Author's Note: One to go! Thanks for all the support so far. Reviews are always welcome.
Five: The Defeat of the Mechtogan
Dan Kuso was an enigma. Shun knew this better than anyone else. After all, he'd known the guy since they were in kindergarten. And, more than that, he'd been dating Dan for almost two years now.
Some things about Dan didn't surprise him anymore. Like how Dan's idea of asking out Shun was to drop down next to him after everything had gone down on Gundalia and say "wanna make out?" (he had, but that was hardly the point). Or how Dan had told the others they were dating by planting a kiss on him to say "hello" in front of half the brawlers. Or how Dan had told Interspace about their relationship, and come out at the same time, by dedicating his biggest match in there to Shun and by calling them a power couple.
Or how Dan had been proposing to him, on and off, since they were in Little League together.
Of course, there were some things about Dan that still surprised Shun. Like just how selfless Dan could be, when he wasn't being an idiot (which was often). And how self-sacrificing. Shun had thought he was bad for self-preservation. He had nothing on Dan, some days.
So really, he wasn't surprised when Dan collapsed on the couch next to him, after everything with the Mechtogan and Wiseman went down. Or when Dan had dropped his head onto Shun's shoulder and closed his eyes. Shun just wrapped an arm around Dan's waist and pressed a kiss to his sweaty hair.
"We won," Shun murmured. Dan hummed in response.
"Yeah, we did." But there was no joy or cheekiness in Dan's voice. No celebration. Just exhaustion. Dan turned and buried his face into the crook of Shun's neck, groaning quietly. With a quiet smile, Shun just held him tighter, face pressed into Dan's hair.
"I'm sorry," mumbled Dan. "About everything."
Shun sighed. "It's fine."
"It's not." Dan's breath was hot against his throat. It was… mildly distracting, despite Shun's exhaustion.
"Dan."
"Shun."
Shun sighed again. Softer this time, but a little more exasperated. Sure, he was a little upset with Dan, but they'd made up, in the end. And sure, he was a little hurt that Dan was still trying to play lone ranger when it came to what they did. Especially when they both knew how badly that usually ended up going for Dan – and really, it often led to Shun saving him from near death anyway, so why did Dan still bother?
But he wasn't going to hold it against Dan. They'd talked. They'd argued. They'd screamed until they were hoarse. Then they'd held each other close and were just thankful they'd survived this damn war. And they'd both hoped – privately and together – that this would be the last time they had to save the world from its own destruction.
"Marry me," whispered Dan against Shun's throat.
Shun blinked. "What?"
"Marry me," said Dan. "We've known each other forever. You've never actually said no to any of my proposals." His voice grew faster with every passing word. "And we've been dating for two years. Marry me."
Shun shook his head, but his eyes and smile were fond. "You need sleep."
"Doesn't mean I don't love you," said Dan. Shun felt himself still. He didn't think Dan had ever said those words aloud before. In fact, he was pretty sure neither of them had. He knew the words were true, on both ends, and suspected Dan knew the same. But that didn't mean they'd ever bothered to say them before.
"Love you too," Shun murmured into Dan's hair. He felt Dan smile against his throat. Shun stood, throwing an arm around Dan's waist to haul Dan up with him. Dan whined.
"Come on," said Shun, a soft laugh in his voice. "We need sleep."
Dan nuzzled into him, arms wrapped around Shun as they walked toward the bedrooms in the HQ. "Sleeping with you," he mumbled.
"Obviously," said Shun, with a quiet scoff. And the two walked off to Shun's room. Mostly because it had the better pillows.