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kinkfestTitle: The Ties that Bind
Author: EstelWolfe
Rating: PG
Warnings: No actual warnings; spoilers for the end of Den-O and for Yuuto's identity
Word count: 2,700
Summary: She remembers Sakurai. She loves Yuuto. How Deneb not love her?
A/N: I'm so sorry this is so late! Between getting membership confirmation and having no power for the last week thanks to ice storms, things got pushed back really far. The prompt was: Deneb/Airi, Yuuto/Airi: Accidentally in love--Deneb's starting to truly see the amazing woman Yuuto sees in Airi. It turned out somewhat more Deneb/Airi/Yuuto than individual pairings, and is relationship-building more than anything else (because I fail so hard at writing sex most times), but hopefully it's still enjoyable! My other prompt fills will be posted in the next few days as life allows.
Sakurai Yuuto loves her.
Which was enough to make the whole thing a complicated mess from the beginning, because Yuuto didn’t really know her. All Yuuto knew of her were the things Sakurai told him, the things Sakurai didn’t tell him, and the things he accidentally acquired through his bond with Deneb. For a boy who had been ripped from his time, his home, his life and told he had to save the universe, though, that was more than enough to put him head-over-heels in protective lust mode.
But it became more quickly, and Deneb thinks he’s partly to blame for that. He thought of Yuuto as though he were Sakurai for a long time. Longer than he should have, because his relationship with Yuuto had swiftly become wildly different than his relationship with Sakurai. Sakurai was his teacher, his mentor, his friend and his equal; Yuuto is his partner, his boss, his child, the human he would give anything to protect and defend. Sacrifice even Sakurai for, though that is an open, aching wound for both of them.
Yuuto is not the man he was once supposed to be, but he is a good man, and he loves Airi, as Deneb expected him to.
Loves her quiet, resigned grief. Loves her sadness, her sorrow, as palpable and intangible as the Mona Lisa’s smile, surpassing even the need for memory. Loves her strength of will, to plan so much, to give her child, her lover, her family so that the world might live.
When it’s all over Yuuto starts to love the things that Sakurai loved about her. Starts to love her laugh, when she can laugh again; starts to love her wit, when she can show it in more than half-bucking the bitter hand fate dealt her; starts to love her devotion and dedication and determination.
Starts to love all of her, as she puts herself back together again, and Deneb foolishly thinks this means everything’s going to be all right. Thinks it means that maybe this little part of Sakurai will survive in Yuuto, and the world will be a better place for it.
But Yuuto’s still young, not a child anymore but nothing like the adult that Sakurai was, and what was childish exuberance and energy in Sakurai sometimes turns to sulking and sullen despair in this young not-quite version of him.
Deneb really should have just let it go. He should have let Yuuto spend the night locked in his room, fretting over a ridiculous battle of words that Airi had only seemed half-invested in, but Yuuto would have regretted it in the morning. Though matchmaker doesn’t come naturally to him, Deneb desperately wants this relationship to work out for the best.
Getting Yuuto to sleep isn’t as hard as it should be. Yuuto is usually far too aware of his attempts at subtlety, at manipulation, and tricking the man that you’re telepathically linked to is always a difficult task. But Yuuto when he’s sulking isn’t Yuuto at his brightest, and shortly after nine Yuuto’s body is free for the taking.
He bought flowers earlier, the kind that Sakurai knew that Airi liked, and he dresses Yuuto’s body in a suit, gathers up the flowers and the card he made, and heads to the café.
Ryoutarou isn’t there. It’s a stroke of good luck, and he grins for a moment when he sees Airi’s face before remembering that Yuuto tends to be grimmer with his emotions than Sakurai was.
“Yuuto?” Airi stares at him, lips turned down in a slight scowl. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go out tonight.”
“I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Bowing low, Deneb thrusts the flowers toward her. “I want to spend any time with you that I can. All the time in the world. You’re the most wonderful person on the planet. You—”
She’s staring at him quizzically, almost suspiciously, and he stands abruptly. How would Yuuto normally talk in a situation like this? Fixing his face in a neutral expression, he stares down at the ground and mumbles out, “I’m sorry.”
He’s pretty sure Yuuto wouldn’t follow that up by throwing Airi to the ground and placing her in a choke hold, but he’s not entirely certain, and he looks over at her uncertainly.
