Dlbn: Here we are with the dramatic conclusion! Just in time for the birthday of Aoyagi Seimei. Happy birthday, Sei-san!
Dlbn: Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Cupcakes for you!
Promocat: I hated writing that but I feel like that's how he may have reacted when Seimei "died" in the series. Writing hem without he spell world being involved makes them seem that much more real to me, I think.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot and a few minor characters you won't care about. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from writing this.
000
The funeral was small, short, and bittersweet. Seimei's friends came, a girl he was tutoring at school came, Ritsuka's school friends came, including his teacher and Soubi's cousins. His cousin made terrible offhand comments that made him sob and want to beat the hell out of her. Soubi sat at his side as she made remarks while they waited for the preacher to begin the funeral, squeezing his shoulder and whispering promises to him that it wasn't what his brother wanted from him being violent with his bratty cousin. His mother was brought in by the nursing home before everyone else came and she sobbed, she cursed god and even Ritsuka for her son's death. Since Ritsuka's accident when he was ten that made him lose a significant amount of memories that he was just getting back, she had declared he wasn't her son. She kept that up even as the orderlies wheeled her out to their transport vehicle and drove away.
Nisei and Kio didn't say much, Akira and Hanabi said even less. Mimuro kept some of his thoughts to himself, but finally snapped at Ritsuka's cousin Maiko when her words got to be a bit too much for the aspiring computer technician to bare. His father was short and to the point with his speech, Seimei's friends had to help Ritsuka's through his. Nisei apologized for not stopping Seimei, Ritsuka told him it wasn't his fault. His words fell on deaf ears.
There was a gathering after the burial at his aunt and uncle's house. Ritsuka elected to go home and finish putting together Seimei's stuff in boxes to be alone. He heard the front door open and sighed. Didn't anyone get the hint that he didn't want to be bothered? Hopefully it was just his father having forgot something. Footsteps came up the stairs and knuckles knocked on his door.
"Come in…" Ritsuka muttered.
"Ritsuka?" Soubi wondered, entering the room. "Your father said you came here alone…"
"I want to be alone, Soubi…" Ritsuka informed. "Thank you for everything you've done for me today, but I just…I need time to myself…"
"I understand. I'm just checking up on you."
Ritsuka felt his heart flutter out of his chest. Surely Soubi had better things to do than come see him and check up on him, even if he was trying to avoid the gathering hosted by the parents of the cousin Ritsuka wanted to punch out. Yet, here he was, in his room. It felt weird, foreign, to have someone inside that wasn't his father and brother. Even his friends from school didn't come into his room, the few times he had them over, anyway.
"Thank you…" Ritsuka put a photo album and a couple video games into the box on his bed. "But…surely you have something better to do."
"I want to be here."
"Why?" Ritsuka didn't bother turning around and just moved his head to look at the blond over his shoulder.
Had he always been this attractive…? No! This was his brother's friend, one of his brother's best friends. There was no way he thought the guy was attractive. He was like another older brother to him, or a fun uncle you only saw at family reunions.
"Why not?"
Ritsuka turned to face him, tail curling around his leg. "Can you please explain?" He asked.
"I…" Soubi paused, as if he had something important to say but didn't know how to let it out. "After everything that's happened…if there's one thing…one thing I've learned…" He paused again. "You have to make the best of life, right? You have to live it to the fullest…Seimei did until…you know…we should all live like that."
"I don't advise drinking and driving…"
"Not that." Soubi flushed. "Life is too short to hide how you feel or to keep it inside, you know? Seimei kept his heart on his sleeve, in a way. He knew what he wanted, and he didn't stop until he got it." He sighed, smiling softly. "But, in all honesty, I've been nothing but a coward compared to him."
"Coward?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Well…what are you such a coward about…?"
