A/N: Sorry about that long delay in updates! I've had some crazy things going on lately!
.
Ibushi and Akoya had stayed up late into the night watching movies that were so bad that they were good. They laughed and joked together while they ate snacks, and somehow they managed to fall asleep together in Ibushi's bed. It wasn't until Ibushi woke up that morning that he realized just how wonderful that night had been.
He opened his eyes to find Akoya snuggled into his side, one leg draped over his own. Akoya's head rested peacefully on his chest, still fast asleep. His pink curls tickled Ibushi's neck, but he tried to ignore the feeling for fear of waking Akoya. But what he couldn't ignore was his best friend's dainty hand resting just above his heart, as if feeling Ibushi's heartbeat was soothing him. It wasn't until he added all of it up that he realized just how intimate the two of them looked together in that moment. But somehow, he didn't mind it at all.
His heart rate began to speed up, and he silently prayed that it wouldn't wake Akoya. Ibushi tried holding his breath to calm himself down. It wasn't like it wasn't his first time sharing his bed with Akoya, but he had never woken up in such an intimate position with him is all. Not that he minded it at all; it was just...unexpected. Yet despite all of that, something about it felt...right.
About a half hour later, Akoya began to stir in his sleep. His blue eyes slowly blinked open, yet it was obvious to tell that he still wasn't awake. He gazed at Ibushi with sleepy eyes before reaching up and caressing the other man's cheek in a loving manner, as one would their spouse upon waking. Lifting himself slightly, Akoya's face slowly crept toward his best friend's before their lips connected in a gentle gesture of love.
Ibushi's eyes widened as he felt his best friend's impossibly soft lips against his own, but with those soft lips came a terror of its own. He didn't want to think about how Akoya's lips felt against his, or about the pounding in his heart when he realized he was returning the kiss. Scared to delve any further into such impossible ideas of his best friend, he quickly pulled away from the kiss while the dazed Akoya rolled over so his back faced him.
Sure that Akoya wasn't paying attention, the green-haired man brought his fingertips to his lips, unable to forget the feel of the other man's kiss. There had to be something to drown the feeling inside of him at that very moment. Figuring that brushing his teeth and washing out his mouth would be a good first step, he got right to that. And by the time he finished, Akoya was sitting up in bed and stretching.
"Good morning, Arima!" he chirped, smiling over at him. The cheeriness in his smile upon seeing his best friend was almost too much for the other to bear. "Did you sleep well? Sorry that I fell asleep in here. It's been quite a long time since I've done that." Akoya giggled in embarrassment. "It won't happen again."
Part of Ibushi was relieved that he wouldn't, while a stronger part wanted everything that had happened to happen again. "It's no big deal, I didn't mind," he replied. "I do have to be to your family's home in about an hour, though. My father wants me to meet with Kana today." He couldn't help but see Akoya's mood sour at the mention of his sister, but it wasn't like he could blame him. Ibushi wasn't too psyched about it either. "I'll take you with me, and then afterward you can come back here with me if you'd like."
His best friend immediately perked back up. "Well, I suppose I can since you suggested it," he replied, voice failing to hide the relief he felt at the suggestion. "If you really, really want me to."
"Screw it. I'm leaving you at home."
Akoya leapt out of Ibushi's bed and landed on his knees at his feet. "Please, no! I was only joking!" He took Ibushi's hands in his, looking him in the eyes. "I'll do anything!" he pleaded. His voice lowered as he added, "I mean, within reason, of course." Letting go, he flashed his best friend his most charming smile.
"We'll see," Ibushi simply replied before heading toward his closet.
.
Kana smiled warmly at Ibushi as he entered the sitting room and sat on a cushion across the table from her. "Arima-san, so wonderful to see you! I am glad you appear to be in good health. My brother is a bit of a nuisance. I apologize for him disturbing you last night. He hasn't slept well since he graduated, and he even refused to go to college. All he ever did was sit around and check his phone for a message that we all told him was never going to come. Somehow, having you back turned him into my old brother. But it's too little too late. Father wants to cut him off from his inheritance."
