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It was warm when he woke up.
However, it wasn't the heat of chasing your opponent and potential victim, nor was it the heat from a wound that hadn't yet been treated.
Not by far.
Yet it was also not the heat from a kettle when Kazuki wanted to make tea and made a second cup because it "calms the nerves" – whatever that meant – or the heat that the cooker radiated after preparing lunch. And certainly not the heat that came with the subtropical weather of this island, which crept through the walls like Miri behind the sofa before she got too big for it.
No, this warmth was different. It was natural, seeping through his skin like falling darkness lulling him to sleep. It was gentle, comfortable even, and somewhat familiar. If he only knew why.
Rei opened his eyes and blinked blearily at the window, its curtains not shut. He saw palm trees swaying in the wind, a blue sky and few white clouds strayed like nori flakes in their bentou boxes. It was the view of a typical morning on this subtropical island.
Though, this wasn't the view Rei normally saw from his window. Either the trees had grown very quickly or he had slept for a very, very long time. Or else…
Rei wrenched his eyes open and turned his head.
Warmth.
Pure human warmth
"I did it again," he muttered and dropped his head back in the pillow.
As he lay there considering the reasons and consequences of going to bed too late after a longer gaming session and not choosing his own bedroom, he inhaled Kazuki's scent, which permeated every object in this room, even Rei.
With Kazuki's body flush against his back and a heavy arm wrapped tightly around Rei's waist, Rei's initial instinct would've been to flee and get away. Though, that had changed a long time ago already. Rei didn't want to move away, he had more reasons to stay than leave after all.
He kept his eyes closed, feeling the heart that wasn't his own thumping against his spine, felt warm fingers clutching the front of his t-shirt, bathed in the other's presence without Kazuki noticing.
Rei glanced back at Kazuki. Blond eyelashes fluttered a little, his hair was dishevelled and his beard… Rei's lips twitched. He had teased him about it when Kazuki had declared that they "needed to be more mature" and had stopped shaving about 1/10 of his face every morning ever since then. Well, not that the teasing had stopped, but Rei got kinda used to seeing Kazuki like this.
What would Kazuki say if he woke up now? Would he want to ask how it happened, get flustered, stutter one of his bad excuses to get away and never talk about it again?
It wasn't the first time they had shared the bed, but ever since Miri had declared she would sleep in her own room, there had been no reason for Rei to share a bed with anyone. Not that it had stopped him from doing so whenever Kazuki's defence was low.
Which is why he found himself here, in Kazuki's bed, yet again.
He sighed and resisted the urge to roll on his back and stare at the ceiling.
He should leave, it was probably better anyway. There was no need to stay and keep desiring something that might not be possible after all. Although he had thought that they were…
He shook his head and moved, but before he could even brush off the blanket, the hand around his waist tightened as Kazuki mumbled something in his sleep and pulled Rei back against his chest.
Rei craned his neck to stare at Kazuki, listening intently to what he had to say.
And then:
"Rei," Kazuki mumbled, then buried his face between Rei's shoulder blades where his nose poked his skin and warm lips exhaled moist air.
Rei stared at the other man, unable to move.
His fingers twitched where they gripped the blanket and a loose strand of black hair slid over his shoulder to hang in front of his temple. His heart was galloping away as he pondered what to do. And then, very slowly, he let himself sink back onto the bed.
He decided to stay. Because he was curious. What would happen when Kazuki woke up?
Most of the time he had left the bedroom before Kazuki had noticed or Kazuki had been too tired after closing the store to see that someone else had already made himself comfortable. It was during busy times, during times of stress or the day before Miri's entrance ceremony, that Rei found himself drawn to this room, this bed, this person that was warm at night when darkness put the rest of this island to slumber.
He couldn't help it.
Despite being lost in his thoughts, Rei noticed right away when Kazuki moved. He muttered some unintelligible words while the muscles of his arm tightened and relaxed again. The wound in his shoulder had healed, but Rei's arm hurt from time to time. One of the reasons why they had decided to come to Okinawa.
