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Baji had never, personally, met Masaru before.
Mitsuya told him that he punched him in the face before, but that was a dime-a-dozen. There was no way for him to keep all the people he punched in the face in his memory when he struggled so hard with his multiplication tables. He felt like Hanagaki mentioned him a few times, that he had a cousin or something who was a little older than them, but Baji knew that he never joined Manji. If he did, he'd at least have a name to a face, because Matsuno would have informed him on several occasions. And well, Baji would have introduced himself to his future in-laws.
At the very least, Baji tried to remember all the Manji faces. He never told anyone, but he was a little happy that they disbanded right when they became the largest. His brain was not made for memorizing that many faces. He barely remembered all of the Black Dragon members, and even then, he didn't even bother after 12.
However, at the time of the crash, Masaru was apparently the one driving Hanagaki's bike when they got T-Boned by a drunk driver in a compact car. That alone meant a lot to Baji. Hanagaki was a push-over, but that bike was his gift from Mikey and Draken, the first bike that they ever put together, and he cherished it immensely. To date, not even Baji had driven that bike, although he never asked and Hanagaki never offered. If Hanagaki let someone else drive it, that was probably someone that Baji would have put his life down to protect, for no reason other than the fact that he knew Hanagaki.
So, Baji understood what Masaru meant to Hanagaki.
Toman was formally a biker gang, and concerning the way the deceased went, they weren't exactly welcomed at the funeral. It wasn't anything that they weren't used to, but it was still hard to know that one of their own, Hanagaki, was aching and almost alone somewhere out of their reach. Mikey pulled them all to the side, explaining that only those of them who actually knew Masaru and Baji would go, and that the rest should be waiting somewhere else to show solidarity to Hanagaki. He was not to be alone for the next few weeks, or months (which was bullshit because Baji had to do backflips to get his own boyfriend alone on a good day).
Baji remembered the heavy silence at the meeting, as all meetings without Hanagaki went, and it didn't mean anything that Toman disbanded years ago, they were still each other's. As much as Hanagaki had bled for them, they would bleed for him.
Baji walked into the reception area, and at once, he realized that Masaru was not popular. He could see Hanagaki's mother but not his father, standing in the far corner with a pair of weeping people, and Baji figured that was Masaru's parents.
Baji felt like this was the worst way to meet his in-laws. He had only met Hanagaki's mother, and knew that his first hundred impressions weren't probably good, but he was a pretty decent guy now. Still, they looked busy and occupied, so he decided not to disturb their moment aside from a quick bow when locked gazes with Hanagaki's mother.
His eyes moved to the other side of the room. The area was immensely big, and it really accented the lack of people in the area. Baji realized that aside from some of Hanagaki's closest friends huddled together in some of the chairs, there were no young people here. There weren't many adults either, and there was a monk in the back. The smell of incense wasn't very strong.
He tried not to think too much about it.
"Baji-senpai," his head turned to where Yamagishi called him. Baji nodded his head at them.
"You don't have to call me senpai anymore," he said, on reflex, and the young man gave a watery laugh in return. It died just as fast in his mouth, and he cleared his throat. The napkin in his hand looked soaked as he clutched it into a white-knuckle grip.
"Yeah, uh... haha," he said, and sniffled again. Baji reached over to clap his shoulder, squeezing tightly and making sure he didn't topple over.
He didn't know what he was supposed to say, but he wanted Yamagishi to know that he was here. Baji knew very well how much Hanagaki cherished the people close to him. What was precious to Hanagaki was precious to him. They might not be the closest friends, but Baji would keep an eye on them, lend a hand, whatever.
Harder still was that Yamamoto was crying. He covered his mouth with a hand, his entire body rocked with tremors, doing his best to keep his voice quiet, as he curled up in his seat. Next to him, Suzuki was red-eyed but he had a hand on Yamamoto's shoulder while Sendo sat on the other side of him, rubbing his back.
