rabenhorst (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rabenhorst) wrote2007-10-12 08:51 pm
rabenhorst) wrote2007-10-12 08:51 pm
(no subject)
Title: First Love, Last Love; Chapter 6
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seinen_no and fonulyn
Rating: NC17 overall
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: When Kaoru and his wife get a divorce, he is forced to leave his little daughter to live with her mother when he’s moving out. He finds support in his best friend, but is friendship everything life has in store for them? Or is their past together going to resurface now that Kaoru’s life has been turned upside down?[yes, I am aware that sounds like an ad for a b-class soap opera XD]
Comments:
seinen_no: Okay dears! I am sorry, but I don't have the energy to re-read all this right now. I don't know what's wrong, but I'm stressed and annoyed and just blah! So you have to live with the mistakes we overlooked and I only hope they are not too many. But we wanted to post this today since we won't have much time the next days *sighs* I'm already sweating, because fonulyn won't be there a couple of weekends from now and then I don't know what to do with my time. Or then, I do know, but who needs a real life? Okay, sorry for babbling. I got up at 5am, woke up at 4 and am overly tired. Have fun reading and have a good weekend!
fonulyn: I’m overly tired too, exhausted for some reason and I don’t have that much brain activity left. So forgive the possible spelling errors and mistakes with grammar. And feel free to tell me if you find a horrendous mistake x) Just read for yourself and as always, remember to enjoy ;)
And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive .
Previously happened: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
First Love, Last Love
Chapter 6
From then on, both men were far more relaxed whenever Mika visited them. They didn't have to fear she could just burst in at the wrong moment when they didn't expect her since they had given her a key to their apartment in case of emergencies. Lately, she was hanging around there more often, complaining that she didn't get along too well with her mother and her stepfather and that her siblings distracted her from studying.
Kaoru thought though that it was because she thought he was softer when it came to focing her to do her homeworks, seeing that he and Die were working a lot and had to attend meetings and official parties which ended late at night only. It was true though that now that Nozomi's new family was growing, it left less space for all of them to live in. They were searching for a bigger apartment, but this far hadn't been lucky and had found nothing. Mika was becoming really persistent, trying to convince both her parents it would be better if she moved in to live with the guitarists. She had even done a list of all the good sides, telling she would behave and be a good girl, not causing too much troubles and doing her share of the housework.
Kaoru spent several hours on the phone with his ex-wife, discussing about this matter. He didn't want her to feel passed over somehow since they got along a lot better than right after the divorce. Of course he talked to Die as well, not knowing what would be the right thing to do. They weren't home enough to look after a growing teenager and although Mika was a responsible person already, she also was just a teenager who tried to use the situation for her own advantage, trying to play her parents and Die off against each other.
Die staid mostly out of it, letting the real parents make the decision finally. But he spent hours talking about it with his lover, trying to come up with a reasonable solution. He didn't have anything against her moving there, since she spent a lot of time there already and had her own room even. But then again he wasn't sure if they would be able to take care of her properly like they should if she lived with them.
Finally, the grown-ups agreed upon a solution on probation. Mika would move in with the guitarists, but also had to prove that they could rely on her to still do her schoolwork and not have wild parties when they were gone. It was a bit strange for the two men since they weren't used to be considerate of somebody once they were at home. It meant they mostly had to do without making love on the kitchen table, the couch and so on. They learned to deal with it pretty soon though, and Mika still spent weekends with her mother and her new family, leaving the guitarists some quality time alone too.
Other than that, she was determined to be allowed to live there from then on, and made sure she did her school assignments and didn't misuse the trust they'd given her. But although she did well, Kaoru and Die had to learn how to deal with the temper of a teenage girl. There were days, when she would just slam her door shut, telling that nobody really cared for her and how she felt. Those outbursts left the two mostly stunned, not knowing how to react to that. Usually they hoped that the anger-fits would go past by themselves, and just tried to ignore them. But there were times when they spent whole evenings simply trying to talk things straight, sometimes only Kaoru and Mika, sometimes all three of them.
Kaoru was facing hard times when his baby-girl began to seriously date guys. He demanded to see the boys, measured them and gave them his most threatening father-glare whenever they picked Mika up to take her out. Die tried to hold him back sometimes, but then did the very same thing whenever his lover wasn't there to take care of that. He was truly beginning to consider the girl as his own daughter as well, settling more into his role as a kind of step-dad. Sometimes it caused arguments though, as he and Kaoru fought about things concerning what she was supposed to be allowed to do and what not.
Mostly Die stepped back though, still leaving Kaoru the last word as her real father. Only when he wasn't convinced he was right though. So sometimes the two guitarists fought fiercely. Thankfully, those never lasted long, especially when they found out that Mika had been trying to play them both. Soon, the guitarists had adjusted to being fulltime-dads and Kaoru was mostly grateful to have the other man there to help him. Mika and he were simply too much alike and whenever they had a fight, it was as if two planets were colliding with a loud bang, destroying everything within a mile around them.
It was beginning to be almost something like routine for Die to try to be there and prevent those two from fighting too badly. It wasn't like he wouldn't take part in the arguments himself too, but despite his stubbornness and fiery temper he managed to often stay calmer and see that the father and daughter would come out of their fight alive. It didn't earn him a lot of thankfulness from either of the squabblers at that instant, but after Kaoru had cooled down, he always admitted that his lover's intervention had been necessary. Only inwardly of course.
But the two guitarists fought as well from time to time and since the day Mika had told them that she knew about their relationship, they took it out on each other when the topic was on the table. That caused them to fight more often since they didn't have the time to cool down anymore and to see that the fight might've been totally stupid. It never anything major though, just the usual problems a relationship offered brought. They simply were both too hot tempered to always avoid colliding with each other in certain things. Thankfully they almost always cooled down as quickly as they had got angry as well, and never staid mad at each other for long, making up latest before they went to sleep in the evening.
They were a couple for so long already that there were small things in the other which began to annoy them, now that love didn't blind them anymore. It was just like in any relationship, only that they had a tight time-table as well which stressed them out at times and so made them more tense, get angry more easily than they usually would have. Above all, the small but really annoying bad habits began to pile up, causing smaller fights every now and then.