"Hngh," Kazuki mumbled and shifted. "Hmm… Huh? Wha–" He turned and finally the arm around Rei's waist retreated. Rei didn't take his eyes off of Kazuki, who raised his head and blinked heavily, rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes. "Who's't, Miri?"
"Not Miri," Rei said quietly.
"Huh? Is–" Kazuki opened his eyes. "Rei? What–" His eyes widened. "REI?"
"Shh, you will wake her."
"What are you doing here?"
"Sleeping."
"You're awake," Kazuki remarked.
"I was sleeping."
"Here?"
"It was comfortable."
Kazuki opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "Rei," he said, his voice still husky and thick off sleep. He cleared his voice and propped himself up on his arm, looking at Rei, who had not moved a centimetre.
"Rei, what are you doing in my bed? And why are we… cuddling?"
"You started it."
Spluttering, Kazuki pulled his arm to himself. "Ho–how do you know that?"
"I didn't cuddle you when I fell asleep."
"You di– Wait, when did you come here?"
Rei frowned thoughtfully. "Around 1 am?"
"Is that the answer or a question?"
"It's my best guess," Rei said honestly.
Kazuki exhaled a sigh and let himself drop back onto the mattress. "Well, not that I mind, you know?"
Surprised, Rei stared at him. "You… don't?"
"Mhm," Kazuki mumbled, shaking his head. "We did that before, didn't we?"
Rei stayed silent; he had no idea what to respond to that than state the obvious.
"Why though?"
"Hm?"
"Why?" Kazuki repeated.
"I–" But Rei stopped talking, considering his possibilities. He felt Kazuki's eyes resting on him, they were warm like the rest of his body. A fact Rei knew from many years of experience.
"You," Rei began hesitantly. "You said my name."
"I did?"
Rei looked at him. "I think your unconsciousness was talking."
"My what was talking?"
"You said my name in your sleep," Rei said hurriedly.
"Oh." Kazuki calmed down again. "I guess I must've sensed that you were there, huh." He shrugged his shoulder.
"I see." Rei fixed warm eyes. "You said," he began, "you didn't mind it?"
"Well, I guess not." Kazuki frowned. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"You don't mind having me sleep in your bed."
"No, why should I? As I said, we did that lots of times back then."
"Back then," Rei repeated quietly. "Not anymore."
"Well, Miri is old enough. She's a high school student now."
"Apart from that."
"Rei, what is it?" Kazuki moved to prop himself once more on his arm, giving Rei a concerned look.
"I… like to sleep in this bed," Rei said.
"If that's the case then–"
"It's warm when you're here too."
Kazuki watched him. "Rei," he whispered. "Today… wasn't the first time, right?"
"No."
The house was quiet for a moment, only the wind could be heard as well as the rustling of palm tree leaves.
"We used to sleep together very often back then, the three of us."
"Yeah," Rei agreed, "the three of us."
"That was never a problem, was it?" Kazuki gave him a look as if to confirm that it had been okay. As if Rei would've kept his mouth shut if he had wanted to complain.
Rei shook his head. "It was warm. I felt comfortable."
"I see." Kazuki snickered, a lazy smile on his lips. "Miri too liked to do that a lot, huh, always dragged us to my bed because it was the biggest and all and–"
"But it was always the three of us. Kazuki."
Kazuki closed his mouth and gazed at Rei, eyes slightly widening.
"It was never… the two of us."
"Y–yo–" Kazuki swallowed. When he looked at Rei, his expression was indifferent, but his eyes gave him away. Rei feared he bore the same look; he had changed over the years after all. His smile had become more natural too.
"You would want that?" Kazuki asked, his fingers crawling over the mattress towards Rei's arm.
"Yes."
"O–oh."
"Every night."
"E–every–!" Kazuki stared at him, then laughed and the tension bled away and left the room like suppressing heat fleeing from the air conditioning. A smile as soft as it was on Christmas Eve breached his lips and his eyes sparkled. "You know," he said, his voice lower now, and tender. "I certainly wouldn't mind if you came here more often."
"Today?" Rei asked hopefully.
"To–" Another chuckle, followed by a bright smile. "Yes! Today!"
Rei exhaled a breath he had kept; his lips twitched and he too smiled, genuinely.
