Work Text:
MARRIAGE LETTER FOR IMMIGRATION
December 10 2025
Dear Officer,
I am writing this letter as part of the immigration process to confirm my marriage to Koga Yudai. We married on December 7, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan after a relationship of 4 years. Yudai is a citizen of Japan, originally from Chiba Prefecture. Proceeding our marriage, we will be moving into our Tokyo residence within the following 2 months.
I am submitting the necessary documents, which includes our marriage certificate, testimonials from friends and family affirming the authenticity of our marriage, as well as other supporting files. I would greatly appreciate it if you could look upon this application favourably and grant me a spousal visa so that I may continue to reside in Tokyo with my husband.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Wang Yixiang
***
Nicholas stares at his screen, unsure. Yuma looks over his shoulder, eyes glued to the email draft that Nicholas had been agonising over for the past two hours. Agonising over writing a bunch of lies, Nicholas thinks. The only thing that isn’t a lie is that they really had just registered for marriage recently.
“Don’t worry,” Yuma cracks his knuckles, ready to spring into action. “I’ll help you do a little Photoshop magic.”
Euijoo nods from the side.
“Yuma’s really good. I have a bunch of group photos saved from way back, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” When Nicholas glances over, Euijoo’s phone is open to an album full of group pictures, as well as an assortment of photos of Nicholas at various angles. Sitting, standing, leaning against a wall - Euijoo had them all.
“Where’d you get those?” Nicholas attempts to peek at Euijoo’s screen.
Euijoo ignores his question. “Once we have the photos edited and ready, we’ll submit all the other documents by the end of this week. I would tell Kei hyung, but you should probably call your husband yourself.”
Right. So Nicholas is married now. With a whole husband, and everything. Funnily enough, he’s still sharing an apartment with his flatmate Yunho, who is well aware of the entire Forging Marriage thing.
Yunho had laughed over a glass of orange juice when Nicholas had revealed his grand plan to not get deported after losing his job.
“Man, I can’t even marry San for the visa since we’re both Korean,”
Luckily enough for Yunho and his boyfriend, they both had jobs that intended to keep them around for the foreseeable future.
“You would marry him with or without the visa,” Nicholas had snickered, swivelling the last dregs of orange juice in his mug.
“Well, of course,” Yunho laughs. “But back to your situation. What happens if you find someone one day who you love? What will happen to Kei hyung?”
Nicholas whistles. “You’re making me sound like a cheater. I don’t know, actually. I guess we’ll figure out. Surely we can just get divorced later on?”
Yunho eyes him suspiciously, shrugging. “Okay. Whatever you say, man.”
When Yuma finally drags Euijoo out of Nicholas’ apartment, Nicholas scrolls through his contact list to find Kei’s contact.
It doesn’t take long for Kei to pick up.
“Hi, Nichol!” Kei perks up upon hearing Nicholas’ voice.
“Hi, hyung,” Nicholas starts nervously. “I just wanted to let you know how things are going with the visa application.”
“Oh!” Some rustling in the background - it sounds like Kei is putting down whatever he’d been doing to properly listen to Nicholas. “How is it going?”
“It’s going well. Once Yuma is done with photoshopping a couple of images, I’ll compile them along with our marriage certificate and everything else to submit to the immigration office.”
“Wonderful,” Kei laughs on the other end of the line. “I take that you’ll handle everything then? Nothing else you need from my end?”
“I’ve got it all covered,” Nicholas reassures Kei. After all, this problem was Nicholas’ own to resolve, and Kei had been nothing but easygoing and accommodating throughout this whole ordeal. “It will be sorted in no time.”
When Euijoo first floated the idea of a fake marriage to Nicholas, the idea had blown his mind.
“You can do that?”
“Well, yes, that’s how lavender marriages exist,” Euijoo had assured him, twirling his milkshake straw around. Then, in a softer, more serious voice: “You know, I brought this up because Kei hyung was the one who suggested it to me first.”
Now, Nicholas’ mind is properly boggled. “He what?”
“Yeah,” Euijoo looks up from his milkshake. “You know what Kei hyung is like, Nichol.”
And Nicholas does know. He’d seen Kei’s expression when they all gathered at Euijoo and Yuma’s place the other day, when he had casually brought up that he had recently gotten laid off from his job. It had been kind of inevitable - his firm had been struggling financially, and he never expected to stay long as one of the only foreigners there.
Then what about your visa? Yuma had asked, and Nicholas only shrugged. He’d been putting in job applications, but nothing was a sure guarantee for him to continue staying in Japan.
So, of course Nicholas would be more than willing to take up Kei’s offer. It’s just that-
“What if… what if Kei hyung finds someone later on? Like, wouldn’t that complicate things?”
“I’ve asked him that too, if he’s really sure about all this. But he insisted. So I told him if he really was serious about it, I would bring it up to you,” Euijoo says. “Think about it, Nichol. You don’t have to say yes - but it could be good, you know?”
Something worms its way into Nicholas’ heart, too fragile for his own good. Euijoo’s eyes are round and big and imploring, and as much as he doesn’t express it outwardly, Nicholas can feel his best friend’s concern towards him.
“Yeah, I’ll really think about it,” Nicholas assures, hopefully putting Euijoo’s mind at ease.
Nicholas finds out that proving a fake relationship is… surprisingly easy. Save for the fact that Yuma had locked the zip file full of images Nicholas had to compile, as part of the series of documents he had to submit.
Knowing Yuma, the password was probably something like their birthdays mashed together. It’s then when Nicholas realises that he doesn’t even know Kei’s birthday.
“Euijoo, what’s Kei hyung’s birthday?” Nicholas has his phone sandwiched between his ear and his shoulder as he tries to punch in other possible password combinations.
“October 21st. Why?”
“Nothing, Yuma just password-locked the zip file,”
Euijoo laughs, but to Nicholas’ relief, the password does end up being 7091021.
There’s a ton of images that Yuma had photoshopped of them together - essentially forging years of relationship evidence. It feels sort of uncanny, almost like watching a life he’s never lived unfold before his eyes. He drags some of the images into a word document, types up some captions to make it sound convincing. Spends the night making sure all the other documents are in place. Stares way too hard at the marriage certificate.
He stops staring at everything eventually, because it feels like the more he goes through them, the less real it will feel. And before he can think about it harder, he hits send.
It’s already late afternoon by the time he finishes, and he contemplates giving Kei a call. Or should he just message instead? Is it weird if he’s always calling Kei - is that too domestic? What a strange thing to be thinking about his legally-wedded husband.
