Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Giyuu hated this. He hated the public appearances where he had to put up a front for his people. They weren’t exactly his people yet, but they would be soon. It made him sick, thinking about it. He wasn’t ready in the least. He couldn’t be a king.

He was Giyuu Tomioka, also known as Prince Giyuu, an heir to the throne in the country called Dimore. A country with approximately 8 million inhabitants, all living on a spacious island near Japan. Their country was small by all means, but rich, awfully rich because of the vast supply of precious metals and gemstones in its heart. And once, Giyuu would be its king.

Not yet, though. Giyuu had to attend many events because of his status, something he hated. It wasn’t that he disliked the people, not at all. He just preferred not to meet with them. He would much rather spend his days inside the palace where he grew up, surrounded by very few people he knew and liked. People in front of whom he didn’t need a front.

Giyuu bit the inside of his cheek as another young woman squeezed his waist almost painfully from all her excitement as they were taking a picture together. She had asked him to hug her, which Giyuu did, but hated every second of. He never liked strangers touching him.

At least it was just a hug. Some people knew no limits, asking for kisses and such as if he was some kind of an actor or a signer. He was a prince, but people seemed to often forget that fact. Especially because Giyuu was young, his features handsome, and doing photo ops.

It wasn’t his idea, it never was, but just like any important figure, the royal family had a team of hard working employees responsible for their public image. Everyone liked Giyuu, he was sure it was based solely on his appearance since he never talked much.

Today was no different. Giyuu’s stylist always made sure Giyuu looked dashing. During every public event, Giyuu’s hair was slicked back and in a ponytail, making his eyes and face features stand out. He wore a dark blue suit, form fitting and tailor-made just for him by some fancy Italian tailor, Giyuu didn’t really know. He wore anything his stylist put into his hands.

And everyone loved it, they couldn’t get enough pictures and selfies. No one minded that he didn’t smile much on those, as long as he was looking pretty. That was all he was to these people. Not a representative of their country, no, he was that only during official meetings with important figures, but here among these people, Giyuu was an attraction.

The shopping mall that had been picked for this occasion was huge. There was no doubt about that. Giyuu had already been taking pictures with people for hours and it still seemed like the crowd was only getting bigger. It was getting hard to breathe.

Naturally, there was a ton of body guards all around him. He wasn’t just anybody and even if the smiling faces of women weren’t much of a threat, there still had to be someone next to him at all times.

There was a pair of elderly women, they seemed to be great friends and didn’t ask for pictures, they only came to tell him he was a nice young man and was making them proud of their country, one of them mentioned her grandson who was a gay as well and she thanked Giyuu for being opened about who he was and making it easier for her grandson. It was for moments like this that in the end of the day, Giyuu didn’t regret going out and showing up at the public events. However, the moment didn’t last long.

Not even five minutes later, a group of four women approached him. Giyuu could already tell this would be an unpleasant experience. They were laughing and pushing each other, and then laughing some more, pretending to be bashful and shy while not really. They wanted a picture, as expected out of a photo op. Giyuu ended up in the middle, squeezed from both sides. He could feel their hands on his back, on his shoulders, one going so low as to land on his bottom… He couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Giyuu tried his best to look into the camera and keep his eyes there so that he wouldn’t ruin the picture for them. Everyone knew he was gay but that didn’t stop them. He knew the touch wasn’t accidental. Giyuu felt repulsed but still faced the camera.

Like all of the moments like this one, the women left after their picture was taken. They always did, but it didn’t make him any less uncomfortable. Giyuu didn’t get a second to catch his breath. Another person was already walking to him, the line behind that person stretching out so far Giyuu couldn’t see the end of it. The man was telling him something but Giyuu couldn’t register the words, he stood still as a picture was taken but he was quiet, the world around him losing focus. The man was gone and another person was there in an instant and all Giyuu could manage was putting his hand up.

Three body guards immediately swarmed around him, blocking the line and asking him what was wrong. One of them was speaking into his earpiece but Giyuu couldn’t make it out. They weren’t stupid though and could see Giyuu was not completely fine, his lack of response just making them worry more. Two of them led him away from the set up photo op and the crowd of people, while the remaining one held the line, making up some kind of excuse for him.

Giyuu walked as the guard kept an arm on his back, making him go in a certain direction, Giyuu didn’t care where as long as it was quiet and away from all those eyes. He needed a place to breathe.

“Sir, please sit here.”

He was pushed toward a bench and did as he was told. When his eyes looked up, there was only one body guard next to him. The other one had gone ahead to check if anyone was there. It was indeed quiet here, a sort of a dead end hall with only a few small shops and an entrance to the parking lot.

Giyuu was finally able to take a deep breath. He was starting to calm down a bit.

“It’s safe, there are only two people inside.” A voice came from behind him, making Giyuu turn around. It was the other body guard and now that he had turned, Giyuu could see there was a café behind him. He hadn’t noticed it at all. It was rather small.

The body guard in front of Giyuu nodded and motioned for him to move. Giyuu understood. One of the guards stayed in front of the entrance while Giyuu went inside and found a seat in the corner.

The waiter came immediately but he seemed rather hesitant, noting the armed body guards around Giyuu, recognizing him in an instant. He stuttered, unsure of how to address Giyuu, but Giyuu dismissed his words, only ordering some water. He couldn’t care less about the waiter’s behaviour right now. He just wanted some quiet.

The water was delivered almost immediately and the waiter left with a quick, clumsy bow. It was rather awkward for both of them. Giyuu took a sip of his water, looking around. The waiter was glancing at him from time to time, which Giyuu tried to ignore. At this point he should have been long used to the stares but somehow he wasn’t. He simply never liked the attention.

It was weird sitting by himself. Every time he appeared somewhere alone, it was like this. He ate his meals alone, also in restaurants or cafés. His body guards were at work, they never sat down next to him to eat with him or to keep him company. Right now, Giyuu was sitting there alone as well, his other body guard standing in front of the bar, between the bar stools and silently observing their surroundings.

There was just one patron in the entire café. A man with white hair which looked wild and unkempt. He was scrolling on his phone, not giving a single damn about Giyuu or his body guards. Giyuu would have found him suspicious. His sturdy built was visible even through the man’s jacket, but if his guards decided he was not a threat to Giyuu then he had no reason to dwell on him. The guy wasn’t even paying him any attention so Giyuu was all good.

Giyuu was playing with the almost empty glass, his finger sliding around the rim, when he heard a noise. It sounded as if a storm started. It could have, the weather was getting colder each day, it was raining almost every other day, Giyuu had no reason to suspect the sound was anything but a heavy storm.

Everything happened so fast.

Giyuu saw his guard’s forehead crease as he held a hand to his earpiece and looked outside. He turned to Giyuu. “Stay here, sir.” And ran out of the café. The noise around intensified, seemingly getting closer. Wasn’t it supposed to be a storm? Giyuu pushed the glass further away from himself.

The white-haired man stood up as well, slowly approaching the glass window separating the café from the hall of the shopping mall. The noise got louder. It wasn’t a storm.

“Get down,” he yelled, throwing himself down. The waiter must have done the same, Giyuu couldn’t see, but he was sure. Giyuu, himself, did as the man said, finding his voice strangely commanding.

“Under the table, get under the table.” The man was next to Giyuu within a second, having crawled there. He put a hand to the back of Giyuu’s neck, pushing him where he wanted him, under the small table. Giyuu hit his shin on the leg of the table, but he didn’t feel the pain at all, in a shock and too pumped with adrenalin to register it.

The noise got louder and it was hard to notice anything else. Giyuu could now tell he had been awfully wrong. There was no storm outside. It was people. A massive crowd had formed, it was most likely the one Giyuu had left behind on the photo op. People were running and screaming, pushing each other and breaking things as they rushed to get out of the shopping mall, rushed to escape. From what, Giyuu didn’t know and that was the scariest thought. What made them run for their lives like that?

He felt warmth over his back and two strong hands pushing him down, making him unable to move, but in the moment, Giyuu couldn’t even think about leaving. Glass shattered and things were broken in front of the café, making Giyuu shiver as the sounds came loud and clear. Clearer than anything he had ever heard.

Countless feet stomping on the ground, people running, the noise didn’t cease. What was behind them? Giyuu couldn’t shake that one thought. It was the only thought he had. Was this where he was going to die? In some small café? Surrounded by strangers?

Giyuu hugged the arm that was around him. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die alone. He was too young. He hadn’t experienced so many things. He couldn’t die here. Not now.

But the noise was gone as quickly as it came. It felt like he had been down there under that table for an hour but it wasn’t more than a few minutes. The hand that he had an iron grip on was pulled away and soon the warmth that had been enveloping him disappeared as well, making him feel more vulnerable than ever.

The shopping mall was like a ghost town. Everything was scattered around, out of order but not a single soul around. Giyuu pushed himself to his knees. Apparently he was taking too long standing up because suddenly the hands were back on him, pulling him up. “There, hide inside the restroom. Now.”

Giyuu had completely forgotten about the restroom that was just next to his table, in the corner. It seemed safer than staying here in the open. Giyuu was pushed inside, the white artificial light hitting his eyes, making him blink immediately.

He turned around before the doors could be closed. “Don’t leave me.” His eyes were wide.

The man did hesitate for a slip second, giving Giyuu a look he couldn’t read, but then it was gone and he rolled his eyes. “Stay inside,” he said before shutting the door in Giyuu’s face.

It all came rushing back to him and Giyuu lost all his strength, his legs giving out as he slid down to the floor. He had always been told that something terrible might happen to him, that there could be an attempt on his life in the future. But hearing it and being in a situation where his life was potentially in danger were two entirely different things. He knew that if something like that happened it wouldn’t be pleasant, but this was so much worse and it wasn’t anything directly aimed at him, not as far as he knew.

His body guards came to retrieve him later. He spent almost half an hour on the bathroom floor but they eventually came to take him. He wasn’t harmed and that was all that mattered to them as they hauled him away. It wasn’t just two of them. Giyuu had counted about dozen armed men around him before he lost his focus. He was led to a big car with tinted windows. Somebody threw a blanket over his shoulders.

They drove off. Giyuu hadn’t seen the white-haired man again.

Chapter Text

Sanemi was on his vacation, more or less. He and his team finished a mission and got some time off. His brother wanted to go on a trip to Dimore, eager to check out the beaches and so. In reality, he just wanted to meet his friend who lived there. This Tanjiro guy. Genya had met him online and was constantly texting the man. Sanemi was pretty certain it was a long-distance relationship, not a friendship, but Genya didn’t seem ready for that conversation yet.

In the end, Sanemi relented, going with Genya and ending up third-wheeling them. Sanemi hadn’t had a chance to exchange much of a conversation with his brother ever since they came to Dimore, but he was sure that Genya and Tanjiro were a thing now.

If anything, the two of them holding hands and showing each other silly stuff in pretty much every store of this insanely big shopping mall, gave it away. At some point, Sanemi could no longer watch the two of them being all lovey-dovey and told them he was going to get himself a cup of some strong coffee somewhere. Genya only nodded his head, not focusing on him in the slightest.

Sanemi found a quiet place and texted the name of the café to Genya, just in case Genya didn’t hear a shit he had said, which was most likely what had happened back then.

He was browsing news articles on his phone, minding his own business, when a man, obviously somebody’s body guard, strolled inside. Sanemi wasn’t about to give the guy much attention but he seemed rather familiar and upon a closer look, Sanemi recognized the body guard, having served with him on several missions. Akiro used to be a marine just like Sanemi before he married and started working in the royal palace.

Sanemi had noticed the crowd in the middle of the shopping mall when he was looking for some quiet corner, but he had no interest in whatever was happening there so he simply walked past it. Seeing Akiro here, Sanemi put two and two together.

Akiro seemed to recognize him as well, sending him a small wave. They hadn’t been exactly friends when they had served together but they could be called acquaintances and so Akiro wasn’t worried that Sanemi would do something to Giyuu, knowing what kind of a man Sanemi was.

Then the one and only was led in by Akiro, proving Sanemi’s theory right. Sanemi may not have been a Dimore citizen, but he knew well enough who the handsome man around his age was. Sanemi wasn’t star-struck or anything like that. In his line of work, he had met many high ranking individuals. He was immune to their titles, knowing that despite that little thing, they were also mere humans. Just like him. Well, only wealthier.

Prince Giyuu didn’t pay him any mind and neither did Sanemi. It was quiet in the café, except for the awkward waiter, and Sanemi returned to his news articles. It would still take a while until Genya and Tanjiro were done with their shopping trip/date, and Sanemi was intent on enjoying his spare time in the relaxed and quiet atmosphere.

It didn’t last long. He could tell something was wrong almost immediately. Before Akiro rushed out, he sent a quick look Sanemi’s way. He didn’t have to say anything, Sanemi understood. ‘Take care of him.’ was the unsaid message Akiro’s eyes conveyed. Sanemi sent him a miniscule nod and then it was just them and the waiter inside.

The crowd came rushing past and Sanemi jumped into action, the part of him that carried out dangerous life-threatening missions took over. He was no longer just Sanemi, a casual civilian or passer-by, not in this moment. Right now, he was Prince Giyuu’s unofficial body guard.

Sanemi did all he had to, to keep the prince hidden, even going as far as shielding him with his own body. Sanemi didn’t have to, it wasn’t his duty. Giyuu wasn’t his prince, he was just one of many out there. Sanemi didn’t even live in Dimore, he didn’t have to go full out, and yet he did. If something happened to the prince on his watch, Sanemi would feel guilty, even if he didn’t particularly like people with big titles before their names.

“Don’t leave me.”

When the prince said it, Sanemi was struck with the raw emotions in his deep blue eyes. He must have been scared, terrified. He probably never experienced anything like this, or at least Sanemi hadn’t heard or read about anyone ever endangering the prince and his life. But to Sanemi, this was nothing out of ordinary, he did this in his job pretty regularly.

He had rolled his eyes. Thinking back, it might not have been the best reaction to the prince’s words, but it was what Sanemi did in the moment. The prince had no idea what was going on, staying holed up in a bathroom with him was counterproductive, even if some company would comfort the prince. His physical safety was the priority in that moment, not his mental state. Professional therapists could focus on that later.

It didn’t take long, just several minutes, before Akiro was running back into the café, going straight for Sanemi. His weapon was drawn and Sanemi could tell from the serious expression on his face that what had happened wasn’t a mere coincidence.

Giyuu’s real body guards took over and Sanemi left the scene quietly. Akiro thanked him and let him go. Sanemi didn’t want any part in this, he was glad for no further involvement and thought of it as a small favour to his old teammate. Besides, now that it was over, he worried about his brother.

There was a shit ton of messages and missed calls on his phone from Genya. He immediately read them over, finding out where Genya was and called him back. They had created a system of messaging in case of an emergency a long time ago. In case they happened to get separated, just like today, they would text each other their location or keep updating it with a certain landmark if they were on the move. This way, Sanemi knew that both Genya and Tanjiro were fine and at Tanjiro’s friend’s house a bit further away from the shopping mall.

Sanemi wasn’t able to hail a cab even though this was a big city. The traffic was almost non-existent as well, except for the police cars and the streets were just as empty as the shopping mall had been. Sanemi had no other choice but to walk on foot to the address Genya had texted him.

Genya and Tanjiro were both fine, having avoided the biggest crowd of crazed people. Tanjiro had wanted to go look for Sanemi but Genya had assured him that if anyone was going to be fine, it was his brother and so they fled just like everyone else. Tanjiro’s friend was then kind enough to drive them to a hotel where they were staying at.

Upon exiting the car, Sanemi returned to his room, deliberately ignoring and not commenting on Tanjiro exiting as well and disappearing in Genya’s room. They were both adults, it wasn’t any of Sanemi’s business. And to be fair, they probably just wanted to spend more time together after such a stressful event. If Sanemi didn’t do what he did, he supposed he too would want somebody to stay with him and hold him and shit like that. Somebody to provide emotional support. He briefly wondered if prince Giyuu had somebody like that waiting home for him. That, too, wasn’t any of his business.

The last few days of their vacation passed by swiftly. Before they knew it, Sanemi and Genya were boarding a flight back to Japan. Genya and Tanjiro wouldn’t stop hugging and Sanemi was pretty sure he would have to forcibly pull them apart so that they wouldn’t miss their flight. However, Tanjiro seemed to have enough sense and said his final goodbye to Genya and then they were off.

Sanemi had pretty much forgotten the prince and what had happened during their vacation. It had been almost two weeks since then and their lives had returned to their usual routine selves. Sanemi and his team hadn’t been assigned a new mission yet so he had plenty of free time on his hands. Naturally, his sleeping schedule ended up being all over the place.

It was nearly midnight and Sanemi was nowhere near ready to go to sleep. He wasn’t tired in the least, having slept till late noon. He would most likely be up for several more hours. However, as the time went, it became more and more boring. The tv he had turned on wasn’t playing anything good and he soon tuned it out, taking his smartphone instead. He opened some news website at random. His sight was immediately bombarded with big titles, announcing breaking news.

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43

On the late hours of Tuesday, Prince Giyuu’s convoy was attacked after he was returning to the royal palace in Liet, Dimore from a charity banquet held in the capital city.

Countless shots were fired on the convoy when they stopped at a red light, witness accounts claim. Out of ten body guards present, miraculously, not a single person was killed. Three of the body guards are in life-threatening conditions and were immediately transported to the nearest hospital. The rest was injured and is also being treated in the same hospital, along with two witnesses, a young couple that was on their way home when witnessing the act.

Prince Giyuu was taken by a group of masked men who fled the scene with him in a black van. Whether the prince was hurt or not remains unknown at this time, just like his whereabouts. The local police are present on the crime scene. The road is temporarily closed because of the ongoing investigation.

There are speculations that today’s attack and Prince Giyuu’s subsequent kidnapping may be connected with the events in the Dias Shopping Mall a few weeks ago where Prince Giyuu had a photo op event. A bomb threat had been reported, several people are said to have heard ticking, and panic erupted. To make matters worse, a single shot was fired. At a later date, the investigation found out the shot was fired by the mall’s own security guard on accident. The bomb threat was also false. No one was seriously hurt. However, it makes one wonder if it was an omen of something worse happening to the prince.

Sanemi’s back straightened out as he bolted in his seat. What the fuck? This was not the kind of news he had expected to find when he had opened his internet browser. It felt almost surreal. Prince Giyuu was no one to him, he never had much of a conversation with him, but there was a sense of dread in his stomach, making his hands turn cold.

He had seen him just a few weeks ago. The prince had been frightened, his blue eyes opened wide… that was how he remembered it. Not a composed prince, not a serious one, not a handsome one with his chin stuck up high, not a cold one either. He remembered him as a young man, scared and lonely, eyes filled with emotions. Sanemi wondered if that was how the prince looked now, scared and alone.

Sanemi found himself refreshing the article over and over. This news website often reported things among the first ones and they updated their articles as the events progressed. Sanemi didn’t pay any attention to the still playing television, all his focus on his phone, as if staring at it hard enough would make it show something different on the small screen.

He was there back then, trying to keep the prince safe and now this? Sanemi didn’t know what kind of news he hoped to find after hitting the refresh button but there was one thing he didn’t want to see and that was that the prince was found dead.

Sanemi didn’t know what went over him. He never liked Prince Giyuu much. Every time the man was on the tv or featured in news articles, he always looked so stoic and cold, as if he thought he was something more just because he was born in the right family. Sanemi hated people like that. And yet, that look the prince had given him as he had said that one sentence to him in the brightly lit bathroom… Sanemi refreshed the page again.

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43 – updated Wednesday, 01:19

The black van that appeared on the crime scene was found abandoned in the north of the city near the industrial area. The police are already there, along with secret services that joined the investigation soon after 1 am and are currently aiding with the search for Prince Giyuu. Inside the van, blood was found and is being processed as potential evidence. The police hope to find DNA samples in the van as the plate number yielded no results, the plate having been from a stolen car.

No one in the royal palace nor the police station received any ransom calls. Prince Giyuu’s condition remains unknown. There are no suspects as of yet. All the exit roads from the city have been blocked and are being controlled by the police. It is assumed that Prince Giyuu is held somewhere in the capital city. The police are currently examining the van and all the available CCTV footage.

