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Crossing Stars

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Quiet Dream

Touya peered down at the collection of rings in front of him. Hawks gestured to a few on the far side of the display case.

"What about these?" The blond grinned at him.

Touya rolled his eyes, "She hates gaudy rings and heavy jewelry. She prefers something light and simple."

Somehow, he'd been completely roped into bringing the bird along with him today. Although it'd be more accurate to say that Hawks simply invited himself along and he'd been unable to shake the fool.

Touya glanced down at the arrangement of rings.

Money was no object for him. He had more than enough in his savings to buy her anything she'd wanted. The real question was what sort of design would she enjoy.

Heavy diamonds and garish displays of wealth weren't the sort of thing that would make Kagome happy, but would she be satisfied with a simple band? Maybe he could find one in between that would suit her tastes.

Touya paused as his eyes were drawn to one ring in particular. It was what the sales representative had called a 'vintage style' design. Its metal was an eye catching rose gold and the centerpiece diamond was a soft hue of pink. Its teardrop shape was encased in smaller, regular white diamonds. The band itself was thin and the ring was surprisingly light when he'd picked it up.

It was beautiful, decorative yet not too over the top.

"Nice choice," Hawks leaned over his shoulder to take a peek. "Are you going to get matching wedding bands for you both?"

The thought hadn't really crossed his mind but he supposed that now would be the time to do it.

Touya selected the matching band for Kagome's ring before he'd picked out a simple rose gold band for himself that had a hammered look to it.

He hardly blinked at the price when he'd checked out. Since the rings had to be ordered, it would take a few weeks for them to ship in. So he had plenty of time to prepare for his proposal.

First and foremost would be putting Houjo behind bars. That would be his first engagement gift to Kagome.

"How are things going with the deep cover?" Touya slid the receipt into his pocket as he returned to his usual patrols.

Women still tried to bombard him but he'd gotten much more reactive, activating his flames before they could even get close. It'd served as an excellent deterrent. Although he was sorely tempted to go public with his relationship to put an end to the fangirls and gossip rags.

Hawks braced both of his arms behind his head, "They're close to breaking through to him. Houjo seems to think that Sango will give him empathy so he's been going to get a lot."

Touya snorted through his nose.

That figures. The coward was excellent swaying people's emotions so he must've felt that he could take advantage of Sango. He wouldn't put it past the fool to attempt to seduce her either.

"Who'd have thought that such a sleaze could get with so many people?" Hawks blanched. "He slept with almost every one of Kagome's friends. He'd seduced them just so that he could use them to gaslight her. Talk about creepy."

Kagome had told him that she and Houjo had used protection the one time they were intimate together. It turned out that, that was a blessing in disguise. In their investigation, they'd learned that Houjo had sweet talked his way into the pants of almost all her friends. He'd convinced all of them that Kagome was a cold fish in bed and that she was toxic and controlling towards him. He'd then used their sympathy as a weapon and turned them all against her.

Houjo had controlled her through het friends and family, cheated on her and poisoned her. All because he felt that she were his property. He didn't even see her as a person. Just an object that he owned and could use at his own discretion.

It pissed him off.

"They say that they're pretty close to getting a confession. So if all goes well, we can have him in cuffs by the end of the week." Hawks strolled forward as they came upon a familiar crowd of girls hanging out in front of his agency.

He was getting real sick of this.

Staying at the dorm with Kagome had cut down on a lot of his security concerns. However the public at large still viewed him as an object they were entitled to.

The familiar crush of women began to descend onto them.

He was sick of all of this.

There was only one woman in this world he wanted to touch him. Right now, she was upstairs in their dorm enjoying a day off. Probably watching more wedding shows while she was at it.

He always did find it cute how she tried to hide the fact that she was watching them in the first place. As if she were embarrassed that she'd been seen considering what sort of wedding she wanted to have with him.

Considering that they didn't have many friends and family they wanted to invite, he felt that it'd be better if it were a small but simple ceremony. Either a courthouse wedding or just the two of them saying their vows at a destination location where they would have their honeymoon too. He'd have to ask her which she would prefer.

"Dabi!" The fangirls' screeching brought him back to reality.

He felt an arm sling around his neck as Hawks leaned onto him.

"The hell you doing?" He growled at the other hero.

"A favor." The blond grinned back.

"Sorry ladies," Hawks' smile widened, "But this guy is taken. He's got someone that he's totally nuts about. She's a real knockout too."

Touya shot him a pointed look.

The high pitched whines and cries of despair were like nails on a chalkboard in his ears.

He pried himself from the number four hero's grasp and turned his attention to the swelling crowd. The flashing lights of cameras blinded his eyes. Still, he straightened his shoulders as he addressed the girls crying in front of him.

"Hawks is correct. I am in a serious relationship and I do not appreciate being touched or approached." He glowered at the women still sobbing in the crowd, "Any further attempts to harass me or my significant other will be met with legal action. That's the only warning I'm going to give on this matter."

With that he pushed past the crowd. Sighs that read 'I Love Dabi!' were scattered haphazardly across the ground as the crowd's energetic atmosphere suddenly turned melancholic.

Kagome said that he could be number one, but honestly he was just looking to retire at this rate. All the lights, cameras and glamor of this job had worn off long ago. He mostly did it because he'd wanted to fight villains. Now that crime rates were down and the field was becoming a performance circus, he was starting to lose interest.

Maybe they could by a house by the sea and live there quietly.

Touya made his way inside as he took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor.

That really did sound nice.