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ACT XI: UNDER YOUR STARS FOREVER (NEITHER HERE NOR THERE)

cw: moderate sexual content! reader beware.

Shortly after the date that left you with so many conflicting feelings, the finishing touches are placed on the hot air balloon. Miharu, Senku, and Gen seem to take a considerable amount of time to decide who all should be included on board, and imagine your surprise when they inform you that you’ll be occupying a spot as the interim geographer. It’s more of a side interest of yours than a field of expertise, but you’ll take any opportunity to be useful.

The only other spot apart from your own that’s been decided is that of Senku, because of course a science expert is needed on board. The vessel can fit four so that leaves two open spots; one for a miscellaneous passenger and the other for a pilot. Upon hearing the last part, your stomach drops rather embarrassingly. Because there’s only one person who has the expertise in wind patterns to operate any airborne vessel, and he just so happens to be the very one who’s always stuck at the back of your mind.

Some time has passed, and you still can’t stop thinking about that night, about the phantom sensation of his touch against your skin. And with every day that passes, the sense of guilt that weighs upon your shoulders seems to slip away, dreg by dreg. It’s scary, but you can’t say a part of you hasn’t been anticipating it since the very moment he was revived.

That’s not to say that Tsukasa has fully vacated your thoughts. In fact, you can’t seem to shake one of the last things he told you, because the man himself seemed very adamant that you move on. Especially considering the fact that he was convinced he wouldn’t exactly return to you alive. You have full faith in Senku and his ability to harness the power of the petrification beam, but you’d be lying if you said you’d never considered the worst case scenario. Clearly, Tsukasa had done the same. So he told you that he didn’t want you stuck in place forever.

And it feels like your heart is anything but in place. Because it’s pounding at the prospect of being stuck in an enclosed space with Nanami Ryusui for an extended period of time. Yeah, your brain seems to have completely set aside the fact that Senku and some other mysterious passenger will be alongside you, because it loves to abandon all logic when this man is involved. Well, whatever, because this balloon trip is going to be for the greater good. No matter how much your mind seems to be stuck on delusional little fantasies concerning the Kingdom of Science’s resident sailor.

Despite it already having been decided that you and Senku will take two out of the four spots, Gen seems to have his own little plan to fabricate the luck of the draw. Producing a deck of cards, he explains that in order to keep things fair the balloon’s passengers must each draw a joker. And Chrome is still decidedly absent following his journey to Ishigami Village, a fact that is undeniably a shame considering he seems to be the most popular pick to come along for the ride. You do feel some pity, especially considering this is the kind of voyage the pro adventurer would love to embark on, but there’s little that can be done if he doesn’t make it back in time.

You and Senku manage to each pull the appropriate cards, rather auspiciously if you do say so yourself. However, it works in your favor so you’re not exactly in the place to object. It’s now Ryusui’s turn to draw from Gen’s clearly improperly shuffled deck of cards, and you can’t shake the anticipation bubbling through the tips of your fingers. If he doesn’t get the joker card, then what? Or, God forbid, he does? What are you supposed to do with yourself after that? You fidget with your hands as Ryusui’s blue-tipped fingers close around a card.

And it is decidedly not a joker. Asagiri Gen gives him little time to react to his loss before offering the opportunity to pick a card, any card to Shinomiya Miharu. With a small, knowing smile, she does as she is told. And lo and behold, she pulls that stupid joker card. You don’t even want to decipher the look that Ryusui is sending her, because Nanami Ryusui is not at all fond of losing. Especially not when the prospect of a balloon ride with you has slipped through his fingers with the ease of one of Gen’s thin playing cards.

“My, won’t you look at that?” Naturally, the mentalist puts on a big show of congratulating Miharu for receiving the one thing Ryusui wants most at this moment — apart from you, of course. “My Miharu-chan sure is one ucky-lay lady.” The sailor might as well be fuming at the present moment, especially considering the fact that he was so certain he’d draw the winning card. Senku is eyeing them in a manner that tells you he’s probably not entirely in on what’s going on here, which makes it ten times more offputting. Besides, she can’t be the best pick considering the fact that —

“Damn, that’s one in ten billion kind of luck right there.” Senku states with a smile, quickly recovering from whatever confusion he may have initially been experiencing. “Just the person we needed.” Ryusui is becoming increasingly more frustrated with each person that passes him without a second glance.

And as if finishing your earlier thoughts, Miharu jumps right in, all feigned sheepishness. “Senku, I’m scared of heights. You know that. What if I —” It’s not all embellishment; the fear of heights part is very true. Which makes the fact that Miharu never intended to go up there just yet even more glaringly evident to you, but clearly Ryusui isn’t thinking that deep into it.

It seems that Asagiri Gen has rubbed off on his other trio members, because Senku and Miharu are completely content to put on a show that involves some not-so-subtle flirting on the scientist’s part. Not a side of him that you’re particularly used to, but it’s quite unnerving to find out that the smartest man alive is also a decent actor. That means that he could probably convince any of the Kingdom’s denizens to do anything, but simply chose not to out of the goodness of his own heart. Up until this point, of course. Senku, Gen, and Miharu go back and forth until the faux-conversation ends with your doctor friend in tears.

Yes, she seems to be melting into a pile of performative tears. But you should’ve realized that men like Ryusui don’t take women crying lightly. Entirely abhorred, he stands up with full intent of defending a lady’s honor. “Senku, you bastard. How dare you make a beautiful woman cry?” Good to know he’s willing to go to bat for your friends. It’s honestly a green flag, because a man that doesn’t get along with women is a true sign of — “Don’t worry, I’ll do it for you.” Your thoughts are cut off by the realization that Ryusui has just co-opted Miharu’s spot on the balloon. You blink sharply, realizing that the Tricky Trio ™ has just played every single one of you like a fiddle. You don’t have the heart to reveal this to the sailor, so you purse your lips by way of keeping your mouth shut.

Miharu offers Ryusui a crocodile tear filled thank you, and you send her an unimpressed glance. Smug as ever, she shrugs before blinking a strange pattern your way. Realizing what exactly she’s insinuating is going to go down between you and Ryusui in the balloon’s basket, you quickly and clandestinally brush some hair away from your face with your middle finger. Miharu giggles, and you’re unable to suppress your own smile at the fact that your friend is quite literally setting you up right now. You’re about to tease her about the way Senku is looking at her right now when some hooting in the distance catches everyone’s attention.