So nothing, the police had nothing. Even if they found a good enough sample to get a DNA out of it, an actual name, it wouldn’t be fast enough. Things like that weren’t as quick as some would believe, though Sanemi was sure they were doing their best since it wasn’t just some commoner’s life on the line. There must have been an immense pressure on those working this case.

Sanemi wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to be involved in everything or wanted to know about everyone, but deep down, he wished he could do something for the prince. It was an irrational thought. There was nothing he could do for him and yet the thought was still there, in the back of his mind. He once protected the prince, how would someone dare try to harm him when Sanemi wasn’t there to protect him again?

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43 – updated Wednesday, 03:02

The blood found in the van has been confirmed to belong to Prince Giyuu. We can now suspect that the prince has been injured somehow, either while being taken or afterwards.

No ransom calls have been made. The royal palace is expected to issue an official statement soon.

At present, there are no new leads nor suspects.

Sanemi feared the blood would be the prince’s and he was right to worry. This meant that the time was running out. If the prince was seriously hurt, then the consequences of the search not speeding up would be dire.

He gripped the phone in his hand almost painfully. He wouldn’t be able to get any sleep tonight.

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43 – updated Wednesday, 05:54

A new witness came forward. They are currently being questioned at the police station. The police issued a short statement just after 5 am this morning, saying that the witness wished to remain anonymous to the public and is not considered a suspect. They are the biggest lead as of now.

The royal palace announced a short press conference that will take place today at 06:30. So far, the royal family has appealed to the public to aid the investigation however they can and to come forward if they saw anything, however irrelevant it may seem. They expressed they wish for nothing more than for Prince Giyuu to return home safely.

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43 – updated Wednesday, 06:45

The police still haven’t located Prince Giyuu, but they cut the searching area based on the anonymous witness’s testimony. The search had moved to the northwest part of the city. Police dogs are being used now.

The king himself delivered a heart-wrenching speech, hoping the people holding his nephew, Prince Giyuu, hostage would let him go after hearing it. It is still unknown why the prince had been taken in the first place since no ransom calls have been made and no criminal organization took responsibility for this act of kidnapping. There has been no contact between the royal family and the kidnappers.

Sanemi supposed that was good news. They had narrowed the search in such a huge city. It was a good news, but Sanemi was still uneasy. It wasn’t good enough, not to him. Well, he was sure other people were taking this much worse than him, but still. Sanemi wanted to hear something about the prince directly. He wanted to know if the prince was alive or not.

Despite himself, Sanemi had fallen asleep. It was already starting to get dark outside when he came to again. He cursed, making a dash for his phone that now lay on the ground by his feet. It must have slipped out of his grasp when he fell asleep.

His battery was dead and Sanemi almost threw the phone to the ground again. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself down and went to plug the charger in. It took a few minutes before it turned on again and he could refresh the site, his stomach grumbling, since he hadn’t eaten in a while, as he stood in the corner of his room.

He scrolled to the most recent update.

DIMORE PRINCE KIDNAPPED
Tuesday, 23:43 – updated Wednesday, 17:37

The royal family got its happy ending as Prince Giyuu has returned to them. On Wednesday, early evening, Prince Giyuu was found wandering the northwest streets of the capital city. It was one of the local police officers that found him.

The prince was immediately transferred to a hospital. He was drugged and has several ribs broken, as well as numerous cuts on his body and defensive wounds on his hands, but otherwise he has not been seriously injured.

New witnesses came forward after Prince Giyuu was found, claiming his clothes were all bloody, which corresponds with the latest police statement. Prince Giyuu, after his health condition was deemed stable and not life-threatening, was questioned by the police.

According to the statement, Prince Giyuu used his self-defence training to get out of there, overpowering his kidnappers, but the drug in his system made him unable to get himself to safety sooner. The statement did not provide details of the kidnapping, rather informing the public about Prince Giyuu’s condition.

He is currently under a watchful eye of the police in a private hospital ward. The kidnappers have been all arrested and treated at a different hospital. The police are currently in the process of interrogating them.

So he was safe. Sanemi put the phone down on the small table by the charger and went to sit down on his bed. This was a surprisingly emotional ride. He hadn’t felt this worried in a long time. There must have been something wrong with him. Sanemi put his hands over his eyes, brushing with a force, making him see stars as he put his hands away. This wasn’t like him. At all.

He hadn’t had a mission for too long. He didn’t sleep the previous night much. That must have been it. There was no real reason for him to get this worried about somebody he never even properly interacted with. He just got swept in the drama. His life became boring without any mission. Yeah, that sounded reasonable.

Sanemi felt like the biggest fool.

However, none of that stopped him from picking his phone up again and searching through different news sites. There were all kinds of articles about what happened and Sanemi noticed a common theme. People gushing about the prince, singing praises about his abilities and how he was able to fight his way out.

Sanemi’s stomach twisted and he couldn’t keep reading. He felt sick. That man had been through hell in the past few weeks, if Sanemi counted that thing in the shopping mall, and all that people wanted to talk about were the man’s fighting skills. Of course, getting himself out of there was commendable, Sanemi too was astonished at the fact, but somehow, that was all that they cared about. What about the trauma the prince had went through? No one seemed to talk about that.

There was also this feeling deep down in his gut. Sanemi knew something big was going to happen in his life. The next day, Sanemi got a call from his captain.

Chapter Text

Sanemi adjusted the collar of his uniform. It wasn’t the one he usually wore to combat and during missions but it was the one he had to wear during formal meetings where he was met with higher ranked officers. Right now, Sanemi was heading to such a meeting, his formal attire at ready.

Captain Ubuyashiki had called him on the day that Prince Giyuu had been found, informing him of a new mission. Sanemi didn’t know if it was a mere coincidence, but since the captain hadn’t told him the details yet, he didn’t bother to think much about it. It would have been a waste of time. He was going to learn soon enough.

Soon enough being in a few minutes. Sanemi was currently in front of his captain’s office, waiting for the secretary to call him in. He found it rather odd that he was the only one from his team present and called in for a briefing but, and Sanemi lived by this, there was no reason to worry about that, he would find out why once he was with his captain.

“Sanemi, please sit,” Captain Ubuyashiki told him as soon as Sanemi got inside and saluted him, as was proper for a greeting within their ranks.

Sanemi did as he was told, sitting down but not relaxing just yet, he could have but he didn’t want to. The captain wouldn’t mind. He was always kind of lenient, not one for strict rules and hierarchy, treating his soldiers with humanity and it only made everyone respect him so much more.

“I’m sure you are wondering why I called in only you.” Sanemi nodded. It was exactly what he had been thinking before coming here. “The reason is that the new mission is of a bit unusual nature, at least for a marine like yourself. It’s not one requiring an entire team, only one soldier is necessary.”

Sanemi’s posture turned stiffer. Not a normal mission? He was curios, to say the least, but he didn’t interrupt Captain Ubuyashiki, letting him explain further in case he was going to say something that Sanemi wanted to ask, technically answering him.

“Before getting into further detail, let me ask you something. Have you heard about the kidnapping case in Dimore two days ago?”

“Yes.” He didn’t have to say it was about Prince Giyuu. There was no other kidnapping case two days ago that got such an international news coverage quite like this one. Suddenly, Sanemi felt like his previous gut feeling was turning to reality.

“How much do you already know?”

“I followed the case pretty much from the beginning. I know the prince was kidnapped and managed to get out and a police officer found him, ending the case. The details I read about- well, I don’t know how much of it is actually true. News can be a tricky thing,” Sanemi spoke without hesitation. He held his captain in high regard. It didn’t even occur to him to conceal his words or things he did in front of him. And certainly not when asked directly.

The captain nodded his head. “Tricky indeed, however, in this case, most of the information let out into public was true, but of course, since the case was of such a delicate nature, a lot of facts were kept away from public.”

Sanemi wanted to keep listening but the nagging thought wouldn’t leave his mind and so, despite knowing better, Sanemi voiced it. “Sir, may I ask, how is all this related to the mission?”

There was a small smile playing in the corner of the captain’s mouth. For all the patience Sanemi tried hard to display, he wasn’t exactly a patient man and everyone knew it about him. In a way, Ubuyashiki thought it was by his own doing that he was interrupted. It was always better to get straight to the point with Sanemi. “Right, I suppose I haven’t revealed the mission yet.”

The smile disappeared and his face grew serious, indicating to Sanemi that he was finally getting to the important part, or well, the most important part. “What I’m about to tell you is highly confidential and cannot leave this room. You cannot reveal this information to anyone else.”

“I understand, sir.”

“Good. As you may already know, two attempts on Prince Giyuu’s life have been made. The first one in the Dias Shopping Mall, I believe you were present at the time as well, and two days ago. Prince Giyuu is still in danger and so the king of Dimore himself has confidentially requested the help of our government in getting Prince Giyuu out of their country and here. Somebody needs to be around the prince at all times even here, at least for the time being. The king has learned about your involvement in protecting the prince and personally asked for you to take on this role.”

Sanemi knew he would regret helping out Akiro. It was all coming back to haunt him now, getting him into missions he might not be eager to carry out. At the same time, Sanemi knew a mission form Captain Ubuyashiki and the king of Dimore was not something he could refuse.

Despite himself, Sanemi squirmed in his seat, his eyes moving downwards as he pondered this. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m not getting it.” He looked up, confusion clear on his face. “If the prince’s life is in danger, isn’t it best to keep him in the royal palace? It should be the safest place for him.”

“Yes, under ideal circumstances it would be, but that’s where the problem lies, and why the premise of this mission is so confidential. It has not been revealed to the public yet, although there are already some theories floating around the web, but Dimore is going to get even wealthier. They found new supply of precious stones in the northern mountains.”

“But what does that have to do with the safety of the palace?” Sanemi interrupted him.

Seeing his growing impatience as he was unable to understand, Ubuyashiki relented, going for the most vital and also most confidential piece of information. “The king suspects there is someone inside the palace that is responsible for the attempts at Prince Giyuu’s life.”

“What? Right there? In the palace?”

Ubuyashiki nodded solemnly. He, too, was shocked to hear such a thing. To have somebody who was trying to kill you among those you trusted the most… it was indeed shocking and rather sad. “It’s the reason for the confidentiality. Right now only seven people know. The prince, the king, one of the prince’s bodyguards, Akiro, I think you are acquainted already, me, two government officials and now you.”

Sanemi finally understood. If the prince stayed in the palace, the person trying to kill him would know his schedule, where he was at all times… there would be too many perfect opportunities for a murder. “So what exactly is the mission?” Sanemi realized the importance of the mission. There was no going back now.

“It’s almost like a witness protection program. The prince will be relocated to a certain location and given a new name for the time being. As for the location, I don’t have the details yet, everything is being processed with the utmost care and secrecy, but it will be here in Japan. Everyone deemed it wise to keep the prince away from Dimore for a while.”

“Yeah, that sounds like the best course of action in this case.”

“Indeed. However, this is where the mission gets unusual. The prince can’t be left without any protection and so it is best that he gets a personal body guard. The one he already has, Akiro, was briefly considered, but he is known in the palace and has a family. His sudden disappearance would be too obvious. And so since he was unable to do so, Akiro suggested you and a plan was devised with you in mind.”

This was finally it, Sanemi was waiting, on the edge of his seat and holding his breath.

“You can solve problems and manage dangerous situations without hesitation, you have all the necessary skills to provide the prince the protection may anything or anyone endanger your life.”

Sanemi squinted at him. “But- don’t get me wrong. But you just described almost every soldier.”

Ubuyashiki let out a small laugh. “I suppose I did, but it’s more than that. You have already met the prince. You don’t have a spouse or children. Although you have met the prince, the public doesn’t know about you, and neither does anyone in the royal palace except for the king, the prince and Akiro.”

“I understand, tell me more about the mission itself, sir.”

“I was just getting to that. It’s of a bit sensitive nature, however, not something we could ask of a soldier if it was under usual circumstances. But these are not the usual circumstances and not a random person that needs protection.”

“I can take it, sir, tell me.”

Ubuyashiki watched him and Sanemi could tell there was a bit of hesitation flashing in his eyes. What could be so odd about this mission? In any case, it was just a mission, nothing more.

“You could also say it’s an undercover mission and for the cover to be perfect and for no one to suspect you, you will be given identities of a wedded couple. No one will find it suspicious if two people are always together if they are married. And based on your and the prince’s sexuality… let’s say we considered all the factors.”

“Oh,” Sanemi said. “Oh.” He never hid the fact that he wasn’t straight. Neither was the prince, which was something everyone knew, even Sanemi. What captain Ubuyashiki was trying to say was that Sanemi was the least likely to be disgusted with pretending to be in a gay relationship since he just so happened to be gay.

After Sanemi got over the initial shock, he put on his serious face. This was just a mission anyway. He only needed to pretend to be a couple with the prince in public. He could handle some hand holding or an occasional hug. It wouldn’t be that hard.

Sanemi was about to ask about the start of the mission but then it occurred to him. “Is the prince okay with this sort of cover?”

“He was… reluctant at first. But he is willing to do anything if it means he will be safe.”

“I see,” Sanemi nodded along, pondering this piece of information. So the prince wasn’t really okay with it and was doing it only for his own safety, simply because there was no other, more fool-proof way. Well, it didn’t matter. That was up to Prince Giyuu to deal with, Sanemi would deal with the protecting. It wasn’t like he was planning on doing something to the guy.

“You said you followed the kidnapping in the news, you must have seen the articles that were written after the prince was found, is that right?”

“Yes.” Sanemi immediately recalled those articles and his face twisted almost in an instant. He really, really hadn’t liked those.

“While they weren’t lies, per se, a lot of the truth was deliberately omitted. But that is because of the police statement that was issued. The police were asked to lighten the prince’s condition in order to appease the public about his well-being.”

Sanemi couldn’t help but remember that one part in an article that mentioned some witness account, claiming that the prince was covered in blood upon his discovery. “How so?”

Ubuyashiki shrugged. “The king thought it would be better that way, but I want you to be prepared. You will be meeting the prince again the day after tomorrow, early morning and you will be then briefed on your new identities and transferred to the safe location.”

“What exactly should I be prepared for?”

There was a bit of silence as the captain thought of the right words. “The prince isn’t really talkative from what I have heard, but he is even more closed off at this point. I know you, Sanemi, don’t get angered if he doesn’t answer you much, he had been through a difficult situation.” Ubuyashiki made it a rule to know all of his soldiers. Sanemi had been serving under his command for a long time. Plenty to get to know his personality, and temper.

“This is a mission, sir, I will do my best.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less of you. Also, be prepared for bandages, a lot of bandages.”

After the captain was done telling him all the necessary information he could reveal to him at the present, Sanemi was free to leave. There were a lot of things he had to do if he was about to leave in barely two days. First of all, he had to tell Genya. It wasn’t the first time Sanemi was going away for a longer time because of a mission so Genya had no trouble accepting this. He didn’t ask Sanemi for details, knowing better. Sanemi also warned him that they may not be able to get in contact while he was away but Genya didn’t worry about that either. His brother had been on countless missions and he always came back. Not always unscathed, but always alive and that was what really mattered.

Sanemi was having a splendid morning. He had to wake up at an ungodly hour and then catch a quick plane to Dimore. He couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed since he knew that sooner rather than later, they would have to fly back to Japan. So what if the flight took just an hour, give or take, it was about the point. He bet it was because he wasn’t the prince, just a soldier. And a soldier could run around from plane to plane, one more uncomfortable than the other, while the prince was, undoubtedly, still contently lying in his bed.

It was safe to say that Sanemi was already a bit grumpy when he got off the plane and found Akiro waiting there for him. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to search for a cab. Sanemi took a deep breath to calm himself before approaching Akiro, who hadn’t spotted him yet. Sanemi had flown in far worse planes, he was overreacting.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Akiro said instead of a greeting when Sanemi finally got to him. “But you have to understand, there was no other way. We have to act quickly and-”

“Chill, dude, I get it.” Sanemi put a hand on his shoulder, patting it a few times before dropping it and letting Akiro lead him to a car.

“I wanted to do it but-”

“I know.” Sanemi wouldn’t let him make excuses. He could tell Akiro felt guilty for putting the responsibility on Sanemi’s shoulders but Sanemi didn’t blame him. Akiro just wanted what was best for the prince. In a way, he could understand that, he had a younger brother after all.

“The prince- he isn’t too bad.” Akiro changed the subject. They were almost at the car.

“I heard he is quiet.”

“He is. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more introverted person.”

Sanemi let this information go through his mind. Prince Giyuu was often surrounded by people at various events and interviews and whatnot. If he really was as introverted as Akiro claimed, his life must have been a living hell. Maybe having all the riches and being born into a royal family wasn’t the greatest win. Not if it meant the prince had to constantly be something he wasn’t.

Akiro continued. “Just give him some time.”

“Akiro,” Sanemi stopped in his tracks and turned to him. “You can stop now. I don’t care about the prince’s personality or whatever, this is just a mission to me. I will keep him safe if that’s what you’re worried about but I’m not here to play at his friend.”

No, Akiro thought, he was there to play at his husband. However, Akiro didn’t voice his thoughts and simply nodded. They arrived at the car and got in silently, Sanemi putting his luggage to the back. They set off.

Sanemi was rather surprised to find out that they were approaching a hospital. And then the next second he felt stupid for being surprised in the first place. Of course the prince would still be in the hospital. He had been kidnapped just a few days ago and captain Ubuyashiki had told him that though his condition wasn’t severe, it wasn’t exactly light either.

They were quiet as they rode in the elevator, Sanemi had left his bag in the car. Akiro had informed him that a government official was coming later to brief them on everything. Sanemi and the guy should have come around the same time but it turned out that the other guy’s flight had a delay. So it would be just the three of them. Sanemi hoped it wouldn’t be as awkward as he expected it to be.

Before he knew it, they were in the private vip wing of the hospital and it was safe to say that Sanemi was amazed at the sheer amount of space there was. It was bigger than Sanemi’s entire apartment. Why the fuck would the prince need so much space was beyond him, the dude was supposed to be in a bed most of the time anyway.

The nurse recognized Akiro and let them in. Akiro told her to stay where she was since he already knew the way so she didn’t have to bother. Akiro walked in front of him through the halls. It looked like a luxury hotel.

The inside of the room where the prince was staying at was massive just like the entire wing. It didn’t look like a hospital room at all, rather like an apartment. A very spacious and expensive apartment. The first thing Sanemi noticed were the huge windows and the magnificent view. He couldn’t see the entire room because Akiro was standing right in front of him.

Akiro moved away and Sanemi could finally see the huge bed, but the prince wasn’t there. It took him a second to locate the man in the vast room. He looked so small on the couch on the other side of the room, a ton of pillows almost engulfing him and-

“Holy shit, the captain wasn’t kidding,” Sanemi said, his brain to mouth filter giving out temporarily. That probably wasn’t the best thing to say to the prince right after he had arrived. Sanemi’s cheeks turned red despite his best efforts.

It wasn’t that he wanted to be rude or anything, but the prince was in a much worse condition than the media and the captain made it sound. Ubuyashiki tried to warn him so that he would be prepared for the sight, but as it seemed, Sanemi wasn’t.

Sanemi gave him a quick once over, checking all the injuries and stashing the information into the imaginary folders in his mind. He would be living with the prince soon enough. He needed to know what state he was in and from what Sanemi could see, it wouldn’t be exactly easy in the beginning. At least not easy until the prince somewhat recovered.

His eyes scanned from the bottom. The prince’s leg was elevated in front of him, his ankle in a bandage. Having him not able to move much would prove rather problematic. His knees had scrapes on them and there was a bandaged gash on his left thigh. Prince Giyuu was wearing just underwear and a matching robe. The thing looked thin and like it was made of silk or velvet. Sanemi wouldn’t know which even if he was the one wearing it.

The prince had the robe opened, unintentionally showing off his bandaged torso. Sanemi had already heard that the prince had broken ribs but the amount of bruising was real something. Dark blue hues were peeking out from under the white of the bandage. So inability to move and hard to breathe.

There were fingerprint-like bruises on the prince’s neck and small cuts all over his face and arms, his lip busted and a bruise adorning his cheek. His hands were bandaged heavily as well. Especially his knuckles and fingers and Sanemi could see the blood under his nails. The prince must have fought tooth and nail to get out of there.

