Osaka was hot.
They hadn't forgotten that Osaka was hot. It was hot in the summer, it was hot in the spring, it was hot in the fall, and it was even hot in the winter. They'd lived in hotter places, they knew that they had, but for them Osaka was like sitting in the pits of hell. Too hot to move, too hot to sleep, too hot to even think. Just the unbearable and oppressive heat pressing down onto them, pinning them there, molding their t-shirt to their skin and-
Wait, no, that part was Ryou.
"Toshi….put the air on." Said Ryou, his face buried in their hair. Minegishi sighed and opened their eyes. Morning. It was morning. Another night without sleep. Mourning their lack of sleep in the mourning. That was what they were mourning, anyway. Ryou was mourning the terrible late September heat, or maybe the cold, since he had grown up on Tokyo…well Tokyo wasn't exactly the frozen north…but really compared to Osaka it might as well have been the North fucking Pole.
God, they hated Osaka.
"It is on." Said Minegishi. They shifted a little to the side. He held them closer, the arm around their waist pulled them in closer to him, and his sweat plastered their t-shirt to their back and stomach. Well double plastered. They felt like they were soaked through with sweat. Oversaturated. Like the leading brand of paper towel.
"Can you turn it up?" asked Ryou. They could feel his breath across the back of their neck. He was pressed in so close…and they should have kicked him out. They should have kicked him out since two human bodies generated more than enough heat to make them uncomfortable. They should have told him to go to sleep in his own bed in his own room….but they didn't.
They kicked their blanket off.
"Better?" asked Minegishi. They couldn't sleep without a blanket. A good blanket was important. They had spent too many nights with only a thin cotton blanket….a ridiculous thing to complain about since they had just been bitching and moaning about the cold…maybe they were heat sick. That would have made sense. It had to be at least thirty degrees in that room. They were just heat sick.
A kiss to the back of their head.
Or maybe they were just love sick. Ryou….fucking Ryou. Ryou kissing the back of their head. Ryou keeping them pinned against him. Ryou holding them close, his chest rising and falling, his sweat oversaturating their favorite t-shirt, the purple all cotton one with Rapunzel that Mob had gotten them at the Disney Store, and his heart beating against the shirt at their back….beating and beating and beating…and their heart beating and beating and beating and….
Love.
"Better. Love you, Toshi…you're always so smart." Said Ryou between kisses. They could have rolled over….but neither of them had brushed their teeth yet so that was a hard 'no' on the early morning kisses. That was a hard no on whatever else Ryou had planned too. His hand, the one that had been resting on their stomach, moved down to the band of their boxers…or maybe they were a pair of his that they had borrowed….they didn't know. They'd figure that out later, once his hand stopped wandering, and it shouldn't have been wandering. It was too hot for his hand to go wandering. It was hot and they were oversaturated with sweat, both his and theirs, and they needed a shower and breakfast and then a whole day of doing nothing, well waiting for sleep to come, and it had to come eventually…even if it was ridiculously hot.
And even if Ryou was ridiculous.
"Yes, Ryou, I'm sure it's my mind you're after." Said Minegishi. They reached down and pulled his hand out of their boxers. He let his hand rest on their stomach again. Good. That was something good about him, he could stop being ridiculous when it was important. His hand could have gone south again, migrated to warmer pastures, but it didn't. It just stayed right there on their stomach just above their belly button.
"Your body and your mind, Toshi, you know you're the whole package after all." said Ryou. He kissed the back of their head again before shifting a bit. Now his head was resting on top of theirs, in the space between their head and their shoulders. They could feel the heat of his breath against the shell of their ear. They shuddered a bit, the good sort of shudder, and they knew that he had noticed that. He noticed everything about them. That was just the way his powers worked.
And that was just the way that he was.
His whole being was focused on them, now, they could feel it. They could feel his body pressed against them, one hand under their head and the other on their stomach, and they could feel his aura surrounded them completely. They reached back. Their hand found his knee right below the leg of his shorts. They were inside of his barrier now, he could keep it close and thin but they knew what it felt like to actually be touching his skin. He was keeping them close and safe…and there was nothing to keep them safe from anymore.
They were not a child anymore.
They were a fully grown adult esper. They had dug the graves that needed digging and planted trees above those graves. They had done what they had needed to do…and now there was no one in the world left that had cause to hurt them…and if anyone did then they could end the life of anyone who would even think…but as far as they knew nobody was plotting their end. Nobody was sitting up at night thinking about how wonderful their life could have been if they hadn't been born. Nobody was thinking about how they could be free of them in just a few years. Nobody was listening to them beg for food, for attention, for affection, for-
They were not a child anymore.