They were going through a hard schedule right then, a few weeks full of promotion work, meetings and stressing about practically everything. Most of the work fell on Kaoru, but the others got their fair share of it as well, causing all of them to be somewhat grumpy and tense. Kaoru had so many things to remember that he was beginning to simply forget things he had been supposed to do, minor things he had promised. Under normal circumstances Die wouldn't have minded so much if the older man forgot to buy groceries or came home later in the evening than he had told he would. But due to the stress, and the fact that he was now continuously forgetting things made Die simple see red, and his nerves were close to breaking point almost constantly.
The older guitarist even saw his failure and most of the time apologized, if his mood allowed it, but that didn't help that he again forgot to buy razorblades or whatever his lover had asked him to the next day. It was as if his mind didn't work properly anymore since he usually had no problems in memorizing a dozen things at once, or then he just didn't care enough. It didn't matter since one day when Die asked him if he had taken his suit from the dry-cleaning, the redhead had it and yelled at him without warning.
"I am sorry, but I really forgot your fuckin' suit. It's not like you need it this week, so I can still get it tomorrow," the older guitarist defended himself.
"I've been reminding you almost every friggin' day this week! Only one thing I ask of you since I didn't have the time to go there by myself, and of course you had to forget that too!" Die was frustrated, completely losing it. It wasn't such a major thing, and if he hadn't been so stressed and tired he would've seen it too.
Same went for Kaoru and it caused him to snap. "You never have the time to do those things!" He took on a mocking tone, impersonating his lover's voice: "’If you accidentally happen to go buying groceries today, could you please buy shower-gel? Oh, and when you're there, I need batteries. Oh, and we need toilet paper…'"
"I've fucking done as much shopping as you, so don't you start with that!" The redhead's eyes were flaming with anger, as he simply tried to control himself not to do something stupid like hitting something. "And I REMEMBER things when you ask me to do something. Unlike someone else here."
"Oh yeah, just like you remember to put the used dishes into the dish-washer or not to leave your used glasses standing everywhere when you take a new one." Deep inside, Kaoru knew that he was being unfair since he sometimes did that as well, but right at that moment, he was blinded by fury. "And then, you forget EVERY friggin' important birthday or when we agreed on meeting friends and it's always ME who ends up calling them!"
"It's not my fault you always agree on such stupid dates and times when we're supposed to go somewhere." Die wasn't even completely aware of what he was yelling anymore, simply talking without thinking as he was too mad anyways. "And I don't forget every single birthday, don't you even dare to say that! I've fucking remembered your birthday for the past fifteen years, always. But apparently YOU don't care enough to remember anything when it comes to me."
"Yeah, you're a genius for remembering my birthday which is right after Kyo's and everybody makes a big fuzz about that." Kaoru's face was flushed and he even leaned a bit forward, yelling. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. "Know what? If you think I don't care enough, then fine! Go ahead and believe that. I'm fed up with your childish accusations."
"Childish accusations?" Die sounded totally hurt, his voice even rising louder although he had practically been yelling already. "It's fucking the truth that you remember everything else but what I ask of you. You remember what Mika wants, you remember what the guys want, you fucking remember what your ex-wife wants! And you always fail to remember what I asked of you."
"Always? ALWAYS?" Kaoru was trembling with anger. "I fucking try my best to keep everything in mind. How often did I step back when we both wanted different things and let you have your way, huh? Did you ever think of that? NO! Because it's a matter of course that I do that and passes you by without realizing. Like you don't see so many small things!"
"And now it's all my fault then!?" The redhead practically spat the words out. "FINE! Go ahead and blame me then, like everyone else does. I don't fucking CARE!" He was totally furious, totally failing to see how childish the whole argument had been. He needed time to calm down, couldn't just stay there or he would've seriously tried to hurt someone soon. Quickly he grabbed his keys and jacket, slipping into his shoes before storming out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.
"FINE!!" Kaoru yelled after him, remaining standing in the middle of the room for a few seconds before he turned on his heel and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door shut angrily. Even when the first waves of anger were slowly fading, he still wasn't willing to see why everything had been his fault all of a sudden. He tried to remember everything, it wasn't like he forgot his lover's wishes on purpose. Besides, he thought still fuming, the more he remembered, the less Die would have to do.
So in the evening, when it was time to go to bed, Kaoru brought his lover's sheets and pillow into the guestroom, telling him this way that he was still angry. Die wouldn't have gone into the bedroom anyways, as he was simply too angry still to even see the other man in his eyes. He never slept well in the guestroom though, and the fact that he was still agitated didn't make it any easier. The less sleep took its toll, and during the next days he kept on becoming even more tired and therefore even more cranky and unwilling to calm down. They just remained silent, not exchanging a single word. Kaoru was stubbornly refusing to see the necessity of giving in and apologizing to his lover. In his eyes, it had been all Die's fault as he had started the argument by being unfair towards him.
Mika had been with her mother during the weekend, but when she returned and saw that Die was sleeping in the guestroom and noticed that the two men were avoiding each other, she collected her courage and quietly slipped into the redhead's room. "Is something wrong?"
Die startled, not having noticed that someone entered the room. He had been sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard and trying to go through some papers he knew he needed to read. Quickly he shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "Not really."
"Oh sure," the girl's tone made sure she didn't believe him. "So you just decided that a king-size bed isn't enough for you and dad and thus you sleep and work in this wonderful little spare shoe-box, right?" She could be as sarcastic as her father at times.
"Just leave it be." The redhead snapped, even raising his voice. He took a deep breath before going on though, not wanting to make the girl suffer from his anger. "I just need some time now, alright?"
Sighing, Mika sat down at the bed's edge and looked at him for a long moment silently. "I just thought I could help. I mean, I always talked to you when I'm in trouble so I was hoping I could return the favour." Her voice was calm and tentative since she wasn't sure if it was clever to mess with the redhead when he was obviously angry.
For a while Die simply stared at the papers in his hands, obviously not really seeing them though. He was chewing on his lower lip, trying to decide what to do. Finally he raised his gaze though, looking straight at her. "We just had an argument. And I think it's best if we take a bit distance..." He wasn't so sure about that though, but tried to make himself believe he was.
"Can't you talk it through?" the girl asked quietly. "I mean, you always told me that talking helps. Was it that bad?" She knew that the two guitarists had argued quite a lot lately, but to her it had always seemed like minor things and they had never refused to try to make it up to each other.
"It would just result in more yelling and I'm not sure if I can take that." The redhead sighed, closing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair in a frustrated gesture.
