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It began with Ragna attending a local diner within one of Kazamotsu’s least crowded parts of the city. While the diner itself was still considered busy, it was certainly more agreeable and less of a hassle than the ones located in or near the heart of the city. Ragna had also found that the prices were much more reasonable here than there, and the food wasn’t bad, so he continued coming. Well, that and an added reason kept him coming.
Jin Kisaragi was a force he was inexplicably drawn to and vice versa. They just seemed to click after Ragna became a regular and they got past simple “what can I get for you today?”. Jin made it his duty to rile him up, but Ragna soon found it less grating on his nerves and more fun. Their banters would seem heated and scornful to outsiders, but to them it was entertainment in their currently monotonous life. Jin even made an unofficial game out of tampering with his food and leave it up to Ragna’s knowledge of cooking and taste to distinguish the change before sending it back.
It then got to the point where they would occupy a table in a corner on during Jin’s breaks to talk of more personal things. Friends, family, interests… All things that would indicate and start a longer term relationship with a stranger. Then, if Ragna was around during dinner and in the final moments of the diner’s opening, they would continue conversations while the place was closed up. First names by him and staff alike were being used and announcement of Ragna’s arrival became a thing; to which Jin would practically throw open the doors leading to the kitchen and greet him with a mischievous glint in the eyes.
Disappointment was not rare when either one failed to turn up. Ragna found himself leaving the diner sooner than he would have had Jin not been there despite the polite conversations Tsubaki and Makoto offered. They were nice- definately people he’d like to introduce Noel to- but they didn’t offer the same heat and personality as Jin. As for when Ragna failed to make his ritual visits, he’d get lightly scolded and questioned about his absence by either Tsubaki or Jin himself.
Their relationship first started treading into deeper meanings when the waiter wrote his number on Ragna’s receipt.
When that happened, the blond-gone-white haired man somewhat avoided the diner for a couple days. At first, he didn’t understand the significance of what the number meant beyond more intimate connection. Their talks would not be restricted to being at the diner and they would be delving into regular chats outside of “business” and would no doubt progress into casual hangouts. Ragna didn’t know if that was what he wanted. Sure, he had people whom he could consider “friends”, but Jin…
Jin was different. He didn’t get the same vibe off him as he did with his friends.
It took him about three days for him to pull his thoughts together and decide to call the number. He didn’t know why he was suddenly nervous when the first ring echoed in his ears, but he was and it made listening to the second ring seem like forever. Just when he was about to just end the call out of embarrassment, it picked up mid-ring.
“Mako- shh, shh!”
A voice, Jin’s presumably, cleared their voice before speaking. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Ragna replies lamely, “It’s me.”
“Took you long enough.”
Daily interactions took off from there. Texts were frequent and calls were reserved for when they both had time to spare at the end of the day. Usually, texts were short unless Jin had a rant going on about Kagura or a customer. Amusingly, they’d even text when Ragna was at the diner and it somehow made things even more entertaining than it should be.
“Saw this and reminded me of you. <3” trash.jpg attached
“It’d be a real shame if someone were to slip on this ketchup mess and cause a lawsuit because some waiter didn’t clean it up.”
“I just ask that you don’t land on your face. It’s all you got! ( • ౪•ू )”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Means you have an attractive face and it would be a shame to mess it up.”
Texting also became a new means for flirting. And, in one way or another, Ragna found himself slipping into the habit of flirting back with Jin. He didn’t do it nearly as often as the blond, but the cases where he does seems to throw the man off, amusingly enough. At first, Ragna didn’t know how to respond to the advances other than reply to the text in a normal fashion. Then, as he gradually became used to the exposure and replied with tentative flirty responses of his own, he found that it wasn’t so hard or weird to do.
Just when the air started getting crisp and chilly for the oncoming days of Fall, the two finally decided to get together outside of their usual meet up. It was a typical “what are you actually like outside of work” kind of hangouts- just a simple coffee date where they went into more in depth details about their lives while exposed to the real world current events. As it was, Ragna had to chase after a dog to reclaim his scarf, Jin spilt his coffee on Ragna during their walk through one of the parks, and Ragna got to throw him into a pile of leaves as a result. The date ended off on a good note with Jin having pulled the older male down into the leaves with him to wrestle and roll around until they were left breathless and laughing.
