Chapter Text
“So, what’s it like dating the head of a financial conglomerate?”
The question gave Hiro pause, and he sipped on his tea thoughtfully. Across the small café table from him, Makoto Naegi looked on with inquisitive eyes while also nibbling on a scone.
Over the course of the day, Hiro had been updating his friends on his and Byakuya’s relationship (well, except Toko- that was all Byakuya’s job). They were all overwhelmingly supportive of course, in their own special way.
Hina had screamed so loud that several Future Foundation employees turned towards them in the hallways. Without a second thought for her well-pressed suit or their fancy new workplace, the Ultimate Swimmer leapt forward and hugged Hiro, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
“Finally!!! Oh my god I thought I was going to have to lock you two idiots in a room together until one of you finally confessed!”
Meanwhile, Kyoko had given him a silent once-over, taking an extra beat to analyze his face, before giving a short nod and saying, “Good.”
Hiro laughed as Hina untangled herself from him, which made Kyoko give the tiniest smile in return, a faint pink tinging her cheeks.
“I mean, congratulations,” she clarified. Kyoko was still working on the whole ‘showing emotions’ thing, but clearly Makoto’s help and unwavering support had helped her make some progress.
Said boy, however, had not been able to join them when Hiro told the two girls. Instead, Hiro decided to ask him to go out to lunch together, where the clairvoyant was met with Makoto’s radiant smile after sharing the news. He and Hiro proceeded to have a lovely meal, filled with Makoto’s eager questions and Hiro’s only-slightly-embarrassed smile at the attention.
Makoto’s most recent question, however, was not one that Hiro could say that he had thought about.
“Dunno,” he finally answered, “S’not really all that different than being friends with one, I guess.”
Makoto nodded along, smiling kindly at the waitress and thanking her as she brought them another pot of hot water.
“I guess I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how crazy rich he is, y’know?” Hiro continued as the two shared a smirk, “Sometimes he has to be in another country for a meeting, and so he’ll just take his private jet there? And then still be home for dinner…? It’s fucking wild, man.”
The long-haired boy paused and then shook his head, his eyes taking on a more somber air, “When we first met. I mean, when we first met… inside, he was just a guy, y’know? I never thought of him as “the Togami heir” or whatever, he was just… Byakuya.”
Makoto nodded, “I know what you mean. When I first met you all, all I could think about were your abilities, but after the first few days… it was like they barely even mattered anymore.”
“Oh right! That reminds me,” the light brown-haired boy suddenly straightened up, “the reason I haven’t been around all morning! I think the neuro-engineering department finally has something they want to try out.”
Hiro’s eyes widened, his muscles clenching reflexively, “Like, for our memories? For serious?”
The other boy nodded excitedly, “They want me to cross-check everything with the equipment that got pulled from Hope’s Peak that we think Junko used on us, to see if it looks like their equipment would be able to counteract it, or undo it, or something…”
Makoto nervously ran a hand through his hair, “To be honest I still don’t really understand too much of the science-y stuff.”
Hiro had been paying attention, but at the same time his mind was racing. The chance to finally get their memories back… to know what had happened, who they were during the years that Junko had stolen from them.
“What’s wrong?” Makoto cocked his head, seeing a furrowed line appear on the clairvoyant’s forehead.
Hiro startled, shaking his head, “It’s nothing, s’stupid. That’s fucking awesome, man. I know the whole team’s been working super hard.” Hiro tried his best to give a supportive smile.
In lieu of a response, Makoto just stared at him. Ten full seconds went by before Hiro finally sighed, slumping forward in defeat.
“Fine, fine. What if… what if getting our memories back, like… changes us? What if we realize we used to be completely different? What if we remember that something big happened during those years and, and…”
Hiro looked up as Makoto put his hand gently on top of his, “Hiro… getting our memories back isn’t going to change how Byakuya feels about you. Or any of us, for that matter. And it’s not going to change how you feel about us, or him.”
The clairvoyant grasped his hand, defenseless against Makoto’s uncanny ability to see exactly what was bothering someone.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Hiro muttered, “I just… it’s two whole years of our lives, man. Anything could have happened.”
Makoto ran a comforting thumb over Hiro’s knuckles, “Yeah but it’s not like it’s a time machine or anything. It’s not like remembering that something happened is going to automatically turn you back into the person you were before Junko…before she…”
He bit his lip. Even after all this time, it was still hard to talk about what had happened to them all in Hope’s Peak.