"Life's too short to keep your feelings to yourself." Soubi advanced on him. "You have to…have to let the people you care about know that you care…before it's too late. Even in the end, Nisei never told Seimei how he felt about him. We all knew. And I think Seimei did to a degree…but it's different than actually being told. Speculation is all it is…"
"And…that makes you a coward…why…?"
"Because…" Soubi pulled Ritsuka into a hug, tucking his head under his chin. "I…should have been telling you since I figured it out, myself."
"Figured what out? I don't care if Akame likes my brother…"
"No, not that." Soubi laughed, the vibrations in his chest sending a tingle up Ritsuka's spine.
"Then what?"
Soubi pulled his head out and tilted his chin back, thumb pad brushing across his lower lip and the fingers of his other hand wiping away the tear tracks left from the funeral and burial.
"S-Soubi…?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow, skin flushing as pink as Yuiko's hair. "What…what are you…?"
Soubi smiled softly, sporting a matching blush. "Ritsuka…what I should have been telling you all this time…has nothing to do with your brother…or Akame…"
"Then what? Why bring them up?"
"I refuse to be a coward like Akame and keep my feelings to myself…I'd rather be more like your brother; out in the open and straightforward with everything. Especially with the ones I love…with you…"
Ritsuka felt his heart do flips in his chest. There was no way Soubi was saying what he thought he was saying. There was no way whatsoever that Soubi was just admitting that he liked Ritsuka as more than just his best friend's little brother. That made no sense. Soubi had Kio, and Hanabi, and so many other people at school he could fall for that he and Ritsuka both knew liked him as well. There's no way he'd reject a bunch of older, smarter, attractive college students for someone like him. This wasn't a fairy tale or a cheap movie on Lifetime. The girl next door sometimes landed the guy, won over the star of whatever high school sports team and had their happily ever after. The boy next door never got the beautiful cheerleader, the popular girl. He was just the boy next door, the little brother of a friend. There was no way Soubi, someone so smart and definitely attractive-Ritsuka couldn't deny it now that he was so close to him and he could closer inspect his features-would fall for a plain jane, goth wannabe high schooler like Ritsuka. there was no way. Surely, he liked Seimei and was just settling for Ritsuka because Seimei was gone. Right? That's the only way any of this made sense.
"Then…be straightforward…" Ritsuka fisted Soubi's collar in his hands, running his thumbs along the soft material. "W-What are you saying…Soubi…?"
"S…" Soubi bit his lip and cleared his throat before smiling gently. "Sukidayo…Ritsuka…"
Before the neko could react, his breath was swallowed up by Soubi pressing his lips to his, the soft pressure preventing him from speaking as he breathed through his nose. Wide-eyed, the neko couldn't do anything but stand there, frozen in the blonde's arms, and stare at him. Soubi pulled away after a moment, blushing darkly.
"I'm so…sorry…G-Gomen…" Soubi pulled away, looking as if he'd been struck. "I shouldn't have…I don't know what the hell I'm doing…now isn't the time for this…I'm sorry…R-Ritsuka…"
It seemed like the blond was taking the neko's silence and confused expression to mean something that it didn't, like that Ritsuka was angry at him or something like that.
"I'll leave…G-Gomen…"
"Soubi, wait!" Ritsuka darted after him, leaning out the doorframe and grabbing Soubi by the wrist. He pulled the artist back towards him. "Please. I'm not upset. I just…I need a moment, okay?"
Soubi blinked, letting the teen drag him back into his bedroom and close the door. Ritsuka leaned against the door, hands behind his back, and stared at the floor while he tried to compose himself enough that he could process what was going on. Soubi had to pick today of all days? This had to be some cruel joke fate was playing on him-he'd say God, but his youth's faith went out the window the moment his brother died in front of him and God didn't bother to stop it. Soubi just stood there, hands in his pockets, looking at anything but the boy he'd confessed his love to. He didn't know what he'd do if Ritsuka ultimately rejected him, but he'd deal with that issue when the time came, he supposed. Ritsuka's tail swished about for a few moments before wrapping around his leg in a show of just how unsure the boy was. He stared up at Soubi last, though the artist was too busy avoiding looking at him to see him do so. Ritsuka's cheeks tinted a darker pink as he got a good, candid look at the man in front of him. Soubi seemed to finally sense that eyes were on him, as he stopped looking around and looked at Ritsuka out of the corner of his eye. Ritsuka bit his lower lip.
