, suddenly, he stretches his hand out in your direction and your knuckles brush. You're unsure of why, but when he goes to trace his manicured fingertips along the veins protruding from your skin, your heart skips and your hand flinches away a little. Only a little. Noi halts regardless.
His sits there, unsettlingly still. Eyes on your hands that are just inches apart now, expression unchanging. Then, after a pregnant pause, his fingers twitch — as if his systems were rebooting — and he fully retracts from you, sliding a distance aways that's much more like him.
Your eyes never leave his form as he does this, watching as he adjusts into a comfortably cute stance that left his hands, which he didn't seem to know what to do with, folded in his lap.
"You're not nearly as fun to tease as Akira..." he says after a while, but the way he trails off makes it seem as though he wished to say more. He decides to play with his nails instead, running his thumb over the sheen, baby pink gloss and admiring the glimmer and shine under the lighting of the stars with full interest.
You turn away to look over the city once more. Your mind racing with topics that could strike up another conversation and possibly clear the air that's actively setting in now that there's no words to keep it away. Time moves at a snail's pace as this is happening — or at least, it very well feels that way when the night's faint gradient is your only inference to go off of — and with every minute that passes without a word exchanged, it eats away at you, crawling all over your body like bugs you can't shake.
You pray that Akira arrives soon.
What could possibly be keeping him anyways? When he told you two to come to the temple, he made it seem like everything was prepared — or at least you'd assume so. Keeping you waiting aside, leaving Noi with nothing to do but lounge around with you was ten times worse than his original plans of lounging around at home watching shows like he originally planned.
Could he not see it? He had to have, no? Even someone as tone deaf as Kaguya would notice the shifts in energy whenever you two interacted ( which must be noted to only occur in situations where conversing felt nondebatable ) and the look and sound of obvious disinterest on Noi's part. It's what made every exchange amongst you two seem robotic and lifeless. Brought in a snowstorm during the warm summer that previous playfulness and budding love brought to your environment.
The rift in the middle of you two was a clear and as thick as stone and to claim to not see that would be a downright lie!
So why is it that you're here, peering over Tsukuyomi by Noi's side alone? Why hasn't Akira appeared to save the day like all those times before? Why aren't you with him helping set up whatever surprise he set up for his darling partner — that surely would prefer being by himself right now than with the man who probably thinks singlehandedly stole his husband from him?! Is it not obvious enough that Noi—
Sighs. Noi sighs. Long and slow, and it becomes lost in the wind that ends up carrying it to your eardrums. It's a sigh of warning, you realize, but it was too late. The air had already shifted. Noi was already on the prowl again. Your small window of opportunity for an escape from whatever's about to happen was gone before you felt the urge to even need one.
"You're always so fiery with everyone — especially Akira. With him, you're the definition of a hothead," he moves onto his knees, beginning to crawl closer to you, "He's always finding ways to light a fire under you. Then again, it's probably not very hard for someone like him."
You have half a mind to move away. To get up and leave — no, it'd probably be better to simply slide back, right? Would it be right to move at all? What is Noi doing exactly? Your mind is split on what to do. Still a foot deep in your earlier thoughts to really focus on the now that your current brain is freaking out over, and due to that, you stay rooted in place, watching as Noi stalks over to you like a lioness ready to tear his prey to shreds.
"He flirts, pokes your buttons, and he always presses the right ones. Always," he's as close as before now, but instead of stopping and sitting beside you, he turns, moves back...and sets himself prettily on your lap.
You gulp, your heart lodged in your throat. Where could this possibly be leading? And, what words could you possibly speak at a time like this, where someone you swore despised every morsel of your being was currently on top of you. Of course, Noi continues without a care. His hand coming up to dig his finger into the upper right of your chest.
"He taps and presses, pokes and prods... Always knowing the code to make you come undone in his arms," he moves slightly to the left, repeating the motion. Then, he travels down to poke close to your nipple — aimlessly jabbing you as if he were punching numbers on a keypad.
He moves up again and to the right, aiming more towards the upper center now, "Someway, he manages to crack every code you lock yourself behind. I swore at some point he was using some kind of cheat code, but I'm realizing now it just comes naturally to him."
"I'm nothing like that. I've never been good at games that makes you diffuse bombs or ones that are centered around solving puzzles. I always end up having to observe others in the end."
( He slowly, slowly presses his way down. )
"Others always make it seem easy, but when I try it for myself everything always blows up in my face. Eventually I try to force the game to let me have my way with cheats, but if that doesn't work, I usually give up trying and move on."
( Growing impossibly closer with every tap and slight drag of his fingertip. )
"I've tried to crack your code on my own, I've tried observing, I've even tried to cheat by following advice Akira gave me — obviously that failed too. You hate me even more now than ever, but for once, I don't wanna give up. I can't give up."
"What..? What are talking about?" You finally find the words to ask. A look of genuine bewilderment on your face.