“What I’m trying to say is, even if it turns out that something did happen,” Makoto continued, “I really don’t think it’ll matter. It doesn’t change anything that we’ve been through together.”
Hiro finally nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks Makoto, you’re the best, man.”
Makoto gave a cheerful smile and the two fell into a comfortable silence until Hiro spoke up once more.
“Hey, uh, so I don’t mean to tell you about my relationship and then immediately bog you down with, like, relationship talk, but…”
Makoto grinned, “It’s fine, really. I don’t even think of it as that. You and Byakuya have been complaining about each other since way before you guys were dating.”
“Yeah, I guess- wait, what?! Byakuya’s been shit-talking me?!” Hiro looked aghast.
Makoto gave a full belly laugh, “Oh come on, it’s not like you and Hina aren’t just as bad.”
Hiro grumbled, then said, “Fine, that’s fair I guess. But you can’t tell him I talked to you about this, okay?”
“I’ve never told you any of the things he’s told me, have I?” Makoto’s grin was downright mischievous now. Hiro had known it was only a matter of time before Kyoko and Hina started rubbing off on him.
Hiro sighed, “Alright. So, this is gonna be kinda weird, but it’s actually something that’s been really bothering me, so…”
As Hiro opened his mouth to move on, however, he suddenly found himself at a complete loss for words. Makoto, patient as ever, made no moves to rush him, instead simply watching as Hiro started and stopped his sentence multiple times.
“-so, like, I’d been crashing at his place before we even got together, y’know? So now I basically just live there. It’s kinda weird because we’re taking things slow, I don’t wanna freak him out, but that’s not what’s bothering me. That’s been fine, but…” Hiro paused, seeming to really struggle with how to proceed, “I think…”
Finally, Makoto tried to jump in and help, “Okay, so is this about-”
“I don’t think he’s comfortable being shirtless around me.” The words suddenly tumbled out of the clairvoyant’s mouth.
“Oh. That’s… not what where I was expecting that to go,” Makoto admitted.
“It’s not like I’m pressuring him to do anything!” The long-haired man quickly added, “But it’s like… even when he’s done taking a shower or getting ready in the morning, I don’t think he’s ever even changed his clothes in front of me.”
“Have you asked him about it?”
“I dunno how to bring it up without sounding like a total perv, y’know? ‘Hey man, get naked, take your shirt off, bro, c’mon!’” Hiro gave an exaggerated impression that sounded suspiciously like Mondo. It made Makoto burst into giggles.
Once they had calmed down, Makoto cocked his head to the side, “Now that I think about it though, I don’t think I ever saw Byakuya in the locker rooms or sauna or anything. Maybe he’s just a little insecure?”
Hiro raised an eyebrow, “Dude, seriously? This is Byakuya we’re talking about. What would he even have to be insecure about? Dude’s fit as hell.”
“Well…” Makoto trailed off for a few seconds as he became deep in thought. His mind tried to come up with reasons why Byakuya would want to cover his skin…
Kyoko!
His thoughts suddenly shifted to the Ultimate Detective and her penchant for keeping her hands covered whenever she left the house…
Makoto’s brow furrowed as he considered the implications of his hunch, “Maybe… Just maybe… he told you about his family, right? How he became the heir to the Togami Corporation?”
Hiro nodded, a little uncomfortable, “Yeah, shit sounds messed up. Who the hell does that to kids, let alone their own children?”
Makoto went on, “He called it ‘combat’… ‘battles.’ Those were his specific words. Assuming that he wasn’t speaking metaphorically…”
“You… you think they literally had to fight each other? That he has injuries from it? Scars?” Hiro’s eyes widened, a surge of protectiveness and anger at the former Togamis flowing through him.
Makoto gave Hiro a look, “I mean… it makes sense. You know Byakuya, the thing he hates more than anything is showing weakness. Maybe he considers those scars to be a mark of weakness.”
“But that’s-!” Hiro started protesting at first but then cut himself off with a sigh, “Exactly how he would see it, yeah. God, he’s such an idiot.”
Makoto grinned, the affection and concern for the Ultimate Affluent Progeny obviously evident in Hiro’s voice.
