Minegishi knew for a fact that Shimazaki Ryou could get around just fine.

He didn't need the white cane thing to make his way through the world. He could sense objects and people around him just fine. He also didn't need them to take him by the arm. He didn't need to be led. Actually it annoyed him when people tried to lead him around. That was why he got rid of the stupid cane as soon as he figured out how to see with his powers. He didn't need the cane, he didn't need to be taken by the arm, and also he didn't need the sunglasses….

Though Minegishi had no problem with the sunglasses.

He, to borrow a phrase that he used constantly, really had it going on. The sunglasses just added to it even if they were of the gigantic UV blocking variety. The sunglasses, the leather jacket in the middle of summer, the leather pants, the dark red t-shirt….yeah. He had it going on. He really had the whole 'tall, dark and handsome' thing down...and he knew it. He must have realized that he was turning heads, that he was getting looks, and that must have been the reason he was feeling his way around with the white cane, too.

Or maybe he just liked occasionally whacking people with it as he went by.

"What the hell!?" shouted Ryou's latest victim. A red faced middle aged man trying to cajole his hoard of children into something resembling order. God, it was so crowded today. Crowded and hot. Crowded and hot and full of people. The Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse was, objectively, a beautiful place. An oasis of plant life in the middle of a hot, crowded, city full of people….who all decided that today was the day to descend upon this oasis.

Great.

Ryou had decided, that day, that he was going to show them something cool. His exact words. Cool. Well it was thirty degrees outside and they were in a greenhouse. There was nothing cool about this. They could feel their hair plastering itself to their head. They could feel their shirt sticking to their back. How Ryou could stand to wear the damn coat in all seasons…well he was the only one out of the two of them who could put up a barrier so maybe that barrier could keep the heat out….

And also any and all sense of maturity.

"He's blind." Said Minegishi as Mr. Red Sweaty and Too Busy to Learn Family Planning turned around ready to, no doubt, tell off whoever distracted him from his brood of ill-tempered little monsters. Wasn't the population supposed to be in dangerous decline? Then why were all of these kids here? They didn't…dislike….kids. They liked Mob, loved her, but she was Mob. Also she was eleven. There were a lot of small children here, children much smaller than eleven. The kind that cried and screamed and pulled the leaves and flowers off of the plants even though there were numerous signs telling people to do the direct opposite of that. Minegishi sighed so many stressed out plants….

Which were preferable to stressed out people.

"Oh shit! Sorry, so sorry sir. I'll just….get out of your way. Kids! Move! Let the blind man and his girlfriend through!" shouted the man. Minegishi bit the inside of their cheek. God. They hated that word. Girlfriend. They weren't in the mood to correct anyone, especially not strangers in the middle of a crowded greenhouse in the middle of summer, but they would think up a variety of colorful insults in their mind. God. Girlfriend. Did they look…well it had been a while since their last haircut…well not that long but their hair might have been getting long again….and they were wearing a more formfitting shirt than normal…baggy clothes and wet heat did not mix…

And they were on Ryou's arm.

Technically he was on their arm but they knew that it looked like they were the one clinging to him. He was bigger than them, of course, and really they should have just shaken him off. They should have shaken him off, knocked that stupid cane out of his hand, and asked him what he thought that he was doing. He had practically followed them around all day saying that he had something cool to show them, which knowing Ryou could have meant literally anything, and then once they agreed he put on those stupid sunglasses and picked up that stupid cane and now they were out and about and….

And maybe this had all just been an excuse to whack people on the leg.

"Sorry Mr. Blind Man. You can walk through now, there's space!" said one of the kids. She looked vaguely like Mob when she had been little…..thought Mob looked like everyone. Everyone but her father and brother. That was why this kid looked like her. Pigtails, though, instead of braids….though that same Elsa costume dress that Mob used to wear instead of actual clothes. She even had that same Frozen bag that Mob had. It was like looking at a younger, more well adjusted Mob….

They kept on walking.

They led Ryou away fast. He had a soft spot for kids. Well his whole head was a soft spot but he did really like kids. Minegishi…did not mind them terribly…but they did not want them…and they knew that Ryou did and they knew that any and all interactions with a child would get him thinking thoughts that he really should not have been thinking. Thoughts about them being parents. Thoughts about them being together. Thoughts about a relationship upgrade that they did not need.

Minegishi was not anybody's girlfriend or partner…and they had thought that Ryou had understood that from day one….

But it was now day whatever and he was saying 'I love you' every day a thousand times a day and he had said so many times before that he did not expected them to say it back….but who was he kidding. He wanted to hear it. He wanted them to love him back and then he wanted to go on and live out all of those domestic fantasies it seemed like your brain got flooded with when you turned thirty. Minegishi had made it clear that they did not do the relationship thing, not anymore, and Ryou had said the same thing for his own reasons…

Reasons that used to be tattooed on his arm.

The same arm that they were holding. He was the one leading them, not the other way around, and they could have let go. They should have let go. The smart thing to do would have been to let go…but then again when had Minegishi ever done the smart thing in life? They hadn't. They were not smart. He said, before, that they were the smartest person that he had ever met but that was just because he grew up around the absolute worst of humanity. They were an idiot….when it came to anything in their life they were an idiot. They were an idiot to have joined this cult in the first place, an idiot to have started this thing with him, an idiot of not have broken it off the minute he caught feelings for them, and an idiot….an idiot not to have broken it off the minute they had caught feelings for him.

