Work Text:
"Little brats, you don't think I'm going to let you get away that quickly, do you?" Guren called out, a manic grin on his face as he got ready to race after Narumi, Mikaela Hyakuya, and the entire Shinoa Squad.
The leader of the aforementioned squad turned back, "From this moment onwards, the Shinoa Squad withdraws from the Moon Demon Company!" Shinoa yelled back, before continuing to run.
"Stupid kids," Guren but out, clenching his teeth, "You really think you can escape-" But as he took a step forward, he felt the tip of a blade kiss his neck. His eyes flashed over to the side, "I should have known you'd come to interfere…"
"Guren," The white-haired man holding the sniper rifle blade to his neck said, his voice unreadable, "Just what the hell is going on."
Guren grinned, "Ah, have I finally made you angry, Shinya?"
Shinya shrugged, "You've been making me angry a hell of a lot recently. But this time," He pushed the gun closer to his neck, "This time you've really pissed me off."
At this, Guren threw his head back and laughed, "Do you really think you can stop me from going after them? Especially when you're this close in range?" He asked, "We know who'll win if we both have a close-range battle."
Shinya huffed, and then threw aside his weapon before swinging his arm and punching Guren square in the face, "Why the hell do you want to fight me?!" He yelled, grabbing Guren by the collar of his uniform and shaking him, "Tell me why the hell you killed our comrades! Our family! Are you fucking insane?! You-"
As his eyes met Guren's, Shinya wasn't sure how he had missed it before.
His eyes were red .
Not the soft, dark violet that he knew so well, that he sometimes was mesmerized by, the ones that had instantly drawn him to the man. No, his eyes were deep, crimson red. Demonic possession red. That could only mean…
"No…No, Guren, tell me you didn't give in to her," Shinya pleaded, shaking his shoulders. Guren didn't answer, still looking back at him with that same grin, "Come on, Guren! I know you're in there somewhere, listen to my fucking voice, you bastard!"
"Ah, Shinya, you've always been like me when it comes to Guren," It was Guren's voice, but the delivery was off, it didn't sound like Guren. But it did sound like someone else.
"Mahiru," Shinya glared, his blue eyes turning as cold as ice, "Give him back. And stop using his body. You know Byakkomaru lets me see you.”
There was a sigh, and suddenly, Mahiru was floating next to Guren, leaning on his should, looking directly at Shinya with the same red eyes Guren had, “Why should I give him back? He’s mine, isn’t he? Unlike you, I actually had him. He’s mine.”
“Shut the hell up, Mahiru,” Shinya said sharply, “He’s not yours. He stopped being yours the day you betrayed us all those years ago.”
Mahiru giggled a bit as her nails dug into Guren’s shoulders, “Oh, really? If that was the case, then why would he let me take over his body, hm? Why would he listen to everything I say, do whatever I want?”
Shinya ignored her, turning his gaze to Guren, turning desperate, “Guren, hey, Guren! I know you can hear me! You’ve got to take control again. Come on, you don’t want her to control you, right? Can you hear my voice?”
Mahiru sighed, “This is annoying,” She muttered, before disappearing from Guren’s side, and Shinya watched the man’s eyes flash red once again, “We’re not getting anywhere by just standing here and listening to him ramble.”
Guren rushed forward, and his sword clashed with Shinya’s sniper, the white-haired man had managed to pick it up just in time to defend against the blow but he was being pushed back. Shinya gritted his teeth, he knew he couldn’t beat Guren. At least, not in close combat. He could only hold him off for so long, and with Mahiru controlling him, there was absolutely no way Guren would show him any mercy.
Suddenly, the smoke grew all around them, and Shinya heard the sound of someone punching Guren away from him. Another person grabbed his arm and pulled him back, “Shinya-sama, are you alright?” Sayuri asked, worried.
“I’m fine,” He responded quickly as the smoke cleared up and he began to see Guren’s silhouette through the haze.
“...Is Guren-sama okay?”
“...Mahiru is controlling him.”
Uncharacteristically, Sayuri cursed under her breath, “Honestly, I had a suspicion that at least something like that might be going on. He’d been acting quite strange recently and whenever I asked, he always deflected it.”
As they began to be able to see again, they could see Guren and Mito exchanging blows ferociously, but it was quite obvious that Mito was fighting to defend herself while Guren was fighting to hurt her. It wasn’t unexpected, Mito wasn’t one to hurt her own teammates in any way.
She groaned as he punched her in the stomach, sending her flying back a few feet. Sayuri ran over to her, “Mito-chan!” She cried out as she checked on her girlfriend, “Mito-chan, are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
“Sayuri…” Mito gritted out, clenching her abdomen, “Watch…Watch out!”
She turned to see Guren advancing on them, his sword held at the ready. Before Sayuri could pull out her two blades though, Guren was yanked aside by ropes around him. Behind him stood Yukimi, a worried look on her face, “Are you both alright?” She asked her girlfriends, helping them up.
Before Mito could respond, Sayuri yelled, “Yuki-chan, behind you!” Yukimi whirled around just in time to watch Goshi grab a sword on the ground and move in front of them, barely holding off Guren’s attack. He grunted. From behind, Shinya knocked Guren’s legs out from under him, causing him to lose his balance. Within seconds, he hit him with the butt of the rifle and knocked him out for a few minutes, “Goshi!” He called, “Get the girls out of here! Mito needs to be treated for that injury.”
