Chapter 36

Karma came back to an empty home. There were a few places that were dusty already, a few cat scratches that Karma hadn't had time to fix up and the eerie silence that Karma should have gotten used to already.

"I'm home," he said to himself. The absent cats didn't answer him.

There was a small yearning in his heart. He wished he could see Shuu. He wished Shuu was there to welcome him home.

He wanted to see Gakushuu be clumsy when he tried a new cooking technique, or watch him roll his eyes exasperatedly at Yuki's newest antics.

Last time Gakushuu had been dead tired and Yuki had decided the best way to wake him up was by sitting on his face. Shuu had rolled off the couch and would have face planted into a startled Yuki, if Karma hadn't been there.

Karma breathed into the smell of the locked unaired house, dropped his bags and walked right out the door he had just come in.

There was no way he was going back in without the cats. He had imprinted on the cats just as much as they had done on him.

And if he came back home with a few angry cat scratches and a brighter look on his face, it was obviously no one's problem but his own and the two cats in his arms.

It was an unrecommended, but very much needed, afternoon nap later, that Karma got his first wish fulfilled.

He opened his eyes to loud purring. One that wasn't caused by him, and he could feel his heart clumsily start beating harder.

Somehow, the single conversation they had managed to have over the whole summer, had brought out all of Karma's yearning out in the open.

Karma opened his eyes to the sight of Mirai purring loudly as he sat on Gakushuu's chest proudly. Gakushuu was slouching very un-President-like, looking like he hadn't had a proper nap in a week, and was the most beautiful sight Karma had seen all summer.

He couldn't have helped himself even if he tried.

Karma immediately gathered up Gakushuu, and the cat stuck between them, into a hug.

Both the cat and Shuu yelped, one scratched him, and then leapt away from the embrace with a huff.

Gakushuu was in an awkward half crouch to avoid crushing the cat, but managed to maneuver them into a more comfortable standing embrace.

Karma tightened his grip on Gakushuu, curling around him and Shuu positively melted into the embrace.

Gakushuu relaxed into the embrace like it was an oasis in a desert and he was parched.

Karma pulled him down on the couch, still stuck together, into an oddly comfortable position. Gakushuu buried his face in Karma's neck, Karma's hands tangling themselves with the back of Gakushuu's hair, and his temple resting on the side of Gakushuu's head.

It was just…comfort.

It wasn't really about their relationship, but about showing human weakness to someone they trusted.

Karma breathed out a long slow breath, and relaxed slowly.

They stayed in that position, not talking at all. The only noise apart from them was the slight noises of the cats moving around.

It might have been a few minutes, or maybe an hour, but slowly, reluctantly, Gakushuu pulled his arms away from around Karma. He shifted around and then laid his head on Karma's chest, closing his eyes to listen solely to the beating of his heart.

It slowly picked up pace, as if noticing the change in mood, and Gakushuu let out a tired smirk.

"You looked good in red, Karma," he whispered, a teasing tone in his voice that was stolen directly from Karma. His abs tightened noticeably under Gakushuu.

He trailed a finger on his chest, slowly trailing down to his abs.

"I look good in everything, Shuu," Karma replied, his voice pitching a little higher as Gakushuu's fingers trailed a pattern, making its way to the edge of his pants. He stopped, then gathered up his hands to put it under his chin as he turned his head to look at Karma's face.

"You look really good in red, Karma," Gakushuu said meaningfully.

"Sounds like you don't know if you want me to wear it more or less," Karma quirked up a brow.

"Maybe I'm telling you so you can choose your occasions more accurately," Gakushuu replied, fluttering his eyes innocently. Karma let out a huff, sliding down to lay on his back, Shuu still on his chest.

Gakushuu nosed at the warm skin near his chest.

"How very unlike you, Chiho-sama," Karma whispered, laughter in his voice. Gakushuu lightly smacked his chest.

"I did that to protect your collective, irresponsible asses. God knows the military is useless in this regard," he grumbled.

Karma let his hands slide down Gakushuu's back, running a soothing hand up and down his sides.

"I mean, they gave us Karasuma," Karma weekly defended. Gakushuu rolled his eyes.

"Right. The literal assassins did more to help you, while the military just kept making bigger messes," he hissed angrily. Karma ran his hands in soothing circles, feeling bubbles of happiness building inside him.