Her mouth quirks up into an amused smile, which she covers with one hand before looking away from him. After a moment she looks back, shakes her head, and uncovers her mouth. “All right… Yuuto. Apology accepted. Why don’t you come in and I’ll get you some coffee?”
“Yes! I mean… thank you.” Suppressing a grin of his own, he follows her into the café.
She works methodically, still smiling to herself, and Deneb smiles fondly at her as he settles into a chair at the bar. It’s peaceful in the café after hours, with half the lights turned off and the chairs up on the tables. He feels himself relaxing, and grins at Airi when she finally hands him a cup of steaming coffee. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t add sugar, since I’m not sure how much you like, Deneb.”
“Not much. I like to taste the actual flavor of the…” He trails off, eyes rising from the coffee in the cup to meet her knowing smile. “I mean, I’m not…”
“It’s all right, Deneb.” She pats his hand, though her smile fades as she studies him. “Did Yuuto ask you to do this?”
“No.” Shaking his head causes Yuuto’s hair to flip around his face, and he quickly stops. Yuuto’s hair always grows longer when Deneb takes his body.
“No.” The smile comes back, gentle and resigned. “Yuuto’s many things, but not a coward. It’s not nice to take your friend’s body without permission, Deneb.”
“I didn’t—I mean, I wouldn’t… I just wanted to help Yuuto.” Deneb studies his hands, clutching the warmth of the coffee cup. It’s always strange, feeling what Yuuto’s hands feel. So much softer, so much more vibrant than the sensations that Deneb gets through his own hands. Yuuto wasn’t shaped to be a weapon of war, though. “He’s scared that he made a mistake with you. Scared that you’ll find someone else, and he doesn’t know what he’d do then.”
“If I did, Yuuto would move on and also find someone else to love. He’s a bright boy, Deneb, in very many ways. His life will be a happy one.” Her smile shifts as she says it, takes on a hint of sadness, a tinge of loss, a distant ache, and Deneb feels tears rise to his own eyes.
To Yuuto’s eyes, but Yuuto hates to cry, so he blinks them back. “Will you find someone else? Have you?”
“Deneb… it wasn’t an important argument. I certainly wouldn’t break up with Yuuto over something as trivial as our discussion today.” She pats his hand, but that same sad distance is in her eyes.
“Good.” His sigh of relief is heartfelt, and he grips her hand hard between his. Not too hard, though. Hurting Airi is the last thing he would ever want to do.
“Why’s it so important to you, Deneb?” She has a coffee cup of her own that she stares into, not meeting his eyes.
“Because he loves you. He wants you.” He blushes as soon as the words are out of his mouth, recognizing the human implication of the line too late. “To protect you, to keep you safe and happy. He wants that more than anything else in the world, just like Sakurai.”
“He isn’t Sakurai, Deneb.” She says it forcefully, firmly, raising her eyes to meet his. “Don’t ever try to make him Sakurai.”
“I know.” He can’t meet her eyes, can’t stop the waver in his own voice, and Yuuto would be ashamed to show this kind of weakness. Yuuto would be, but Sakurai wouldn’t be. “But he’s what Sakurai left me. My duty, and my joy. I want to make him happy, Airi-san. I want… to make Yuuto’s life better than what Sakurai had.”
She lets go of his hand, pulls away with a gentle tug, and he squeezes his eyes closed. Dumb, that was, and the opposite of what he needed to do by coming here. He’s driving her away, putting even more distance between her and Yuuto, and that’s not—
Her arms wrap around him, pulling him down off the stool and into a tight embrace.
“You miss him, too.”
It’s a statement of fact, not a question, and he nods, the movement small as his head is buried in her shoulder. Tears leak past his tight-shut eyelids, soaking into the fabric of her shirt. “Yes. I miss him… a great deal.”
“I do, too.” Her voice wavers too, though he can’t see her face. “I miss him so much, some days. And I’m trying so hard to be fair to Yuuto, to see him as his own man, but sometimes it’s so hard…”
“The same soul, but a different life.” He’s talked with Yuuto about this, just as Yuuto has talked with Airi about this.