"I'm just…trying to process this…okay…?" Ritsuka wondered softly. "I'm not mad at you…I mean, your timing is shit, but I'm not mad at you…"
"I apologize." Soubi informed, coming closer and dropping to his knees to be eye level with the teen. "I know I should have picked a different day, just…I didn't know when I'd get to get you alone again to talk to you and…"
"Why? Why are you concerned with people knowing?"
"I'm not." He shook his head. "But it would be very embarrassing if I were to be rejected in front of a bunch of people…"
Ritsuka let out a singular laugh that he hadn't meant to let out, but couldn't help himself. "G-Gomen…I didn't mean to…" The look on Soubi's face made him want to both laugh and cry at the same time. "It's just…how you said it, that's all. Promise."
"It's quite alright…"
Ritsuka fell to his knees in front of the other, gripping his face gently I both hands and tilting it up so their eyes met. "Can I ask you something?"
"What is it? Anything, Ritsuka."
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why me…? I mean…I'm just…I'm just Seimei's baby brother…I…" Ritsuka bit his lip and looked away, his hands slipping from the other's face to his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I just don't…guys like me don't end up with guys like you…"
"Guys like me?" Soubi cocked an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"Smart…talented…attractive…" Ritsuka squeezed Soubi's biceps. "I just…"
"I can't explain it, Ritsuka." Soubi traced his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. "I've always…always found you more attractive than Seimei…in an innocent way, I mean. We met when you were barely a teenager. It's not like I wanted to get you into bed or anything from the get go…it was a gradual thing…falling for you." He blushed. "I don't know how to explain the how or the why…I just now the what and the who…and that's that I love you…"
"You're sure…?"
Soubi nodded. "I've…been sure for a while. I just…Seimei probably would have killed me, and I was so certain you'd tell me to piss off, I just…"
Ritsuka laughed. "Well…you're wrong, okay…?"
"Ritsuka?"
Ritsuka leaned in close so he was just a centimeter from kissing the elder. "I love you…Soubi…"
Neither were sure who closed the gap between them, but soon they were lost in one another; fingers entangling into hair, teeth clacking and tongues sliding, lips moving together. A hand went up Ritsuka's shirt, two hands fumbled with a belt buckle. The blond left Ritsuka breathless by the time his father came home around seven that night. They'd long since composed themselves, and were cuddled on the couch watching a movie. The deer in headlights look his father gave the new couple on the couch made Ritsuka blush.
"Take a picture, dad…" Ritsuka complained.
"How long has this…?" His father wondered, loosening his tie and hanging up his coat.
"Uh…recent…"
His father nodded. "Are you going to stay the night, Soubi? It's not like you haven't before…"
"I…don't want to intrude any more than I already have …" Soubi informed, clearing his throat.
"No intruding at all." Mr. Aoyagi nodded, leaving the younger males alone.
"Well…at least he didn't flip out…" Ritsuka spoke slowly.
"I'd rather he did…"
Ritsuka laughed as Soubi placed a kiss between his neko ears. At least his father hadn't come home to find them missing.