“I mean it, though,” Makoto continued, sounding firmer than before, “Byakuya’s not the same person we met at Hope’s Peak, especially not when it comes to you. If you ask him about it, maybe he’ll open up.”
Hiro fought the urge to roll his eyes, “Hopeful as ever, Makoto. Thanks though, for listening.”
~*~
That evening, Hiro was cooking dinner when he heard the front door to the apartment.
“Hey B, how was Seoul?” He called from the other room.
“Loud. Smelled atrocious,” came a curt reply as Byakuya strode into the impressively sized kitchen.
Hiro smirked as he turned back to the pot he was stirring, “Sounds like you had fun then.”
He felt a presence behind him, Byakuya looking over his shoulder at the food with a look of feigned disinterest.
The brunette just turned and smiled at him, shamelessly taking in the sight of the tall blonde.
Hiro hadn’t been lying back when they first got together, the high-end tailoring that Byakuya had done was… noticeable to say the least. Still in his work clothing, the man’s designer, custom-fit suit drew Hiro’s eyes all over his lithe frame.
Byakuya squinted his eyes, giving an inscrutable look.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
Hiro bit his tongue before he said something snarky (the last time he’d let out a “Right on, man” it had not been received favorably) and let the blonde approach him.
Byakuya stopped just short of the other Ultimate. Hiro had noticed him do this a few times, although he still wasn’t sure if it was meant to tease him or if Byakuya were taking another moment just to make sure that Hiro wanted to do this… or if he wanted to do this.
Hiro tried not to let that last, insecure voice linger in his mind, though. He focused instead on the mingling of their breaths, Byakuya running his eyes over Hiro’s face before his gaze landed on his lips.
The clairvoyant’s heart still fluttered as his and Byakuya’s lips finally pressed together. Even though they had known each other for quite some time now (more, if you counted the years they lost), they were still in the early stages of their relationship. The stage where everything is new and intense and exciting and terrifying. The stage where all it takes is one kiss before part of Hiro’s mind tries to rationalize that it’s really not that important that he finish cooking dinner.
Who needs food, anyways?
Hiro’s hand rested on Byakuya’s waist, slipping under his jacket to feel the fine quality of the dress shirt that probably cost more than his childhood home.
All too soon, a sizzle from the cooking pot brought Hiro’s attention back to their dinner, and he begrudgingly pulled back with a satisfied hum.
Byakuya still had that unreadable look on his face, but Hiro had learned not to infer too much from it. The clairvoyant had definitely learned to choose his battles when it came to trying to get the blonde to share his thoughts (or worse… his feelings).
As Hiro checked on the rice, he chimed up, “I told Hina and Kyoko about us at work today, and then Makoto at lunch.”
“And I need to know this because…?” Byakuya drawled from where he was sitting at the dining table, reading some obscure newspaper that Hiro had never heard of before.
“Because they’re really happy for us! Not that I thought they wouldn’t be or anything, but still. It felt good, y’know?”
Byakuya gave a noncommittal hum, “I ran into Makoto yesterday when I was at the office. He said they’re getting closer to a solution to our induced amnesia.”
Hiro brightened, much more excited about the prospect after his chat with Makoto, “Yeah he told me! Seems crazy though, I mean two years-worth of memories? Aren’t our heads gonna, like, explode or something?”
The blonde narrowed his eyes at Hiro, trying to decipher whether the other man was being serious or not. Hiro successfully bit back his laughter.
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response. What I will say, however, is that the procedure they’re suggesting would involve multiple sessions, slowly repairing the damage to our cerebral cortex and giving us back our memories gradually.”
“Ah, so anti-head-exploding precautions. Sweet.”
Byakuya’s glare could have cut a hole in the wall, so intense that Hiro could help but let a small grin escape, his eyes sparkling.
“You’re insufferable.”
Hiro chuckled as he prepared two bowls for them. Internally, however, he took a deep breath; Makoto’s supportive words echoing in his head.
“Hey, B? After dinner, I wanna… do something.”
Having gone back to his newspaper, the heir didn’t even spare him a glance, “I’ll alert the press.”
The brunette rolled his eyes as he placed a bowl down, “C’mon, man, work with me here.”
Whether it was the promise of food or the tone in Hiro’s voice, Byakuya looked up. Whatever he found in the clairvoyant’s face then seemed to stifle further snide remarks.