“Yes.” She buries her head against his chest, and warm moisture spreads across his shirt. “Yes. Sometimes it’s fine, because he’s younger, he doesn’t look quite the same, but sometimes… sometimes it’s like when you wear his body, Deneb. So similar, but so different, and it hurts. It hurts, but I don’t want to let him go, because I do love Yuuto, I think as much as I loved Sakurai, but…”
“I know. It’s the same, when we’re fighting together. Sometimes it’s so clearly Yuuto, but sometimes… sometimes he speaks to me, or thinks of something, and I think, just for a moment, that it’s Sakurai there.”
She nods, letting out a slow breath. “Does it hurt him, when that happens?”
Not that he ever shows. Not that he ever acknowledges, but his voice will be sharp when he speaks, his thoughts draw away, and sometimes… just sometimes… “Yes. It hurts him. So I try not to remember, but I don’t want to forget him.”
“This all got so complicated, Deneb.” She sighs and pulls away, wiping the remains of tears from her eyes. “So you really shouldn’t make it more complicated by coming in here like this. All right? I’ll forgive this time, because you made a very poor Yuuto anyway, but it’s not right to steal his body without his permission.”
“I know. I just wanted to help.” Deneb sighs. “But it’s so hard to imitate him. He’s just so…”
Airi smiles. “Yuuto?”
Giving a sheepish laugh, Deneb nods. “Yes. Yuuto is very Yuuto.”
“Do you want to stay, anyway?” Airi gestures at the coffee cups, pulling hers over to the customer side of the counter and taking a seat. “We could talk about… well, we could talk about lots of things.”
“I think…” He studies her, still smiling, but with that underlying sadness that he’s come to know so well. “I’d like that.”
They do talk about lots of things. Sakurai, mainly, and the ways that he’s different from Yuuto. Comparing, contrasting, but not judging, not weighing, because how can two loves be weighed? How can the reluctant warrior and the scarred young man be balanced? One they’ve lost; one they can still love. For now, that’s enough.
He leaves when the clock chimes half past midnight, because Yuuto will need sleep.
Airi kisses him gently on the forehead before sending his off, and it feels almost like the warmth of her lips lingers as he takes Yuuto’s body home.
***
Yuuto lets him know that he’s awake and aware when they’re halfway home, and Deneb freezes in the middle of the street.
Careful, idiot! Yuuto barks the words in his mind, and Deneb jumps guiltily, moving their shared body to the side of the road and pausing under a streetlight.
“Yuuto. I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re angry, but I just—”
I know. Yuuto pauses, presence drawing back. I heard… a lot of it. Enough of it.
“Are you… angry?” He’s not sure why Yuuto hasn’t thrown him out of his body yet. Especially if Yuuto really was awake and listening to part of his conversation with Airi.
No. It’s a lie, or rather not quite the truth. Yuuto was angry, but the anger has quieted down, replaced by something sadder and softer. Though if you ever take my body again without my permission, you’ll regret it.
“I won’t do it again. I promise.” It’s a promise he intends to keep… mostly. If he ever needs to take Yuuto’s body for Yuuto’s own good, he’ll do it. But he won’t ever try to trick someone like this again.
Airi was happy. Talking to you. Yuuto continues to keep himself closed off, as much of his thoughts as he can hidden away.
“We… it was good to talk with someone like that. To talk about the past, and the future.”
And me, Yuuto adds unintentionally, and Deneb smiles.
“And you. You are my past and my future, Yuuto. And I think… Airi feels the same.”
He can’t sort through the tide of emotions that flings him from Yuuto’s body. It’s too strong, too vast and sudden and too human. Exquisitely human, everything he has ever loved about the strange, complex creatures, and he doesn’t fight it flinging him back into his own form.
“Deneb!” Yuuto pulls one arm back, ready to pounce… and freezes. Sorting through the fear, the hope, the vulnerability that he only allows to show as anger, and Deneb very carefully pulls his thoughts farther from Yuuto’s. Yuuto doesn’t like him intruding like that, and it will just make things worse if Yuuto realizes how much he’s projecting.
Yuuto relaxes after a handful of seconds that feel like eternity, standing and placing his hands on his hips. His mouth quirks upward as he looks down at Deneb, lying sprawled on the street in his Imagin form. “Deneb… you really are too much of a romantic. You know that?”