A certain sense of admiration washed over him. From that café, Sanemi thought the prince would be the kind of person who wouldn’t be able to take care of themselves but he was proven wrong. If the situation required it, the prince wouldn’t stand still and await his demise. Maybe they would get along after all.

Chapter Text

Giyuu hated attention of hundreds on him, and he hated the attention of a single person just as well, and this person was making it awfully hard for Giyuu not to blush. The way he roamed Giyuu’s entire body, not even hiding his eyes’ movements… Giyuu was painfully reminded of his rather modest state of clothes and pulled the robe together, hiding his thighs and torso. The stranger had already seen enough but Giyuu wanted to preserve some of his dignity.

He turned his head away from the person and Akiro, feeling embarrassed for being seen in such condition. Even his hair was only loosely tied at the back of his head, some strands still framing his face. He looked nothing like he did during public appearances and there was a stranger seeing him like this. Only people he trusted saw him like this, without the stylish suits or fancy hairstyles.

Sanemi Shinazugawa was a stranger to him. Giyuu refused to think anything else. After all, they had only met once and their interaction had been rather poor, leaving a bad impression on Giyuu.

Sanemi was really manly and strong, and so much Giyuu’s type that it pained him to know what kind of personality was hiding behind all those muscles and attractive face. Frankly, Giyuu was still bitter about the way Sanemi had rolled his eyes at him and just left him there in that bathroom. It was the kind of moment when it was the worst thing to be left alone and Giyuu didn’t have to be, not if Sanemi had stayed with him. However, he hadn’t.

Therefore, Sanemi was a stranger. A stranger who had helped him once, but still just a stranger. Giyuu had nothing to say to this man.

“Hey, don’t act all high and mighty just-”

Giyuu didn’t bother turning around to face him and defend himself. He could do whatever he wanted to and right now, he didn’t feel like playing pretend friends with a guy like Sanemi. He would have to endure it later, right now he didn’t have to and so he wouldn’t. He had had enough pretending in his life and he would use every single spare minute of not having to pretend to be friendly.

He heard who he assumed to be Sanemi, strolling his way, but that was still no cause for giving him his attention. Akiro was there and he wouldn’t let anyone get close to Giyuu, especially not with a bad intent.

“Sanemi, remember why you’re here,” Akiro said, breaking the tense atmosphere. His words seemed to do the trick as the sounds of steps ceased immediately.

“I fucking remember,” Sanemi shrugged of Akiro’s hand that was on his shoulder, holding him in place, “doesn’t mean I’m gonna let anyone treat me like dirt.”

“Nobody is doing that.” Akiro was trying to ease the tension. One didn’t even have to be around Sanemi for long to get to know his temper. Akiro wasn’t that close to him but knew of it and to be honest, dreaded it. He was the one who recommended Sanemi for the job, but that didn’t mean Akiro was hundred percent sure this would all work out. It would work if they both stopped acting like children and were a little civil with each other.

“Oh, I don’t know, I’m not exactly getting the friendly vibes.”

“Be quiet for a second.” Giyuu scrunched his eyes up, his voice coming out barely audible and a bit hoarse.

“Let’s make something clear, I’m helping you, not the other way round. I’m not one of your subjects that you can order around.” Later, in retrospect, Sanemi would realize how he was going against every single rule he had ever made in his life. He wasn’t treating this like a mission at all, his temper getting hold of him, consuming his mind and making him spit out the first thing that he thought of. Thank God his captain wasn’t there to witness it. Sanemi was nowhere near being professional and performing his duty as he should have been.

“I know,” Giyuu’s head snapped to Sanemi, their eyes meeting. There was a hint of annoyance as Giyuu spoke. He was well aware of the fact but that didn’t mean Giyuu would stay quiet and not voice his opinion. “But I was drugged two days ago, my head feels like it’s splitting open with all your shouting so, can you, please, be quiet? This is a hospital.”

Now it was Sanemi’s turn to be embarrassed. “Well, you could just say that in the first place, couldn’t you?” Sanemi’s sweet tone was awfully fake. “How am I supposed to know, I’m not your doctor.”

Sanemi strode toward him, Giyuu carefully watching his movements. Akiro did nothing to stop him this time, judging the situation to be more at ease now. Sanemi seemed to have cooled off and despite his temper, he was still a soldier and wouldn’t do anything to hurt the prince, especially seeing how banged up he already was.

“What are you doing?” Giyuu asked Sanemi as the man came closer and sat down on the couch next to him. They weren’t touching or anything, and there were several pillows in between them but it was still too close for Giyuu’s comfort. He liked his personal space. If it weren’t for his injuries, he would move further away.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m waiting here. Or would Your Majesty prefer if I kept on standing?”

“…not Your Majesty,” Giyuu muttered under his nose.

“Speak up.” Sanemi glared at him, his voice again getting that commanding aura and Giyuu felt something in himself stir, unable to just ignore it. Sanemi would have made a far better royal in this aspect.

“Don’t call me Your Majesty, I’m not a king yet.” Although it might have sounded conceited to someone to hear him add the yet part, it was true and Giyuu said it more as a fact than boasting. He wasn’t particularly happy that he would have to be a king one day.

“Excuse my lack of knowledge.” Sanemi mocked a little bow in Giyuu’s direction. He didn’t sound a least bit bothered by his mishap. Neither was Giyuu. He didn’t care if people forgot to formally address him from time to time, but he disliked being called His Majesty if it implied he was already a king. Hearing it reminded him of the inevitable future. The one he was scared of.

Giyuu didn’t answer and a tense silence enveloped the three of them. Akiro was standing farther away from them. He was still the prince’s body guard. He couldn’t afford to behave so disrespectfully toward him. If Sanemi wanted to do that and risk whatever he was risking by it, so be it. That wasn’t on Akiro. He had tried his best.

Giyuu found it rather surprising that Sanemi was holding his own in being quiet. To Giyuu, some silence was nothing hard, he even preferred it, but he didn’t expect Sanemi to just shut up. What he didn’t know, however, was that Sanemi was used to quiet from his missions. Sometimes being as silent as you could, could mean a difference between life and death. He was no stranger to quiet, but in his free time, when he wasn’t working, Sanemi didn’t bother with quiet, he was as loud as he wanted. This setting was nothing like what he was used to during his missions, making it easy for Sanemi to forget himself and the real reason why he was there, allowing him to lash out without a second thought.

Before Akiro could fully die inside, there was a knock on the door. He was the one who went to open the door, eternally grateful for the distraction. An older man stood there, along with the nurse who led him to the room and then swiftly excused herself. Akiro recognized the man as the government official responsible for the new identities, safe house and everything in between.

From his spot on the couch, Giyuu could see the man talking to Akiro. He hadn’t met him yet but he knew there would be a briefing taking place so he put two and two together. Another stranger was about to see him in his awfully unkempt state, Giyuu cringed. He immediately started looking around himself for something to at least cover his legs a bit, feeling rather self-conscious at the moment.

He spotted a nearest thing, a blanket, but it was on his bed. There was no way he would be able to hop there, get the thing, hop somehow back and pull it over him after he elevated his leg again, and all that done before the official came further into the room and spotter him.

Giyuu’s head moved around in panic. He hated this. He hated all of this so much, but there was nothing he could do right now. He would have to swallow his pride and anxiety and pretend everything was fine. He had to do that all the time and he would have to keep doing it for the rest of his life. So what was just one more moment?

His head was downcast and he gripped the sides of his robe, pulling it as close together as he could. He wanted to cross his hands over his chest, protecting himself, but he could only manage to put his hands over each other weakly before his ribs were screaming in pain. Giyuu clenched the thin fabric of the robe in his fists.

In his frantic state of mind, Giyuu hadn’t noticed the lack of weight on the other side of the couch, neither did he notice the shadow that loomed over his head within few seconds of the lack of that weight.

Giyuu finally became aware of his surroundings when the blanket he had been eyeing earlier was thrown over his legs. His head shot up, only for his gaze to fall right on Sanemi. He must have noticed Giyuu’s discomfort and acted right away. Giyuu was at a loss for words. “Thank you,” he said in a small voice.

A strange emotion flashed in Sanemi’s eyes but it was gone before Giyuu could properly analyse it. He was staring at Giyuu silently, but then, he turned away and went to sit back where he had been sitting before. “If you need help, just freaking ask for it. Nothing wrong with that.” He didn’t meet Giyuu’s eyes.

And then Akiro was back, the official trailing in right behind him, bowing his head and using Giyuu’s full title, making him even more aware of his current state. Giyuu subconsciously pulled the blanket higher, up to his chin.

He introduced himself as Ayenora and then he and Akiro pulled up some chairs for themselves, sitting in front of Giyuu and Sanemi, a table separating them. Ayenora then put a stack of officially looking files onto the table, making Giyuu squirm in his seat as he felt a wave of heat wash over his face, painfully aware that his leg was still on the table. It was rather embarrassing on his part, especially seeing that Ayenora had to be careful not to hit his leg and was being overly considerate when he opened the files and deliberately put them some distance away from his leg.

“I am certain both of you were told the basic information about your covers, if not, I shall say it again. You will be relocated together to a house in Japan and pose as a married couple. That much you should already know.”

Both Giyuu and Sanemi nodded, though it took Giyuu a bit more time since he had hesitated. He wasn’t exactly ecstatic with the premise of their cover, for obvious reasons. However, there was something he had noticed. Giyuu shot a quick glance Sanemi’s way. Sanemi was perfectly still and quiet. His expression was serious and collected. He may not like Giyuu much, which was mutual, thank you very much, but he was taking this mission in stride. He really was a proper soldier. Knowing that, Giyuu felt a bit better.

Ayenora nodded as well, satisfied with their cooperation. He pulled out some kind of a form from a file in front of him. Giyuu couldn’t make out what it said from his position.

“Your new identities are Gouha Fumiaki for you, Prince Giyuu. We kept the first letter of your name so that you will have easier time adjusting to it. And Sanemi Fumiaki. There is no reason why your given name would need to be changed.” He put the paper down and pushed the thickest file toward them. “In here you will find your IDs and all the necessary paper work. There are also your backstories and information relating to your supposed relatives and whatnot. Please, study them carefully. Knowing your fake background is vital for your cover. You also need to know each other’s. I advise you to memorize both before you are relocated.”

They both nodded again.

“We also had to come up with a plausible explanation for your move and injuries. You will find all this in that file, but let me tell you. You have been married for nearly a year, but you have been saving up for a house so that is why you are moving only now. As for the injuries, you were loading all your belongings into a moving truck but you accidentally stepped on a leftover box and twisted your ankle. In an attempt to balance yourself you grabbed the boxes but because of their instability, it caused the whole thing to collapse, trapping you underneath the many belongings, some of them breaking and causing you the cuts. Your ribs were hurt because of the heavy books and your hands because you tried to pull them off of yourself before help arrived.”

Giyuu found himself nodding along. It was actually a pretty clever cover-up story. They really thought of every single one of his visible injuries and made up a plausible story. A one that would also explain why his injuries were still so fresh.

“You will be both given a new phone along with a new phone number. However, you are not allowed to contact anyone besides myself, since I will be your liaison. Everything you want to say to your families will have to go through me and I will give forward the message. This measure is for safety reasons, I am sure you understand. Your location cannot be leaked by any means. The phones are more for you two, so that you can get in touch if anything were to happen.”

He pulled another paper from the file. “This is the house you will be staying at.” He put the paper back on the table, but this time it was facing Giyuu and Sanemi. “It’s in a small, remote town in a rather quiet and safe neighbourhood. Another word of advice, try to stay inside the house as much as you can. There is always a risk of people recognizing you, Prince Giyuu. Don’t risk it if you don’t have to. Also if you need to leave the house, always do so together. Prince Giyuu cannot be left alone even in the safety of the house. You should always be within sight of each other for maximum security.”

This time it was Sanemi who was nodding along. He was already thinking everything through. He was already analyzing the picture of the house as he was listening to Ayenora’s talk. Counting the number of windows, their length. The position of the door and the gate and the height of the fence, everything that could have a role in protecting or endangering the prince’s life.

“Last week, under the pretense of a gas company checking the house, we had planted several cameras near every entrance to the house, you will have the access to the footage through the computer in the office on the first floor. All the security codes are in the file. We had also hidden several guns around the house, their exact places are also marked on the blueprint in the file.”

Ayenora continued, there were still several things he had to brief them on. “As for your work, Prince Giyuu’s is currently not working because of the move and the injury that will take some time to heal and then you work from your home office, for an economic company and you deal with finances for your clients. Your work makes enough, that’s why Prince Giyuu is no rush to look for a job.”

It was a good excuse for not having to leave the house for several hours each day, both Giyuu and Sanemi thought.

“You are expected to send a message to me every day so that we know everything is working out fine and Prince Giyuu is safe, if you fail to contact me before midnight, I will immediately attempt to contact you. If there is any valid reason why you cannot contact me in time, for example because of unforeseen circumstances that might endanger your cover, then you have to inform me beforehand about it happening. If there is no warning and you fail to contact me within an hour of me calling you, then we will have to assume your cover has been compromised and we will act accordingly. Keep your contact with neighbours at minimum. Any questions?”

“I have one, sir,” Sanemi spoke up. To be honest, Giyuu was kind of shocked to see him quietly listening and cooperating to the fullest and talking with an air of respect. It was as if Sanemi had become a totally different person.

“Ask.”

“What about the injuries? There is a cover-up story yes, but what about a doctor and medication?”

Giyuu’s jaw nearly dropped. Not even he had thought of that and there Sanemi was, thinking about him and his injuries even if he was ready to fight him just a while ago. Maybe Giyuu had misjudged his character a bit. Maybe Sanemi was a bit rough around the edges but also more than that. Or maybe Giyuu was overthinking it and Sanemi was only asking because it was a part of his mission.

He felt stupid for thinking that Sanemi would ask because he cared about him. Of course he didn’t. Giyuu was a literal nobody to him. It was just a mission to Sanemi and Giyuu would have to remember that. Just a mission.

“There are Prince Giyuu’s hospital records in the file, of course, heavily altered, but everything important is in there. There is also a name of a local doctor and an address. You will have to make an appointment with the doctor as soon as you get there so that Prince Giyuu can have his weekly check-ups there. Other than that, there is also everything you need to know about how to treat the injuries and what to do and not to do so that everything heals alright.”

Sanemi nodded, already pondering over the answer. He had filed away all of the prince’s injuries. If the prince was to stay in the house, it would be up to Sanemi to change his bandages and assist him in any way he needed. Sanemi didn’t find the idea too pleasant but it wasn’t anything hard to do. He would do it without any reluctance. It was also a part of keeping the prince safe, he supposed.

Giyuu, on the other hand, wasn’t as calm upon getting to know this. He couldn’t even walk properly, bent down or raise his arms much. He would need a lot of help with carrying things and getting things. He wouldn’t be able to even shower by himself. Even here, a nurse had to help him with everything. But Sanemi wasn’t a nurse and he wasn’t used to helping naked patients take showers every day. Giyuu couldn’t help the crimson hue on his cheeks.

However, there was nothing he could do about it. This was how his life was going to look like for next few weeks or months. They didn’t even know for how long. It all depended on his uncle and how fast he could investigate within the walls of the royal palace.

That was everything they needed to be briefed on, things they would need were already prepared for them, along with everything else in the thick file. When Ayenora left with Akiro, both Sanemi and Giyuu started going through everything in the file. Since Giyuu couldn’t move around much, it was up to Sanemi to hand him everything from the file he might need to read on.

His made-up backstory wasn’t hard to memorize. It was pretty generic and not too detailed. There wasn’t anything big in it, no tragedies, no childhood traumas, no huge success, nothing like that. It was perfectly normal. A kind of life Giyuu might have had if he wasn’t born into the royal family.

They swapped the backstories once they were done reading their own ones and Giyuu quickly found out that Sanemi’s was rather similar. Another ordinary life. There was nothing that would make them stand out. Of course, except Giyuu’s injuries, but they were ready for that.

They read silently, trying to make sense of their new identities. There wasn’t much time to talk and then Akiro was back and then he and Sanemi were leaving and then a nurse came to help him dress and then Akiro was back and they were leaving again. Everything was happening so fast, making Giyuu’s head spin.

He had to sit in a wheelchair so that his leg could rest for as long as it could. Giyuu’s mind finally somewhat calmed down once he was in a backseat of a car, Sanemi next to him, and Akiro driving them to a private plane that would fly them back to Japan.

It wasn’t the usual car Giyuu was always driven around in, but it still had shaded mirrors. Giyuu briefly wondered why Sanemi hadn’t chosen to sit in the front. He was sure the man would try to spend as much time as he could away from Giyuu. He stretched his neck to see the seat, and quickly found the cause of Sanemi sitting in the back with him. There was a big box resting on the seat, also some kind of a bag on the ground. It seemed like there was not enough space in the trunk for all of their things.

The traffic in the city was terrible, as always. Akiro had to brake it on more than one occasion because not all the drivers cared about other cars driving around them. It happened again and Akiro was forced to hit the brakes as a car in front of them slowed down suddenly, almost making them hit the car. Akiro wasn’t swearing, he wouldn’t do something like that in front of the prince, but he was shaking his head disapprovingly, his frustration and distaste obvious.

Although Giyuu wasn’t paying much attention to Akiro. As their car came to a quick and unexpected halt, Giyuu had accidentally put pressure on his injured ankle, the instant pain making him hiss. One of his hands gripped the armrest of the car door while the other went to his mouth, his bandaged fist trying to cover his suddenly labored breathing as he waited for the white hot pain that had shot up from his ankle to disperse.

“Hey.”

Giyuu slowly forced his eyes open, looking at Sanemi who had spoken up. For a brief second, Giyuu had completely forgotten where he was.

“You need to keep that leg up.”

“I can’t do that here,” Giyuu pushed through his teeth.

The answer made Sanemi roll his eyes. “Like hell you can’t. Here.” Then, Sanemi was already reaching down, his hands going around the calf of Giyuu’s injured leg.

“No, wait, wait, wait-” Giyuu panicked for a second, unaware of what exactly Sanemi was planning. There was not enough space for him to elevate his leg anywhere inside the car.

Sanemi didn’t explain his actions, only pulled Giyuu’s leg further and into his lap, making Giyuu turn in the process and facing him. He was red all over, feeling the heat crawl all over his neck up to his ears. Sanemi let Giyuu’s leg rest on his thigh and put his hand over his shin, making sure that it wouldn’t slip down if Akiro had to hit the brakes again.

Giyuu didn’t say anything either. Sanemi was no longer keeping his attention on him and was instead back to watching the road, but Giyuu was still staring at him, his eyes wide. He still hadn’t recovered, but the pain was pretty much forgotten now, the shock making him distracted enough he didn’t even register it stopping.

He glanced at the hand on his leg. The place where Sanemi was touching him felt like it was on fire. It was a completely foreign sensation to him and Giyuu had to avert his face if he wanted the heat to finally leave his face, however that was proving to be more difficult than he had imagined since every time he calmed down his racing heart, the touch brought him back into frenzy. He was hyper-aware of Sanemi’s warm hand and thigh. The pink remained on his cheeks for the entire half hour it took them to get to the plane hangar.

Chapter Text

Giyuu finally had some time to collect his thoughts and calm down his racing heart. The plane was big enough for all three of them to sit separately and far away from each other. There were times when Giyuu would give anything for a bit of company but now he was awfully glad for the bit of space.

However, it wasn’t nearly enough. Few hours later and they were exiting the plane. There was already a car waiting for them and both Sanemi and Giyuu were again back to sitting in the back while Akiro went to sit by the driver after he loaded up all their luggage into the new car.

“Are you gonna do it yourself or do I have to?” Sanemi gave him a pointed look. Giyuu’s face reddened almost instantly. He knew what Sanemi was referring to. Giyuu’s leg was still on the ground.

Sanemi sighed, sounding rather annoyed. “Fine.” He rolled his eyes and reached out to take his leg.

“Wait, okay, I’ll do it.” Giyuu lifted his leg himself and placed it over Sanemi’s knee, not feeling bold enough to go for his thigh despite everything. Giyuu liked his personal space and was rather averse to strangers’ touches but he found himself not minding Sanemi all that much. It would still take him some adjusting before he was completely okay with it but it was different than when his fans groped him.