"Don't you have work today? Isn't there some traitor somewhere that needs to be dropped into the ocean or something?" asked Minegishi as they sat up. A blast of cool air hit their back as they untangled themselves from him. Their shirt had tried it's best to stick to his chest but, eventually, it pulled away as they pulled away. They knew that they wanted to stay with him, close to him, under his aura but…but they did not need his protection. They did not need anyone's protecting. They were Minegishi Toshiki. They could take care of themselves.
"Not a traitor, no, just some rival of some rival…and maybe not the ocean. I've been doing a lot of that lately. I need to get creative otherwise I'll stagnate and die." Said Ryou as he sat up too. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to their shoulder. He knew that they didn't like to be kissed on the mouth first thing in the morning. They also knew that he didn't give a fuck about morning breath. He cared enough to put them first….but they could put themselves first…and they would because…well now they were getting into that survival mindset….which had kept them alive and….
It was too hot for this.
"A rival of a rival? So I supposed that the enemy of Suzuki's enemy is his friend?" asked Minegishi with a laugh that they did not feel. They didn't feel like anything but a long shower and a big breakfast. They reached over under their bed. What was left of their giant chocolate bar was still there along with a box of that sugary crap Mob liked to eat….sugar was poison but it kept for a while…and they had more food in the kitchen. They were good on food. They were fine. They were in the house, not THE house but the house, and they were fine.
Really, they were.
"No, the enemy of the woman he wants to bend over is dead. Well going to be. God, he does like to make me work." Said Ryou as he ran a hand through their hair. He was trying to get it to lie down the way they liked it….and they could do that themselves. They had a brush now, and a shower, and all the time that they needed in that shower. No more shower timers. No more bathing in a room with a dozen other people. No more matron telling them to just hurry it up already. No more-
You're an adult now, Toshiki.
"My sympathy goes out to that poor woman." Said Minegishi as they stretched. They needed sleep….and also to get out of bed. Being crammed in bed next to Ryou almost every night, a twin bed, was not good for them. At least they had gotten their own bed…when they'd had a bed…not that any of that mattered now. They were an adult. They were an adult and they had a life and they had their powers and…and they were fine. They were just back in Osaka. That was all. They could handle this. They just needed….
They had no idea what they needed.
To get all stretched out. So that was what they did. They stretched out and…well they did their best. Ryou scooted over so he was close enough to have his arms around their waist again. They leaned backwards until their back was against his chest. God, they were being ridiculous. They had spent the whole night pressed up into him and now they were doing the same thing in the daytime, too. They just…they needed…the loved….they just…
They were fine on their own.
"Mine too….to anyone Suzuki is into." Said Ryou. There was a tone there, a tone that left a few things unsaid, and they knew what he had left unsaid. They knew that Suzuki looked at them sometimes. They knew that he thought that they were pretty thanks to Mob. They knew that, for some reason, they had become at least the object of desire for their boss and the most powerful esper on Earth. Fine, whatever. If they had to lay down on that wire they would but if they didn't then need to then they weren't going to…and really Ryou should not have cared either way….but his caring was a nice distraction from, well, things….and stuff….
Osaka things and stuff.
"You know something, Ryou, you wouldn't know it by looking but you can be a very jealous man sometimes." Said Minegishi. Ryou lifted his head from their shoulder and shook it. They knew what was coming next. He was going to go and tell them that he wasn't jealous and all of that. Well he was. He had a terrible jealous streak that they did not want to deal with. Sure, he didn't give a damn who they went to bed with….just so long as it wasn't someone he knew.
Not that they would go dipping their pen in the company ink.
Any more than they had already, of course. They hadn't ever had a problem finding someone in their pre entourage/Mob sitting days and they knew that if they went out there into the greater pool of Claw members they still wouldn't…but they just didn't feel like it. Ryou was right there, why go through the extra effort? And they would never do anything with anyone else who lived in the house either way. That would have been stupid.
And they did not need any more problems in their life right now.