That one date led to a spiral of others. The two were soon engaged in frequent outings that involved growing feelings of attachment. When dates weren’t enough to satisfy them, they took to inviting the other to their homes. Ragna would wait for Jin to get off work and offer him a ride back to his place or Jin would call Ragna and inform him of the times he was free to have him over. Times like that were spent cuddled-but-not-really on the couch in front of the TV watching or playing something, cooking together, and/or simply existing in each others space.
Their desire to see each other and be in each other’s space was met, but their growing feelings was still in need of addressing.
Ragna didn’t know why he did it- it could have been the way Jin stuck his tounge out in concentration with flour smeared across his cheeks as he worked dough- but he somehow managed the courage to waltz right up to him and kiss him. At that time, neither one of them moved for a long moment. After the excruciating moment of self doubt and embarrassment, worry was put at ease when arms were thrown over his shoulders and bodies were pressed together.
The dough was left forgotten that night.
Their status as a “thing” became official and that itself came with new expectations.
Like meeting parents.
“You have to meet my family even if I don’t personally care what they think.”
“Then what is even the point?!”
Jin folded his arms. “If they meet you, they leave me alone and stop throwing people my way. Assuming everything goes well, of course.”
And that’s pretty much how Ragna got roped into attending a family party during a holiday. It was very awkward being that everyone was of higher class and Jin and Tsubaki were the only ones he could gravitate to. It took a lot out of the albino not to snap at some of the members due to their ability to piss him off just by having their smug vibes radiating off them, but the thought of Jin kept him at bay. Mostly. Ragna may have been too honest with his words and caused friction between himself and one of the guests, but he doesn’t think that led to the overall result of Jin’s parents not being particularly fond of him.
It was expected and Ragna was hardly surprised. Hell, he was more surprised at being able to walk out with Jin after the party versus having to leave alone due to his parents demanding him leave their property. Still, the blond complained for a full minute about his parent’s inability to keep from understanding his choice in Ragna before dropping the subject because “who cares what they think, anyway. They know they can’t change my choice.”
Now, when the snow started falling and the days towards another holiday came closer, Ragna became excited to introduce Jin to his own family. They’d have to travel a bit out of the way since he didn’t grow up in any of the cities around, but the trip to home would be worth it. He’d get to see his foster mother and Noel again after being a part for almost a year and he longs to settle down somewhere where he doesn’t feel so out of place. Plus, he’s bringing Jin and he is sure his family will be much more acceptable than Jin’s.
The trip down was spent mostly cuddled up to each other on the train and plane there, lazily looking out the window to watch scenery pass or finding pass time in pecking each other or teasing. When time came to get off, they left hand in hand and made their way through the small town of Kaka to reach a small cabin next to a church.
“You sure they’ll like me?” Jin asks as they approach the door.
Ragna gives the cold wood a few knocks before stepping back. “As long as you don’t do the thing you usually do, you’re golden.”
“What do I usually do?”
“Be an ass.”
“But you like my ass.”
“Not the point,” he huffs, flushing a bit at the comment, “But honestly, they still wouldn’t hate you. They look for good in everyone so getting them to dislike anyone is impossible.”
The door opens to reveal a shorter woman with graying red hair and an aging face pulled into a smile that falls when her eyes fall on them. She gasps and covers her mouth as she stares and leaves the two younger men rather confused until she bounces back from her apparent shock and hugs Ragna with all her might.
“Ragna, it has been so long!”
“Only been a year, Ma. Damn, you gotta squeeze so hard?!”
“Language, language,” she tutts, smiling as she pulls back and turns to address Jin.
There’s something in her eyes when she is greeting him, but neither of them know what it is. Regardless, Celica, as she was introduced, was all too eager to invite them into her home. Another guest arrives not long after, shivering as she toes off her snow boots, but her discomfort is suddenly lost when she sees Ragna and is quick to reunite with him with a hug. In her excitement she almost forgot to greet the new face standing next to her brother and felt embarrassed when she overlooked him.
The girl bows at him. “S-sorry! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Nii-san and I just got excited. M-my name is Noel!”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, bowing back with a small grin, “I get excited with I see your brother, too.”
Red face and sputtering, Ragna demands that he keep from flirting in front of his family. Noel could only watch in amazement as the two went on to bantering back and forth so easily. She even got dragged in when Jin turned to her for stories about him and Ragna all but whipped his head towards Noel and threatened to tells stories about her if she even thought about it. Jin, being the imp that he was, still somehow managed to bait her into telling stories of his childhood life and the two blonds wound up being chased by Ragna to immediately cease their cooperation with each other.
“Ragna! Rag-oh!”
