Work Text:
Morisawa Chiaki has a ring on his finger.
How he has gotten to this point is a blur. The sound of his heartbeat in his ears makes thinking a challenge. Maybe twenty minutes ago, he was trekking his way across the beach, fresh off the phone with Mikejima and more than a little anxious. Now he’s watching his partner slip the piece of jewelry onto his finger, the metal reflecting the amber sky as the sun sinks into the horizon.
This is not an unwelcome scenario; in fact, it’s one of the best possible situations he has ever found himself in. He knows he wants to stay by Kanata’s side. In recent months he has found himself daydreaming about how he might pop the question to his partner, fantasizing about taking his soft hands in his own calloused ones, kneeling down before him, asking to stay with him until the end of time - if he’ll allow it.
Did he want to make it extravagant? Should he get their friends involved to help him set up some grand romantic scene? Maybe he could do it on stage. Of course, that would require making the public aware of their relationship, something that they had considerably less trouble hiding than other idol couples given that Chiaki was overly affectionate with just about everyone. The agency may not clear that plan though, and he would need to consult their juniors…
He hadn’t even thought about the romantic speech he would give when he actually got down on one knee. That’s what they did on television, right? Profess their love? Chiaki wasn’t sure if he had it in him to let such sappy words spill from his mouth. For his partner, however, he was determined to make their engagement the perfect spectacle.
Kanata clearly had other plans.
No knees have been dirtied by the sand, no photographs of the moment have been captured, and no congratulations have been shouted their way. Chiaki’s left hand is cradled in his lover’s as gentle fingers toy with the newly added silver band, needing the small blue topaz to line up just right with the curve of his digit. The air is heavy with the weight of words like “forever” and “always,” but it is a pleasant kind of heaviness, a grounding one that blankets Chiaki’s shoulders and assures him this is exactly where he is meant to be.
Once the positioning of the gemstone is satisfactory, his hand is brought toward Kanata’s face, the latter bathing it in fleeting, careful kisses. His lips tickle his skin, each touch seeping through and filling him with adoration.
“Kanata…”
It takes a moment for those pretty green eyes to catch sight of the tears beginning to cloud his partner’s vision, but once their gazes meet, Chiaki is a goner. Down they flow, in smooth rivulets along his cheeks, interrupted only by the hand he drags across them in a vain attempt to compose himself. No matter how many times he had sworn he wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him should he ever find himself in this blissful situation, they both knew he was a crybaby at heart. Kanata was used to this side of him, he felt no need to hide.
His left hand is released, and a pang resonates through his heart at the lack of contact, but it is quickly remedied as soft fingers brush over the wet streaks on his face. The smile Kanata wears is as warm as ever, a smile he’s loved for years and a smile that the ring on his finger ensures he’ll be able to love for many more.
“Chiaki,” Kanata hums, traces of a chuckle in his tone as he carefully runs the pad of his thumb below the other man’s teary eyes, “the ocean is ‘full’ of enough saltwater, no need to add more of your own.”
Chiaki’s body moves faster than his brain does, and he hastily pulls his partner into his arms, settling one hand on his back and the other behind his head. He nuzzles his face into Kanata’s hair, taking in the aroma of his shampoo and his natural scent, one akin to the seaside breeze.
“Kanata,” he breathes out shakily, pressing kiss after kiss into the side of his head, into the pretty blue locks he’s run his fingers through more times than he can count. He wants to say more, wants to spit out his vows right now and go from hero to husband, but any words catch in his throat and his lover’s name is the only sound he can get off of his tongue. “Kanata…!”
His choked-up state earns him a tight squeeze around his waist and a hand on his back, rubbing small circles that soothe his overwhelmed senses. Kanata is pressed impossibly close to him, and Chiaki can feel the rapid rhythm of his heart against his own. So he was nervous too, huh. It almost fills him with a hint of pride, knowing that the visual pinnacle of calmness felt the same fluttering in his stomach as he did.
He takes a moment to reflect. That really had just happened. His Kanata, asking him for the privilege of spending the rest of his days with him, all while the waves kissed at their bare feet as if wanting their own role in the special moment. It was nowhere near the grand display he had envisioned, but somehow was a thousand times more meaningful. No flowers, no long lovey-dovey speeches, just the two of them, a ring, and the sound of the sea.
The next minute passes peacefully, no words being spoken, only the gentle tune of the waves lapping at the sand to lull Chiaki into a calmer state. He keeps his firm hold on Kanata, ceasing his kisses and settling for just pressing their heads together and letting his fingers run up and down the back of his sweetheart’s neck.