And they were an idiot for not knocking that stupid cane out of his hands.

"Toshi, what'd you have to do that for? Come on, you think it's just as funny as I do when people realize that-" said Shimazaki as he led Toshi through the crowd. There were a lot of kids back there and Toshi only liked kids in small doses. There were some nice smelling flowers coming up over here. Toshi liked nice smelling flowers. Toshi was a nice smelling flower. Well they were a person but they smelled like flowers a lot of the time. Not floral like the shampoo but flowers like they had been working in their garden. They loved gardening.

And that was why he had taken them to the biggest garden that he knew.

He had gone here a couple of times before, when he had been younger and heavy into psychedelics, and it was just…weird being here in his right state of mind. Easier to navigate. He wondered if he and Toshi should have….no. They hated tripping in any way when there were strangers around. It set off their anxiety and he didn't want them anxious today. This had to be a good day. He was going to make a good day for them.

They deserved a good day.

"It's funny the first two or three times. After that it just becomes repetitive." Said Minegishi with a sigh. The truth was it was funny. It was less funny but it was still funny. The best comedy subverted people's expectations. Ryou walking about in the world hitting people with that cane, people getting angry with him, and then they way that they would practically kowtow in forgiveness…it was, objectively, funny.

They just didn't much feel like laughing right now.

"Repetition can be fun. Come on, you love seeing the look on people's faces when they're ready to square up with me but then they realize that, hey, there's no way to fight a blind man. Either you end up losing to a blind man or you end up beating up a blind man and neither of those is a good look." Said Shimazaki. Sho always got a kick out of this. Well not with the cane, they hadn't gone cane whacking yet, but he always did get a kick out of people wanting to kick his ass but not being able to. He'd do this with Sho later, he was feeling well enough that he could laugh again, but right now he was with Toshi and Toshi….

Well he hadn't spent any significant amount of time with Toshi in…he couldn't even remember when.

"Is that what all of this is about? Messing with people?" asked Minegishi. They still had no idea what he had dragged them out of the house for. There were a million things that they could have been doing today. Sleeping, gardening, reading, watching trashy TV, playing with Mob, making sure that Mob was ok, getting the kitchen organized for Ryou again since someone in the house was mislabeling things….

But instead they were here, arm in arm with Shimazaki Ryou on what felt like the hottest day of the year, and they had no idea why.

"No…well I do like to mess with people but that's not what this is about." Said Shimazaki. He didn't even fully know what this was about. He knew that he wanted to make Toshi happy but he knew that, like a cake, there were layers to this. The fact that he wanted to make them happy…that was just the frosting. He wanted to be near them, that was the first tier, and he wanted them to want to be near him, that was the second tier. He loved them. That was the third tier. He wanted them to love him back, that was the fourth tier. The fifth tier…layer…whatever…he didn't know. Maybe this cake was tall enough as it was. Maybe this cake would come falling down and then nobody would have any cake to eat. Maybe…maybe all they needed was frosting. Maybe frosting should have been enough but…but maybe…maybe he wanted more than frosting.

He didn't know. Feelings were complicated.

"Then what is all of this about, Ryou?" asked Minegishi. Ryou was…Ryou. He was impulsive. He didn't think things through…but this felt thought through. This felt like he had put some effort into it. If he had just wanted to walk through a crowded place and hit people then he could have taken Mob's little brother with him. No. This was…this was something….something like a…they didn't even want to think the word…

This felt like something that they had agreed that they would never do.

They went places together all times, missions and the benders that followed them, and that had been enough at first. They worked well together, in the sense that nobody else would work with them, so they found their paths crossing fairly often. They were never stationed at the same base or HQ or whatever but they did get missions together…and then after those missions they would find fun….and eventually they would find themselves in bed together….and that had been enough for the both of them…

And if he wanted to wind up in bed with them then he didn't need to take them to a greenhouse. He could have just asked.

"Being here with you. I thought that you would have gotten a kick out of this place…and I'm sorry that people keep calling you my girlfriend. I know how you feel about that." Said Shimazaki. He could hear Toshi's aura. He could feel it. He knew that something was bothering them. He had no idea what he could do to fix it…but he would be there for them. Sometimes that was all that Toshi needed was to have someone there for them. Like those times when they would wake up in the middle of the night all sweated through their clothes and ready to kill people that Ryou knew for a fact were already dead….he was there for them then and he would always be there for them. That was a part of love, maybe, he thought. Being there for someone. Love used to feel like….sort of like wanting to possess someone. To make them yours….and he didn't want to possess Toshi because Toshi was their own person…but he did want to be there for them…and he wanted them to be there for him and…

And feelings were pretty damn confusing.

"I don't care. If anything you're the one who should care. It'd be even more irritating, I think, to have people defy you by something even more out of your control." Said Minegishi. They were upset on his behalf…and they were never upset on anyone else's behalf. It was too much work, too much mental effort, more than they were usually willing to put in…but he was different. He hadn't started off different, honestly he had just been this annoying but attractive idiot who they occasionally crossed paths with before….all of this, but now…now there was a strange sort of…possessiveness…that came up sometimes…and they hated possessiveness in all of it's forms.