( Noi doesn't miss a beat, growing firm with his touch as he nears his destination. )
"You don't need to play coy now," he tells you, "You don't really need to be honest either — well, except when telling me that code. I'd like the real answer to that one."
"What are you saying?"
He answers quickly, "I want you to give me the cheat code already — the actual code is fine too. We can say that its your birthday gift to me or something so please, will you let me in already? I...want to feel like your husband too, at least for today."
( Finally, he slows to a stop. Meeting your eyes as his finger pauses right where your heart sits. )
"You're making no sense!" you say, frustration hiking up your neck, throat, and beginning to bleed into your tone of voice, "You're the one who hates me, not the other way around! You've hated me for ages, even before we got married!"
"I never hated you," Noi says simply.
"You had to," you retort, "My reasoning is a sound one; I took Asahi— Akira away from you! It was fair game before I had to leave, but not when I returned! You had already won and I swooped in and stole him away, I- I—!"
"Nobody was stolen from me," Noi almost arrogantly reaffirms. His arms going up to wrap around your shoulder and meet behind your neck, pulling your faces even closer to one another.
"Besides, if anything, it was more like me and Akira were the ones fighting. You were the prize all along — we simply decided to share you when you came back."
"You lie!" You profess, face heating as you grow more and more flustered, "For as long as I've known you, Noi, you haven't shown a slither of interest in me so you needn't pretend to— Mmph!"
Noi cuts you off again. And with it came the flood of the strawberry and pineapple-flavored lipgloss his avatar was wearing, which caused for your eyes to widen to a plate's size. For Noi...had kissed you.
He had kissed you — willingly and with more passion than you've seen him put into anything before and it was a little overwhelming with the way his tongue leads you in a tango of fire you weren't prepared for, allowing himself to further take the lead.
And take the lead he eagerly did. When he realizes you haven't immediately pulled away, he slides his arm that was around your shoulder down your chest and grabs at the hems where your garbs cross over to conceal you chest with both hands. He then yanks you forward with strength fueled by months of built of frustration and want for you, and the moment your bodies clash against each other, he's slipping both arms around your neck again to lock you in place.
It feels as though you could drown here against him. Exchanging unspoken words and feelings you never had the to courage to say via this clash of tongue and teeth, and its as that thought dawns on you that you realize that you wouldn't mind that one bit. That you'd be perfectly fine being swept under the current again and again if it meant you'd be granted unlimited access to his him — his love — and be allowed to do this over and over again. That's how much you simply loved it — how much you loved him — and how much you truly had been yearning for him behind all that fear all this time.
"..Was that enough interest for you..?" He asks when you part, slightly winded. His face coated in a thick, cherry blossom pink blush.
You didn't respond immediately, much too focused on what just transpired moments ago than the present moment. Nevertheless Noi, ever the patient man, waited. He waited for your breathing to even out and for your eyes to flutter back up to his face to ask you his very important question, "Can I get the code now?"
You stare on, face morphing into one of utter disbelief.
"You cannot be serious," you mutter, but no laugh track plays, the punchline never comes, and you realize that Noi was being dead serious. You can't control the way your eyes flit with budding annoyance.
"I allow you to kiss me, feel me up and grab at me like I'm some harlot and you're still hung up on this stupid analogy of yours?!" you ask, incredulous and vexed, "You are impossible! I cannot fathom how you humans can be so dense while undergoing such licentious behavior..!"
As you begin your rant, Noi listens with a grin of satisfaction growing tenderly on his face. There it was; that blazing outburst, that adorably annoyed expression — the real you.
He was finally able to pull it out of you. Finally able to crack the code and unlock your heart. He finally won a puzzle game and the prize was the best thing he could've ever imagined — his darling husband.
"And another thing—!" "Will you marry me?"
You pause, momentarily at a lost for words, before your anger returns and your brows are furrowing, "What are you going on about now? We're already wed."
"No we're not," Noi retorts, "Akira asked you to marry him, not me."
"But you're married to Akira so by marrying him I'm automatically married to you as well."
"Who said I was apart of the package?"
"You—!" You cut yourself off with a groan. You won't be getting anywhere in this argument.
"You are impossible..! No wonder that musclehead fancies you; the two of you are both completely ridiculous and irritatingly uncultured!" you bluster.
"So is that a yes?" Noi asks, tilting his head, eyes shining expectantly.
You divert your eyes, "I...suppose it is."
He hums, leaning in again, his lips brushing with yours as he whispers, "So I can get another kiss?"
Your face flushes from pink to red, your teeth beginning to clench and clack as they grind slightly, "You're doing this on purpose."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Can I kiss you now?"
"Grk, you impertinent little — just get on with it all ready!"
He giggles at your answer as he, at last, closes the distance a second time and your lips meet for an encore performance. Alas, it's one that's cut painfully short.
"Ohoho~! 'Seems like my two favorite people are finally getting along."
