"Aoba..." The owner of the name glanced up from what he was working on at the sound of all too familiar voice. It took a few seconds to find the origin of the voice, but once found, he broke into a smile wide enough to make his cheeks hurt.
"Koujaku!" He cried happily, hurriedly pushing all the junk off his lap to the floor and leaping to his feet. "Did you just get off work?" He strode up to him, stopping just a foot in front of him. "You should have sent me a mail, I could've gotten dinner ready."
"En." He nodded, looking away. "Sorry, I got kind of distracted and forgot. I stopped at Mizuki's on my way home and ended up losing track of time." He ran a hand through his ever present bangs.
Aoba cocked his head to the side. Something was clearly off about the hair-dresser, but he couldn't pinpoint what. He seemed restless, and uneasy. His usual firm stance had been traded for a slight, nervous, swaying. "That's not like you." He commented as he tried to find the answer. "Is something the matter? You seem kind of out of it today."
His sharp gaze snapped to look him in the face, his eyes a little wild. "Nothing is wrong." His words are edgy and it was pretty clear that he was trying hard to hide whatever it was. "I just... Didn't sleep well last night."
"What are you talking about?" Aoba sighed. "You slept like an absolute rock. I even woke up before you did, this morning." He closed the distance between them, and reached up to cup Koujaku's face in his hands. "You're not your usual self, you hippo." He hesitated a second but he got on his tiptoes to peck his lover on the lips, hoping it would calm him. "You can tell me anything. We may be lovers, but we're friends first."
Koujaku sighed heavily before dropping his hand, only to wrap it and his other one around Aoba. "That's..." His head drooped and he pulled the boy closer. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Aoba."
His face dropped a little, and his chest clenched. He didn't want to break up did he? Aoba didn't know if it would be possible for them to go back to being just friends at this point. "What is it?"
"Can we... Sit down first?" Koujaku's hesitation was palpable, and confusing. He was always thinking about things too hard and making it worse on himself. Aoba loved that about him, but it also made him worry.
Nodding, he was led to the sofa where they sat down, the raven-haired man pulling him close enough that almost every inch of their sides touched. "Seriously, Koujaku, what's wrong? You're starting to make me worry." The blue-haired man grabbed the scarred hand tightly, and threaded their fingers together. He rubbed his thumb in gentle circles over the tanned skin, ignoring the painful ache in his chest every time he went over a scar.
"I..." He averted his gaze again, contemplating what he wanted to say. "I think..." He took a deep breath, all the way through his diaphragm. "I think it's time we told everyone... About us... I mean." He turned his attention back to Aoba, his brows furrowed, an intense look his vibrant eyes.
Aoba breathed a sigh of relief, though it didn't last long. Shocked, he snapped his head up to look the other man in the eyes. "W-what do you mean tell?" His thumb stilled. "We're fine like this, aren't we?" Honestly he'd given it some thought before but he'd thrown it away rather quickly. He just wasn't mentally prepared to say it explicitly to all the people he knew. Certainly he loved Koujaku more than anything, and anyone, on the planet, but he wasn't in a position where he could freely shout it from the rooftops either. It had been hard enough to explain it to Granny six months after they'd started seeing each other in that way. She accepted it easily enough, only going on and on about not having great grandbabies, but Aoba was uncertain about everyone else. How would they react, knowing he was going out with, not only a man, but a ladies man?
"A-Aoba, are you alright?" His warm, gentle, tone brought him back and he took a deep breath, not realizing he'd momentarily stopped breathing. Koujaku reached out with his free hand and stroked his cheek. Aoba calmed before the older man opened his mouth again. "Is that a no, then?"
Aoba's gaze fell to the floor and his fingers tightened around the others as he thought things through. Certainly it was important to him, and eventually they would have to confess anyway Unconsciously his thumb started moving again as he mulled things over, thoughts going round and around in his head. Finally he spoke. "It's not that I don't want to tell people..." He took a deep breath. "It's more like..." He was having trouble finding the right words.
The look Koujaku's eyes softened and he chuckled. A thin smile crept to his lips as he butted in. "You love me, but that's just a step too much?"
Aoba violently shook his head. "That's definitely not it!" His tone of voice elevated. "I love you, you stupid hippo, more than anything in this world. There's nothing I wouldn't do to be with you for the rest of my life. Even if we fight, or we argue, or get into petty arguments I'll continue loving you." Slowly his gaze came back up to look him in the face. "But loving you like this doesn't come without worry." He added the last bit almost under his breath.