He got another eyeroll from Sanemi, who once again, took Giyuu’s leg with one hand and slid it to his thigh. And again, Giyuu was speechless, not that Sanemi wanted him to say anything. He only did it because it was more comfortable for both of them this way.

They had to drive to another safe location but this time, the road wasn’t through a busy city but rather through silent and long roads. It would take them longer to get there and soon, Giyuu found himself zoning off. He was still on a lot of medication and painkillers, his body needed the sleep and so he let himself. The soft rocking of the car lulling him into unconsciousness.

Giyuu didn’t remember falling asleep. He didn’t dream about anything. It was dark all around him and all he could make out was the sound of air swishing by and an unfamiliar radio program. The throbbing pain of his injuries was what he registered next and then, Giyuu’s mind was back to the cold floor of the van, blood and pain all around him. He couldn’t breathe. Something was restricting his chest and his hands shot up to pull at it. He finally opened his eyes but the sudden outburst of light only made him more disoriented and he shut them again.

“Hey, hey, what the fuck.” A voice spoke next to him but Giyuu couldn’t make out the words. He needed to breathe.

“Hey, what is happening? Giyuu, c’mon, talk to me.”

He couldn’t focus, his head was spinning, beads of cold sweat shining on his forehead, making his hair stick to him. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt a hand on his knee.

Four dark-clad figures appeared in his mind. They touched him too, and then they kicked him and cut him and strangled him.

Tears finally sprang from his eyes.

“Shit, okay.” And then a ticking sound, next a sound of something unclasping and a metallic bang. The car came to a stop. He was sitting, not lying on the hard floor. He opened his eyes at last.

Giyuu could see the sky and some trees in front of him. A road. It wasn’t dark outside. He wasn’t inside a black van. Giyuu was staring in front of himself, his mouth parting slowly as he took in a deep breath. The thing that was holding him back was suddenly gone and slowly, Giyuu turned his head to the left.

Sanemi was there, his eyes on something below Giyuu’s eye level. He traced his sight with his own, seeing a seatbelt in Sanemi’s hands. His own seatbelt – the thing that was in his way, making him panic.

“You with me?”

Giyuu pulled his eyes up. Wide and filled with tears. Sanemi was looking at him, the creases of worry apparent in between his brows. Giyuu only nodded. He didn’t know if anything would come out if he tried to talk.

Now that he was aware of where he really was and who he was with, Giyuu couldn’t help the shame that hit him. He averted his eyes from Sanemi. He cast his head down, only now noticing that even though his leg wasn’t elevated, he felt no pain. His seat had been moved as far to the back as it allowed and his ankle was resting on a bunch of pillows. It was a different car this time.

“How-” Giyuu croaked out, his voice not sounding like his usual self. He had to clear his throat before trying again. “Where are we?” He refused to look anywhere near Sanemi. He had already made a fool of himself and it was hardly the first time. Sanemi must think him weak and cowardly. Despite all his best efforts, that was what Giyuu was. Weak.

There was a bit of silence, and Giyuu thought Sanemi wouldn’t answer but then there was a heavy sigh. Giyuu was trying to change the topic, away from himself and what had just happened. He didn’t want to hear questions he wasn’t ready to answer, not to Sanemi.

Sanemi must have caught up to his reluctance. “You fell asleep when we were heading to the safe location to get our things,” Sanemi started explaining while he powered up the car again and returned back onto the road. “Akiro said not to wake you up since sleep is an important part of the recovery or some shit like that. We changed cars, packed our things and now it’s just us. We should be in the town in next twenty minutes or so.”

“Okay.”

Then silence followed, a painfully tense silence, and Giyuu knew it was his doing. He briefly wondered if Sanemi felt just as uncomfortable but then the man turned up the radio and even started humming to the beat of some song Giyuu didn’t recognize. He seemed to be doing just fine.

Giyuu pondered over Sanemi’s words. ‘…now it’s just us.’

It dawned on him. It was finally here. He had kept putting it off and off. But he couldn’t do that now, not when it was already happening. It was the kind of reality he would be living in sooner rather than later. He would have to share his space with a person he didn’t know. A person who most likely thought him a weak and spoiled royal. With someone who didn’t like him.

Sanemi didn’t like him. That much was obvious from his words, and Giyuu supposed it was his own doing but then again, he was always kind of blunt. It wasn’t intentional. He just didn’t know how to act friendly. Genuinely friendly.

Now, Giyuu had no doubt Sanemi would do everything right. He would do so with sarcastic remarks, exasperated sighs and some eyerolls, probably, but he would do everything that was required. He would keep Giyuu safe, he would help him walk and change his bandages. Giyuu could already tell that even through his temper and abrasiveness, Sanemi was a man of real integrity. He would do the right thing.

Giyuu wasn’t sure if that was better. Sanemi would help him, yes, but if while doing that he would be silently hating Giyuu, then… Giyuu wasn’t sure if that was the better outcome or not.

His musings were cut short as the first houses started to blur past them. Giyuu could make out more and more as Sanemi slowed down the car. Giyuu silently watched all the stores and places. This was the town where he would be living from now on. The reality of the situation hit him again.

At last, a familiar house appeared in front of them and Sanemi pulled into the driveway. Their car was barely visible over the thick hedges. They had really picked the house based on everything. The hedges made it quite difficult to see what was happening in the front yard. Especially the neighbors couldn’t see anything.

“Wait here,” Sanemi told him as he shut the engine and got out of the car, not waiting for Giyuu to answer. Well, it wasn’t like Giyuu could exactly leave if he wanted to, his injured ankle not giving him much of a choice.

Just few minutes later, Sanemi was back and opening Giyuu’s door. He leaned in close to Giyuu and said in a whisper. “I checked inside, it’s safe.” Giyuu wanted to pull away from him. Sanemi was too close for his comfort, but a hand that shot to the nape of his neck stopped him, Giyuu’s eyes going wide. “We’re married, remember? Anyone could be watching.”

Sanemi waited for Giyuu to nod in understanding, before pulling away. “C’mon, Gou, time to see the house,” Sanemi said more loudly, using his fake name, even a nickname of that fake name, signalling a certain degree of intimacy between them.

Giyuu could barely take a single breath, enjoying his newly returned personal space before Sanemi was back, one of his hands going under his knees and the other behind his back.

“What are you doing?” Gyiuu whisper-shouted as he was forced to grip Sanemi’s shirt in fear of falling, but Sanemi had a strong enough hold of him. There would be no falling today.

“Getting you inside, babe, this is the fastest way.” Sanemi whispered the last part into his ear, making heat go up Giyuu’s neck as he felt Sanemi’s hot breath against his ear. He was sure Sanemi was doing this on purpose, he had to be. There was no real reason for him to be doing this. Even if Sanemi might claim it was for the sake of cover, Giyuu was sure there was no one around. Sanemi could have just as well brought him the wheelchair.

Instead, Giyuu was carried bridal style into their new home. It felt so weird even thinking of this house as his new home. As their new home. It wouldn’t be just Giyuu living alone.

At the door, Sanemi swiftly unclasped Giyuu’s shoes and threw them by the threshold, leaving them there to be dealt with later. He then finally let him go after he placed Giyuu with the utmost care onto the couch in the living room. The thing couldn’t even be compared to the couch he had in his hospital room. The entire house was kind of small, unlike anything Giyuu was used to, but he didn’t really mind that. He minded sharing the small amount of space with another person.

Then, Sanemi made a quick work of unloading the car and locking it behind him. He quickly looked around the yard, seemingly just looking around. To an untrained eye, it might look like he was only checking out his new property, however, Sanemi was checking for threats. Finding nothing suspicious, he returned to the house and triple checked the locks before going to the living room.

Giyuu was silently watching Sanemi as he put his hands on his hips. “Ou-key, what now?” He seemed to be talking to himself rather than to Giyuu.

Sanemi’s eyes traveled to the stairs and then back to Giyuu with a thoughtful look. “Hands forward, we’re going upstairs.” Sanemi motioned for Giyuu to put his hands up so that he could take him into his arms again and carry him up the stairs.

He didn’t move. “I’m perfectly fine sitting here.”

Sanemi rolled his eyes, but he stopped getting closer and put his hands back to his hips, obviously not satisfied with Giyuu’s lack of cooperation. “Is this how it’s gonna be? Seriously? Do I look like I’m doing this for fun?”

Giyuu didn’t answer. He already knew Sanemi didn’t like him and was doing this just because it was his job. He didn’t meet Sanemi’s eyes.

“Ayenora said not to let you out of my sight, so I’m not gonna. So stop acting like a freaking baby and put your hands up. You know I’m gonna do it whether you want it or not, but you can make it easier for everyone involved.”

With a bit of hesitation, Giyuu put his hands up, if only because he didn’t want Sanemi to suddenly lift him without any warning like before. This time, Sanemi did so slowly, mindful of his aching ribs. Giyuu put his hands around Sanemi’s neck so he didn’t feel as if he would tumble down.

Giyuu was put on a bed and before he could do anything further, Sanemi was already herding pillows and blankets. He put several of them behind Giyuu. “Your medical report says you should be in a sitting position for a while, till your ribs heal a bit.”

He nodded, already knowing that. But Sanemi didn’t have to go that far. It was true that moving his torso and arms slightly hurt, but Giyuu wasn’t incapable of moving some pillows by himself. Sanemi elevated his leg.

Before leaving the room, Sanemi went to look out of the window. “Keep the curtains closed, always, in every room.” He pulled the curtains closed before thinking of something. “You know what, just stay away from the windows altogether.”

Giyuu could understand why. If anyone were to find out his location and wanted to shoot him from afar, if he was standing in the window, it would be easier. “Okay.”

“I’m going to see the cameras, the door stays open.” Sanemi left after he said his part and did just as he promised. The door of the bedroom was left wide open and the door opposite of it across the small hall was opened as well, revealing what seemed to be the home office, with the desk and the computer in the middle. This way, if Sanemi looked up, he would see Giyuu directly and same for Giyuu.

After he left, Giyuu tried to be subtle about it but he ended up staring at Sanemi quite a lot, watching him as he turned on the computer and did something on it, punching few keystrokes before going back to whatever was on the screen.

Giyuu was too busy analysing and, frankly, admiring, the fleeting expressions of focus and confusion on Sanemi’s attractive face, the scars only making him more enticing. He was quite expressive when he wasn’t trying to school his expression into a one of cold focus. He was furrowing his brows one second, then the corners of his lips lifting as he figured out something and then he was back to that blank expression, looking almost bored as his eyes flickered from one part of the screen to another. And then his eyes were up, meeting Giyuu’s…

Wait. Sanemi’s eyes were not on the computer screen anymore. He was staring right back at Giyuu. He must have felt Giyuu’s eyes on him even if Giyuu tried to be subtle. Obviously, he had failed. Giyuu quickly looked away, feeling rather embarrassed at having been caught red handed.

Sanemi didn’t seem to think much of it, or simply didn’t care, because he didn’t stand up, he didn’t open his mouth to yell at him, he just shrugged and went back to his work. When Giyuu dared to look at him again, Sanemi was immersed in the screen. Giyuu let out a relieved sigh, before looking away once more. He wasn’t about to keep staring, he had some dignity left.

After god knew how many minutes, Giyuu was starting to understand how his days were most likely to look from now on. Sanemi, just like now, would be glued to the computer screen, diligently watching the security cameras for hours and Giyuu would be left to sit there on the bed, because he had to be where Sanemi could see him and just be bored out of his mind. As much as Giyuu liked to stay in and lounge around with no one but himself and maybe a book to keep him some company, this kind of life would get tedious. It was just a matter of time. At least it would be like that until he somewhat healed. Maybe a week or two before he was good to at least walk around a bit and carry out the basic tasks.

Sanemi was still busy with the security cameras when Giyuu started to feel the urge to relieve himself. Last time he had used the bathroom was back in the hospital and thought he hadn’t been drinking that much, he still had his basic human needs. Giyuu glanced to the closed door to his right. That had to be the bathroom, right?

He shot a quick glance at Sanemi, seeing him still hunched over the computer screen. If he was quiet enough, Sanemi wouldn’t even notice.

Giyuu started sliding down the bed, rather surprised that the bed made no creaking sounds as he did so. This would just make it so much easier. Hopefully Sanemi wouldn’t notice him gone for the next few minutes. If he were to spot Giyuu trying to get out of the bed, he would probably rush in and scoop him into his arms as if Giyuu was some kind of invalid. He understood why it was necessary to get him up the stairs but Giyuu could get to the bathroom just fine. It was only few steps away from the bed.

Or maybe not so fine.

Giyuu had made it out of the bed, he successfully made two steps with the help of a nearby wardrobe. Only one step, it would take only one more step to get to the door, however, there was a bit of a setback. There was only the wall to support him and he wasn’t sure if that would be enough. Well, he had already gotten so far, Giyuu wasn’t about to give up now when he was so close.

He took a deep breath and took the step, regretting it instantly. The wall wasn’t enough to support him. He couldn’t propel himself like he could on the wardrobe, he couldn’t lift any of the weight out of his injured leg. His hand slid down the wall and in an effort to minimize the pain, he tried to put all of his weight into his healthy leg, but in doing so, Giyuu had completely lost his balance and tumbled to the floor, his back to the wall.

Giyuu was on the floor, panting as if he had just run a marathon. Every breath hurt and took a lot of energy out of him. Ever since he got his ribs broken, he got winded super fast. It only took him a little bit of physical activity and he was pretty much done for.

He hadn’t heard himself when he had fallen, how loud the hit actually was when his back hit the wall. But Sanemi had heard and he came sprinting, immediately alert when he heard a crash, looked up and Giyuu wasn’t there.

“What now?” Sanemi muttered, sounding a bit annoyed with him. This was exactly why Giyuu hadn’t bothered calling for him. Sanemi had his job, he didn’t have to run around Giyuu. It was just a simple trip to the bathroom, but well, of course Giyuu couldn’t even manage that. What had ever gone right in his life?

Sanemi reached out to help him up despite his annoyance, but Giyuu slapped his hands away. He wasn’t angry at Sanemi, he was angry at himself for failing at something so simple. “I don’t need help.”

“No? Then why the fuck are you on the ground?” Sanemi rolled his eyes. Giyuu tried pushing himself up, with the help of the wall, but it obviously wasn’t wielding any results. Sanemi ended up taking pity on him and hooked his hands under Giyuu’s, pushing him up to a standing position and keeping his hands there until Giyuu could regain his breath.

Giyuu was still an injured person and Sanemi, despite everything, wasn’t nearly spiteful enough to just stand there and watch Giyuu struggle and consequently slow down his own recovery.

“What did I say in the hospital?” Sanemi was standing there, towering slightly over him, just an arm’s length away, quite literally.

Giyuu didn’t feel threatened. Sanemi’s arms were under his, supporting his weight. He couldn’t exactly take the gesture as threatening even if Sanemi was slightly taller than him. If anything, Giyuu was embarrassed. It seemed there was nothing he could do without it ending with Giyuu embarrassing himself somehow.

“Not to treat you like a slave.” Giyuu recalled Sanemi’s angry words.

“No, not that, dumbass. It’s not the same thing, ordering somebody around and asking for help.”

Oh, so that’s what he meant. Giyuu remembered now. Sanemi had also told him to ask for help when he needed it. Giyuu’s head was cast low, not meeting Sanemi’s gaze. “If anything, you are the one always ordering me around,” he said in a small voice.

“That’s just ‘cause you keep acting like a baby,” Sanemi shot back without hesitation.

“I’m not a baby, we are the same age.”

“Irrelevant, it’s about the mental age.”

“And you are what? Seventy?”

“Doesn’t matter, but it’s obviously more than you.”

Giyuu stood there, just glaring at him, unable to find a comeback that would be at least a bit witty or something like that. He wasn’t really angry with Sanemi. It wasn’t a real fight, just a bit of bickering. It felt good. It felt so damn good to just be himself and to say whatever the hell he wanted to and Sanemi was there, countering everything without a second thought.

For obvious reasons, Giyuu almost never had this. This freedom to say whatever came to his mind. He was always around somebody who was a body guard or a fan, or some politician, basically always someone who expected a certain something of Prince Giyuu. They didn’t want just Giyuu. And he couldn’t give him that, not when he had a reputation to uphold.

Not here, though. Here, he was just Giyuu. And not even that. He wasn’t even Giyuu. He was Gouha Fumiaki, a perfectly ordinary man and he could be whoever he wanted to. It wasn’t like anyone would be able to tell if it was the real him or just another act he had to uphold. Only Giyuu would know that.

“Now, are you ready to tell me what you wanted to do in the closet?”

Giyuu was confused. “What closet?”

Sanemi’s eyebrows shot up in amusement and a bit of surprise, as if he couldn’t believe that Giyuu didn’t know. He nodded his head in the direction of the door next to them. “You know, that one.”

“I- I thought it was a bathroom.”

Sanemi’s mouth started twitching. It was painfully obvious he was trying not to laught, even going as far as biting his lip.

This time it was Giyuu who rolled his eyes at Sanemi, not the other way round. “You can laugh.”

He barely finished saying it and then Sanemi was already bursting out, his eyes shut and his head rolling back as he let out a rumbustious laugh, his whole body shaking. “Oh, God-”

“Are you done?” Giyuu couldn’t help the snide remark after what felt like at least of a minute, Sanemi still laughing.

“I’m sorry,” he took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, but you… you thought that was a bathroom?” He barely finished before the sentence sent him into another fit of laughter. “I can’t.”

A blush crept up Giyuu’s neck, all the way to his face. He couldn’t help it. Sanemi was blatantly making fun of him. He raised his hand and slapped Sanemi’s forearm. However, as his hand made contact with the, admittedly, very fine piece of muscle, Sanemi didn’t even flinch. There were now tears of mirth in the corners of his big eyes. “Just tell me where it is.”

“In… the… hall,” Sanemi managed to get out through his erratic breaths as he tried to calm down.

Giyuu attempted to pry himself away from Sanemi but the man had his hands firmly around him, pinning him to the wall. “I really need to go.”

“Well, you know the drill.” Sanemi finally calmed down but the sparks of light amusement still shone in his eyes.

“I can get there myself.”

“Don’t make me laugh again, my stomach can’t take it. Please, spare me, Your Royal Highness.”

Giyuu’s eyes shot up, only to be immediately met with Sanemi’s. Sanemi must have already been looking at him. The words, no, the title he used, made Giyuu freeze in his spot. Just a second ago he was eager to leave but now… “I thought you didn’t know how to address me,” he said slowly.

Sanemi only shrugged. “I asked Akiro. It’s- It’s no big deal.” Giyuu thought Sanemi got a tiny bit flustered saying that.

No matter what he said, to Giyuu, it was kind of a big deal. It wasn’t about the title, it was about the fact that Sanemi took his time and asked someone else about it. That meant a lot to him.

“Yeah,” he said despite what he was thinking. “It’s not like you need to call me anything while we’re here.”

“Yeah,” Sanemi repeated after him, his laughter forgotten. “But I need to call you something, don’t I? Honey, sweetie? Or what about cutie pie, sweetcheeks?”

Giyuu was blushing like mad. “No.”

“Gouha? Gou?” Sanemi kept the names coming.

“Giyuu?”

“Can’t exactly call you that.”

“You can here.”

“Too risky, but don’t worry, I’ll come up with something.”

Giyuu thought that was something to worry about. God knew what Sanemi would come up with, especially if he was so intent on keeping their cover.

“I need to-”

“Go, yes,” Sanemi finished for him. “You know what that entails.”

“No.”

“Are you gonna pull the baby card again? You’re literally pouting right now.”

“Am not,” Giyuu said indignantly, although he knew Sanemi was right, he could feel himself pouting, and having been made aware of it, he tried to stop, but it wasn’t that easy since he was still rather annoyed.

Sanemi straightened his back. “Well, if you ain’t going then I guess I will get you your wheelchair, shame we don’t have a stroller, you would have loved that.”

“Only if it was blue, maybe with some emeralds thrown in,” Giyuu joked, but his face remained perfectly blank. Nevertheless, Sanemi seemed to get it, if the small smirk was anything to go by.

“Way to rub it in, man.” He let out a small chuckle. His and the prince’s life really couldn’t be compared. “Will you be able not to mortally injure yourself till I get back?”

“I believe so.”