Kei hyung! I’ve just submitted the documents for the visa application. Thanks so much for everything!!! I owe u my life
Let me treat you to a meal sometime :)
Nicholas opts for a text instead - Kei is probably out on a Saturday afternoon, because he has an interesting life. Nicholas thinks he should probably get Kei something the next time they see each other at a gathering.
But not even a second later, Nicholas’ phone pings.
— Omg!!!! That’s great to hear
— It’s all good. Let me know if they approve your application. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long.
— Wouldn’t be opposed to a meal at all ;)
And it’s easy as that - Nicholas has now scored a date with his legally-wedded husband.
Kei lets Nicholas pick the restaurant, claiming that he eats anything and everything under the sun. Nicholas almost panic calls Euijoo again. What should I treat Kei hyung to?
Thankfully, Euijoo beats him to it.
— Heard you’re going on a date with Kei hyung
— He eats anything btw
— And by anything I mean okonomiyaki
Nicholas is lucky that his best friend happens to know his husband well, and also knows Nicholas well enough to telepathically sense whenever Nicholas is about to panic call him.
Nicholas sticks to Euijoo’s advice. After zooming in and out of Google Maps and scrolling through his bookmarked locations, he rings up a few restaurants and books an appointment for Friday night.
Kei usually replies to texts in a timely manner, Euijoo had once brought up - and Nicholas gets to experience this firsthand when he gets a string of cute stickers in reply to his Google Maps link just a couple of minutes later.
Maybe Kei is looking forward to meet Nicholas in this capacity, too. Well, Nicholas hopes Kei is - he hopes that his own excitement will outweigh the nerves on the day. Nicholas doesn’t get nervous a lot in social settings. It’s just that… he’s never really hung out with just Kei, like this. Alone. Kei is great and fun to be around when they’re in a group, and rationally, Nicholas knows Kei will be just the same when they’re alone.
But still, it’s just different, you know? Nicholas texts Euijoo that night.
Don’t sweat it, that’s your husband, is all Euijoo replies. Nicholas rolls his eyes before setting his phone down on his nightstand. Yeah. Like that makes him feel any better. Euijoo gets to be funny now that Nicholas is being the overthinker in the friendship, and Euijoo can just sit back and watch the situation pan out.
Regardless of all the reassurance, Nicholas spends the rest of the week planning out his outfit, investing his energy and nerves into more productive ventures (his outfits).
On Friday night, Nicholas ends up arriving at the restaurant in a nice sweater vest and slacks. It’s a little more prim than what he usually wears on a day off, but it’s a nice establishment after all, and he needs to respect the function.
“You look nice today,” Kei says immediately as he sits down, shaking his windswept hair out of his eyes.
Kei doesn’t see him like this a lot. They’ve never met up individually for a meal, or any casual occasion for the matter. Nicholas is always dressed in a more casual way whenever they gather at Euijoo and Yuma's.
“Ah,” Nicholas looks down, smoothing down the soft crease on his slacks. He tries for a smile: “Just today?” They’re friends alright, and Nicholas can joke around as much.
Kei grins, reaching over the table to throw a playful air-punch at Nicholas.
Nicholas falls back onto the cushioned booth, clutching his chest like Kei had just delivered a fatal blow.
“My bad. You look especially nice today,” Kei corrects himself. Kei doesn’t look bad at all himself - a gold necklace with a heart pendant hanging around his neck, catching the light.
"It's the post-marriage glow. I can’t thank you enough,” Nicholas bows a little, to which Kei laughs good-naturedly. He raises his glass of beer, clinking it against Nicholas'.
“This neighbourhood looks like it’s got a lot of good food,” Kei looks around the restaurant. “You probably don’t need to cook much, right?”
“Yeah, I don’t eat a lot of home-cooked food unless my roommate cooks,” Nicholas admits. “You’re a good chef, aren’t you?”
“No, I wouldn’t say so myself,” He pours more tea into Nicholas’ cup. “I’ve had my fair share of kitchen accidents. Taki is definitely better than me.” Nicholas hums, recalling the times Kei brought extra snacks (multiple test batches of cookies) to their group gatherings.
“It must be nice having a brother who can cook for you,” Nicholas says. “All my sister does when she visits is just lounge on my couch.”
“I guess it’s an older sibling thing. You definitely strike me as a younger sibling, though,” Kei comments, stroking his chin like he’s pointing out a particularly wise observation.
Nicholas makes a face, feigning offence. “Now what does that mean?” The thing is, Nicholas absolutely knows what that means.
“Nothing, it’s just an observation,” Kei teases, clearly satisfied with Nicholas’ reaction. “It’s not a bad thing.” He lifts a finger to the corner of his lips. “You have something here, by the way.”
“Oh,” Nicholas lifts a napkin to the completely wrong side of his lips. Fuck. Sue him for being nervous while he’s on a first date with his brand new husband. “Here?”
Kei laughs again, but not unkindly. “No, here -” He reaches over the table, looking like he’s about to dab it off Nicholas’ lips himself - but Nicholas spares him the thought and any awkwardness by reaching the right spot with his napkin. Kei nods.
“You looked like this cat meme Yuma keeps showing me,” Kei furrows his brows, trying to recall. “Have you seen it? That photo of that cat with sauce all over its mouth-”
“Hey!” Nicholas laughs, his turn to deliver a fake punch at Kei, but not only does Kei go through the motions of dodging, he punches back.
“You look exactly like that,” Kei leans back into the booth, eyes crinkling with laughter.
When Kei is truly amused, his laugh is carefree and charming - Nicholas decides that maybe it’s worth being a cat lost in the sauce if Kei finds joy in it.
When the food arrives, Euijoo, of course, is right - Kei devours the okonomiyaki like it’s his last meal on earth, which puts Nicholas at ease. Nicholas was worried about having to sit prim and proper and chewing with his mouth shut. He knows Kei isn’t that kind of person, but still. Maybe he has certain rules and expectations for dates, and such. He’s just glad Kei didn’t seem to mind at all.
“This place is great,” Kei says through his chews. “I’ll definitely be coming back often, now that I’m going to be living around this area,”
“Wait,” Nicholas pauses, setting down his chopsticks to properly look at Kei. “You’re moving? Here? What brings you to this part of town?”
Kei only blinks, breaking into full-blown laughter when he sees Nicholas’ visible shock. “Oh, I guess I haven’t told you yet. I’m moving here next month because my current place is a little small,” He pops another piece of squid into his mouth. “And now that Taki is older, I can have him over more and take him off my parents’ hands.”
Nicholas nods - that made a lot of sense, since Kei would always mention having Taki over.