“Shinya-sama! I’m fine, we can’t just leave you here-” Mito began to stand up, but groaned as she almost collapsed to the ground again. Sayuri moved forward, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her up.
Goshi looked back, “Trust Shinya,” He simply said, “He has a plan. We need to get Mito to a safe place now, and we can’t go with the kids. We need to make sure that they don’t follow them.”
“We need to be the bait,” Yukimi said, the realization dawning on all of them.
“And Shinya needs to get Guren to the kids. Guren has all the answers, and if we’re going to figure out how the hell to get through this, I get the feeling Guren is going to have to answer a lot of his kid’s questions,” Goshi added.
Shinya turned, “But how? There’s no way the kids are going to hear us from here even if we yell, and we’ll just get the attention of the other soldiers. And then Kureto will hear-”
Suddenly, a message could be heard clearly all across the battlefield, “ Bring Shinya Hiiragi for capture, no matter how much you have to injure or torture him. He is a traitor to the Japanese Imperial Army and the Hiiragi Family .”
“Oh, fucking hell.”
“Well, that’ll do,” Goshi said, pointing to the helicopter that Shinoa was climbing out of, despite her friends yelling for her, “Do you really think little Shinoa is going to let Kureto or Tenri get their hands on her favorite sibling? Now, whatever plan you have for Guren, you’d better get a move on, he’s starting to get up again. Yukimi, Sayuri, Mito, let’s go.”
Yukimi turned to their left, “That helicopter over there is our best shot, it’s one of the few that hasn’t been destroyed in the seraph’s attack.”
Sayuri wrapped an arm under Mito’s knees and the other under her back, holding her in a bridal carry. Mito sputtered a bit, turning as red as her hair before simply wrapping her arms around Sayuri's neck and falling silent, “Let’s go, then,” Sayuri said, and the four of them ran off.
Shinya watched as Yukimi and Goshi fended off the vampires and JIDA soldiers that came running at them as Sayuri followed them. Eventually, Sayuri gave Mito over to Yukimi who helped her climb into the helicopter, Goshi climbed into the copilot seat as Sayuri climbed into the pilot and easily started the helicopter.
There were yells as the helicopter began to take off, and some of the JIDA soldiers climbed into other helicopters, going to follow them. Shinya sighed and smiled, “Well, they’re certainly good at causing a ruckus. I suppose that’s good for us.”
Shinoa had gotten closer now, worry in her eyes, “Shinya-nii!” She yelled, “You can’t stay here, they’ll hurt you! Come with us!”
At this point though, Guren had gotten up again and was chuckling darkly, “Oh, now you’ve done it, Shinya. You’ve really annoyed me,” He muttered.
“Yeah, well, tough luck,” Shinya spat back, “You’ve been absolutely infuriating this whole time, so why don’t you stop influencing his thoughts, Mahiru,” Guren rushed at him and Shinya felt himself be pushed back a bit by the force of the attack, and hearing Shinoa cry out, he looked over at her, “I’ll be fine, Shinoa-chan, go back to the helicopter!”
“But-”
“Shinoa-chan, do you trust me?” Shinya yelled. Seeing the girl nod, he continued, “Then go back to the helicopter, and give me a few minutes. Just trust me, I’ll be there, and I’ll bring this,” He grunted as he pushed guren away from him and swung the tip of his rifle blade at Guren’s legs, “ Infuriating idiot of a man with me.”
Shinoa seemed hesitant for a moment, but then she nodded and turned, running off toward the helicopter. Shinya watched her, making sure she got there safely but turned back to find himself face-to-face with the tip of a sword. To his surprise, though, there was almost a pained look in Guren’s eyes, “Don’t…” He gritted out, his hand shaking, “Don’t…Hurt him. Don’t hurt…Shinya…”
Shinya watched Guren’s eyes fade back to the normal violet that he knew so well, that he was familiar with, that he lo-
Guren staggered back, throwing his sword to the side, clutching his head, “Why won’t you leave? Shinya, they’re going to kill you!”
“And leave you in Kureto’s hands? With Mahiru controlling you?” Shinya scoffed, “Over my dead body, maybe. Which, actually, you’re not going anywhere without me until you explain to me exactly how and why Mahiru is able to take control of you-”
“Shinya!” Guren yelled, “This is serious! They won’t hurt me if they get me, you’re in more danger than I am! You need to get out of here. I can’t…I can’t lose you. And I can’t let them hurt you either! I can’t…” He clutched his hair tightly, “I can’t hold her back much longer, and I don’t know if I can stop her from killing you. So, please!” He yelled out, “Just get out of here!”
Shinya stepped forward, his expression softening, “I’m not going anywhere without you, Guren. Don’t you remember what I said back then? I’m never giving up on you.”
“Damn it, Shinya,” Guren cursed,
“Look, no matter what you do, no matter what you’ve done,” Shinya took another step closer, “You’re our Guren. You’re my Guren. You don’t do anything without a reason. No matter how much you try to make me hate you, you forget that I can read you better than anyone else. I just want you to tell me the truth. We’re going to be fine.”
Guren laughed despairingly, holding his head in his hands, “Fucking hell, Shinya. You’re going to think I’m losing my mind. You…You won’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
“Everything, all of this,” Guren gestured all around them, “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t listened to Kureto, hell, if I hadn’t listened to Mahiru… ”
Shinya shook his head, “It’s not your fault. I don’t know what you’ve done, but in this world, everyone is just doing what they can to stay alive. Besides, even if it is your fault, then we’ll find a way to fix it.”