Sure enough, Chrome is thumping and bumping over the horizon in his stone geta. He’s made it back just in time to draw the fourth joker, and it seems luck is on his side today in more ways than one. With the favored card between the explorer’s thumb and index finger, the crew for the stone world’s first airborne expedition is set in stone. You can’t help but feel the slightest bit outclassed considering the undeniable expertise of your crewmates, but you can’t ignore the fact that you wouldn’t be included in something this important without a reason. The balloon is set to take off as soon as the wind is right.

So obviously, it’s Ryusui’s job to remain on the lookout for changing conditions. So despite his indulgent nature, he hardly sleeps. You bring him dinner the night of the draw as he looks over the horizon, blond hair blowing with the strong gusts. He’s pleasantly surprised, especially considering the fact that he didn’t ask anyone for food. It’s so strange to think that such a greedy man is able to put his love for opulence aside when something is needed of him, especially something as important as this. “Come. Sit with me.”

“I don’t think I’ll be much help,” you reply, still a few steps behind him. “I’m not exactly an expert in meteorology like you are.”

“I didn’t ask you to observe the conditions. I just want you with me.” He states before politely taking a bite of the stewed game you prepared tonight. “You’ve outdone yourself with this meal as always. Come relax.” The man seems to always be convinced that you need to rest. Perhaps he’s right, but you’re in an anxious state of overdrive considering you may be taking off anytime in the next few days. And also, it’s kind of hard to ignore the fact that you know what his lips feel like. But it’s nothing but a digression on your part; you sit down next to him with your own plate. Despite your anxiety, you should still try to get something in your stomach. Ryusui lets you lean up against him as you dig into your meal, eating quietly beside you save for a few intermittent comments hyping up the quality of the food. You don’t think it’s that good for him to be reacting like this, but a little flattery can go a long way.

“Excited for the trip?” You comment mostly for the sake of making small talk, fork clinking against your own plate as you take up his offer for a few moments of respite. Not to toot your own horn, but the food is pretty damn good so you’re glad he noticed that much. You can count the things you’re decent at on one hand, anyways, so you’d better keep track of your blessings.

He hums, swallowing politely before he replies. “More than anything. Although I’m more excited for the company I’ll be keeping.” There’s that hand at your back again, tracing up and down your petrification marks. You’re not sure what his fixation with your shoulder blades is, but you can’t say you particularly dislike his touch. The opposite, actually, considering you’re already practically resting your head on his shoulder while you eat.

“Is that so?” You play dumb as he twirls a lock of your hair around his finger, your delicious meal sufficiently neglected in favor of riling you up with some fleeting brushes of his hands. “I wouldn’t exactly be looking forward to traveling with Senku and Chrome if I were you. They do everything for the sake of efficiency.” You tilt your head to look at him, finding his gaze already fixed upon you. “And that’s not exactly the way you do things. Am I wrong?” He laughs, loud as ever, and clearly your adopting of his trademark phrase hasn’t been lost on him.

“Not in the slightest.” He shakes his head, and you exhale mirthfully through your nose before turning back to your food. “But you know that I’m not talking about them.” That you do. Funny how every single attempt you make at coy flirting immediately gets shut down when he forces you not to dance around your own feelings. That’s what you get for not bothering to actually date in the real world and getting any knowledge of romance you currently have from Criminal Minds fanfiction.

“Right.” Nanami Ryusui is no Spencer Reid, that’s for sure. He’s blunt, unabashedly loud, and borderline obsessive. But you don’t see any of these as faults, not in the slightest. You just cannot fathom why you’ve become the object of his fixation; you who are so damn ornery, always unimpressed, and even worse at any sort of romantic contact. For God’s sake, even the actual intellectuals have a better love life than you.

As if sensing you starting to dig yourself into a hole of your own inadequacies, Ryusui sighs. “I’m serious about you, [Name]. I hope you know that.” He tucks your hair behind your ear, and you reluctantly turn to face him for fear of what you might see in his eyes. But his expression is entirely earnest, and you swallow. You wish you’d grabbed a glass of wine, or that Ryusui had some you could bum off of. Unfortunately, the man does surprisingly have a logical bone in his body and prefers to keep his mind unaltered when observing weather conditions, so you’re regrettably sober.

But you’ve got to start reckoning with your feelings eventually. Setting down your plate, you adjust your seated position so you’re directly facing him. And to his credit, he’s surprised, as if he expects you to keep running from him. Not going to happen, not when you’re about to spend God-knows-how-long suspended in the air with him. Might as well come to terms with making eye contact with him while you’re sober, just to ensure that you know you won’t explode just from doing so. “But why?” His hands rest on your shoulders, his now-empty plate set aside as he rubs circles into your skin.

In lieu of his typical quick answer, he leans in as if about to tell you a secret. Your foreheads meet, and you feel goosebumps prickling the skin of your arms as his lips part. Maybe he’s about to reply to you, but a voice calling from the distance catches both of your attention. “[Name]! Ryusui! Get over here! We got stuff to discuss.” Of course, Chrome just has to start hollering at you right now. There’s no way whatever he needs to discuss with you is more important than this, even if it has something to do with the great oil expedition.

Alas, Chrome has already distracted you enough and you pull away from the embrace. Thankfully the expedition expert is too focused on whatever he’s rambling on about to notice any compromising position you and Ryusui may have been in, although the sailor is visibly miffed at being interrupted. Well, he should’ve said what he wanted to say sooner instead of playing these mind games knowing just how you react to his touch. The two of you sit rather uncomfortably through what’s supposed to be a debrief of Ryusui’s findings on the weather conditions for the day of takeoff, but you get the sense that neither of you are particularly focused.

And when Ryusui mentions offhandedly that he’s going to stay up all night to keep an eye on things and ensure tomorrow morning is the best time to depart, you know exactly what you’ve got to do. Senku doesn’t so much as bat an eye at your offer to keep him company — you know, for geographical purposes considering you have about a year more of familiarity with the changed landscape than he does. Something tells you that the scientist knows what’s going down anyway, because he’s remarkably not entirely obtuse when it comes to matters of the heart. You know, if the way he still looks at Shinomiya Miharu has anything to do with it.

So the two of you end up right back where you were before, with you curled up into his side and his arm wrapped around you. It’s summer, but the breeze is strong and those goosebumps from earlier have returned. “You wanted to know why I’m so sure about you?” The words are practically spoken into your hair, but you nod anyway, not trusting yourself to respond without saying or doing something stupid. God, you may be sober now, but you can’t so easily shake thoughts of what he offered to do to you through Morse code — “Because you’re perfect, and I just know.” His lips shift downward until they brush against the shell of your ear. “My sailor’s intuition is never wrong, so I don’t intend on giving up on you anytime soon.”