“Well, I hope to see you around more then,” Nicholas bravely goes for a wink, and he thinks it must be a trick of the light when a soft pink dusts Kei’s cheeks, accompanied by a little smile.
“You will for sure,” Kei winks back.
That night, Nicholas stares a little too hard at the new notifications popping up on his phone.
— I really enjoyed dinner tonight. Thank you Nicholas :) Let’s see each other more.
Nicholas wills his beating heart to be still before typing back a response.
Definitely!!! (…too excited?) (He backspaces.) (Ah, whatever.)
Definitely!!!!!! See you around! :D
True to Kei’s word, Nicholas receives a text from Kei a month later - a personal text, addressed to him personally, in his own chat with Kei. Nicholas pretends that it doesn’t affect him more than it should.
There’s not a lot of messages in their chat log yet, nothing of much substance - but Nicholas finds himself wondering if they’ll start piling up.
— Nichol! I just moved in yesterday
— Please come by to visit soon if you’re free :)
Nicholas shoots up at that - Kei attaches his address in the message directly below. He racks his brain with things he can bring over as a house-warming gift - what does Kei like? Does Kei need help with moving at all?
I would love to!! Nicholas types back, tampering down some of the excitement in his tone by deleting a few exclamation marks. Is your apartment ready yet though? Let me know if you need any help!
It takes Kei longer than usual to reply, and Nicholas tries to suppress the urge to just show up with a toolkit in his hands - but he’s not the kind of guy to just breach boundaries. He doesn’t know Kei like that. Yet. Normally, the Standard Operating Procedure would be Kei inviting Euijoo, then by extension, the invite would be extended to Nicholas.
But surely it’s different when Kei hyung invited me personally, Nicholas reasons with himself. Maybe he should ask Euijoo to come along, too. Nicholas decides asking won’t hurt, but regrets it a little when Euijoo’s response comes to him like getting splashed by a bucket of cold water.
— You’re telling me you’re nervous about visiting your husband alone?
— LOL jk. I’m only free next week though, if you need the moral support
Nicholas groans.
NO why would I be, Nicholas lies through his teeth. It’s fine then, I’ll go alone.
— You sure?
— I can see if I can leave a little earlier from work this Friday
Euijoo is a little shit, and Nicholas is usually the only one who is ever on the receiving end. He will never admit it, but he likes it, so he chases the high of annoying his best friend. Despite that, Euijoo is still the person who cares about him the most.
Yes, Nicholas types back, with a bit of renewed confidence. I’m sure.
Nicholas shows up to Kei’s door with a toolkit, and a family-sized box of cookies. Yunho convinces him it’s the husbandly thing to do, and Nicholas chooses to believe him because Yunho can do no wrong in the department of Impressing People. Especially men. Not that Nicholas is trying to impress anyone here - it’s just that statistically, Yunho has never failed. And Nicholas is just trying to be a good and reliable friend. Being a dependable neighbour is the least Nicholas can do for Kei, considering the huge favour he’s done for Nicholas.
Nicholas had always known Kei was handsome. Perhaps it’s an aftereffect of marriage - or simply the novelty of seeing Kei in his own home. But when Kei opens the door, dressed in just a simple oversized white shirt, the soft strands of his hair slightly dishevelled - it does something to Nicholas’ poor heart.
“Hi,” Kei smiles, holding the door open, slightly breathless. There are several boxes near the doorway, but it’s not messy. “Sorry, I was just unpacking.”
“Hi,” Nicholas grins back stupidly, with a little wave. He suddenly doesn’t know how to speak - it’s like he’s a teenager with a silly crush again. Why can’t he just function like a normal human? “Can I come in?”
“Of course,” Kei ushers him in, guiding Nicholas through the entryway. He prompts Nicholas forward with a hand on the small of his back.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re unpacking,” Nicholas steps around some screwdrivers on the floor.
“No, it’s not a bother at all,” Kei reassures, making sure Nicholas is comfortably sat on his couch. He brings over a glass of water and some snacks, setting them down in front of Nicholas.
“I wish I could have invited you over once my place was more settled,” Kei sighs. “But I have some work stuff coming up, and I don’t know how held up I’ll be by that.”
Nicholas waves a hand in dismissal. “I’m happy to just watch.” Kei laughs, picking up an Ikea screwdriver.
“Or, you could make yourself useful,” Kei jokes, before setting it down again. “I’m kidding. Please relax,”
“No, I can help,” Nicholas rushes to say, at the risk of sounding overly-eager about building furniture. He reaches down to pluck the extra screwdriver off the floor, a sudden urge to impress.
Kei’s eyes widen, but doesn’t fight it. “Are you sure? Just so we’re clear, I invited you over as a guest, not a handyman,”
“I know, but trust me, I’m good,” Nicholas assured. Being friends with Euijoo (Lego enthusiast) and Yunho (self-proclaimed house husband) means he has acquired similar skills through osmosis.
Kei furrows his brows, looking between Nicholas and his half-assembled shelf like he wants to protest - but gives up. “Alright, but feel free to stop if you’re not feeling it, okay?”
Nicholas nods, but quickly enough, he finishes assembling Kei’s shelf while Kei unpacks the rest of his boxes. They fall into a comfortable rhythm, with soft jazz playing in the background.
Kei leaves the room momentarily to start organising things in his kitchen. Within that time, Nicholas’ hands find their place within the bolts and screws strewn across the floor, and he flips through pages upon pages of the instruction manual. And before he knows it, he’s already reached the last few pages.
When Kei returns later with a cookie in his mouth, he physically removes it to let his jaw hang free in shock. It’s almost comical, and it makes Nicholas laugh.
“That was so quick,” Kei exclaims, popping the half-bitten cookie back in his mouth. “How did you do that so fast?” Kei reaches for a cookie from the plate in his hands, and feeds it to Nicholas.
Nicholas gets up to examine the shelf - dusting his hands off on the back of his pants.
“Does it look unbalanced anywhere?” Nicholas stands back, and Kei mirrors him, tilting his head.
“Well, no, I think it’s perfect,” Kei turns to look at him, pleased, clearly not having scrutinised it at all. He sets the plate down on the coffee table to step closer to Nicholas, squeezing his face between his hands.
“Thank you, Nicholas,” Kei beams, ignoring Nicholas’ protests. Kei looks like he wants to tackle him, but decides against it as Nicholas expertly shimmies out of his grip.
“I had fun,” Nicholas says, hoping he doesn’t sound too lame.
“Oh, how nice it is to be married to someone who can build things quickly,” Kei laughs, who clearly thinks otherwise.
