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It was a well known saying that you should marry your best friend. That your spouse should be the one you trusted the most in the world, the one who always had your back no matter what. Guren had married just that person, his best friend since he was sixteen, the one he had laughed and cried with, the one he trusted enough to share his secrets with and most importantly, the only one he could truly be himself with. Yet somehow he didn’t think this was what all those people were referring to. If someone had told Guren five months ago that he would soon be a married man, he would have laughed. He would have laughed even harder if he had been told exactly who he was supposed to be married to. He wasn’t laughing now.
It could have been worse, he supposed. Not much had changed, except the ring he now wore on his finger, and the hissing monster he’d just managed to stumble over which had somehow found its way into his home. Byakomaru’s eyes followed him accusingly as he made his way over to the kitchen area to grab a glass of water. His best friend, turned husband was seated at the table, sketching something on that tablet of his. He gave him a knowing look when Guren stormed into the kitchen.
“Did you step on my cat again?”
“You should teach him not to walk in front of people,” Guren fired back, downing the glass, “and I don’t see why he has to live here in the first place.”
His husband sighted.
“We’ve been over this. I’m not going to abandon my cat just because I now live with you.”
“Oh please, Shinya, you’ve been living here for years. Most of the things in my closet were yours long before we got married.”
“Maybe so, but now we’re official.”
“I want a divorce. Take your cat and leave me alone.”
“You’re mean.”
“And you’re annoying, now do we have anything edible in the house?”
Shinya shrugged before turning his attention back to the tablet, experimentally drawing another line before deleting it with an annoyed huff. Guren had to edge closer to him in order to see more clearly what it was he was drawing. He placed a hand on the backrest of Shinya’s chair, leaning closer to look over his shoulder.
“Still working on that comic?”
“Yeah, I just can’t get this one panel right! I know how I want it to look in my head but my hand doesn’t want to cooperate.”
The picture looked fine to Guren, Shinya had done a marvelous job capturing the shadows and the movements, like he always did (not that Guren would tell him that, Shinya’s ego did not need that extra boost.).
“It’s not too bad.”
“Jeez, thanks, honey.”
Shinya had started using pet names a couple of days after their wedding, and while it had flustered him at first, Guren had eventually gotten used to them. Some though, he never wanted to hear again. Where Shinya got them from, he didn’t know, and he liked to keep it that way. But he had to admit that they sometimes could be useful.
While they’d told their friends that the wedding was only for practical reasons (once Mito finally had stopped yelling about not being invited to the ceremony long enough for them to actually defend themselves.) the rest of the world didn’t need to know that, or more precisely, the Hiiragis’ didn’t need to know that.
Shinya’s adoptive family had handled the news better than both of them could have imagined. Tenri hadn’t spoken a word to either of them since Shinya posted that fateful picture on instagram (a true improvement from before when he would check in once a month to ruin Shinya’s day.), Seishiro had told them to lose his number (why he thought they had his number saved in the first place Guren didn’t know.), they still hadn’t heard from Mahiru, which was probably for the best, and Shinoa had only shrugged and told them she always knew it would happen eventually (Guren still found it confusing that so many people seemed to think that he and Shinya was destined to get together), but the weirdest one by far was Kureto.
The oldest Hiragi brother had showed up unannounced on their doorstep one morning, carrying a big box with a neat bow on top. Guren had never liked Kureto and he was fairly certain that the feelings were mutual. The way he treated the people around him, especially Shinya, made Guren want to punch him in the face. Therefore he couldn’t have been more surprised when Kureto had handed him the box, congratulated him on his marriage and told him to give his regards to his brother. Guren had stood in the doorway, staring slack jawed as Kureto’s black car disappeared around a corner. Only when Shinya sleepily whined at him to close the door did he manage to compose himself long enough to drag himself to the kitchen.
The box had stood on their kitchen table for two hours before Shinya had finally dared to open it. It had contained a microwave, but not just any kind of microwave. This was an extremely expensive microwave with settings Guren had never even heard of before. Why Kureto had bought them this neither he nor Shinya could fathom. There had to be some kind of catch. No way the stone hearted Kureto would buy them a nice wedding gift.
It had stood unused on the kitchen counter for three weeks, neither of them trusting Kureto enough to use it, before Guren’s annoying little brother had used it to heat up some leftover pizza. Since Yuu didn’t show any signs of illness, strange behavior (at least no more than usual), or other symptoms they’d figured it was safe to use. The microwave was the number one reason that Guren didn’t want Kureto getting wind of their marriage being a sham. He might take it back and Guren couldn’t have that. Of course the fact that they might go back to treating Shinya like the dirt beneath their shoes if they found out also played a role in why it was important to keep up the act.