“Yuuto…”
“Come on.” Yuuto offers him a hand and hauls him to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
There’s still so much left unsaid. So much that they haven’t sorted out, between them, between Yuuto and Airi, but Deneb’s not sure how much to push his human.
After a minute, Yuuto looks over at him and sighs. “If Airi and I stay together… if… then she’s stuck with you, too. You know that, right?”
“I…” He had always assumed he would stay with Yuuto, yes, but he hadn’t thought about what that meant for Yuuto’s future. “I could leave, if you ever wanted me to.”
“Idiot.” Yuuto grabs him in a headlock, fast and furious, though he lets it go after a moment. “I meant… I’m glad the two of you get along. If I have to share Airi with anyone, well… I’m glad it’s you.”
He means it, too. Deneb can feel the anxiety settling in Yuuto’s mind, replaced by a quiet acceptance of how life could be with the three of them together. Deneb and Airi taking care of things like the shop and finances; Yuuto taking care of the whole defending-the-world aspect, as well as the children that they already know they would have.
Should have, could have, and children spins off into a whole other set of thoughts and images that Deneb is entirely unprepared for.
“Yuuto… is that…”
“Deneb!” Yuuto slaps a hand over Deneb’s mouth, and his face is flushed hot with embarrassment. “You did not see any of that. Understand?”
He can’t talk, not with how tightly Yuuto’s got hold of his mouth with one hand and his throat with the other, but he can nod. Perhaps a trip to the library will be in order, then, since Yuuto obviously doesn’t want to talk about certain things.
“Please don’t…” Yuuto sighs, a long-suffering sound, and lets him go with a shake of his head. “If you ever need to know anything like that… if, big if… I’ll teach you.”
“All right, Yuuto.” He smiles, placing a hand on Yuuto’s shoulder as they continue walking. No longer as young, no longer as rash as the boy Deneb was first given to, but still not Sakurai. Never Sakurai, but still a good man worthy of love.
Still a good man worthy of Airi’s love, and Deneb smiles as he thinks back on the night. Not the type of night he had intended, but perhaps the type of night they had all needed. “Airi’s a wonderful woman, Yuuto.”
Yuuto smiles. “I know, Deneb. Believe me, I know.”
Author: EstelWolfe
Rating: PG
Warnings: No actual warnings; spoilers for the end of Den-O and for Yuuto's identity
Word count: 2,700
Summary: She remembers Sakurai. She loves Yuuto. How Deneb not love her?
A/N: I'm so sorry this is so late! Between getting membership confirmation and having no power for the last week thanks to ice storms, things got pushed back really far. The prompt was: Deneb/Airi, Yuuto/Airi: Accidentally in love--Deneb's starting to truly see the amazing woman Yuuto sees in Airi. It turned out somewhat more Deneb/Airi/Yuuto than individual pairings, and is relationship-building more than anything else (because I fail so hard at writing sex most times), but hopefully it's still enjoyable! My other prompt fills will be posted in the next few days as life allows.
Sakurai Yuuto loves her.
Which was enough to make the whole thing a complicated mess from the beginning, because Yuuto didn’t really know her. All Yuuto knew of her were the things Sakurai told him, the things Sakurai didn’t tell him, and the things he accidentally acquired through his bond with Deneb. For a boy who had been ripped from his time, his home, his life and told he had to save the universe, though, that was more than enough to put him head-over-heels in protective lust mode.
But it became more quickly, and Deneb thinks he’s partly to blame for that. He thought of Yuuto as though he were Sakurai for a long time. Longer than he should have, because his relationship with Yuuto had swiftly become wildly different than his relationship with Sakurai. Sakurai was his teacher, his mentor, his friend and his equal; Yuuto is his partner, his boss, his child, the human he would give anything to protect and defend. Sacrifice even Sakurai for, though that is an open, aching wound for both of them.
Yuuto is not the man he was once supposed to be, but he is a good man, and he loves Airi, as Deneb expected him to.
Loves her quiet, resigned grief. Loves her sadness, her sorrow, as palpable and intangible as the Mona Lisa’s smile, surpassing even the need for memory. Loves her strength of will, to plan so much, to give her child, her lover, her family so that the world might live.
When it’s all over Yuuto starts to love the things that Sakurai loved about her. Starts to love her laugh, when she can laugh again; starts to love her wit, when she can show it in more than half-bucking the bitter hand fate dealt her; starts to love her devotion and dedication and determination.