To thank Nicholas for his efforts, Kei sends him away with more than what he came with - a scented candle and a limited edition bar of soap.
Later that night, Nicholas drifts off to the scent of clean soap and fresh laundry.
In the weeks that Nicholas doesn’t see Kei, he busies himself with various job applications and interviews. He makes a habit of lighting the candle every night.
Such is adulting, Nicholas thinks as scrambles to find a more interview-appropriate tie.
Sure, he’s married now - but that doesn’t give him an excuse to slack. It just buys him more time - it would be presumptuous of him to think that just because he’s married now, he can give up on having a career. He doesn’t want to hold Kei back, either. In case he finds someone, or the sort.
They've been texting each other more. It starts with Kei giving him updates whenever he has a new addition to his shelf - a new candle, a new fragrance - there aren’t a lot of trinkets yet, but maybe he just isn’t that much of a trinkets guy. It fills in the gaps of his day, the little pockets of time where he’s waiting for transport or for his rice to cook.
There had been a cow-shaped decal sticker at the bottom of the bag in which Kei put the candle in. It’s funny looking, with bangs and everything - Nicholas doesn’t know if it was intentional, or that Kei had been unaware of it and forgot to take it out from his last shopping trip. Nicholas thought it was funny, so now it’s stuck on the side of his bike. He touches the side of his bike as he pulls out of the driveway, like a good luck charm.
It’s not surprising, per se - more so unexpected. He never expected that out of all reasons, for marriage to be the one that brings them closer.
It's raining when he exits onto the main road. He catches himself looking towards the direction of Kei’s apartment - he’s probably at work now. Nicholas wonders if Kei usually cooks for himself - Taki should already have visited by now, right? So perhaps so.
The lights turn green, and he prepares to take a left - and maybe life does catch him in unexpected ways, because all of a sudden, he gets his breath knocked out of him so rapidly and violently it reverberates through his ribs. And before he knows it, he’s plummeting into asphalt, and he’s bracing his head with his arms. Fuck. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that left, because nothing goes right for him.
It all happens so quickly that it doesn’t even register fully in his brain. The world around him spins out of control, and everything fucking hurts. He’s not sure how far he’s tumbled, but at some point he hits something - a road curb.
Death has never come this close to him. Sensing that he’s been flung off to the side of a road, he uses whatever meagre energy he has left in his body to crawl onto the patch of wet grass. Well, at least he’s on the side of the road, and not on a highway. There are worse places to be.
He assesses the situation - judging from where he’s fallen, he’s got about a good 500 metres until he reaches the mall just around the corner bend. He just needs to make it there, park his bike, and maybe call a cab to the interview. Actually, fuck the interview - he probably already has a series of bruises blooming across his face. He wouldn’t get hired looking like that anyway, that’s for sure.
“Hey, dude. Are you good? I’m going to call you an ambulance,”
Nicholas looks up - a motorcyclist pulls up next to him, pulling off his helmet. The guy frowns at him - he must look so pitiful, crumpled over the ground.
He frowns back. “I’m okay,” He manages, before realising that he, in fact, was hurting all over. “I can get up-”
The motorcyclist frowns even deeper at that, reaching down to help Nicholas sit up. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, presumably to call an ambulance. Nicholas can’t even fight back. He’s defenseless, and the adrenaline is the only thing keeping him from passing out, frankly.
“It’ll come soon,” The motorcyclist assures him.
“Thanks man,” Nicholas can only nod. He wonders what would have happened if he’d just passed out on the curb like that.
He doesn’t get a chance to find out, because there are sirens wailing in the distance. He stays awake long enough to register himself being lifted onto a stretcher. And clearly, long enough to see someone move his bike aside - no, the cow sticker! Nicholas wants to speak.
“Hey, buddy, don’t move-”
And that’s all Nicholas manages to catch, before he loses all the fight he has left within him.
Nicholas thinks that this must be how it feels in movies when someone wakes up from surgery and all they see is the stark, white hospital ceiling that makes you wonder if you’ve ascended.
He blinks - it feels like he’s dozed off for a week straight, though he knows it’s only been a couple of hours since the accident. The sun is just about to set outside - the golden hour light would normally be a welcome sight. But through the stained window, it’s nowhere near its normal beauty. And mixed with the fluorescent ceiling lights, it makes his eyes hurt.
Euijoo is there, as expected. Nicholas can recognise the way he stands from a mile away. He feels a pang of guilt for even pulling Euijoo into his ever-growing pile of problems again. He would have been fine alone, he would probably have been discharged not too long after. The paramedics must have checked the back of his phone for any emergency contacts when he knocked out in the ambulance. He mentally thanks himself from years ago for having the foresight to not include his sister in his emergency contacts.
The moment Nicholas blinks awake fully, Euijoo rushes to his side, expression heavy.
“Nichol,” There’s a mix of relief and worry in his voice, and Nicholas wants to reach out so badly, but he’s practically on bed arrest. His head is still spinning, he probably got concussed or something -
But fuck - is that Kei? His eyes are still struggling to adjust to the light, but surely his instincts are correct.
As he slowly regains a clearer grasp of his surroundings, the blurry silhouette of a vague Kei-looking figure fizzles into a real, much clearer portrait of a concerned Kei. Nicholas feels his insides shrivel up.
Nicholas looks suspiciously between Euijoo and Kei.
“I didn’t tell him!” Euijoo put his hands up in surrender, to which Kei shoots him a dirty look.
“I was going to text you to ask how your interview went, but accidentally swiped above where you were somehow still sharing your live location from yesterday - and it was in a hospital. I was so worried, I had to call Euijoo-”
“Guys, I’m fine,” Nicholas croaks out. Euijoo looks like he wants to both strangle Nicholas and hug him so hard until he explodes, at the same time. Kei looks like he’s about to burst into tears.
“Thank God,” Euijoo looks like he wants to reach out to Nicholas, before realising he’s not allowed to touch any of the tubes stuck in Nicholas’ arm. He opts for squeezing his other non-tubed arm, before cautiously stepping back.
“How do you feel?” Kei steps closer to look at his face, eyes sad. From a brief jerk of his hand, it looks like he wants to brush away the strands of hair matted against Nicholas’ forehead - Nicholas’ stupid heart skips a beat, but when Kei aborts the movement, he finds himself slightly disappointed. Nicholas catches Euijoo tracking the movement, observant as ever. Now he’s a little embarrassed.
Nicholas considers lying. “Everything fucking hurts,” he whines. He didn’t mean to.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Kei soothes, settling for adjusting Nicholas’ comforter. “You’ll be out soon.”
“I hope so,” Nicholas sniffs. “I really want tacos.”