Yamamoto grew up with Hanagaki, he remembered suddenly.
He waved at the others, not wanting to get in the middle of all of that. To begin with, he didn't even know who Masaru was. In reality, he was only here for one reason.
"Where is he?" he asked.
"He took a step out," Yamagishi said, motioning to the courtyard area that he could see the windows of. A quick look showed that it was empty, so he would have to find the entrance and see if that's where he was. "It's two doors down."
"Thanks," Baji nodded at him, and then turned around. "The others are at the usual diner. Even if you don't want to, just go. Don't make me hunt you down."
Yamagishi nodded his head, "Okay," he said quietly. "Thank you."
Baji didn't say anything else and moved to leave the room. He headed out of the room, and headed two doors down. Behind glass doors, Hanagaki sat down on the ledge stepping down from the door to the grassy courtyard. It felt a little inappropriate, for the world to look so sunny and calm on a day like this.
He tapped on the glass, but Hanagaki didn't even twitch. He frowned and pushed the door open.
Nothing.
His eyebrow twitched, and Baji moved to take a seat next to him. It was his nice suit instead of the school uniform that Hanagaki wore, and in these moments, felt like he was really an adult. It was a strange thought to have, when he was at someone's funeral, but Baji always had a hard time controlling his thoughts.
Hanagaki jolted, his head snapping over to Baji. His face was a flushed, blotchy mess. His eyes were swollen, and Baji hated that it took him so long to get here.
"Keisuke...?" he said.
Just the sound of his voice made pain flush his heart out. Baji nodded his head.
"Hey."
It was the first time they met since Hanagaki was discharged from the hospital. A pair of crutches laid down next to him, several stitches and a chunk of his leg was skinned off when he slid across asphalt. His arm was still in a sling, broken when it collided against the ground, and the other injuries were just tender scars now. It was the report his mom told him when he came home from university. Hanagaki had to be careful, and everyone said that he was extremely lucky to have survived the crash and could get discharged within a few days so he could attend the funeral. A head-on collision from a drunk-driver could have taken more than Masaru and his bike.
Baji felt like he was the lucky one.
"Oh," Hanagaki blinked at him and then looked back forward. And then, his head snapped back to Baji, eyes wide, "Oh, did the reception start?"
"No," Baji replied. He hoped that it was empty because it hadn't started. It was probably strange to think that he wanted a funeral to be packed, but somehow, he felt like it would be worse if it wasn't. He had half a mind to call up the boys and tell them to ditch the diner and head over. A couple of strangers looking after their own had to be better than an empty hall.
Hanagaki's shoulder slowly relaxed.
"Okay," he said. His eyes stared out forward.
It was an expression that Baji saw every once in a while. The one where Hanagaki stared off into space, and it looked like he carried the entire world on his shoulders. It was an expression that made him feel small and useless, 15 again and watching Hanagaki take a knife for him.
"You ... need anything?" Baji asked.
Blue eyes stared out, and Baji couldn't tell where the sky started and his eyes ended. He paused and scooted so that their legs were next to each other. His eyes fell to the crutches next to Hanagaki. He wanted to just pick him up and hold him close. What if he just carried him everywhere? Would it make up for the fact that Baji wasn't here?
The brush of their legs made Hanagaki jolt, and when Baji realized that his legs were probably tender and he made it worse, Hanagaki's hand grabbed his. It was a painful grip, one that had Hanagaki's hand trembling and Baji wished he would let him turn his hand over so that he could hold his hand properly.
Quietly, Hanagaki bowed his head forward.
"I thought..." his voice quivered, taking Baji's heart right with him and stomping it into the dirt. "I thought that... no one would die this time."
Baji's stared at him, watching the way he curled up and trembled wrecked his body.
"I was... so certain," his voice barely punched the words out, and he gave a shaky gasp. "We were all going to be smiling together."
And Baji, who was so relieved and happy that it was Masaru and not Hanagaki, kept his mouth shut.