Starts to love all of her, as she puts herself back together again, and Deneb foolishly thinks this means everything’s going to be all right. Thinks it means that maybe this little part of Sakurai will survive in Yuuto, and the world will be a better place for it.
But Yuuto’s still young, not a child anymore but nothing like the adult that Sakurai was, and what was childish exuberance and energy in Sakurai sometimes turns to sulking and sullen despair in this young not-quite version of him.
Deneb really should have just let it go. He should have let Yuuto spend the night locked in his room, fretting over a ridiculous battle of words that Airi had only seemed half-invested in, but Yuuto would have regretted it in the morning. Though matchmaker doesn’t come naturally to him, Deneb desperately wants this relationship to work out for the best.
Getting Yuuto to sleep isn’t as hard as it should be. Yuuto is usually far too aware of his attempts at subtlety, at manipulation, and tricking the man that you’re telepathically linked to is always a difficult task. But Yuuto when he’s sulking isn’t Yuuto at his brightest, and shortly after nine Yuuto’s body is free for the taking.
He bought flowers earlier, the kind that Sakurai knew that Airi liked, and he dresses Yuuto’s body in a suit, gathers up the flowers and the card he made, and heads to the café.
Ryoutarou isn’t there. It’s a stroke of good luck, and he grins for a moment when he sees Airi’s face before remembering that Yuuto tends to be grimmer with his emotions than Sakurai was.
“Yuuto?” Airi stares at him, lips turned down in a slight scowl. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go out tonight.”
“I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Bowing low, Deneb thrusts the flowers toward her. “I want to spend any time with you that I can. All the time in the world. You’re the most wonderful person on the planet. You—”
She’s staring at him quizzically, almost suspiciously, and he stands abruptly. How would Yuuto normally talk in a situation like this? Fixing his face in a neutral expression, he stares down at the ground and mumbles out, “I’m sorry.”
He’s pretty sure Yuuto wouldn’t follow that up by throwing Airi to the ground and placing her in a choke hold, but he’s not entirely certain, and he looks over at her uncertainly.
Her mouth quirks up into an amused smile, which she covers with one hand before looking away from him. After a moment she looks back, shakes her head, and uncovers her mouth. “All right… Yuuto. Apology accepted. Why don’t you come in and I’ll get you some coffee?”
“Yes! I mean… thank you.” Suppressing a grin of his own, he follows her into the café.
She works methodically, still smiling to herself, and Deneb smiles fondly at her as he settles into a chair at the bar. It’s peaceful in the café after hours, with half the lights turned off and the chairs up on the tables. He feels himself relaxing, and grins at Airi when she finally hands him a cup of steaming coffee. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t add sugar, since I’m not sure how much you like, Deneb.”
“Not much. I like to taste the actual flavor of the…” He trails off, eyes rising from the coffee in the cup to meet her knowing smile. “I mean, I’m not…”
“It’s all right, Deneb.” She pats his hand, though her smile fades as she studies him. “Did Yuuto ask you to do this?”
“No.” Shaking his head causes Yuuto’s hair to flip around his face, and he quickly stops. Yuuto’s hair always grows longer when Deneb takes his body.
“No.” The smile comes back, gentle and resigned. “Yuuto’s many things, but not a coward. It’s not nice to take your friend’s body without permission, Deneb.”
“I didn’t—I mean, I wouldn’t… I just wanted to help Yuuto.” Deneb studies his hands, clutching the warmth of the coffee cup. It’s always strange, feeling what Yuuto’s hands feel. So much softer, so much more vibrant than the sensations that Deneb gets through his own hands. Yuuto wasn’t shaped to be a weapon of war, though. “He’s scared that he made a mistake with you. Scared that you’ll find someone else, and he doesn’t know what he’d do then.”
“If I did, Yuuto would move on and also find someone else to love. He’s a bright boy, Deneb, in very many ways. His life will be a happy one.” Her smile shifts as she says it, takes on a hint of sadness, a tinge of loss, a distant ache, and Deneb feels tears rise to his own eyes.
To Yuuto’s eyes, but Yuuto hates to cry, so he blinks them back. “Will you find someone else? Have you?”
