Nagihiko has been away. Not as some existential crisis as it may have been Once Upon a Time. Those have legitimately been more or less unnecessary since 'official' entered with Kukai and Nagihiko.
No, it's been a legitimate time spent away from Tokyo. And not because he wanted to, but because it's summer and the Fujisaki name along with Nadeshiko are still popular across Japan.
(And even though he knew the answer would be no, he'd asked Kukai to come along with. He knew the answer would be no, because Tokyo and protection are all but synonymous with Kukai. He knew it would be no because that would have meant leaving behind Kukai's brothers. He knew it would be no, but even though it still left him a little sad, Nagihiko was neither hurt nor betrayed by the response. Because Kukai is Kukai, and what more could he ask for?)
He knew the answer would be no, knew he'd be sad from it, but he asked anyway. He asked because he wanted Kukai to know that he needed him, even if it was in a city a hundred miles away.
It's been a week or two. Nagihiko knows how many days exactly, of course. How many hours if pressed, though he won't admit to it. Either way, it's been too long since he's seen Kukai, especially with what he's heard.
After all, Tokyo is always a mess.
He's in the Souma apartment, looking out of the window of Kukai's room. He's watching the other kids playing various stages of ball. It's a sad habit, watching something that you won't be a part of. But in this case, it's also a comforting habit. Familiar, despite the loneliness.
Kukai's bed is unmade, a mess of sheets and blankets at the foot of it. Nagihiko had thought to fix up Kukai's room, but realizes as he peeled off the last pillowcase that it would be invasive if he continues. So he's waiting, watching the children below.
His hair is neither up nor down. The braid is loose and hangs over a shoulder, but it can't be classified as Nagihiko or Nadeshiko in that regard. At the moment, he's simply him, and this is one of the few places he feels safe in being that."
Kukai has been here. It has been a bit of an existential crisis, because Nagihiko, or Nadeshiko, or just Na-chan, has been in the back of his head the entire time they've been apart. Not that he hasn't met a lot of cute girls and a couple cute guys, but something within him has kept him from having the heart to flirt with them or pursue any of the possibilities any further. For now, he's a one-purple-haired dancer magical rogue.
He'd wanted to go along with Nagihiko. A week or two on the road, just the two of them (and an entire dance company), travelling Tokyo? Idyllic. But like Nagi had thought, there was just too much to do in Tokyo right now. Leaving his brothers for a week would have been fine, he's done that before to visit his grandfather or go play sportsballs with a team. But there was just too much to do in the city, so he'd spent the past few weeks patrolling, fighting, working, and doing his part.
After all, Tokyo is always a mess.
Finally, though, he's home for the day, heading towards his room. Kaido looks up from his paper at the table, then looks back down with a grunt. Kukai doesn't really notice, and may or may not be doing his best not to limp past Kaido, entering the hall and opening the door to his room to see... "Nagi!"
The door barely gets closed before Kukai has moved over to Nagi, pulling him into his arms and hugging him tightly, grinning wide and looking down at him. "You're home!" Questions about 'why is the bed stripped' and 'that's a cool braid but what is it' can wait for a few moments while Kukai just drinks in the happiness he feels right now.
Nagihiko barely has time to turn his head before he is hugged, but that is more than okay. He burries his face into Kukai's neck, takes a deep breath and releases it on a sigh, and all the travel ick just floats away. Even when they're pulled a little away and his fingers dance over shoulders and up a neck, he just feels so much better. Oddly, he actually feels home now, even if he's been home since near dawn.
"I got in earlier this morning. I would have woken you, but I wasn't sure if you'd gotten to bed before dawn." The words may be teasing, but the eyes are etched with concern.
And then, suddenly, he's avoiding Kukai's eye. "Which is kinda why I'm here, actually. And it doesn't mean--! I mean, you don't have to li--! I mean! I'm not trying to presume anything."
Nagihiko finally looks back up at Kukai through long, thick lashes. "I just want you to feel like I do at the end of the day."
He holds up his hand, and a red string and beaded charm is in his fingers. And then it's quickly in his pocket again.
Kukai nuzzles against Nagihiko's cheek, humming softly and holding onto him, feeling him press againts his neck and let out a sigh that perhaps not even Nagi knew he was holding. His arms clutch just a little tighter, then release, letting Nagi go just a bit, feeling those fingers dance and play along his skin. "Mm.."
Kukai nods, then grins. "Yeah. I got a late night last night. It was a long day. But I would've woken up for you." He blinks, watching Nagihiko suddenly stutter and look away, releasing him a little bit more and leaning back. "I... um. What? What are you talking about? Presuming what, Nagi?"
He grins at that last comment, and the sight of that little red beaded charm in Nagi's pocket. "Feel like you? What, beautiful and wanted? Famous? Amazing? What are you going on about?"