"You could've just asked, you know?" Kazuki said now.
"Huh?"
"No need to sneak into my room while I was asleep."
"It's your fault your defence was low."
"Then why did you exploit that fact, huh?" Kazuki softly boxed against Rei's arm, minding the scar.
"I… couldn't help myself." Rei didn't meet Kazuki's eyes, but gazed out of the window where he watched the palm trees in the wind. "You're… warm." Now he did it and stated the obvious.
"You are too, you know?"
Rei looked back, not necessarily because of the words, but because of a familiar palm brushing over his skin.
"That's different," Rei said.
"How is that different?" Kazuki laughed. "I also want to cuddle you!"
"No one said anything about cuddling."
"Hey, you were all close and touching my arm."
"It was you who put it on me to begin with."
"So you don't want it? You wanna sleep in my bed without touching? I thought you said something about warmth and such."
Kazuki smirked at him, a knowing look in his eyes, and Rei knew he had no way to get out of this. Not that he wanted to, he just wished he could get through it without talking about it. And so he muttered his reply into the pillow, face turned away from Kazuki.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
Rei scowled and repeated the words.
"Reiiii, I don't hear youuuu."
Rei turned around, glaring at Kazuki. "I said I want it!" he barked.
He didn't reckon with the soft smile on Kazuki's lips, nor the warmth that was still lingering in his eyes, Christmas and all.
"You do, hm?"
"Y–yeah."
Kazuki's smile widened. "Gosh," he said, then he began to laugh boisterously. "I can't believe this!" he exclaimed, and with one swift movement, he wrapped his arms around a startled Rei and pulled him close.
With his arms pressed tightly against his body, Rei had no chance to escape. Beneath him he felt Kazuki's almost bare body, aside from his boxer shorts, shaking as he laughed into his ear, clear and cheerful. With this familiar sound and while being engulfed by this warmth, Rei smiled.
As Kazuki's laughter died down, they slowly settled, Kazuki on his back and Rei half on his side, his head on his upper arm. Kazuki still had his arm wrapped around Rei's back while the other rested loosely on his upper arm.
By now Rei was used to Kazuki's casual touches, and it was also thanks to Miri, who had certainly never held back, whether it was wrapping her arms around their legs or tugging them to the first breakfast that she had prepared herself.
But now it was different.
To prevent crashing onto Kazuki, he had put his hand on his chest, where it still rested. The bare skin was dry and warm under his touch, inviting even; his fingers twitched.
Rei held his breath and shot Kazuki a quick glance before he slowly, very slowly pushed his palm over Kazuki's chest. There were shallow bumps here and there, scratches from fights and more prominently the scar of bullet holes, which had badly healed. Nothing unfamiliar.
As he brushed a nipple and gently pushed his fingertips into warm skin, he marvelled at the touch. The warmth just never seized, Kazuki was warm all over.
When Rei's palm rested on the sternum, Rei angled his head to look at Kazuki, but Kazuki had his eyes closed and didn't seem to mind. Though, he hummed quietly, as if to say that it was okay to proceed, and smiled even. And so Rei pushed further until most of his arm rested on Kazuki's chest.
Eventually settling, he allowed the smile back onto his lips and closed his eyes; his head became heavy where he laid it on Kazuki's upper arm.
A moment of silence came over them, only their calm breathing and the rustling of the early summer wind in the leaves outside could be heard.
When Kazuki opened his mouth to talk, it sounded like part of a dream.
"Now we are cuddling like domesticated boyfriends."
That wasn't the reason Rei kept silent, but as he lacked the words for a response, he paused and Kazuki didn't press.
For a long time, Rei had not known that lying in bed with someone else and doing nothing but touch could be so peaceful. At least until Miri had come into his life, and then when he had sneaked into Kazuki's bedroom whenever he could. He had never had a better night's sleep than those nights.
"Didn't know you were into that," Kazuki then said casually, but Rei could depict the underlying curiosity he was trying to hide in his voice right away.
"That?" Rei mumbled and opened his eyes.
"Relationships. You never said you–"
"Kazuki."
His voice made Kazuki turn his head to look at him.