Your whole body feels like it’s burning from your earlobes to your fingertips. “I hope you don’t. Because I’d be really upset if you do.” Your voice comes out shaky, and you’re suddenly conscious of the way you’re clinging to his bicep.

Clearly, he doesn’t mind because you feel the vibration of his laughter right against your ear. “Is that the closest thing I’m going to get to a confession from you?” Yes, you are most certainly not feeling his arm up right now, not one bit.

“Right now, maybe.” You finally offer a laugh of your own, albeit a shaky one. Because despite your rather misleading statement, you’re starting to realize just how you feel about him. But it’s not exactly something you can say right now, when you’re half asleep and letting his hand slither down the back of your top. “But that’s certainly subject to change.”

He snaps, something he does less often when it’s just the two of you because he knows that it makes you jump. “Then all I’ve got to do is get you to say it out loud.” He pokes your cheek, and you chuckle. Good luck with that. Because as much as the confession is at the tip of your tongue, you are incredibly sleepy right now. And he seemingly notices, because he doesn’t press you for any sort of response, although that isn’t really his style either. If he wants an answer, he can find it in the way you’re clinging to him right now.

And if that isn’t enough, you kiss him to really hammer it home, because you’re not exactly in the state to say anything aloud right now that you might regret. Then, you proceed to doze off in his arms in the middle of telling him some sort of story about your childhood. You don’t even remember what, so you suppose you were more sleep deprived than you initially thought. It doesn’t matter, because the two of you are about to be among the ranks of the stone world’s first hot air balloon passengers.

You wake up a few hours later with his cape draped over your shoulders. Dawn isn’t far from sight, and noticing the change in your breathing he smooths a hand over your hair. “You’re back in time for the best part.” His voice is quiet, amused, as he points to the slowly lightening sky. You don’t reply verbally, and he doesn’t push you to, so you just tiredly bury your face into his chest to the sound of his laughter.

Yuzuriha takes care of breakfast today so you can focus on getting ready for your journey, something you’re eternally grateful for. You give her a hug after the (earlier-than-usual) meal is complete, thanking her profusely for her help and the sheer amount of clothes you now have at your disposal thanks to your rich-ass benefactor. She wishes you safe travels, and then you’re off to say goodbye to Miharu and Suika.

With all of your farewells in order, it’s finally time for takeoff. The sun is just breaching the horizon as Ryusui helps you into the balloon cart, refusing to let go of your hand even once you’ve made it safely aboard. Senku exhales from his nose at the sight, and you get the idea that the two of you are going to be tap-dancing on his last nerves. Thank God for Chrome’s enthusiastic personality to take some of the heat off of you.

Honestly, you’re grateful for the grounding sensation of his hand in yours because being up there is kind of terrifying. You’re starting to understand why heights are so scary to people like Miharu, because what happens if something goes wrong with the “flying machine” and all of you plummet to your deaths? You know how unlikely it is for that to happen during a two hour ride (or ever, God-willing) but you can’t help but consider the worst case scenario. So yes, you’re squeezing Nanami Ryusui’s hand right now. Sue you. The others may be willing to die for science, but you’ve got other shit to do, and you’d rather not die right before your birthday.

According to Senku, you’ve made it about twelve-hundred meters above the ground when Chrome’s sniffling catches your attention. You glance at him, and sure enough tears are streaming down the explorer’s face. “It’s true. The earth really is round.” You and Ryusui share an empathetic look. Because in the twenty-first century, every single one of you took this knowledge for granted, the ability to open Google Earth and see the state of the planet whenever you wanted. For a fifty-eight century human, the ability to witness the curvature of the earth with their own two eyes is a completely unfathomable event. “I wanna see more. I wanna know everything about our planet!” Chrome is full on sobbing at this point, but Senku simply chuckles.

“There are plenty of unknowns I wanna take a look at, too.” The scientist juts his chin in the direction of the horizon where the sun gleams bright and strong. The surface of the planet some thousand meters below is still shrouded in darkness, but up here everything is warm and glowing. Perhaps you’re fighting tears of your own, but Ryusui wraps an arm around you and you can’t bring yourself to feel any sort of shame about it. “Like the source of that beam on the other side of the planet. What’s really over there?” Senku’s statement is clearly addressed to the pilot opposite you, who laughs.

“I’m your man, then. I’ll get us there without a doubt.” Ryusui’s palm rubs up and down your back, and Chrome raises an eyebrow as if just noticing your proximity. Although in all fairness, he probably has just noticed. “So take a look at the world below, because right now all of this is ours.” He proclaims, and a silence falls over your ranks as you all do as you’re told. The sight is really something to behold, completely unlike the view of the Earth’s surface you’d receive from an airplane. The balloon cruises through the air alongside the birds, and you listen to the beating of their wings as your captain companion is bragging about flying a private jet just to go shopping. Very Nanami-coded.

Clearly, everyone is quite tickled by the whole experience, though. Chrome manages to pluck a bird’s feather, a fact that makes him completely ecstatic until Senku not-so-subtly lets it slip that birds are responsible for a large number of aircraft crashes. That little tidbit has you eyeing your avian friends with a bit more scrutiny as Ryusui reluctantly pulls away from you to check the fire. “Weird. We aren’t getting up very high.” Everyone seems to shrug his comment off as he stokes the fire, and you unfurl the map you brought along. Chrome and Senku are digging into the grilled meat you brought along in case of emergency, and you’re not exactly sure how they’re already hungry when you ate breakfast less than an hour ago and the trip isn’t particularly long. Male appetites never fail to astound.

It immediately comes to your attention that Chrome wasn’t at all aware that the balloon’s destination was Ishigami Village, considering the fact that he goes into a tizzy upon seeing the location marked on your page. “Surprise.” You mutter sheepishly, awkwardly throwing up jazz hands in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness. Unfortunately, your theatric gesture is met from a complete blank stare from Chrome and a sneer from Senku as he digs in his nasty-ass ear. Ryusui simply pats your head, but you’re already upset by the others’ reactions and bat his hand away. “Don’t look at me like that, Senku. I’m not the one who kept this a secret from one of the literal passengers.”

“Because I knew he’d ten billion percent make a scene like this.” Senku waves you off as he often does, and you hope he remembers that you’re a thousand meters above the ground and he’s within pushing range of the balloon’s edge.

“I’m not trying to make a scene.” Chrome points at Senku, frustrated by the accusations. “It’s just that the trip takes two days, even speedwalking.”

