Chapter Text
It wasn’t unusual for him to be pulled into these long diplomatic missions. Usually they didn’t require him to go to another country, but sometimes, that’s what was required of a vice captain.
He could travel without his husband. He absolutely could.
But he didn’t want to.
Hoshina Soshiro was not the type of man to be completely dependent on his husband. Him and Kafka had spent many nights apart when they were dating and in the beginning of their marriage. Sometimes the job separated them for a small amount of time, but this felt different.
It was getting late in DC, and as much as he wanted to be out celebrating with the other vice captains, he really just wanted to try to catch up on his sleep. He was enjoying his time, minus the military meetings, the place was pretty interesting. He had been wanting to talk to Kafka about bringing Sora here once she was older, but he could never seem to get the timezones quite right. He would either call too late or too early in the day or would call when Kafka was at work and couldn’t talk.
But that could all come later. Right now - he just wanted to talk to his husband, and then he could possibly - hopefully - get some sleep. The American’s were running a strict schedule and with his inability to sleep, he was barely able to keep up with the constant chatter and never ending flow of tasks that were somehow his issue to figure out.
He barely even registered that he was dialing Kafka’s number once again. If he did the math correctly in his head, it was close to 11 am for Kafka. He should be up and maybe getting a late brunch with Reno or even out with Sora, but hopefully, he had at least thirty minutes to talk.
The phone only rang twice before a familiar voice answered.
“I was wondering when you were going to call,” Kafka said with a small laugh.
“Oh! Didn’t know you were expecting little ol’ me to call.” He was sure that the smile on his face could be heard through his speech. “I missed ya voice.”
“I’ve missed you here.” He could hear Kafka’s smile. “How’s America?”
“It’s nice - would be a lot better if you were here.” Kafka laughed at that. “How’s the little one?”
“She’s fine. A little terror like normal, but she is yours. Currently out with her uncles.” Kafka’s laugh had to be one of his favorite sounds in the world. He could picture his husband’s face, his slightly squinted eyes and the way his smile exposed cute dimples on his cheeks.
“Oh? So you’re alone?” He didn’t mean for it to be anything other than a joke, something to hear just another whisper of Kafka’s laugh. He laid back in bed, stretching out for what felt like the first time in days. “Do I get you all to myself?”
“Keep it in your pants,” Kafka said with a snort. That was the laugh he missed the most. “When do you come home again?” There was a sense of longing in Kafka’s question. It was almost nice to know that Kafka missed him as much as he missed him.
“I should be home late tomorrow night. Depending on when the last meeting actually ends.” He shrugged slightly. “Frankly - can’t wait to get home.”
“Tired of having time all to yourself?”
“Tired of not having you by my side.” The truth was simple and nearly painless to confess. He missed Kafka more than words could confess. He missed being able to cuddle up with him. He missed being able to talk to him every night. He missed being able to steal kisses during work. He just simply missed his husband. “Can barely sleep without you. Got so used to you being there, now I’m not sure what to do with you so far away.”
He couldn’t really tell if it hurt to say or if the hurt he felt in his chest was just from the fact that the loneliness that he felt sunk deep in his bones. He missed Kafka. He missed his family.
“Thank god it’s not just me. It’s been so weird without you here,” Kafka said with a sniffle. Of course Kafka was sniffling, he always wore his heart on his sleeve. That was always one of the things that Soshiro loved about him in the first place. “Do you want me to talk you to sleep?”
“What? Like we used to do when we were dating?” It wouldn’t hurt to try. His eyelids were already getting heavy from just talking to Kafka. He could fall asleep like this.
“I mean - it worked back then. It should work now. Plus - you have another day of meetings, a good night's rest will do you well.”
“Fair point.” He turned over to turn the lamp beside his bed off and slipped under the covers. “So - catch me up on everything that our little terror has gotten up to while I’ve been gone.”
As Kafka started to fill him in on everything that he and Sora had been up to, sleep came easy for once and the last thought in Soshiro’s head before he slipped into sleep was how much he loved his husband and how lucky he was to even be with him.