"Eh, I'm used to it. Besides, it's not all bad. I can at least do this." said Shimazaki. The walkways here were very narrow. He stuck his cane out and gave the person in front of him a nice, hard whack. Not hard enough to do damage, of course, just hard enough to piss them off for a split second. Then they'd turn around and fall over themselves apologizing like they were the ones who had done something wrong.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! Here, let me get out of your way." said the woman who had the bad luck to get within two meters of him. She scurried away like he had the plague or something. He had never been bothered by that, people making space for him, but then again he had always had the option of just walking around and blending in…well not always…but once he had gotten old enough he could leave the cane at home and just walk around in the sunglasses and blend in.

Amazingly enough they still fit after all of this time.

He hadn't worn these since he had been….thirteen? Fourteen? Maybe fifteen? He didn't know exactly when he had stopped wearing them. He used to open his eyes more, it was an instinct that had taken him half a lifetime to break, and opening his eyes didn't just meant that he got all kinds of shit in there. No, opening his eyes meant UV damage to a place where he didn't really want UV damage. That wasn't why he was wearing these today, though, since he was almost thirty one now and knew to keep his fucking eyes closed. No, he was wearing these for the same reason, the real reason, he had dusted off the old cane.

When people knew that you were blind they got the hell out of your way like they thought that they could catch it or something.

"I can't believe you haven't gotten bored of that yet." Said Minegishi as Ryou led them over to some…admittedly very nice…flowers. They were a bit stressed though. They could fix that. A wave of their hand and….yes. There we go. Now they were blooming and a hell of a lot healthier feeling. This was why they didn't go to places like this, greenhouses, they couldn't help but…well…help. It wasn't that it was their mission in life to rescue all of the poor plants or whatever. They just couldn't stand how stressed out and oftentimes pretty damaged these plants could be.

They could fix them, though, so it didn't matter.

"I could never be bored…well I mean I could…but not while you're near." Said Shimazaki. He felt Toshi doing something….oh. Well that was nice. It smelled so good over here and they had the whole place to themselves. This really was a nice place during the day…and also while he was sober…and he was sober. Well mostly. He wanted…he had been fucking up a lot lately and Toshi was always going on about moderation so…yeah. He had been going pretty hard lately. Toshi had a point…they were so smart…and if they wanted him to not be quite so fucked up all the time then, ok, this was how he would be. For Toshi.

He would do anything for Toshi.

"Well someone's feeling sappy aren't they?" asked Minegishi. He was in one of those moods again. They knew what was coming. The 'I love you' that came at least twice a day. God. Ryou was so…..Ryou.

"A little. Happy, mostly." Said Shimazaki

"Because there are plenty of people here to annoy." Said Minegishi. They knew fully well why he was so happy. He was happy and when he got happy he got sappy and when he got sappy he said something stupid like 'I love you' and they did not want to hear that….especially not in public…and not just because people didn't say those kinds of things in public. There were a lot of people around. There were people around and crowds…a place this crowded….they did not do well in places this crowded.

"No…well yes…but because you're here. I love-" said Shimazaki. He didn't care if Toshi said it back. He liked to say it. He liked being able to just….to just say it. To know what he felt and to be able to say it. There was a freedom to it and nothing felt better than freedom.

"If you love me so much then maybe you can get rid of the cane. I don't know why you have that thing anyway." Said Minegishi. Nope. They were not going to let him say that. Not here. Not while they were surrounded, well orbited, by people. People seemed to want to keep their distance from him…Minegishi just could not begin to imagine why….but they could still…they still felt weirdly exposed. The lack of auras didn't help…and they had been spending way too much time around other espers if they were finding themselves missing other auras….

They tried not to cling to his aura.

He would take that as an 'I love you too' and they just weren't sure if they were ready for….if they ever would be ready for….they didn't know. All they knew was that they would rather argue with him about that stupid white cane than listen to him tell them again, again and again and again, how much he loved them. They knew that he wanted to hear it back even if he didn't say as much…and they knew that they might never have been ready to say it back…

And he deserved someone who could say it back.

"Well you see, I was born with a condition called anophthalmia which means-" said Shimazaki. He felt Toshi getting ready to hit him. He didn't move away. He even dropped his barrier. Toshi was the only person who he would let hit him…and they didn't mean it…and they weren't that strong anyway. If they truly wanted to hurt him then they could have done so with the million and one plants that surrounded them. He would have let them. They would never have hurt him in any serious way.

"Ryou. You know what I mean. You don't need that to get around. I've seen you avoid stepping on Legos of all things. You can get around just fine even in a crowd. If you just wanted to walk around hitting people then you could have just brought Mob's little brother here." Said Minegishi

"Sho would have hated this place. They don't let you climb on any of the trees or play in the plants. I brought you here because I figured that you might like enjoying some plants that you didn't have to grow yourself…and you know….you like to commune with nature or whatever." Said Shimazaki

"It's…it's nice, Ryou, but you know that I hate crowds." Said Minegishi. He had thought of them. He had been thinking of them and…and now their insides were jelly. He had this way of just turning their insides into melted jelly and sending their heart into this uncessary panic. If Mob had been around she would have called it doki doki and also…well this would have made her year. Minegishi falling all to pieces like this…over nothing. Almost nothing. So he had taken them to a greenhouse? It wasn't like he had taken them on a trip to the moon….and of course they would like a greenhouse…they could control plants, that was their thing….there. Jelly feeling gone.