The scope of how game-changing air travel is still hasn’t kicked in for the seasoned explorer yet, and Ryusui pats his shoulder. “It’ll be two or so hours by air. That’s the power of wind.”

“Air travel is baaad stuff.” Chrome muses, leaning over the edge of the balloon as if trying to remind himself just how far from the ground the balloon is.

“It may be cool as hell, but we’re still facing some problems here.” Ever the pragmatist, Senku cuts in to dash Chrome’s scientific fascination. “In order to get to Ishigami Village, we’ve got to go west.”

“And the wind in Japan only blows east.” You comment offhandedly, finger tracing the balloon’s projected route on the map.

“Oh. Well, how are we gonna use the wind to go west then?” You can practically hear the gears turning in Chrome’s mind. He’s a smart kid, so he’ll pick all this information up pretty quickly. In fact, he even seems to work better when he’s briefed on something right before it happens as opposed to learning about it ahead of time. Perhaps that’s why Senku and Ryusui waited so long to tell him where exactly you’re going, but you can’t say so for sure.

Ryusui snaps. “A low pressure system.” He goes on to explain how your route is harnessing the counterclockwise spiral of the system in order to hitch a ride to the west. Chrome’s eyes are narrowed, but he’s processing everything pretty well. “It’s super risky, but stepping up to this challenge makes me a pro adventurer. Am I wrong?” You nudge him, an almost knee-jerk reaction to the ragebait he’s laid out for Chrome to pick up. You’re not sure why everyone is trying to use reverse psychology to motivate the real adventurer today, but you were decidedly left out of that little conversation.

Sure enough, Chrome’s face immediately twists, his eye practically twitching with irritation. Thankfully, he decides to keep his peace, instead huffily leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. Emerging triumphant from that one-sided battle, Ryusui laughs. “I’ll fly us to Ishigami Village, and from there we can embark on our adventure to find us some oil.”

Unfortunately, that rather benign statement seems to be Chrome’s tipping point, because he decides to open his mouth and accuse Ryusui of only being useful up in the air. Of course, the man with insane nautical knowledge refuses to take that comment lying down, so the two end up in a weird sort of standoff while you and Senku look on, unimpressed. You groan, resolving to be the one to break up the situation. “Okay, can we shelve the dick-measuring contest for now?”

“[Name] makes a good point. We may have bigger problems to worry about.” The two separate from their little chest-pounding match, turning to face you and Senku with a small measure of embarrassment. “We’d better check the wind down below.” Senku proceeds to drop a teru teru bozu puppet over the balloon’s edge to surmise which direction it’ll blow.

Only for it immediately to get swept away by the gusts. All four of you share a look before your gaze travels towards the horizon where massive storm clouds are beginning to form. So, perhaps your earlier fears about the balloon going down were moderately well founded. Ryusui immediately jumps into pilot mode. “If we get too close, we’ll be sucked into the storm. We need to prepare for an emergency landing now. [Name], pull that rope.” Honestly, hearing him give you commands like this is kind of —

Nope, [Name], mind out of the gutter. You can worry about that once you’re all not actively in danger of losing your lives. Your fingers are just closing around the rope when Senku halts you by grabbing it himself. “Wait. It’s already popped.” The rest of the passengers look at him with shock, and Ryusui gently moves you away from the rope. “Pull any more, and the fabric will rip off. We’ll be in complete free fall.”

“What the hell?” Chrome butts in, craning his neck to look at the rip in question. “When and how did that happen?”

“The birds from earlier.” You realize aloud and everyone hums in agreement. Stupid birds. Now Ryusui’s comment about the balloon’s altitude slipping earlier makes a lot more sense, but it’s strange that he noticed that and didn’t think to look up. Whatever, all of you are a bit off-kilter today. Plus he’s running on like zero sleep.

But unfortunately, you’ve all already been caught by the evil cumulonimbus cloud. Despite the fire being under control, the balloon just keeps rising and everyone is in panic mode with no way to descend in sight. But conversely, the dire situation seems to have Ryusui all wound up. “This is the perfect challenge.” Two hands gently on your shoulders as he moves you as far from the edge as possible in this small carton, he laughs to himself. “I’ll get us out of this.”

Both Chrome and Senku are muttering to themselves and you feel entirely useless. But standing at the center of the craft, closest to the fire, you realize that there’s something you can do. Your voice is weak when you speak up, but Senku gives you the go ahead to stoke the fire. A silence falls over the group as Chrome slides in to help you. “Baad idea?” He tosses over his shoulder in the direction of the two men who watch, shocked by your quick thinking.

Senku grins. “Bad in the best way.” Producing some revival fluid, he shoves the elixir into the fire by way of igniting the fire even more. Everyone only has a few seconds to brace before that shit explodes. Ryusui grabs you, pulling you from the direct line of fire. Unfortunately, Senku is not so lucky considering he’s the one who chucked the revival fluid bomb, and he’s shot right over the side of the balloon.

Senku dangles from the railing like a damn jungle gym, and Ryusui chucks his hat upwards to find the updraft. “There’s a path upwards.” His free hand is still grabbing your arm, and you kind of wish he wouldn’t have to let go until all of this shit is over. Sadly, he’s needed to pilot you out of this shitshow, so you and Chrome stoke the fire to break out of the cloud. Like a boomerang, Ryusui’s hat flies right back into his waiting hand.

Finally, clear skies are back in sight, and so is Ishigami Village. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief, and Chrome and Ryusui share a nice fist bump. All of the adrenaline coursing through your body has you weak and you lean against the railing, suddenly dead tired. Ryusui moves over to you, hugging you to his side. “Great thinking earlier.” A hand ruffles your hair as he leans down to whisper in your ear. “You did well.”

Your cheeks are bright red as you mumble a thank you. Chrome’s brows are furrowed as he points between you and Ryusui. “Wait, you two —” Nothing ever gets past Chrome, does it?

Thankfully Senku cuts off his proclamation of what exactly you and the man currently holding you are. “All this bonding is well and good, but I kind of need some help down here.” Yes, Ishigami Senku is currently still dangling over the side of the vessel. Oops.

After Ryusui pulls Senku back aboard, the balloon touches ground in Ishigami Village. Kohaku waves frantically as she and Ukyo help you make a safe landing, greeting you alongside swathes of enthusiastic villagers. Considering the way Chrome reacted earlier, this kind of thing must be a crazy sight for them to behold. As soon as you step foot on solid land your lioness friend scoops you in her arms for one of her gorilla hugs. “Welcome home!” The various village children swarm around you as well, and you crouch down to their level to give them hugs and promise to tell them one of your trademark stories later tonight to celebrate your return.