Koujaku pulled his hand away from their clenched embrace and pulled his boyfriend into tight side-hug, running his fingers through the short, but still ruffled, hair. He couldn't wait for it to grow out again so that he could trim it. From now on he would always make sure Aoba's hair was perfect. "Worry?" He asked, leaning over to press a kiss to the younger boy's temple.
Aoba nodded, and leaned in a little. "Up until a year ago we were just friends. Up until a year ago, that's honestly how I thought we'd always be. But a lot of things happened to us. I saw a part of you that you've never shown anyway else, and a feeling I didn't realize I had blossomed up from inside." His face was bright red and his tongue felt swollen and heavy as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "I fell in love. You fell in love. We fell in love with each other. Our relationship is a difficult one to understand. How can two people cross the line from "friends" to "lovers?" For normal people it isn't possible." He inhaled deeply, trying to keep his composure. "You were... No. You are... A ladies man. Your customers come to you, to swoon over you, to mark you. Everyone, Mizuki, Granny, Benishigure, knows you love the attention of those women. I worry about what will happen if we tell them about our relationship. How will they change? How will we change? I don't want to think about ruining the peace we have right now. I don't want you to lose the respect of your team. As much as I try not to think about it too much, we're both men. And even though we love each other, everything we do is still such a taboo." His mouth felt strikingly like cotton.
"Aoba." Koujaku's gentle voice resonated all the way to his bones. "I love you."
"W-what?" Aoba pushed himself away, his face red from the tip of his ears, all the way down his neck. Staring at the Benishigure leader, his heart stopped. That gentle, always smiling, face, stared back at him, a grin worthy of medals plastered to his lips. "What is it?"
"I love you. I also love the part of you that worries more than necessary. As you told me, I love you more than anything in this world. I also love my team, my friends, and Granny. But that's exactly why I think it's essential for us to tell them. If they choose to leave because of who I choose to have my arm around, then they weren't worthy of knowing us that intimately in the first place." He reached out and grabbed Aoba's hand. Bring it to his lips, he placed gentle kisses along each knuckle, turned it over, and placed a gentle kiss in the middle of his palm. "We don't have to do it tomorrow. We don't have to do it a week from now. But this is important. For both of us."
Making unsure, frustrated, noises, Aoba begrudgingly agreed. Leaning forward he pecked his lover on the lips before snuggling against his chest.
"What about dinner?"
"Just stay like this for awhile." He murmured through a yawn he hadn't realized he was holding in.
"Sure. No problem." Koujaku combed his fingers through the fine threads of hair as he listened to the sound of the boy falling asleep.
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A few weeks passed. In that time life continued on as usual. Koujaku woke early in the morning to make breakfast before heading to work, while Aoba struggled to rouse himself from bed a hour or so later. During that time the young hair-dresser didn't mention his proposal again, leaving Aoba to wonder if he'd dreamt the entire conversation.
Despite wondering if it were a dream, it was constantly on his mind. On one of the few nights he stayed over at Granny's house, now, he mentioned it almost in passing. She snorted quietly, gave her curt opinion, and said nothing more about it. She told him it was completely his choice, and it was something to decide between himself and Koujaku.
One day during his lunch break, after sitting on those heavy thoughts for just a little too long, he let out a loud frustrated sigh and flopped forward to lay his head on the desk. "Re-en." He whined.
"Yes, Aoba?" The muffled mechanical voice answered. A second later the little blue allmate poked his head out from the blue duffel.
"What should I do?" He couldn't hide the slightly childish whimper of indecision in his tone.
Ren tilted his head to the side. "Do about what?" Shaking himself free of the bag, he trotted up to the desk to sit at his masters feet.
Aoba sighed loudly and lifted his head. "I keep thinking about what Koujaku and I talked about. It seemed really important to him, and it's important to me, too, but I don't want things to change. What if everyone hates us? What if Mizuki no longer wants to hang out with us? I mean he forgave me for breaking his mind, but could he forgive me for falling in love with a guy?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand the intricacies of all human emotion, but should he care about you, I would think Mizuki would continue on just the same." Ren stated. "I believe that those who are important to you will only care that you are happy."
The boys gaze dropped to the desk and he inaudibly sighed. "Maybe you're right. I want to do it. Not just for Koujaku, but for myself as well. I want to hold my head high and proudly announce who I'm in love with."
"That will be good, I think, for your mental health as well." Ren pressed his forehead against Aoba's calf affectionately. He leaned down and stroked the dog's back.
"En. I can't argue with that. I'll send Koujaku an email to let him know. I suppose we'll discuss it when we get home tonight." Aoba opened his mail on his coil and addressed a new one to his boyfriend. In the subject line he simply put 'I've decided' and in the body of the message he put 'Let's do it.'