“This isn’t just one of those things you can fix, Shinya.”
Instead of responding though, Shinya simply stepped closer so he and Guren were now face to face. Guren couldn’t meet his eyes, though, and looked down. The other man took a deep breath
All those moments when Guren stood a bit too close to Shinya, all times he leaned in a little bit closer than necessary to say something quietly to Shinya, when he’d fall asleep at his desk and wouldn’t complain but cling to Shinya when Shinya would carry him over to the couch in his office, how gentle he was whenever he did the same for Shinya, when after a long battle, he’d fall asleep on Shinya’s shoulder in the back of the car, all those times when the nightmares were too much and he’d come over to Shinya’s room, asking to sleep in the same bed as him one more time, just to feel another living human beside him, when he’d do the same for Shinya and hold him when he couldn’t feel anything. They didn’t talk about it, they never felt they needed to talk about it, but…
“Tell me you want me,” Shinya said breathily. Guren’s head shot up as his eyes widened. Shinya didn’t wait for him to answer, “If you want me, tell me. You know you can have me. Just say it, Guren.”
The dark-haired man was stunned for a moment, but then he shook his head, “I…I can’t. It’s-” He sighed, “It’s not that I don’t…It’s just-”
“Forget everything else,” Shinya urged him, “Don’t think about any of the “what-ifs” or the consequences. Just say it.”
“Even if I break your heart?” Guren laughed humorlessly.
Shinya looked at him seriously, “I can handle a little bit of heartbreak.”
Guren winced, “I don’t…I don’t want to be the one to break your heart-Fuck, I can’t hold her back, Shinya,” The moment he finished speaking, the crimson red invaded the violet in his eyes, and the unsettling smirk settled onto his face again.
“How cruel, Shinya,” Mahiru spoke from over Guren’s shoulder, and Shinya stepped back, realizing Byakkomaru was allowing him to see her, “My ex-fiance, not even letting me have final happiness after my death. What a betrayal! My ex-fiance and ex-lover, confessing to each other!”
Shinya rolled his eyes, “Stop being dramatic, Mahiru,” He said, and then muttered under his breath, “To be fair, I was the only one who actually confessed,” Reaching in his picket, he felt the familiar shape of what he was looking for and had to fight to keep the smile off his face, “Though, if you think that’s a betrayal, Mahiru, I’d suggest you leave now because I’m sure you’re not going to want to see what’s next.”
He took two confident strides forward, and with heart in his throat, reached forward to grab Guren by the collar of his uniform, and kissed him fully on the mouth.
It only took him a quick glance to see Mahiru’s shocked face as she disappeared and Guren’s eyes return back to purple, widened in shock, before he felt hands cupping his face and the feeling of Guren kissing him back intensely. Shinya made a noise in the back of his throat, trying to keep his head clear as he reached into his pocket. Grabbing the syringe, he moved carefully before inserting the syringe into Guren’s neck. As Guren noticed it, Shinya kissed him harder. He pushed the stopped down, murmuring against Guren’s lips, “It’ll knock you out and keep Mahiru at bay for a while. I’m sorry I had to do it like this.”
The last thing Guren said was, “Thank you, Shinya,” Before slumping into his arms, unconscious.
As Shinya picked him up in a bridal carry, he heard a wolf whistle and familiar cheering, looking above him to see his friends in the helicopter above them, “I knew it would happen eventually,” Goshi yelled, grinning, “Congratulations, Shinya!”
“Shut the fuck up and get out of here!” Shinya yelled back, waving them off before running towards the other helicopter where Shinoa was waiting outside the vehicle, staring at him in shock.
As he got closer to her, she said, “Y-You and Guren? Since when have you two been…How did I not know about this? How did you not tell me that you two actually ended up-” She began to say, demanding answers, but Shinya cut her off.
“Since today apparently,” Shinya said breathlessly, “And contrary to what you might think, I would prefer it if people didn’t tease me constantly about the fact that I’ve been in love with him for years and still hadn’t made a move, even though Goshi, Mito, Sayuri, and Yukimi certainly didn’t show me any mercy. Anyways, help me get him into the helicopter, come on.”
Shinoa broke out of her shock and nodded, helping Shinya drag Guren into the back of the helicopter, with Shinya climbing in to sit beside him so that Guren’s head lolled onto his shoulder.
As the helicopter took off, Shinya found himself being met with Yoichi, Kimizuki, Mitsuba, and Narumi’s shocked faces. The only ones who didn’t seem affected were Yuu’s vampire…Friend. Okay, anyone that saw them interact could tell they weren’t just friends, which made Shinya chuckle a bit internally. No wonder Goshi and the others knew about him and Guren so quickly. Obviously, the vampire-Mika-Didn’t really know Shinya and Guren and didn’t seem to care frankly. The other person was Yuu, who was passed out against Mika’s shoulder, almost mirroring Guren and Shinya himself.
“...Narumi, pay attention to where you’re flying,” Shinya said pointedly, looking at the mountain coming up ahead of them.
“Yes, Shinya-sama,” Narumi responded, shaking himself out of his daze and controlling the helicopter again.
It was Yoichi who spoke up, “So…General Shinya-sama-”
“Kid, we’ve worked together enough times, you can just call me Shinya-sama or Shinya-san,” Shinya said tiredly, his actions catching up to him as he slumped back on the seat, gently adjusting Guren’s head.