“I’ll take your word for it, also, for the record, I think just carrying you around would be much faster, but suit yourself.”

And then, Sanemi’s hands were gone from under his, making him immediately miss the warmth. He didn’t even know when the touch stopped feeling as if hot coals were put on his skin and more like the blanket over you in the chilly mornings, just the perfect temperature and missed immediately when it was gone.

With the warmth, his support was gone as well, but with his other leg being just fine, Giyuu managed to stand upright, as long as he didn’t put any weight on his other ankle. If only Sanemi would hurry up, Giyuu could do that for only so long before his leg started to cramp up from the effort. There wasn’t anything but the wall to help him.

“Ta-da,” Sanemi said, thought it lacked much enthusiasm. “Is this to your liking?”

“Yes, now can you just-”

“No, hell no,” Sanemi pointed at him accusingly, “you don’t get to be impatient with me. You wouldn’t let me carry you in the first place.”

Giyuu shut his mouth. It was a fair point, there was nothing he could say back to that. Sanemi was absolutely right, but it was too embarrassing being always carried like some damsel in distress. He didn’t want to be so dependent on somebody.

“Sit,” Sanemi ordered as soon as the chair was in front of Giyuu.

“Put it closer.”

Sanemi just rolled his eyes. “… would have been so much easier,” he muttered to himself, Giyuu steadily ignoring it.

He somehow managed to get himself into the wheelchair, though Sanemi had to support him by holding his elbow for a brief second before Giyuu could finally plop down onto the seat. Sanemi then pushed the chair out of the bedroom and down the hall. He opened the door and wheeled him in with little to no difficulty.

Sanemi was standing there behind him as Giyuu pushed himself up with some help of the sink. He turned to look at Sanemi, silent. Sanemi was looking back, obviously not getting the message. “You can go now, I’ll manage.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Maybe it was the few hours he had spent near Sanemi that were starting to affect him, but Giyuu rolled his eyes again. “Yes, or what? You want to hold my di-”

“Okay, fine, fine,” Sanemi yelled unnecessarily loud, and turned his back to Giyuu. “But the door stays open.”

Giyuu waited for Sanemi to make few steps down the hall before he hopped on one leg to the door, catching himself by the wall. He closed the door shut and swiftly pulled the lock.

“Hey, Giyuu.” Sanemi of course, heard the shutting door and spun around, about to get in the way so Giyuu wouldn’t be able to do it, but he was too late and collided with the closed door. He twisted the knob but it didn’t do anything. He banged on the door. “Giyuu, c’mon.”

“You’re not supposed to call me that.”

“Fuck, open the door.”

“No. It’s not like anything will happen to me in the bathroom, you can relax.”

“That little minx,” Sanemi muttered, resigning himself to the fact that Giyuu wouldn’t open the door no matter what he did. All he could do was cross his arms and lean on the wall, waiting and occasionally sending a swear word or two in the bathroom’s direction.

Chapter Text

Sanemi was getting rather bored, staring a hole into the bathroom door. He still couldn’t believe the prince would do something like this. He was more cunning than he seemed behind that stoic exterior. Sanemi’s eyes dropped from the door as he pondered few things.

The prince wasn’t only cunning. He could be funny when he wanted to, though it was more like he was funny unknowingly, just saying whatever he wanted to and accidentally being witty. It was rather entertaining to see. At first, Sanemi was certain the prince was nothing but a spoiled man, but he was just genuinely closed-off and reserved. Akiro had summed him up perfectly – an introvert.

And he really was. He was obviously easily made uncomfortable and all that adorable blushing… he got embarrassed so fast and it was instantly visible on his pale complexion. For some reason, Sanemi was starting to enjoy getting a rise out of him, making the expressionless face turn red and pouty.

Fuck.

Sanemi knew where his train of thought was heading. A train of curse words occupied his brain for several seconds until he shook his head, putting all of his thoughts away and focusing on the present.

So what if the prince was kind of cute, so what if there was more to him, so what if Sanemi found himself really, really wanting to keep uncovering the layers that made him, him, so what if… Sanemi was already screwed.

He wanted to bang his head on the wall. Sanemi never understood the lines and crowds of fans lining up to meet with Prince Giyuu, but now, he could see why. He had known him, properly known him, for barely a day and Sanemi was already enticed.

There was something about his quiet composure, the cold beauty, the intense blue gaze, the mysterious presence, the way he always kept his back straight even through the injuries… shit.
Sanemi needed to call Genya. He needed to vent, to get this out, but he couldn’t exactly do that. Maybe even for months and he was sure it would only get worse. That didn’t matter, though. Sanemi was the one who had to pull himself out of it, move on before anything could even happen, because, and he knew that rationally, there would be nothing happening.

Why? Sanemi could name countless reasons from the top of his head. He wasn’t even a Dimore citizen, he was nothing but some commoner in Giyuu’s eyes. He was brash and rude, his scars making him look like some kind of thug, there were so many reasons why the prince would never be interested in somebody like him and the sooner Sanemi beat that into his head, the better for him.

There was a faint clicking sound – Giyuu had unlocked the door. Sanemi didn’t give him any time before he was pushing the door open. Giyuu was still standing right there, unable to jump back from the door as Sanemi scooped him up into his arms.

Giyuu hit his chest, annoyed and opened his mouth to protest before Sanemi shut him up with a single word. “Stairs.” Giyuu sagged in his arms, not resisting anymore, but still glaring daggers at Sanemi, who only sent him a sweet smile, not even looking at him. He could feel the murderous glare on him without even looking.

“Why are we going back down?”

“To get some food.”

“I’m not really hungry,” Giyuu said, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Sanemi rolled his eyes. “Well, good for you, but I am, so you’re coming with me.”

“This is really unnecessary. No one knows we’re here.”

“Yeah? And just how exactly do you know that?” Giyuu was quiet. “No, please, elaborate. How could you possibly know that?” More silence. “Thought so.”

“You don’t have to be so smug about it.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I think I’ll be as smug as I want and there is nothing that can stop me.”

“Don’t trip on the stairs,” Giyuu said quietly. Sanemi had to take a second for the words to register, he could barely hear them. His eyebrows shot up when he got it. “Accidentally,” Giyuu added as an after-thought.

“I’ll be damned.” Sanemi shook his head, but there was a small grin on his face. There it was again, Giyuu’s weird humour. It was doing things to Sanemi. He had to focus on where he was putting his feet on their way down the stairs.

Sanemi helped Giyuu seat himself on the bar stool by the kitchen counter. Akiro had thought of everything and prepared some long-lasting groceries for them. Sanemi did a quick work of checking the bags and picking out something he could eat. He was planning on making more in case the prince had a change of heart and stopped being so childish, actually admitting he, too, was hungry.

Some instant pasta, that would have to do. It wasn’t the kind of food Sanemi, being a soldier and all, was used to consuming but it would have to do. He put the pot to the stove and waited for it to boil. In the meantime, he leaned his back on the counter, crossed his arms and looked at Giyuu, his hand tipping to the side, as he thought about what to do with Giyuu now. The prince really was quiet, having said nothing since they had got to the kitchen.

“Are you always this quiet?” Sanemi decided to go for the obvious. The prince did look at him, but there was no response. The fire in Sanemi surged. “Don’t give me this shit. The least you can do is answer. I’m not spending weeks in a total silence.”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” Sanemi immediately spat back, not even thinking. Giyuu gave him an annoyed look. Sanemi mentally went over what he had said in the last minute or so, recalling the question. “Oh. So it is gonna be a quiet few weeks.”

Giyuu shrugged his shoulders, seemingly not really eager to talk. Sanemi couldn’t help the sigh that escaped. He liked what was coming out of Giyuu’s mouth earlier. He enjoyed their silly banter and he would do anything to experience it again. He didn’t like seeing Giyuu retreat back to his shell so fast.

Sanemi had never been exactly good with being subtle or with holding back his thoughts and opinions. It was just the way he was. “You know, my captain told me some stuff about your situation, but I don’t get one thing. Why target you? What the fuck does some new mine or whatever have to do with you?”

“It’s not about just that.” Giyuu squirmed in his seat a bit, obviously not too eager to discuss the palace secrets with Sanemi.

“Then tell me what it really is about. It’s not like I’m gonna spill the beans to anyone. This is a mission, despite how freaking weird it is, everything that happens here is confidential.”

“It is?” Giyuu was surprised.

“Yeah? No one told you? Government secrets and all that. Now, can you already tell me?”

“So you really won’t tell anyone whatever I tell you?”

“Dude, don’t make me repeat what I said like a minute ago, not cool.”

Giyuu looked away. “Sorry, it’s just… sensitive information, I guess. No one outside the palace knows it.”

Seeing how serious Giyuu was, Sanemi relented, thought with a fair share of eye-rolling. Giyuu was worried, genuinely worried and Sanemi wasn’t about to torment him. “I won’t tell anyone, okay?” he said in a softer voice than usual.

Giyuu met his eyes again, only to look to the side almost instantly again. “My uncle won’t be the king for much longer. I don’t know when he is going to step down but it will be sooner rather than later and I’m next in the line, but I’m not the only one.” Sanemi frowned as he started to get a clearer picture of the situation, but he let Giyuu continue. “That new discovery will make the country a lot of money, also a lot of money for the palace and people are greedy.”

“And since it’s an insider,” Sanemi mused out loud, “you think it’s someone who is in the line after you?”

“I don’t know, I don’t want to think that, but my uncle does. He is certain about it.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Well, it’s that- how to say it… we all know each other, we are one family, even though we are more of distant relatives. I don’t like to think any of them would be able to even think about killing me.”

Sanemi thought about Genya instantly and what it would feel like if his own family, his own brother, would want him dead. “I can understand that. Gotta suck, man.”

“It does.”

“Hey, tell me ab-” Sanemi started talking but a loud sizzling interrupted him. He spun around, turning to the pot of boiling water he had completely forgotten about as he was talking to Giyuu. “Shit.”

Sanemi’s hand shot to the lid that was jumping around the pot, clanking as the metal hit metal. He picked it up and threw it into the sink, swearing loudly as his fingers came into contact with the heated metal.

“Are you okay?” Giyuu stood up from his seat, propping himself up on the counter to see better what had happened.

“Sit,” Sanemi ordered, hearing Giyuu’s shuffling. He didn’t need to see to know that Giyuu was attempting to stand up, which could result in him hurting himself and Sanemi didn’t want unnecessary problems. It surely wasn’t worth his little bit burned fingers.

He lowered the temperature and quickly poured the contents of the pack into the pot and stirred a few times. He then walked to the sink and put his burned fingers under a stream of soothingly cold water, before finally turning to Giyuu. “It’s nothing, I’m perfectly fine.”

Giyuu was still not sitting fully even despite Sanemi’s not so subtle order, but seeing him really fine, Giyuu sat back down, visibly relaxing. Sanemi couldn’t help but smirk at this. “C’mon, dear, I know you’re supposed to be my husband and all, but damn, you’re really selling it.”

The red on his cheeks was almost instantaneous. Sanemi laughed out loud. He might have thought it would be amusing to tease Giyuu a little, but really, he was just making it worse for himself.

“I’m not really that cold,” Giyuu said, trying to defend himself.

“He said with a completely blank expression,” Sanemi teased him some more.

“That’s just how my face is.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re really a soft little kitten inside,” Sanemi said, taking the few steps to the counter and leaning on it, his face coming rather close to Giyuu as he was saying it.

Giyuu turned away, unable to look Sanemi in the eyes with all his teasing. His reaction only made Sanemi keep at it.

“Go stir your food,” Giyuu mumbled under his nose, but Sanemi could make it out. They really were pretty close to each other.

“Is that an order?”

Then, Giyuu did something Sanemi would have never expected him to. He turned back with a determined expression, though to Sanemi, it didn’t hold as much power, seeing as soft pink still dusted the prince’s cheeks. Giyuu leaned in closer, his eyes fixed firmly on Sanemi’s. “And what if it is?”

He liked this. Sanemi really liked this. It was almost like a challenge, the prince’s words making him smirk. He didn’t flinch back in the slightest, maintaining the eye contact. “Guess then I’ll have to do whatever you want me to.”

“Your pasta is boiling over,” Giyuu said.

“My pasta is…” Sanemi didn’t get it right away, but then he heard the bubbling behind him. His eyes went wide. “Fucking hell.” He dashed for the pot and immediately started stirring. He made it just so so. Few more seconds and he would have to clean the whole stove.

Sanemi kept stirring but he dared a look over his shoulder. There was a tiny smile playing on Giyuu’s lips and damn, Sanemi would lie if he said his heart didn’t do a little flip just seeing that. He couldn’t even find it in himself to care that Giyuu had totally won over him in this round.

Once the water was boiling and the pasta was stirred for few minutes, the food was done. Though Sanemi wasn’t sure it could exactly be called food. They really needed to go groceries shopping. Tomorrow. Sanemi wasn’t going to live on packaged food for weeks.

Despite Giyuu’s protests, Sanemi still found a smaller plate and put some of the pasta on it, pushing it toward Giyuu. He could hear his stomach, Giyuu couldn’t keep lying to him and pretending he wasn’t hungry. He so obviously was.

Sanemi was pleased to see Giyuu could at least feed himself. For a second Sanemi wasn’t sure how the small injuries on Giyuu’s hands were but the fact that he could eat himself really made things easier. There was a lot of other stuff Sanemi would have to help him with and that was already plenty.

“As I started saying before-” Sanemi talked with his mouth still half full, earning himself an irritated look from Giyuu. He rolled his eyes and swallowed, before resuming talking again. “Who is in the line after you?”

Giyuu seemed to find this question odd. At least that was what Sanemi judged based on the small creasing of his forehead. Giyuu really didn’t show so many emotions, not as intensely as others did. “You don’t know?”

He shrugged. “I’m not really caught up with your royal family.” It made sense when one thought about it. Sure, Sanemi was interested in international news, read a lot, but he wasn’t one for gossip pages about the shit the royals did. He rarely read news from Dimore concerning the various events the royals participated in. It wasn’t anything interesting to him. Besides, he wasn’t even from Dimore. “You know what, just tell me how it all works. I’m kinda lost in that whole succession thing.”

“Okay, well, right now there are five of us in the line. After my parents and uncle and aunt died when their plane crash-”

“You don’t have to speak about that, I know at least that much.”

Giyuu looked immediately relieved that he wouldn’t have to go through the event that resulted in his parents and relatives dying. It was a huge tragedy for the Dimore royal family.

“My dad was the first in line, since he was the oldest one but since he died, the line moved onto me. But I was still too young so my uncle was crowned a king.”

“But you’re old enough now, right? Why aren’t you the king yet?”

“I don’t really want to.”

“Oh, right, right. Carry on.” Sanemi wasn’t about to say it out loud, but he felt kind of bad for asking such a stupid question. He got a sense Giyuu wasn’t all that happy with the royal life.

“My uncle married pretty late, but his wife died after giving birth. Zenitsu is few years younger than me, he is next in line. He is- well, we don’t talk often but it’s not like we hate each other. We are just a lot different.”

“Wait, is Zenitsu the blond one? The one always causing scandals?” Sanemi was shocked to hear a person like that was so close to being the king.

“Yeah.”

Sanemi could totally see why the two of them didn’t really get along. From the stuff he heard, Zenitsu was an absolutely wild man-whore. He couldn’t find a single thing he and Giyuu had in common. “Not to offend your cousin, but he doesn’t seem bright enough to instigate any of the attacks.”

“I know, none of them seem like they would do something like that.”

“First tell me about them.”

“My uncle and aunt that died with my parents had two children, Aoi who is older and then Muichirou. Aoi is third in the line. She is nice. She can be a bit harsh but I like her.” Giyuu shrugged. “It can’t be her. She is rather open about not wanting anything to do with the royal family and all it ensues.”

“Might be true, I can’t say I have heard about any Aoi.”

“She doesn’t go to any formal events. She does some charity but people don’t really care about her.”

“So we don’t think it could be her,” Sanemi summed up. She sounded likely a less possible suspect compared to Zenitsu. “What about her brother?”

“Muichirou is too young for this. He is… aloof? I don’t know. I don’t meet him that often. He is plenty smart but not even an adult yet, how would he pull this off?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t add up. He is… fourth in the line. Even less likely.”

Giyuu nodded, thinking the same thing. “Then there is my uncle Douma. I always get along with him just fine. He is really friendly. I can’t imagine someone like him doing it either. That’s why I said I don’t really think any one of them is responsible.”

“I heard of him, and good things only, well, mostly. Genya, my little bro, he is into some weird shit. Conspiracy theories and stuff. He was once telling me about Douma-”

“That can’t be. He is one of the nicest people I know.”

“Chill, I’m not trying to ruffle your feathers, I just heard something, ‘s all.”

Giyuu was quiet for a while, eating his food and Sanemi was doing the same, but then, he was speaking again. “We should leave it to my uncle and Akiro. It’s not like we can do anything from here.”

“True,” Sanemi agreed with him, receiving another glare for speaking with his mouth full yet again.

Chapter Text

Before either of them realized, it got dark outside, meaning that the one thing Giyuu had been dreading more than anything was inching closer and closer. He was getting quieter and Sanemi quickly noticed. Now, as if he wasn’t thinking about Sanemi enough already, the man in question was constantly asking him some stupid things, like his favorite movie, color, season. Giyuu only gave him some half-assed answers, not really feeling like talking but it didn’t deter Sanemi in the slightest. He kept on talking about his own favorite things, and in a great detail.

“Aight,” Sanemi stretched his arms over his head, Giyuu unintentionally following the movement. “I’m afraid there is only one bathroom, so who’s gonna hop into the shower first, hubby?” A grin showed on Sanemi’s face as he got an idea. “Unless you want to-”

Giyuu knew right away what Sanemi was going to say. “You go first,” he quickly interrupted him.

Sanemi only laughed, but nodded and stood up from his chair in the home office. After they had finished their food, Sanemi had washed the dishes and then they went back upstairs, so that Sanemi could watch the security cameras’ footage and Giyuu, since he had nothing else to do, had joined him.

Despite his love for teasing Giyuu, Sanemi could get pretty serious when it came to his job. He got another one of those focused looks when he glanced at Giyuu before he could leave. “Keep watching the camera. I’m going to check the locks downstairs, I’m also gonna leave the door ajar so that I can hear you if anything happens. Anything, and I mean it, if you see or hear anything even remotely suspicious, call for me immediately. ‘kay, love?”

Giyuu still remembered Sanemi’s promise of finding him a perfect nickname but he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep hearing Sanemi call him various pet names before he completely lost his mind. It just wasn’t fair. “Stop doing that,” he said in a small voice.

“Not the answer I’m waiting for.”

“Okay.”

“Good. If anything.” Sanemi pointed at him, then mouthing the words once again before he disappeared in the door, though Giyuu could still see him take clothes from his bag in the bedroom and then go down the hall.

To be honest, Giyuu kind of spaced out as soon as Sanemi was out of his sight. Out of sight but not out of mind. Not at all. If only more, if that was even possible. He had suggested that Sanemi showered first only to postpone the inevitable. Giyuu wasn’t able to take a shower alone. He needed assistance and there was only one other person that could help him out. Giyuu felt the heat rising all over his face.

He heard the shower starting, Sanemi really must have left the door open just as he had said. Giyuu did all he could not to focus on Sanemi and what he was doing right now.

It took a lot of mental effort on his part, but Giyuu managed to pull his eyes to the computer screen, only to see the leaves on the bush rustling. That was… odd. It wasn’t windy at all that day. And it was getting darker but there was still plenty light to see that the branches were moving. Giyuu’s throat went dry.

He opened his mouth, about to call for Sanemi, but no sound came. “Sanemi,” he said his name, but there was no way Sanemi could hear him all the way to the bathroom, not with the water still running. Giyuu swallowed hard and tried again, this time putting as much volume into it as he could.

The sound of water stopped instantly. Giyuu heard the heavy thuds of his feet as Sanemi ran to their home office. His hair was dripping wet, some soap still on the side of his neck. He was haphazardly holding a towel around his private parts. “What’s going on?” He hurried toward pale-faced Giyuu.

Giyuu was still too shocked, the lone thought of somebody like the men who kidnapped him being around and so close, sent him into an instant panic. He had barely found enough strength in himself to call for Sanemi, he couldn’t get out much more. His gaze fell to the screen.