A few minutes after sending it, his coil alerted him to a new reply. Inside it read, 'Are you serious? Let's do it! … I love you.' Blushing up to the tip of his ears, and unable to send a comprehensive reply, Aoba closed out of it and headed back to the front of Heibon to finish out the rest of his shift.
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As soon as he clocked out for the day, Aoba called Koujaku. For some reason his heart was beating a mile a minute and his tongue felt like lead inside his mouth. He almost hoped the man wouldn't answer so he could put off the inevitable as long as possible. Unfortunately he wasn't that lucky today.
"Oh, Aoba. Finished for the day?" There was a certain pep in his tone that made Aoba grin like a fool despite being nervous.
"Yep, I'm just heading home now. How are things on your end? Will you be home for dinner?"
"Hmmm." Koujaku paused for a minute. "I'm taking a short break right now, but I have a few more clients who are really pushing to get in today so if you can hold of on dinner for a little while I'll probably be back in time. Around seven maybe?"
"Any requests?" Although his cooking was nowhere near his grandmother's level, Aoba had gotten a lot stronger in that area and he was starting to enjoy new challenges. (Though admittedly, Koujaku almost always asked for the same thing."
"None today." Aoba could feel his smile through the screen. "I'll see you later, then." There was a brief silence before he added, "I love you."
Caught off guard he flubbed, "I-I l-love you t-too." Flustered, he hung up and quickly hurried back to the hair-dressers apartment.
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"I'm home!" Koujaku's loud voice rang out clear through the apartment, drawing Aoba's attention. Once again sitting on the floor of his renovated work room, he stood and went to meet him.
"Welcome home." The blue-haired man stopped a few feet from the other man, feeling a little shy for some reason. Seeing him felt a little awkward for some reason. It's not like they'd ever been super touchy-feely, and welcome home kisses weren't a regular occurrence, but somehow it just felt odd today not to be close to him. "How was work?"
He chuckled and ran a hand through his bangs. "The ladies were extra preceptive today so they were getting really chatty. I don't think I've been asked out for drinks or events so many times in one sitting in over two years."
"Mmm." Shuffling a little he asked after a second, "Are you hungry? Dinner's on the stove."
"Starving." Turning away Koujaku immediately headed for the dining room. A few seconds later Aoba followed.
He portioned out two plates before sitting down at the table to eat. During dinner they didn't say a whole lot outside of the occasional snide remark but as they finished, the older man opened his mouth to say something. "Aoba. Thank you."
"It's just dinner, you hippo." Aoba muttered, pushing his plate away.
Koujaku sighed a tiny smirk rose to his lips. "That's not what I mean and you know it." Reaching across the tiny table and took Aoba's hands in his own. "I mean thank you for thinking so seriously about what I said. It means a lot."
Again the boy blushed to the tip of his ears.
"I hope I didn't pressure you into it. I'd really like for you to be ready to do this."
Aoba shook his head. "You didn't pressure me into it. I almost thought it was a dream because, after that first time, you didn't mention it again. It was always on my mind though and, in the end, I decided you were right. In order for our relationship to continue forward we need to take this step." He wrapped his fingers around Koujaku's and held tightly onto them. "We can send a mail out tonight and set something up for later this week." He paused. "... and if it's alright with you, I don't think I'm comfortable having the entirety of Benishigure there. Maybe just the core members?"
The older man smiled broadly and nodded. "However you want to do it is fine with me. The members that do come can spread it around for us." Leaning across the table he planted a soft kiss against Aoba's lips. It was hard to just kiss him once, but now wasn't the time for more. "Let's clean up and get ready for bed."
"Sure." Aoba stood and began collecting the dishes, his ears still a nice, bright, pink.
"I'll go write that mail." Koujaku said as he set his plates in the sink. "Then I'm going to hop in the shower."
Aoba nodded but didn't say anything. He shivered when a pair of fingers brushed strands of hair away from his nape and when, a second later, a pair of lips pressed against him. "I'll be up a little while later, so you go ahead and sleep first. You have work early tomorrow right?"
"En. Good night. I love you." He let his fingers trail across the exposed neck and over his arms as he started out of the kitchen.
Aoba blankly watched him go before going back to the dishes. As soon as he'd finished, he went back to his work room to tinker around a bit more before bed.
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The next two days passed by in the blink of an eye and before Aoba had time to regret his decision, a small group of close friends had gathered inside Mizuki's bar just after close. The ones that had shown up were Mizuki of course, Clear, Noiz, and then just three of Benishigure's members. Granny decided not to come since she was already aware of their relationship, as was Haga-san and Yoshie-san. Thankfully none of Koujaku's pushy clients had shown up, even though he had let slip he was having an important meeting tonight.