Byakuya simply quirked an eyebrow, “Very well. That’s rather ominous.”
“It’s nothing like that, I promise,” Hiro replied, “Besides, I think I’m allowed to be the dramatically cryptic one every now and then.”
“I am not-”
“Okay hold up, hold up, time out, you-”
~*~
After they had both eaten their fill and cleaned up the kitchen, Byakuya started to make his way to the bedroom to change out of his work clothing. As he reached for the doorknob, however, a hand wrapped itself around his wrist.
Byakuya quickly turned around, just in time for Hiro to crowd him against the door. Without a word, Hiro captured his mouth, assured and unhurried in a way that always threatened to make the blonde go weak in the knees.
Without breaking the kiss, Hiro stretched his hand out to turn the doorknob, smirking as Byakuya elegantly regained his footing in the now-open doorway.
Hiro pushed forward, pivoting around to close the door behind them. The moon and the city lights cast a pale glow at sharp angles across the room, the rest enraptured in total shadow.
Byakuya’s kisses quickly became more impatient, insistent. Hiro, however, kept the same languid pace, earning a disapproving sound from the heir.
Not wanting things to get too far, Hiro took this opportunity to bring his hand up and slide his fingers carefully under the hem of Byakuya’s shirt, feeling an unexpected jolt go through him as the tips of his fingers ghosted across bare skin.
As Hiro had anticipated, Byakuya froze.
Pulling back, Hiro withdrew his hand and rested it instead on the other man’s hip.
“Do you trust me?” He said softly, his brown eyes meeting steel grey.
Byakuya, for once at a loss for words, muttered, “I… yes. Against all better judgement, I do.”
Hiro smirked, running his thumb along the blonde’s now-clothed waist, before continuing, “We don’t have to do this tonight, if you don’t want to. I just… I want you to feel comfortable around me.”
The clairvoyant waited patiently as a myriad of thoughts seemed to run through Byakuya’s head. Eventually, however, he nodded, having apparently made up his mind. He placed a hand on Hiro’s chest, and Hiro almost went back in for a kiss before the hand became firmer and the brunette realized that Byakuya wanted him to step aside.
Hiro watched as Byakuya slowly walked across their room, stopping at his closet to neatly remove his shoes, belt, jacket, and tie before continuing towards the bed. The brunette simply watched, letting the heir take the lead completely.
He did, however, shed his jacket and tunic, leaving only a worn tank top.
Byakuya looked back and made a face, “Tch. Ridiculous.” Although, Hiro could almost swear he saw a dusting of light pink around his cheeks.
The blonde flipped on the lamp that stood on the nightstand, adding a warm glow to the low-lit room.
“If you leave your clothes in a heap on the floor, I’m changing the locks the next time you leave.”
Scrambling, Hiro ducked down to pick up said articles of clothing, folding them loosely on top of one of the dressers.
Crossing his arms, Byakuya turned and gave a nod towards the mattress, “Sit.”
Hiro wordlessly crossed the room, sitting on the side of the mattress directly in front of where the blonde was standing. Hiro smiled softly, eyes warm and fond.
Byakuya rolled his eyes, “Eugh, don’t give me that look.”
The clairvoyant sputtered, “W- this is just my face!”
“Mhm,” was Byakuya’s only reply.
Steadily, he reached up and started undoing the top button of his dress shirt. Hiro felt the air in the room shift.
Looking down, Byakuya spoke with a neutrality that only Hiro had learned to hear the forced nature of, “I trust you remember what I shared about my family’s customs?”
Hiro nodded.
“Well,” the heir said as he continued unbuttoning, gradually revealing his undershirt, “Some of those battles were not… as easily won as others. Additionally, being even a potential heir of one of the most powerful empires in the world certainly invited a handful of… opportunists over the years.”
As Byakuya shrugged off the long-sleeved shirt, the first thing that stood out to Hiro was a pale, horizontal line about an inch wide, nestled right below the other’s collarbone.
It took a second for Byakuya’s words to sink in, “Wait, you mean you’ve had people try to assassinate you?!”
The blonde merely nodded, gesturing towards the line that had caught Hiro’s eye, “This was from the first attempt on my life. Before my father would acknowledge that indeed every Togami heir was a potential target with a bounty on their head. I was barely five years old.”