000
Nisei lounged on a couch in his living room about an hour after the gathering had ended. Ritsuka's extended family was loaded and had made it a point to have not only the most expensive catering they could find in the area, but to have an open bar stocked with the finest wines and spirits. A bit of bad taste for the after funeral of someone who died because he got behind the wheel drunk, but it didn't seem like any of the Aoyagis had any tact. Except Seimei. Seimei…beautiful, confident Seimei…gone. Destroyed by the very thing that was now coursing through his friend's veins, leaving him almost passed out on the couch after his best friend had to drag his sorry drunk ass home so he wouldn't get hurt or lost on the way to his apartment on the other side of the city. Nisei appreciated the gesture, but he would have preferred if his sempai had just let him go on his own. Whatever happened to him was whatever happened to him. He didn't care all that much anymore. That wasn't to say that he was going to go as far as to jump in front of a moving train, or climb Mt. Fuji and jump off the top, or shove a fork in a toaster that he dropped in his bath. It wasn't that he wanted to die, more that he accepted the fact that he could and that one day, he would. He would like to be like Kio and claim he'd never put his family through the pain of losing him to alcohol. He could care less what his family wanted, what they thought. It wasn't like they gave two damns about him. sure, his sister might weep for a few days, his brother would blame himself and wonder where he went wrong, but in the end, that wasn't his problem.
He forced himself to sit up straight and grab the long-necked beer off the table to finish off the rest of it. Mimuro had made him promise that he wouldn't leave or do something stupid while he was showering, since he decided he was staying the night if for nothing more than to make sure Nisei didn't make use of his balcony and drunkenly stumble over the edge. It was a pain, how much the other worried for him, but he was grateful for it even if he didn't voice it. No one had cared about him so much before, not before he met Mimuro, met Seimei. Sure, half of their friends' circle were casual acquaintances and not friends, but in the end, he had Mimuro and Seimei, and that was all he really needed. Well, now it was down to just himself and Mimuro, but semantics. He heard the phone ring, but ignored it in favor of drinking more of the beer, finishing it off and chucking into a waste bin, where it crashed and shattered into thousands of small fragments within the container, though a few bigger pieces bounced out and landed on his carpet.
"Nisei? It's Hideki. I know the funeral was today. I just thought I'd check up on you…are you okay? How are you holding up? I'll be by later in the week…take care, little brother." His brother's voice floated through the answering machine as the little white cube recorded it for him to listen to again later. Typical Hideki, coming to him when it was too late and offering a friendship that he knew his brother didn't really want, but would pretend he did for his own sanity.
The shower stopped and after a few moments, the door creaked open and Mimuro exited, coated in a grey towel around his waist and a white one around his hair.
"Are you okay? What was that sound?" He asked.
"Why is everyone concerned with whether I'm okay or not?" Nisei snorted. "Threw the bottle in the trash, that's all." He pointed.
Mimuro sighed. "Be more careful, baka."
Nisei waved him away.
"I know you don't give a damn whether you live or die, but I do, so stop being a careless idiot."
"Oh, look who's gotten the balls to yell at me." Nisei rolled his eyes.
"I know you're depressed because your boyfriend's dead, but come on…"
Nisei laughed. "Boyfriend? You think Seimei and I were…?" Realization hit. "Ah, Sempai, were you jealous? Is that why you didn't like Seimei?" A giggle. "He's not my boyfriend."
"What? No, I was never jealous of Seimei…I don't like him because he's full of himself, he's…well…it's not wise to speak ill of the dead, not on the day of his funeral." Mimuro shook his head. "You seriously weren't together?"
"Sempai…if Seimei and I were together…do you think he'd still have his ears? We've been friends since sixth grade…I would have gotten him in bed a long time ago if we were ever a thing. But we weren't." Nisei pat the top of his head. "If we were, I wouldn't have lost these to some one-night stand with a girl I don't even remember."
"I…guess that's true…" Mimuro rubbed where his ears were. "S-Speaking of one-night stands…"
"I'm not in the mood to get laid, but thanks for the offer." Nisei looked away. "Whatever happened with us at that party, we agreed it was going to be the last time, the only time we did something like that."
"Well, we both know it didn't get all that far, considering yours are gone and mine are not."
"I lost mine before we hooked up, jackass."
"Shut up."
Nisei laughed, leaning his head back on the couch and closing his eyes. "Feels…good to laugh…"
"Still planning on falling off your balcony later?"