Kei turns to Euijoo. “Is he allowed to have tacos?”
Euijoo cracks a smile for the first time since Nicholas had woken up. “I don’t know, I’m not a doctor,”
“Yet,” Kei adds.
“I’m a trainee pharmacist, Kei, I don’t know shit-” Euijoo laughs. Maybe Kei being here was good after all, in hindsight, because it seems to lift Euijoo’s spirits.
“If there’s a drug you can prescribe to this young man to stop him from doing dangerous activities-”
“I’m afraid there’s no drug for that specific type of condition,” At that very fortunate moment, the blinds to his cubicle draw apart - the doctor sticks his head in, startling both Kei and Euijoo.
“Sorry to intrude on your conversation.” The doctor pushes up his horn-rimmed glasses, “I’m here to deliver Mr Wang’s diagnosis. Are any of you spouse or family? If not, I might have to ask you to leave momentarily, for confidentiality reasons.”
“Oh,” Euijoo’s eyes widen, bowing slightly. He gestures at Kei. “That would be him.”
“Mr Koga Yudai, correct?” The doctor glances down on his clipboard.
Kei flusters, but regains composure after a split second, clearing his throat. “Yes, that would be correct, sir.”
Euijoo takes that as his cue to leave the room, but Nicholas knows he’s still standing somewhere close enough to hear their conversation.
“Fractured wrist,” The doctor announces solemnly.
“Oh,” Kei winces.
“Oh,” Nicholas echoes.
“Luckily enough for you, we can proceed with a non-surgical treatment option. We’re going to put you in a cast. 6-8 weeks, young man. And no silly business. Please. I’ve seen what silly business does to people healing from injuries.” He looks between the two of them warily.
“Yes, sir,” Nicholas nods his head in place of a bow, brain too foggy to even consider the implications.
“Will he have any dietary restrictions during this period?” Kei asks, concerned.
The doctor shakes his head. “There won’t be any. I’ll prescribe you some medication to manage pain and swelling, which you can pick up once you’re discharged tomorrow.” He explains some more, and Nicholas watches as Kei dutifully notes them down, brows stitched together.
“Alright then. In case the nurse hasn’t mentioned earlier, visitation hours for guests are until 8pm tonight. Spouses can stay overnight, as per your need.”
“Okay, thank you,” Kei gives the doctor a slight bow before he turns to leave.
As soon as the curtains are drawn again, Kei lets out a long sigh.
“Hyung, you can go home,”
Kei only shakes his head. “You must be hungry. I’ll go update Euijoo, then get you some food.”
“You don’t have to, hyung,” Nicholas tries again, attempting to dissuade Kei. “I can order dinner from the cafeteria.”
Kei makes a face. “But they don’t have tacos!”
Nicholas laughs at Kei’s determination, realising that Kei’s mind has been all made up. “I guess so.”
Sure enough, Kei does come back later - with enough tacos to feed a whole town. He pulls in an orange plastic chair, laying an entire spread of tacos on Nicholas’ bedside table.
Nicholas decides not to comment on it when Kei comes back after throwing out the trash and stays past the visitation hours. Are you not heading home yet? Nicholas wants to ask, but the words get stuck in his throat. Maybe he is a little selfish for wanting Kei to stay for longer. Kei doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving, either, so Nicholas doesn't speak either.
He also doesn’t comment when he wakes up bright and early, and Kei is still there, nodding off in a position that cannot be comfortable. It makes Nicholas’ heart clench, and he so badly wants to reach over, but he’s stuck in this stupid bed.
It makes his heart hurt just a little more when Kei opens the blinds with a cheer in his step, acting like he isn’t exhausted at all when the doctor makes his rounds later in the morning to discharge Nicholas.
“Hey,” Kei chirps at him, bright and easy. “Ready to go home?”
“Yeah,” Nicholas really tries his best to smile back. “Thanks for being here.”
Kei just smiles at him, gaze warm.
Luckily, the pharmacy is right around the corner of the hospital - which means Kei didn’t have to make sure an injured man wouldn’t trip and fall over himself for any longer than 5 minutes.
The lady over the counter takes a look at Nicholas’ prescription, then up at his arm, letting out an audible Oh! of dismay before scurrying into the stock room again.
When she returns, she slides over an assortment of different pills. Nicholas nods along, but he knows Kei is absorbing everything in his head.
“Oh, honey. You’ll be good in no time,” She says when she packs everything up in a bag for Nicholas to take home. She looks up at Kei, observing him through her glasses.
“And this gentleman over here, you’ll take care of him right? And making sure he takes his medications?” Nicholas watches Kei visibly gulp - before nodding fervently.
“Yes, ma’am,” He salutes her. “I will be doing just that.”
As a man of his word, Kei drops Nicholas off back at home.
Nicholas thinks there’s absolutely no need for Kei to send him all the way to the entrance of his flat, but Kei had insisted. What’s going to happen if you trip and fall over your own doormat? Who’s going to call the ambulance for you again?
Nicholas had argued that he would be extra careful now, with his arm bundled up in a cast. Kei argues that he should be taking extra precaution. They agree to disagree, but here Nicholas is, reluctant to see Kei off.
“Well, I guess I’m off,” Kei hands over Nicholas’ bag of medications. Kei lingers at the doorway for longer than necessary, and Nicholas doesn't make a move to step further into his apartment. He knows it's selfish to ask him to stay for a little while more, after everything - Kei needs the rest more than him.
“Thank you for everything,” Nicholas tries to convey his sincerity to the best of his ability. “Honey.”
Kei cracks a wry little smile, a silly one - Nicholas knows this as the I think this is funny but I am also kind of embarrassed smile. Which is all Nicholas had wanted to see. It brings him a certain unmatched satisfaction.
“Anything for you, honey,” Kei says back, with a little curtsy. And an exaggerated wink for good measure. And somewhere between that, Nicholas knows he truly means it all.
Kei follows him to the next checkup, and the one after that.
Kei had insisted that Nicholas leave his ringer on ever since the incident, because what if something happens and he’s unreachable? Euijoo expresses his awe in Kei successfully convincing Nicholas to do the one thing he’s been trying to get Nicholas to do for years.
The phone rings, and Nicholas picks up on the first ring. He leaves it on speaker as he walks over to put his mug into the sink.
“Hi, honey,” Kei says through the phone. “Is your appointment later this afternoon?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Okay. I’ll drive by.”
Nicholas tries not to let the domesticity get to him, bracing himself for the day his wrist fully heals and Kei stops calling him this often.
It’s hard, though, when he gets into Kei’s car, and he’s trying so hard not to take the hand Kei rests over the console.