It’s been a long ass day, and you didn’t exactly have time to indulge in the snacks that you brought aboard the balloon (the ones that you cooked, too, irony is an unfortunate thing) so you’ve been looking forward to dinner. You didn’t exactly expect anything crazy but you can’t help the way that the sight of grilled mackerel makes your stomach turn. Perhaps you got a bit spoiled over in the Empire, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Ryusui, on the other hand, is wholly unimpressed. He sits beside you with a plate of miscellaneous grilled fish, waiting until the kind aunties who prepared this feast are out of earshot. “Is this really what they eat when you’re not in the kitchen?” You snort, shaking your head in response to his flattery. “I’m serious, [Name]. This is fine, but it’s far from anything you can make.” As if demonstrating his point, he holds a bite to your lips which you gratefully accept, ignoring the way Kohaku is giggling behind her hand. You stick your tongue out at her; you know damn well who she’s missing right now, and exactly what the woman in question has been talking about doing to her. Again, nobody moves faster than stone age lesbians.

Still, Ryusui seems entirely unimpressed by the meager food selection in the village. As so delicately pointed out by Asagiri Gen ages ago, you’re working only with the same ingredients, so you can understand his point. The villagers murmur something about only having fish to eat over the past few months, which seems to drive him to the edge. “Senku, how long are we staying in this village?”

Senku shrugs. “Could be a year or two before we find oil.” You expect that news to make Ryusui deflate, but instead it simply stokes his determination. He declares that he’s going to find better food before turning to you, stating that he’d hate for someone as beautiful as yourself to get bored in the kitchen. You sigh, unimpressed. And here you thought he’d abandoned the aggressive flirting. Because he knows damn well how hard it is for you to resist him when he’s quiet with you; you haven’t been able to forget the praise he whispered in your ear as the balloon was landing, after all. Like, it’s been playing on repeat in the back of your mind.

Your own pathetic easiness aside, you set up shop back at Kohaku’s place. To which she immediately starts interrogating you about the progression of your relationship (or lack thereof) with Ryusui. You try to give her the answers she wants, but it seems like she won’t be fully satisfied until you admit that you’re madly in love with him. Seriously, the knowledge that you kissed isn’t even enough to satiate her curiosity. Thankfully, you have access to the trump card that is mentioning Gyokunaha Komugi, and Kohaku’s face immediately goes red. You claim the victory, laughing loudly in a manner not unlike someone you know before rolling over to go to sleep.

You, Ryusui, and Senku take to the skies a few more times with Kohaku as your fourth passenger in lieu of Chrome. Her eyesight is incredibly useful for mapping the land considering she spots things you humans with genetically diverse eyesight aren’t able to. For what it’s worth, Kohaku is thrilled to be flying high in the sky, even dangling willingly from the bottom of the vessel in a way that likely is giving Senku PTSD. With Chrome and Ukyo on the ground, both of your teams are working towards the goal of creating a comprehensive map until you find oil. And you’re the one doing the sketching, so you’d better hope you don’t get stone age carpal tunnel.

Ever greedy, Ryusui seems hyperfocused on the goal of finding something good to eat. To the point where it seems to have taken priority over finding oil, which is kind of insane for him. Damn, your food must have really had everyone spoiled. You can’t help but feel proud, but now isn’t the time for that. Kohaku spots a forest, and as you approach it, Ryusui spots something moving. He’s practically frothing at the mouth at the possibility that it could be foodstuff, and honestly the rest of you aren’t much better. As you mark the cedar forest on the map, Ukyo on the ground comes to the conclusion that the creatures Ryusui saw were indeed a herd of wild goats. And if one just so happened to separate itself from the herd, well, Ukyo’s bow and arrow may come to good use.

With tonight’s dinner secured, you clandestinally mark the location of the goat herd on the map. You and Senku work tirelessly with the help of the others to sketch out the topographics, and with your sheer amount of effort the official stone world map is complete. Of course, you haven’t been able to see all of Japan from a thousand meters up, but you were able to successfully map all the most important locations that would be useful to a stone age human living in the area.

The villagers are astounded by the creation of a map. You’re surprised no one thought to do it earlier, but you suppose such a thing isn’t really important in such a small settlement. If you don’t know where something is, your neighbor probably doesn’t either, so both of you just resolve not to worry about it. You listen to their shock and awe routine as you roast some goat over the fire. You wish you had access to some spices so you could make biryani to satiate your soft spot for South Asian cuisine. You make a mental note to request you all visit the spice capital of the world; after your trip to Puerto Rico, of course.

Ryusui declares to his captive audience that they’ll no longer be subjected to only fish with the help of the data you collected from the air and your own cooking skills. Still unimpressed, you send him a small smile over your shoulder. The events of today have worn you out, but you listen in as he comforts some older villagers as memories of past starving periods resurface. You bite your bottom lip; of course you assumed that there were events like that in theory considering how small the village’s population remains, but hearing about it is still heartbreaking. It makes you think of how lucky you really were in the old world to take things like an abundance of food to eat for granted. Effectively sobered, you finish your dinner quietly before retiring to bed.

You’re tossing and turning in your dark room when Kohaku enters quietly. You immediately cease all movement to feign being asleep, but she simply sighs. I know you’re awake, [Name].”

“You caught me.” You concede, sitting up to wipe the non-existent sleep from your eyes. “What, you didn’t wanna miss out on our nightly interrogation?”

“Sort of.” She shrugs, striding over to her side of the room before sitting cross-legged. “Ryusui is looking for you.” She attempts to state this little tidbit with some nonchalance, but immediately fails.

“I’m sure he is.” Rolling your eyes with barely any bite behind the action, you comb your hands through your tangled hair. Naturally, you forgot to braid it before laying down to rest which is just adding to your sensory hell right now. “You can tell him that when he’s willing to stop boasting to everyone who will listen about me he can come find me.”

“Aren’t you into that?” Kohaku raises an eyebrow, tilting her head at you in that feline-like manner that both her and Miharu share. “Because it seems to me that you’re making up excuses not to deal with your feelings for him.”

That effectively renders you speechless for a few moments, your hands freezing as they plait your hair. Finally you sigh, resolving to allow her this one victory. Because she’s not wrong. Far from it, actually. “You know, I spoke to him earlier. He’s a good guy.” You swallow. Honestly, it takes a lot to get such a raving review about a man from Kohaku.