“I love you.” The first words to break the silence are his own, murmured into silky cyan hair as he lets it all sink in. “A whole lot."
He can still feel lithe fingers pressing into his back, continuing their little calming motions as his partner hums his response, a simple “I love you too.”
Chiaki moves back a bit, enough to get a look at the face he’s grown so fond of, and immediately Kanata’s hands are on the sides of his face again, rubbing away any remnants of fallen tears to be found.
The tip of his nose is met with a gentle peck. “Heroes only shed ‘happy’ tears, right?”
His own words, tossed back at him. He knows this is false. They both do. Chiaki had worked tirelessly to perfect his happy-go-lucky, reliable character only for Kanata to watch the facade crack time and time again. Kanata was the one who taught him that heroes could cry, should cry; if a God could be a human, then a hero could be as well, and humans are made to cry when things are too much.
They’d cried a fair amount in each other’s arms over the years, through the good and the bad. Now was definitely one of the good times. He could go along with Kanata’s little jest for the time being.
Gaze full of fondness, he thumbs circles into his partner’s hips, planting a sweet kiss on his forehead. “That’s right. Only happy tears, no blues in sight. Well, besides you, of course!” He flashes a bright smile, suddenly invigorated. “You’re the only kind of blue I need!”
Now that the initial emotional wave has crested, a new one is ready to crash into him full force, one of excitement, of impatience. One that is much more suited for brave, bold Morisawa Chiaki.
He hardly gives Kanata a moment to prepare before the hands on his waist are replaced with firm biceps as he crouches down. Ensuring his grip is firm, he hoists him up and off of the ground. It takes effort not to trip over his own feet as he spins them around, feeling his cheeks burn with the intensity of his grin. “My Ryusei Blue!
The person in his arms, his person, lets out a bubbly laugh that makes his heart swell with adoration in his chest. He loves holding Kanata like this. Being able to press his face against his stomach, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin layer of his t-shirt. It’s a human kind of warmth, a sensation that makes true his assurances from years ago. Kanata is human, just like him. He is human and a hero and his.
Fingers card through his hair, remaining entangled there as he lowers his lover back onto the sand. Kanata’s meadow-green eyes shine with the remnants of the setting sun, and Chiaki savors every moment that their gazes are united. He gets to look at him like this for the rest of his life. He gets to stare at those pretty eyes when they’re wide with innocent excitement, when they’re glazed over with the fogginess of sleep, when they’re half-lidded and full of love and need. How lucky he is.
“Chiaki.” Kanata’s voice pulls him from his thoughts, smooth and slow as ever. “Do you want to put my ‘ring’ on?”
Chiaki nods eagerly at this, biting back a pathetic whine as the sensation of his partner’s hands in his hair slowly dissipates. He watches Kanata step back and dip his hand into his pocket, itching to get him in his arms once again. Patience, Chiaki, he reminds himself, you have the rest of your life to hug him. Putting a ring on him was almost like giving him a hug, right? A permanent hug on his finger. Yeah, that’s how he would think of it.
After a moment of fishing around, Kanata lets out a content hum and draws out another ring. Chiaki hasn’t bothered questioning the lack of a ring box; since when did Kanata ever do anything conventionally? He takes life at his own pace, a pace which Chiaki is happy to fall in line with.
His hand is gently taken, and the ring is placed with care in his palm. It appears identical to the one on his own finger, with the exception of the gem embedded within it. The deep garnet stone contrasts nicely with the silver band, its color reminiscent of the uniform he dons on stage, if not a bit darker.
He cannot say he is surprised that Kanata bought rings with their signature colors. He had considered doing the same thing during the few times he had fantasized about their engagement. The agency probably won’t be very happy with them for wearing jewelry that conflicts with their own colors (or, honestly, for intending to wear engagement rings in public at all), but that was a concern for another time, a time when he wasn’t about to put a ring on the love of his life.
Almost instinctively, he begins to thumb gentle circles into the back of Kanata’s hand, more so to calm himself than his partner. He can’t help himself from glancing up as if to ask if this was truly what he wanted, this was actually happening, he was really his. The blue haired man watches patiently, but Chiaki can sense the anticipation behind his calm expression. Kanata really isn’t as hard to read as others say he is. At least, not to Chiaki.