"What's this all about? When I left, everything was fine and now you won't even talk since you fear it would end up in even more yelling?" Mika shook her head and reached out her hand to pet Die's calf. "Don't you think you two had enough time to calm down?"
"It wasn't even anything major. It was about this fucking suit he forgot to bring from the cleaner's." Die confessed, not opening his eyes and not even noticing he cursed although he had tried to avoid it when talking to her. "But we said some bad things. And we've both been majorly stressed lately, so I guess it all erupted there."
"And dad's just leaving you here and didn't come to try to talk to you?" For her that was only typical. Once her father was really angry, he stubbornly refused to give in even when he knew he was acting unfair.
"It's not like I tried to talk to him either." The redhead smiled tiredly, as suddenly he felt somehow old and weary, too tired to even stay angry at the moment.
"Well, then why don't you show some nobleness and be the more clever one who apologizes?" Mika smiled, but there was something like worry hidden in her eyes when she looked at Die.
"It's not about who's being more clever. It's about principle at this point." Although Die talked totally calmly to the girl now, there was something in him that forbade him for giving in. "And I doubt he'd even listen to me in the first place."
"I see." The girl too saw that further pushing wouldn't make any sense and thus she stood up, circled the bed and gave the guitarist a hug. "Don't worry. I'm certain everything will be solved eventually. You don't want me to witness another divorce, do you?" she asked, deliberately cheerie. She just didn't want Die to feel bad and had already taken the decision to talk to her father as well and kick his butt.
The redhead tried to smile, but it came out somewhat forced though. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you or anything. Forgive me?"
"You yelled at me?" Mika asked chuckling and then smiled softly "Didn't I just hug you? That means you're forgiven."
"Thanks." This time Die's smile was a honest one, and he couldn't deny that he felt a tiny bit better now that he had talked with her. But as she left he was being alone with his darkening thoughts again, the frustration being the most powerful feeling then.
The girl was angry as well now. At both, her father and Die. How could grown-ups act so childish? Thinking she was just in the right mood to talk to her old man now as well, she marched into the living-room and plopped down on the armchair next to the couch on which Kaoru sat. "Do you want this situation to drag on forever?" she asked, her eyes sparkling almost dangerous.
"What situation?" The older guitarist only looked up shortly and then went back to read the manga he had been attending before.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She stared at her father firmly, like trying to force him to look at her with her mere will. "When are you going to start talking to him again?"
"That's none of your business," Kaoru said, looking up and straight into her eyes. "It's only between him and me and when he decides he has to stay away from me, then there's nothing I can do about it."
"So you think it's just alright that you don't even talk to each other now, pretending like the other is made of air?" Mika shook her head disbelievingly. "You know it's not right!"
"Then why doesn't he come and signal that he's willing to get even?" Her father raised his voice, taking on a defiant expression. He didn't even fully realize at that moment that he was talking to his daughter and should be a good example for her.
"Because he thinks you won't even listen to him since you're still angry." She didn't think it mattered right now who apologized to whom, and was determined to sort this out somehow. "Now act like you always told me was the right thing; go there and apologize."
For a long moment, Kaoru just looked at her, not knowing if he should admonish her for being so impudent or to tell her that he was proud to have such a clever daughter. "He won't even listen to me since I'm the one to blame for everything at the moment."
"You can't know that until you try! He might be willing to settle it already." Mika tried hard not to raise her voice and lose her patience, still staying firm. "Besides, are you willing to wait until this makes you drift further from each other? Is it worth it?"
Her father shook his head, sighing. "No, I don't think so." He was honestly ashamed that it needed a 16 year old girl to tell him what he should've done two days ago already. Still, he didn't make a move to get up and sat there like glued to the spot.
"What are you still waiting for then?" She got up to her feet, signalling for her father to get up as well. "I meant it. You will go there now."
"You sound like my mom and not like my daughter," Kaoru remarked, even chuckling a bit. Obediently, he stood up and took on a pleading expression. "Really now? Can't I wait till he comes out?"
"No." She shook her head. "It might take too long. I want this settled now."
Again, the older guitarist nodded and staggered to the small working-room, but hesitated in front of the door. Only when Mika gave him a glare and raised her chin a bit, he knocked. Not waiting for an answer, he opened the door and stepped inside, scratching his neck insecurely. "What 'cha waiting for?" his daughter's voice sounded behind him and so Kaoru raised his gaze to look at his lover. "Uhm Die, could we talk?"
The redhead looked somewhat surprised at first, before gaining back his self control as his expression slowly turned blank. "About what?" It truly was already a fight of principles, and he wasn't willing to give in still. At least not before he would hear what the other had to say.
Seeing the other's expression again caused anger to boil up inside Kaoru and he was already turning around again, willing to leave it at that. But Mika blocked his way, standing in the doorframe, hidden from Die's eyes by the open door. "Okay," the older guitarist growled and tried to sort his thoughts. "I'm sorry about the argument," he finally got out.
"Right." Die snorted, rolling his eyes. The reaction had escaped him half unintentionally though, as a part of him was totally willing to make up already. But he didn't know what to say to that, especially when Kaoru still seemed to be angry.
"Know what? Then forget it!" This time, the older guitarist turned around and didn't mind that his daughter was still standing in the frame. He just squeezed himself past her and stormed into the bedroom where he slammed the door shut.
Slowly, Mika stepped into the room, a deep frown on her face. "What was that just? I thought you wanted to make it up?"
"You saw how angry he still is!" Die gestured towards the general direction where Kaoru had gone, seemingly frustrated. "He can't even stand seeing me right now."
"You should've seen YOUR face and heard your tone mister." The girl was fed up. She had persuaded her father to apologize and then Die pulled off such a show. "You said you were afraid he'd yell at you when you apologize and then you don't even meet him half way when he overcomes his pride? Now you get up and apologize."
"And repeat the same scene again plus make a fool of myself?" The redhead looked defiant, not making a move to get up from his seat.
"No, this time I will be there to prevent it." Mika took a step towards the redhead and grabbed his hand. "Now get up and make it up to each other. This must be the most senseless argument in the world."
"But..." Die was already about to argue, but after receiving a dark glance from the girl he just allowed her to drag him up and towards the bedroom.
When they entered, Kaoru looked up, furrowing his brows. "Something else you wanted to tell me? Did I forget to switch off the light in the fridge?" he snarled, obviously angry. The redhead was about to turn around already at the other's first words, but received a push from the girl. "Now you settle this once and for all."