You can do little more than nod, because you know that no response you give her will be effective. Something about being back here is making your head all swimmy, especially considering what’s happening next week. It’s not as if you have anything planned what with the only people who know about the significance of the day are back in the Empire, but the knowledge that it’s coming is still a little bit jarring.

You’ve always been the kind of girl to hate your birthday, anyways. It’s so funny, the entire world went and got itself petrified a month before you turned nineteen, and by the time you woke up no one was keeping track of the time anyways. So this will be your first real birthday in the stone world that you’re actually aware of. And you are certainly not sure what to do with that information. Kohaku doesn’t press the matter, simply dozing off in seconds. You suppose the events of the day tired her out as well. And even with the comforting sound of her breathing, you’re unable to drift off yourself, so you decide to head off to the cove for a cold shower.

You only make it a few steps away from Kohaku’s place when Saionji Ukyo stops you. “Hey, [Name]. What’re you up to?”

You eye him with confusion. “I’m going to take a shower. What, do you have a sixth sense for when I want to wash up or something? Because this keeps happening.”

Despite the implications of your statement, Ukyo simply shakes his head good-naturedly. “Nothing like that. It’s just late, that's all.”

You crane your neck to look around him. “Really? How come Senku and them are all still up, then?” The utter strangeness of the phenomenon really sinks in as you finish your statement. It’s not anything new for Senku, Chrome, and Ryusui to be burning the midnight oil, especially considering the sheer amount of hours you all stayed up to complete the map, but they’d certainly have you accompany them right now. Especially considering you’re the one who drew the damn thing. “I should probably go help them, actually.” You start heading in their general direction.

“No!” Ukyo replies quickly, shifting to block your path. “I mean, you wanted to take a shower, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” You narrow your eyes at him, metaphorical fangs on display. “Am I allowed to do that?” You grit out, and Ukyo winces.

“Of course. Just let me walk you there.” You raise an eyebrow, but you suppose some company wouldn’t hurt. Especially considering Ryusui has certainly heard your conversation but decidedly hasn’t come over to put a stop to it. Perhaps your avoidant tendencies have finally caught up to you and he’s lost interest. And that thought certainly does not wrench your heart in a way that makes you abruptly freeze a few steps behind Ukyo to the point where he has to ask if you’re okay.

You do get your shower, for what it’s worth. And as soon as you step foot into the vicinity of Ishigami Village, wet hair freshly braided, Ukyo is once more waiting to walk you all the way back to Kohaku’s place. This is extremely weird, but by this point you’re too tired to care. You start to drift off as soon as you lie down, and you’re still unsure if you dreamed Kohaku quietly tiptoeing out of the room, chatting quietly about something with Ukyo just outside. Again, you’re too tired to care.

A few mornings later, you wake up to Kohaku standing over you, practically vibrating with excitement. You simply blink the sleep away, gazing up at her. “Can I help you?”

It seems you can, because she immediately pulls you up, scooping you into her arms in the Kohaku way. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it? Happy birthday!” Your mouth drops open as she squeezes the living daylights out of you. Who the hell told her? It’s not as if Kohaku watches the calendar with any vehemence.

You let her drag you outside, still stunned and barely presentable. “Here she is!” You’re immediately swarmed by the village aunties and their children, all granting you their best wishes for your birthday. Still half-asleep your head feels like it's full of cotton, but you thank them all anyways. Your main priority is figuring out who is responsible for this and trying not to cry, for both good and bad reasons. Because you can really feel the love that these people are sending your way, but you know all at once that you don’t deserve it.

Ryusui, Senku, and Chrome are still notably absent, but Ukyo approaches you as you help yourself to breakfast that someone else has already cooked and some piping hot tea to combat the mild morning. Well, you can’t exactly complain about less responsibilities today, no matter how much you don’t feel like you should receive any special treatment. “Big day, isn’t it?”

“More for you all than for me. I appreciate it, though.” You sip your tea, relishing the way it burns your tongue.

Ignoring your sarcasm as he often does, Ukyo pats your shoulder. “Happy birthday, [Name].” He leaves with little fanfare, a weird vibe lingering in his wake. Funnily enough, you can’t exactly decipher which direction he went. You don’t have much time to ponder on it before Kohaku attacks you with another hug, demanding you announce to everyone how old you’re turning.

Then, she rambles on about something or other before she quickly and suddenly relinquishes her grip on you. With a catlike chuckle she peels herself away, and your eyebrows furrow in surprise. “Kohaku —” You turn over your shoulder only to be met with the presence of Nanami Ryusui. “Hi.”

“Hi.” His grin is wide, his slightly sharp canines peeking out. “Are you up for a birthday adventure?” You can’t help the way a smile that mirrors his own stretches across your face.

Senku, Mr. I-Hate-Celebrations himself seems to have relented enough to allow Ryusui to take you out on the balloon. There isn’t much of the land that you haven’t seen at this point, but the idea of being up there, just the two of you, is kind of making your stomach twist. Which you totally kick yourself for, because what exactly are you so nervous about? You’ve literally already kissed for God’s sake, although not in recent days. In fact, you haven’t seen very much of him around lately which led to a complete spiral of overthinking about his interest in you. You fiddle nervously with your hair as you approach him where he waits for you beside the balloon. “Your hair looks beautiful.” He leans down to whisper to you in the way that he knows sends shivers up your spine.

“Are you sure?” You ask, swallowing harshly in hopes that your voice doesn’t shake. “I only took it out of a braid.”

He clicks his tongue. “Still beautiful. Like the rest of you.” He helps you into the balloon’s basket as you try to ignore Kohaku’s smug smile and well-wishes for you and Ryusui to have a very lovely and cozy balloon ride. Naturally, Miharu rubbed off on her in that regard.

Senku mutters something to Ryusui to which the sailor almost immediately waves him off, promising something about tomorrow morning. Senku nods before turning to you. “Happy birthday. Enjoy your day, or whatever.” Good to know there’s still not a sentimental bone in his body. Ryusui stokes the fire, and the two of you are off on your birthday adventure.

As the balloon ascends, you’re sitting in comfortable silence despite the physical distance between the two of you. “Twenty years old. That’s a big birthday.” It feels like he’s waiting for you to close the gap, especially considering you can’t seem to be in his presence without wanting him to touch you for whatever reason. For that reason, you’d like to request your next birthday present be a merciful euthanization. “Still can’t drink in America though, can you?”

You chuckle, leaning against the railing in a way you hope comes off as coy. “Why do you think I moved away?”

Finally he approaches you, stopping just in front of you, which isn’t saying much considering the basket is incredibly small. “Yeah, I’d do the same.” Then he leans forward, planting his hands on the rail on either side of you. “Don’t worry, we’ll toast to you tonight.”