"We're living together since fourteen years–"
"That's as old as Miri is today!"
"Kazuki, shut up and let me do the talking."
"You know, normally it's the other way round," Kazuki interrupted him yet again but fell silent as Rei glared at him.
"You're right," Rei said. "We lived together all these years, I got to know things about you I wished I didn't–"
"Oi!"
"–and we adopted a daughter."
Kazuki fell silent and blinked once, twice. "You got a point," he mumbled and chuckled softly.
"I just…" Rei continued, gazing over Kazuki's face, his cheeks, beard and his own arm resting on his chest, "… didn't know how to start this," he mumbled.
"So you decided that sneaking into my room while I was asleep was best?" Kazuki deadpanned.
"I– I couldn't help it." Rei pushed his lower lip forward, pouting. He remained looking at his own arm; the more he was surprised when Kazuki tilted his head and two warm lips pressed against his temple. The warm hand resting on Rei's arm let go of him to tousle black hair until long strands fell into his face.
Surprised, Rei froze and stared at a scar on Kazuki's chest.
"Don't worry," Kazuki said quietly. "I'm glad you did." His voice put Rei at ease again and his muscles relaxed.
"So?" Kazuki then asked. "No comment on the boyfriend thing?"
"I thought that was obvious," Rei replied quietly while he relaxed further against Kazuki. His arm slipped off the other side of Kazuki's chest where his thumb smoothed warm skin.
The stunned tone in Kazuki's voice was still apparent when he said, "Well, I guess so…"
Rei hummed, closed his eyes and rested his head once more on his partner's shoulder; he could feel the tension leaving Kazuki's body beneath him, glad about it.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Hm?"
Without answering, Rei touched the ten-year-old scar instead.
"Mhm, not anymore," Kazuki replied and paused. "Yours?" He didn't reach out to touch Rei's arm.
"Sometimes."
"Hmm." At first, no more words followed, but even though Kazuki stayed silent, Rei could feel his eyes on him and thoughts spinning under blond hair.
"You think I shouldn't have done it, right?" he murmured.
"I just thought it was surprising that you did that," Kazuki replied in a tone that indicated his pout; Rei didn't need to look at him to verify that.
"I had to."
"Why!?" Now he almost sounded exasperated.
Rei turned his head to look at him, remaining calm and serious while he gazed into widened eyes and furrowed brows. "In general or–"
"Rei!" Kazuki heaved a heavy sigh and was silent for a few seconds before continuing in a strained voice. "Why did you have to shoot your arm? You know anatomy better than I do, you knew there was a high chance it would damage you in the long run."
"Otherwise it wouldn't have made any difference."
Kazuki opened his mouth, but looked at him and paused. "Yes," he agreed, his eyes shimmering with feelings Rei could never put into words. "But… Ugh." And with such eloquent ending, he buried his face in Rei's hair.
"Are you crying?"
"'m not," Kazuki replied, his voice muffled. "I jus'…" He turned his head so that his nose poked Rei's temple instead. "I just wish it wasn't like that."
"I can still use my arm just fine," Rei said, and to demonstrate, he raised it and turned it left and right, just until he reached the angle that pulled the muscle in a way he didn't like. For some reason he knew it was better to not show that Kazuki right now, so he lowered his arm back onto the mattress.
"It just hurts sometimes," he said, "and when it's cold." Thus why they had moved to the south.
"Yeah, still…" Kazuki frowned.
"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't done it," Rei said. "And I didn't want to miss this."
"But I could've–"
"And that's why I didn't take you along back then," Rei answered the unspoken question. "You would have stopped me."
"Of course I would! Rei!"
Startled, not by the curt exclamation but the sudden grasp on his shoulder, Rei stared at Kazuki. His grip was firm but gentle; it didn't hurt.
"I… I just... You…" Kazuki searched Rei's eyes, as if fishing for words in the depth of blue, and went on stuttering with a face full of worry and affection.
Rei eased up and smiled. "I know," he said quietly. "Thank you." Then he craned his neck to brush his lips against Kazuki's before laying his head back on the pillow.