“Deneb… it wasn’t an important argument. I certainly wouldn’t break up with Yuuto over something as trivial as our discussion today.” She pats his hand, but that same sad distance is in her eyes.
“Good.” His sigh of relief is heartfelt, and he grips her hand hard between his. Not too hard, though. Hurting Airi is the last thing he would ever want to do.
“Why’s it so important to you, Deneb?” She has a coffee cup of her own that she stares into, not meeting his eyes.
“Because he loves you. He wants you.” He blushes as soon as the words are out of his mouth, recognizing the human implication of the line too late. “To protect you, to keep you safe and happy. He wants that more than anything else in the world, just like Sakurai.”
“He isn’t Sakurai, Deneb.” She says it forcefully, firmly, raising her eyes to meet his. “Don’t ever try to make him Sakurai.”
“I know.” He can’t meet her eyes, can’t stop the waver in his own voice, and Yuuto would be ashamed to show this kind of weakness. Yuuto would be, but Sakurai wouldn’t be. “But he’s what Sakurai left me. My duty, and my joy. I want to make him happy, Airi-san. I want… to make Yuuto’s life better than what Sakurai had.”
She lets go of his hand, pulls away with a gentle tug, and he squeezes his eyes closed. Dumb, that was, and the opposite of what he needed to do by coming here. He’s driving her away, putting even more distance between her and Yuuto, and that’s not—
Her arms wrap around him, pulling him down off the stool and into a tight embrace.
“You miss him, too.”
It’s a statement of fact, not a question, and he nods, the movement small as his head is buried in her shoulder. Tears leak past his tight-shut eyelids, soaking into the fabric of her shirt. “Yes. I miss him… a great deal.”
“I do, too.” Her voice wavers too, though he can’t see her face. “I miss him so much, some days. And I’m trying so hard to be fair to Yuuto, to see him as his own man, but sometimes it’s so hard…”
“The same soul, but a different life.” He’s talked with Yuuto about this, just as Yuuto has talked with Airi about this.
“Yes.” She buries her head against his chest, and warm moisture spreads across his shirt. “Yes. Sometimes it’s fine, because he’s younger, he doesn’t look quite the same, but sometimes… sometimes it’s like when you wear his body, Deneb. So similar, but so different, and it hurts. It hurts, but I don’t want to let him go, because I do love Yuuto, I think as much as I loved Sakurai, but…”
“I know. It’s the same, when we’re fighting together. Sometimes it’s so clearly Yuuto, but sometimes… sometimes he speaks to me, or thinks of something, and I think, just for a moment, that it’s Sakurai there.”
She nods, letting out a slow breath. “Does it hurt him, when that happens?”
Not that he ever shows. Not that he ever acknowledges, but his voice will be sharp when he speaks, his thoughts draw away, and sometimes… just sometimes… “Yes. It hurts him. So I try not to remember, but I don’t want to forget him.”
“This all got so complicated, Deneb.” She sighs and pulls away, wiping the remains of tears from her eyes. “So you really shouldn’t make it more complicated by coming in here like this. All right? I’ll forgive this time, because you made a very poor Yuuto anyway, but it’s not right to steal his body without his permission.”
“I know. I just wanted to help.” Deneb sighs. “But it’s so hard to imitate him. He’s just so…”
Airi smiles. “Yuuto?”
Giving a sheepish laugh, Deneb nods. “Yes. Yuuto is very Yuuto.”
“Do you want to stay, anyway?” Airi gestures at the coffee cups, pulling hers over to the customer side of the counter and taking a seat. “We could talk about… well, we could talk about lots of things.”
“I think…” He studies her, still smiling, but with that underlying sadness that he’s come to know so well. “I’d like that.”
They do talk about lots of things. Sakurai, mainly, and the ways that he’s different from Yuuto. Comparing, contrasting, but not judging, not weighing, because how can two loves be weighed? How can the reluctant warrior and the scarred young man be balanced? One they’ve lost; one they can still love. For now, that’s enough.
He leaves when the clock chimes half past midnight, because Yuuto will need sleep.
Airi kisses him gently on the forehead before sending his off, and it feels almost like the warmth of her lips lingers as he takes Yuuto’s body home.
***
Yuuto lets him know that he’s awake and aware when they’re halfway home, and Deneb freezes in the middle of the street.