"That's what the cane is for." Said Shimazaki tapping the ground with it. This thing was in a lot of ways more of a superpower than is actual powers. He could part any crowd like the Red Sea with this thing. That was good for Toshi. They hated crowds and he just…needed them to be happy. He wanted this…whatever it was…to go well. This could have been a…well a date…but they did not go on dates and neither did he. So he had no idea what this was…but he did know that he wanted nothing more than for Toshi to have a good time.

"What? So you can hit people to get them out of the way?" asked Minegishi rolling their eyes that they were sure he must have sensed it. He could be so immature sometimes. Of course he had only brought that thing so he could hit people…and he only hit people because he was so immature sometimes…and maybe they had no room to throw stones considering the fact that with the way they felt about him they couldn't have been much better.

"Partially but also because people part like the red sea when they see me coming with this. I swear, it's like they think they thing being blind is contagious or something." Said Shimazaki. He could feel Toshi's aura…and he could hear it…and that was the aural giggle he liked to hear. From them, not the kid, because they were Toshi. He let go of their elbow and gave their hand a squeeze…and that got him another high pitched, impossibly high pitched, aural giggle. God Toshi was so….Toshi. He could have stood there listening to their aura all day.

"It can be. I don't doubt that you could blind someone if you wanted to." Said Minegishi shrugging their hand away from his. That had been….he had been thoughtful and…and he was always so thoughtful when it came to them and…and they just…they needed to calm down. That had been…all of this had been for them and…and they needed to calm the hell down before they made a fool out of themselves.

"I could and so could you." Said Shimazaki. Toshi was smiling, he could tell, and he smiled too. Toshi was happy and Toshi being happy….well that was enough to make him happy…and that was another part of love. He had never understood it, well never tried to, but it was more than what he thought that it was. It was more than wanting to possess someone or to be possessed by someone. It was wanting to make someone else happy and being happy when they were happy. It was thinking that they had it going on and…and it was more than that. It was thinking that they were the number one game in town…and feeling the same way because they felt that way about you…and it was just…thinking about the other person and wanting to be the other person…

And also just being able to stand and talk and just be funny assholes with the other person.

"So come on, what are we waiting for? They can all become like you are." Said Minegishi with a shrug and a levity that they did not feel. They felt…conscious…..of themselves. Of him being near them. He was looking at them. Their aura, his aura, both of their auras were together. Him and them and…and it was….nice. He was there and he was so…they were still jelly on the inside. They were still jelly on the inside because of him and his thoughtfulness and the way he smiled and his hand had felt in theirs and how stupid he looked in those stupid sunglasses and his stupid white cane that he didn't even need but carried around to part the crowd for them and….

And they almost wished that he would say something stupid….to go with how stupid he was.

"Oh Toshi, as much as I would love to inflict mindless violence on the masses I can't make everyone like me." Said Shimazaki with a shrug. God, he missed this. They hadn't done this, just stood and talked and been stupid assholes with each other. He loved the kid, he loved spending time with him, but Toshi…Toshi was Toshi and he loved Toshi so fucking much…and he was happy to show it. He was so happy and….and he couldn't remember the last time that he had been this happy…and also while he was this sober too.

"Why? You wouldn't wish this on your worst enemy?" asked Minegishi with a smile. They stepped a little closer to him…if that was even possible. They had to. Some people were scurrying past them. They took one look at him and then scurried right past….and it was nice to take a step to the side to make room…since the pathways were so incredibly narrow here. That was all. They should have taken a step back to where they had been, it was hot in here and…and that was why they were so hot…and they should have taken a step away….

He took their arm again.

"No, I did blind my worst enemy. You know that story. I just don't want to go around blinding people because then I won't feel special anymore. If I'm not special then why am I ever here?" asked Shimazaki with a sigh that he knew would make Toshi laugh. It did. They had been about to laugh. They had been about to laugh and…and he wished that they had let themselves laugh because there was nothing he wanted to hear more than them laughing.

"You'd fade away into nothing." Said Minegishi. They had been about to laugh…and they hadn't. They just didn't want to. They didn't know why they didn't want to. Maybe they didn't want the attention. Maybe they didn't want to start giggling like a middle schooler on a date. They didn't know and they didn't want to think too deeply about…all of that.

"Most likely. Then who will you label the kitchen for? It would be tragic, you'll have learned braille for nothing." Said Shimazaki. Toshi was so close that he could smell them…and they smelled so good. They smelled like this place, flowers and dirt, but also like themselves and he wanted…he pressed his head down onto theirs. Just for a moment, just long enough to be near them, just long enough to smell them for real. What they really smelled like. Toshi. That was what they smelled like. Toshi. Toshiki. Minegishi Toshiki. The person he loved most in the whole world.

"No, not for nothing. I'll be able to tell which signs have been misprinted. Seriously. Have you felt some of these signs? It's like they couldn't take ten seconds to pick up a dictionary. Seriously. So many of these plants are mislabeled." Said Minegishi. That time they did giggle. It was a harsh, ragged, sound…and they couldn't help it. He had been close. He had pressed his head down onto theirs and…and he had been so close. They could smell him. Cologne, a lot of it, and dust for some reason….and also a smell that could only be described as 'Ryou' and…and they wanted…they wanted to close their eyes and open them again. When they opened their eyes they wanted to be in bed, in their room, with their head on his chest. His heartbeat in their ears. The smell of his cologne, of him, all around them.

They closed and opened their eyes. They were just where they had been three seconds ago.