Nicholas looks away instead. He’s never been the type of guy to be able to keep affection at arms length.
It’s no surprise to Nicholas that Kei has fitted himself so seamlessly into the everyday rhythms of Nicholas’ life, but the days pass by so fast without him even realising it.
“You see Kei hyung more than you see me now,” Euijoo mentions casually one day while he’s peeling a tangerine.
“No I don’t,” Nicholas quips back instantly - barely a reflection of his own thoughts. He just likes fighting Euijoo. “Where did you get that from?”
“My calendar,” Euijoo says matter-of-factly. Nicholas rolls his eyes, kicking Euijoo’s shin lightly with the tip of his toes. Euijoo shoves him back. “I mean, as you should though. He’s your husband. And you look happier.”
Nicholas touches his own face instinctively, as if he could find joy etched within the lines of his face, the creases of his smile. “Really?”
Euijoo nods, affirmative. “Really. You’re looking better than you have in a while.”
Nicholas pops a Cheeto into his mouth, contemplative. “I guess that’s what marriage does to people,”
“You’ve been hanging out a lot, haven’t you?”
Nicholas wonders what Kei tells Euijoo, curious now. Euijoo is right, though.
“Does Kei hyung tell you about me?”
“Oh, yeah. Like how he takes you to appointments, and I overheard him calling you honey-”
Nicholas slams a hand over Euijoo’s mouth before he can continue. “Okay, enough, that was a joke-”
Euijoo, apparently, finds this very amusing. He licks Nicholas’ hand. The freak. “Sure. Do you have time for your best friend tonight?”
Nicholas fully removes his hand from Euijoo’s mouth and stares.
“You? are asking me? On a dinner date?” Nicholas is so giddy. Maybe getting married to another man is the key to having Euijoo actually agree to leave the house for Nicholas, much less plan an entire outing.
Euijoo looks away. “God forbid I want to hang out with you,”
“I’ll clear the rest of my day for you. But I need to drop something off at Kei’s house first, though, if you don’t mind,” Nicholas says, sheepish.
Euijoo turns around, eyes full of mischief.
“Of course, husband duties come first. Just let me know whenever you’re free.”
That night, he receives an email he would have been thrilled to receive a couple of months ago.
Congratulations. We’re excited to inform you that you’ve been accepted… we would love to have you on board!
He thinks about Euijoo spilling his drink all over himself earlier. He thinks about Yuma, and how he will probably have to make a significantly smaller portion of curry if Nicholas is gone. He thinks about the rest of his friends, and-
Kei. It kind of devastates him to think about a life where he’s not neighbours with Kei anymore. The idea of them growing distant just as quickly as they’ve gotten close over the past several months has been plaguing Nicholas a lot recently, without any promise of a career here.
Nicholas just stares blankly at it. He doesn’t feel much for it, anymore. He archives it, and opens up the email inviting him for a final interview round at a local firm instead.
Life moves on - Nicholas finds that the days sludge by slowly, like molasses, when you’re kind of immobile and can’t do much with your arm. The second the cast comes off, Nicholas runs ten laps around his block. He wants to feel useful again, especially when everyone around has been trying to get him to sit still for the past 8 weeks.
— Taki’s making costumes for his theatre club LMAO [image attached]
— I think he’s still missing some parts though
Nicholas immediately gets up from his bed - going through the materials he has stocked up in his working space. It feels nice to partake in meaningful life activities again, and to feel needed.
He debates texting Kei, but Kei would definitely tell him to sit down and rest if he knew. So he plans on showing up unannounced. He’s relieved that they’ve grown past the need for excuses to see each other.
Nicholas takes the long way to Kei’s house - it’s been a long while since he’s walked this far. When he arrives at Kei’s front door, he wants to just barge in, but he doesn’t - because he has manners. So he presses the doorbell like a normal person instead.
Taki feigns shock when he opens the door, like he’s meeting an unknown visitor - though he’s seen Nicholas more times than he can even count on one hand. Nicholas has seen Taki since he was a baby, from when Kei would bring him over to Euijoo and Yuma’s occasionally whenever his parents weren’t free to look after him.
“Oh, wow. Who do we have here? My brother was right. You are handsome,” Taki claps his hands together. He turns back to look behind him- “Onii-chan! Your boyfriend is here!”
Little shit, Nicholas wants to tackle Taki right then and there out of fondness. Taki must have sensed something, like the way he and Kei have gotten way closer over the past few months. Way past the point of casual friends who share a friend group.
“Oh, is that so?” Nicholas laughs, playing along. “What did your brother say about me?”
Taki ignores him, stepping closer to peer into Nicholas’ bag, stacked with materials.
“Is that for me?”
“Yeah,” Nicholas grins at Taki’s excitement. “Your brother said you’re making stuff for your project, so I figured this might help,”
“Holy shit,” Taki exclaims. “You’re literally the best ever!”
“Taki, stop yelling-” Kei shoots daggers at his brother as he comes through the corridor - only for his expression to soften immediately upon seeing Nicholas. “Oh, honey, I didn’t know you were coming over,” He says, and Nicholas wants to jump out of skin a little when he sees Taki watching them like a hawk. There is something so intimidating about getting stared down by… your husband’s teenage brother. “I’m just about to head out, but you can stay here,”
“Sorry I didn’t text,” Nicholas apologises sheepishly. “I just brought materials over for Taki’s project.”
Kei’s eyes widen, then he looks at Taki. “Oh, wow. Did you say thank you?”
Taki rolls his eyes. “No. I didn’t. I told Nicholas hyung I hate his guts.”
Kei sighs, moving past Taki to touch Nicholas’ arm gently, running his fingers along where his cast used to be. “How’s your wrist?”
“Freedom feels sweet,” Nicholas says, and maybe he’s making a fool of himself for thinking this, but it almost looks like Kei is holding his gaze for a moment longer than usual. Nicholas smiles back, applauding himself for not being a fool when he catches Kei’s gaze drift to his lips for an ever-so-brief moment. It had definitely been there, though, Nicholas is certain of it.
“Good,” Kei breathes out when he finally looks away. He turns to Taki again. “Be good, okay?”
And when Kei finally opens the door to leave, Nicholas sticks around the doorway a little longer.
Taki brings Nicholas over to the coffee table - where various parts of his project are sprawled across the living room floor. Kei must love Taki so much to allow him to throw his shit everywhere and not get an aneurysm from it.
Taki explains to Nicholas the different costumes he’s helping his theatre club to make, and how he’s probably going to end up using a bunch of fabric samples Nicholas brought over. Taki is a cool kid - way cooler than Nicholas ever was at that age. Nicholas tries to give meaningful comments, and Taki nods along.