"I -" It took all the willpower from the younger man to get a grip of himself, and after hesitating a moment he managed to mumble out "I'm sorry."
"I see." The older guitarist nodded and even sat up straight in the bed. "Aaannddd...," Mika urged on. "And I'm sorry too," Kaoru went on, smiling faintly.
Die took a glance at the girl, but she didn't seem to be happy with the situation yet, and so he sighed only barely audibly, turning back to his lover. "Could we just forget about it?"
"Yeah, I think we could." There was still something forced in the situation, something stiff as both guitarists didn't seem to be quite enthusiastic about the conversation. When they were just looking at each other silently for a few moments, Mika again spoke up. "And now you seal it with a huge bearhug!"
"A hug?" The redhead at first only turned to look at the girl disbelievingly, like asking if they hadn't done enough already.
"Of course a hug." She nodded frantically and then glared at her father. "You get up and show your good will."
Knowing it wouldn't make any sense to refuse, Kaoru stood up, shifting his weight uncomfortably. They didn't really know how to act, feeling somewhat weird still. But as Mika wasn't willing to give in they finally obeyed, a bit awkwardly embracing each other. Only shortly though and then quickly stepping back again.
"And now give each other a kiss and say that you've been acting stupid." When the two men looked at her with wide eyes, she only nodded. "Go ahead!"
Die closed his eyes, swallowing hard as if he needed to collect some strength. After releasing a deep sigh he leaned closer, ghosting his lips over the other's, even faintly touching his cheek with his fingertips. The soft contact, smelling the familiar scent and feeling his lover's warmth again triggered something inside Kaoru and made him smile.
The kiss was only short, chaste but managed to drown out even the slightest hint of anger inside both men. "Sorry. I've been an idiot," the older guitarist whispered, the smile still there. Instinctively Die wrapped his arms around the other, just hugging him tight. The main feeling right now was an enormous wave of relief, seeing that the whole mess seemed to be solved.
Quietly, Mika sneaked out of the room and closed the door, leaving them alone. She was very content with herself though, seeing that two grown men had obeyed her and finally gotten over their pride. As the door closed, Kaoru looked up at his lover. "No hard feelings?"
Die could only smile back at him at first, and even when he spoke his voice sounded a bit choked. "If you give me a real kiss."
Wordlessly, the older man stepped a bit closer still, took the other's head between his palms and initiated a deep, slow kiss. He was relieved as well, his heart beating quickly. Now as the tension left him, he was shivering a bit, feeling very cold all of a sudden. The redhead was just practically clinging on to the other, almost as if he was afraid that he could pull back all suddenly.
They took it slow, and once they broke the kiss Die smiled, somehow a bit insecurely still. "Does this mean I don't need to sleep in the guestroom anymore?"
"Not unless you want to share the small bed there with me," the other answered instantly. "Let's just say we never allow small things like that to come between us again, okay?" He was serious. Even if arguments were unavoidable, they should never drag on for days; not when they were about minor things.
"Alright." Die nodded seriously, honestly agreeing with the words completely. "Just slap me if I'm acting like that again." He smiled, chuckling a bit.
"Beware," Kaoru warned, "I might fall for slapping you just because of the fun of it." His hands slid down the other man's back, taking a firm hold of his butt.
"Well, I might just slap you back then." The younger smirked, pecking the other's lips again as he couldn't resist the temptation.
"You wouldn't dare." The older man glared at him, but suddenly took on a pondering expression. "Although... maybe it's kinda nice to be put back to your place once." He was so relieved that their argument was over that he couldn't wipe the grin off his face and added joking. "Master."
"Don't call me that or I might fall for showing you your place right here." Die grinned, using his grip on the other man to pull him even closer.
"Again," Kaoru's voice held a teasing undertone, "you wouldn't dare. Mika's right behind that door somewhere." Pecking his lover's lips once more, he still couldn't deny himself from adding a low. "Master."
"You're right..." The younger man confessed, chuckling. "I won't dare. But wait until we're both really alone."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" the older guitarist asked smirking.
"A promise."
The answer earned Die another deep kiss before Kaoru finally detached from him. He still held the other's hands in his though, the smile still there. "Better get your blanket and cushion here right now. Maybe I can convince Mika that she has to go out and watch a movie with her friends."
"Try to convince her to do that tomorrow." Die smiled somewhat apologetically. "I think I'm too exhausted to do anything else but sleep right now..."
"Aw, you didn't sleep well on the bed there, right?" The older guitarist's voice was somewhere between honestly compassionate and playfully mocking. "Initially, I wanted to buy a new one some time ago already. For the guests. But now I think we should keep it. Just as a back-up if we ever have an argument like that. It will make apologizing easier."
"No, it just made me even more cranky since I hardly got any sleep at all." The redhead sighed, trying to look as miserable as possible. "And I wanna have you snoring beside me, I can't sleep otherwise."
"How often do I have to tell you that I don't snore. You just hear yourself." Kaoru pouted, but took a couple of steps towards the door to get his lover's sheets. It wasn't even late, only shortly past ten pm, but he had to admit that he was tired as well.
"I don't care whose snoring it is. But I just can't cope alone anymore." Die smiled, following the other to get the stuff from the guestroom.
On the way back to their bedroom, they stopped by to tell Mika they would go to bed. No further words were needed and the girl just gave them a warm smile, happy to see that indeed everything seemed to be fine again. When they were already lying beside each other, Kaoru curled around his lover's back, hugging him from behind, he spoke up softly. "I wasn't able to sleep without you stealing the blanket. I guess we're really married in a way."
"We're too friggin' stubborn." Die had closed his eyes contently, relaxing into the embrace. This was where he always wanted to be, as corny as it might sound. He simply loved to have the other's arms around him, to feel his warmth beside him and hear his voice, just everything in him.
"That's a problem." The older agreed, planting a few small kisses on Die's neck. "But one fight in ten years isn't a bad average, is it? Even if it was only about something stupid." After a short pause, Kaoru continued. "So we've a lot of time to develop."
"Well, as long as we only fight once every ten years I might live through it. Maybe." The younger man turned his head a bit to smile at the other.
Their gazes met and it caused incredible warmth inside Kaoru and his heart to skip a few beats. "I love you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotions all of a sudden as he stretched his neck to give Die a chaste kiss.