Nisei sat up right, glaring. "I thought you being here was to prevent that, Sempai."
Mimuro snorted. "Whatever, Nisei. When you're ready to stop feeling sorry for yourself, come back, would you?" He started to leave.
"It's my fault, you know…" Nisei muttered softly.
He wasn't certain if Mimuro heard him, but when the blond turned back and came to his side, he realized that he had.
"What is?" Mimuro asked.
"Seimei…"
"How the hell is that possibly your fault? He's the moron that got behind the wheel drunk…"
So much for not speaking ill of the dead.
"I should have…tried harder…tried to stop him. I'm the older one; I should have been the more responsible one. I should have forced him to give me his keys, regardless of what he said or did or threatened…yet…"
"Nisei…" Mimuro sat next to him, taking his friend's hand in both of his. "That's not your fault. You were drunk too; we all were. None of us would have been coherent enough to stop him from getting behind the wheel. This isn't your fault."
"I…was in love…with him, Mimuro…" Nisei admitted, yanking his hand back. "I knew it wasn't a smart idea. Even drunk, I knew. I should have held my ground and got the keys from him. Instead, I let the guy I was in love with die, before I even could tell him how I felt about him, I succumbed to my own intoxication…and…now…"
Mimuro pushed Nisei's head down to lay on his shoulder. "Tch…idiot…"
"Sempai?" Nisei didn't move, though he really couldn't do much anyway with Mimuro's hand holding his head in place. "What are you…?"
"You could have been completely sober, and you still wouldn't have been able to stop Seimei from getting behind the wheel that night." Mimuro informed. "Seimei's a stubborn little fuck. He's not going to just let someone boss him around, even if they're just telling to do or not do something for his own good. In the end, it wasn't your fault."
"How…how do you know? Maybe I could have stopped him…he might end up hating me, but at least he'd be alive."
"I just know, okay? You couldn't have done anything. You tried to save him. You helped get him out of his car before it blew, you did CPR. And you know damn well he doesn't blame you."
"Still…I…what if I…"
"You can't spend your life thinking about all the what ifs now." Mimuro informed. "What happened has happened. You're not at fault, Nisei. Please, don't ever think that. Seimei made his decision and now he has to live…er…now we have to live with it…"
Nisei laughed a little. "T-Thank you…sempai…"
"Of course."
"Sempai?"
"Hai?"
"You did know Seimei and I were never a couple, right?"
"Didn't we just go over this?"
"I thought you just forgot, but…"
"No, I thought you two were together. I have for years." Mimuro informed. "Why do you think I haven't made a move yet?"
"You're my friend, and you wanted to make a move on Seimei? A bit too late for that, isn't it?"
"What? No! Not on Seimei, you idiot!" Mimuro grunted, annoyed. "God, you're so ignorant at times, Nisei. I don't know how I put up with you."
"I'm being sarcastic." Nisei's eyes rolled. "Guess it doesn't come across well when I've been drinking, eh?"
"Or maybe I'm just an idiot." He cleared his throat. "So…?"
"So, what?"
"Where do we…ah…er…what…um…?"
"I don't speak ah, er, um."
"I'm sorry, Nisei, I really am…"
"For what?"
"For everything." He laughed. "For not telling you sooner, for not staying around longer that night, for Seimei…for this…"
"This?"
Mimuro tilted Nisei's chin up and wasted no time in pressing their lips together before the younger male could complain. He expected the younger to shove him away, or to at least hit him. but he didn't expect Nisei to shove him back and follow him, straddling his hips as he leaned over him on the couch. Nisei's fingers through his hair brushed against his skull where his ears and head met, making the blond moan and arch against him. They separated when Mimuro recovered and tried to press through the raven's lips with his tongue.
"You…you don't…huh…?" Mimuro wondered.
Nisei chuckled, hands sliding down the other's face so one held his chin and the other went above him, supporting Nisei's weight on it as he wobbled a little.