"I'm not jealous, Toshi, I just-" said Ryou
"I'm not going to sleep with Suzuki unless either I have to or I'm just really hard up. Like, he's we're the last two people in the world and I'm out of triple A batteries and I broke both my arms hard up. Ok? Now don't start with the jealousy because I am in no mood right now." Said Minegishi
"Sorry…sorry. I forgot where we were for a second. I was being a bastard." Said Ryou
"A jealous bastard." Said Minegishi
"Hey, I'll have you know that my parents were married!" said Ryou. There was a pause, there. They could feel his chest against their back. He was trying not to laugh…and they were trying not to laugh…and they didn't know why. Well because that hadn't been that funny…but then if it wasn't that funny then why were they trying not to laugh?
And why were they laughing now?
They didn't laugh that often but when they did…well they knew how that made Rou feel. He was laughing, too, and kissing the back of their head and neck and he was pulling them close and trying to lay them down…and it was so hot so maybe they shouldn't…but he was there and he was Ryou and…and they loved him…
God, they really fucking loved him so much.
"Ryou….I love you." Said Minegishi as they let Ryou lay them down. They were on their back, now, and he was leaned over them. They turned their head to the side. As wonderful as he was, as much as they loved him, and as much of a stupid, ridiculous, jealous bastard he was…he still hadn't brushed his fucking teeth.
"I love you too." Said Ryou. He loved them and…and that was something to focus on. Not how hot it was, not how much they hated Osaka, and not how much they hated…well they had a long list of things that they hated…but Ryou was not on that list. They turned their head to the side. His hand found their forehead. They had really let their skin fall by the wayside….they had let a lot of things fall by the wayside. They turned their head to the side…and that was a lot of laundry that needed doing. There was a lot of laundry that needed to be done…and they had to take a shower at some point…and they needed to get the hell out of bed today. They needed to get the hell out of bed and…and they couldn't just lay around and mope just because they were in Osaka.
They had stuff to do.
"Toshi, come on. I'm here, you're here….you love me….I love you…" said Ryou. His hand was on their stomach now. He was tracing the trail of hair they had their, the one that led down to their boxers, but he stayed above the waistband. He didn't want to, they could tell what he wanted, but he wasn't pushy…and that was going on the list of things they loved about him….God. They loved him…it felt so strange to say it and think it…good and strange. Strange and good.
Mostly good….and also mostly strange.
"Ryou, you haven't even brushed your teeth yet…and we're both covered in sweat." Said Minegishi
"I'll brush my teeth but I don't see any point in taking a-" said Ryou. They knew what he was going to say next. He was going to tell them that there wasn't any point showering the sweat off if they were just going to get sweaty all over again. They were going to tell him that if he wanted anywhere near them then he'd get in that shower. He'd suggest that, in an effort to save time, they should join him…and then the rest spoke for it's self.
But then his phone decided to speak for it's self.
He had his phone charging there on their dresser. He had a change of clothes right there next to it. He had a bottle of his cologne in their room, too, right on the nightstand. The light came in and hit it. It was a nice shade of black, if there even was such a thing. The black was out of place in the green of their room. The black of his phone case, the black of his clothes, the black of his cologne, and the black of his hair…just a lot of black in their room….but that was alright. The black was slowly coming into the green…they didn't mind. They had other things to mind.
Like his truly obnoxious text tone.
"So, who's the annoying part from Day in the Life?" asked Minegishi
"Work. I have no idea what this is but I'm needed. Until later, Toshi, until later." Said Shimazaki. He leaned down to kiss them on the forehead…and they decided to fuck it. It wouldn't kill them to kiss him…and they wanted to kiss him. It wouldn't kill them. They had been through several things in their life that could have, and should have, killed them but Shimazaki Ryou's unbrushed teeth was not one of them.
They turned into the kiss.
They could feel his aura. They closed their ears. They could hear it…sort of. Maybe they were just imagining things, they didn't know, they just knew that he was happy and when he was happy…well they felt better. One of them should have been happy. They…were close to being happy. They were in the general vicinity of happy…and they would be happy again….later. Maybe. They didn't know.
They were mostly just tired.
It had been too damn hot to sleep…and it was too damn hot for this too….and Osaka was just too damn hot. Hopefully they left here soon. Hopefully they went far, far, far away from here. Somewhere cold. Somewhere when it was perpetually cold and dark. Somewhere where nothing could grow. They felt like shit then they were somewhere where nothing could grow…
But they felt less shitty in the dead of winter than they did in the boiling heat any season in Osaka.
"You know where I'll be." Said Minegishi. They kicked the blanket fully off the bed. Maybe they could try and sleep some more. Maybe they'd feel better if they got some actual rest. Maybe if they slept for long enough they could forget that they were in Osaka. That would have been just the best…
"Yeah and…hey, Toshi, you know…about that park you used to like? When you were a kid?" asked Ryou. He had his idea tone. That was how he sounded when he had something on his mind….something good…or bad.
