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弱肉強食 » THE WEAK ARE MEAT; THE STRONG EAT

Overthrowing a corrupt organization is no easy task, especially when it has the audacity to spread out across the world. The sentinels went out after the scattered pieces of the sun bomb, and that means fighting their way through the hunters protecting it; contrary to what Harvestman might think, their intention isn't simply to slaughter whatever mortals stand in their way.

Just because it works out like that, doesn't make it their fault. Clearly.

Necessity for stealth, and the fact that the sentinels don't really answer to any Master means that no one has much idea of where they are or what they're doing, for several days and nights. It's closing out a full week of radio silence before anyone receives word, and when that happens, it's because half of the sentinels came back.

Arashi is feeling a strange bond with Harvestman at this moment that he can honestly say he's never anticipated: the haven't-bathed-in-days, clothes-held-on-by-willpower kind of bond. His hair is a mess and his makeup is smudged and faded and he's covered in dried bloodstains, but his eyes and skin are bright from healthy feeding, and he can barely stand the thought of getting through even a short debriefing before he can get home, to a bath and his bed and Harvestman, not necessarily in that exact order.

The headquarters of the American coven has relocated fully to the subterranean labyrinth underneath New York for the time being, while they continue to scout for a safe location above ground. When Nicholas hears that Arashi is back, for as long as it takes to give him the appropriate heads up, he instructs someone to find Harvestman and let him know. Arashi beats him to that. The second his phone is returned to him (goddamn Kaleo taking no chances), he sends a characteristically succinct text.

Meet in control room so we can go the fuck home.

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"Hmm." Arashi pauses again, this time to slide his arms around Harvestman's waist from behind and lean his chin on the vampire's shoulder. "I care about rinsing you off and taking some O positive out onto the porch. There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight."

He kisses Harvestman's neck and then guides him further under the water to rinse his hair out.

"I also care about the reason why I came back to find you looking like I'd left you here to die." Arashi leans sideways a bit, to catch Harvestman's eye. "Just saying."

Hendoesnt answer that immediately, letting the shower water run over his skin as if it could wash his emotions away.

"Its not you," he says softly. "Though I don't take well to staying behind while you could be off getting yourself killed. I know you have to do it, I know."

He turns to face Arashi, catching a few wet strands of the other vampire's hair to push back. "I'd rather not talk about it 'til we get settled. Alright?"

It was the most he'd said all night.

Arashi looks at him without answering for a few moments more, searching for more information than Harvestman is immediately offering, but he doesn't press. Instead, he finishes rinsing out Harvestman's hair, and positions himself under the spray once more, just to be sure that everything is washed away.

When they emerge from the shower, Arashi fluffs his hair with a towel and then drapes it around his shoulders, taking more time and care with rubbing Harvestman down, as if he might possibly catch cold. Then he goes to his closet as he always does, but this time he only bothers to slip into a Japanese silk robe, black and stitched with a prowling white tiger. This he ties around himself before pulling out another, white instead of black, which he tugs around Harvestman before the other vampire can protest.

"I always thought you look good in white."

Harvestman inspects his digs with a clear look of amusement, clearly struggling with which smart remark to say first. "You know, I was thinking of getting around to trying on one of these things."

He grabs the comforter from the bed on the way out to the porch, because fuck it, why not. "You sure about the white, though? Its kinda... Misleading."

One eyebrow arches at him, almost daring him to start being a smartass about Arashi's eclectic wardrobe choices, even as he wraps the silk around Harvestman's waist and loops the belt in turn. He detours to the kitchen with Harvestman in tow to retrieve the bottles, knowing exactly which ones in the private store he wants to splurge on tonight.

"Misleading?" It's either very late or very early, but it's night nonetheless, with the moon casting eerie light across the mountains and the stars overwhelming. "Do you think if I look too long at you wearing that, I'll forget who you are?"

"White is for virgins," he retorts. It doesn't take much to get settled - spreading the blanket out and ensuring he was in as much of Arashi's personal space as possible. It would be easy to stay like that, quiet and comforted as Arashi, pours out the blood, watching the silent skies until the sun threatened to chase them back inside.

"My... Double has agreed to leave the coven alone," he starts, slow and almost two casual. "Not that he's got much of a choice, but that makes Nicholas happier. I guess. He's hard to read."

He stops, tucking his arms around his legs. The movement shifts him noticeably away from the akin contact he prefers to keep with Arashi. "You're gonna hear this eventually, so I'd rather it be from me. Sugihara's... Lily. She has cancer. He wants her turned. That's - that's his price."

It was hard to gauge how he felt. His tone was mostly steady, but his eyes never met the other vampire's, and his posture became more hunched and defensive as he spoke. "He wants her to become a vampire."

Arashi lounges back on the scattered cushions, relaxing more quickly than he thought he'd be able to manage. Being home is a relief, being near Harvestman again is a relief. When that relief moves away and starts to curl up into a safety ball, however, Arashi sits up attentively.

If he'd been drinking when Harvestman said that, he probably would not have been quick enough to avoid choking. Arashi stares at Harvestman, eyes wide even if Harvestman won't meet them, silently asking twenty different questions before he finally decides on one.

"....how does she feel about that?"

"Disbelieving, but she'll take it. That's the kind of person she is."

Whatever that meant, he wasn't going to dwell on it. Instead his voice gets more hesitant, his balled form gets tighter. "I had a... Meltdown, kinda, when I heard. I told Ellis I'd kill her first, I - I didn't mean it, I was just locked up in my head and couldn't fucking get out, but..."

His voice grows tight. "I went with Nicholas and his daughter when the made the offer. She... She asked me if she should take it."