"What...?" he sniffled, "What did I do wrong?"
Nothing, Baji thought, because he returned to Baji. And Baji would forgive all, would allow any, so long as Hanagaki returned back to him.
"I can't... I can't..."
The wounded sound Hanagaki gave, his tears and all, was quieter than the chirping birds. Baji slowly got up, and when Hanagaki's grip loosened, he turned his hand over. Gripping it firmly, he moved to kneel in front of Hanagaki, let his knee soak the morning dew off of the grass, and held Hanagaki close.
It was enough, and Hanagaki's hands came up to grip at his arms and he started to cry in earnest. Hanagaki would never run out of tears, the same way Baji would never run out of warmth to share with him. Cradling him close, he hoped that Hanagaki knew how much Baji worried, how much Baji feared, how much Baji waited. All the strength in the world, and Hanagaki needed crutches.
"Takemichi," Baji's voice was quiet, and he hoped that if nothing, these were the words that reached him, "I'm here."
And Baji was so grateful that Hanagaki was still with him too.
--
Hanagaki had a smile on for his friends when they got to the diner. It was an uncomfortable looking smile and his friends took turns, ruffling his hair and squeezing his shoulder. The constant reminder of what was left, who was still alive, was louder than any words they could share.
"How is he?" Mitsuya asked him.
Baji did not look away from Hanagaki, sandwiched between Hakkai and Matsuno. He remained silent, his grip tight on the cup in his hand. They all needed to eat, in hopes that it would encourage Hanagaki to also eat, even if it was just a little bit.
"I see," Mitsuya replied, and if things were normal, he would have told Mitsuya to mind his own damn business, and remind him that Baji was the one that was dating Hanagaki.
Instead, he explained, "I'm going to marry him."
Mitsuya nodded, and then his head snapped over, "What?"
"Once he's better, I'm going to ask him," Baji explained. "Originally, I was going to wait until I was done with school."
But he was a year into college, and it was kicking his ass. Looking at Hanagaki, he didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to tie the knot, get some rings, and do the paperwork to make Hanagaki a Baji. Or become a Hanagaki. He didn't even care at this point. Someone shouldn't have needed to contact Hanagaki's mother, who contacted his mother, who contacted him. It should have come straight to him. He shouldn't have had to hear the news two days late.
And more than anything, he wanted Hanagaki to know that he would take an oath to be with him, in sickness and in health. It didn't matter that Baji already knew he would, but he wanted to be extra certain that Hanagaki knew it, too. Hanagaki was stupid, so a constant and physical reminder, like a ring, would be perfect for him to know that Baji was waiting, always waiting, for the next time they were reunited.
"Uh, wow," Mitsuya blinked. "Sorta shitty timing."
Baji watched Hanagaki carefully. He wanted it to be special. He wanted it to be something extraordinary. It had to be as amazing as Hanagaki.
Hanagaki, who one day showed up in his life and hadn't left since, deserved more. And Baji would deliver because he was the man that loved him twice as much as he was loved. Anything less would be a waste for Hanagaki, and Baji wouldn't allow that.
"I know," he said.
"...Baji," Mitsuya's voice was quiet, careful so that no one would hear their discussion except probably Kisaki, who seemed to always know all for some strange reason, "I'll take him off your hands if you're busy. Lemme know."
"Fuck you, too," he growled back, and Mitsuya chuckled.
Hanagaki picked his head up, and their eyes met. He waved his fingers on his good hand, shy and adorable, and Baji repressed the urge to run over and kiss him senseless. Instead, he nodded at him, and hoped that being with other people would fill his head with words and thoughts aside from "it shouldn't have been Masaru."
"Jokes aside," Mitsuya continued, though it didn't sound like he was ever joking. "I don't think he should be alone this week."
"Yeah," Baji nodded his head.
"Don't slack off."
"I know."
--
"Augh, why can't it just be the two of us?"
"Oh, shut up," Hanemiya laughed back, none of the joy in his voice touching his eyes.
