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In the Yozakura estate, life was calm. Once they defeated Asa, and then world continued on, they realised just how quiet early mornings could be.
Training wasn’t necessary anymore, the days felt longer and the weather always conjured gentle clouds over their rooms. When shadows were considered naught, now they were awaited with bated breath.
Staring into your own hands and counting the scars felt less like a way to motivate, but more of a nostalgia ritual. The feeling that the only new scars would be from cooking and not fighting.
When your body feels light and not pushed down by every force in the universe. Feeling a weight coming off your chest. Feeling the entire capacity of your lungs without aching, without grunting in pain, without begging silently for your family to be safe. Without begging for your own death instead of their own.
Taiyo laid down on the grass in the now quiet garden of the– his home. He tilted his head to the side, letting the long grass poke his cheeks, a way to ground him. How long has it been since he felt like this? Never, probably.
He stared into the sky. His pupils dilated when covered by clouds, yet they shrink when the sun hits them. He squints but doesn’t look away. Instead, he looks for a while, a long while. He breathed into the air around him.
The sun. Taiyo.
Could he truly shine as bright as what’s unreachable? He did what was expected of him. Now Mutsumi was out of danger, his brother in law doesn’t want to kill him, and he protected his family at the cost of his own strength.
Maybe his time was actually coming to a close.
“Are you trying to go blind, or maybe you’re malfunctioning?”
A voice snapped him out of his trance. His pupils dilated, cool ombre covering his body, he felt so at ease. He closed his eyes and hummed.
“Hmph, seems like you already let yourself go now that everything was resolved. How low, even for you.”
The grass rustled next to him. Taiyo could feel the warmth of another human body. He instinctively turned his head to that side, and just nodded. So peaceful.
When a hand came to rest on his hair, he didn’t question it. Back in the day, he would’ve freaked out. He would’ve tried to protect himself or shy away from the gesture. But now? He leaned into it. Such a gentle caress could never bring him harm. Not now, not ever.
“Your hair has grown out.”
“Hmm.”
Gloved hands slowly ruffled the red hair. Running against the scalp, tender and quiet.
“Did you not sleep last night? You shouldn’t stay out in the cold.”
“hm.. it’s pretty warm.”
“Is that so.”
Taiyo felt the hand peel off. So, without much thinking, he held it. He sat up, grass sticking all over his back.
He met the eyes of a man he knew all too well. The one who organised it all. His wedding, his protection, his training. The eyes of the man he held in the highest regard.
Brown eyes met red ones. They both stared at each other, just for a little longer than necessary. The hand that once ran through red locks now gently held the smaller, rough, scarred hand.
“Kyoichiro,”
The older man rubbed his thumb on Taiyo’s palm. He looked down, almost ashamed to have been caught. Taiyo’s eyes softened, he leaned in, getting a better view admist the sunlight.
“You don’t have to go so soon.” Taiyo quietly called out, his hand softly squeezing the other.
Kyoichiro simply cocked his head to the side and with his other hand started picking the grass herbs off of Taiyo’s body.
“I can’t leave you while you’re looking a mess, now can I?”
“haha..”
There was a silent moment between them. With Kyoichiro flicking the grass blades and Taiyo just allowing him to. While Kyoichiro could’ve done this with his threads, he chose not to. There was something intimate about willing to go through the trouble of doing something so insignificant for someone else without the use of any tools.
The wind whistled around them. It was the middle of autumn. It should’ve been cold but it’s simply chilly. A bit humid. Not hot at all, just the perfect temperature. Taiyo roamed his eyes on the man in front of him. Always so put together. Even though they sat on the same patch of grass, one of them was green and the other was untouched.
Taiyo narrowed his eyes just slightly.
“This isn’t fair,” He mused.
Kyoichiro turned to look at him, looking confused.
“What is?”
Taiyo jokingly huffed, acting offense. He braced on one knee and reached out his hands to ruffle Kyoichiro’s hair, making the man stiffen and pull away. The threads wrapped around Taiyo’s wrists just enough to push them away, not enough for him to feel them.
“What are you-!”
“Now you look a little more like me.”
Kyoichiro was rather confused for a moment. He frowned in thought before finally getting it and sighing. Shaking his head, trying to fix his hair.
“Have you grown so old as to get lonely now?”
“You’re older than me, are you not lonely?”
“Why would I be? I’m surrounded by the people I sought to protect.”
Taiyo pursed his lips together.
“Me too. I’m not lonely.”
Kyoichiro smiled, his usual smile. But this one felt more geniune than the others.
“You have to be, after all you-”
“-But it doesn’t make this situation any less unfair.” Taiyo cut him off.
Kyoichiro was almost offended but he let it go for today. He leaned on one arm and tilted his head teasingly toward Taiyo’s direction.
“And why is that?”
Taiyo brushed away a stray hair on Kyoichiro’s forehead.
“Because you’re still so uptight, and I wish you weren’t.”
Kyoichiro remained silent. He sighed and rolled his head back. With Taiyo, he tended to act less mature almost on instinct. The man looked like he was pouting, which was a sight only Taiyo got to witness.
“I am not.”
“Really?”
“Must I prove it to you? Take my word for it.”
“Last time I took your word, you ran off and tried to sacrifice yourself.”
“Ah- ugh, this and that are different.”
“Are you sure?”
Kyoichiro frowned but just seeing Taiyo’s face made him relax. He stared at the man who sat only inches from him. They had grown together, this was hardly the scardy boy from back then.
Branches of trees rustled against each other, the wind was picking up. Kyoichiro cupped Taiyo’s cheek, leaning in and tilting his head, he pressed their lips together.
A tender gesture that none of them seemed to mind or question. Taiyo closed his eyes and hummed on Kyoichiro’s lips.
The kiss broke off mere seconds later.
“I’m not as composed as you take me to be.”
“Haha, let’s hope the kids didn’t see this little scene.”
Just when life stops giving you its lemons that you can finally enjoy the lemonade. Men who only knew war will seek love, even between themselves.
[THE END.]