“Ah, okay,” Yoichi said, a little bit awkwardly, “Shinya-sama, then. Um, are you…Well, I mean-Are you and Guren-sama…Are you guys…”
It was Mitsuba who continued, “Are you two together? Like, dating?”
Shinya just sighed, “Honestly? I have no idea. You have to ask this bastard,” He poked Guren’s head, “When he wakes up because I certainly got no confirmation either way.”
“Well, he’d better have some good news for us. Firstly, we need it, and secondly, if he does reject you, I will slit his throat in his sleep,” Shinoa said with a threatening smile on her face.
“Calm down, Shinoa-chan,” Shinya said, looking up at the ceiling of the helicopter, “I get the feeling that such threats won’t be necessary. We’ll just have to wait and see, though.”
And the helicopter flew out of sight of the raging battlefield behind them.
***
When Guren woke up, it was in a homely bedroom, the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the sand giving it a strangely calming background, almost as if the whole world hadn't gone through an apocalypse.
He sat up gently and groaned a bit, rubbing his head and blinking his eyes to adjust to the bright light of the sun shining in through the windows.
"Oh, Guren-sama, you're awake!" He turned to see a familiar brown-haired boy looking at him, a bag of…Food in his arms. It seemed like fresh produce, "How are you feeling? Is your demon trying to take control still? Any head pain, anything like that?"
"I'm fine, Yoichi," Guren was actually quite surprised to see how quiet Mahiru was, "No head pain, no demon issues, nothing like that. What are those, exactly?"He asked, pointing at the bag.
The boy looked down at his arms, "Oh, this is some of the vegetables the farmers gave us! Surprisingly, even though Mika-kun is a vampire, the older farmers really seem to like him!"
"Mika…Mikaela Hyakuya, right?" Guren asked, rubbing his head.
"Oh, yes, Yuu-kun, Mika-kun, Shinoa-san, Mitsuba-san, Kimizuki-kun, Narumi-san, and Shinya-sama are also here. Speaking of which, I should probably go get him, he's been really worried about you," Yoichi said before rushing off.
Shinya…
Guren sighed.
He touched the back of his hands to his lips gently, his cheeks heating up. Fuck, Shinya had actually kissed him, hadn’t he? And Guren had liked it, hadn’t he? And God, he’d kissed Shinya back as well.
It made his heart race, both in excitement, but also in fear. On one hand, he’d loved Shinya, and he had loved him before he’d been able to accept that he had loved him. When he looked back on it, it was pretty clear to Guren; he had fallen in love with Mahiru first, but as Mahiru’s plans started to take a turn and she herself began to change, he had found himself getting closer and closer to Shinya. By the time Mahiru had killed Shinya and the others, Guren was sure he had been in love with both Mahiru and Shinya. So, knowing that the man he had been in love with for a long, long time had kissed him willingly, made him happy .
On the other hand, if he confronted his feelings for Shinya and acted on them, it meant that he’d be letting Shinya in, and he’d be vulnerable to him. And that meant that it would be easier for Shinya to figure out what had happened all those years ago.
And Guren, under no circumstances, could let that happen.
He didn’t have much more time to think about it as the door swung open and standing there, wonderfully disheveled, looking as though he just ran a marathon, was Shinya Hiiragi, his angel.
Fuck, he’s so pretty.
Shinya raised an eyebrow, “If you think that’s going to get you out of this conversation, I’m sorry to say, you’ve been terribly mistaken.”
Guren realized he’d spoken out loud, but couldn’t find it in himself to turn away. Instead, he just looked at Shinya and managed to push out a singular word, “Hey.”
Shinya closed the door behind him, leaning against it, his arms crossed as he looked at Guren with an unreadable look on his face, “Hey, yourself.”
“...Are we going to talk about what happened? With us?” Guren asked. He knew he wasn’t going to get an answer that would be good for him either way, but he at least took some satisfaction in the fact that Shinya’s cheeks were flushed a bit pink.
“Are we going to talk about what lead you to team up with Kureto, what made you murder a bunch of our allies, and whatever the fuck made you think letting Mahiru take over you was a good idea?” Shinya responded, leaning the bottom of his foot against the door.
Guren sighed, “I want to tell you. Genuinely, it’s killing me inside. You know how much I hate hiding things from you and the others.”
“And yet, you’re so good at it. Human experimentation, Guren?” Shinya asked, “I talked to that Mikaela kid. The vampire that is obviously in love with Yuuichiro? Mikaela Hyakuya. He had a lot to tell me.”
“So,” Guren looked down, “Then, you know.”
Shinya hummed and headed towards the bed, sitting on the side, “It made sense, and Mika sounded genuine about it…But I wanted to hear from you as well. And I guess this is basically my confirmation. Why, Guren? You know what those kids have been through, you know what Yuu has been through. You still want to use him as a weapon?”
“It’s…A necessary evil. You know me better than anyone, Shinya, would I really want to hurt the kid?” Guren asked.
“That’s why I’m asking you. You care about that kid, as much as you hate to admit it. You did whatever you could for him, you raised him when no one else did. Whether you were good at it or not, you tried. But if what you’re saying is true, then I have to say, Mika-kun has full rights to punch you in the face.”
“Well, I agree. He definitely has the right to deck me in the face,” Guren simply said, “Shinya, I’m not a good person. In fact, I’m a terrible person. I’m willing to use that kid just to try and fix things. And it’s not the only terrible thing I’ve done. I let Mahiru possess me, become a part of me, and when the personality was in the front, I’ve done horrible things.”
