The final boss had maybe thirty seconds left on its health bar.
Sekai's thumbs moved without thinking, combo chaining through the last phase. It was eleven-forty at night. His work schedule was finished and he was unwinding peacefully through gaming session.
That was when his phone buzzed against the cushion.
Sato Taiki.
He let it ring three more seconds before picking up.
"What is it?"
The bar noise immediately hit him—glasses clinking, overlapping voices, the dull thump of background music. Then Taiki's voice came through, softer than usual and slurry.
"Sekai-san... I want to see you."
Sekai pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it. He put it back.
"What the hell? We spent the entire day working together."
"Mm. I want to go home. Sekai-san, I want to gooo hooommeee…"
"Did you actually drink that much?" Sekai complained. "Call Sawanatsu or someone."
"But I want Sekai-saaaaaan…" Taiki sobbed.
Sekai's thumb immediately hovered over the end call button. He didn't tap it.
I want Sekai-san.
He sat with that for one second before filing it under drunk nonsense.
"… Which bar?"
"Nakame—the one near... you know, the second exit."
"Nakame Bar?"
"Mmm..."
Sekai dropped his phone onto the cushion and looked at the ceiling. On the TV screen, the boss had fully regenerated. He'd have to redo the whole phase.
"Don't move," he said, picking the phone back up. "Don't talk to strangers. Don't order anything else."
"Sekai-sa—"
He hung up.
The hoodie nearest to him was a grey one with a faded Evangelion print across the chest. He pulled it over his head, grabbed his cap off the hook by the door and patted his pocket for his wallet and keys.
It wasn't even that far, he reasoned, locking the door behind him. Twenty minutes on a good night. And drunk Taiki had the self-preservation instincts of a golden retriever, which meant leaving him unattended in a bar at midnight was not an option.
He stepped into the elevator, jabbed the lobby button, and exhaled through his nose the entire way down.
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The noise hit him before he even pushed through the door.
Bars were kind of places Sekai avoided on principle—low ceilings trapping heat and sound, every conversation sounded so loud, the smell of alcohol and fried food layered thick. He stood at the entrance for a moment, letting his eyes adjust.
He found Taiki along with Yusei and Keito in the far corner booth. At least he wasn't alone.
All three heads turned at the same time as Sekai arrived ath the booth. Yusei blinked a few times rapidly while Keito's mouth dropped open.
Taiki stared at him with wide, glassy eyes.
"You really came," he said, flabbergasted.
Sekai scoffed as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, you called."
He scanned the booth without sitting down. Taiki's jacket was half-bunched under Yusei's elbow. His phone sat face-down near an empty glass. Wallet peeking out from between the cushions.
"Where's the rest of your stuff?" He picked up the jacket, shook it out. "You'd lose your own head."
"Sekai-saaan—"
"Don't Sekai-san me." He patted the jacket pockets, found Taiki's earphones and pocketed them. He then grabbed the phone and wallet. "You've got two functional people sitting next to you. Yusei could've taken you home. Keito lives ten minutes away." He shot a look at both of them. "Why the hell am I here?"
"He kept saying he wanted you." Keito offered this information with an enormous grin. "Like. A lot."
"I don't want to hear it." He turned back to Taiki. "And what was that on the phone—I want to see you? What are you, twelve?"
Taiki just stared at him in a daze.
"You're here though." Yusei chimed in while doing a fake-cough.
Sekai ignored Yusei as he held out his hand.
"Can you stand?"
Taiki grabbed his hand and made a sincere effort. His legs had other ideas though. He pitched forward immediately, and Sekai caught him by the waist before he could take out the table, pulling him upright and tucking him firmly against his side.
"Unbelievable," Sekai muttered, even as his arm tightened around him. Taiki leaned onto him entirely, boneless and warm.
He looked back at Yusei and Keito. "It's past midnight. Go home."
Both of them straightened immediately.