After deciding that Nicholas was cool enough, Taki ordains him as his assistant.
“Here,” Taki says innocently. “You’re good with a sewing machine, right?”
“I kind of have to be,” Nicholas laughs.
“Great!” Taki proceeds to dumps a bunch of fabric cutouts for Nicholas to work on.
It kind of feels like he’s back in fashion school again. They work alongside each other, with occasional chatter - it’s fun, and funnily enough, it serves as a good reminder to Nicholas as to why he even fell in love with his work in the first place. Why he’s even trying so hard to stay in Japan.
“Hey, dude,” Taki looks up suddenly, setting down his pair of scissors.
“Mm-hmm?” Nicholas blinks out of his reverie.
“You’re like, actually serious about my brother right?”
Fuck. This smartass kid has it all figured out, and who is he to say no? He at least owes it to himself to be able to admit this out loud.
“Of course,” it comes out easily, and it doesn’t feel like a lie even in the slightest bit. “Why?”
Taki looks relieved, satisfied with his answer.
“No, nothing. That’s good. It’s just that, my brother has been hurt before, in the past.”
Nicholas knew of it vaguely, from stories shared around the group. But nothing too in-depth.
He nods, and Taki continues. “That’s why my brother doesn’t really do the whole dating thing anymore. So I was surprised when he started seeing you, you know? But I know you’re both Euijoo hyung’s friends, and his friends are all good people. So I’m not worried,”
“I’ll treat him right, I promise,” And Nicholas really, truly means it. Taki claps him on the back. He’s a good kid, with an even better heart.
“Good,” Taki beams at him, like he’s passed some kind of test. “Could you pass me the glue gun, by the way?”
Nicholas hands it to him, still reeling over the conversation.
Nicholas doesn’t get up to leave once Taki eventually leaves the room, so Kei takes that as a cue to join him on the floor when he returns home, settling down on the other side of the coffee table.
“Hey,” Nicholas smiles up at him. He must be smiling so hard, because Kei toes at him with socked feet before sitting down, bashful. Nicholas wants to reach up to take his hand so badly.
“How was your craft session?” Kei asks when he adjusts his seating position to a more comfortable one.
“Great, very productive,” Nicholas says. “We talked shit about you.”
Kei shoots him a deadpan look, slapping his ankle. “No, seriously. What did you guys talk about?”
Nothing, it’s a secret, Nicholas almost instinctively bites back, because he loves teasing Kei.
But it goes a little something like this instead - his mind wanders elsewhere, and he debates for a bit whether he should say anything about their conversation. It’s always been at the edge of his mind, at the forefront of his thoughts whenever Kei looks at him with a little more affection than he can handle.
“Okay, well,” Nicholas picks at a stray piece of string on the carpet. “He asked if I’m serious about you.”
Kei’s eyes blow wide, caught completely off guard by that. “What? Oh. Please forgive him. He’s always running his mouth.”
Nicholas laughs, just to conceal how hard his heart is threatening to leap out of his ribcage. “Hey, relax. We’re legally married. I really don’t mind if your brother thinks we’re dating. Unless you do,” Nicholas jokes. God. He would probably go jump into traffic if Kei went yeah, actually, I do mind.
Kei pinches the area between his brows, clearly bemused, but he still lets out a long-suffering sigh. Nicholas recognises this expression all too well from how often his sister does it to him. “No, it’s not that. Of course I don’t mind. What did you say, though?”
“I said of course I am,” It’s scary, because it had come so naturally to Nicholas that he hadn’t even paused to think at all before replying Taki.
It’s Kei’s turn to grin at him, playful. “Are you really?”
Nicholas thinks he knows what this is all about. But Kei doesn’t look at him with a single ounce of expectation at all, looking at peace.
Kei looks so comfortable, feet poking into Nicholas’ crossed legs - he doesn’t even look nervous at all. Maybe Nicholas is the only one who’s nervous here. Maybe he’s been getting the signs all wrong to begin with, misinterpreting every one of Kei’s gracious gestures as something more.
“Hyung,” Nicholas starts, suddenly a little stressed over the possibility of Kei taking this entire thing as a joke. He can’t take this anymore. It’s either this, or he runs another ten laps around Kei’s apartment building to kill off the nerves. “I’m serious about you. Really.”
Kei’s expression shifts, something softer, tentative. “I need you to really mean it, Nicholas.”
“I mean it,” Nicholas insists, earnest. Kei looks at him like he can’t hide his hopefulness, and Nicholas wants to prove it to him. “I didn’t tell you yet, but I turned down the offer from back home. I’m going to accept the one in Tokyo.”
“Nichol,” Kei starts. That seems to do it for Kei, because he frowns, overcome with emotion. "Come here.”
Nicholas shifts over, and Kei reaches over to pull him closer. Kei holds him so tightly, like Nicholas is his tether to the world. Nicholas buries himself in Kei’s chest, and must have forgotten how to breathe - but somehow when he looks up, Kei looks more breathless than he does, teary-eyed. Nicholas instinctively reaches for the tissue box on the coffee table, dabbing away at Kei’s eyes.
“Your eyes are going to look so bloated tomorrow,” Nicholas teases.
“I don’t care,” Kei sniffs defiantly. He stares at Nicholas’ face openly now, like he’s trying to memorise every detail. “What about Yunho?”
Now it’s Nicholas’ turn to stare at Kei, dumbfounded. “What about Yunho? Kei, he has a boyfriend,”
“No, I know,” Kei laughs. “Sorry. I meant - how long do you have left on the lease?”
Typical Kei, Nicholas thinks, but he can’t deny that the implications of Kei’s question does something to him.
“Hyung, stop thinking,” Nicholas doesn’t even care if it sounds like he’s whining. “Please say you like me back. Unless you don’t, of course-”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry it took so long for me to say this. I like you, so much,” and Kei says it so easily that Nicholas can only resort to hitting him lightly in the chest, for making his heart race. “In case you haven’t already noticed.”
“Really?” Nicholas can’t help but ask. “Like, really?”
“Yes, really,” Kei confirms, holding out his arms wide. Nicholas hopes that in Kei’s head, he’s stretching his arms out wider than the sky. “This much. More than this, even,”
He holds Nicholas’ face in his hands, careful.
“I’m serious about you too, Nicholas,” He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. "You make me feel hopeful about the future.”