The two of you part as you turn to look behind yourself. Sure enough, your husband, Asahi Sakayori — known here as Black Onyx's leader, Akira Mikado — was walking towards you two with a cheeky grin and a demeanor that was much too casual for your liking.
Your eye twitches, "The nerve of you to show your face now after keeping your beloved waiting on his day of celebration! Once again, you show your lack of tact. I demand repentance!" You shout, shooting him the meanest, angriest glare you can muster...which probably doesn't look all that threatening with how much you're blushing right now. That thought only adds to your anger.
"Do forgive me for my grave misstep, your highness. Everything was just about done when I told you both to come, but some things came up suddenly," he tells you, but the lack of somberity in his apology tells you he's not the least bit sorry for making either of you wait.
"More importantly, never once have I ever walked in on you two going at it with each other — safe to say your little misunderstanding has been cleared up?"
You pause just before you can finish summoning a meteorite to strike him down with, "You knew?"
"Of course I did. The tension that was there whenever you two were in a room together couldn't even be sliced by my club — I'd have to be truly thick in the head not to notice," now close enough, he drops to one knee, his hand coming up to pat your head, "I didn't say anything because I wanted you two to work this out on your own."
"Which was such a paaaain," Noi butts in, pulling your head closer so that he could rest his own head against it as he slips his hands down your neck, "You shoulda just told 'im for me and saved me the trouble," he further whines.
"I could've, but didn't it feel nice to have your worries eased by the source?" Akira retorts, teasingly adding, "You even got a kiss — and here you were, thinking about filing a divorce and moving out."
"What?!" You exclaim, and Noi is forced to give you space once more when your attention falls back on him, "You would've up and left just like that?!"
Noi looks off and shrugs.
"Don't just shrug at me! We need to talk about this! What if we never had this talk today?! What if I had left to find Akira, you—"
"Does it matter?" Noi groans, "It worked out, didn't it? I'm not leaving," he leans his head atop of yours again, "Besides, Akira's making it seem bigger than it was. I had only thought about it for, like, two seconds."
"More like the entire evening," Akira throws out, wearing an almost tired expression as he says, "You didn't say it, but your face gave it all away. You seriously have the worst poker face."
"It's still better than those cringey faces you make for our fans thinking you're being suave," Noi remarks bluntly, causing for Akira to let out an exasperated gasp.
"Ignore the idiot," you jump back in, blocking Noi's view of Akira's face and forcing him to look at you again, "Where would you have gone if you had broken up with us?! I thought you disliked the thought of living alone."
"Probably a ditch," Noi says. Now it's your turn to gasp.
"Noi," Akira deadpans.
"Kidding, kidding," Noi sighs, moving his head again along with his arms this time — pulling them back so that he could grab your chin with one hand and rest his other hand at the base of your neck, "I would've probably moved in with my brother or something now can we go back to making out?" he asks, planting a glossy kiss near your earlobe. You jump.
"Urk—! This was what I was talking about earlier! You're acting too casual and thoughtlessly to be asking such a thing of me! Must I constantly remind you both that I am a crowned pri— mmh!"
Noi tilts you down with a slight of his wrist, capturing your lips and, once again, cutting you off. In your fit of pique, you attempt to rant even then, but you ultimately melt into the kiss when he further shuts you up by slipping his tongue past your lips to occupy yours.
Akira whistles, commenting, "Someone's eager. Touchstarved, perhaps?"
Noi doesn't answer him, but slips his hands down to roam your body; going down yours arms and to your hands where his skin rubs over the jagged edges of the diamond ring on your finger, almost as if to prove his point.
It dawns on you then; wait, your wedding band doesn't have a diamond on it.
You pull back for Noi — much to his dismay — to look at your hand where you notice a gorgeous ring sitting just above the wedding band Akira gave you. It's slim, making the pink gem that sits atop the silver — with two triangles point upwards to resemble a cat — look like a rock in comparison.
"When did... Noi, did you..?" you question, and instead of verbally answering, Noi intertwines both hands with yours and smiles. You take note of the matching ring on his hand.
"I have one for you in the real world too," he says, confirming your suspicions, "If it sucks though, blame Akira. He helped me pick it out."
"I... My taste is refined....but I'm sure it'll be fine," you say, murmuring the last part. Your face is as red as the temple you sit on at this point. Noi's smile widens ever so slightly, the blush on his own cheeks only darkening in color.
Akira's eyes soften at the sight of you two. His heart beginning to swell and warm as he thinks, finally, the three of you were together — truly together.
"Congratulations to you both," he says, pressing a kiss to both your temples and foreheads, "Here's to hoping for a long, lasting married life."
You can't help but crack a small smile, the fluttering feeling of happiness that's actively taking over your body washing away the remaining bit of your irritation as though it were a mere seashell in the sand.
"It'll be a miracle. After all, I'm beginning to realize that you both are equally insufferable." you say, leaning back against Akira's shoulder as Noi does the same and rests against yours. Swaddling one another like one big, heated blanket as the plans for the days collectively slip from all three of your minds.