The ringing of a bicycle bell sounded, voices outside on the street came closer and moved away again; the neighbourhood seemed to be waking up.
Despite his eyes being closed, Rei felt Kazuki's gaping at him.
"Well," Kazuki said in a scratchy voice; he cleared his throat and muttered, "I guess you're, uh, welcome." His muscles relaxed again, but there was small movement and Rei blinked one eye open to see Kazuki trace his lips with wonder in his eyes.
He smiled.
A moment later, warm fingers stroked up Rei's spine before burying themselves in his long black hair, carding through the loose strands. Listening to the heartbeat beneath him, Rei stroked his thumb over bare skin, marvelling at the contact.
"Hey," Kazuki eventually mumbled.
"Hm?"
"When?"
"When?" Rei repeated.
"When did you start to feel like this?"
"Hm? Oh…"
Rei opened his eyes yet again and gazed over Kazuki's chest to the other side of the room where the wall was decorated with pictures of the three of them as well as a bookshelf.
"I think it was somewhere around the time we were at Kyu-chan's hideout and said we wanted to genuinely do this."
"This?" Kazuki asked, voice near a whisper.
"Become Miri's fathers, to take care of her."
Kazuki stared at him. "That was ten years ago!?"
"Yeah," Rei said and began to smirk. "Took you long enough."
"Wha– Me!? You were the one cuddling me all of a sudden."
"It's not sudden, I just told you when I thought about you differ–"
"And you tell me I am slow?" Kazuki scoffed.
"Then when did you feel like this?" Rei cocked an eyebrow. "Since you're obviously not against it."
"Of course not, how could I be against this?" Kazuki frowned.
"This?"
"Yeah!"
"I meant me," Rei said, puzzled.
"Me too."
"Huh?" Rei turned his head to face Kazuki. "You–"
"Yes, gosh, sorry, didn't meant to confuse you. I meant you. As in… this." Kazuki gestured to their bodies and the way the lay together.
"Oh. Okay."
"Sorry." Kazuki ruffled black hair.
Rei nodded, accepting.
"So much happened in just a year back then," Kazuki mumbled. "I thought you… needed some time to digest it all. Not that one year alone, but… everything before that too."
He had a point, which is why Rei stayed silent and kept watching him.
"Of course you're not the only one," Kazuki continued with a forced chuckle. "But… I just felt like waiting was best."
"So it took you ten years to notice?"
Kazuki laughed again, strained but not forced. "You weren't the only one feeling like this, Rei. I didn't just decide to like you like this all of a sudden when I woke up half an hour ago."
"That was not half an hour."
"But as I said," Kazuki continued unperturbed. "You were changing; I didn't want to interfere with that."
"Idiot."
Kazuki began to splutter, but before he could form actual words, Rei said, "You were helping me change, remember?"
Kazuki calmed down and watched him.
"You and Miri."
"Only because you initiated it. I was about to give up back then, but you said we should keep going, keep Miri and end the hitman business."
"Because I knew you were there."
They looked at each other.
"I guess you're right," Kazuki mumbled. "You never doubted I could be a good father."
"Of course not." Rei didn't give Kazuki a chance to reply as he asked, "So? When did you… feel like this? Did I say it correctly?"
He was rewarded with a soft snicker. "Yeah," Kazuki said, "you did."
Rei nodded. "So?"
"Hmm." Humming, Kazuki put his head back on the pillow and gazed at the ceiling, frowning thoughtfully. "I think… I already had a thing for you even before Miri came to us–"
"You mean while you were occupied with your various romances?"
"Th–that!" Kazuki spluttered. "Those meetings were purely, well, uh, among other things, very informative! And we profited from that. Me at least anyway."
"Most of it was entertainment," Rei mumbled with a roll of his eyes.
"You're not a blank slate either," Kazuki deadpanned.
Rei shrugged his shoulders.
"You… aren't, right?"
Rei glared at him. "I'm not. Just… differently."
Kazuki glanced at him, racking his eyes over Rei's slender body for a moment. "I see."
It was rare for Rei to be as stunned as he was now.
"Anyway," Kazuki continued and casually brushed his hand over the blanket. "I gave it more thought when we came here."