Shinya looked at him, “Why did you let her take control of you? What could have possibly made it worth it?”
Guren closed his eyes, tilting his head up to the ceiling, “I found a way, Shinya. She told me there might be a way, and that letting her control me would allow me to eb able to make the necessary sacrifices.”
“A way for what?” Shinya asked.
“A way to undo all of this,” Guren looked at him, “To fix all of this, to bring everyone back. I think that maybe if I have some more time, I can figure out a way to bring back everyone that died in the apocalypse.”
Shinya stared at him, “...Are you insane?”
Guren rolled his eyes, “I knew you’d think I was.”
At this, Shinya shook his head, “No, no, it’s fine. It’s okay. I trust you. You’re saying Mahiru knows how to bring everyone back. And that Yuu, Mika, and possibly the other kids are also involved in this plan to bring everyone back?”
“...Yes. But for that, I need to…Okay, you’re going to hate me for not telling you this earlier, but remember that one silver-haired vampire that was with Mikaela the first time we saw him? After he became a vampire, I mean, not when he was a kid. His name is Ferid Bathory. And I think he can give me the answers I need,” Guren said.
“Why does it have to be you?” Shinya asked, “If you could figure this all out, and I mean, Guren, you’re smart. I won’t deny that. But there are many more intelligent people out there. How come they couldn’t figure this out or why can’t you tell them? Hell, why can’t the Hiiragi family handle this? Why can no one else fix this except for you? Why does it have to be your responsibility?”
Guren was quiet for a moment. He took a deep breath, “I…” But he couldn’t do it. Shinya was too smart. If he even began to hint at it, he had no doubt that Shinya would put the pieces together.
It seemed like something had struck Shinya, and there was a look of realization in his eyes, “It’s not that you don’t want me to know why,” He said, slowly, “It’s that I can't know why. There's a reason why you're so uncomfortable with me asking more and more questions. There's something that you can’t have me know about under any circumstances. Is it…Because of a curse?"
"...I suppose you could say that,” Guren responded slowly.
“Is the curse going to hurt you if I know?” At this, Guren was silent, and another puzzle piece fell into place, “It’s going to hurt me if I know, isn’t it? That’s you want me to stop asking Because you’re scared I’m going to figure it out, and it’s going to hurt me,” Shinya said.
Guren sighed, “This is why I can’t talk to you about any of this. Because you know me so fucking well that you’ll figure out so much of it without me even saying it. So, can you please stop asking? Shinya, would you trust me blindly, even if I can’t tell you everything?”
Shinya leaned closer to him, moving Guren’s hair out of his eyes so the violet could meet sky blue, “I’ve not given up on you yet, have I? Guren, have a bit more faith in me. There are plenty of things you haven’t told me over the years, this is just another one.”
“Yeah, but you’ve almost always figured it out in the past,” Guren muttered, “This one, you have to promise me you won’t look into. You won’t try to figure out-In fact, if I could give you amnesia and make you forget we had this conversation, I would do it. Please, Shinya. I can’t…I can’t have you get hurt because of this. Please.”
It was concerning, Shinya had only seen Guren this serious about something a few times, and never this worried about him. The last time he had seen Guren like this had been when they’d been attacked by one of the Progenitors by surprise, and Shinya had been the target. It had left him in a coma for a week with a hole in his chest, barely missing his heart. When he woke up, Guren looked absolutely terrible , completely exhausted and sleeping lightly on a chair, his head on his arms, on the side of the bed. When he woke up, he’d clutched at Shinya like if he let go, Shinya would just…Crumple in his hands. He had been sleep-deprived to all hell, but as the nurse came in to check on Shinya and to move Guren out of the room, he’d just gripped tightly to Shinya looking at him with desperate, almost manic eyes.
“ You can’t do this to me, Shinya ,” He had said back then, “ I can’t take it. I can’t lose you, I can’t lose someone so important to me again, please, Shinya. You have to be okay. You can’t-You can’t die- ”
At first, Shinya had just thought he’d meant that he couldn’t handle the pain of losing someone again since he’d lost his father, and maybe…Maybe Guren even felt for Shinya what he felt for Mahiru…That had been the wishful thinking of a man in love with his best friend.
Now, he was beginning to think that he might have been more right about his wishful thinking than he’d ever imagined.
Whatever this curse was…It must mean something terrible for Shinya himself. He wouldn’t lie, he was genuinely curious about it, and he wanted to help Guren with it but…At this point, he wasn’t sure that it would lead to anything good. If anything, Shinya wanted to avoid seeing Guren as desperate as he had been that day when he clutched Shinya’s hand in the hospital, as much as he could avoid it at least. But if there was one thing Shinya could tell about this whole situation, it was that Guren felt guilty about it.
But he wasn’t going to pry into it. Hell, Guren hadn’t even asked about Shinya’s past, even though he had picked up on hints of how bad it was. If Guren could wait till Shinya was comfortable enough to tell him about that, Shinya could wait until Guren could tell him about this.
Besides, while Guren’s words seemed to say otherwise, his actions had always shown that he had Shinya’s best interest in mind.
“Alright,” Shinya said softly, “Alright, I’ll stop asking. And I won’t think about it either…You’ll tell me about when I need to know, anyway. I trust you.”
Guren let out a weak laugh, “How can you trust me so easily? Should you even trust me?”