Gently, he eases the ring onto his partner’s finger until it sits snugly at the base. Bringing his hand to his lips, he copies what had been previously done to him, coating it with little kisses. He can taste the familiar saltiness of the ocean; perhaps the other man hadn’t been able to resist dipping his fingers in the waves before he arrived.
Kanata moves his hand back slightly, out of his grasp, spreading his fingers as he admires his new accessory. “The gem is ‘pretty’, but it is not my ‘favorite’ shade of red, you know.”
“Oh? And what might that be, Kanata?” Chiaki has a sneaking suspicion that he knows what his partner will say.
“The ‘red’ of your uniform,” he says matter-of-factly, before his gaze is tinged with mischievousness. Chiaki is a sucker for looks like that. “And the ‘red’ that your face gets when you’re embarrassed.”
Thank goodness he likes the color of Chiaki’s flushed face, because it is on full display as he hurries to move his partner’s hands out from where they’ve suddenly crept under the hem of his shirt. “Alright, alright! Save it for later,” he stammers, knowing from the chuckle that escapes the other man that he has played right into his soft, sea-kissed hands.
“There. That color.”
A sigh tinged with feigned exasperation escapes him, his hands still gripping the other’s wrists gently. “You ought to be more careful. There could be another drone in the water watching us. You never know.”
He certainly hasn’t forgotten the stunt Madara had pulled all those years ago. Admittedly, Chiaki had been a bit alarmed when their former classmate called him and asked him to head to the beach earlier. The last time he had received a call like that, he had found himself on his knees just beyond the waves’ reach, clutching Kanata to his chest and begging him to live. It was quite a relief to have arrived to see the blue haired man standing upright, smiling, and surprisingly dry. In hindsight, he had probably been resisting the call of the ocean to avoid losing their rings to the tide. Sure, it was common sense, but knowing Kanata as well as he did, Chiaki couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of his partner for having such self control. Maybe he’d reward him for it later, as if giving him his hand in marriage wasn’t rewarding him enough.
Kanata rolls his eyes, a playful smile on his lips. “I made that rogue ‘promise’ not to interfere. This ‘moment’ is just for Chiaki and I.”
Aw. Chiaki thinks that statement earns his partner a kiss, so he plants a gentle one on his forehead. He eases his fingers between Kanata’s, their shiny new accessories clinking against each other as their digits slot together. “Hey, where’d you get these from? I’d never pegged you as having an eye for jewelry.”
“Shu knows someone in France.”
“And they found these for you? They happened to have a matching set with our colors? That’s pretty lucky!”
Kanata shakes his head. “No, I chose the ‘gemstones’ and the ‘engravings’. They just found the rings.”
A wave nips at their ankles, decorating the bottom of their pant legs with droplets of water.
“Engravings?” Chiaki has never pulled his hand from his beloved’s so quickly. Carefully, he slides the ring off of his finger, bringing it up to eye level to get a better view. The gemstone embedded within the band shines a pretty blue in the sunlight, matching Kanata in color but not even close to rivaling him in beauty. He tilts the ring, and sure enough, a short, all too familiar phrase is carved into the inner surface.
Thank you, hero.
Three little words, and Chiaki feels his heart well up with pride, joy, adoration. He looks at Kanata, whose lips have curled into a gentle smile. Those words had left that mouth of his more times than either of them could count, yet each time released a new wave of butterflies into Chiaki’s stomach.
Kanata’s chest is pressed against his in another tight hug as soon as he can get his limbs to function. He fights the desire to kiss him senseless right here on the shore where he had first held him, settling for something more chaste and sweet instead. A grin stretches his lips once they leave his lover’s, brighter than any spotlight they’ve stood under together.
Pretty green eyes stare deeply into his own. “Now you can always carry my ‘gratitude’ with you.”
“You know you don’t have to thank me, Kanata.” His voice is uncharacteristically soft, but he’s never been so confident in his words before. ”If I tried to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, we’d be here until sunrise.”
“I know.” Their foreheads meet as the other maintains his gaze. “I enjoy ‘reminding’ you that you are my hero.”
Yeah, he can’t resist after that statement. A series of brief, tender kisses are exchanged, ones which Chiaki keeps his eyes half lidded through. As affectionate as he is, he rarely embraces this degree of intimacy where anyone might catch sight of them. Maybe it’s because he knows they’re fairly isolated, or maybe he’s just losing himself to Kanata’s charms. He might’ve chosen to stand there kissing him like that forever if not for the question beginning to burn a hole in his mind.