“Aw Guren, do you want my attention?”
As Shinya leaned back against him, Guren realised how close he’d been standing. Watching his husband work was distracting. He pulled back with a huff, ignoring Shinya’s amused laughter in favor of checking for anything to eat in the fridge. He immediately realised that his search was fruitless. There were jars of jam on the top shelf but not much else. Take out it was then.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“No, I’ve been working on this all day.”
“At least tell me you had lunch?”
“Well, yeah I had-”
“Toast doesn’t count.”
“...”
The silence spoke for itself. Shinya might constantly be on his case about health and how important it was that he looked after himself, but when it came to himself, he ignored his own advice. What a hypocrite.
“Take a break, Shinya, the panel is great. I’m getting chinese, you go pick out a movie or something.
“Heh, you said my panel was great.”
“Just go and pick a movie.”
⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥
“Hey, Shinya! I’m back.”
“We’re in the living room!” came the cheery reply.
The teasing tilt to his voice alerted Guren that he most likely would not appreciate what he was walking into. He debated just leaving, but he had only just gotten off work and the sofa was calling out to him. Guren didn’t know who Shinya had invited over, but he hoped that whoever it was would leave soon. Mito had invited them over for a game night and if they were going to have even the slightest chance of beating her they needed to practise. But Guren’s hope of a peaceful night with some friendly rivalry died as soon as he saw who was sitting next to his husband.
“What are you doing here?”
His little brother sent him a glare before promptly returning his attention to Shinya, completely ignoring the question.
“As I was saying before someone interrupted us,” here he threw a pointed look at Guren, which Guren thought was quite unfair seeing as this was his house, “he told me we were family and I-”
“Is this about that blond kid again?”
“His name is Mika! I’ve told you that three times now, stupid Guren!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
Yuu started to get up from the sofa, and Guren prepared to defend himself against the kid’s attack. Allowing him to take lessons in taekwondo might in retrospect have been a bad idea. A hand gripped Yuu’s shoulder and forced him down before he could dive over the edge of the sofa.
“There there, stupid Guren is stupid. You have to forgive him, he’s old and his memory isn’t what it used to be.”
“I’m only a couple of months older than you, moron.”
Both Yuu and Shinya ignored him, his little brother seemingly accepting the explanation without question. It was sort of impressive how easily Shinya handled him. Then again, he had past experience of difficult children and Guren had a feeling that Shinoa was a lot harder to control than Yuu. That girl could be terrifying when she wanted to be. Always sneaking around and being far too observant for her own good.
“Now, what were you saying before stupid Guren interupted you?”
Shinya smirked at Guren as he urged Yuu to continue, challenging him to say anything. Guren just rolled his eyes and went around the sofa to take a seat next to his infuriating husband. If the way he stomped on his foot was deliberate or an unfortunate accident, nobody needed to know.
“When I grow up I’m going to marry Mika and we’ll be just like you!”
Yuu had that fiery determination in his eyes, the one he got when he’d completely set his mind on something. Guren had no doubt that he meant it but still shared an awkward look with Shinya.
“Just like us huh?”
Shinya’s laugh sounded slightly forced to Guren’s ears as his husband ruffled his brother’s hair. Yuu didn’t swat his hand away, like he did when Guren tried to do the same thing, instead he leaned into Shinya’s hand, snuggling closer to him. Guren wished he’d had a camera. He could have used a photo like that to get leverage over his brother when he was being a brat. It wasn’t like the sight was adorable or anything like that. It totally had nothing to do with the soft look on Shinya’s face as he hugged Yuu closer or the way his white hair framed his blue eyes perfectly, or-
No it definitely wasn’t that.
⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥
To Guren’s chagrin Yuu decided to stay the night. Seeing as the sun had almost set, Shinya had offered him the guest bedroom. Guren had offered to walk him home but apparently Shinya’s offer was better than his. Seeing as the house only had two bedrooms, this meant that one of them would be sleeping on the couch. Shinya was the obvious choice since he had been the one to offer Yuu his bedroom in the first place. Shinya though, didn’t agree with his logic.
“C’mon, let’s just share the bed. We’ve shared a bed before and we’re married now so it’s only normal that we share things.”
