AN: Cheers for 665 hits!
Occurring in and around the timeline of this chapter:
K: Seven Stories - Circle Vision - Nameless Song. (Manga/Movie)
Chance.
Bursts of pleasure still radiating through his whole body, heightened to every touch, Mikoto's legs collapsed out from under him. His front descended to settle on soft sheets, where he rested, puffing against the satin pillow Munakata kept for him. There he waited a long breathless moment, letting Munakata place kisses against the nape of his neck, shoulder, and the exit scar adorning his back. Until the stars had cleared from Mikoto's vision, and he could trust his limbs to hold his weight once more. Before pushing himself up onto his forearms.
Munakata Gently eased off him, to recline on his back by Mikoto's side. Arms encompassing his own hair now ruffled, the ends singed. His blushing chest rising and falling with each audible breath, bitten lips parted, and eyes half lidded.
It was this last feature that drew Mikoto in for another Kiss. At the same time, extending unsteady fingers to brush the plane of Munakata's pecs beneath which he could feel Munakata's heart beating rapidly post their marathon love making.
A degree of lucidity returning to him, Mikoto all at once became very aware that in his mind he had subconsciously supplanted 'fucking' or 'sex' with 'love making' despite that they hadn't done anything differently in bed. So then, did that mean they'd been making love all this time, without realizing it? The thought was equal parts comical and exhilarating.
Munakata slipping an arm about Mikoto's middle, drew him in tight, his other hand finding red hair he deepened the unhurried touch of lips to a languid press. All of which drew a pleased rumble from Mikoto.
When they did at last pull apart, Mikoto rolled in against the other man's side so that he was facing the bed's edge, Munakata's arm still around him. And tugging Munakata's coat over so that he could retrieve the unopened carton of Blue Sparks from the pocket, Mikoto took one between his lips and passed the carton back. Then held up a finger, a flame dancing at its end.
When Munakata had lit up, Mikoto too scorched the end of his own smoke, and breathed in the toxic lung full. "You manage to exceed my expectations again Munakata." He exhaled the words on a smoky breath, that made the light of the historical drama streaming on the laptop, look hazy and blown out.
He wasn't exaggerating, just offering due where it was deserved. Munakata really was too good at bringing him to the brink over and over and over and over, before easing off each time. And when it came to satisfying, leg shaking orgasms? Munakata was more than generous.
On the battlefield or on Munakata's dick, Mikoto's needs and desires were always taken good care of. Mikoto supposed that at this point, it was useless to dress the thing down with more flippant wording.
Munakata made a contented thrumming sound in his chest, "I told you once 'I wont disappoint' didn't I?"
His tone was gentle and pleased both. As well as that, Mikoto could feel his warm breath filter against the back of his neck, the sensation spreading goosebumps all across his skin.
Mikoto grunted in reply, humored by the recollection of their first fight.
"That reminds me. I should thank you for fighting off the Grey King." Munakata's smile was evident in his voice. "It really is as much a joy to fight back to back with you, as it is to have you for my opponent."
Mikoto turned to face the other man, resting a hand where collarbone meets neck, and draped his leg across Munakata's hip. "In that case, we're even. Seeing as you, in the spirit of sharing, gave that most recent Green King what was coming to him."
"Certainly." Munakata laughed, though it was colored by pain. "We discovered later that he was the one who sent the Colorless King after you."
"Well, outside of this waking-dream, you lot managed to do him in. Consider me avenged." He plucked the stub of a cigarette from his mouth, burned it away. And joining his lips in the slightest touch, with Munakat's, incinerating the filter that remained of Munakata's own smoke. "It's a shame I can't stay for some shut eye." The thought had the satiated warm feeling inside of him, like his heart would burst, sinking and turning cold.
Mikoto felt Munakata's hold close momentarily around him, as if asking him through action to stay, but then he relinquished his embrace once more.
They both knew as well as each other, that they had to keep putting one foot in front of the other for a while yet, before their paths would meet again. Munakata had a responsibility to Anna, and Mikoto himself needed to return to Hibana in the dream.
Fighting against his every instinct, Mikoto rolled back the other way, and sat up. The blankets sliding from warm skin, unaffected by the wintry early morning air.
For the first time since entering this small room at the end of the hall, Mikoto gave the space a sweep of the eye. It was far from lavish like the hotel room had been, consisting only of the bed, a desk and a wardrobe. The walls were spartan and painted white, the only point of interest being the window that offered a view out onto the grounds, overlooking an impressive array of mature cherry blossom trees covered in snow.
Not allowing himself to think about what he was doing, or how long this waking-dream might last. Mikoto tugged his hip huggers on, followed by his denims, bra, socks and tshirt. Untucking his jewelry from the collar. Last he shrugged into his jacket.
Turning, Mikoto found Munakata slipping into a geometrically patterned nemaki, which he pulled up over the notably unhealed furrows decorating his back.
Waiting for Munakata to finish securing the article of clothing. Mikoto took another cigarette from the carton of Blue Sparks, and tossed the pack to the other man. Then wandered over to Munakata's window where he lit up and held his flame out for Munakata, who shortly joined him.
Munakata, double tasking, got his smoke lit while popping the window open.
It was snowing out still, each fleck catching light from the heavens and the soundly sleeping city of the waking-dream as it drifted to earth.