“Well, Byakkomaru certainly thinks I shouldn’t,” Shinya chuckled, “And I suppose that would probably make it seem like I should trust you but we both know Byakkomaru does genuinely have my best interests at heart…Most of the time, at least.”
“It’s kind of weird. Are you sure that your demon isn’t just trying to get you to let your guard down-Why are you laughing?” Guren asked as Shinya covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking a bit.
The silver-haired man couldn’t hold back his laughter, “Sorry, sorry, it’s just-Byakkomaru certainly has some words for you. He doesn’t like you very much, I’m afraid.”
Guren’s face scrunched up in a frown, “Well, I don’t like him either, so there.”
Shinya wheezed a bit, “God, you’re like a kid sometimes-Ah, that’s too mean, Byakkomaru! Alright, alright. Guren, whether it’s a good idea to trust you or not, it doesn’t matter to me. I said it before, I’ll never give up on you. I’m with you till the end of the line, whether that means saving the world or burning it to the ground. And I’m sure the rest of your squad and the kids would agree.”
As if it had only just occurred to him, his eyes widened, “The team, are they okay? Did they get away? I remember hurting Mito, is she alright?” He asked, sitting up quickly and groaning as he clutched his stomach.
“Easy, easy,” Shinya reached forward to help Guren settle back a bit more comfortably in the bed, “They got away, and found a lodge in the woods. They’re being careful since the JIDA and the vampires are looking for them, but Mito is doing better. She doesn’t blame you, of course, although Sayuri has some choice words for you about not letting us know about the whole second personality you have when Mahiru possessed you.”
Guren chuckled, “I’m sure she does-What? What is it?” He asked as Shinya leaned back from him, crossing his arms and looking at him with a sharp glare.
“I’m sure you have your reasons for not telling me about Mahiru but are you serious, Guren? You told my asshole of a brother before you told me? How come Kureto knew but you didn’t tell me?” Shinya asked, almost pouting a bit. Guren thought it was adorable.
“Well, it’s pretty simple actually,” Guren scratched the back of his head, “I hate Kureto, so I don’t actually care what he thinks of me. If he thought less of me for letting Mahiru control me, it didn’t really matter to me. But if you and the team found out…Yeah, it sounds stupid in hindsight, I guess, but I didn’t want you guys to think any less of me for it.”
Shinya lightly smacked his head, “It was a very stupid thought process. Very much what I’d expect from you, Guren. But I suppose, I can vaguely understand it. Not saying you shouldn’t have told us though. You know we love you no matter what.”
Guren turned a bit red and looked to the side, not knowing what to say. Especially with what had happened between the two of them, it…Shinya had told him that he and the team loved Guren quite a few times before but now…Now it seemed to mean something more.
And Shinya seemed to notice it, seeing how his face also turned red and he looked away as well. Both of them could feel this awkwardness that had never been a part of their relationship before. Guren couldn’t stand it, and well, if there was anything Yuu had learned from Guren, it was to be impulsive.
“I held up my end of the deal. Now you have to hold up yours,” Guren said pointedly.
Shinya looked at him, his face still red, but to his credit, he still tried to hold up his facade of nonchalance by raising an eyebrow, “I wasn’t aware that we made a deal, Mr. Ichinose,” Shinya joked, but it came out a bit weak.
Guren returned his gaze without hesitation, “Well, then, I’m saying it was a deal now. I tell you what the whole deal was with me being possessed by Mahiru, and you tell me why you kissed me back there. I completed my end of the deal, and now you have to hold up your end.”
Ah, he actually said it. Shinya sighed, “Would you have believed me if I had said that I had just done it to shock Mahiru enough to distract her so I could neutralize her? And knock you out?”
“If I was anybody else, maybe I would have believed that,” Guren admitted, “But I know you better than that, Shinya. If you wanted to distract her, you didn’t have to kiss me. The whole team was there, you could have easily come up with something else. Besides, I did actually hear everything you said before you kissed me.”
“You…I thought you wouldn’t remember that,” Shinya flushed, looking down. Guren reached over and hit him in the back of the head, “Ow, what was that for!”
Guren rolled his eyes, “If I could remember the kiss, obviously I remembered what you said before that! Now, come on. Why did you do it?”
Shinya looked at him, “Why do you want to know so badly?” He asked, and Guren clicked his tongue.
“You’re avoiding the question, don’t think I can’t see that,” Guren said.
“I could say the same about you.”
“Shinya, your mind games aren’t going to work on me.”
“I mean, I’m avoiding talking about it, aren’t I-”
“Shinya, please,” Guren said, his voice serious, and Shinya’s shoulders slumped a bit, “I need to hear this from you clearly. Because I don’t think I can take it if I end up jumping to conclusions and this doesn’t end up being what I hope it is. So, please. Just answer my question. Why did you kiss me?”
Shinya was quiet for a moment, “...Isn’t it obvious? Hasn’t it been obvious this whole time? The things I do for you, Guren, the way I blindly follow you, the way I trust you, I can’t do that for just anyone. You have to know, Guren. Even you can’t be that much of an idiot.”
“...I still want to hear you say it,” Guren said softly.
“You’re so cruel, Guren,” Shinya laughed without humor, “You’re really going to make me say it, huh? Even though I’ve practically spelled it out for you?”