Sanemi walked around him, leaning closer from behind Giyuu to observe the footage. He spotted the movement around the bushes right away. He pulled an arm around Giyuu’s shoulders, momentarily forgetting he was still wet all over and putting a comforting hand over his shoulder. Giyuu was getting panicky and he could tell. He didn’t know what else to do.

“There’s nothing to worry about, I’m right here.”

Giyuu shivered. Sanemi said it from behind and yet it felt like he was so close, the warmth of his arm keeping him steady. He hadn’t even registered his continuously wetter shirt. Giyuu cast his head down, holding in the tears, forgetting about the camera.

Somehow, Sanemi had said exactly what Giyuu needed to hear. He did exactly what he needed him to do back then in that bathroom of that café. He needed somebody to hold him and tell him it was going to be okay. With Sanemi there, he felt so much better, just his mere presence next to him eased the fear in him.

“You’re okay. It was just a cat,” Sanemi said after what felt like hours.

“What?” Giyuu croaked out, his voice a bit hoarse from the tears he had been holding back. A cat?

Sanemi wasn’t laughing at him or mocking him for getting so frightened over what was just a mere cat. “Look.” Sanemi rewind the footage a few seconds back with a few clicks.

A cat rolled out of the bushes, whit what appeared to be a mouse caught in its paws. Giyuu’s shoulders sagged, and Sanemi gave them a squeeze right after.

“Do you need me to stay with you or are you okay?” Sanemi asked him in such a soft tone. Giyuu was having a hard time calming down his beating heart. It might have been going wild because at first he thought someone was there to kill him but now it was beating like crazy for a whole another reason. That reason being Sanemi, acting all soft with him.

He didn’t really know why Sanemi was acting and speaking so kindly toward him. Back then when they had first met, he couldn’t give a single fuck about Giyuu but now, after only so short, he was treating him like someone he actually cared about. Giyuu had to stop himself before his mind went further. It was approaching some dangerous territory.

“I’m okay. Go finish your shower.”

“You sure?” Sanemi frowned and Giyuu could only do as much as nod.

Sanemi finished his shower way too quickly, appearing in front of Giyuu fully clothed this time. He noticed that Giyuu was still looking rather pale so he approached him again and sat on the chair next to him.

“You can relax, honey bun, no one knows you’re here.”

Giyuu could tell Sanemi was trying to lift his mood with the silly pet name, but he didn’t really make it better, because the reason Giyuu was stressing right now wasn’t the people trying to kill him but the man sitting next to him. Giyuu didn’t have enough energy to even glare at him.

He nodded at Sanemi, fearing that as soon as his gaze went to him, his face would go tomato red. He liked his personal space, and right now, Giyuu wasn’t sure what would be better. If Sanemi was just a random stranger, helping him and seeing him naked or if what they were now. Not that they were anything, but Sanemi wasn’t really a stranger anymore. He had seen Giyuu at his worst. He had seen him like no one else had before.

Giyuu did a quick mental comparison of the nurse tending to him and of Sanemi tending to him and he soon decided. The nurse was a better option. At least with the nurse Giyuu knew she got to see naked strangers often. Giyuu would be just another patient and he wouldn’t be left blushing the entire time. Sanemi was completely different.

The thing that was making him so hesitant was the fact that he was slowly starting to like Sanemi. For all his brashness and temper, he was oddly tender and thoughtful. From what Giyuu had seen so far, and plentifully, Sanemi was gorgeous and hot, every muscle of his body perfectly defined. Then there was Giyuu, with scrapes and bruises all over.

Giyuu internally smacked himself, there was no basis for his irrational thoughts. It wasn’t like he did it to himself, maybe some of it as he defended himself, but that wasn’t the point. Besides, Sanemi was a soldier. There were long scars all over his body, he must have been injured countless times and much worse than Giyuu. He wouldn’t think anything. Giyuu was just looking for excuses to put off the shower. He was shy.

“C’mon, your turn,” Sanemi said, already standing up and moving behind Giyuu. He didn’t wait for any sort of answer or acknowledgement and starting wheeling Giyuu to the door.

Giyuu gripped the sides of his chair. There was no way he would be able to stall any longer. He was quiet as Sanemi retrieved some clothes for him from their shared bedroom.

“It said loose stuff, right?”

It did, Giyuu nodded. The report from his doctor had all the details they needed to ensure the fastest recovery. Loose clothes were just another one of useful tips for easing the pain in his ribs. Even the bandage around his torso was kind of loosely tied.

Sanemi placed the pile of clothes onto Giyuu’s lap and pushed the chair to the end of the hall, to the room Giyuu was dreading so much.

“Wait,” Giyuu said despite himself.

“What? I already told ya, it’s just us in here.”

“Tha- that’s the point.” Giyuu was red again, just as he had feared.

“Oh,” Sanemi said from behind him. “Oh.” Sanemi laughed out loud, making Giyuu look at him with a hint of worry. That was not the kind of reaction he had expected from him. “Don’t worry, buttercup, I’m a professional and you hardly have anything I haven’t seen before.”

Giyuu was certain even the tips of his ears were bright red at this point.

They both froze for a second when they got into the bathroom. Neither of them really knew what they were doing.

“Hm, you can’t really stand on your own so the shower is out of the question for now.” Sanemi walked into the bathroom, it wasn’t too big. He pulled away the colourful curtain from the bath in the corner of the room. “A bath, it is.”

From his position in the room, Giyuu could reach the top of the washing machine and so he put the pile of clothes there. There was no use postponing the inevitable now. Giyuu pulled at the hem of his shirt, starting to undress.

Sanemi got the water running before turning back to Giyuu. Without any words, for which Giyuu was rather grateful, Sanemi took the shirt out of his hands and pulled it over his head. It wasn’t like Giyuu would be able to do it on his own, lifting his arms right now was too painful.

“Gotta get rid of all these.” Sanemi frowned down at all the bandages covering Giyuu’s hands and torso. First, he took Giyuu’s hand in his and started unwrapping. Giyuu silently watched the movement of his nimble fingers.

Soon, Sanemi moved to his other hand and discarded the used bandages onto a pile. “’kay, now lean a bit forward so I can get to your back,” Sanemi said and Giyuu complied right away. He couldn’t help the small shiver as Sanemi’s hands kept brushing his revealed skin.

When even that was done, Sanemi knelt down in front of him and pulled off Giyuu’s socks. Giyuu’s cheeks burned when Sanemi looked up. Giyuu had trouble thinking straight with the way Sanemi was kneeling in front of him. Giyuu gripped his pants, willing himself to think about literally anything else.

Sanemi had interpreted the strong grip on his clothes as anxiety. “The pants gotta go down too.” He really wasn’t helping. Sanemi looked around, trying to think of something. “Fine, we can… oh, here. Stand up first.” Sanemi stood up himself.

Giyuu wasn’t sure what Sanemi wanted to do, but well, it didn’t really matter. He would have to undress one way or the other. The result would be the same. Sanemi had to help him up so that he wouldn’t upset his ankle further.

“I’ll turn around, you pull your pants and underwear down as far as you can reach without feeling too much pain and then,” his hand reached for something outside of Giyuu’s eyesight, “cover yourself with this towel and sit back down. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

Sanemi nodded and turned around just as he said. Giyuu took a deep breath, this would be really painful on his part. He bent over, pulling his clothes as far down as he could, but he barely reached to his knees, the pain was too much. He let out the breath he was holding, biting his lip in order to stay quiet. He didn’t want Sanemi to turn around just yet. The pain was too much, Giyuu wobbled. He still had to make sure all his weight was supported by his good leg, and it was getting hard to concentrate when his ribs were screaming at him. His hand shot out to Sanemi’s back. He needed some kind of support.

“You okay there?”

“Mhm,” Giyuu got out almost immediately. He took a second to calm his breathing before somehow sitting back down and pulling the towel over his private parts. Sitting, he tried to push the pants further down but again, he could only reach so far. Sanemi would have to finish it for him. “You can turn back now.”

Sanemi wordlessly did so and spared no time in finishing the task. He threw the clothes into the hamper on the side and reached down for his ankle, freeing it of bandages. While he was doing that, Giyuu unwrapped the bandages around the gash on his thigh. He only had to lift his leg up a bit. At least that was something he was able to do on his own.

The tub wasn’t filled yet, Sanemi turned to the water, checking the temperature and turning the taps as he saw fit. Neither of them said anything until it was done.

“I don’t suppose you can get in yourself?”

Giyuu shook his head. There was no way he would be able to climb in. Maybe if he only had his ankle in the way, he would be able to maneuver himself into the tub somehow but right now, he couldn’t exert himself much without hurting his ribs.

That was all the affirmation Sanemi needed. He bent down and picked him up bridal style, Giyuu going immediately stiff. The parts of his body where Sanemi’s skin touched his burned, but it wasn’t unpleasant, very far from it.

The temperature was warm enough, but not so hot that it would be too much. Giyuu kept the small towel over his groin. There were plenty other towels for them to use, it wouldn’t be missed anywhere.

“Close your eyes.” Sanemi was kneeling on the side of the tub. He tipped Giyuu’s head back with a finger under his chin. Giyuu didn’t need to be told twice and shut his eyes. Sanemi started pouring water over his hair soon after.

The way Sanemi’s fingers rubbed the shampoo into his long hair, massaging his scalp in the process, was one of the best feelings Giyuu had ever experienced. There were so many things Sanemi could have done wrong. He could have pulled at his hair, scratch him… but Sanemi was as gentle as they come. Giyuu quickly found himself starting to doze off.

“I know it’s been a long day, but stay up for a bit longer, okay?”

Giyuu hummed a bit in response, keeping his eyes closed. Sanemi would probably have no trouble bathing him quickly and efficiently even if he fell asleep. Sanemi really was good in almost everything he was doing it. Giyuu had no doubt he would manage just fine. However, it might get trickier when reapplying his bandages. That would go way faster if Giyuu was awake and cooperating.

By the time Giyuu forced his eyes open, Sanemi was already washing his shoulders and back. Giyuu wouldn’t be able to reach those places on his own as well. “Here,” Sanemi handed him the sponge. “You finish yourself, I’m gonna get rid of those.” He nodded his head in the general direction of the discarded bandages.

Giyuu appreciated how considerate Sanemi was. While Sanemi stepped out of the bathroom for a while, Giyuu did a quick work of washing himself and then waited a bit for Sanemi to return. He could tell that Sanemi was deliberately taking his time to give him some space. He appreciated it more than Sanemi could ever know.

Seeing Giyuu gazing to the side, lost in thought, Sanemi figured he was done and entered the room. “I’ll help you stand up first, then we go from there, okay?”

Giyuu were about to nod, but his head froze midway. The wet towel was pretty much good for nothing now. Sanemi must have read it on his face. “I’m not gonna look, I promise.”

He let himself be lifted up. The events of the day were starting to show their effect. Giyuu was feeling rather tired, ready to drop. He just wanted to get this over with. Even his modesty didn’t feel like such an issue when he was so close to getting some rest.

Sanemi, true to his words, kept his eyes locked on Giyuu’s face, not going down even for a second. He put a huge towel around Giyuu, basically enveloping him whole. Giyuu gripped the sides, holding it close to himself as Sanemi lifted him up again, putting him back on the wheelchair. He dried Giyuu’s hair with another towel.

“Lift your legs.” Sanemi put his legs into his underwear, lifting it up. “Same process?”

Giyuu nodded and so Sanemi helped him up again, turned around, waited some more and then helped Giyuu sit back down.

“I thought about it a bit, the bandages come on in the bedroom, there is not enough space here.” Again, Sanemi didn’t wait for any sort of answer, instead he placed the prepared clothes back into Giyuu’s lap and wheeled him back to the bedroom. Inside there, he lifted Giyuu up, along with the towel still around him, and put him down on the bed.

Sanemi went to find the medicine and the bandages while Giyuu dried off his body. Sanemi dropped the things on the bed next to him. “Is this everything?”

“I think so,” Giyuu answered him. There was a lot of stuff, surely it had to be everything.

Sanemi shrugged and took a bandage into his hand. He looked at Giyuu, waiting. Giyuu returned the look, just staring at Sanemi. “Well?” Sanemi said eventually.

Giyuu’s brows furrowed.

“The towel?” Sanemi reminded him.

“Oh.”

Giyuu pulled the towel off his shoulders, placing it over his legs instead. Sanemi started with the biggest one, his torso, and then moved onto his smaller injuries. He was just as gentle as before, not in any way in a hurry to get it done, instead doing so in an utmost care. If he kept this up for the weeks they were about to live together, Giyuu was in for some trouble. Well, mainly his heart was.

Done dressing his wounds and after he put on some loose pajamas, Sanemi helped him get under the covers. Giyuu had to be in a bit of an upright position, but that didn’t stop him from falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillows.

It wasn’t really late enough for a person to go to sleep when he did, but he was still in the process of healing and his body was just too weak to last longer. He needed the rest.

Giyuu wasn’t sure what the time was, but he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. “Giyuu.” He heard his name. His brain supplied that he wasn’t really supposed to hear his name, but he didn’t particularly care as he opened his eyes.

“Just drink this, then you can go back to sleep.” Sanemi was handing him something. A pill, Giyuu realized. Probably a painkiller for his ribs. The idea of Sanemi giving him something that might endanger his life didn’t even occur to him. He trusted him, and took the pill, downing it with a few sips of the offered water. He was back to sleep in no time.

The next time Giyuu opened his eyes on his own volition, he found the room to be in a complete darkness. He didn’t know where his phone was so he couldn’t really check the time, but it must have been early morning, maybe around 3 am if he had to guess.

Giyuu lay awake, his mind open, filling with random thoughts and wandering back to the security cameras. He recalled the fright he had felt when he first spotted the movement in the bushes. After everything he had been through, he couldn’t help the paranoia.

The more he thought, the more his mind went to the darkest stuff he could imagine and soon enough, Giyuu was back to that dark van. Goosebumps erupted on the skin of his exposed arms, a chill running down his spine. It got colder in the room all of a sudden.

At this point, his eyes were pretty adjusted to the dark and he could make out some of the furniture. One look to his right told him that Sanemi wasn’t there. His heart missed a beat as he panicked for a brief second, before telling himself that Sanemi was probably downstairs, sleeping on the couch.

Sanemi proved himself to be that kind of person who would be considerate enough to risk some back pain from the too small couch. But, a small invasive thought crawled its way into his mind, during the day, Sanemi refused to get out of earshot from Giyuu, why would he suddenly change that?

Giyuu couldn’t stay still, he pushed the covers away, about to pull his legs to the ground, when he heard rustling. He immediately froze.

“Whatcha doing, bear bear,” Sanemi mumbled from somewhere below and Giyuu had to squint his eyes to see him. Sanemi was lying on the ground right next to his side of the bed. Giyuu pulled the sheets back over himself.

“I can’t sleep,” Giyuu admitted. It was easier to say these things under the cover of the dark.

Sanemi’s figure moved in the dark. He shuffled closer and rested his hands on the bed, close to Giyuu. He put his head over his arms. “Wanna talk about it?” Sanemi’s voice was hoarse with sleep. Giyuu could tell Sanemi was forcing himself to stay awake for his sake.

“No, but-” Giyuu didn’t want to talk, he wanted somebody next to him, to remind him that he was not alone, not so vulnerable. He felt another chill run through his body.

“But what?” Sanemi said. It came out a bit muffled since he said it into his hands.

Giyuu was hesitant to ask such a thing, but he wanted to feel Sanemi’s warmth so much right now. He craved it like nothing else. He swallowed, pushing his worries to the back of his mind. If Sanemi thought him pathetic for wanting to be close to someone… well, he could always refuse.

“Could- can you come up here?”

Sanemi was silent. Giyuu thought he would start laughing any second now, but instead, Sanemi just stood up, took the pillow that was on the ground into his hand and made his way around the bed, one of his hands running around the edge of the bed so he wouldn’t trip.

“Sure, but only if you share the blanket,” he said sleepily once he put his pillow down.

Instead of answering, Giyuu lifted the covers up and Sanemi happily crawled in. Despite everything, Sanemi still kept his distance, not touching Giyuu in any way. But Giyuu wanted more.

Sanemi wasn’t moving. Giyuu supposed he was back to being asleep. Feeling confident, Giyuu reached out and took Sanemi’s hand into his. It was so warm. Its comfort exactly what Giyuu needed.

The memories of the cold and dark didn't plague his mind any more, not with Sanemi there next to him. Before Giyuu could fall asleep as well, he felt Sanemi gently squeeze his hand.

Chapter Text

The two of them easily fell into a routine. As the days went, Giyuu learned to be less bashful about the help he constantly needed and Sanemi was still coming up with new pet names every day. At this point, Giyuu was certain that Sanemi would really never stop. He didn’t really want him to anyway, and maybe Sanemi could read it on him even if Giyuu told him to stop it every time it happened.

They had already sorted everything with Giyuu’s new doctor as well as went shopping and it was honestly a miracle that they hadn’t encountered anyone odd yet. No one in this small town seemed to recognize Giyuu and no one really seemed to care about the newcomers.

Giyuu’s ankle was doing much better after almost a week. He didn’t need the wheelchair anymore, but Sanemi still found various excuses to carry him around himself. Giyuu knew it was just so he would have more opportunities to tease his burning cheeks. Giyuu thought that he would stop blushing around Sanemi so much but the opposite happened. He was now blushing even more.

He wasn’t the only one, though. For all his tough exterior, Sanemi could blush, too and he blushed plenty. Giyuu often found good opportunities to tease him. If Sanemi could do it, so could Giyuu, only that happened more sparingly. But worked every single time.

Today, it was another one of those grocery shopping days. The wheelchair stayed home. Sanemi and Giyuu had to stay together at all times so Sanemi always tried to shop as quickly as possible, while Giyuu handled the shopping cart, using it for support more than anything.

“Spinach or broccoli?” Sanemi asked him, holding out the green vegetables, obviously unable to decide.

Giyuu wasn’t paying him much attention, having spaced out a while ago. Sanemi usually worked so fast in the store but he always took so damn long picking the vegetables. “Uh, broccoli?” Giyuu answered without thinking, bored.

“Yeah, no, we had that last Thursday.” Sanemi put the broccoli back down and placed the pack of spinach into the cart. His decision made Giyuu roll his eyes. Why was he even asking him when he already had an idea in his head?

“Fine, but take the peas this time, I don’t like how you make beans.”

Sanemi faked offence at his words. “Sweetums, you wound me.”

“Not my fault you can’t make proper beans.”

“My beans are just fine, it’s you who has spoiled taste buds.”

Before Giyuu could say anything further, a woman with an odd hair color appeared in front of him, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Giyuu’s easy mood was immediately ruined. It couldn’t be… not so soon.

“Oh. My. God. It’s you, isn’t it?” She was almost yelling out of the sheer excitement, her eyes shining.

Sanemi dropped whatever he was doing and subtly moved in front of Giyuu, covering him with his own body. But the woman didn’t seem one bit down. She focused her attention on Sanemi instead without missing a beat. “It is! I can’t believe I would meet you during grocery shopping.”

It couldn’t be. Their cover was compromised. Soon, she would start taking pictures and then everyone around them would notice, recognize him, take some more of those and then within few hours, Giyuu would be on the front page of several magazines.

“Mitsuri, let them breathe.” Another man joined them. He lacked the enthusiasm of the woman, speaking in a rather bored manner.

“Honey, sweetie, love of my life, not now.” The man only rolled his eyes as she rushed closer to Sanemi, taking his hand and shaking it with both of hers. “I’m Mitsuri, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard of the couple moving into the neighborhood. I would have come invite you to a barbecue or something right away but Obanai told me to wait a bit till you get settled. Oh, right. This is my husband, Obanai.”

Mitsuri reached behind herself and found the lapels of Obanai’s jacket and pulled, making him stumble closer. She was stronger than she looked. “Hello,” Obanai said, pulling Mitsuri’s hands away from Sanemi’s.

They were safe. Giyuu realized it before Sanemi did. To be honest, Sanemi looked more shocked than Giyuu and so Giyuu took it upon himself. He was probably better at acting and pretending than most of the Dimore actors.

He let go off the cart and moved in front of Sanemi, however, he put his arm over Sanemi’s waist to keep himself from showing his limp so much. Sanemi automatically lifted his arm over Giyuu’s shoulders.

