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Afternoons in Majima’s apartment were always lazy. Kiryu dozed through the morning without any trouble, the noise of Kamurocho’s busy streets muffled under thick blankets. He would wake up some time past noon, rolling out of bed to stumble into the bathroom before his brain had even finished waking up. If Majima was out on security work he would throw on a hoodie and grab something quick from the conbini on the corner, keeping as low of a profile as someone of his stature could. Padding into the living room in his sweatpants, he noted that today was one of the lucky days that Majima was waiting for him.
He had his reading glasses on, leaning back against the corner of the couch as he read something on his phone. His eyepatch was lying on the coffee table, streaks of moisturiser making his scars shine in the afternoon light. With his hair pulled back, Kiryu could see the few grey hairs in his undercut that had escaped the monthly dye treatment.
It never occurred to him before just how much his heart ached at getting to see Majima like this, such an intimate peek beneath the persona that only he and Saejima ever got to see.
He barely gave Majima time to move his phone out of the way as he laid down on the couch, resting his head in the curve of Majima's stomach. Majima tsk ed at his impatience, raising up to let Kiryu wrap his arms around his waist before settling back. His free arm fell over Kiryu's back, tracing the lines of his tattoo without much thought. He had seen the dragon so many times, he could have drawn it from memory if he could manage more than a stick figure.
In their youth, Majima didn't truly appreciate how lucky he was to see Kiryu's stern face everyday. He could just pop into the Dojima family office to mess with him or catch him off guard in the streets for a brawl. The loneliness that crept up on him while Kiryu was in jail took him by surprise, and he tried to make the most of their time once he was back in Kamurocho. Training him up, going out for drinks, keeping an eye on him, whatever he could do to stay in Kiryu's sights. Back-alley brawls turned into impromptu makeout sessions, turning into getting his hands on Kiryu every moment they got.
Waking up with Kiryu in his arms just seemed like the natural progression, and he had a spare key ready for him by the next day. Calling it entirely a physical relationship wouldn't be right, but neither of them were great at being honest with their feelings, so they didn't try to name what they had. It just existed, and that was enough for a while. Things got much more complicated when Kiryu left for Osaka.
He hadn't expected to take being left behind so hard. People coming and going was natural, especially in their lives. Flings came and went, friends could turn up dead, even hierarchies could be dismantled in the blink of an eye. Kiryu leaving his life as quickly as he entered should have been just another natural progression. It shouldn't have made his world crumble, but he found himself aimless for the first year. Clan duties became autopilot tasks that he just slapped the Mad Dog on for, while supporting Daigo became his main purpose. It's what he promised Kiryu, after all, he had to do a good job.
Then Kiryu came back, and his world lit up again. It became a vicious cycle of trying to enjoy all the time with Kiryu he could while he was home and feeling like a piece of himself was missing when he was gone. Of course his life continued, he’d survived more permanent losses in his life. Watching the years pass became easier once he had Saejima and Daigo by his side, but he still woke up every day wondering when he would get to see Kiryu again, even if just for a moment. Just long enough to know he was alive, to know he was safe.
It was far from perfect; he still worried that one day he'd wake up to see Kiryu's glasses and family photo missing from the nightstand again, but it was just good to have Kiryu back in his arms. Saejima told him to just enjoy the time they had, not to dwell on what he'll miss while it's still right in front of him, and damn if he wasn't trying his hardest.
"We should get married."
Majima's fingers skipped across his back, his stomach tensing for a moment before he let out a tense laugh. "Haw? Think my hearin's starting to go. Don't think I heard ya right."
Kiryu lifted his head, doing his best to meet his eye. "Haruka says we could get a…" His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember the name, "Partnership-something form. They do it in Tokyo."
"Fuck are ya bringin' this up now for?"
"When something happens to me, I want you to be able to take care of our family."
Not ' if ', not some hypothetical accident that could be in their or anyone's future. When something happened to him. Majima's stomach lurched, nails digging into his back on reflex.
"Yer talkin' like ya plan on leavin' again. Somethin' you gotta tell me, Kaz?" Kiryu shook his head, laying it back down on his stomach to hide his face.
Thirty years taught Majima well though, and he knew that look. Kiryu could lie through his teeth if he really needed to, but his body language was always honest. That reluctance to keep looking at him screamed I can't tell you , the squeeze of his waist please trust me , the press of a nose through the thin tank top you can't help - or maybe I don't want your help . He could never decide which was worse: Kiryu facing another problem alone when Majima would gladly be right by his side, leaving him to cheer from the sidelines again, or a problem that no matter what he did, the same outcome was inevitable.
"Things like if I'm not in town and one of the kids is in the hospital, you could take care of them. Or so we can both keep Haruka company if she has another baby-"
"Wait, Haruka-chan's knocked up again? The fuck are they feedin' Yuta?"
"No! No, god, I mean in the future." Kiryu grimaced at the thought, squeezing Majima tighter in response. That earned him a pat on the back and he sighed. "You've done so much for the kids, I just want to make sure no one gets in your way."
"...So it's just a legal thing, huh?"
He could feel Kiryu frowning against his side. “That’s not what I meant—”
“Jus’ given’ ya a hard time, handsome.” The fingers on his back resumed tracing the individual scales around the dragon’s neck, idly wondering if Utabori would take a request to touch-up the linework. He swallowed, running his hand up into Kiryu’s hair. “Ain’t even a question, ya know what I’m gonna say. Need you to answer one question for me, though.”
“Anything.”
"Tell me this isn't related to your trips to the doctor."
Silence answered him.
The hand on his waist squeezed tight, filling the space as Kiryu found his voice. "It's not about that."
Majima choked down his tears as Kiryu's nose pressed into his stomach again. Forcing out a laugh to hide the waver in his voice, Majima jostled him lightly with his knee. "Man, talk 'bout the worst proposal of all time! Didn't get me flowers or nothin'!"
"I thought you had allergies, nii-san?"
"It ain't about that, it's about the thought!"
"Oh... well, I could go grab the ring-"
"Ya got me a ring...?" Majima's voice trailed off, a beat of silence passing before he continued, quieter this time. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
"Saejima helped me pick it out when he got out of jail. It's just never been the right time."
Majima was completely quiet, no snarky comeback to answer him with. Glancing up, he could see Majima was looking off to the side with a hand over his mouth. He could feel him start to tremble, propping himself up on his elbows to get a better look. "Nii-san... are you crying?"
"Yer so fuckin' stupid..." Majima rubbed his eye, a shaky smile on his lips as he slid down to hug Kiryu easier, his head now resting on his chest. He ran his fingers through Kiryu's hair, pulling him into a kiss. "Woulda said yes any time, even if ya had to leave. Y'know I'm always here waitin' on ya, yeah? Always will be?"
"I know. I'm sorry it took so long."