Die didn't allow the other to pull away though, catching his lips in a proper kiss, short but full of emotion. As it broke he was still smiling, a deep sparkle in his eyes. "Love you too."
Author:
seinen_no and fonulynRating: NC17 overall
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: When Kaoru and his wife get a divorce, he is forced to leave his little daughter to live with her mother when he’s moving out. He finds support in his best friend, but is friendship everything life has in store for them? Or is their past together going to resurface now that Kaoru’s life has been turned upside down?
Comments:
seinen_no: Okay dears! I am sorry, but I don't have the energy to re-read all this right now. I don't know what's wrong, but I'm stressed and annoyed and just blah! So you have to live with the mistakes we overlooked and I only hope they are not too many. But we wanted to post this today since we won't have much time the next days *sighs* I'm already sweating, because fonulyn won't be there a couple of weekends from now and then I don't know what to do with my time. Or then, I do know, but who needs a real life? Okay, sorry for babbling. I got up at 5am, woke up at 4 and am overly tired. Have fun reading and have a good weekend! fonulyn: I’m overly tired too, exhausted for some reason and I don’t have that much brain activity left. So forgive the possible spelling errors and mistakes with grammar. And feel free to tell me if you find a horrendous mistake x) Just read for yourself and as always, remember to enjoy ;)And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive .
Previously happened: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Chapter 6
From then on, both men were far more relaxed whenever Mika visited them. They didn't have to fear she could just burst in at the wrong moment when they didn't expect her since they had given her a key to their apartment in case of emergencies. Lately, she was hanging around there more often, complaining that she didn't get along too well with her mother and her stepfather and that her siblings distracted her from studying.
Kaoru thought though that it was because she thought he was softer when it came to focing her to do her homeworks, seeing that he and Die were working a lot and had to attend meetings and official parties which ended late at night only. It was true though that now that Nozomi's new family was growing, it left less space for all of them to live in. They were searching for a bigger apartment, but this far hadn't been lucky and had found nothing. Mika was becoming really persistent, trying to convince both her parents it would be better if she moved in to live with the guitarists. She had even done a list of all the good sides, telling she would behave and be a good girl, not causing too much troubles and doing her share of the housework.
Kaoru spent several hours on the phone with his ex-wife, discussing about this matter. He didn't want her to feel passed over somehow since they got along a lot better than right after the divorce. Of course he talked to Die as well, not knowing what would be the right thing to do. They weren't home enough to look after a growing teenager and although Mika was a responsible person already, she also was just a teenager who tried to use the situation for her own advantage, trying to play her parents and Die off against each other.
Die staid mostly out of it, letting the real parents make the decision finally. But he spent hours talking about it with his lover, trying to come up with a reasonable solution. He didn't have anything against her moving there, since she spent a lot of time there already and had her own room even. But then again he wasn't sure if they would be able to take care of her properly like they should if she lived with them.
Finally, the grown-ups agreed upon a solution on probation. Mika would move in with the guitarists, but also had to prove that they could rely on her to still do her schoolwork and not have wild parties when they were gone. It was a bit strange for the two men since they weren't used to be considerate of somebody once they were at home. It meant they mostly had to do without making love on the kitchen table, the couch and so on. They learned to deal with it pretty soon though, and Mika still spent weekends with her mother and her new family, leaving the guitarists some quality time alone too.
Other than that, she was determined to be allowed to live there from then on, and made sure she did her school assignments and didn't misuse the trust they'd given her. But although she did well, Kaoru and Die had to learn how to deal with the temper of a teenage girl. There were days, when she would just slam her door shut, telling that nobody really cared for her and how she felt. Those outbursts left the two mostly stunned, not knowing how to react to that. Usually they hoped that the anger-fits would go past by themselves, and just tried to ignore them. But there were times when they spent whole evenings simply trying to talk things straight, sometimes only Kaoru and Mika, sometimes all three of them.
Kaoru was facing hard times when his baby-girl began to seriously date guys. He demanded to see the boys, measured them and gave them his most threatening father-glare whenever they picked Mika up to take her out. Die tried to hold him back sometimes, but then did the very same thing whenever his lover wasn't there to take care of that. He was truly beginning to consider the girl as his own daughter as well, settling more into his role as a kind of step-dad. Sometimes it caused arguments though, as he and Kaoru fought about things concerning what she was supposed to be allowed to do and what not.
Mostly Die stepped back though, still leaving Kaoru the last word as her real father. Only when he wasn't convinced he was right though. So sometimes the two guitarists fought fiercely. Thankfully, those never lasted long, especially when they found out that Mika had been trying to play them both. Soon, the guitarists had adjusted to being fulltime-dads and Kaoru was mostly grateful to have the other man there to help him. Mika and he were simply too much alike and whenever they had a fight, it was as if two planets were colliding with a loud bang, destroying everything within a mile around them.
It was beginning to be almost something like routine for Die to try to be there and prevent those two from fighting too badly. It wasn't like he wouldn't take part in the arguments himself too, but despite his stubbornness and fiery temper he managed to often stay calmer and see that the father and daughter would come out of their fight alive. It didn't earn him a lot of thankfulness from either of the squabblers at that instant, but after Kaoru had cooled down, he always admitted that his lover's intervention had been necessary. Only inwardly of course.
But the two guitarists fought as well from time to time and since the day Mika had told them that she knew about their relationship, they took it out on each other when the topic was on the table. That caused them to fight more often since they didn't have the time to cool down anymore and to see that the fight might've been totally stupid. It never anything major though, just the usual problems a relationship offered brought. They simply were both too hot tempered to always avoid colliding with each other in certain things. Thankfully they almost always cooled down as quickly as they had got angry as well, and never staid mad at each other for long, making up latest before they went to sleep in the evening.
They were a couple for so long already that there were small things in the other which began to annoy them, now that love didn't blind them anymore. It was just like in any relationship, only that they had a tight time-table as well which stressed them out at times and so made them more tense, get angry more easily than they usually would have. Above all, the small but really annoying bad habits began to pile up, causing smaller fights every now and then.
They were going through a hard schedule right then, a few weeks full of promotion work, meetings and stressing about practically everything. Most of the work fell on Kaoru, but the others got their fair share of it as well, causing all of them to be somewhat grumpy and tense. Kaoru had so many things to remember that he was beginning to simply forget things he had been supposed to do, minor things he had promised. Under normal circumstances Die wouldn't have minded so much if the older man forgot to buy groceries or came home later in the evening than he had told he would. But due to the stress, and the fact that he was now continuously forgetting things made Die simple see red, and his nerves were close to breaking point almost constantly.