He chained his arm with Hanagaki's, nuzzling his face against the top of his head and then releasing him so Hanagaki could awkwardly hobble down the street. Hanemiya, the bastard, grabbed his ass with a grin before pocketing his hands, and talked over Hanagaki's spluttering. Baji had attempted murder for less.
"Man, Takemitchy, you really had your pick and you went with Baji?" he asked.
"I'll be here if you guys need anything," Matsuno quickly added from Hanagaki's other side, "even in the bedroom."
At once, Baji felt like they weren't joking at all. Hanagaki's face darkened as he scowled.
"Shut up," he wheezed out, but the shadows on his face didn't seem to chase his features as much so Baji would forgive them until Hanagaki was out of sight, as he always did.
"Fuck both of you," Baji added from the back. "We're doing just fine."
At his words, both Hanemiya and Matsuno paused before turning to Hanagaki as one.
"Whenever you want," Hanemiya reiterated, "You can call me."
"You can always count on me," Matsuno added.
Hanagaki laughed, "Thanks guys, but I like Keisuke the way he is," he replied, sending Baji's heart fluttering again. The urge to hug him from behind and spin him around came, but the sight of his crutches made him stop. Even from where he was, following behind them, he could see the ugly bruises underneath his collarbone. He knew the others had been refraining from grabbing and dragging him around like they normally did, and he was also holding back. In a lot of ways.
He had no doubts that Hanagaki was in immense pain, from wounds that were visible and not.
"I love you too," he called back, and when Hanagaki's features flushed, the same way they did before, was grateful for what they did not lose.
Hanemiya gagged, while Matsuno stared forward with a pinched expression. Serves them right, the assholes.
And they fell into their regular, comfortable, quiet as they continued to chat about other random things. Hanagaki was a little slower than usual, but no one said anything. Eventually, Hanemiya moved in front of them, walking backwards so that he was still facing them.
Staring at them in front of them, Baji felt the weight of someone who was no longer with them, even if he had never met them. He felt it, and looked over his friends carefully.
The number of things he wanted to protect should never decrease.
--
"Takemitchy! Morning!"
Baji grumbled something or another, cursing Mikey long and hard in his head as he rolled over onto his side and wrapped an arm around Hanagaki's waist a little tighter. Still, nothing seemed to stop Mikey from raining abuse on his doorbell, yelling all the while, and Baji pressed his face against Hanagaki's neck.
Hanagaki, who slept like the dead, didn't even twitch. If Baji couldn't feel his heartbeat, his warmth, his soft breath, he would have done something dumb. Instead, he gave a deep breath, and gently nipped over his neck and collarbone.
The younger teen grunted, a small moan, and Baji licked the mark before sitting up with a yawn.
He blinked twice, when there was a blur and Mikey came and jumped right into Hanagaki's bed. Baji was slammed backwards against the wall, his head knocking into it and he groaned. But for all his wild movements, Mikey was careful not to jostle Hanagaki, so Baji would let it slide.
"Fuck!" Baji snapped back, kicking Mikey in the side and despite being smaller than Hanagaki, Mikey didn't even twitch.
"Mikey, at least wait for..." Draken's voice trailed off into a long sigh, his jog slowed to a stop as he came to the doorway. He looked at them and gave a helpless shrug. "I tried."
He hated them both. "Try harder!" Baji yelled out.
"Oh no, my pure eyes," Draken deadpanned as he grabbed the seat at Hanagaki's chair and pulled it out before sitting down on it. Rolling over to his bookshelves, he looked over the collection of manga and jump Hanagaki had.
"Takemitchy! Wake up!" Mikey cheered, "It's already 2pm!"
"It is?" Baji squinted at the window. Usually, the morning light got him up. It was hard to think that he slept all the way past noon. He hesitated, and then looked at Hanagaki. Wasn't he hungry? He slid off the bed, yawning once more as he started to dig through Hanagaki's drawers for something that he could fit in. There wasn't much, but he had left plenty of clothes here over the years. He glared when he found some nice designer clothing. Fucking Haitanis. They piss him off when they don't even exist in the same story as him.