You were the one who made this future possible, Nicholas’ chest clenches, and before he even gets a chance to respond, Kei leans in to press a kiss to Nicholas’ forehead, content. Nicholas doesn’t even realise Kei had started welling up again, until he feels a damp spot on his forehead. It makes Nicholas laugh; something tangible and real.
It feels like a bunch of fireworks is being set off in his chest. Kei squeezes him, nuzzling into his temple, his favourite way of showing his often-overflowing affection towards Nicholas. Nicholas wants to stay there forever.
“I’m not upset,” Kei reassures through sniffles. “I promise.”
“I know,” And of course Nicholas knows - he dabs away Kei’s tears with the edge of his palm. Let’s be together for a long time.
And for the first time in a while, Nicholas feels like the universe has given him a promise about the future.
— epliogue.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Kei mumbles miserably.
He looks so funny bundled up like this, with a helmet clearly too big for his head. Nicholas checks that the straps underneath Kei’s chin are tight enough.
“I gave you an out yesterday, didn’t I?” Nicholas tugs at them again for good measure. “I can take the helmet off right now.”
“No, I’ll commit,” Kei sighs. “I won’t die, right?”
“Well, I didn’t, so…”
“Nichol,” Kei squeezes his eyes shut, shoving at Nicholas’ chest lightly. “Just drive slowly. Like really slow. Okay?”
“Okay,” Nicholas promises, endeared. “You definitely would rather me take you around on a bike than a car, though.”
“Oh, that’s true,” Kei doesn’t even miss a beat. Though if he were Kei, he wasn’t sure if he would have agreed to hop on a motorcycle either, given that Kei had literally seen him end up in a hospital ward after a motorcycle accident. Nicholas swears up and down that he had just been really fatigued that day, and he had admittedly driven under unsafe conditions. He’s ridden a motorcycle every single day of his life, to and from work, for the past few years without any accidents.
Nicholas pats the side of Kei’s helmet, leaning in to kiss his cheek. For good luck. “Ready?”
Kei nods at that, looking significantly less afraid. “More than ever.”
Nicholas wishes he could say it’s romantic driving your husband around on your motorcycle, but Kei’s arms are wound so tightly around his waist that he has to reach behind to pat his knee when they wait for the lights to turn green.
Kei doesn’t say a single word the entire time, which is how Nicholas knows he’s jittery and anxious, but doesn’t want to stress Nicholas out.
Thankfully, Kei relaxes when they leave the main roads, going down the coastal route. Perhaps it’s the sea breeze that eases some of his nerves, because his death grip on Nicholas loosens up.
“We’re not far away,” Nicholas yells over the wind. He can feel Kei nod from the way he has his chin hooked against Nicholas’ shoulder.
Nicholas ends up parking his bike at a viewpoint.
“I like this,” Kei says, turning to Nicholas with a smile. Birds fly over the horizon far in the distance, and the mundanity of it seems to bring Kei peace. And Nicholas is glad he can enjoy it, because this is one of his favourite things about driving along the coast. The oceans feel vast and endless, and it’s somewhat comforting to know that he’s just a small, small, tiny dot no bigger than a piece of dust in this cosmos.
“Yeah?” Nicholas smiles back. He reaches into his pockets to feel around for a familiar texture, relieved that it’s still there.
“I have something for you,” Nicholas fishes it out, depositing it into Kei’s hands.
Kei gives him a little look, feeling the velvet in his hands.
He opens the bag, letting out a small gasp of surprise when he peers further in. “Nicholas, is that-”
“Look, I know it looks kind of dumb, but I couldn’t not buy it-”
Kei laughs, delighted, throwing his entire body weight on Nicholas, smothering him. “Nichol, but we’re already married!”
“Hyung,” Nicholas wheezes, wriggling around in Kei’s grip just to be annoying.
When Kei releases him, he still tugs Nicholas close, holding the ring up to let it catch the light. It’s silly, but there’s an intricate engraving of a cow on the band, and Kei observes it like it’s the most precious thing in the world.
“Well… I guess we can get married twice?” Nicholas shrugs, which makes Kei laugh even harder.
“I definitely cannot refuse now that you’re proposing to me with a cow ring,”
“That is not the proposal ring,” Nicholas groans. “This can be, like, the pre-second marriage ring,” Nicholas is just making things up at this point, but Kei seems to enjoy it, convinced.
“Okay, then. What do people say when they get their marriages officiated? Are we coming together to join in holy macaroni? Something like that?”
“In holy matrimony,” Nicholas bursts out laughing. “I can’t believe I know this word in Japanese.”
“Whatever you say, beautiful,” Kei waves a hand in dismissal. He lets Nicholas slip the ring onto his finger, before stretching his hand out between them to admire it once more. He lifts Nicholas up, twirling him around in a way that could be romantic at first, before spinning him so hard that Nicholas starts yelling in protest. Nicholas should have seen this coming.
When he sets Nicholas down, he pulls him close to kiss him properly in apology.
“Thank you, Nicholas. This is the best gift ever,” Kei breaks apart to say. He runs a thumb across a particular spot on Nicholas’ bottom lip that’s chapped, slightly concerned, before kissing the same spot again. Nicholas smiles so hard that his cheeks hurt, and he must be making it hard for Kei to kiss him properly - but Kei doesn’t seem to mind at all.
They end up walking down a boardwalk, one that oversees the beach - watching the waves crash against the rocks on the shore. The wind starts picking up, and Kei turns to Nicholas to laugh at how the wind is both kind of slapping them both in the face - but Nicholas wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kei pulls him along, pointing out a strangely-shaped island in the distance. He wonders out loud if people live there, or are there just animals?
I don't know, Nicholas says. Upon closer inspection, it's not just one singular island - it wraps around a smaller, tinier island that can easily be missed. Don't you think that kind of looks like us?
Kei hums in response, tucking their joint hands into the pocket of his jacket. I think so. The bigger one is kind of bald and patchy, though, so I don't know about that.
Nicholas makes a joke about male pattern baldness. Kei groans, but laughs anyway, tugging him along to another viewing deck further down the trail. He thinks he would enjoy growing old with Kei, even when they become bald and old one day.
Nicholas lags behind a little to snap a photo, of their joint hands, of the ring glistening under the sun - and sends it to his sister.
— ?????
— Are you hard launching MARRIAGE??
— [One missed call at 5:37pm.]
— Nicholas what’s happening. PICK UP
Haha yeah, Nicholas types back.
He watches Kei, against the backdrop of the sky and the sea. The universe does have its ways of being gracious to him sometimes. He feels the spray of salt on his face, the last remains of daylight lingering on his skin like a warm embrace. Perhaps all he had to do was wait for nature to take its course.
It’s a long story.