“Yeah, some alcohol is long overdue.” You muse. No one has really been drinking ever since you all got here, especially considering you’re all so occupied with the joint oil and food mission. You desperately miss Miharu and her flasks of mysterious intoxicating liquids. You probably would’ve done a shot before getting up here to ease your nerves. “Thank you for taking me up here, though. It’s really thoughtful of you.”

“Of course. What girl doesn’t deserve to see the world she’ll rule over for her birthday? Besides, I’ve been wanting to get you alone again. I miss you, [Name].”

His words strike straight through your ribcage like a well-placed arrow. You hesitate, swallowing as you pick your words wisely. “Well, I haven’t exactly seen much of you either.” Because how terrible would it be to bare your soul before him right here, a thousand meters above the ground? Kohaku is right, you’re avoiding things, but you have no idea how to change.

“Is that your way of saying you missed me?” But Ryusui recognizes that you need a little more guidance to say exactly what you mean. He laughs good-naturedly, his hand coming to rest at your chin. “You can just say it, you know.”

“Fine. I missed you.” You blurt out, leaning into his touch as his thumb rubs against your skin. Yeah, you missed this. You never realized how touch starved you were in the old world considering the fact that you never really let anyone close enough to touch you. “But what’s with all this world ruling stuff? I don’t think I need to rule over anything. I’m happy just to be alive.” It’s the truth. Plus, you’re not exactly a special enough person to rule over anything, much less the entire globe. That’s a little far-fetched, even for Nanami Ryusui.

“A queen doesn’t want to rule the stone world?” He switches to the Spanish word for queen — your given name — and you freeze, blinking up at him.

“Oh, so you understand Spanish now?” You press a palm to his chest, and he laughs smugly.

“A little bit. But I’ll learn more for you.” His wandering thumb finds your bottom lip.

And when you open your mouth to speak, your words are practically pressed against his finger tip. “I suppose I could teach you. It just depends how good of a student you are.”

“Believe me, I’m a great student. And a quick learner.” For a fraction of a second, his thumb dips into your mouth before he drops his hand, leaving you frustrated. Is this flirting? This is definitely flirting. God, every interaction the two of you have is flirting, isn’t it? It’s embarrassing, but it’s also amazing. And you wish you could capture the way he’s looking at you right now so you could feel the warmth that’s flooding through your veins forever. “Look. You can see the ocean from here. I know we never focused much on the sea before when we were making the map.”

“Wow.” You whisper, and wow is correct. From this high, you can see the way the sun glints on the water, the way the sea foam dances atop the surface. It’s been so long since you’ve been able to see the ocean like this, to really focus on it instead of the locations you need to include on the map. So yes, you may have seen this before, but you haven’t been able to just be up here. He wraps his arms around you from behind, and somehow your hand finds his bicep once more. Talk about a sleeper agent activated by the sight of arm muscle. “Thank you, Ryusui.”

He presses a kiss to the top of your head, and there go the goosebumps again. “There’s no need to thank me yet. Trust me.” You crane your neck to look at him, confused, but he simply smiles down at you without another word to elaborate on what he’s talking about. Whatever, you suppose you can enjoy the view and the feeling of his large arms around you. And it’s indeed a very enjoyable sensation.

You stay up in the air for a few hours longer, talking about any and everything. You get to learn a lot more about him than you knew previously — for example, you find out that he was practically raised by his butler and that the insane amount of half-siblings he has doesn't speak to him — but you also realize just how much attention he’s been paying to you. He knows what tea you’re partial to, which meals are your favorite to cook. So the questions he asks you border on utterly strange; things that tap into your hyperfixations like what your favorite civilization is. You don’t get many chances to talk about your studies these days, so you get to fill him in on what you were studying in the months before the petrification.

As evening settles in, he guides the balloon to a stop at a nice spot near the coast. “Don’t we have to take it back to the village?” You inquire, pulling at his arm in another poorly-veiled attempt to feel him up.

For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem to mind. “Not right away. It’s your birthday, so it isn’t as if Senku expects us to be in any rush.” Fair enough. Plus, you wouldn’t mind spending more time with him without the prying eyes of the villagers or your well-meaning yet overenthusiastic lioness of a friend. As the balloon descends, you realize that this location actually isn’t very far from the village anyways, to the point where it would probably only be an hour walk back and a comically short trip by air.

He helps you out of the basket before almost immediately guiding you swiftly to some unknown destination, although he seems quite familiar with the path. Your inquiries about where he’s taking you are only met with a mirthful “You’ll see” in response, so you’re really hoping he hasn’t been playing the long game in seducing you just so he can murder you in a secluded spot on your birthday. As if sensing the doubts in your mind, he squeezes your hand reassuringly, rubbing a thumb over your knuckles.

Finally, you emerge near a small cove just by the sea. The waves crash against the shore and you look around stunned, completely unaware that such a beautiful spot existed. “How did you find this place?”

He doesn’t let go of your hand, simply beaming at you. “There are some secrets I’ll never reveal.” Pulling you close to him, he runs a hand through your hair. “You like it though, don’t you?”

“I love it.” You reply honestly, and his entire face lights up. You stay like that for a moment, just looking at each other, before he seems to come to his senses.

“Good, because I have something else to show you.” He proceeds to guide you just a few steps over, to where he’s somehow set up an entire picnic spread on a thick pelt, the area covered by a tentlike structure made of tarp eerily similar to that of the hot air balloon. “I wasn’t sure if it would rain, but it seems like the weather is on our side.” He comments offhandedly, as if your surprise is only due to the covering he managed to put up.

“Ryusui. How the fuck? How long have you been planning this?” You can count the number of people you told the date of your birthday on one hand. Which is to say that only Nikki, Minami, and Gen know, with the latter having stumbled in on your conversation like the nosy little bastard he is. And Nikki and Minami decidedly refuse to speak to the sailor, so —

“That mentalist friend of yours let slip that a very special day was coming up about a month ago.” What a surprise. But Ryusui simply shrugs, tugging you in the direction of the little set up. “As for everything else, well, a few dragos go a long way.” You open your mouth to say something — perhaps to tell him that it’s too much? — before he intercepts you. “But you shouldn’t worry about that right now. Just come enjoy your birthday dinner with me.” Sure enough, the food that’s laid out is still warm and incredibly delicious. Jesus, how much did he pay these mysterious people to not only set the food up but also to skitter off before the two of you made it here? Sure, it’s only a hop, skip, and jump away from Ishigami Village, but still? As you’re eating you can’t help but consider the sheer amount of effort that went into planning this. There’s no way he did this alone, so —

Oh. Well, Ukyo and Kohaku’s weird behavior certainly makes sense now. As does Senku, Chrome, and Ryusui’s secret late night meeting that you weren’t allowed to stumble upon. “I know you told me not to worry about it, but I have to know.” Taking a bite of his food, he raises his eyebrows to prompt you to continue. “Just how many people did you involve in this?”