"It?" Rei asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, it." Kazuki looked at him. "You know, me falling for you."
"Oh. It."
"Yeah."
Rei blinked. "So–"
"Yes, yes, ten years ago, I know."
Their eyes met, and then they began to laugh at the same time.
"We're idiots for sure," Kazuki giggled.
"You're the bigger one."
"It was you who didn't say anything about changing what we had."
"I didn't know how."
"Hmm, gotta change that."
"For whom? You know about it now." Rei frowned.
"Knowing isn't the same as hearing." Kazuki tilted his head to the side. "You don't wanna tell me what you got in there?" he asked and touched Rei's chest where his heart rested.
"… Maybe later."
"Fine by me."
They bathed in silence while the light of the rising sun pushed the remaining shadows of the night away.
"Why did you decide to stay, though?"
Rei looked at Kazuki, whose hand settled on his shoulder.
"You said you always left before I woke up when you came to sleep here, but why did you stay today?"
Surprisingly, there was nothing easier to answer than that. "It just felt right," Rei said.
Kazuki opened his mouth, but stayed quiet before he asked, "Just that?"
"Yes." Rei frowned. "Why? Isn't that enough? Do I need to say more words?"
"I… guess not."
"You also said my name in your sleep."
Kazuki stared at him, his eyes as round as saucers. "I… did?"
"I told you ten minutes ago. Not half an hour, as you might think; do you have no sense of time anymore?"
"Rei, we both got older."
"Don't use your father-voice on me."
"I–I–I do–don't have a father-voice!"
"You sure do." Rei said. "Eat your shiitake, wipe down the sink when you've brushed your teeth, turn off the lights in rooms you're not in, stop playing games when it's past midnight," he imitated Kazuki. "And for the record, you say that more often to me than to Miri."
"I–" Kazuki let go of Rei to prop himself on his arms, staring at him in bewilderment. "I don't sound like that!"
"I'm the witness though?"
"Then why aren't you doing those things?"
"I'm 36!"
"Then you should know better!"
"Why should I eat something that I don't even like?" Rei crossed his arms.
"Because it's good for you!" Kazuki said exasperated.
"There's nothing good about eating shiitake," Rei muttered, pouting.
"It sure is! They have lots of copper, vitamin b5, and amino acids."
Rei stared at him. "You make me eat copper!?"
"Gosh, Rei, not real copper, you moron."
"Who do you call moron, idiot?"
They glared at each other, but the longer they did so, the more at ease Rei felt; his lips began to twitch and he finally grinned fully, just like Kazuki.
"Oh, it's on," Kazuki mumbled, which was the only warning Rei had before the pillow was pulled out from under his head and he landed on the mattress.
A sound escaped his throat and he hooked his leg under Kazuki's so that he could no longer move. Kazuki yelped and rowed with his arms through air. Eventually he landed sideways and rolled over the wide mattress so that Rei had enough time to turn Kazuki's free arm backwards.
Rei smirked, but then Kazuki turned his head, and just as Rei looked into his grinning face, he felt a breeze around his bare shins. Kazuki's other foot pushed Rei's ankle so that he loosed balance and Kazuki switched positions.
"Thought you got me, eh?"
Rei chuckled breathily, but he still had enough strength to grab Kazuki's arm next to him on the mattress and pull him down. With an "ouff" they both landed on the mattress, Rei once again realising how much heavier Kazuki was.
"Get off me, you idiot," Rei pressed out.
"Whose fault do you think it is that I landed on you, huh?" Kazuki replied, strained, his voice close to Rei's ear that a shudder went down his spine.
"For the Gods' sake, what is going on in here!?"
Both men turned their heads to the door, which was now fully open, showing the bewildered face of Miri. Once she saw they were fine, she relaxed and leaned against the door frame.
"Papa-tachi, what are you doing?"
"N–nothing?"
"Sharing the bed."
"Rei!"
"What?"
"This is not–"
"Get off me."
Kazuki grumbled some unintelligible words and moved so that Rei could straighten his back until he could sit with crossed legs on the mattress.
"Good morning, Miri-chan!" Kazuki greeted their daughter with a bright, nervous smile. "You're up early."
