Chapter Text
Sasana beamed and waved goodbye as his juniors departed in varying states of tearfulness. Hayato had finally succeeded in dragging Gaku away to let Sasana and Kouga say their farewells in private, and Maito followed after silently hugging Sasana with one last fierce squeeze. It was sweet of them all to come see him off, he thought, rubbing away the tears that had started to prickle his eyes. He bit his lip, still smiling so hard his cheeks were starting to hurt. Now it was time for the hardest part.
He turned back to face Kouga, who was smiling at him in that gentle way that he used to try and hide. Sasana immediately felt the tears start to return. Kouga took his hands, and for a moment, they simply looked at each other. Sasana's heart felt so achingly full of love it could burst.
“Kouga… What am I going to do without you?” Sasana finally said, his attempt at a playful tone betrayed by the way his voice shook.
Kouga squeezed his hands. “You're going to take good care of yourself, or else you'll make me fly over there to scold you.”
Sasana let out a choked laugh and let his forehead fall against Kouga's. “Don't say that or I'll start neglecting my health on purpose to get you to visit.” He tried to memorize the feeling of Kouga's hands in his, to feel his heart beating.
After another long moment, Kouga pulled away. He took his glasses off, wiping his eyes. “Damn it, I didn't want…” He let out a frustrated huff.
Sasana laughed, taking Kouga's face in his hands. “No tears for either of us, okay?” He kissed Kouga's flushed cheek. “I want to see that beautiful smile of yours as much as I can before I leave.”
Kouga turned even redder but didn't protest. Taking a step back, he put his glasses back on and pulled a small box from his pocket. “Here. I got you something.”
Sasana cocked his head as he took the box. “Kouga, you didn't need to…” He blinked. It was a jewelry box. When he flipped it open, inside was… a ring.
He stared at it for a moment, then looked up at Kouga with wide eyes.
There was a second’s frozen silence before Kouga jolted with realization, flailing his hands. “Oh- NO, no, not- It's just- just a gift, I'm not- I wouldn't pull that when you're about to leave!”
Sasana burst out laughing, his shoulders relaxing. “Okay, okay, I believe you. I might not have minded if you did, though~” Kouga slumped and buried his face in his hands as Sasana took out the ring to examine it. It was a flat gold band patterned by swirling cutouts and engravings. The center featured a moonlike design, a circle with a crescent traced into it.
“It's nothing expensive,” Kouga said, still flushed. “It just made me think of you, and I suppose… I just wanted to give you something you could keep close. So I can be with you.”
“It's beautiful,” Sasana said softly. After a moment of consideration, he slid it onto his left ring finger and smiled. It fit nicely. “Thank you.” He pulled Kouga into a tight hug, savoring the feeling of those strong arms wrapping gently around his back. They could talk over the phone, but to go months without being able to be close to him like this was going to be hard. He buried his face in Kouga's shoulder for a moment, fighting back tears again. “I’d better get going.”
“I know.” Kouga gave him a squeeze. “Text me when you land, okay? Hoshikawa-kun and the others, too.”
Sasana nodded. “I will. And I'll come back to visit soon.”
“You’d better. You can stay at the shrine anytime you come back, Father agrees.”
“You have the keys to my place still, right? If you ever need to use it, it's yours.”
“I probably won't need a mansion for anything.”
“Yeah, but still.” Sasana finally loosened his grip and pulled back just enough to meet Kouga's gaze. “You'll keep an eye on the others for me, won't you?”
“Of course.”
“And you'll keep dancing.”
“Always.”
“... I love you.”
Kouga smiled and brushed Sasana’s hair out of his face before leaning in and letting their lips meet. For a long moment that was still far too short, nothing else existed but the two of them and the warmth filling Sasana's chest.
At last, they broke apart. “I love you too.” Kouga whispered, letting his hand rest on Sasana's neck a moment longer before pulling away.
Sasana slung his bag back over his shoulder and set his hand on his suitcase. He let out a long breath. He was ready.
“Take care of yourself.” Kouga said one more time.
“I will.”