Fingers soothe at the unexpected sigh. But so long as it's a cause for relaxation and not of stress.
"I know you would have, but..."
More fluster all around. Buy one, get one free. All you can eat fluster. Nagihiko's cheeks are pink as he suddenly finds the buttons of Kukai's shirt very interesting. "Oh, hush." Then more of a blush. "You know. Safe. Comfortable."
Has he told Kukai he takes the charm with him when he's traveling? Probably not.
"And I started to put them on, but then I though...what if you didn't like them." He looks up at Kukai through those eyelashes again. "And you don't have to. Like them, I mean. And all I really want for them is for you to feel safe and comfortable at night. Nothing more."
Kukai smiles, feeling Nagihiko relaxing against him. "Yeah... stuff happened." He blinks, then grins, watching Nagi be flustered and blushing and playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Well make me hush, then." He nods. "Aaah. Ok, comfortable."
Probably not. He hadn't thought about the charm a lot since he gave it to Nagi on that night some time back, except to thank it for helping fix things between them.
"Put them on...? What are you putting on? Is it something you wear?" By this point Kukai is quite confused. "Look, Nagihiko, if you got them for me, I'm sure I'll love them. But what is it?"
Nagihiko laughs, because he's being ridiculous, and so Kukai's unknowingly being ridiculous.
Finally, frustrated and giddy both, he does do his best to make Kukai hush. And okay, he just really enjoys kissing Kukai, and it's been weeks. And he may be a little distracted with wandery hands for a few minutes beccause its been weeks...
Finally, he's straightening Kukai's shirt.
Then he pulls away and picks up the bag.
And it's a big bag.
And it has to be big, because there are ungoldy soft sheets and a blanket made of clouds and pillows stuffed with the feathers of angel wings. At least that's how they feel.
And Nagihiko is feeling nervous because this feels like a very bold move.
"It's okay if you don't like it."
Kukai grins and laughs along with Nagihiko, watching him, and then whoop he's getting close and...
It's an efficient way to make Kukai hush, for sure. It's certainly the sort of thing Kukai's been looking forward to for the past few weeks, so he's happy to stay shut up for several minutes, his own hands wandering a little as his lips press firmly in against... cinnamon? Caramel? Some sort of mix of the two flavors on Nagi's lips. It's certainly Nagi, for sure, and it does make it just that much more fun to kiss him.
Eventually the two of them pull away, and he's trying to straighten Nagi's shirt as well along the bottom, pulling it back down a bit, before grinning unsteadily at him. Nagi steps back to pick up a bag, and Kukai peeks into it... then lets out a little whistle. "Oh wow. These look.. this looks kind of amazing, Nagi, and expensive. And soft. Really, really soft.." He looks up at the shorter boy and grins. "They're great, really. I like it a lot. Thank you."
It's a combination of both, really. And it could be the lipgloss, it could be the froofroo coffee, or it could even be another combination of both.
When Kukai receives the gift well, Nagihiko beams as his shoulders lose their tension. "Really soft, see?" Be brings up a corner of the sage colored sheet and rubs it against Kukai's cheek. "And it gets softer the more you wash it. I figure you like to sleep. And I figure, you know, on the nights you can't, you should at least be comfortable. All cozy and warm. And if you're worried, I did get a good deal on them!"
Kukai doesn't really care. It's very much a Nagi taste.
Kukai grins back at Nagihiko, nodding, then blushes quite a bit as Nagi rubs the sheet against his cheek. "Wow. Yeah, that's.. that's nice." He grins and then nods, blushing. "... I love them. Thank you. And I'm sure you got a great deal on them." He eyes the purple-haired dancer for a long moment, then grins slyly. "But I bet you also got them so that whenever I'm in bed I think of you, huh?"
Nagihiko blushes, hard, and suddenly Kukai's shirt buttons are very interesting! He picks at one with his figures. "Well, I must admit, that's a nice bonus."
He's finally able to look up at Kukai, and it's not his fault he can't stop grinning. "Though I assure you, my original intentions were completely altruistic."
It takes several minutes for Kukai to stop laughing, and he finally grins down at Nagihiko. "Well I mean I do it anyway, so I don't know why you were concerned. But yeah! I'm sure you had nothing but the sweetest and purest of reasons for getting a friend a gift." He waggles his eyebrows at Nagihiko, then nods. "Help me get it on? And while we're working you can tell me about how your trip went?"
More blushing.
Seriously, if Kukai ever wanted to discuss Tolstoy or Mozart, he's gonna have to tone down on the compliments!
...Eh, those guys are overrated.
"Didn't you know? I am purity incarnate." And it's almost a blink and you'll miss it as his teeth bites his lip.