"It's 7:30, how long were you going to sleep?"
Rei and Kazuki exchanged a look, their eyes widening.
"Oh gosh, school! We gotta–"
"Kazuki-papa, it's Saturday."
"Right. I knew that."
Rei's shoulders relaxed again.
"You still gotta open the café in an hour though," Miri reminded them.
"Yes, yes, on it."
Miri squinted at them. "What were you doing anyway?"
Rei glanced at Kazuki, who glanced right back at him.
"We talked about how we fell for each other," Rei explained, which resulted in a coughed gasp from Kazuki.
"Sounds fun!" Miri smiled, her eyes sparkling. "You gotta tell me at some point. Though," she paused and crossed her arms. "Can't you at least make out when I'm not home?"
"You opened the door though," Rei commented matter-of-factly.
"Just to see if you were alright, Rei-papa."
"Oh, thanks."
"This is– Rei! Miri! We weren't–" Kazuki stared from one to the other, mouth gaping; Rei had never seen such a speechless expression.
"We will do that later then," Rei said towards Miri, "when you're at the birthday party of Mio-chan."
"We are?" Kazuki asked hopefully, then realisation came over him. "Gosh, Rei! Why did you say that?"
"Because I want to?"
"Not in front of Miri!"
"But she will be out of the house this evening."
"That's not the problem!"
"We're going to sleep together from now on anyway, so why shouldn't I–"
"Rei!"
A pillow hit Rei's face and he barely managed to raise his arm to defend himself.
"You're at it again," Miri sighed. "Alright, I'll give you five minutes, then we'll make breakfast." And with those words she vanished.
Rei and Kazuki stared at the empty spot, then at each other.
"So?" Rei asked. "We got five minutes."
"Rei, that's…"
Kazuki's shoulder sagged, but he smiled and his hand reached out to touch Rei's, intertwining their fingers. Until now, Rei had only ever done this with Miri when she was younger, but Kazuki's fingers were dry and warm, they felt similar to his chest.
"We got five minutes," Kazuki mumbled.
Rei didn't waste even one of those as he leaned forward and invaded Kazuki's personal space, looking him in the eyes while pressing their lips together.
There was surprise flitting over Kazuki's face, but then he closed his eyes, hummed and responded – it felt even better like this than if Rei were doing the movements alone.
However, even if his lips were busy, he had no idea what to do with his hands. Well, one hand supported him on the mattress anyway, but the other hung motionless between them, where he felt the heat emanating from Kazuki's bare chest. But then he saw out of the corner of his eye how Kazuki's arm twitched, its warm, calloused palm cupping Rei's cheek, his thumb tracing his jaw. Something tingled in Rei's chest, something like honey with popping sprinkles that Miri loved to put on her toast.
A soft gasp escaped his mouth, his lips parted slightly, and he couldn't be sure if that was what caused Kazuki to move closer, but he certainly didn't mind. His own hand twitched and he felt for the nearest part of skin to hold on to: Kazuki's arm.
"You know what," Miri's voice returned. "Nevermind what I said, I'm hungry. Can we–"
Rei and Kazuki parted and gazed at the door where Miri looked at them, cocking an eyebrow.
"This is kinda odd," Kazuki mumbled.
"It is?" Rei asked, confused.
"Yes, it sure is."
"Papa-tachi," Miri said, a smile on her lips. "You can kiss later all you want, but I'm starving."
"How about French Toast?" Rei offered, releasing his grip on Kazuki's arm.
"Again?" Kazuki mumbled.
"Yes! Let's go make it!" Miri hopped away, down the floor towards the stairs.
"You don't want French Toast?" Rei asked.
"No, it's fine." Kazuki smiled wistfully. "Yours are the best anyway."
Rei returned that smile. "Thanks."
He shuffled to the edge of the bed and stood up, then turned and extended his arm for Kazuki to take, who accepted it with a broad grin.
"Let's go make French Toast."
Together they left the bedroom and wandered to the staircase, where they could already hear their daughter rummaging around in the kitchen, a song on her lips.
Rei smiled. From now on, every day could start like this.