"So this isn't an agave?" asked Shimazaki as he felt the sign in front of him. Toshi sighed and took his hand. They had such tiny hands, compared to his, and for some reason he liked that. The feel of this hands in his…how much smaller they were. This made him want to protect them even though he knew that they needed nobody's protection. That was just the ancient, instinctual, part of his brain. The part that told him that he loved Toshi and he needed to protect them from wolves or something because otherwise they'd die…or whatever. He didn't know. All he knew was that he liked having Toshi's hand in his and…and they let go of his hand much too soon.

"No, that's a jade plant. This is agave." Said Minegishi as they let go of Ryou's hand. He had such soft hands, really, probably because he had his barrier up all the time. His hands were bigger than theirs…much bigger…and that was the stupid part of their brain telling him that he would be good at protecting them or whatever. Well they didn't need protection and if anything they protected him. They had protected him from his own stupidity time and time again…and they hadn't minded…even though there was no one to protect them from their own stupidity….

"I thought that agave was the name of a sweetener." Said Shimazaki as he felt the rough, thick leaves of this plant. It was…it felt sort of like a cactus but without the spikes. It didn't smell sweet. It didn't feel sweet…not that he was sure what sweetness felt like. Maybe Toshi should have taken his hand in theirs and shown him, exactly, what it was that he should have been feeling for.

"It comes from a plant." Said Minegishi. They watched his hand travel up and down the agave leaves. His aura was focused on that plant but, if you didn't know him, you would have thought that he had been staring straight forward at the wall. This was a walled garden after all…but of course nobody would have mistaken him for staring at the wall like a weirdo. Not with that stupid cane…the stupid cane that he had brought with to cut through the crowds…for them….even though it attracted attention. It attracted attention even if it drove people away.

Like now.

They were being glared at. There was a man in a guard's uniform that looked like he was arguing with himself. He would have been fully within his rights to tell them to stop manhandling the plants. It wasn't good for them at all. He probably wasn't going to walk through the crowds and the narrow walkways to kick them out. No, then he would have looked like a complete and total jackass. That stupid cane was pretty good at keeping people away after all.

"You are so fucking smart, Toshi, you know that?" said Shimazaki. It was amazing how they knew the names of all of these plants. They were smart, the smartest person that he had ever met in his life, and that made them interesting. There was never a dull moment with Toshi around. Even when they were quiet, even when they were just…being together…Toshi would just pipe up with something smart and then…and then he would learn something new from them and then…

And then he would be reminded of why he fell in love with them in the first place.

"No, I'm a moron." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head. They were an idiot. They were the biggest idiot in the whole world, most likely, because what kind of an idiot broke their own rules? Them. They were that kind of idiot.

"Why would you say something that is so clearly not true?" asked Shimazaki. He felt like Mob, then, telling Toshi not to be so self-depreciating. He couldn't help it. Toshi was not a moron. Toshi was Toshi. They were smart. The smartest person that he had ever met…and he was not lying. He would never lie to them or about them. He would never lie to someone he loved…and he loved them so fucking much…

"Because we're standing here touching plants and a security guard is glaring at us. He keeps taking a step forward and then a step back. It's hilarious." Said Minegishi. They were covering for themselves. They were such an idiot and…and he didn't need to know how much of an idiot they were. What they thought about….what they wanted….what they wanted from him. What they weren't even sure if they wanted from him. They didn't know…they just wanted…this. To be near him and nothing more. They couldn't want…what they might not have even wanted. They didn't know. They did know. Maybe. Who knows?

"Oh, is that what that is? I thought someone was just trying to get their steps in for today." Said Shimazaki

"Maybe. He looks like he needs them. It's like he's having this externally internal debate with himself. 'Do I go over there and stop the blind guy from enjoying the plants in one of the few ways he can or do I justify my existence and stop people from damaging the poor, defenseless plant life?' or something." Said Minegishi

"Oh won't somebody please think of the plants?" said Shimazaki in a falsetto that hurt his throat just a bit. It didn't matter, though, because he got a laugh out of Toshi and nothing was better than getting a laugh out of Toshi.

"Ryou, you're ridiculous. Now stop touching that agave before you get us thrown out." Said Minegishi

"Alright, if you want me to. I can think of something else I'd like to touch, though, later on. When you're ready to get out of here." Said Shimazaki as he let go of the plant and wrapped an arm around Toshi's waist right at that place where their waist flared out to their hip. God, he loved holding them here…and he hoped that they would let him hold them, touch them, other places too. If they were up for it. If not that was fine. It was a big city….but no. The more he thought about that it was more about…about being near Toshi…than getting off with someone else….

Huh. Well what do you know?

"I'm ready." Said Minegishi softly. It was hot and crowded here. They wanted…they needed…they needed to be alone. They needed to be alone with him. They needed to be alone with him and they needed to kiss him and…and they needed to hear him say something…something stupid. The stupidest thing that he had ever said to them. They needed to hear it again. They didn't know what they would say back but they needed to hear it from him.

"You sure? We can see more plants if you want to. I know that you like to commune with nature and-" said Shimazaki. He would have said more. He wanted to tell them that there were still a million and one plants that they could have seen and smelled and felt. He wanted to tell them that they didn't have to worry about the crowds, that they would part for him, and that nobody would bother them. He wanted to tell them that they could stay out all day if they wanted to.