Or did he? Dun dun dun.
And then he's sighing and his shoulders droop as he starts to help with the sheets. Not because of the sheets themselves, because yay sheets, but because ug, that trip.
"Most of it was fine. Wonderful, even. But those critics are getting brutal." He sighs as he finishes tucking in his side of the corners. "I mean, okay, I get it, I'm not a girl. But I think I have a lot better insight over the female psyche than all those hacks combined."
Usually, he doesn't let reviews bother him.
But that's also usually following a rant or two. Usually in private.
There's more blushing. That just makes Kukai grin more. He's got it going on tonight, huh?
It's prooobably a good thing Kukai did blink, or the sheets might never actually get ON the bed.
Kukai blinks, then reaches over, patting one of those drooping shoulders, letting part of the sheet twitch away. "Brutal? What...Ooooh." He frowns. "I dunno. I mean, there's a lot of modern-day dancers who do what you do. I've never heard of any of them getting that sort of business." He tucks in his side of the corners - not nearly as prettily as Nagi does, but it works. "I think you do too. I mean, you grew up as a girl, right?"
He rubs his head, thinking. "You'd think with all the magic we run across we'd have found something to help with that sort of thing. I dunno what, though." He knows Nagi likes to rant from time to time.
Nagihiko sighs and shakes his head. Now comes the flat sheet, and there's still the new comforter to go! And pillows! One can never have too many pillows.
Hey, he stopped himself from buying the memory foam mattress pad, didn't he?
"I don't know. I think a lot of them didn't realize I was a boy until a recent interview. I mean, who knows, maybe some of them..." His nose wrinkles and he flops his hand out. "But ew, Most of those guys are in their thirties or older. I'm fifteen. And my family's tradition is not a secret in a lot of those circles. It's always followed me around as an unspoken truth when I traveled before."
He plops on the bed, hugging one of the new pillows close and his expression grows wistful. "Maybe there is something. Who knows, though." He sighs and looks up at Kukai, eyes all woeful. "But could you imagine if I could? Even for just a day? I'd have not only an understanding of the psychological, but the physiological aspects, as well. And just that little bit of understanding could be the difference between a lifelong career or fizzling out when I'm twenty."
And then he hears himself and he winces as he hides his face in the pillow. "Ug, never mind. Sorry."
How petty does he sound? Wanting to experience the opposite gender for a career when there are people who wish to make a permanent change?
Kukai keeps working, helping Nagihiko get the sheets onto the bed. And there may have been a memory foam pad in the bottom of the bag. Maybe. But he's not going to mention whatever it was.
"I dunno. Probably not - I mean, none of us did for years, you know? Except Tadase, and he doesn't count." There may be a very slight wrinkling of the nose there. "And I know most of them are but.. I dunno what age counts for. And..." He thinks. "Maybe it was unspoken to the dance troupe, but not to the outside world? It may just be a response to so many people being surprised."
The bed finally has the sheets and comforter on, and so he sits down next to Nagi, reaching over to pet his sides. "You're not going to fizzle out when you're twenty, no matter what. You love dancing. You literally have Rhythm, which is something not many people find." He grins wryly. "You're going to be an amazing, culture-defining dancer all your life."
Kukai can't help but smile, but then curls up next to the face-buried Nagi, reaching over to pat his shoulders. "I don't think it's that bad, Nagihiko... I mean, it would help you. Right? Maybe sometime."
If it is there, and it likely is, Kukai will probably find it later. And then he'll be as near to sleeping on a cloud as physically possible!
His look is a bit sheepish, and he shrugs a little at the Tadase part. Whatever there is there has nothing really to do with here.
He sighs and thinks a little. "Maybe. I mean, these critics actually liked me before they found out. I couldn't have changed that much since then."
And even if he could, well.
And of course, he feels better for Kukai's words. Better than he would have if he'd ranted on his own.
He peeks a little from behind the pillow, eye large and amber. He reaches behind him and tugs up the new comforter, hiding them both for a little. Sure, it's a child's spell that's lost it's magic over the years, but he can pretend the rest of the world is gone for the moment.
"Maybe." It's more mouthed with very little sound, but it's more of an after thought anyway. His fingers come up to play along Kukai's cheek. "So what's been going on here since I left? Any more invading flowers?"
Kukai nods at Nagihiko, and then smiles. "I don't think you've changed at all. Their opinion of you has changed, but that doesn't make any difference. They're just being rude about it."
Kukai peers back into that big amber eye, then nods, pulling the comforter over him, and then smiles, snuggling in, just the two of them now. "I'm glad to have you home again."