Celica emerges from her place in the kitchen to find Ragna slinging Jin over his shoulder and Noel hanging under his arm, the two captured giggling and Noel looking mildly worried while the man holding them looked irritated and flushed. The mother’s gaze softens as she lets a smile spread across her features, but goes on to scold the taller man about roughhousing before dinner- which was currently waiting for them at the table. He didn’t put them down until they reached the table and offered Jin to sit next to him while Noel took her spot next to Celica.
The next hour was spent mostly on catching up on each others lives and that meant Ragna had to go into how Jin played a part and thus include said man in the topic. All the while, the older woman sitting across from them stared mainly at Jin. She held a smile as she politely listened to the two lovers talk about how they met and events leading up to now. The waiter actually started feeling a little uneasy under her gaze and couldn’t help but feel a little somewhat bitter because of it. After dinner, Jin stated he wished to avoid the woman for the time being and explained why. Disappointed and confused, Ragna approached his foster mother on the subject and hoped everything would be a misunderstanding that would be easy to resolve.
“Ma,” Ragna called out, watching as the woman was putting leftovers away.
“Yes?” she hummed, off in her own little world.
“I… Look, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s making Jin uncomfortable.”
Celica pauses her actions and lets silence draw on for a few seconds before Ragna speaks up again.
“Ever since we got here, you’ve just kinda been… off. I mean, I know you’re an airhead sometimes, but this isn’t the same.”
“That’s kinda mean, Ragna,” pouts the woman.
“What’s going on? Do you have a problem with Jin?” At that thought, Ragna felt a little offended. He liked Jin. He liked him and he really wanted his family to, too. He was positive that they would, but if Jin didn’t feel welcome then something was wrong.
“I-it’s nothing, dear!”
“It’s not ‘nothing’!” he raises his voice, frowning, “I like him, Ma. I want you guys to like each other, too. Something is wrong when people don’t like you of all people.”
Celica doesn’t turn to him and plays with her fingers. “It’s not that I don’t like him, Ragna…”
“Then what is it?!”
“I… Oh, Ragna, you are so happy… I don’t want to ruin it!”
Ragna runs a hand through his hair and lets out a huff. “I’m not happy right now. If you guys can’t get along, then I don’t think I can truly be happy.”
The mother remains silent, her hands coming up to cover her face in shame or embarrassment, neither one of them know.
“Ragna…” she muffles through her palms before bringing them down. It’s Ragna’s turn to tense when she turns to him with newfound tranquility. “You see, he…”
And that’s how Ragna finds himself in his old bedroom, staring grimly at the floorboards. Jin is sitting next to him, worried and trying to pry information out of him.
He should know.
That’s why Ragna came to him instead of run away, right?
Jin needs to know…
The blond tries to cup his face, but Ragna grabs his wrist and shocks the both of them. Now, Jin is getting upset and angry, confused as to why his boyfriend won’t talk to him.
“What did she say to you?! Why are you like this, Ragna?! Talk to me!”
He has to know. He has to…
How can he say it? How exactly does he drop that kind of bomb the way Celica had?
“Jin, we’re brothers.”
Like that, apparently.
After a beat of silence, Jin laughs. Hard. It’s almost reassuring.
“I-is that what she said?” Jin breathes, “And you believed her? Ragna, I know you’re gullible, but not that bad!” Ragna is left speechless as his brother stands up and wipes a tear from his eye. “I’m going to talk to her. That’s some bullshit she is feeding you and I can’t have that.”
“Jin-!”
He opens the door and almost runs into Celica. She flinches back at Jin’s glare but stands her ground as she presents a picture.
“You three were very young when I got you…” she starts out, gazing at the guest and desperate for him to understand, “I could never separate you until… Until a couple came took interest in Jin. Mr and Mrs. Kisaragi, in their circumstance, c-couldn’t bare children so they adopted Jin. Ragna and Noel were crushed when you were taken away. I think… I think their memories were repressed due to just how bad their stress was. They loved you so, so much, so to have you taken away…!”
Jin is listening, but not exactly picking up the meaning of her story. He’s too focused on the picture in hand.
There he was with Ragna and Noel. His young, doe like eyes were too taken with Ragna and the way his hand was settled on his head to pay attention to the camera. Noel was holding onto Ragna’s free hand and waving at the camera from her seated position.
Ragna…
Nii-san!
The memory of his missing childhood hit him like a train and had him staggering. He collides with something firm and looks up to see Ragna staring down at him with concern and something else. Uneasiness? Fear?
“R-Ragna…”
“Jin…”