Guren shook his head, “I can’t have any miscommunications about this. Not about something as important as this…As important as you. Shinya, why did you kiss me- ”
“Because I love you!” Shinya blurted out, “There, are you happy now? Mahiru was really getting on my nerves and I was kind of jealous since she kept saying you loved her. So, I saw the opportunity and I took it. Yes, I kissed you because I’m in love with you!”
Shinya was breathing hard after his little rant, and his eyes roamed over Guren’s face, seemingly trying to read it to see how Guren would react. His body language showed that he was ready to close up and distance himself if Guren even said one thing wrong. So, he just let his mouth take the lead.
“Fuck, you’re adorable,” Guren muttered, looking down and covering his blushing face with the back of his hand.
“...What,” Shinya began, his eyes wide, “Do you mean by that, Guren?”
Guren coughed, “What do you think I mean by that, Shinya,” He mumbled, “As you said, I don’t trust anyone the way I trust you. I’ve never let anyone see me as vulnerable as I’ve let you see me-Hell, I’ve even asked if I could hold you whenever I had nightmares-It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
Shinya hummed, a familiar grin spreading on his face, “I want to hear you say it, though,” He said in a sing-songy voice.
He was instantly met by a pillow to the face.
“You deserved that.”
“How cruel, Guren! I confess my love for you and I get rejected by you throwing a pillow at my face! If I recall, you weren’t this cruel when Mito confessed back in high school, what a terrible person you are-”
Before Shinya could finish his sentence though, he felt himself be pulled forward by the collar of his shirt and a pair of lips met his, almost a bit harsh at first. He gasped against Guren’s lips, but as he settled into the kiss, it became softer. Not sweeter, there was the strength behind Guren’s kiss that made it fiery, hot, languid. Slow and sensual. It was both what Shinya would expect from Guren, yet he still found himself slightly overwhelmed.
As he pulled away, he looked down at Guren, breathing hard. For his part, Guren seemed just as messed up as Shinya, “I…” He said, catching his breath, “I never said I was rejecting you. Did this seem like a rejection?”
Shinya almost couldn’t process what he was hearing, so he ended up going back to what he did best. Teasing.
“Wow, Guren, how scandalous!” He grinned, “I didn’t know you could kiss like that!”
Guren simply grumbled something under his breath that sounded like, “If you think that was a lot, then you’ve got a lot coming your way,” As Shinya leaned closer to try and hear him properly, he was pulled into another aggressive kiss. Shinya made a noise of surprise but didn’t pull away, kissing back just as ferociously, making a small noise in the back fo his throat. Guren’s hands went from the collar of his shirt to his waist, tugging him forward a bit. Seeming to understand, Shinya moved forward carefully, settling on Guren’s lap while being mindful of his injuries.
As Shinya lead them into another kiss, he let his fingers tangle in Guren’s hair, and on instinct, he tightened his grip and tugged back. Guren let out a small moan of pleasure and Shinya smirked a bit. He certainly had comments on that, but he could say them later. For now, he leaned down and focused on Guren’s exposed neck, sucking and nipping at the skin, causing reddish-purple marks to bloom wherever his lips touched.
Guren tugged Shinya’s shirt up from where it was tucked into his pants, and stopped for a moment, “Is that…” He struggled to keep his focus as Shinya attacked his neck, “Is that my shirt?”
Shinya pulled back and shrugged, “We found some of your spare clothes in the helicopter we escaped in. You were out for weeks, I thought it was fair for me to steal some of your clothes.”
“Have the other kids also been…”
“No, just me,” Shinya grinned, “The farmers here offered us some extra clothes but…” There was a slight vulnerability as he spoke, “I liked wearing your clothes. Reminds me of when I’d come over to your place after a stressful meeting and you’d just give me some of your clothes and cuddle with me until I fell asleep.”
Guren stared at him, and Shinya was beginning to flush a bit red, “You…” Guren said helplessly, “You can’t just say that Shinya, fuck ,” He pulled the man on his lap into another kiss, sliding his hands under the shirt. As Guren bit on his lip, Shinya let out a quiet moan, a bit high-pitched but it sounded so needy and Guren couldn’t help but skim his hands against Shinya’s warm, bare skin. The shirt rode up with Guren’s hands tracing the other man’s body, and as he traced the planes of Shinya's back, he murmured, “I’ve always wanted to kiss that mole on your neck.”
Shinya groaned and tilted his head back, exposing the expanse of pale skin to Guren, “You are more than welcome to do that. In fact, feel free to do more.”
With those words, Guren attacked Shinya’s neck so ferociously that one would have mistaken Guren for being a vampire feeding off of Shinya. The silver-haired man threw his head back, moaning a bit louder than before as Guren set on a mission to make it obvious to any person who looked at Shinya that the man was both taken and loved very, very well.
Guren started to unbutton Shinya's shirt-Which again, was actually his shirt that Shinya had stolen-He pulled the man into another kiss to distract himself and calm himself down because fuck , knowing that Shinya liked wearing his clothes was something he didn’t think would affect him so much but the fact that it was just a bit too big on him made him look so…
He couldn’t help himself, biting on Shinya’s neck before licking at it, gently sucking at it as Shinya let out a whine. Just as Guren began to think about whether they could be heard outside-
The door slammed open, “Hey, idiot-Guren! I heard you’re awake-Oh my fucking God, my eyes!” Guren heard Yuu shriek. He sighed and looked over Shinya’s shoulder to see Yuu covering his own eyes, and Mikaela standing behind him, looking unimpressed.