"You know…my room's a lot more comfortable for this sort of…activity…"
Mimuro pushed the other off him, then yanked him down the hallway faster than either of their inebriated minds could comprehend.
000
It took another two months before Ritsuka could gather the courage to go to his brother's gravesite. He stood in front of the plain stone marker that bore his brother's name and a carved picture of a cat with angel wings, a bouquet of white roses clenched tightly in his hand. Soubi stood at his side, their fingers intertwined. The crisp autumn air whipped around them like a halo, as if they were being given a message from Seimei himself. The neko was starting to get back on track with school, seeing the counselor once or twice a week, and another independent therapist his father had hired once a month. The loss still weighed heavily on the two living Aoyagi males, though the rest of their family seemed to have moved on a little too quickly for Ritsuka's comfort. His father stopped by the grave once a month to do some grooming and get rid of any flowers that died or were on their way out. Anything he knew the cemetery was going to throw away was removed and placed in a box in the garage for safe keeping. Soon it would become too cold to visit, so Ritsuka was glad that he'd decided to visit now rather than later.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Soubi informed. "Your brother will understand, as will I."
"No, if I don't do this now, I'm never going to." Ritsuka replied, finally letting go of Soubi's warm hand and setting the flowers on top of the gravestone.
He stood and their fingers reconnected. Neither said a word as they stood there, staring at the marked grave that was all that remained of their deceased companion. Ritsuka sighed, running his free hand through his hair.
"I wish I could have stopped you, Seimei, but you've always been stubborn." Ritsuka informed the stone. "I know Akame feels bad, too, but there's nothing we could have done."
"That's one way to put it." A voice greeted.
The lovers turned to spot Mimuro and Nisei walking over, hand in hand. They stopped next to them, just inches from the stone. Mimuro wrapped an arm around Nisei's waist as he began to shiver, but Ritsuka wasn't certain if it was because they were there too, the location, or the wind.
"Hey…er…Ritsuka…" Nisei began.
"If you're going to apologize, don't. I know you're sorry. You've said it a million times." Ritsuka stated. "Seimei did what he did. None of us could have changed it then, and we can't change it now."
"Y-Yeah…Mimuro said that, too…"
"So…you two, huh?" Mimuro asked. "I…kind of expected that, if you want me to be honest."
"I could say the same about you guys." Ritsuka nodded to Mimuro's arm.
The raven flushed. "You're both assholes."
A little laughter came from the four, but the air was still heavy.
"I haven't had a drink since he died." Soubi blurted.
"I haven't either." Mimuro shook his head.
"Me neither." Nisei offered.
"You drank at the after party…"
"I'm pretty sure everyone there did, so you're both full of it." Ritsuka informed.
Laughter rose again.
"Hey, your family's rich and had an open bar. They were just opening the night up for bullshit." Nisei informed.
"Even when it's a gathering because Seimei's dead, they're being showoffs." Ritsuka rolled his eyes.
"Maiko's a bit of a bitch." Mimuro informed.
"A bit?" Soubi wondered. "I thought Ritsuka was going to deck her more than once."
"I wouldn't hit a girl." The youngest argued.
"What a gentleman." Nisei chided.
Silence took over.
"I hope what happened is a wakeup call for you guys." Ritsuka fiddled with the hem of his shirt with his free hand. "Don't take things for granted…I know you guys like drinking and that's your thing or whatever. But I'm never going to drink…" Ritsuka looked at the stone. "Seimei may have loved it, but I can't find it in me to touch even a drop. Not after Seimei…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. "It just feels wrong to disgrace my brother's memory by drowning myself in the thing that killed him."
"Thinking you're invincible is what killed him, Ritsuka." Mimuro stated. "Intoxicated or not, Seimei did always think he was untouchable. In a way, he was. He knew what he wanted and he most often got it. But everyone dies sometime. We're only mortals after all. He was too busy living the good life to see that."