"I'm not defending them, Shuu," he laughed. Gakushuu wrinkled his nose up at him in response.

"Don't be a brat, Karma," Gakushuu said, poking a finger into Karma's face. Karma mock-chomped at the finger, his teeth clicking shut audibly as Gakushuu pulled away his hand.

Gakushuu pouted.

Karma died and was in heaven, watching an angel blink blearily back at him.

"Shut up," Shuu whispered, his face dropping back to Karma's chest.

"Pretty sure I didn't say anything~" Karma whispered, his voice trailing off as he watched Shuu struggle to keep his eyes open.

He let out a grumble about him always being a brat, before his breathing slowly evened out.

Karma brushed away Gakushuu's hair, sighing gently. He was awake, but now Shuu was taking what appeared to be a much needed nap on top of him.

Yuki meowed, coming up by the couch.

"Laugh it up, sure," Karma rolled his eyes at Yuki, extending a hand to pat her head.

There was a distinct laugh-like sound from Yuki as she allowed the pat, then she nipped at his fingers before walking away with a swish of her tail.

"I wonder where you got the attitude from," Karma said, watching the white furry cat take a dramatic exit.

The rest of the summer was turning out far more pleasant than the half before the class trip, mostly owing to Gakushuu actually being present in Karma's daily life.

Gakushuu didn't tell him if it was a self-imposed exile or a punishment, but Karma had extracted enough about Shuu to know which one it was, and he didn't push.

They were both masters at not pushing the other at this point.

But Karma enjoyed the time he had with Shuu. Without class A hounding Shuu for his attention, Karma actually had time to be…a boyfriend.

Class E was mostly doing their own thing, and even if very few days of the summer was left over, Karma watched Shuu compose a song and play it for Karma. It was surprisingly cheerful. He liked it.

Karma liked watching Shuu burn his fingers trying to make him something nice, he liked the amount of focus he put in school, the heights he went to for the graduated students or even just watching Shuu sleep in Karma's house.

It made him want to pull him close, to never let him go, to tease him and watch him explode or keep him awake so he could show him that adorable little pout again.

It made Karma want to kiss him.

Gakushuu made Karma's heart skip a beat, and made him do things that in another world, would have been completely unlike him, but here, it just served to show how strongly Gakushuu affected him.

And affect, it did.

Karma was hesitant to put labels on them, but sometimes when he watched Shuu completely relax, or laugh brightly, he wanted to kiss him.

He wanted to hold him in his arms, and just not let go.

He understood the appeal of candles, watching the flame flicker over the sharp cheek bones. He understood the beauty of sakura blossoms, watching petals smooth over his skin. He understood the grace, and poise in every single one of Gakushuu's steps.

He understood helplessness, watching himself fall into the unextractable abyss. An abyss he wanted to look back at him and consume him whole.

There was light in Shuu's violent eyes, madness in Karma's heart. And the undeniable feeling that this was meant to be.

That this was…forever.

The more class E teased him, the more Karma held just a little farther away, the more Karma wanted Shuu for himself.

He wanted to show off to the people who had suddenly become important to him, who Shuu was. He wanted to show Shuu's smile and tell them about the light he found in them.

He wanted many many things.

And then opportunity was handed to him on a silver platter.

Koro-sensei came crying to Karma's window one night, barely missing Shuu in the living room. Karma was glad he always kept his bedroom window open and Koro-sensei whined about how everyone in class E was too busy to come to the festival.

Karma called bullshit, but he agreed to go. Of course, he planned to bring a date. Now whether the date was Shuu or Chiho, would be completely up to his date.

Gakushuu, surprisingly, didn't take long to convince. Or much at all.

Karma had just mentioned that a festival was going on, when Shuu's eyes lit up in recognition and he immediately agreed to go.

As Chiho.

He had a feeling this was probably going to get him into some trouble, but he liked causing mischief and chaos, even if it was for himself. Especially if it was coming from Shuu.

He had a feeling that it was going to be a fun festival.

(Karma missed the letter that arrived that day, between having Shuu around more often and a festival to anticipate, it got left in the dark, hidden perfectly where it fell between the wall and the table.

It was addressed on the front in small precise letters:

To Akabane Karma,

From Akabane Kiyomi & Akabane Fūei)