“Oh, only a few. Okay, a lot.” He relents, and your jaw drops in real time. “Is it that hard for you to believe that so many people care about you?”

“Yes.” You reply honestly, feeling a lump forming in your throat. “Yes, it is.” He looks like he’s going to say something else, so in lieu of being too vulnerable, you quickly change the subject. “What about that toast you promised me?”

And sure enough, he produces a bottle of wine from a basket included in the picnic spread. “How could I ever forget?”

You get your toast, and a few more servings of wine after that. The two of you are talking and laughing loudly, taking advantage of the seclusion to say whatever the hell you want. Whoever helped him set up had the genius idea to leave some extra pelts around, so the two of you drag them onto the beach so you can comfortably lay down and look at the stars. “So, how would you rate this birthday?” He asks, and from your spot laying on his chest you crane your neck to look up at him.

“Ten out of ten. Would recommend Ryusui Birthday Services.” You giggle as his hand travels up and down your back, tracing circles on your warm skin.

“Whoa, slow down. As much as I love making money, this particular service is special just for you.” The summer breeze blows around the two of you, and despite it being early July conditions near the shore are nice and mild enough that laying on top of him isn’t at all uncomfortable.

“Is it? Good to know.” You reply, rather tongue-in-cheek as his finger trails up your spine. You fall into a rather comfortable silence, gazing up at the same sky.

Finally he hums, pressing yet another kiss to the side of your head. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the village? It’s just a walk away.”

“Nah. I’m comfortable here.” You shake your head. You don’t much favor a tipsy walk of shame back to Ishigami Village, nor do you think you’re particularly in the mood to give Kohaku an exact play-by-play of what went down tonight.“Plus, we’ve got the pelts anyway, just in case we get tired.” Not to mention that there’s still something unfinished hanging in the air between the two of you, and you have a feeling that you know exactly what it is.

“I’m not tired.” He sniffs, sitting up.

“Me either.” You follow suit, the two of you now upright and staring into each other’s eyes. His hand finds the side of your face once more, and then he’s kissing you. This kiss is a little longer than the other ones you’ve shared and feels different somehow. It feels almost less chaste, especially considering the fact that there’s no one else here to interrupt you. His tongue slips past your lips, and a breathy noise escapes you.

He pulls you onto his lap and you let him, your thighs now on either side of his waist. He kisses you a few more times before reluctantly pulling away, and the look in his eyes cannot be described as anything other than hungry. “[Name]. I think I’ve been pretty up front about how much I want you.” His tone is low, incredibly serious.

“You have been. I’ve been the one beating around the bush.” You lean in to steal another kiss, and he’s unable to contain a smile. “So I should tell you the truth, yeah?” He nods, and you lean down until your foreheads are almost touching. You swallow, trying to weigh the pros and cons of revealing this to him right now before deciding that you have absolutely nothing to lose. Especially not if the way he’s moving under you has anything to do with the matter. “After that time we had dinner, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what you said to me. You know, the Morse code?”

His thumb swipes your bottom lip before entering your mouth for real this time. “Yeah? Remind me what I said again.” He glances at you as a silent command, and you obediently suck his finger, receiving a low groan in response.

“Please don’t make me say it.” Your voice is muffled by his thumb, but you can’t pretend like the sound he just made isn’t doing ungodly things to you. “I’m already admitting to you that I want it.”

“Well, I suppose your birthday is as good a time as any, isn’t it?” He pretends to consider the prospect, his finger slipping from your mouth. “The best time, actually.” His lips meet yours again, and you feel like you can melt into him.

“I just have to tell you.” You venture between kisses, figuring it’s only fair to give him a warning. “ I haven’t done… anything…. like this before.”

He pauses, pulling away from you once more to brush some hair away from your face.“Are you afraid?”

You shake your head, biting your lip. “Not afraid. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Nothing you ever do can disappoint me, so you can forget that right now.” He leans in, capturing your lips in a sweet kiss. “In fact, I don’t want you to think about me at all. Just let me make you feel good, alright?”

“Okay.” It’s all you can say, because his open-mouthed kisses have migrated from your lips to the side of your jaw.

But he seems to remember something. “But promise me one thing.”

“Anything.” You reply without hesitation.

“Promise me that you won’t run from me anymore.” Another kiss to your jaw, then one just below it, further down your throat. “I can’t stand it when you keep away from me, you know that, right?”

“No, I just …” His lips find a sensitive spot on your neck that you had no idea was even there, and your statement is punctuated by your airy moan. “It’s like I told you. I’m so afraid of what I’ll say to you.”

“I don’t want you to be.” He murmurs into your skin, humming as your hand runs through his hair. “You can say or do anything around me. It won’t change how much I want you or how perfect you are.”

“I know, it’s just …” He sucks at your neck once more, effectively derailing your already rickety train of thought. “I just…” Then there’s the flick of his tongue against your skin. “God, Ryusui, I can’t think.”

“Good.” His voice is muffled by your neck, but it sounds breathier than usual in a way that’s making you weak. “Don’t think. Just focus on me.” You do a very poor job at suppressing the pathetic noise that falls from your lips. But you can’t help the way it feels like liquid heat has pooled between your legs. “Good. Just think about this, okay?” You also can’t help the way that your hips have almost subconsciously begun to move against him at the repeated praise. This is all so new, so strange, but so good —

“I am. I have.” You reply, too far gone to realize or care how desperate you sound. “This is all I can think about sometimes.” And as his kisses trail further down your body, you realize that the fear of laying yourself bare before him is already starting to slip away.

“Me too.” His hands fiddle with the knot securing the back of your top before smoothly undoing it. “So let me take care of you, alright?” Gently removing your top from your body, his lips meet bare skin that no one else has ever touched like this before. Your mouth falls open as you throw your head back, and your eyes flutter shut as stars burst behind your eyelids.

The ocean meets the shore. The stars crumble to the sea. Everything between you and him is the same and completely different all at once. But you’re also so, so incredibly sure that this is right. So maybe, that’s enough.

a/n: idk if i can show my face to yall again ts freaked out af. enjoy

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