Glancing toward the man sharing the window sill with him, Mikoto found Munakata's eyes already on him.
Munakata brushed the snow from Mikoto's hair where it had settled. "Mikoto."
Mikoto, in response to hearing his personal name unaccompanied by his family name, from the other man. Felt his brows lift, not making any effort to camouflage his surprise. "You're worrying me Reisi." He teased, without any true seriousness, through the smoke of his last draw.
Munakata held his eyes steadily for an extended moment, in which Mikoto saw that look on his face, so like it had been before Munakata was forced to run Mikoto through, making Mikoto wonder if he had misjudged the atmosphere entirely.
Then Munakata asked a question Mikoto had not been expecting. "Marry me?"
Eyes going wide, Mikoto coughed on his cigarette smoke for the first time in his life. Still wrestling back a cough, he lifted his head to find Munakata's eyes steady beneath crumpled brows, his lips tightly pressed.
Munakata spoke once more, his voice raw. "I tried to bring you back to my side using the slate, however there are things even Kings can't do, no matter how dearly I wished it. But now, a year after we supposed the slate broken and gone, all contact with the dream lost. You're right here in front of me, even if only fleetingly, so while I have this chance-" He cut himself off to draw a breath and seemingly to collect his words, Mikoto had never seen him like this. "Your ethos has always been to do what you want. Well, I'll do likewise, by asking you to consent to become my husband. I recognize you're not the marrying type, and that technically we've already been separated by death. However, if you're willing, it would be enough if we decided to consider ourselves married. You should know that, when it comes down to it, for me you can't be replaced. Mikoto, I can't lose you like I did last time, without making myself clear-"
Mikoto stepping close, resting his arms around Munakata's shoulders, and kissed him slow. "You hem and haw too much." This was absurd. During Mikoto's time in waking life, they had been rivals, just barely acknowledging a friendship hours before his death, let alone considering the potentiality of becoming lovers explicitly. But somehow, this absurdity wasn't out of Munakata's realm, the other man could occasionally be astonishingly open minded. Mikoto himself had never considered such a thing, yet his reply came easily. "Yeah, after all you could never be replaced for me either." A kind of animal instinct, that had never failed him, guiding his words and heart. But there was more to it than that, if he was being honest, he had had his heart set on this, married or otherwise he wanted to be with Munakata. Only Munakata, there wasn't any other soul in any other universe for him but Munakata.
Again Munakata's brows were tugged by emotion, but this time a sincere smile accompanied the expression. And holding Mikoto against him, one arm around Mikoto's middle, the other on the back of his neck. He rested his temple against vivid hair, when Mikoto nuzzled his shoulder.
It was only when the cigarettes they held burned out, and any excuse Mikoto had to stay, burned with them, that they broke that comfortable moment.
Leaving the room, and meeting Munakata in a last most gentle kiss by the gate, Mikoto stroked his fingers, on the verge of alighting, against his husband's heart. Then wordless and reluctant he stepped out across the road and into the city.
Approaching the corner of his domain, Mikoto released a breath part agony part satisfaction. It was going to be a long seventy or so years of smoking his own cheap cigarettes after dream and waking separated.
Kicking snow from his boots. Mikoto strode into bar homra, to find everyone asleep, just as they had been the previous morning. Save for Tatara, who had been awoken from his place at the bar, by the door's bell.
"Ah, Mikoto, you're back." He grinned sleepily. Then his expression became very serious. "Hold on, did Munakata have protection, or is number three about to be on the way?"
Mikoto glared noncommittally, and shrugging out of his jacket, he dropped down onto the sofa. With the luck of two Kings between them, Mikoto figured it was more than likely lightning would strike twice despite his finicky fertility, but here in this waking-dream? A thought was as good as a pill or a condom.
Tatara resumed grinning. "Ok ok, I'm sorry. But I have to know, how did he take the news about Hibana? I hope you remembered to tell him!"
"As you'd expect from him." Mikoto couldn't help a small curve at the corner of his mouth. He had made his decision to bring Hibana into the world for himself, but maybe just maybe, pleasing Munakata as a side effect, was something he could admit he was happy about.
"Details King, c'mon I'm dying for the goss here!"
"Then you'll be interested to hear, he and I got hitched." He told Tatara, in a deliberately lackadaisical way.
Tatara did the closest thing to a full bodied impression of an exclamation mark, Mikoto thought he had ever seen. "What!? You can't just come out with that and not explain!"
"Watch me." Mikoto yawned, and turned on his side to attempt sleep. But his heart was a mess.
"It's unreasonable o-clock in the morning though, and I doubt there's an Elvis impersonator handy in the waking-dream."
Making peace with the fact he wasn't going to get any sleep, unless he allowed himself to be quizzed, Mikoto answered. "We just made an agreement to consider ourselves espoused, sides, Munakata's a civil servant right?" He turned his head to look over his shoulder. Unable to remember if a civil servant could officiate a marriage, or for that matter, their own marriage. And wanting to see if Tatara might know. Did it count if Munakata probably wasn't the Captain of Scepter 4, in the waking, any more?
Hearing this, Tatara smiled. "You know what, that's really sweet Mikoto."
Mikoto snorted and turned back over, but couldn't help smiling privately to himself.