Giyuu put on a smile. To somebody like Sanemi who knew him, it would look awfully fake but Mitsuri and Obanai would never be able to tell unless they got to know him better, which they never really would.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Gouha Fumiaki, this is Sanemi.” He tried to sound as friendly as he could, but he made no effort to shake anyone’s hands. He no longer had bandages around his hands but the bruises and scrapes were still visible if one looked. “What gave us away?”

“Please, as if you don’t know.” Mitsuri laughed. “You two argue like an old married couple. I knew right away that it had to be you.”

Both Sanemi and Giyuu blushed at her words. While it was true that they were supposed to pose as a married couple, before Mitsuri came, they had been just talking, not intentionally being in the role. Sanemi shot a quick glance at Giyuu, an unreadable expression crossing his features before it was replaced by an easy smile.

“Well, you found us.”

“She did. If not now, she’d probably bombard your house within a week,” Obanai said from beside his wife. His even tone rivaling Giyuu’s usual one.

“O-ba-nai,” she whined his name, emphasizing each syllable. Although he was pretty much teasing her, Giyuu could see the corners of his lips twitching and nothing but love shining in his heterochromatic eyes. “So mean,” she said, shoving him lightly with no real intention of hurting him.

Mitsuri turned back to Giyuu and Sanemi, her face immediately lighting up again. It was as if her attitude changed within a second. “There is a better way to word it, but it’s true. I’d love to invite you both over, how about this weekend? You have a free evening? There will be neighbors, some wine, lots of fun. How about it?”

“We would love to, but… uhm-” Giyuu was at loss for words. Thought his acting was exceptional, he wasn’t that good with improvising. That would be rather useful right now.

Sanemi jumped in to save him. “Yeah, sure sounds lovely, but Gou here is still recovering after an accident.” Mitsuri’s eyes went wide, her mouth opening. Sanemi waved his hand, shutting her. “No, no, don’t worry, just a small accident when we were moving the boxes. I just don’t think Gou is ready to go out much.”

“That’s alright then,” Obanai said at the same time as Mitsuri started talking.

“Oh, I see, so you’re the protective one.” She pointed her finger at Sanemi, a knowing smile on her face. She lowered her voice a bit as she continued but they could all still hear it clearly. “Oba-bear is like that too.”

Finally, this was something that seemed to rattle the man. A faint pink showed on his face. “Mitsuri,” he hissed, “not in public.”

Mitsuri only laughed, Sanemi along with her. Giyuu just sent the guy an understanding smile, Sanemi sure loved to tease so Giyuu could relate to his embarrassment all too well.

“Oh, okay,” she said while catching her breath. “I guess the barbeque will have to wait but don’t think I’ll give up on you too.”

“Of course, some other time then,” Sanemi said with a friendly enough smile. Giyuu would have been just fine during a barbecue, it wasn’t anything hard nor physically demanding. He just needed to sit and socialize, but they were advised to keep to themselves and so Sanemi would use Giyuu’s injuries as an excuse for as long as he could.

Mitsuri would most likely spend hours interrogating them about their lives if Obanai hadn’t dragged her away. Both couples needed to finish their shopping. Sanemi decided to cut their shopping trip short, fearing they would end up meeting more people, or Mitsuri again.

Giyuu leaned close to Sanemi. “What are we gonna-”

“Don’t talk about it here.” Sanemi leaned even closer, whispering the words into Giyuu’s ear directly. Giyuu blushed involuntarily. To anyone watching them, they were just a married couple shopping together, while one of them said something teasing to make the other blush. Perfectly normal.

True to his words, Sanemi waited till they were in their car and on the road. Just as Giyuu thought, Sanemi wasn’t too eager to socialize with their neighbors even if Mitsuri seemed rather nice, if only too loud.

Another week passed by the time they heard of their neighbors again.

“Are you bullshitting me right now? You’re bullshitting me,” Sanemi said with an incredulous look. He and Giyuu were sitting on the couch, the small television flashing as Sanemi jumped from one channel to another.

“I’m not,” Giyuu replied calmly, his demeanor completely different to Sanemi.

“Not even the new ones, Tangled, Brave? Not even Frozen?”

“I heard about them but no.”

“I can’t believe this. A person who hasn’t seen a single freaking Disney movie. How? Just fucking how?”

Giyuu shrugged, Sanemi had to be exaggerating. It’s not like Giyuu was the only person on Earth who hadn’t seen those movies.

“What the hell did you do during your childhood?”

“Archery.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Sanemi stared at him. “You did archery? What kind of childhood is that?” He shook his head. “It’s settled then, we’re watching Disney movies every day from now on.”

“What if I don’t like them?”

“Then I’m calling Ayenora and telling him I want a divorce,” Sanemi said in all seriousness. Giyuu immediately cracked up. He knew Sanemi well enough at this point to know it was just his way of joking. Though he was also serious enough. There was no way Giyuu could refuse watching it with him.

A sound they hadn’t heard so far interrupted their banter. Somebody had rung their doorbell. Sanemi muted the television as he stood up. “Go upstairs. Now.” Giyuu did so immediately.

Sanemi checked if the weapon was still there, hidden by the door but in a way that enabled him to reach it within a second. It was still there, of course, no one but him and Giyuu had been inside the house since they had moved in. He looked through the peephole, letting out a breath as he recognized the pink/green hair.

He opened the door. “Mitsuri, hi. What do we owe the pleasure?”

“Hey, there, so nice to see you again. I was wondering if Gouha is feeling better?” She wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as the first time they met, but the positive vibes were still there.

“Yeah, he’s getting there. Is- is that why you’re here?”

She laughed, as if finding the question silly. “No, you see, Obanai and I and some of our friends were supposed to go bowling on Friday, but they can’t make it and since the place is already reserved for us, I thought I’d come invite you two. It would be the perfect opportunity to get to know each other a bit.”

Sanemi tried to analyse the situation as quickly as he could. He couldn’t take too long unless he wanted her to become suspicious of him. It sounded like it would be just the four of them. They could handle Mitsuri and Obanai. It was better than a barbecue with dozen or so people. Besides, they couldn’t exactly keep refusing the offers. It would soon be suspicious.

“Friday, you say?”

Mitsuri nearly jumped with excitement when he agreed on their behalf. She told him all the details like meeting time and the venue and then she was on her way. Sanemi made sure to lock the door properly behind her. Looked like they had plans for Friday night.

Chapter Text

Before they were supposed to go bowling with Mitsuri and Obanai, Sanemi had googled the venue and copied down the address. Mitsuri may have told him the name of the place but they were new in town, Sanemi had no clue where it was. Before they started getting ready, Sanemi made sure to inform Ayenora well in advance that he would not be able to update him on time.

When they were getting ready, Giyuu noticed Sanemi putting a gun into the inner pocket of his jacket. He instantly made him put it back where he found it. Giyuu wasn’t a big fan of weapons. Sanemi relented, but he slipped another one, although smaller, into the pocket when Giyuu wasn’t looking.

“Fuck, what do we say when they ask-”

“We’ve been over this,” Giyuu didn’t let him finish. They were driving to the bowling place now and Sanemi was starting to lowkey panic.

“This is not my scene, okay? There are so many things… we’ll have to improvise. What if they ask about stories, huh? I’m shit at stories. When Genya was little, I always told him the plot of a Disney movie instead of a story. I can’t make up stories on spot. I just can’t.”

Giyuu found the idea of Sanemi retelling his favorite cartoons to his younger brother rather endearing. He put a hand to Sanemi’s arm. “You’ll be fine. Just use your own experiences, tweak them a little.”

Sanemi gave out a hefty sigh. “I guess lying to two people is easier than lying to a whole bunch of them.”

“Not really,” Giyuu said thoughtfully.

“Wh- oh, right.” For a second there, Sanemi had forgotten who Giyuu really was. He was so used to him now. Used to just Giyuu. It felt like some kind of distant reality, thinking of Giyuu as the prince he was. It was like those political conflicts all over the world. You knew they were happening and true, but they were so far away that you kept forgetting about them.

Giyuu sure had a lot of experience with public appearances and well, lying to masses. Or maybe pretending would be a better term. Giyuu often had to play at somebody he was not just so he would appeal to the masses and so on. He was taking the pretending part way easier than Sanemi. It almost came natural to him, while Sanemi struggled a lot. It was rather sad more than anything.

Mitsuri and Obanai were already waiting for them. Mitsuri was her usual excited self while Obanai was just there, not looking particularly pleased but neither angry to be there with them all. Sanemi imagined Obanai and Giyuu in one room together, just the two of them, and had to do everything in his power not to burst out laughing at that thought alone. They would probably sit there quietly, ignoring each other.

They borrowed the proper shoes and registered their names with the employee and then they were free to play. Mitsuri and Sanemi proved to be rather competitive and so they ended up agreeing to play in pairs. Now the employee had to reset the names, giving the giggling Mitsuri an annoyed look, until Obanai glared at them, making them cease it immediately.

They agreed that the losing couple would be the one paying for their drinks.

Obanai and Mitsuri were the first team and so after they had all settled down around a table near the bowling lane and ordered their drinks, Mitsuri went to throw the ball first.

Sanemi had already thought her to be exceptionally strong but the way the ball flew through the pins with a bang caught even him by surprise.

"Damn," Giyuu said, and Sanemi found himself nodding along. That sounded about right.

The proud look in Obanai's eyes was hard to miss.

Mitsuri squealed as all the pins went down and did a small victory dance, pumping her fists in the air.

"You're on, fellas," she addressed Giyuu and Sanemi with an ecstatic, a bit presumptuous smile.

"I'll leave this to you, Nemi," Giyuu said, looking at Sanemi innocently. This was his way of getting back at him for all those pet names Sanemi would throw at him. Though, frankly, Giyuu loved Sanemi's name. It sounded so soft. At first he thought it didn't really fit him, but now he knew it was perfect.

Sanemi was already walking away from the table when be heard it. He tripped over his feet before regaining his balance. He looked back at Giyuu who only gave him that little smile of his.

Sanemi cleared his throat and moved along. He didn't manage to score a strike like Mitsuri did, but he got nearly all of the pins. Only one remained standing by the time he was out of moves.

Soon, it became clear how the game would go. Giyuu ended up not playing at all. He didn't want to endanger his ribs and so Sanemi played for them for all the rounds. He was a decent player, although he scored strikes way less than Mitsuri did.

If it was just Sanemi and Mitsuri playing, it was obvious that Mitsuri would wipe the floor with him, however, it wasn't just them. Where Mitsuri excelled, Obanai didn't. He was a beginner and it showed. Not once did he get all the pins.

Mitsuri's attempts weren't enough to secure a leading position. Sanemi was a few points ahead thanks to his continuous efforts.

"Hah, beat this," Mitsuri yelled out in joy as she scored a strike again on their last throw.

Now, the scores have turned and Mitsuri and Obanai were leading. This was Sanemi's last chance to win. Giyuu patted his knee encouragingly before Sanemi stood up, letting him know he was rooting for him.

Sanemi couldn't lose his face in front of Giyuu. He took a deep breath and gave it his all, scoring an astounding strike.

When he turned around, he saw Mitsuri's jaw hanging open. "Wow. I would be mad for losing but that was one hell of a strike."

"What can I say, it's my natural talent." They all laughed, Obanai and Giyuu a bit quieter than the other two. They knew it was hardly a talent, more luck than anything.

Mitsuri shot up in her seat, her back going straight at a lightning speed as she got an idea. "You know what this calls for?" She had an ear splitting grin on her face.

The response she got was three pairs of eyes on her, all the males around her confused.

After a bit of suspenseful wait, she revealed her idea. "A victory kiss!"

Giyuu and Sanemi turned red at the same time.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss," she began chanting, not giving them much space for any kind of refusal.

Giyuu risked a quick glance at Sanemi who turned his head just in time to meet Giyuu's eyes. They were already both seated next to each other at this point.

They were supposed to be a married couple. Kissing was nothing weird for married couples.

Giyuu reached forward, his hand going around Sanemi's neck. They were eye to eye now, their height difference erased by their position. Sanemi was stiff, not really responding but not resisting either as Giyuu pulled him closer and joined their lips together.

It was just a peck at first, but neither of them moved away. Giyuu was good at pretending, right now he had to sell this role of a husband. He started moving his lips slowly. The pretending part wasn't hard. He had already previously thought about what kissing Sanemi would feel like.

Sanemi seemed to get over the initial surprise as he placed his hands on Giyuu's hips. He turned his head a little to the side to make the kissing easier. Then he reciprocated, adding a bit more fervor to it. Giyuu happily accommodated him.

They were both flushed when they pulled away.

Mitsuri was left gaping, though her surprise didn’t last long as she burst out laughing. “A peck on the cheek would have been enough.” Sanemi and Giyuu turned redder, if that was even possible. “I love love.” Mitsuri clapped her hands together, sighing in delight, ignoring the very much flustered Giyuu and Sanami.

She turned to her husband, her smile falling, though it looked intentional. “Oba,” she tapped a finger against her lips, “we can’t be left behind.”

Finally, it wasn’t just Giyuu and Sanemi blushing. Obanai muttered something inaudible, but he leaned closer and kissed her, though their kiss was much gentler and way shorter than Giyuu and Sanemi’s.

A waitress picked the perfect time to come ask them if they had everything they needed, giving all of them some time to cool down. Well, maybe not Mitsuri, she was perfectly fine with some PDA.

“I finally remembered,” Mitsuri exclaimed all of a sudden. “I’ve been meaning to ask you... the big question, the one and only. How did you two meet? Was it something cute, romantic? Please tell me it was.”

Giyuu looked at Sanemi, uncertain. Sanemi laughed at the question and took Giyuu’s hand into his, squeezing and non-verbally telling him that he got this. He would use the advice Giyuu had given him in the car before.

Sanemi never let go of Giyuu’s hand as he began retelling the story. “Well, depends how you look at it. But, sure, you could say it was romantic in a sense. We met by chance-”

“Doesn’t everybody meet by chance?” Obanai pointed out.

“Fair point,” Sanemi said, momentarily thrown off.

“Not really,” Giyuu came to his rescue. “Some people are set up by friends or so.”

“Yeah, that, but anyways. I was on a vacation where Gou used to live, I was just getting some coffee, you know, taking a break from all the sightseeing for a while, when he came inside. Now, I didn’t really pay him much mind, just another customer, blah, blah, but I noticed that something seemed off about him, like dude was scared out of his wits.”

Giyuu elbowed him. “No, I wasn’t.”

Sanemi looked at him, before his eyes moved back at the married couple in front of him. Obanai seemed to be rather into it, nodding along and sitting on the edge of his seat. Sanemi briefly wondered if Obanai and Mitsuri went through something like that. Mitsuri was rather attractive, he wouldn’t be surprised if she had a stalker or two in her life and with how protective Obanai seemed… he could probably relate to some extent.

“He totally was, and well, I couldn’t just ignore him. As it turned out his ex was a real mental case, he was following him and threatening him, so I ended up helping him out a bit. We just kinda ended up meeting each other again and again and well, here we are now,” Sanemi finished with a small smile. The more Giyuu looked at it, the more genuine it felt.

“Aw, sweet lord, that really is romantic,” said Mitsuri.

“Yeah, Nemi is like my own personal knight in a shining armor.” Giyuu didn’t need to force the smile on his face, it was already there.

Now, Sanemi felt like they had revealed enough, hopefully enough not to make the couple suspicious. It would be best to divert the attention from them somehow. He had to get Mitsuri talking. That seemed to work every time.

“How did you two meet?”

Mitsuri glowed. She turned to Obanai. “Can I? Can I, please?”

“Sure.” He wasn’t too opposed to the idea of letting her talk. She loved talking so why not let her.

“Okay, first of, you need to know that Oba works at a pet store. He was working there even back then when we met. So imagine, I had this friend, we knew each other from high school, she was a good friend, but more like a casual one, if you know what I mean? Her birthday was nearing, no it was actually-”

“The point, Mitsu,” Obanai jumped in.

“Oh, sorry, I get side-tracked easily,” she laughed at herself, not too bothered. “So her birthday was just few days away and I forgot to get her a gift and she had this cat, so I thought I could buy something for the cat? I came to the pet store, it was pretty late, I think it was super close to closing, actually, and it was just me and Oba there.”

She giggled, recalling the event in so clearly as if it had happened only yesterday. “I didn’t really have a set idea in my mind so I was just kind of wandering around the store when I noticed one of the cages opened, there was a sign next to it, about what kind of snake was supposed to be there so I went to ask Oba if it should be opened or not and he just,” she started wheezing, hitting her leg and then Obanai’s.

“He- he just looked at me,” she continued, “just stared at me for several minutes, legit several minutes with this blank face, not saying anything. I was getting kinda unsure of myself there, like, did he get what I was asking or was I asking something totally stupid? So I told him again that one of the cages was opened. He then finally said no. A simple no. No, it shouldn’t be opened. He told me I must be wrong ‘cause there was a snake inside, it couldn’t be opened.”

“But it was?” Sanemi jumped in.

“Yeah, it was, it really was. So insisted on him walking with me there and showed him and finally, I got to see some reaction. He totally freaked over the snake.”

“It was one of the little ones, it’s hell to find them,” Obanai said matter-of-factly, as if it was a common knowledge.

Mitsuri laughed again. “C’mon, it’s not just that, everyone knows you love your snakes.” She patted his cheek affectionately before going back to her story. “Now, it was getting pretty late so I offered to help him look for it and then I just kept coming to the store.”

“My interest was piqued, for sure, but it was Oba who was crushing hard from the first day. Real love at first sight, right, honey? You were so cute and when you told me you were so silent back then because I was just so mesmerizing, oh, I nearly cried when he told me that while proposing.”

Their talk was nice, they ended up getting to know each other better, thought Giyuu felt a bit bad for basically lying to them about mostly everything. They were good and nice people. They just so happened to be their overly friendly neighbors. It couldn’t be helped.

Mitsuri wasn’t a sore loser at all, she and Obanai paid for the drinks and then Sanemi insisted on paying for the use of the bowling alley. Fair and square. He didn’t want to owe anything, but it was also a tactful thing to do.

Back in the car, neither of them talked about the kiss or what it meant. It was too complicated and took a lot of effort to even think about it. It was easy now, to just live in the moment, enjoy what they had, but the truth was, neither of them knew how long that would be.

On their way back, Sanemi made a quick stop and borrowed some Disney classics.

Chapter Text

Several days had passed since their double date with Mitsuri and Obanai. They still hadn’t talked about it, but something between them had changed. It wasn’t something they needed to talk about, they both understood.

Sanemi didn’t have to cook every time now, Giyuu was already cleared to perform some basic, not to difficult, day to day activities. He could make food by himself just fine, even though his skills were pretty limited. Sanemi continued to cook for them despite the fact.

They weren’t close enough yet to get all intimate with each other, but there were plenty of passionate make-out sessions, most of them ending abruptly when Giyuu started coughing, his ribs still not allowing him to function normally just yet.

They were also plenty of cuddles, accompanied by the catchy songs of a Disney movie Sanemi had picked for the night, and did they really watch a Disney movie every night. The previous day, they had gotten so into it that Sanemi had forgotten to update Ayenora at midnight, resulting in a rather stern call. They had both agreed not to reveal to Ayenora what they were really doing.

The following day, after nearly three weeks they had spent together, they received a call. There was finally some new information on the situation inside the palace. They were told that they should expect another call soon.

And the call came, on the same day, just a few hours later. It was time to go home.

The overall mood in the house changed abruptly. Suddenly, they were facing something both of them tried to avoid but it was here, and very much real but so were the growing feelings they had for each other.

Somebody else was coming to pick them up and escort them to a private hangar. Sanemi was originally supposed to go his separate way, instead of Dimore heading to his own home in Japan but he insisted of accompanying Giyuu all the way to the palace and similarly, Giyuu refused to go anywhere without Sanemi by his side.

There were many things left unsaid between them and they were not ready to part ways for good just now. Neither of them wanted that. They planned on holding onto each other for as long as they could.

In the plane, Giyuu’s personal doctor was present, immediately checking the progress of his healing. Sanemi wasn’t worried one bit. He had taken good care of Giyuu, carefully bandaged all his wounds each day, reminding him of his medicine if he forgot, he did everything right. Even the local doctor was satisfied with the rate he was healing during the weekly check-ups.