Hiro bit his tongue, knowing that Byakuya would react poorly to any attempts at sympathy or condolence. Instead, he just let his heart break in silence as he took in the small litany of scars and healed wounds that littered Byakuya’s upper arms and shoulders. More scars disappeared under the cloth of Byakuya’s top, and Hiro began to steel himself for what was to come.
He looked up, locking eyes with the heir, “Thank you.”
Byakuya paused, his fingers tightly grasping the dress shirt before tossing it over the nearby dresser. The heir was uncharacteristically quiet as he ran his fingers over the bottom hem of his undershirt.
Hiro reached out, taking Byakuya’s hand into his own, “Hey. If you wanna stop, that’s fine with me, really. We can just go to bed, or make out, or whatever.”
Rolling his eyes at the vernacular, Byakuya shook his head, “No. What point is there in prolonging this?”
Hiro grabbed the blonde’s other hand, eliciting a small noise of surprise, “You, B. I meant what I said, I never want you to feel uncomfortable around me. So if this,” he gestured between them, “ever stops being comfortable, I want you to stop. To tell me.”
This time there was no mistaking the blush that crept onto the blonde’s pale cheeks as his eyes widened minutely. Muttering something about ‘that was a rhetorical question,’ Byakuya drew his hands back.
“Regardless. I’m fine, really. I want… I knew this would be an eventuality. It’s just…”
Suddenly, with a huff of frustration, Byakuya grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off in one fluid motion, tossing it on top of the dress shirt. He glared after it, as though the tank top had personally wronged him.
Hiro meanwhile had caught sight of a deep, gnarled scar above the hem of Byakuya’s pants. Whatever the wound was, it had pierced deeply and with malice. The rest of his torso was in a similar condition: a precise slash ran horizontal across his entire stomach; two small but deep stab wounds rested under his ribs and just to the right of his heart; scar tissue from injuries Hiro couldn’t even identify were woven across the young man’s skin like macabre tattoos.
Stunned as he was, it still wasn’t long until the rest of Hiro’s brain caught up with him and he realized he was sitting right in front of a shirtless Byakuya Togami his boyfriend holy shit-
Soon, all Hiro could concentrate on was the lean muscle of the other man’s arms, the faintly outlined but definitely present abdominal muscles, the shadow of a dip from the man’s hips…
Hiro stood up, catching both of them off guard. He moved as if by some force and cupped Byakuya’s jaw, tugging him into a deep kiss.
Byakuya’s response was immediate. Sighing, his hand snuck under the other man’s tank top, eager to touch the warm, smooth skin he had been trying to resist staring at the entire time.
Hiro hummed as he felt the cool touch against his stomach, flicking his tongue against Byakuya’s lips in silent permission.
The blonde gave a small noise of approval as he parted his lips, allowing Hiro to deepen the kiss. Byakuya’s hands kept exploring wherever they pleased, spurred on by the gentle but firm hold that Hiro had on his hips.
It was like nothing Byakuya had ever felt before. His skin felt like a live wire; every millimeter that the clairvoyant shifted his hands sent a wave of sparks up his torso.
It wasn’t until he felt Hiro’s other hand drift up his waist that he came to, tensing.
“Wait,” he said quietly.
Hiro’s reaction was instantaneous. He froze where he was, pulling back and looking at Byakuya for any indication of what was wrong.
“There’s one more thing I need to… one more thing you should know. About me. About my family.”
There was an edge to Byakuya’s voice that Hiro had never heard before, but he dutifully backed up and made to sit back down on the mattress.
But before he could, Byakuya’s hand shot out to grab his, “You don’t… You can stay where you are…please.” The last word was said so softly that Hiro almost thought he imagined it.
Hiro obliged, still concerned about whatever was making the other Ultimate sound this way.
With a roughness in his voice that was not normally present, Byakuya continued, “the battles- after all the battles had finished… when I emerged victorious there was, a ceremony… of sorts.”
All of the sudden, Hiro realized why Byakuya sounded so strange. It was nearly imperceptible, but small tremors were shooting through Byakuya’s frame, causing his shoulders to shake and his voice to quiver.
Hiro jumped forward without a second thought, grasping the other by the shoulders.
“Woah, woah, woah. Hey, it’s okay, yeah? I’m right here. It’s okay,” he kept a firm grip until the tremors started to die down. Byakuya had closed his eyes, his teeth clenched together in a defiant sneer.