“We’re married for practical reasons, it’s not like we’re an actual couple!”
“Sch, you don’t want Yuu to hear, do you?”
No, he did not. No matter how annoying his little brother was, Guren didn’t want to break his heart. The kid had so much faith in their relationship, it would crush him to learn that it was fake. Because that's what it was. Fake. Just two friends enjoying the perks of marriage without any actual romantic feelings involved. Definitely no feelings involved. What they had was purely platonic. Shinya was just naturally pretty, and the weird feelings in his chest were probably just caused by stress.
Defeated, Guren stepped aside from where he had been blocking the door, allowing Shinya entrance to his bedroom. The bastard grinned wickedly at him as he waltzed by, throwing himself onto the mattress.
“You take the left side, I take the right.”
“So bossy Guren.”
“Shut up and go to sleep.”
⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥
Guren didn’t know how it happened but sometime during the night he woke up to find Shinya’s face mere centimeters from his own. He was close enough that Guren could count every individual eyelash if he so wished. Their limbs were completely entangled with each other and though Guren wanted to blame Shinya for their predicament, he couldn’t. Not with his own arm snuggly wrapped around the other’s waist. He should have woken him, or tried to move away, but Shinya looked so peaceful. His white hair seemed to glow in the moonlight and his face was more relaxed than Guren had seen it in a long time. He looked beautiful. Guren should have let him go, but he was too comfortable, so instead he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
They didn’t talk about how the next morning, they woke up in eachothers arms, nor did they mention how they felt far more well rested than they had in a long time. Yet somehow, they reached a silent agreement to keep sharing the bed. Just in case Yuu wanted to stay over more often.
⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥
Shinya had always hated being a Hiiragi, so it was no surprise that he’d wholeheartedly embraced being an Ichinose. After all, Shinya hating his last name had been what led to them getting married in the first place. Shinya stopped answering anyone who called him Hiiragi, only responding when they called him by his new surname. Guren found it funny watching people get flustered when Shinya responded instead of him. Shinya also changed his signature. Instead of signing his work with S.H he now wrote S.I in the bottom right corner. Guren had asked him about that, if it really was a good idea to change it since it might confuse potential buyers. Works with S.H held a certain status. The Hiiragi name was well known, and helped attract customers. The Ichinose name didn’t. Shinya claimed that as a former Hiiragi he still held some power, and though that might be true, Guren still worried, but Shinya waved away his concern anytime Guren brought it up.
“I’m not going back to using that name. I’m an Ichinose now, forever and ever.”
“But-”
“Hush.”
Shinya held up a finger against Guren’s lips, effectively shutting him up.
“You don’t need to worry about me, I’ll be fine. Anyway, by using it I’m making the name cooler, so really, you should thank me.”
“You’re such a moron.”
Though it worried him, some selfish part enjoyed hearing Shinya calling himself an Ichinose. Something about it just felt right. He had eventually realised why, but he wasn’t ready to bring it up just yet. A part of him, he suspected had known for a long time, longer than he was willing to admit. He was happy in the comfortable route he and Shinya had created. If he brought it up it could change everything, for better or for worse and Guren wasn’t willing to take that risk. Sometimes he suspected that Shinya might feel the same way, but it could just be imaginary thinking on his part.
⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥
It was pouring outside and Guren dreaded having to step out in it. But he had no choice, he needed to get to the office. They were down on people, some kind of influenza going around, and they had a lot to do. His boss would kick his ass if he was late.
“I was thinking we could order from that new thaiplace tonight what do you say?”
“Works for me. I want-”
“Curry, I know.”
Shinya had an amused smile on his face when Guren looked up. It wasn’t strange that he knew his order, Guren always ordered curry, yet it still made something warm blossom inside his chest for some stupid reason.
“Guren, haven’t you forgotten something?”
Lost inside his own mind, Guren gave Shinya a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of the door. He needed to hurry or else he would miss his bus and he definitely didn’t want to be caught out in this weather. Maybe he should take the shortcut, but then he might have to wait by the red lights. He would catch a cold if he stayed out in the rain too long. An umbrella would have been nice to have.
Oh shit. That was what he’d forgotten.
As reality caught up to him, Guren stumbled straight into a lamppost. He tentatively reached up to touch his nose and winced when it came back bloody. Well, that did it.
His boss might skin him alive but Guren couldn’t care less as he turned around and hurried back home. There was something else he needed to do, something far more important than work.