Careful, idiot! Yuuto barks the words in his mind, and Deneb jumps guiltily, moving their shared body to the side of the road and pausing under a streetlight.
“Yuuto. I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re angry, but I just—”
I know. Yuuto pauses, presence drawing back. I heard… a lot of it. Enough of it.
“Are you… angry?” He’s not sure why Yuuto hasn’t thrown him out of his body yet. Especially if Yuuto really was awake and listening to part of his conversation with Airi.
No. It’s a lie, or rather not quite the truth. Yuuto was angry, but the anger has quieted down, replaced by something sadder and softer. Though if you ever take my body again without my permission, you’ll regret it.
“I won’t do it again. I promise.” It’s a promise he intends to keep… mostly. If he ever needs to take Yuuto’s body for Yuuto’s own good, he’ll do it. But he won’t ever try to trick someone like this again.
Airi was happy. Talking to you. Yuuto continues to keep himself closed off, as much of his thoughts as he can hidden away.
“We… it was good to talk with someone like that. To talk about the past, and the future.”
And me, Yuuto adds unintentionally, and Deneb smiles.
“And you. You are my past and my future, Yuuto. And I think… Airi feels the same.”
He can’t sort through the tide of emotions that flings him from Yuuto’s body. It’s too strong, too vast and sudden and too human. Exquisitely human, everything he has ever loved about the strange, complex creatures, and he doesn’t fight it flinging him back into his own form.
“Deneb!” Yuuto pulls one arm back, ready to pounce… and freezes. Sorting through the fear, the hope, the vulnerability that he only allows to show as anger, and Deneb very carefully pulls his thoughts farther from Yuuto’s. Yuuto doesn’t like him intruding like that, and it will just make things worse if Yuuto realizes how much he’s projecting.
Yuuto relaxes after a handful of seconds that feel like eternity, standing and placing his hands on his hips. His mouth quirks upward as he looks down at Deneb, lying sprawled on the street in his Imagin form. “Deneb… you really are too much of a romantic. You know that?”
“Yuuto…”
“Come on.” Yuuto offers him a hand and hauls him to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
There’s still so much left unsaid. So much that they haven’t sorted out, between them, between Yuuto and Airi, but Deneb’s not sure how much to push his human.
After a minute, Yuuto looks over at him and sighs. “If Airi and I stay together… if… then she’s stuck with you, too. You know that, right?”
“I…” He had always assumed he would stay with Yuuto, yes, but he hadn’t thought about what that meant for Yuuto’s future. “I could leave, if you ever wanted me to.”
“Idiot.” Yuuto grabs him in a headlock, fast and furious, though he lets it go after a moment. “I meant… I’m glad the two of you get along. If I have to share Airi with anyone, well… I’m glad it’s you.”
He means it, too. Deneb can feel the anxiety settling in Yuuto’s mind, replaced by a quiet acceptance of how life could be with the three of them together. Deneb and Airi taking care of things like the shop and finances; Yuuto taking care of the whole defending-the-world aspect, as well as the children that they already know they would have.
Should have, could have, and children spins off into a whole other set of thoughts and images that Deneb is entirely unprepared for.
“Yuuto… is that…”
“Deneb!” Yuuto slaps a hand over Deneb’s mouth, and his face is flushed hot with embarrassment. “You did not see any of that. Understand?”
He can’t talk, not with how tightly Yuuto’s got hold of his mouth with one hand and his throat with the other, but he can nod. Perhaps a trip to the library will be in order, then, since Yuuto obviously doesn’t want to talk about certain things.
“Please don’t…” Yuuto sighs, a long-suffering sound, and lets him go with a shake of his head. “If you ever need to know anything like that… if, big if… I’ll teach you.”
“All right, Yuuto.” He smiles, placing a hand on Yuuto’s shoulder as they continue walking. No longer as young, no longer as rash as the boy Deneb was first given to, but still not Sakurai. Never Sakurai, but still a good man worthy of love.
Still a good man worthy of Airi’s love, and Deneb smiles as he thinks back on the night. Not the type of night he had intended, but perhaps the type of night they had all needed. “Airi’s a wonderful woman, Yuuto.”
Yuuto smiles. “I know, Deneb. Believe me, I know.”
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