He wanted to but he didn't.

He couldn't. Their hand was in his again. They were close, so close, and then stood up on their toes. He could feel it, sense it, they were standing up on their toes and he could feel the warmth of their breath against his neck, his ear, and one of their hands had found the back of his head. They were pulling him down to their level. He let them. He could feel each of their fingers against the back of his head….and he could hear them breathing…and the sound of it and the feel of it…was just….

He didn't have words for this.

"I'm ready to go, Ryou." Said Minegishi softly. He could hear them. He could hear like a safe cracker. He could probably hear the water dripping down from the ceiling, the way their shoes struggled to grip the wet ground, and the sound of their heartbeat. They should have spoken up, made their voice heard above all the distractions, but they didn't. They just pulled him in closer and spoke as softly as they could…and he could hear them. They knew that he could hear them.

"Where do you want to go?" asked Shimazaki. He knew that Toshi could hear him. That was why he spoke just as softly as they had. God…they were so close…and he wanted…God he wanted to be even closer. As close as two people could possibly be without one wearing the other as a human suit like in that movie that Sho had told him about and probably should not have been watching. He wanted to be near to Toshi and…and he knew that there was a big chance that when he went home there would be a kid waiting for him in his room…and he loved Sho, he really did, but he was going to have to tell the kid that sometimes adults needed time to do things with each other that he, as a ten year old, could not comprehend and if he knew about those things he would be scarred for the rest of his life. He would bring Toshi home if they wanted to come home and then…well then he would do what Toshi wanted to do…and if Toshi wanted to do what he wanted to do then…well that was alright with him.

"Take me somewhere with a bed." Said Minegishi. They knew that if they went home they would end up roped into something with Mob. A game of dolls or a makeover or something like that. They loved Mob, they really did, but sometimes they needed time to themselves for reasons that she would not be informed of. It had been a while since they had been with Ryou, which had been his own damn fault for pissing them off so many consecutive times, but they felt better now and they were ready to get back to…whatever he felt like getting back to.

Wherever he felt like getting back to.

It had taken a moment to wait for everyone's attention to be diverted elsewhere. A pane of glass shattered. They knew that it had been his doing. He had a degree of telekinesis to him. No fine movements, nothing close to what the Suzuki family was capable of, but he could push and pull and shatter glass. That was enough of a diversion for him to take them to….well where they had asked to go.

A place with a bed.

"If you don't like it here we can go somewhere else. I just brought you here because, well, home has kids in it." Said Shimazaki. He had spent more than a few fun nights…and days…and also just general periods of time here. Toshi would like it. The beds were soft, which they liked, and also the walls had this nice velvet wallpaper which they would probably like. They clutched at the walls, sometimes, depending on how they wound up tangled up in each other.

And they would end up tangled up in each other.

Toshi was breathing heavy. They were breathing heavy and they were letting their aura rest on him. He wasn't close enough to feel it but he knew that if he had been close he would have been able to feel how flushed they were. He focused on them…he could see where their blood was pooling…and it wasn't all pooling in their face. God…how long had it been? Days and day and days.

Way too long.

"Do I even want to know how you know about this place?" asked Minegishi. They had no idea where they were, specifically, but they knew that they were in a love hotel. A regular hotel wouldn't have had quite such an assortment of condoms….and also no windows. They sat down on the bed. Soft. Well used. They reached behind them. Purple velvet wallpaper. They could have been in the Purple Palace, the Plum Palace, or the Periwinkle Palace….there wasn't a lot of creativity when it came to the names…but they didn't care. They didn't come to these places for the creative naming.

They hardly ever came to these places end of discussion.

They had their own room after all…but Ryou had a point. Home was full of kids. Home had kids and kids…well they loved Mob and had nothing against her brother but this was not something that they needed kids around for. Kids to knock on doors and eavesdrop, and someone would need to talk to Mob's little brother about that…and also they didn't need someone using this as fuel for their shippening….

Privacy was nice…and this was a nice place…and it had been nice of Ryou to think about them like this.

"I've been here before. It's nice. They clean it pretty often, the beds are soft, and the walls feel good. Also they give decent free condoms at this one." said Shimazaki. He kicked off his shoes, he didn't feel bad about wearing his shoes inside since it wasn't like anyone lived there, and dug his toes into the carpet. God…so many good times here. This specific room had always been his favorite. He was pretty sure that it was this specific room that had been the first for his first….he honestly couldn't remember that night too clearly. It had been great, though, even if he had woken up sore in ways that he hadn't been able to imagine.

He hoped that Toshi liked it here.

"Condoms and a love hotel? Oh Ryou, you really know how to make me feel special." Said Minegishi as they kicked off their shoes and sat back on the bed. Their back was too the wall now. They reached over and picked up the three cheap condoms they gave you here. Strawberry flavored…they did not feel like getting a yeast infection. Hot and cold….who the hell would even want that? Extra thin…for extra babies. Lovely.

Honestly.

They put them back down into their dish. Let the next people suffer through them. It wasn't like they used those with Ryou anyway. There was a trust there, an unspoken 'you are not going to get me sick or I will murder you' between the two of them. There was an intimacy to it, too, being so close…and honestly so reckless too. It was reckless to trust Ryou like that. He was Ryou. He acted without thinking….and with enough people that he had a regular room in a love hotel….not that they cared. He could have gone to bed with all of Tokyo if he felt like it.