"Doesn't that seem too harsh?" Ibushi asked. Not realizing that he had been holding his breath, he discreetly let it all out as he tried to breathe regularly once more. He didn't understand how Akoya could be cut off like that. And the message that was never going to come….It was him, wasn't it? "Now that your brother is improving once again, isn't that all the more reason for your family to believe in him once more?"
She shook her head in a firm gesture of negativity. "We tried to believe in him for six years, and look where that got us. He's completely useless. Besides, how is it your concern anyway? Though I know that we are to be wed soon, this particular matter with my family has nothing to do with you, so I would appreciate it if you didn't pry any further."
"My apologies, Kana," Ibushi replied, graciously bowing his head. "I apologize for speaking when it wasn't my place."
"And how was it not your place?" Akoya asked, leaning against the doorframe of the room. His arms were crossed over his chest in a pout while he glared at his sister. "My dearest sister, you're not planning on keeping secrets from your husband, are you?" He clicked his tongue at her in disappointment. "That doesn't sound like an ideal bride to me."
"I do not recall asking you to join us," Kana coldly replied, her eyes glaring daggers at her brother. "You should leave, Akoya. You're not a part of this discussion."
"Do you think I would leave after you spoke to your fiance about me in such a manner?" He skipped over to the table and sat at the end of it. "I can't have you slandering my name in my own house, correct? You've now forced me into keeping an eye on you. I didn't want it to come to this, but you've left me with no choice, Kana." His head rested on his hand and he smiled at his sister. "So what kind of tea are we having?"
Shakily, the blonde rose from the table. "I apologize, Ibushi, but I must cut this meeting short. Though it is rude of me, I ask that you'll forgive me for this."
"It couldn't be because of me, could it?" Sarcasm dripped from her brother's voice as he smirked at her with triumph. "I don't see how I could be seen as a nuisance when I was only defending my name in front of my best friend. How cruel of you, Kana."
Her eyes narrowed as she struggled to keep a calm composure in front of Arima. "Dear brother, you forget your place," she hissed, poison seeping from her tone. Before she could seem unladylike, Kana turned on her heel and retreated from the room, her stomps echoing down the hallways of the manor.
"Sorry about her," Akoya sighed. "She's just bitter because I'm still the rightful heir until she gets married. My father told her that if she gets married before me, then she will be the heir of the family. Since she's younger than me, she would have proven herself in ways that I couldn't. We've always shared a rivalry between us since we were children. This is normal."
"Was what she said about you true?" Ibushi slowly asked, daring to look up at his friend. "Were you really depressed while I was gone?"
"I don't see why that would matter whether true or false," he quickly stated. "What matters is that I'm here and well right now, correct? The past is not something worth dwelling upon, now, is it?"
Knowing he couldn't pry any further, Ibushi shut his mouth and prepared to head back home.
.
"Are you mad about what I did with Kana?" Akoya asked after watching game shows on Ibushi's bedroom couch in silence for an hour. He stuck his spoon into his now-empty yogurt cup and unceremoniously dropped it onto the shag carpet. Sitting on his knees, he placed his hands on Ibushi's shoulders, shaking him. "You're been so quiet and it's driving me insane! At least yell at me or something!" He dramatically dropped so that he was lying across his best friend's lap, staring at the ceiling. "Please just tell me if you're angry or not. The suspense is killing me!"
Smiling at the man lying across his lap, Ibushi fought back a laugh. "No, Akoya. I'm not angry with you. In fact, I'm grateful to you for that. It's just that…" Ibushi thought hard about how to word what he wanted to say. "I don't like her," he finally admitted. "Your sister is nothing like you, and I'm honestly grateful for that. Then again, with her being nothing like you, she's most definitely not the type of woman I would want to marry."
The other man sat up and smirked at him. "So what you're saying is that you'd rather marry me instead?"