He nods, reaching over to stroke at Nagihiko's hair, playing with it, trying to help him relax. "Oh... well. Hmm. When was the last time I saw you?" Kukai counts, and realizes it's been more like three weeks than two. Even worse. "To be honest? Not a lot. I've been running into this one girl, Jiaying, a lot lately. She's apparently dating Sora now, which is good, because it means Sora's been a little bit less crazy. But then again she's also been trying to fight one of our other favorite pains in the butt, Shiniko. Whooo... iiis.. sort of getting worse. Much worse." He reaches down, rubbing one leg. "She's gone from 'I mete out justice' to 'I mete out pre-emptive justice on anyone who might even think about doing evil.' She's performing dark magic off thoughtcrimes, which means she's basically hitting everyone in her path. That being said, it could be worse."
Nagihiko has a few words to add to 'rude.' They are not age appropriate. They're muttered at least, though.
A smile joins the amber eye. "I'm glad to be home, too." He doesn't want to think about the next time he has to travel. He's been assured, though, that when the fall term starts, everything will be less hectic.
He leans toward the stroking hand, and this time the sigh is a peaceful one. "I'm glad to hear Sora's doing better. I was worried."
He stretches out a little, which may end up with him being a little bit closer. Mission accomplished.
His nose wrinkles. "Shiniko. You know, doing what we do is one thing. Taking justice into your own hands like that?" He shakes his head and settles, and if there's a Kukai arm handy, it's suddenly being used as a pillow.
His fingers prod along Kukai's forehead, where the worst of the (visible) bruising had been a few months ago. "No more hospital visits, right? You'd call me if there were?"
Because, really, screw dancing if Kukai's looking forward to unlimited jello and IV drips.
Kukai's used to those sorts of words, but he doesn't tend to say them himself. At least, not usually. He can't help but grin at Nagihiko, though. "Yeah. Me too. I felt like she was going to be a pain in the butt forever, but she's not quite so hostile anymore."
He snuggles in as well, ending up a little closer as well. And then his arm is being used as a pillow. "Mmm. I agree. And there's no chance for redemption or giving people anything like a second chance." He sighs. "She was in a prison, for pete's sake. The punishment place, trying to levy more punishment. She's..."
He shakes his head, then blinks, his forehead being prodded. "Um. No. Not if I can help it. You're first on my contact list, Nagi, I promise. But I like this being able to cuddle in under soft new blankets thing too much to go back to the hospital." He is very close, at this point.
Nagihiko's not one to say them overly often himself. (At least, not unless Temari takes over. The mouth on that girl...)
"Hey, who knows? She may turn out to be a nonhostile pain in the butt."
His eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "Prison? Where?"
It would be nice if he could blame someone besides himself for being so out of the loop on things. Be a nice change in pace and all.
"Good. I'd better be." He leans in, lips brushing against lips, before he pulls back, smothering a cheeky grin. "And there are no comfy sheets allowed in hospitals. And I claim legal rights to half your jello."
There is a significant eyeroll from Kukai. "I can only hope." He shrugs and lies back. "Fuchuu Prison, further inland. Not our usual stomping grounds, but.. there was darkness coming off it like you wouldn't believe. So I went to investigate, and found Kunzite and Ariel and this fox girl there fighting Shiniko, along with Lacrima, who was doing her own thing as usual. It was.. a thing." He shrugs and lies back. "Honestly it's been the only major thing I've done recently. I keep hearing about things going on around me, but I don't pay much attention."
He blinks, then blushes, brushing his lips back, and laughs. "I'd miss my comfy sheets, and I want all my jello, so I better not go to the hospital."
His eyebrows furrow again. In a decade or so, he'll worry about wrinkles when he does it, but for now, he's fifteen.
"That...sounds like an unpleasant event." Nagihiko begins to wonder the merit of those crystal pendants that offer protection. "Really? That's what I do. Isn't it sometimes nice being oblivious?"
And laughs are infectious. "I hereby proclaim The Jello Accords in full effect, starting today." He's still grinning as this time his lips do more than a light brush, and his fingers curl against a familiar jaw.
His sigh is happy, and when he pulls away, it's not for very long or very far. "I've missed you."
Kukai hmms, then laughs, pulling Nagihiko up closer. "Oblivious can be fun. I mean, I like oblivious a lot of the time. Aware means 'there is something going on that I have to go hit with soccer balls.'"
Kukai cheers a little, nuzzling in against Nagi, following him as he pulls back. "I missed you too. It's good to have you back."
"Mmm, yes. Plus, if you let yourself be oblivious sometimes, it's one of the better ways to relieve stress."
He doesn't say more, preferring to return to the kissing part of the program. It's sweet, of course, and nice. Very nice, of course.
But he knows that soon the past few weeks will catch up with him. His body will realize that there isn't going to be a performance that evening.
And, well, Kukai has some very comfy sheets.