Slowly, Byakuya’s eyes opened once more. They seemed tired, like whatever he had just gone through had drained his energy.
Hiro tried to look him in the eyes, “Hey, you don’t have to say anymore. We can talk more about it some other time. I’m not gonna ask for details, okay?”
Byakuya shifted his weight, “Fine, but still, I…”
Slowly, the blonde steeled himself, then took a step backwards to turn his back to the other man, his figure bathed in the moonlight of the window.
At first, Hiro wasn’t even sure what he was looking at. Down the middle of Byakuya’s back, centered around his spine were… markings. They looked like burns, but… the longer he stared at them… the patterns became all too familiar.
Suddenly a switch flipped in his brain, and he realized what he was staring at.
Kanji.
…Kanji characters that had been branded into the man’s back.
“Byakuya…” Hiro breathed.
“I know it’s… unpleasant to look at,” came an uncharacteristically quiet response.
Hiro didn’t even register what Byakuya had said, however, still staring at the characters to try and decipher their meanings. They seemed to be ordered, either one symbol by itself or two symbols together, and the characters themselves…
“Oh my god, B, are these names?!” Hiro exclaimed; his voice louder than he intended.
Byakuya’s response was stiff, clinical, “Obviously. It’s the names of every sibling I defeated in order to inherit the Togami Corporation.”
Even after hearing it, Hiro couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There was another moment, however, that shook him out of his incredulousness.
He felt a pang of guilt. This wasn’t about him or what he was seeing, this was about Byakuya. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm down even as a boiling rage started to creep in at the thought of someone inflicting those markings.
“Can I… hold you?” He tried to speak softly.
Byakuya turned his head sharply, attempting to look behind him, “Are you… but, I’m…” that same roughness had come back into his voice, breaking up his words even more.
Turning his head back, he gave a small huff, “I don’t follow, but… you may.”
Gently, more gently than he had ever done anything in his life, Hiro came up behind the blonde. Shrugging off his tank top as he approached, he wrapped himself around Byakuya until his bare chest was flushed with the other man’s back. He wrapped his arms underneath Byakuya’s, crossing them over the other man’s chest. Finally, he leaned his head down, planting a kiss right underneath the other Ultimate’s ear, then continuing a slow line of kisses down his neck and onto his shoulder.
Hiro’s efforts were rewarded as the other man gradually relaxed against him, his chest no longer pounding and his muscles losing some of their stiffness.
The rough skin of the scarring was a sharp contrast with the otherwise smooth, soft skin, but that only made Hiro tighten his hold around the other as they began to sway slightly, as though he could physically shield the heir from all the horrible forces that had marked him in the first place.
“B… you have no idea how much this means to me. I… you’re one of the strongest, most resilient people I know,” Hiro followed up his words with a squeeze of his arms, holding the blond against him.
Byakuya let out a sharp exhale that sounded like a laugh, but Hiro could still feel the residual tremors in the other man’s frame.
“Also?” the clairvoyant whispered, “You’re, like, so, ridiculously fucking hot. Like it kind of makes me mad how hot you are.”
This time the blonde did let out a small chuckle, Hiro electing not to comment on the wet, choked sound, just resting his head against the other’s, and taking in a deep breath.
“Let’s go to bed, B,” He said softly. He kept a loose hold on Byakuya as the two made their way back towards the bed. Hiro hoped the darkness of the room would give Byakuya a sense of security. While the brunette wanted more than anything to kiss the tears from his boyfriend’s face, he knew that Byakuya had already been more vulnerable tonight than anytime before, with him or maybe ever in his life.
As they both crawled into bed, Hiro let out a small noise of surprise as the other ultimate quickly moved back across the mattress and buried his head against the other’s still bare chest, wrapping his arm around his waist.
Despite himself, Hiro felt his own eyes become misty around the corners. These small showings of affection might have been taken for granted by someone else, but Hiro knew how difficult it was for Byakuya to take these steps, how the ultimate heir had spent most of his life well and truly alone.
The brunette’s heart swelled with affection as he brought an arm around Byakuya’s back, taking care to avoid his scars but trailing his hand along the other man’s shoulder. If it weren’t for the man on top of him, Hiro could have sworn he would have floated right off the bed.
“Good night, B.”