They didn’t get much chance to talk in the plane. They couldn’t discuss their future now, with others around them. It was something between Sanemi and Giyuu only.

Akiro was already waiting for them when they landed. He drove them back to the palace, updating Giyuu on people and stuff Sanemi never heard off and so he stayed quiet almost the entire ride. Akiro sent him a few concerned looks through the rear-view mirror, but Sanemi still didn’t say anything. He only kept a strong hold of Giyuu’s hand, that was so contently resting in his. Somewhere where Akiro couldn’t see. It wasn’t a thing they could explain just yet. They needed to get a sense of it themselves first.

Every time Akiro addressed Giyuu as ‘sir’, Sanemi was painfully reminded of their reality.

Giyuu was scheduled to meet his uncle, the king, right away and so Akiro led them there. They hadn’t met anyone on their way through the luxurious halls of the palace, which Sanemi thought was intentional. He had to wait outside with Akiro while Giyuu went in.

“Giyuu,” the king hugged him immediately, making sure he didn’t put too much force into it. He pulled Giyuu away, keeping his hands at his shoulders and really looking at him. “You look so much better now.”

“I feel better.”

“That’s good, so how was it, did you and that soldier get along?”

Giyuu blushed despite himself. “It was okay, we-” he cleared his throat, “we got along fine.”

“I see.” There was a knowing smile on his face, the kind a parent would have. For all intents and purposes, he was like a second father to Giyuu. He always liked him and it felt almost natural to fill that role for him once Giyuu’s parents died. By now, he knew Giyuu well enough to know what that red face meant.

“Akiro told me that you both refused to part ways,” the king said.

“Yes.” Giyuu wasn’t sure what his uncle was getting at, but he wasn’t about to lie to him, one of the few people that genuinely cared about him.

“With you here, his mission is over,” he said, “but, there are certain strings I could pull, maybe get him employed in the palace security. Of course, only if both parties wanted that.”

“Yes,” Giyuu blurted out without thinking, barely waiting long enough for his uncle to stop speaking, making the older man laugh. “If he would want that,” Giyuu added as an after-thought.

“Naturally.” He sat up straighter in his seat in front of Giyuu. “Now, I know it’s way sooner than either of us expected but there have been some interesting developments lately and,” his expression turned solemn, “I think I know who is behind this.”

Giyuu wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. “Who?” he asked anyway.

Sanemi sprang from his position as the door to the king’s office opened from inside. He had been leaning on the wall next to Akiro, contemplating things, a lot of things, his whole life pretty much, but especially his future.

It wasn’t just Giyuu at the door, the king appeared right behind him. Sanemi was a bit lost for a second, not knowing what to do, but then he saw Akiro do a little bow with his head and copied the move. The king only chuckled.

“Mr. Shinazugawa, right?”

Sanemi nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“I leave him in your care.”

“Yes, sir.”

The king left them then, returning to his office with an amused air about him. Giyuu, on the other hand, looked awfully pale.

Sanemi, not thinking his actions through, stepped closer to him, placing his hands on Giyuu’s forearms. “Are you okay?” He was worried. Giyuu looked like this only when he was having one of his episodes and getting some flashbacks to the day he was kidnapped. Sanemi couldn’t care less about Akiro’s steady and analyzing gaze on them.

“I guess. I’ll tell you everything in my room.”

Sanemi nodded, squeezing his arms before letting go and leaving the two of them to lead the way, after all, it was the first time he was inside the palace, he had no idea where anything was.

Akiro stopped at the door, while Sanemi followed Giyuu. Giyuu hugged him as soon as the door was closed. He wasn’t crying per se, but his entire body was trembling. He was far from okay.

“What happened?” Sanemi asked him, accepting the embrace and not letting go. He started drawing slow circles on Giyuu’s back, having done this many times before. He knew it would help him calm down.

“Uncle told me about who he suspects. I just- I don’t want to believe it.”

Sanemi was quiet, drawing more circles on his back. “So it’s really one of the people you told me about? One of your relatives?”

He didn’t answer, but Sanemi could feel him nodding against his chest.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

This finally brought a small smile to Giyuu’s face. At first it was just a game. It was interesting to see how many pet names Sanemi would come up with, but lately, he was just using them, not as a sort of some inside joke, but instead to show genuine affection.

He didn’t know how long they were standing there like that, just hugging each other, reveling in the warmth and comfort, but there were things Giyuu had to tell him about. “Uncle came up with a plan. A way to draw them out.”

“Don’t tell me he wants to use you as a bait.”

“I agree with him, though, it’s a good plan.”

“You’re not gonna be a freaking bait, that’s dangerous,” Sanemi couldn’t hold in his temper.

Giyuu only rolled his eyes. “Let me finish. It’s clever, not dangerous. And now I have you here. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“Damn straight.” Sanemi buried his head in Giyuu’s hair. “I just don’t want to see you hurt again. I saw enough of that to last me a lifetime.”

Giyuu hummed in agreement. He, too, would rather prefer not to get hurt or kidnapped ever again. Hopefully, Sanemi would remain by his side for much longer to make sure that never happened again.

Now Giyuu had to explain the plan to him.

The explanation didn’t take long, it was a simple yet effective plan. In the end, Sanemi agreed to take part in it, they would start it almost immediately. After they all rested a bit, though.

Sanemi ended up sleeping in Giyuu’s room, sharing a bed with him. They had gotten used to it, it wasn’t anything odd. Akiro seemed a bit confused but he didn’t dare say anything back to Giyuu.

The next day, the news of prince Giyuu being back in the palace spread like a wildfire. While he and Sanemi were in the safety of the small, remote town, the public and everyone else in the palace was told that Giyuu was at a private resort, recovering after the kidnapping.

It was a simple excuse. The public wouldn’t question it, after all, he was a prince, there was nothing weird with a rich person spending weeks at some fancy resort. The people in the palace, now that was something else. It was a good enough excuse for Giyuu’s absence, but they were his relatives, of course it wouldn’t make sense to hide the location from them.

This was how the king found out who the real culprit was. Well, at least in theory. They still needed a proof. But the reactions Giyuu’s relatives had to him staying at some resort were rather telling.

Giyuu was in his room, anxious and waiting if they plan would work. Of course, there was a possibility it wouldn’t and the one responsible wouldn’t try anything right away, but the king was certain it would work and so Giyuu waited.

Now, Akiro was nowhere in sight and there, in front of Giyuu’s door, was Sanemi. He was dressed in a black suit, though unlike the guards in the palace, he kept his shirt unbuttoned at the top. Akiro would probably whack him over the head if he saw. Saying something about being disrespectful and all. Sanemi was really just waiting for the man to snap. It was safe to say Sanemi was really pushing it.

Sanemi let go the silly thoughts as soon as he saw a figure approaching. A rather elegantly dressed figure. A man with fair hair, holding a tray with something Sanemi couldn’t yet see, walked up to him.

“Hello, there,” he gave Sanemi a friendly smile, “are you perhaps new here?”

Sanemi nodded. “Yes, sir.” He knew who this man was. The rainbow colored eyes weren’t a trait many people possessed. This was Giyuu’s uncle, prince Douma, the last in the line.

“My, my, and you were already assigned to Giyuu. You must be real something. I hope you enjoy the work here, of course.” Another one of those sweet smiles. Sanemi could now see what Giyuu meant when he said his uncle was one of the friendliest people he knew. “If you could open the door now, I’d love to see my nephew now.”

“Naturally, sir. If you would give me the tray first, I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary. I made Giyuu some tea to welcome him back, I want to give it to him myself.”

“Pardon me, but isn’t it kind of weird for you to make tea personally?” Sanemi, if he wasn’t as close to Giyuu would never say something like this, risking his job, potentially. But there was none of that. His question had an exact aim.

Douma laughed. His laugh sounded really pleasant, but no real person laughed like that, not when the laugh was genuine. “You know, since you’re new here, I’m gonna humor you.” He leaned in closer, about to tell a secret. “I can’t cook anything, but there was no one in the kitchen so I had to make this myself somehow. But don’t tell Giyuu that, okay?” he said with a wink.

“Of course.” Sanemi knew why there was no one in the kitchen. It wasn’t a coincidence, but a well-organized plan.

Sanemi opened the door for him. It wasn’t part of the original plan, but he was improvising. He was supposed to get the tray from Douma but that was not necessary now. He let him but followed inside as well.

Giyuu stood up when they entered, not expecting this. His eyes searched for Sanemi immediately. Sanemi gave him a subtle nod. Everything was going fine, even if not exactly as they were planning on.

Douma set the tray on the table. “Giyuu, my favourite boy.” He went for a hug, squeezing Giyuu until he had to tell him to stop because of his ribs. Sanemi was ready to rip Douma away from him if he hadn’t let go, apologizing immediately.

“Come get some tea, I made you some,” Douma said, his hand on Giyuu’s back, pushing him toward the table with the tray.

“Don’t drink it,” Sanemi said, much to Douma’s surprise.

The man merely laughed, but there was something threatening in it. “I know you’re new here, but honestly, man.”

“We know it’s poisoned, you don’t have to keep up your dumb act. I could smell it in there clearly. For the fact you’re trying to kill a freaking prince, you didn’t really give it much thought.”

Sanemi could smell the poison in there right when Douma had leaned in conspiringly. It was his own fault. Douma’s laugh stopped but the smile stayed, turning predatory. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not the one who made it.” He tried to spin it.

“You said something else a minute ago.”

“You can’t prove anything.”

“You sure about that? So if I take a sip of that drink, nothing’s gonna happen?” Sanemi challenge with an easy going smile, he made a step toward the table. Douma stiffened.

“Sanemi, no,” Giyuu said frantically.

“Yeah, you hear him Sanemi?” Douma said his name almost mockingly. “Stop this nonsense.”

Sanemi wasn’t too worried. He understood perfectly well what Giyuu meant to say. He wasn’t about to really drink the tea, he wasn’t stupid. He just wanted to make Douma uneasy. But let him think that Giyuu was on his side, what a convenient development.

“I don’t need to do anything, the tea will be tested and we’ll know for sure what it contains.”

Right after Sanemi finished saying that, Douma rushed forward, but Sanemi was expecting this and blocked his way. “Not so fast.” Douma may have had some muscles on him, but hours in gym were nothing compared to Sanemi’s combat training and experience. “I hope you weren’t about to break that cup. Now that wouldn’t look good for you.”

Douma laughed but this time there was a hint of nervousness. This was going good for Sanemi, not for him. “Of course, not.” He struggled out of Sanemi’s grip, only getting freed when Sanemi decided to let go. Douma stumbled back a few steps. “For all we know it could’ve been you. You’re knew, we don’t know you. Maybe you are the one who wants to hurt my Giyuu.”

“Oh, fuck,” Sanemi burst out laughing. He nearly bent in half. “That’s some hilarious shit right there.”

“Hey, stop laughing,” Douma snapped. “I’m not kidding. Security, security,” he shouted, turning his head in the direction of the hallway.

He didn’t have to wait long. Akiro and several others showed right up. “Oh, thank God,” Douma said. “Take this man away, he tried to poison the prince. Just look at the tea, you can smell the poison in it.” His sounded pathetic.

Akiro walked to him. “I’m sorry, sir, but we already know what happened. I’m afraid you’ll have to go with us.”

“What? Go where? I’m telling you, he’s the guy.” Douma waved at Sanemi, his movements wild.

“We’ll accompany you to the police station. Please cooperate,” said Akiro, ever-calm.

“You can’t do that. I am a prince. You can’t do that.”

“They certainly can.” The king’s voice resounded within the room. Sanemi had never heard the man speak so coldly. There was not a speck of mercy in his eyes.

“Brother, you have to help me,” Douma pleaded.

“No one can help you now, Douma. You did this to yourself.”

The king refused to listen to what Douma had to say, the police would deal with that when they were interrogating him. Douma was led away and the tea was taken as evidence, carefully handled by one of the guards.

The plan worked. The one who tried to kill Giyuu on several occasions was finally caught. To be completely honest, Sanemi wasn’t sure it would work. Giyuu had told him how the king came to the assumption that it was Douma.

When it was revealed that Giyuu was in a far-away resort, Zenitsu reacted with a long sigh, saying he was jealous and would, too, love to spend some time wasting his days on some tropical island. Muichirou didn’t care in the slightest, only nodding, not even pulling his eyes up from what he was doing. Aoi seemed concerned about Giyuu, asking all kinds of questions about his health, but she seemed overall happy that he was out there somewhere, relaxing and healing. Douma was the only one who kept asking about where Giyuu was.

Giyuu was still feeling down because of Douma. He though his uncle liked him but in reality he didn’t care more about Giyuu than he cared about money. Which was quite sad, seeing as Douma was already rich enough. Giyuu didn’t quite understand why Douma would come after him only, but maybe after he killed Giyuu, he would kill the others in the line before him as well. Thankfully, he wouldn’t get the chance now.

Sanemi pulled Giyuu out of his room, he wanted to distract him somehow, make him feel better. He decided a nice walk through the gardens of the palace would do.

There was no one besides them, Sanemi reached out and took Giyuu’s hand. They walked together in silence. All Giyuu needed was Sanemi beside him, he didn’t need to say anything. Giyuu was already feeling much better, knowing that there was still someone who cared about him. He realized it then and there, he didn’t want Sanemi to leave.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Giyuu said exactly what he was thinking.

“I don’t want to leave either. I don’t want to leave you.” Sanemi stopped moving, making Giyuu look at him. Sanemi wanted Giyuu to look at his eyes directly, to see that Sanemi was being honest.

“You could stay here.”

“It’s not that easy, my job, my brother-” Before Sanemi could finish, they were interrupted.

“Tanjirooo.” A voice carried across the spacious garden. Both Sanemi and Giyuu immediately looked around, trying to locate its source.

“Zenitsu?” Giyuu muttered to himself. He recognized that voice as his cousin. He didn’t expect Zenitsu to be in the gardens at this time.

“Tanjiro?” Sanemi said at the same time as Giyuu. He knew a Tanjiro.

“Sanemi?” A familiar voice said as a head full of burgundy hair appeared in front of them. Sanemi was blankly staring at his brother’s boyfriend, or whatever they were, his jaw dropping.

“Giyuu?” Zenitsu finally showed up as well. He wiped his tears. He cried a lot. “Giyuu?” he repeated, sounding happy all of a sudden, completely forgetting whatever he and Tanjiro were doing. “You’re back! And who is this? Found yourself a stud while you were away, huh?” He waggled his eyebrows at Sanemi.

“The fuck?” Sanemi said, reacting to his words.

Tanjiro was quick to elbow Zenitsu. “Zenitsu, no. This is Genya’s brother.”

“Your Genya’s? But why would he be here?”

“What do you mean his Genya? Is he here?” Sanemi looked at Tanjiro, waiting for an answer.

Zenitsu looked from Tanjiro to Sanemi and then back at Tanjiro, confused. “Why are you here?” He emphasized the ‘you’ part.

“What,” Giyuu said, but no one heard him.

“Shut up, everybody.” Sanemi could no longer stand this silly squabbling that led to nothing. “I’m Giyuu’s body guard, that’s why I’m here, now why are-” He didn’t even realize he didn’t address Giyuu as he should have. As a usual body guard would have.

Zenitsu jumped in. “Then why are you holding hands?”

“None of your fucking business,” Sanemi spat back, not dropping Giyuu’s hand. He couldn’t care less about being polite to Prince Zenitsu. He was angry and angry Sanemi didn’t give a fuck about manners. Giyuu didn’t even try to scold him at this point, knowing it would be useless. He could at least somewhat control himself in front of the king.

“Why are you here, Tanjiro?” Sanemi continued his own questioning.

“I have known prince Zenitsu since we were teenagers, we’re friends,” he shrugged. “Does Genya know you’re here? He told me you were on a mission somewhere.”

“This is my mission,” he pointed at Giyuu, “but he doesn’t know any details, I haven’t properly talked to him for several weeks. Are you and Genya still a thing?”

Tanjiro’s face broke into a bright smile. “Yeah, we are, very much so.”

“What the fuck does that mean? You planning on moving in together or what?” Sanemi frowned.

“Well…” Tanjiro said weakly, as if Sanemi had guessed just right but he was afraid to tell him. It was something he should hear from his brother first. Sanemi didn’t seem to quite get what he was implying, though.

Now it was Giyuu who was elbowing Sanemi. “Don’t be so overprotective, Tanjiro is a nice person.”

“Fine, fine. I’m not gonna meddle or anything,” Sanemi admitted defeat. “I really need to fucking talk to Genya already.” He missed his brother so much over these past few weeks. He always missed his only remaining family member when he was away on missions.

“You will.” Giyuu squeezed his hand.

“Are you sure you’re just his body guard?” Zenitsu said doubtfully.

Sanemi’s head whipped in his direction. “Seriously, shut-”

“He’s not.”

“Giyuu,” Sanemi said, sounding solemn. There were many things they needed to talk through.

“No, I really care about you.” Giyuu paused for a second. Taking a deep breath, reading himself. “I think I love you. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I think I love you, too. No, I know I do, but it’s not that ea-”

“Easy? We can make it easy. You can work here, make sure I’m safe. You’re awfully good at that. We can make it work. My uncle is only a king.”

“Let’s go, Zenitsu,” Tanjiro whispered to the blonde next to him, trying not to ruin their conversation. This was something they should talk over in private.

“Nah, I’m good. But bring me some popcorn on your way.”

Tanjiro rolled his eyes, he should have expected such a reply. He grabbed Zenitsu’s hoodie and dragged him away from the couple. “Tanjiroo,” Zenitsu whined, but he at least had the decency to remain somewhat not really loud.

Neither Sanemi nor Giyuu noticed them leaving.

“But-”

“No, no buts. There doesn’t have to be a but.”

“I’m just a nobody. You are going to be a king, Giyuu and I…” Sanemi couldn’t finish it.

“So what? Have you seen the British royal family? This is not 16th century, no one cares about that anymore. My family surely doesn’t.”

Sanemi was silent, his eyes searching Giyuu’s but there was only honesty and love in those blue pools, the intensity of his emotions overflowing.

“You really think we can make it work? Just like that? You gonna bribe people and shit?”

“If I have to.”

Sanemi laughed at that. He pulled Giyuu into his chest, hugging him tightly. “Okay.” He kissed the top of his head. “In that case, I’m never letting go again.”

“What if I need to use a bathroom?”

“Eh, I’ll find you some closet, don’t worry, but the door stays open.”

Giyuu didn’t need to see his grin to know it was there. He groaned. “That was one time.”

“Uh-huh.”

Just like he promised, Giyuu, or well, his uncle, took care of everything. Sanemi had nothing against working in the palace and captain Ubuyashiki, though he would miss his temperamental, but loyal, soldier, supported him and his love. There was no issue as Sanemi switched jobs.

Only a day after Sanemi and Giyuu returned to Dimore, Sanemi finally got to talk to Genya and was quite shocked to learn that he and Tanjiro were talking about moving in together. Genya even told him he had a ring ready. Sanemi was quite shocked but his brother looked happier than ever before and so Sanemi did nothing besides congratulating him.

Since Tanjiro was from Dimore just like Giyuu, Genya and him were searching for houses in Dimore. Sanemi was fearing that he would be separated from his brother for no reason. If he decided to stay in Japan, he would end up alone since Genya was already sure he was going to move to Dimore.

The citizenship was again something Sanemi didn’t have to worry about, and Genya neither. The king pulled some string for the brothers, making it way too easy. If not him, then Giyuu would do it and Zenitsu, too for Tanjiro, just to get his best friend’s boyfriend there and make him happy.

Their lives didn’t pan out as they expected but none of them was complaining. Finally, they all got their happy ending. Maybe except Zenitsu, who kept complaining about the two couples, and how disgustingly sweet they were. Really, he was just jealous of what they had.

Giyuu had never expected the white-haired man to end up being this important to him. He surely didn’t think so after the first time they had met. Everything was so much different back then.

The first time Giyuu had told Sanemi not to leave him, Sanemi did. But in the end, it turned out to be a lie. He left once but something, maybe faith, brought them back together. Now, Giyuu would never have to ask him to stay again. He didn’t have to.