"Probably," his best friend replied, rolling his eyes.
Akoya hopped up to his feet and clapped his hands, delighted. "That's the best thing I've heard all day!"
"Well, with a family like yours, anything I say could be the best thing you've heard."
"You know, I can't even argue with that," the pink-haired man replied, grinning. "Since you know how horrible my family is, why would you ever agree to marrying my sister? Don't you see what kind of irreversible trouble that could get you into?" He cupped his hands around his mouth and stage whispered, "The Gero Family doesn't get divorced. Even if you decide that you hate Kana, like my mother did with my father, you can't get divorced. You'll be stuck with her forever. Are you sure you'd want that?"
The weight of Akoya's words pinned Ibushi to his couch. His heart hammered in his chest as he processed every syllable. Was he sure that he wanted to be married to Kana for the rest of his life? That was a huge commitment for someone he didn't feel anything for. Though his father wanted this for him, would he be willing to sacrifice his eternal happiness for a business deal? His stomach twisted at the thought of it, making him feel as if he would vomit at any moment. "No," he finally answered.
"Why are you marrying her anyway?"
"My father wants to form a partnership with yours," he explained. "That's why they decided on marriage between their children. It would be a lifelong partnership. But I don't think that I can force myself into lifelong misery for their sake."
"What if you just married me instead?" Akoya suggested.
Ibushi couldn't help but scoff at the suggestion. "Please don't make jokes like that," he sighed. "You know that can never happen. Our society would never accept it. I'd rather not get my hopes up just to have them dashed away like that. It just wouldn't be fair."
"So what you're saying is that you actually do want to marry me?" the other asked, grinning widely. He bent before Ibushi, bringing his face to his. "And if there wasn't such a stigma against it, it would be ideal for you?"
Swallowing thickly, the green-haired man maintained eye contact. His heart hammered in his chest as he began to sweat. Did he want to marry Akoya? Thinking back to that morning, he remembered the kiss he had received from the other. He thought about how soft Akoya's lips were, and how they felt against his. Would kisses like that be enough to ensure his happiness and maintain the partnership? After all, did a blood-related heir really matter for them?
"Let me help you decide," Akoya slowly replied. He moved to his knees, straddling Ibushi against the couch. His hands rested on his friend's shoulders as he gently pushed them back. Taking a deep breathe, he closed his eyes before grabbing the sides of his best friend's face and kissing him. The connection of their lips felt euphoric, rendering him breathless.
Ever since their high school days, he had always wondered how it would feel to kiss Ibushi. Now that he knew, it felt better than he could have ever imagined. Thoughts of it poisoned his mind, making him desire more and more kisses just like these. Yet a small voice in his head told him that if he were to break off the kiss, it would never happen again. His hands moved up into Ibushi's hair, long fingers entangling themselves into it as his tongue worked his way through the other's lips. The kiss was everything Akoya had ever wanted, even if he knew it wasn't meant to be.
Once they pulled apart, Ibushi stared at Akoya as he tried to catch his breath. His face was flushed but glowing nonetheless. Struggling to form words after being kissed in such a way, he slowly reached up and rested his arms on Akoya's hips. He tried to work past the brain fog and say something, anything, to Akoya. Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, his hands moved lower, grabbing his friend's ass and pulling him into another kiss.
Akoya was more than eager to kiss him once again, but he wasn't expecting to be grabbed in such a way. He moaned softly against Ibushi's lips, arching his back. His mind was hurtling through time and space at 100 miles per second. Having never thought that his best friend would enjoy the kiss as much as he had, his brain was simply stunned.
Ibushi kissed him until his lips felt numbed. He pulled back away, eyes hazier than they've been in years. His hand instinctively reached up to tuck Akoya's hair behind his ear before his friend collapsed against his chest.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been holding back?" the pink-haired man panted, struggling to catch his breath. "I've been wanting to do this since my first year of high school."
"You were right," Ibushi softly told him. "I want to replace Kana with you."