The small group of men sat huddled around the bar, chattering among themselves while they waited for the guests of honour. No one had the slightest idea what this meeting of randoms was going to be about so all the could do was make broad speculations.
"Oi, wasn't Koujaku-san acting kind of weird today?" One of his team members muttered.
"Hm, it did seem that way. He kept fidgeting." Another said, taking a swig from the drink he'd been offered. "I haven't seen him this way in forever."
"Not since he hooked up with that one crazy chick-"
"Oh God, that woman. We were told never to speak of her again." The first man laughed, throwing his head back. "Maybe it's about a girl again."
The second man shook his head. "No way. He's been straight with us about every relationship, or 'friend' he's had since then. And with non-members at the meeting I wonder..."
Noiz watched in disinterest, snorting at the pointless chatter. He wondered why he was even here. It wasn't like the three of them had suddenly become best chums or anything. He seriously wondered why he'd even bothered keeping their contact information. His life and theirs were completely different and unrelated.
Clear on the other hand listened intently. He had made sure to keep a very close eye on his Master whenever he could, but the issue of his private life, behind closed doors, was still a mystery to him. Perhaps he could learn something relevant if he listened hard enough.
Lastly there was Mizuki. He listened to the chatter without really listening. Of all the people gathered, he had the best idea of what was really going on. When Koujaku had so earnestly asked to use his bar as a meeting spot he'd said yes without a second thought. When it came to that man and Aoba, things were usually pretty serious. He wouldn't gather a group like this without something important to say.
Just as the small band of men were growing restless, the door swung open and the VIP's of the party waltzed in.
"Evening." Koujaku smiled broadly and half saluted his friends.
Aoba, a few steps behind, did the same though with a little less flourish.
"You're late, Koujaku-san!" One of his members whined as he finished off his drink. The other two readily agreed, grumbling about his inability to be on time.
"Sorry, sorry. A few straggler customers were being persistent so I had trouble shaking them off."
"So?" Noiz spoke up, glaring. "What do you want to tell us that's so important?"
Right to the point. Aoba thought. That's just like him.
The same thought crossed the hair-dresser's mind. "W-well... Let me get a drink first. Mizuki?" He looked at his long time buddy for assistance. Within seconds there was a glass of high quality sake in his hand. Without taking a second to enjoy its fragrance, or taste really, Koujaku downed it in one go. Setting the cup down he turned back to the group with a serious look. "Since I'm running late let me just cut right to the chase. Aoba and I... We're in that sort of relationship."
There was a brief silence.
"That sort?" One of the members parroted, cocking his head to one side. "What do you mean that sort?"
"Well I mean... You know..." He tried beating around the bush. "Th-that kind."
Someone snorted. "Eeeeeeeeh." There was a mocking tone behind the simple phrase. "So you've done it?" Aoba blushed so hard his head spun from the blood rushing too quickly to his face.
"N-Noiz!" He scolded him, snapping to look at him.
"It's just a question." Noiz replied none-too-innocently.
Aoba's mouthed flopped a few times but he couldn't find the words to answer.
"If that's all you wanted to say than I'm out. I don't care what you do, it's not my concern." He slide gracefully from his chair and pushed past them to the door. "Tell me when you've put on your big boy pants. Then we'll celebrate." Waving slightly, he exited the room without another word.
The others left behind were stunned into silence. Finally one of Benishigure's members spoke up. "You mean..." His words were harsh. "You're fucking him?"
"Well... Yes... To put it simply..."
There was another pause but then that particular member blew up. "What the hell are you talking about, Koujaku-san?! He's a man! Are you some kind of faggot? I can't believe you'd touch another guy so easily. You've been decieving me all these years. I can't believe I'm on a team where the leader is some pussy ass cock-sucker."
"Oi, oi. That's going too far!" One of the other members grabbed onto him, scolding him. "I'm upset too but that doesn't change his core character."
The enraged man growled and turned his gaze on his friend. "Doesn't it disgust you at all? What if he tried touching one of us when we went out together, huh? He could've jumped one of us at any given time. That doesn't bother you at all?"
"Of course I'm bothered." He sighed deeply before turning to his leader. "Why?"
Taken aback Koujaku couldn't answer right away. Giving himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts he replied, firmly, "I've loved him for a lot longer than I even realized. A lot of stuff happened last year that helped lead us here."
"God that's fucking disgusting. You love him? I don't want to hear this. I can't believe I followed a fucking homo for this long."
Aoba listened silently for a bit but after hearing him get bashed so much by one person he couldn't take it any longer. "Shut up." He growled. "Shut that mouth of yours before I shut it for you."