"To be fair, most people don't think about dying." Nisei tapped a finger on his chin. "Not when they're too busy living, that is."
"Fair enough." Soubi nodded.
"I'm not going to drink anymore." Nisei sighed. "I think I got it out of me at the after party. Besides, I have something else to keep me going now…"
Mimuro blushed. "N-Nisei…"
"As do I." Soubi agreed, pulling Ritsuka closer.
"B-Baka…" Ritsuka shoved him a little, but not with enough force to move him.
"Alright, enough of the mushy shit." Nisei informed. "We have class. I just…wanted to see Seimei…"
"It's unfortunate that this is where we have to see him now." Mimuro stated, rubbing the back of his neck. "We…haven't exactly stopped by since the burial."
"We haven't either." Ritsuka shook his head. "I couldn't bring myself to do it."
Nisei tossed a small bouquet of chrysanthemums on top of Ritsuka's bouquet. "See you in hell, Seimei." He informed, giving a small salute with his fingers at his temple.
"Nisei!" Mimuro scolded.
Ritsuka laughed while Soubi hugged him close, enjoying the happy sound coming from his younger lover for the first time since before Seimei passed away.
"This is where we part ways." Nisei stated. "We'll…see you around."
Ritsuka nodded. "Yeah, see you guys around, too. Just because Seimei's gone…you can still…you know…text me or something. Stop by whenever. I don't care. Up to you." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'll message you later this evening." Nisei stated. "I don't think I can find it in me to go to that place yet…"
"When you're ready." Mimuro informed.
"There's some stuff of Seimei's I put aside for you guys." Ritsuka offered.
"Thank you."
"When he's ready, we'll be by." Mimuro agreed.
They bid their farewells and the older couple started to walk away. Mimuro turned around.
"Hey!" He called, waving. "We're making this a ritual, hear me? Next year! We meet here!"
"Right!" Ritsuka waved back.
"Ready to go home, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked.
"Yeah…I think so. Goodbye, Seimei…"
000
Six years later, the four met at Seimei's grave for the sixth year in a row-seventh if you counted the year Seimei died-on the anniversary of his funeral. Leaves were blowing down from the trees around them. Seimei's grave was still in rather pristine condition, a multitude of bouquets in different colors and styles laying on and around the stone. Ritsuka took over his father's job of keeping the grave clean between classes. True to their words, the four elder males stopped drinking. Soubi had even turned down drinks at art galleries he was a part of and exhibitions he and Ritsuka attended. Mimuro and Nisei had moved into an apartment in Kyoto to be close rot their families-mostly Mimuro's. Ritsuka moved in with Soubi on his eighteenth birthday, leaving his father free to date and have his girlfriend and her young son move in three years prior. After the first year, it was an unspoken rule amongst people who knew Seimei, blood or not, that no one was to come on the anniversary of the day Seimei died nor the day of the accident itself. The day of the accident was reserved for Seimei's friends, and occasionally Ritsuka, the day of his death was reserved for the living Aoyagis and Seimei's friends, and the day of the burial was something that Ritsuka and Soubi's friends shared. It wasn't that they minded other people being there, but most people either stopped caring enough to show up, or noticed that the same people would be there on the same days and felt like they were intruding. They wouldn't turn away someone who came on those days, however.
Ritsuka and the others had brought a picnic basket and blanket with them. Every year they'd do something different. The year after he died, they brought balloons. Last year they decorated the stone with pumpkins and cutouts of leaves and sipped on hot chocolate and apple cider.
"To Seimei." Mimuro offered, holding up his cup of cider. "We weren't always the best of friends…"
"Most of the time you weren't even friends." Nisei chided.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't interrupt my speech." Mimuro stuck his tongue out. "But he did bring me closer to you, so, in the end, I have him to thank for that."
"M-Mimuro…"
"How cute." Ritsuka chuckled, his voice deepened after six long years of being an adult.
"Shut up!" Nisei flung a donut hole at his head.