Now that Mikey and Draken was here, there was no choice. They would be going out. He was planning on dragging Hanagaki out and about anyways.
"... Mikey?" the slurred murmur came from Hanagaki as he rubbed at his eyes. "...Five more minutes..."
"No!" Mikey whined, "We gotta get to the barbeque today! Ken-chin said he'd pay!"
"Oooh, nice," Baji gave a toothy grin to Draken who scowled back.
"Just for Takemitchy," he clarified. And then added, "If he gets up." He gave up on the manga and started to check his phone. Looks like Mitsuya might be meeting them there. He was more surprised that Matsuno hadn't blown his phone up yet, or that Hanemiya didn't spend the night with them. Sendo must be working hard, he figured.
"...not hungry," Hanagaki mumbled back.
"Takemitchy!" Mikey whined even louder, something Baji hadn't heard since they were kids.
And Hanagaki finally stretched out like a cat.
"I'm up," he sighed, and then sat up.
Baji grinned at him, and Hanagaki blinked. Slowly, he looked around the room where the others were. He stared at his hands for a second longer, and then smiled at them.
"I'm still here, aren't I?"
There was a brief silence and Hanagaki yawned again. Slowly, he swung his legs over the edge and groaned as he pushed himself up. Baji passed him a crutch and Hanagaki hobbled to the door.
"Give me a second to get ready."
As soon as he was gone, Mikey's smile slid off his face. He sat up on Hanagaki's bed. When they heard the water run, Draken turned to Baji.
"Chifuyu told me to make sure he eats his medicine with food," Draken said, waving his phone at Baji. "And to tell you to check your phone."
"Tch," Baji clikced his tongue, "I know."
And then Draken's phone buzzed again. He stared at it.
"And to make sure he doesn't try to take more than what he's supposed to. If he skips, make sure that doesn't try to double the next dose..." Draken's voice trailed as his eyebrow arched, his phone buzzing several more times. "...Wow. Is he normally like this?"
Baji shrugged. He usually didn't read past the second text message.
Mikey stood up, and started his way down the hall. He stripped his jacket off and then pulled his shirt over his head and throwing it behind him.
"Mikey?" Draken asked, mildly alarmed that he was suddenly stripping down.
"Takemitchy!" he called outside of the bathroom, "I'm going to join you!"
"Huh?!" Hanagaki's sound of shock echoed.
"That's my boyfriend!" Baji shouted out, hating how it felt like he needed to remind everyone of this everyday.
"Act like it," Draken replied, getting up and already taking his clothes off. "Takemitchy," he called down the hall, "got room for one more?"
--
Baji returned to the living room, where Hanagaki was, and placed the plastic bag of miscellaneous drinks and snacks he bought for the undeserving bastards. The others were there too, but Baji had clear favorites.
"Pocari," he said, twisting the cap open before handing the drink to Hanagaki.
"Yay! Thank you, Keisuke!"
Baji grabbed Yamagishi by the hair and yanked him away from Hanagaki before taking a seat. The young teen, at the very least, had gotten much better at scrambling away before Baji scalped him (on accident) again.
He gave quiet crying sounds while Suzuki laughed at him. Baji rolled his eyes, and his eyes just barely lingered to where Yamamoto, and how he looked much better than he did, a few days ago at the wake.
"Where's mine?" Mitsuya asked.
"Figure it out," Baji replied, motioning at the bag.
Mitsuya rolled his eyes, and Baji settled in where Hanagaki's arm wasn't injured. On the other side was Mitsuya, who was less likely to get rowdy. Did they plan this? No. Normally, Baji would have Hanagaki pressed as close to the arm chair as he could and sit on the other side of him to block off all the creeps he called friends, or drag Hanagaki into his lap and flip off everyone, especially Hakkai, that tried to complain or bitch otherwise.