He had just better not have been reckless with anyone else.

"You are special, Toshi, you know that." Said Shimazaki as he took his coat off and draped it over a chair. He didn't know what Toshi was on about. They knew how he felt about them and…and they weren't jealous…were they? He…doesn't know what he would do if they were jealous. He got around and so did they and since the beginning they had both made it clear that they would do this with other people…and he knew that he had been jealous before.

But that hadn't been about sex.

Toshi could have fucked Hatori all day and all night until they passed out from exhaustion for all that he cared. Toshi was Toshi, they had it going on, and he couldn't imagine anyone NOT wanting them. Man or woman. They were….they were the smartest, prettiest, most thoughtful and just….most perfect….person that he had ever met in his life. He could admit that to himself now. How he felt. The fact that he was feeling like this about someone again. It was ok for him to feel this way about Toshi. It felt…it felt good to feel this way about Toshi. It felt right to feel this way about Toshi. He couldn't think of another person…another LIVING person…who he could have felt this way about. He reached over and felt his arm. He couldn't see what that was, what was drawn, but he knew that it was Toshi…and he knew who he had replaced….and he knew who he never thought that he could replace….but he had. On his skin and in his life…

And in this room….and that was ok.

"Am I?" asked Minegishi. Maybe they were being an asshole…or maybe they just wanted to hear him say something stupid. Something besides how special they were. They had heard that before a thousand times, always from men, and always back when they had been young enough to believe it. Back when they had been too young for all of this. Back when they had been young enough that they had still been looking for love in all the wrong ways…the only ways that they knew how…not that they were still looking for love…

Because they had already found it.

"Toshi you know that you're special to me. I can't think of anyone more special to me than you…and there will never be anyone in my life more special to me than you are right now. I love you." Said Shimazaki. He didn't know how to make Toshi believe it. Maybe if he got it tattooed across his….wherever he still had free skin. Toshi just….he wished that Toshi believed him. He wished that Toshi could just….believe him when he said how he felt…

Because they knew that he had never once lied to them.

That was one of their rules…one of the few rules that he still followed. They spent the night together, they cuddled, they kissed outside of sex, and he had told them that he loved them…but he would never lie to them. Ever. He knew how they felt about that and he had never once told them a lie. He would never ruin what he had with them…even though he wasn't even sure what he had with them…but he knew that whatever this was it was the greatest thing that he had ever had in his entire life…and he knew that he would never do anything to ruin this….this…

This sort of relationship.

"Ryou…shut up and get over here." Said Minegishi. He didn't have to be told twice. In an instant he was beside them. They didn't care that they hadn't paid for this room, that anyone could come in at any time, and that they essentially had no privacy. They just wanted to be with him. He was the best at sensing normal people and, well, it wasn't like they hadn't had to make a less than fully dressed getaway before. Back when they had been younger. Back when they had been, for lack of a better word, wilder. Back when this would have been fueled by coke or MDMA or even acid or mushrooms…or one of those stupid research chemicals he got from God knows where. Back when they had been younger and they hadn't had any kids in their lives. Back before there had been so…much…to them. Back when they had just been two people who occasionally worked together.

Now they had no idea what the two of them even were.

Well, naked, or about to be. That was what they were. They lifted their arms and their shirt went sailing over their head. They did the same to him. They were a tangle of half-dressed bodies, tangled limbs, two people joined at the mouth. He tasted like smoking, they knew that they tasted like gin, and they also knew that he didn't care. They didn't care. They didn't care about anything other than him, them, and getting rid of every single layer of clothing, centimeter of space, miniscule amount of distance, which separated them from him.

They got their wish.

Their pants and boxers ended up joining everything else in the pile on the floor. Now a decision had to be made. He was trying to roll onto his side. He liked that best, his side facing them, but they had other ideas. They tried to roll onto him, him under them was the best, and the struggle for power went on. Kisses were exchanged. Touches were exchanged. A lot was exchanged between them until a compromise was made. Him with his back to the wall and them on his lap facing him. Their knees on either side of him, his hands on their waist, their face buried in the crook of his neck, his breath heavy in their ear.

It was perfect.

This was perfect and he was perfect. He was there and he just…this was perfect. Minegishi was struck by it, the perfection of their situation, when his hands went from their waist to their back. They just…lingered there. They lingered there over the raised red lines…well they seemed raised to them but they knew that their sense of touch tended to exaggerate, and they knew that…that he was the only one who would ever be able to touch them there. Anyone else's hands would have been slapped away…and anyone else would have asked….but he had never asked…

Not even the first time.

His hands had found their scars but he hadn't asked…and it had been for the same reason, they imagined, that they knew not to ask about the ones that he had covered up with that Godawful dragon tattoo. He knew how they had gotten them and he knew not to ask. The scar talk had come later, much later, in a moment of pure…pureness. Intimacy. Satiation. That time when they had both been boneless and open with one another. There had been a talk, no an exclamation of surprise and them saying something about having had a hard life or not wanting to talk about it and…and he had understood…and he still understood….

He had understood and he had been thoughtful.

He was always so thoughtful with them, so careful with them, even now. This was a shared pursuit, mutual, not him trying to get his ending from them and vise-versa. He was listening to them, moving with them, and he wanted….he gave as good as he got. Even better, actually, if they were being honest…and they were always honest. They were honest to a fault and….and they honestly…could be honest…about a fault…or maybe not…

It felt like a fault.