“Yuu-kun, I warned you to knock before going in-Oh, dear,” Yoichi flushed pink, looking away, “I apologize, Guren-sama, Shinya-sama! I tried to tell him-”
Someone else popped up by the door, and Guren felt his headache return at the sight of the familiar purple-haired teenage girl. She wolf-whistled, “Wow, that was much faster than I expected! I suppose we have some good news in store for us, hm?” She said slyly.
Shinya sighed and dropped his head on Guren’s shoulder, “I swear, I’m never forgetting to lock the door when we’re in a room together ever again,” He muttered.
“You say that like we’re going to jump each other every time we’re in a room together,” Guren raised an eyebrow, looking back at him.
Shinya picked his head up and look at him seriously, “I’m going to be offended if we’re not jumping each other every time we’re alone. We have to make up for all those years we’ve been dancing around each other. I, personally, have been waiting for this for eight years.”
Guren shrugged, “Fair enough, I definitely loved you back in high school as well. It was complicated but I think I loved both you and Mahiru. But after Mahiru died and I found out about everything she did…Let’s just say I’ve loved you for quite a while as well.”
There was a soft look on Shinya’s face as he looked down at Guren, cupping his face and pressing a quick kiss to his lips.
There was an awkward cough from behind them and Shinya let out a frustrated huff. Turning around, still in Guren’s lap, he sharply called out, “Can we have some privacy, please ?”
“Oh, wow! He even already got your shirt partially off, how scandalous! Brother dear, I didn’t know you were the type to move so quickly-” Shinoa began to tease him.
“Everyone shut the fuck up!” Yuu yelled, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears, “God, this is so weird, ugh, it’s like catching your parents doing it!”
Shinya chuckled, “I didn’t realize you saw us as parental figures, Yuuichiro. Do you hear that Guren? Your “brat” thinks of you as a father.”
Yuu made a gagging noise, “Gross, ugh, no! Idiot-Guren isn’t my dad!”
“And you sure as hell aren’t my kid!”
Shinya sighed, “Like father, like son, in total denial.”
Yuu threw up his arms in frustration, “That’s it! You guys-You-Do whatever you want, be happy, I guess! Just lock the fucking door so you don’t traumatize us, God!” He said before grabbing Mika’s hand in his and tugging the other boy out of the room, “Come on, Mika, let’s go.”
Shinya looked at them both with a raised eyebrow and a knowing look, while Guren just looked at him, confused, “Uh…Thanks, I guess?”
Yoichi quickly bowed, “Sorry!” He squeaked, “I’ll, uh, Shihou-kun was asking for my help with something earlier, I’ll just be going now! Sorry again, and, um, congratulations!” He laughed nervously before bowing again and rushing away.
That left just Shinoa in the room, her arms crossed as she grinned smugly. Shinya seemed to be having a staring contest with her, “You know, I’m surprised, Guren,” She said, “I knew you were perverted but I didn’t think you’d put having sex with my brother over recovering from your injuries. What, you’ve been so deprived for so long that you’ve jumped on Shinya-nii as soon as you got the chance?”
“You know what, yeah,” Guren responded, “Your brother is so irresistible that I couldn’t even stand to wait until I got better to ravish him, is that what you want to hear? Well, you’ve got it now.”
“Quite lovely how you’re both talking about me like I’m not here,” Shinya commented.
Guren nudged him to be quiet, “You’re okay with this, right?” He looked over to Shinoa, “I mean, it’s not like your opinion is actually going to change anything but I do want to know either way,” It went unspoken. Both with his history with Mahiru and the fact that Shinoa was one of the only siblings that Shinya actually respected.
Shinoa shrugged, “Why would I not be okay with it? The past is the past, you’ve obviously moved on. If anything, it’s quite surprising you two didn’t get together before this. As long as you don’t hurt him, go wild. Not too wild though, we still need our best sniper to be able to walk-”
“And that’s enough from you, Shinoa-chan,” Shinya’s smile was strained, “Besides, why are you assuming that I’d be the one unable to walk?”
She gave him a look, “Shinya-nii. He’s already injured to all hell. Please have some mercy on him,” She said seriously, before smiling again, “Have fun, but not too much fun! I’m sure Mi-chan misses me already, so I must take my leave. And like Yuu-san said, please lock the door!”
With that, she left the room, closing the door behind her. Shinya looked down at Guren and then burst out laughing, hugging him tightly, “Well, that’s certainly one way to let everyone know. Though, you should have seen all of their faces after I first kissed you at Nagoya. Narumi almost flew the helicopter into a mountain.”
“You know, I would kill to have seen Shinoa’s face when she saw that,” Guren said, and the settled Shinya with a certain look, “So…Are you going to lock the door or…”
Shinya leaned back and looked at him, “Uh, uh. Did you think Shinoa-chan was kidding? You look like you got hit by a truck, Guren, we’re not having sex until you’re at least slightly better,” He (unfortunately) slid off of Guren’s lap and buttoned up his shirt again. Then, he leaned down to kiss Guren’s lips gently before smiling, “I’m going to get you some food and water, alright? I’ll be right back.”
Shinya left the room, and Guren fell back against the bed, pressing the back of his hand to his lips with a stupid grin on his face.
Noya, he called out to his demon.
What do you want , the demon responded back, slightly annoyed. He always got a little bit annoyed when Mahiru got to have control of him.
Heal me as fast as you can and next time I need one of you to take control, I’ll choose you over Mahiru.
…Consider it done.