"Takemitchy, do you see the shit that I have to deal with?" Mitsuya asked.
"The soda ice cream is really good too," Hanagaki replied, eyes shining at Mitsuya. "If you haven't tried it yet, I recommend it."
"You didn't even hear me," Mitsuya sighed back, but there was a smile on his face. Hanagaki laughed back.
"Fuck! Stop distributing the food when I'm getting my ass kicked!" Kakucho shouted out, mashing buttons with enough strength that the controller was creaking. "I hate all of you!"
"I saved the red bean drink for you," Yamamoto teased out.
"Fuck you!" Kakucho replied back, "I'm not an old man!"
There was a brief silence and Hanagaki asked, "You sure?"
The "GAME OVER" screen flashed in front of them before they all broke down in laughter. All except Kakucho, who pointed at Hanagaki.
"You just wait until you get out of your cast."
"Wh-What? Why just me? Takuya did it, too!"
Yamamoto tilted his head, and immediately turned up the innocence. If Baji didn't see it for himself, he also would have never considered it. "Me?"
"Geez, Takemitchy," Mitsuya laughed, sitting with his peach pocari. Next to him, Suzuki sniffled and had a new bruise on his cheek while Yamagishi pointed and cackled. "You really know how to pick them."
And there was a brief moment, as Hanagaki's expression softened. The wide, unarming grin on his face stretched his lips.
"Don't I?" he asked, shining, and Baji felt like he could breath a little easier.
--
"Everyone has been so worried about me," Hanagaki said, a smile on his face. "It's probably wrong, but I'm really grateful. I always knew I have really good friends, but it's a good reminder. I have... really good friends."
Baji was quiet as he listened.
"I really lucked out in life, didn't I?" he said, voice as quiet as the starlight was soft.
Next to the streetlamps in the middle of the night, it was hard to think about the tiny sparkles far, far in the sky, but Baji's attention turned back to them when the world felt so oppressively dark.
His hand laid on top of Hanagaki's. There had to be something that he could say, but he wasn't sure. He saw a stack of books in Kisaki's bag, and again on Matsuno's desk. Books about mourning and how to deal with grief. At the time, he wasn't sure what to think of it, but maybe he should have sat around and tried to stutter his way through those books. Or at least ask them to share their notes.
He wanted to say it. That it wasn't luck. That this wasn't something that just happened because two stars happened to line up perfectly. It wasn't, because Baji had spent too long with Hanagaki, watched him fight and get hit and get back up, watched how desperately he ran for his friends, time and time again. He gritted his teeth, and not for the first time, wished he had the vocabulary to describe it to Hanagaki.
It was not luck.
"You're not lucky," he replied. It was something else. Something defined by time and blood and Hanagaki's blue eyes that defined the horizon with a promise that good weather would come after dawn break the night.
"Oh," Hanagaki said, something to his voice that he couldn't quite place.
The sound wrapped around his heart like an itchy blanket, and suffocated him. Baji wished, so desperately, for a script. He had one, back when they were first dating and he wasn't sure if he was going to go brawl or go bowling, and had trained with Matsuno from day to night and night to day with all the perfect things to say (none of it went to use because South found them and a brawl accidentally broke out). He used none of the lines he wanted, felt his entire mind go blank when Hanagaki's hand caught his, and the memory of it still kept him up at night.
"Keisuke," Hanagaki called out again. It echoed inside of Baji.
"Yeah?" Baji replied, ready to give him anything as soon as he knew what.
If it was for Hanagaki, it would be worth it. Whatever he did, whatever it made of him, Baji was certain that it would be worth it, if it meant that Hanagaki would stop smiling at the ground and stopped freezing when a car drove by. He knew it, and he just needed to know what-
"...I love you."
Baji paused, and he turned to Hanagaki.
"I know," he said. And then took a deep breath because he had something he wanted to say it, too. He didn't have a ring though, and Mitsuya owed him two suits but-
"... I really, really love you."