The door swung open as Guren rushed in, and he accidentally kicked Byakomaru who had made himself at home on the carpet. The cat hissed angrily at him before storming off. His owner rounded the corner a second later, undoubtedly drawn to the loud noise. His eyes widened as he took in Guren.
“What in the world happened to you?” Shinya asked, completely taken aback by Guren’s messy appearance. Guren knew that he must make quite the scene, drenched to the bone and dripping blood from his nose, most likely with the beginnings of a black eye as well.
“I’m sorry for stepping on your cat, again.”
“You should apologize to him, not me, but I think we have other serious issues right now. Did someone attack you?”
Guren could clearly see the worry in Shinya’s eyes as his husband got closer, carefully placing a hand on his face, inspecting the damage.
“I made a mistake.”
“Jeez, I can see that. Who did you piss off this time?”
Shinya shook his head, the worry lessening as he established that the injuries weren’t serious.
“Whoever they were, they really kicked your ass.”
“I didn’t mean to kiss you.”
Hurt flashed through his eyes, but it was gone so fast that Guren wondered if he’d imagined it. Shinya’s face closed up, and he stepped back, letting his hand fall from Guren’s face. The mask Guren knew so well was back on his face as Shinya smiled at him. The smile was all wrong, too big, too controlled. Once upon a time it might have fooled him, but that was long ago.
“Aw, you hurt my feelings. My my, such a player. Well Guren I-”
“Cut it out Shinya!”
Shinya’s mouth snapped shut as Guren invaded his personal space, grabbing his hand. The suspicion in his eyes made Guren’s heart clench.
“I fucking love you, okay, and I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I should have asked you first!”
Shinya stared at him, mouth gaping and eyes wide, the mask falling away. Guren tried to convey his honesty through his eyes, praying that Shinya would realise that he was serious. They stared at each other in silence and Guren started to second guess his decision to confess. His worry grew as Shinya finally broke the silence with a snort. Guren could only stare as Shinya broke into a fit of laughter. His husband turned his back towards him, slipping his hand out from his grasp to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes.
“Shinya?”
Guren tentatively reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. Had he broken his best friend?
“Just-just give me a minute,” Shinya wheezed out, waving away his concern.
He took a couple of deep breaths, leaning against the wall for support. Guren stood fidgeting in the hall, having no idea what was going on inside Shinya’s head and not liking the wait.
“Look, can we just forget I said anything?”
Shinya immediately swung around on his heels, pointing an accusing finger at him.
“You are not allowed to take that back!”
“Then what do you want? You’re not exactly giving me any clear signals here!”
“I want you!”
“You want me? As in-”
“I love you too, idiot.”
Relief filled him as Guren let out the breath he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding. Shinya loved him back. It hadn’t just been imaginary thinking on his part.
“Wait, why did you laugh.”
Shinya snorted.
“Because we’re both stupid.”
Guren frowned at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Shinya shook his head, the smile on his face real, and bright, so different from the fake one he’d used mere moments before.
“You never found it strange that no one questioned our marriage? None of our friends even batted an eye, as if they had been expecting it. Even my dear family wasn’t surprised. I thought they would lose it, but they barely commented on it. Hell, Kureto even bought us a wedding gift! Let’s face it, we’ve been circling around each other for years now and I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to get our shit together.”
“I can see your point, but in our defense, we had a lot of other things to think about.”
“Like what?”
“Like...eh, family drama? There’s definitely been a lot of that.”
Shinya’s laughter once again filled the room, the sound of it making something warm blossom in Guren’s chest. He could listen to it forever.
“We’ve done this the wrong way, haven’t we?”
Shinya tilted his head, waiting for him to elaborate.
“I should have taken you on a date before I asked you to marry me.”
Shinya snorted and stepped closer.
“Who says we can’t go on a date now?”
Guren gazed at him in adoration. Shinya had always been pretty, but in that moment he was radiant. Absentmindedly Guren reached out a hand to brush his bangs aside, giving him a clearer look at Shinya’s striking blue eyes.
“Can I kiss you?”
Shinya smiled sweetly at him and leaned closer until his lips were right next to his ear.
“No.”
Guren pulled back, frowning in confusion as Shinya chuckled.
“You’ve got blood all over your shirt and you're still drenched from the rain. I’m not kissing you until you’ve cleaned up.”
“Bastard.”
“You still love me!”
“I think I’m starting to question my feelings.”
“Hey!”
“Yes, I do love you.”