"Where I slept when my parents threw me out of the house." Said Minegishi. They had no desire to relieve in the worst years of their life. That was what they had been hiding in the house baking in this heat trying not to do.
"No, well yeah aside from the childhood stuff that dragon fly slide sounded pretty awesome….but I meant the other one. The good one with the extra long tunnels you used to mess around in." said Ryou. That was the last time they stayed up all night regaling him with tales of their untamed youth.
"I have no desire to relieve my sexual awakening, thank you." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head. Those had been….times. Some had been good, some had been bad, but they had no desire to sloppily make out in the centipede tunnel as an adult with their current…partner? Boyfriend? Person who they lived with, had sex with, and were in love with? They didn't know. It was too early for the define the relationship talk.
"No, not that...well parks might be fun for that but when there aren't any kids around…but that's not what I was talking about. You haven't worked in a while-" said Ryou. Yeah, they knew that they hadn't worked in a while either. What else was new? They hadn't worked in…months? Months. Maybe even a year. They weren't sure. They would have worked if they could, liquidations were always busy times, but they couldn't. They loved Mob, they really did, but they hadn't set out to be a babysitter.
"Because Suzuki is a sexist asshole." Said Minegishi. They used to kill people. They used to go on missions and kill people…and some other things but mostly that…and now they were pretty much just a babysitter. Suzuki had finally realized that they didn't have a y chromosome and now they were on permanent babysitting duty with the added bonus of being stared at when he didn't think that they noticed.
"Yeah, and about ten other kinds of asshole. Anyway, I was just thinking that…well you're a plant and plants need sunlight…and the kids like parks…well I know that Sho does…and Mob likes whatever Sho likes most of the time so...maybe take the kids to the park?" asked Ryou. Minegishi blinked. How did his mind even work? There was no point in driving themselves crazy trying to figure his thought process out. Take the kids to the park…Sho. Sho was more than a child. He was like ten kids on an all day candy and espresso binge…which was worse than Mob on one of her weed and grain alcohol binges…and somehow this had become their reality.
"That's…if Mob wants to go…and I guess her brother. God knows he needs to actually be socialized…you know, by someone who doesn't give in to his worst impulses." Said Minegishi. Ryou acted like more of a ten year old than the actual ten year old…and he knew it. Sho…well he needed to be around someone who didn't let him get away with anything and everything. They'd be happy to take Mob to the park, God knew that she needed to get out of that house, and if they had to take her little brother with…well it wasn't like anyone else was doing anything constructive with the little monster.
"Hey, Sho's awesome and I hope that our kids are just like him." said Ryou. Minegishi felt their aura pull in close. The plants around them followed it. They just…he knew that they didn't want kids. Sure Mob was great but he didn't want to have Mob, no, he wanted to have Sho. Probably a lot of Shos. Probably without the obsession crush. Minegishi…obsessive crush or not they did not want to have a gaggle of little Shos on their hands.
"Then we'd have to kill ourselves!" said Minegishi as Ryou teleported away. They shook their head. Of course he'd gotten the last word. Fine, whatever, he could think that he had won and he could think that they were going to have kids together and whatever else he wanted to think. That didn't mean that his dreams of domestic hell would come true. They weren't going to. He was lucky that they even were…whatever they were.
Whatever this relationship could be defined as.
They weren't in the mood to define their relationship. They weren't in the mood to deal with whatever feelings they had or didn't have or whatever Ryou wanted or didn't want. They just wanted to get out of bed, shower, perform other basic grooming functions, and then take Mob to the park and other such babysitting functions….God. Suzuki was lucky that they loved Mob so fucking much…and her little brother to a significantly lesser extent…enough that if someone tried to kill him they'd save him but not enough that if he needed a blood transfusion he'd let them have theirs…if he even had AB negative blood…they didn't know. It was too hot to speculate about people's blood types.
It was too hot for a lot of things.
Like whatever was distressing their plants. They could feel it. Something was in their garden…and they knew that aura. Yup, the boy of the hour. Minegishi sighed and rolled out of bed. The shower and basic grooming…or at least just the shower…would have to be rescheduled. They stepped into their pants and pulled out their last clean shirt. Time to deal with whatever that little demon was doing in their garden…and then maybe take that little monster and his sister to the park….and whatever else they could do today….
Even though it was way too hot for all of this.