And Hanagaki had that infuriating way of making his heart seize. The traitorous bastard called his heart would betray Baji in a second if it meant Hanagaki's smile and Baji knew. Baji knew and he hated how he would commend it for doing so.
"Yeah, I-"
"I wanna marry you."
Baji jerked, his eyes widening.
"I'll ask in a super-duper romantic way later, just..." Hanagaki's hands ran over his own arms, like he was trying to rub off his nerves. He did that, sometimes, when it was quiet and he was cold and he was unsure in a way that never made sense to Baji because Hanagaki was someone that could replace the sun if he really, really wanted to. "But I want to. Share the same name and get registered in the same family together. I know it's not... not really the same, but it's the closest we got. And I know I won't be rich or anything but you know, I..."
His voice trailed off a little. His eyes fell to his leg. He still needed his crutches, but the brace and everything was off now.
"I want to make you happy. I want to... be together, more than just next to each other. And if something else were to happen, something like this, then at least-"
Baji's hand grabbed his shoulders, stopping his words then and there. Hanagaki grimaced, so Baji loosened his hold, trying to be mindful of his bruises, but he was no less firm. He didn't want to hear it. He already thought himself to death, woke up in the middle of the night and tried to hug Hanagaki closer to himself, and he didn't want to hear Hanagaki, of all people, say something so sad. Sure, if they got married, and tried to mimic that in the most legal way possible, then they would become each other's primary contact. Sure. But it wasn't for a tragedy. It wasn't. It was an addition, but not the reason why they would do this.
"Of course I will!" he all but shouted back at him. Quickly, he repositioned himself. He kneeled in front of him, and looked up at Hanagaki. "Of course I will," he repeated again, a little slower. "But Takemichi, you're only going to be buried after we live to be old men."
Was Hanagaki the type to get a receding hairline? Would he start graying from the top? Baji came from a family of strong hair, but he didn't really know about Hanagaki. He supposed there was only one way to find out. And when all their teeth fell out, would his smile still look the same? Forty or sixty years later, would Hanagaki's eyes be cloudy but still brighten the moment he saw Baji? At that time, would Baji no longer be able to pick him up and spin him in circles until they were both dizzy?
Hanagaki, who always looked so stunning in Toman's black, would probably look even more like a dream in a white, wouldn't he?
And Baji had to outlive Hanagaki, so that Hanagaki would never know loneliness.
"You and I," he said, squeezing the hand in his, "got a long time ahead of us."
Hanagaki's eyes watered again, filling up his eyes and then he closed his eyes so that it flowed down his face. Baji leaned in to kiss one, while his thumb came up to wipe at the other. He stood in front of Hanagaki, cupping his face. He casted a shadow over him before he kissed him again, not wanting even moonlight to reach him.
Just his. Hanagaki would be, in this moment, just his.
"I love you," he said, the words that he always wanted to say came out so much easier once he got them out the first time. The person that he treasured so much was someone that he couldn't ever seem to protect, and he wasn't sure why this miracle bothered to return to him. He wouldn't question it. He would live up to it.
For all that Hanagaki protected, Baji would also.
Hanagaki's arms came around his waist and he held him close. He sniffled loudly, probably smearing snot and tears all over his shirt. Baji would rather kiss him, or maybe they should just rush home. Then, he'd give him something to cry about.
"Stop crying, this is the time where you kiss me," he said, feeling as though he was deprived of something.
And Hanagaki gave a watery laugh that sounded more like him.
"Hurry up then," he said.
And before they made a real vow in a church with their matching rings and suits and all of their bitter, single, friends watching as witnesses, Baji made a vow. It was the same vow he made since they were 15 and the loser, weakling Hanagaki took a blade for him and landed himself in the hospital.
Hanagaki Takemichi would never be alone.
He cupped the back of Hanagaki's head and leaned down to seal it with a kiss.