Ritsuka laughed, ducking as it sailed past.
"Mature, Akame." Soubi offered, grabbing the donut from the ground and throwing it back.
He ducked, the dessert splatting against Mimuro's head instead. Laughter filled the air even as Mimuro threw a donut at Soubi, who caught it and shoved it in his mouth in response.
"Thank you for that very moving speech, Mimuro." Ritsuka held up his cup. "To Seimei."
"To Seimei!" The others chorused.
Mimuro and Soubi exchanged a look and nodded as their boyfriends finished off their drinks.
"Damn, Aoyagi, way to drink me under the table." Nisei joked. "Did you even taste that?"
"Sure did. Tasted like heaven."
"I know what else tastes like heaven." Soubi whispered into his ear with a wink.
"Soubi!" Ritsuka protested, flushing.
"As do I." Mimuro winked at Nisei, earning himself a donut hole to the face.
"Hey, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked.
"Nisei?" Mimuro spoke at the same time.
"What?" The raven-haired males wondered as one, making the blonds laugh.
"Can I ask you something?" Soubi asked.
"Me too."
"You had to have planned this shit." Nisei stated.
"They planned this shit." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "What is it?"
Soubi and Mimuro both shifted, pulling something out of their pockets as they did.
"Dear god, they even move in unison." Nisei put a hand on the side of his head.
"If you two choreographed something, I'll have you both know that I've seen both of you dance and it's not pretty." Ritsuka informed.
"Not that." The blonds replied.
"Ritsuka…I love you."
"And I love you, Nisei."
"And…?" The other males asked, sharing a sideways glance out of the corner of their eyes.
"Will you marry me?" The blonds spoke together, both opening the small item in their hands at the same time to reveal rings.
A small gold band with one diamond for Ritsuka, and a small silver band with two diamonds for Nisei.
"We don't have to have a joint wedding, too, do we…?" Nisei asked hesitantly.
"No." Mimuro laughed.
"Don't worry, we can do this again separately." Soubi informed.
"What's your answer?" Both blonds asked.
"We're not doing this all night." Nisei scolded.
"Yeah, this is cheesy as hell." Ritsuka giggled, though it seemed a little odd now that his voice was too deep to sound like a giggle.
"Yes." Nisei stated first.
"Same goes for me. Yes." Ritsuka laughed as Soubi pulled him into a hug, kissing him gently.
The blonds slipped their rings onto the others' fingers and laughed at how they were still in unison.
"This is creepy as fuck, and I'm out." Nisei stated, standing. "Blanket's yours, Aoyagi?"
Ritsuka stood as well. "It's mine if you take the basket, Akame."
"Deal."
"Oh, where's your sense of humor?" Mimuro asked.
"Died with my brother, clearly." Ritsuka snorted.
"That was morbid. I'm proud of you." Nisei chuckled.
Ritsuka laughed as the four began cleaning up. Once everything was packed away, they bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Though Seimei was gone, they were still bound together by their love for Seimei-though it wasn't really love for Seimei on Mimuro's part and more of respect for how Nisei feels-and that was the one thing that Ritsuka knew he could count on. His life had always been hectic, nothing ever constant and people and things always leaving him in the dust. Sure, his own friends hadn't left his side since they met, and were great company, but there was just something about having a ritual every year where he could be with the people who knew Seimei best that made him feel a little less terrible about his brother's passing. The tragedy would haunt him forever, and he was certain the others weren't about to forget. Especially Akame, since he had witnessed the accident and a part of him still blamed himself.
They didn't have Seimei, but they had each other. It wasn't the same, and it certainly wasn't a substitute, but it was close enough. At least, that's what they'd tell themselves while they still tried to cope with the accident, the loss. They all accepted that things might never go back to normal, but they could try to let it be. They could let Seimei's death, Seimei's invincibility be a lesson for all of them. No one was invincible. It was just unfortunate that Seimei had to find out the hard way.