The intense glare turned on him. "And you? How dare you seduce him you filthy cock-sucker. You corrupted him and brought him to the other side. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
"I did no such thing. Thinking things like that just make you ignorant." Aoba almost shouted, forcing deep breaths into his lungs to keep himself from losing it. This was the exact reason he didn't want people to find out.
Just as the man was about to say something more, Clear lept to his feet and wrapped an arm around his neck. "That's enough. No one talks poorly about Master like that. I'll have to kindly ask you to leave."
"Let me go!" The man struggled and kicked as Clear easily dragged him to the door and tossed him out. "Koujaku-san, I quit!"
"Good." The man replied, turning his scary red gaze on him. "Don't let me see your face in my neighbourhood again. If I do, I won't be afraid to end you for good." The door was slammed in his face. Turning back to the other members of his group he sighed and lowered his gaze. "Does it make your uncomfortable?"
"Does what?"
"The fact that your leader is together with a man?"
The one who'd been calmly speaking before shrugged. "It does. I don't really get it and I don't know if I'll ever be able to but it's not my position to judge who you choose to be with. Someone else will make that judgement so for now I think it's best to just try and be happy."
The final member, who hadn't said anything, nodded. "My oldest brother is gay so it doesn't bother me in the least. It'll make things more difficult for you but this is the path you've chosen to walk down so I won't stop you. I know you're strong so there's no way I'd leave over something like this."
"What about your Clear?" Aoba softly asked the white-haired man. "Am I still worthy of being your master?"
"Master is Master." Clear replied, slurping his drink through a straw. "I don't see how loving Koujaku-san would be bad. If you're happy then I'm happy. Of course I don't really understand everything but if anyone makes you cry, I will end them." Aoba was certain the last bit would be said with a terrifying face.
Both of the men in question turned to Mizuki. "I'll say my piece after the others leave." He said, folding his arms.
The other men took the hint and gathered their things. Clear, after some prodding, followed suit. Once just the three of them were seated inside the bar, Mizuki spoke.
"Are you sure about this?" Was the first thing he asked.
Taken aback neither could answer.
"W-what are you saying?" Koujaku was on the defensive.
The tattooist sighed before sinking onto a bar stool behind the counter. "This is quite the thing to drop on a person. I had my suspicions but to hear you say it out loud... It's a bit much."
"... That's why we were hesitant to say anything." Aoba muttered, staring down at clasped hands.
"How long?"
"Over a year."
Mizuki gasped. "A YEAR?! You've waited an entire year to say anything to anyone?"
Aoba shook his head. "Granny, Haga-san, and Yoshie-san knew. Granny sort of found out by accident and I felt really awful about hiding it from the other two."
"But not about hiding it from your friend?"
The young man raised his head quickly to defend himself but was surprised to see a playful smile on the redheads lips. "Mizuki?"
"I won't lie and say I'm completely okay with this right now but... Are you guys happy?" They nodded. "Are you willing to support each other, even if things get rough?" They nodded again. "Then what more can I say? You've been together as lovers for more than a year. You've known each other for more than eight. If you've seen as much as you say you have, then things will work themselves out. Life's going to be rough you know. That one member might start saying things to your clients, Koujaku."
"That was kind of the plan..." He took a swig of his refilled sake glass. "Hopefully business won't decline too much because of that."
Mizuki laughed. "It's a bit late to be saying that now. And Aoba, isn't Granny sad not to be having grandchildren?"
"Don't remind me." Aoba said woefully, flopping against the bar.
"As for me, just promise I'll never have to listen to you about your sex lives."
"Definitely not!" Aoba insisted, blushing mad red.
The other two men laughed loudly as they downed another drink. At least things were going to remain normal among the three of them.
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"Ugh, I'm exhausted." Aoba cried as he flopped into bed, not bothering to undress. "Let's just go to bed."
"Wanna shower first?"
"Nope." Turning on his side, he yawned and curled himself into a ball. "Let's just sleep."
Koujaku chuckled and began sowly undressing himself. Setting his own clothes aside, he stripped his boyfriend down to the bare basics before crawling in beside him. Wrapping a loving arm around him, he pulled him close. "Thank you, Aoba."
"Hippo." Aoba gripped the arms wrapped around him tightly.
"Now all we have to do is let the information spread."
"En."
"I love you."
Twisting around so they were facing each other, Aoba muttered quietly, "I love you too." Giving a single peck to the tip of the other mans nose, he snuggled in close and closed his eyes. Today was the both an end, and a beginning, and tomorrow would be a new day.
There were no regrets in coming to love this man with all his heart.