Their stupidity. The fact that they wanted to say something stupid, the stupidest thing that they had ever said to another human being, to him. They could see him mouthing the words. They knew he knew how they felt about him saying it during….because it threw them off. Because it made them think. Because it took from their shared pursuit. Because it put them too deep into their own headspace. To say it back…to not say it back….

To say it first.

They kissed the words from his mouth…or at least they tried their best to. He kissed them back and, well, it should have been messaged received. I love you too, you moron. I love you too, Shimazaki. I love you too, Ryou. It should have been message received….but it wasn't. It hadn't been. They knew that it hadn't been because….because it never was. They loved him. He knew that if they hadn't loved him they wouldn't have gone out of their way for him. They wouldn't have labeled the whole kitchen for him. They wouldn't have moved his laundry to the dryer when he forgot about it. They wouldn't have picked up more shampoo and soap and conditioner and whatever else for him because it was just easier since they could just walk into a place and get him what he needed and he had his limitations and they shouldn't have been going out of their way for him and if he was anyone else-

He wasn't anyone else. He was Shimazaki Ryou.

He was Shimazaki Ryou and they loved him. They loved him and they wanted…they wanted to stop being an idiot. They wanted to do the smart thing. They wanted to just leave it as it was. They wanted to just leave him to…this. To leave themselves to this. Their shared pursuit. Their situation. Their relationship. Their situationship. They should have just left the whole thing alone and just….gotten out of their own head and enjoyed this and…

And they should have been less of an idiot.

They should have been smarter than this. They should have been smarter than to wrap their arms around him. They should have been smarter than to lean in close to him, they threw off the rhythm, and they should have been smart enough to just leave it as it was. He was the impulsive one, not them, and they could not be impulsive. The two of them could not be impulsive because then they would both do stupid things and if this was going to work then one of them needed to think…but they had been thinking. If anything they were overthinking….and they were tired of overthinking. They were tired of overthinking and they wanted….

They wanted to stop overthinking….so in order to do that then…they would have to stop thinking all together.

"I love you too, Shimazaki Ryou." Said Minegishi. They knew, while they had been saying it, and even before that they had been an idiot. They were an idiot. He was an idiot. They were idiots together….if they would even be together after this. They were as together as two human being could ever be…but his aura had flared. His barrier went up so thick that they had lost all sense of his body…and then it dropped down to nothing. They were skin to skin….they were together…nested together…fit together. They were as together as two people could be and….and Minegishi knew that…that they had ruined it and…

And he was looking at them.

His eyes were wide opened but….but that was not how he was looking at them. His hands were trailing up and down their body like he didn't believe that they were there. Like he needed to make sure that they were the real Minegishi Toshiki. They wondered if he would give them a couple of hits with that stupid cane of his just to make extra sure that they were there and he wasn't losing his mind or was in the middle of a waking dream or an acid flashback. They wished that he would have just said something, anything, even if it was something like…something stupid like….

The stupid thing that he was always saying.

"Toshi….I love you too…God….Toshi…" said Shimazaki. His brain had stopped working for a little bit…and now it was working overtime. He needed….he needed to be with Toshi because….because they had just said and….and he had never been this happy in his life and…and he just…he had never felt like this before. This was like…like coke and MDMA and petting every single dog in the whole world at once and also sex and maybe the sex should have been it's own thing because they were having sex…not that he knew how much longer they would be having sex for since he had never felt this good before in his life and-

And now they weren't anymore.

"Well that's certainly flattering." Said Minegishi. Well that had been…Ryou usually had the opposite problem….not that it had been a problem. No, not at all. Not unless he was planning on leaving them high and not exactly dry. Not if he wanted them to keep on loving him….well they would have loved him even without the sex….

They had said it.

They had said it and now…now they had no idea what they were going to do. He was on his back, now, and they had been pulled down so they were resting on his chest. He was smiling bigger than they had ever seen him smile before….and his barrier was down to nothing at all…and he was just…his hand was tracing up and down their back. He was looking at them, staring at them, and he….he wanted this and so did they and…

And they couldn't believe that they had just gone and said it.

"Toshi….you're flattering….no. That's not it just…I love you too…just…thank you….thank you so much…" said Shimazaki. He needed to catch his breath. That had been….that had been the best damn thing that he had ever felt in his life and…and Toshi was there. Toshi was there and….and they loved him…and he loved them and they were there and….and they took his hand in theirs and….and they did that because they loved him and…and this was just so perfect and….

And he hadn't had someone, someone he loved, tell him that they loved him…not in a very long time….

"Thank me like this." said Minegishi as they showed him exactly how they wanted to be thanked. They…did not regret what they had said. They did not regret it but…but maybe they would later on. Maybe they would regret telling him how they felt…and acknowledging how it was that they felt….and maybe once they left this room they would regret everything that had happened…..

They didn't know.

They didn't want to think about it. They didn't want to think about how once they left this room things would be…they had no idea what things would be like once the two of them left this room and went back to their lives. They had no idea if they had just ruined everything or made it better than ever. They didn't know….but they did know that…that they had gone and said something stupid like…I love you….and they knew that they were not going to leave that I love you in this room…and they knew that Ryou didn't want to leave their 'I love you' in this room either…and they knew that Ryou….

They knew that the only thing that they wanted Ryou to leave behind in this room was that stupid white cane.