The older guitarist even saw his failure and most of the time apologized, if his mood allowed it, but that didn't help that he again forgot to buy razorblades or whatever his lover had asked him to the next day. It was as if his mind didn't work properly anymore since he usually had no problems in memorizing a dozen things at once, or then he just didn't care enough. It didn't matter since one day when Die asked him if he had taken his suit from the dry-cleaning, the redhead had it and yelled at him without warning.
"I am sorry, but I really forgot your fuckin' suit. It's not like you need it this week, so I can still get it tomorrow," the older guitarist defended himself.
"I've been reminding you almost every friggin' day this week! Only one thing I ask of you since I didn't have the time to go there by myself, and of course you had to forget that too!" Die was frustrated, completely losing it. It wasn't such a major thing, and if he hadn't been so stressed and tired he would've seen it too.
Same went for Kaoru and it caused him to snap. "You never have the time to do those things!" He took on a mocking tone, impersonating his lover's voice: "’If you accidentally happen to go buying groceries today, could you please buy shower-gel? Oh, and when you're there, I need batteries. Oh, and we need toilet paper…'"
"I've fucking done as much shopping as you, so don't you start with that!" The redhead's eyes were flaming with anger, as he simply tried to control himself not to do something stupid like hitting something. "And I REMEMBER things when you ask me to do something. Unlike someone else here."
"Oh yeah, just like you remember to put the used dishes into the dish-washer or not to leave your used glasses standing everywhere when you take a new one." Deep inside, Kaoru knew that he was being unfair since he sometimes did that as well, but right at that moment, he was blinded by fury. "And then, you forget EVERY friggin' important birthday or when we agreed on meeting friends and it's always ME who ends up calling them!"
"It's not my fault you always agree on such stupid dates and times when we're supposed to go somewhere." Die wasn't even completely aware of what he was yelling anymore, simply talking without thinking as he was too mad anyways. "And I don't forget every single birthday, don't you even dare to say that! I've fucking remembered your birthday for the past fifteen years, always. But apparently YOU don't care enough to remember anything when it comes to me."
"Yeah, you're a genius for remembering my birthday which is right after Kyo's and everybody makes a big fuzz about that." Kaoru's face was flushed and he even leaned a bit forward, yelling. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. "Know what? If you think I don't care enough, then fine! Go ahead and believe that. I'm fed up with your childish accusations."
"Childish accusations?" Die sounded totally hurt, his voice even rising louder although he had practically been yelling already. "It's fucking the truth that you remember everything else but what I ask of you. You remember what Mika wants, you remember what the guys want, you fucking remember what your ex-wife wants! And you always fail to remember what I asked of you."
"Always? ALWAYS?" Kaoru was trembling with anger. "I fucking try my best to keep everything in mind. How often did I step back when we both wanted different things and let you have your way, huh? Did you ever think of that? NO! Because it's a matter of course that I do that and passes you by without realizing. Like you don't see so many small things!"
"And now it's all my fault then!?" The redhead practically spat the words out. "FINE! Go ahead and blame me then, like everyone else does. I don't fucking CARE!" He was totally furious, totally failing to see how childish the whole argument had been. He needed time to calm down, couldn't just stay there or he would've seriously tried to hurt someone soon. Quickly he grabbed his keys and jacket, slipping into his shoes before storming out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.
"FINE!!" Kaoru yelled after him, remaining standing in the middle of the room for a few seconds before he turned on his heel and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door shut angrily. Even when the first waves of anger were slowly fading, he still wasn't willing to see why everything had been his fault all of a sudden. He tried to remember everything, it wasn't like he forgot his lover's wishes on purpose. Besides, he thought still fuming, the more he remembered, the less Die would have to do.
So in the evening, when it was time to go to bed, Kaoru brought his lover's sheets and pillow into the guestroom, telling him this way that he was still angry. Die wouldn't have gone into the bedroom anyways, as he was simply too angry still to even see the other man in his eyes. He never slept well in the guestroom though, and the fact that he was still agitated didn't make it any easier. The less sleep took its toll, and during the next days he kept on becoming even more tired and therefore even more cranky and unwilling to calm down. They just remained silent, not exchanging a single word. Kaoru was stubbornly refusing to see the necessity of giving in and apologizing to his lover. In his eyes, it had been all Die's fault as he had started the argument by being unfair towards him.
Mika had been with her mother during the weekend, but when she returned and saw that Die was sleeping in the guestroom and noticed that the two men were avoiding each other, she collected her courage and quietly slipped into the redhead's room. "Is something wrong?"
Die startled, not having noticed that someone entered the room. He had been sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard and trying to go through some papers he knew he needed to read. Quickly he shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "Not really."
"Oh sure," the girl's tone made sure she didn't believe him. "So you just decided that a king-size bed isn't enough for you and dad and thus you sleep and work in this wonderful little spare shoe-box, right?" She could be as sarcastic as her father at times.
"Just leave it be." The redhead snapped, even raising his voice. He took a deep breath before going on though, not wanting to make the girl suffer from his anger. "I just need some time now, alright?"
Sighing, Mika sat down at the bed's edge and looked at him for a long moment silently. "I just thought I could help. I mean, I always talked to you when I'm in trouble so I was hoping I could return the favour." Her voice was calm and tentative since she wasn't sure if it was clever to mess with the redhead when he was obviously angry.
For a while Die simply stared at the papers in his hands, obviously not really seeing them though. He was chewing on his lower lip, trying to decide what to do. Finally he raised his gaze though, looking straight at her. "We just had an argument. And I think it's best if we take a bit distance..." He wasn't so sure about that though, but tried to make himself believe he was.
"Can't you talk it through?" the girl asked quietly. "I mean, you always told me that talking helps. Was it that bad?" She knew that the two guitarists had argued quite a lot lately, but to her it had always seemed like minor things and they had never refused to try to make it up to each other.
"It would just result in more yelling and I'm not sure if I can take that." The redhead sighed, closing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair in a frustrated gesture.
"What's this all about? When I left, everything was fine and now you won't even talk since you fear it would end up in even more yelling?" Mika shook her head and reached out her hand to pet Die's calf. "Don't you think you two had enough time to calm down?"