"Jesus."

Immediately, Arashi's hand slides across the hunch of Harvestman's back and clutches at him, pulling him back in close, close enough for Arashi to press his head against Harvestman's and leaves it there.

"John, that sounds fucking brutal. I'm so sorry. What was it even like, seeing her?"

"She was sick. She was so sick and she touched me, I could feel it in her blood." He was shaking now, curling into Arashi's embrace, his voice shaking. "And I still couldn't say yes. I couldn't tell her to take it. I knew - I know - it's different for you, it's better, I just couldn't... I don't know why, Arashi. I just don't know why."

"Hey, you know what you know. You don't need to justify it to me," Arashi says, as his hand strokes Harvestman's side, as the other slips into his tightly curled limbs to find his fingers and squeeze them. "You said she'll take it, either way. What do you think of that?"

"Yes, yes I do." He shifts to face Arashi, curling his hand in return in a tight grip. "I've made you - and everyone - think I have something against what you are. I don't, it's all internalized shit. But with Lily, I don't know if it's internalized garbage, or if I just don't want her to live when my wife died."

He stops, looking strickened. "I'm sorry. I asked you to marry a fucking wreck."

"And I said yes, didn't I?"

He leans forward and nuzzles Harvestman's cheek, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Listen," he says, his voice struggling slightly, as if the words are becoming heavier. "If it was me, if it was -- I'd be worse. I know I would, but how could I not? How could you not?" He looks at Harvestman carefully. "There's no way to be prepared for stuff like this."

"I'm only able to do it because I got you." He presses his forehead to Arashi's, eyes closed, and nuzzles him back softly. "I'm only able to do any of this 'cause I got you. You mean everything to me."

He shifts back to look Arashi in the eyes. "I don't know how I'll be in the next few months. She'll... Be around. I know she will. But with you there, I'll be okay."

Arashi snorts fondly, ducking his head. "Give yourself more credit. But I'm not going anywhere."

Sliding his arm around Harvestman's shoulders, he tugs the other vampire in close and rests his cheek against the top of Harvestman's head, silent, just thinking. A few meteors streak overhead, but he doesn't immediately take notice.

"So... you talked to her. What did you tell her about who you are?"

"Nothing," he says, after a moment. "But she'll figure it out. She's not likely to let it go."

"Mmm." Arashi toys with Harvestman's hair again, to idly comfort both of them. "Well, that should be fun for us."

He looks up at the sky in time to catch another meteor, followed shortly by another. "Can't wait to meet her."

Arashi might miss the somewhat incredulous look Harvestman makes to both statements, but in a moment it's gone, and he's leaning back to watch the crashing starsa.

"You know, I didn't exactly ask if you would marry me. I asked if you wanted to get married."

There is a brief silence as Arashi mentally backtracks to the conversation in question. Then he blinks, and arches an eyebrow sideways at Harvestman. "Uh, all right... Should I have been more specific about who I wanted to get married to, when I said yes?"

"No," he says. "Just pointing it out. I've asked a lot. To date, to move in. Maybe you should be the one to properly propose."

He's smiling and his tone was teasing, but there was something about the very slight way his voice caught on the word 'propose' that might say otherwise.

"Hmmm." Arashi hums the sound almost dismissively, but his fingers are shifting a bit sluggishly on Harvestman's skin, and eventually he shifts a bit, as if he's going to move.

"Okay then, give me the ring. Now I have to hold it hostage until you say yes."

"You already gave it to me," he points out, but the look of genuine delight keeps flickering across his face as he struggles to keep it straight. The ring he removes slowly, and with clear reluctance, placing it in Arashi's hand as if it was as fragile as glass.

Arashi takes the ring just as carefully, and this time he does move, to put himself in front of Harvestman, on one knee. He makes a show of positioning himself just right, fixing his damp hair, smoothing down the front of his robe, before he meets Harvestman's eyes again, and it's difficult to keep the smile off his lips.

"John Sugihara," he says, very deliberate, "Two years ago, I told you that I wasn't gonna be just another fuck to you. Obviously I was right. We... have fucked, a lot, and fought, also a lot, and cried more than I care to admit and laughed more than I thought I remembered how. We hate the same people and mock the same things, and you just... you fucking light me up inside."

It stopped being a joke, somewhere along the way. There is an earnestness in Arashi's eyes now, bright in the blackness. "I know you don't believe in eternity, and honestly... neither do I, not really. But what I know, what I know is that I haven't had this much fun in three hundred years. I want to chase that feeling with you, for as long as we get."

Arashi holds up the ring, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. "I hope you want this back, John, because no one else can have it. Will you marry me?"

Harvestman had wanted this more than he could ever admit, even to himself. But now that the words have been said, his own are locked in place. For one of the rare times of his life, he's speechless. He's barely surprised when his eyes well up and the tears slide down, nearly laughing.

"I love you," he manages to say, wrapping his arms tight around Arashi's neck. "Yes."

Anything that came after that was going to have to wait until he was done kissing the other vampire. It was going to be a long wait.

The kiss is a bit lopsided at first, because Arashi can't figure out how to stop smiling. His arms go around Harvestman in return and kisses him passionately, wholeheartedly, one hand carding through his hair, and they only break apart long enough for Arashi to take Harvestman's hand and slip the ring back onto his finger, where it belongs. Those little trailing tears are brushed away.

"I love you," he says right back, the last syllable nearly lost in Harvestman's mouth as he picks the kiss up where they left off. The blood is forgotten, the stars forgotten. There isn't a damn thing in the world more important right now than this.

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