Lifting his head back, he takes in the state of his partner, and oh, he’s making that face again, that love-drunk expression that almost never fails to lure him right back in. It takes quite a lot of willpower not to go in for more; instead he concentrates that energy into getting words out of his mouth.
“What does yours say?”
Kanata blinks. Years of observing him and his unique behavior have made Chiaki an expert at catching the little things. He doesn’t miss the brief glance to the side, or the way he retracts his left hand just a bit, aiming to hide it against his chest.
He’s embarrassed. How cute.
Quickly he clutches at his lover’s hand, though it wriggles briefly in his grasp in a vain attempt to escape. Kanata doesn’t put up much of a fight as the ring is slipped off his finger, though he puffs his cheeks out in a pout clearly meant to mask the blush that tints them. The garnet, nestled into the band, glints in the fading sunlight as Chiaki reads the text etched into the interior.
“On the bright red sunset…”
Ah.
Chiaki remembers these words. How could he not?
Years have passed. The sand they knelt on while they embraced each other has long since been swept away into the current. Yet no amount of time could wipe those words, the promises he made, from his memory. The prospect of his partner wearing his vow proudly, etched into the very ring that binds them, floods his body with warmth. He loves him. He really, really loves him.
In an attempt to avoid another round of waterworks, he laughs, slipping the ring back onto the other’s slim finger. “I said that right here on this beach, didn’t I? It was kind of silly of me to say that when it was already dark out. Though I guess it was smart in the long run, if you’ve remembered it for all these years!”
This earns a slight huff from his partner. “I do not ‘remember’ it just because of your poor timing,” he says flatly, and Chiaki feels a light push on his chest. “I remember it because you ‘upheld’ that promise for all these years.”
This guy is going to be the death of him.
Chiaki pitches forward a bit, just enough to rest his forehead against Kanata’s shoulder. He keeps his eyes trained on their feet, feeling tears begin to pool in them once more as he plays with his lover’s fingers. “Damn it, Kanata,” he laughs again, weaker this time, “I’m trying not to cry here!”
He feels fingers in his hair, petting him soothingly as he squeezes his eyes shut to blink his tears away. Kanata’s silence is welcomed, a moment in which he can compose himself again. Compose himself, and think of a method of relieving his emotional tension.
Abruptly, Chiaki lifts his head, using the back of his palm to rub at his eyes as he lets out a chuckle. “Well, the sun’s setting now, right? Looks like I can finally make a real vow to you.”
Kanata looks a little confused as he releases him from his grasp to step back, and Chiaki isn’t quite sure he knows what he is doing himself. His heart is guiding his limbs now, turning him toward the wide and open water, outstretching his arm like he’s striking one of his hero poses, cupping the sun in the curve of his palm.
“I vow…!” He shouts to the setting sun, the sky a brilliant shade of orange. His own voice sounds so loud in his ears, and he’s pretty sure that he can be heard from further down the shore. But he does not stop, letting the words flow from his lips like water from a faucet. “I vow to be Shinkai Kanata’s hero, for as long as I live! I want to learn more about him, learn to love each and every part – the good and the bad, I want to see all of it! No matter what happens, through thick and thin, we’ll keep living on together, as we have been and as we always will!”
Chiaki’s cheeks are burning, but he feels more invigorated than embarrassed.
“I vow on the bright red sunset!”
Hoping the world has accepted his words, he turns to Kanata, breathless, and oh, his cheeks are flushed, and his mouth is a little agape, and his green eyes are wide in pleasant surprise. He’s just so cute that Chiaki wants to tackle him onto the sand and kiss him all over.
He can give into temptation every once in a while.
There is a muffled thud as Kanata’s back makes impact with the sand, cradled by Chiaki in an attempt to soften the blow. No time is spent on apologizing - he needs to pepper his lover’s cheeks with kisses right now - and it doesn’t seem to be necessary, as the blue-haired idol is nothing but giggles and grins as he is showered in affection.
Chiaki gets in a few dozen smooches before giving his partner’s face a break. Kanata’s cheeks are so red that under any other circumstance, he would’ve cracked a joke about him stealing his signature color. But not right now. He has more important words to say to him.
He wishes his sixteen year old self, that anxiety-ridden kid, could see the two of them now.
“Kanata…”
What he could’ve possibly done in his lifetime to deserve this, he doesn’t know. But he can’t stop smiling.
“...my Ryusei Blue…”
He never knew he could be this happy.
“...I love you!”