"It wasn't even anything major. It was about this fucking suit he forgot to bring from the cleaner's." Die confessed, not opening his eyes and not even noticing he cursed although he had tried to avoid it when talking to her. "But we said some bad things. And we've both been majorly stressed lately, so I guess it all erupted there."
"And dad's just leaving you here and didn't come to try to talk to you?" For her that was only typical. Once her father was really angry, he stubbornly refused to give in even when he knew he was acting unfair.
"It's not like I tried to talk to him either." The redhead smiled tiredly, as suddenly he felt somehow old and weary, too tired to even stay angry at the moment.
"Well, then why don't you show some nobleness and be the more clever one who apologizes?" Mika smiled, but there was something like worry hidden in her eyes when she looked at Die.
"It's not about who's being more clever. It's about principle at this point." Although Die talked totally calmly to the girl now, there was something in him that forbade him for giving in. "And I doubt he'd even listen to me in the first place."
"I see." The girl too saw that further pushing wouldn't make any sense and thus she stood up, circled the bed and gave the guitarist a hug. "Don't worry. I'm certain everything will be solved eventually. You don't want me to witness another divorce, do you?" she asked, deliberately cheerie. She just didn't want Die to feel bad and had already taken the decision to talk to her father as well and kick his butt.
The redhead tried to smile, but it came out somewhat forced though. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you or anything. Forgive me?"
"You yelled at me?" Mika asked chuckling and then smiled softly "Didn't I just hug you? That means you're forgiven."
"Thanks." This time Die's smile was a honest one, and he couldn't deny that he felt a tiny bit better now that he had talked with her. But as she left he was being alone with his darkening thoughts again, the frustration being the most powerful feeling then.
The girl was angry as well now. At both, her father and Die. How could grown-ups act so childish? Thinking she was just in the right mood to talk to her old man now as well, she marched into the living-room and plopped down on the armchair next to the couch on which Kaoru sat. "Do you want this situation to drag on forever?" she asked, her eyes sparkling almost dangerous.
"What situation?" The older guitarist only looked up shortly and then went back to read the manga he had been attending before.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She stared at her father firmly, like trying to force him to look at her with her mere will. "When are you going to start talking to him again?"
"That's none of your business," Kaoru said, looking up and straight into her eyes. "It's only between him and me and when he decides he has to stay away from me, then there's nothing I can do about it."
"So you think it's just alright that you don't even talk to each other now, pretending like the other is made of air?" Mika shook her head disbelievingly. "You know it's not right!"
"Then why doesn't he come and signal that he's willing to get even?" Her father raised his voice, taking on a defiant expression. He didn't even fully realize at that moment that he was talking to his daughter and should be a good example for her.
"Because he thinks you won't even listen to him since you're still angry." She didn't think it mattered right now who apologized to whom, and was determined to sort this out somehow. "Now act like you always told me was the right thing; go there and apologize."
For a long moment, Kaoru just looked at her, not knowing if he should admonish her for being so impudent or to tell her that he was proud to have such a clever daughter. "He won't even listen to me since I'm the one to blame for everything at the moment."
"You can't know that until you try! He might be willing to settle it already." Mika tried hard not to raise her voice and lose her patience, still staying firm. "Besides, are you willing to wait until this makes you drift further from each other? Is it worth it?"
Her father shook his head, sighing. "No, I don't think so." He was honestly ashamed that it needed a 16 year old girl to tell him what he should've done two days ago already. Still, he didn't make a move to get up and sat there like glued to the spot.
"What are you still waiting for then?" She got up to her feet, signalling for her father to get up as well. "I meant it. You will go there now."
"You sound like my mom and not like my daughter," Kaoru remarked, even chuckling a bit. Obediently, he stood up and took on a pleading expression. "Really now? Can't I wait till he comes out?"
"No." She shook her head. "It might take too long. I want this settled now."
Again, the older guitarist nodded and staggered to the small working-room, but hesitated in front of the door. Only when Mika gave him a glare and raised her chin a bit, he knocked. Not waiting for an answer, he opened the door and stepped inside, scratching his neck insecurely. "What 'cha waiting for?" his daughter's voice sounded behind him and so Kaoru raised his gaze to look at his lover. "Uhm Die, could we talk?"
The redhead looked somewhat surprised at first, before gaining back his self control as his expression slowly turned blank. "About what?" It truly was already a fight of principles, and he wasn't willing to give in still. At least not before he would hear what the other had to say.
Seeing the other's expression again caused anger to boil up inside Kaoru and he was already turning around again, willing to leave it at that. But Mika blocked his way, standing in the doorframe, hidden from Die's eyes by the open door. "Okay," the older guitarist growled and tried to sort his thoughts. "I'm sorry about the argument," he finally got out.
"Right." Die snorted, rolling his eyes. The reaction had escaped him half unintentionally though, as a part of him was totally willing to make up already. But he didn't know what to say to that, especially when Kaoru still seemed to be angry.
"Know what? Then forget it!" This time, the older guitarist turned around and didn't mind that his daughter was still standing in the frame. He just squeezed himself past her and stormed into the bedroom where he slammed the door shut.
Slowly, Mika stepped into the room, a deep frown on her face. "What was that just? I thought you wanted to make it up?"
"You saw how angry he still is!" Die gestured towards the general direction where Kaoru had gone, seemingly frustrated. "He can't even stand seeing me right now."
"You should've seen YOUR face and heard your tone mister." The girl was fed up. She had persuaded her father to apologize and then Die pulled off such a show. "You said you were afraid he'd yell at you when you apologize and then you don't even meet him half way when he overcomes his pride? Now you get up and apologize."
"And repeat the same scene again plus make a fool of myself?" The redhead looked defiant, not making a move to get up from his seat.
"No, this time I will be there to prevent it." Mika took a step towards the redhead and grabbed his hand. "Now get up and make it up to each other. This must be the most senseless argument in the world."
"But..." Die was already about to argue, but after receiving a dark glance from the girl he just allowed her to drag him up and towards the bedroom.
When they entered, Kaoru looked up, furrowing his brows. "Something else you wanted to tell me? Did I forget to switch off the light in the fridge?" he snarled, obviously angry. The redhead was about to turn around already at the other's first words, but received a push from the girl. "Now you settle this once and for all."
"I -" It took all the willpower from the younger man to get a grip of himself, and after hesitating a moment he managed to mumble out "I'm sorry."
"I see." The older guitarist nodded and even sat up straight in the bed. "Aaannddd...," Mika urged on. "And I'm sorry too," Kaoru went on, smiling faintly.
Die took a glance at the girl, but she didn't seem to be happy with the situation yet, and so he sighed only barely audibly, turning back to his lover. "Could we just forget about it?"
"Yeah, I think we could." There was still something forced in the situation, something stiff as both guitarists didn't seem to be quite enthusiastic about the conversation. When they were just looking at each other silently for a few moments, Mika again spoke up. "And now you seal it with a huge bearhug!"
"A hug?" The redhead at first only turned to look at the girl disbelievingly, like asking if they hadn't done enough already.
"Of course a hug." She nodded frantically and then glared at her father. "You get up and show your good will."
Knowing it wouldn't make any sense to refuse, Kaoru stood up, shifting his weight uncomfortably. They didn't really know how to act, feeling somewhat weird still. But as Mika wasn't willing to give in they finally obeyed, a bit awkwardly embracing each other. Only shortly though and then quickly stepping back again.
"And now give each other a kiss and say that you've been acting stupid." When the two men looked at her with wide eyes, she only nodded. "Go ahead!"
Die closed his eyes, swallowing hard as if he needed to collect some strength. After releasing a deep sigh he leaned closer, ghosting his lips over the other's, even faintly touching his cheek with his fingertips. The soft contact, smelling the familiar scent and feeling his lover's warmth again triggered something inside Kaoru and made him smile.
The kiss was only short, chaste but managed to drown out even the slightest hint of anger inside both men. "Sorry. I've been an idiot," the older guitarist whispered, the smile still there. Instinctively Die wrapped his arms around the other, just hugging him tight. The main feeling right now was an enormous wave of relief, seeing that the whole mess seemed to be solved.
Quietly, Mika sneaked out of the room and closed the door, leaving them alone. She was very content with herself though, seeing that two grown men had obeyed her and finally gotten over their pride. As the door closed, Kaoru looked up at his lover. "No hard feelings?"
Die could only smile back at him at first, and even when he spoke his voice sounded a bit choked. "If you give me a real kiss."
Wordlessly, the older man stepped a bit closer still, took the other's head between his palms and initiated a deep, slow kiss. He was relieved as well, his heart beating quickly. Now as the tension left him, he was shivering a bit, feeling very cold all of a sudden. The redhead was just practically clinging on to the other, almost as if he was afraid that he could pull back all suddenly.
They took it slow, and once they broke the kiss Die smiled, somehow a bit insecurely still. "Does this mean I don't need to sleep in the guestroom anymore?"
"Not unless you want to share the small bed there with me," the other answered instantly. "Let's just say we never allow small things like that to come between us again, okay?" He was serious. Even if arguments were unavoidable, they should never drag on for days; not when they were about minor things.
"Alright." Die nodded seriously, honestly agreeing with the words completely. "Just slap me if I'm acting like that again." He smiled, chuckling a bit.
"Beware," Kaoru warned, "I might fall for slapping you just because of the fun of it." His hands slid down the other man's back, taking a firm hold of his butt.
"Well, I might just slap you back then." The younger smirked, pecking the other's lips again as he couldn't resist the temptation.
"You wouldn't dare." The older man glared at him, but suddenly took on a pondering expression. "Although... maybe it's kinda nice to be put back to your place once." He was so relieved that their argument was over that he couldn't wipe the grin off his face and added joking. "Master."
"Don't call me that or I might fall for showing you your place right here." Die grinned, using his grip on the other man to pull him even closer.
"Again," Kaoru's voice held a teasing undertone, "you wouldn't dare. Mika's right behind that door somewhere." Pecking his lover's lips once more, he still couldn't deny himself from adding a low. "Master."
"You're right..." The younger man confessed, chuckling. "I won't dare. But wait until we're both really alone."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" the older guitarist asked smirking.
"A promise."
The answer earned Die another deep kiss before Kaoru finally detached from him. He still held the other's hands in his though, the smile still there. "Better get your blanket and cushion here right now. Maybe I can convince Mika that she has to go out and watch a movie with her friends."
"Try to convince her to do that tomorrow." Die smiled somewhat apologetically. "I think I'm too exhausted to do anything else but sleep right now..."
"Aw, you didn't sleep well on the bed there, right?" The older guitarist's voice was somewhere between honestly compassionate and playfully mocking. "Initially, I wanted to buy a new one some time ago already. For the guests. But now I think we should keep it. Just as a back-up if we ever have an argument like that. It will make apologizing easier."
"No, it just made me even more cranky since I hardly got any sleep at all." The redhead sighed, trying to look as miserable as possible. "And I wanna have you snoring beside me, I can't sleep otherwise."
"How often do I have to tell you that I don't snore. You just hear yourself." Kaoru pouted, but took a couple of steps towards the door to get his lover's sheets. It wasn't even late, only shortly past ten pm, but he had to admit that he was tired as well.
"I don't care whose snoring it is. But I just can't cope alone anymore." Die smiled, following the other to get the stuff from the guestroom.
On the way back to their bedroom, they stopped by to tell Mika they would go to bed. No further words were needed and the girl just gave them a warm smile, happy to see that indeed everything seemed to be fine again. When they were already lying beside each other, Kaoru curled around his lover's back, hugging him from behind, he spoke up softly. "I wasn't able to sleep without you stealing the blanket. I guess we're really married in a way."
"We're too friggin' stubborn." Die had closed his eyes contently, relaxing into the embrace. This was where he always wanted to be, as corny as it might sound. He simply loved to have the other's arms around him, to feel his warmth beside him and hear his voice, just everything in him.
"That's a problem." The older agreed, planting a few small kisses on Die's neck. "But one fight in ten years isn't a bad average, is it? Even if it was only about something stupid." After a short pause, Kaoru continued. "So we've a lot of time to develop."
"Well, as long as we only fight once every ten years I might live through it. Maybe." The younger man turned his head a bit to smile at the other.
Their gazes met and it caused incredible warmth inside Kaoru and his heart to skip a few beats. "I love you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotions all of a sudden as he stretched his neck to give Die a chaste kiss.
Die didn't allow the other to pull away though, catching his lips in a proper kiss, short but full of emotion. As it broke he was still smiling, a deep sparkle in his eyes. "Love you too."
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