"Yes, Sekai-san," Yusei said.
"Sorry, Sekai-san," Keito added.
They looked at Taiki with matching expressions—Keito gave a little wave, Yusei smiled mysteriously.
Sekai didn't wait to see what else either of them did.
Getting Taiki into a taxi was a problem. He'd gone completely limp during the walk out, and folding him into the back seat was quite a chore. Sekai finally managed it and climbed in after him.
The driver glanced back.
"Where to?"
Sekai opened his mouth but nothing came out.
Wait, Taiki had mentioned moving. A few weeks ago, something offhand about boxes and a new kitchen, and Sekai had half-listened while doing something else.
Against his shoulder, Taiki exhaled slowly, already asleep.
Sekai sighed before gave his own address.
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Taiki was dead weight all the way up the lift.
Sekai half-carried him through the apartment door, kicking it shut behind them. He managed to get Taiki to the bedroom without knocking anything over, which he counted as a personal achievement.
He dumped Taiki onto the bed.
Taiki made a small sound and curled immediately onto his side, already reaching for the pillow.
"No you don't." Sekai grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "You're not sleeping in a fucking bar clothes."
He dug through his own wardrobe and pulled out an old shirt with anime printed on it, and a pair of grey sweatpants with a drawstring. Getting them onto Taiki was like dressing a large, uncooperative child. Taiki lifted his arms at the wrong moment and stuck his head through the collar sideways. Sekai fixed it without comment.
When it was done, he set Taiki's phone, wallet, and earphones on the bedside table, jacket folded over the chair. He also went to the kitchen for a glass of water, set that down too alongside a strip of hangover tablets from the medicine drawer. If Taiki woke up at three in the morning feeling like death, everything was right there.
He stood back and looked at the sofa outside his bedroom.
It was small. Good for an afternoon nap, not for an adult man to spend a full night on. He knew this from experience—he'd fallen asleep on it twice and spent both mornings with a stiff neck for three days.
They'd shared an apartment for two and a half years without incident. Sleeping on the same bed for a night wouldn't be a problem, right?
He switched the lamp off and slid under the covers. The apartment settled around him and felt Taiki's slow, even breathing next to him.
Sekai stared at the ceiling.
Then, at some point, he turned his head.
Taiki's face in sleep had none of the usual tension—no furrowed brow, no pressed lips from concentrating too hard on something. Just open and still. He looked young like this. Younger than thirty, younger than the version of him in the rehearsal room trying to remember choreography.
Sekai reached over without thinking and brushed his thumb along Taiki's cheek.
Taiki stirred. He blinked slowly at Sekai, registering.
"Oh." His voice came out thick and slow. "It's Sekai-san."
"Go back to sleep."
Taiki didn't. He stared with heavy-lidded eyes and started talking instead, the words soft and slightly slurred.
"Sekai-saaaan… is soooo dependable... like, you always have my back. I call and you just—come." He shifted against the pillow. "And you're so stroooong… and geniuuuus. I think you're the most genius person I know. I've always thought that. Since EXPG. Your dancing issssss..." he trailed off into something incoherent, then rallied. "I admire you so much. Like, sooooo muuuuuuuch."
Sekai laughed quietly and pinched Taiki's cheek.
"Tell me again tomorrow when you're sober," he leaned and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
Taiki's brow furrowed. His lips pushed out into a pout.
"Why my forehead?"
Before Sekai could form any answer at all, Taiki clumsily reached up to cup his face, and kissed him on the mouth.
It was quick and yet very warm.
Taiki's hand dropped and smiled dreamily. "That's more like it."
He then fell asleep almost immediately, leaving Sekai wide awake.
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The smell of coffee woke him.
Sekai blinked at the ceiling, disoriented for a moment before the events of last night reassembled in his head. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, padding to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
When he walked into the kitchen, Taiki was standing at the counter. He was still wearing Sekai's shirt, the hem of it falling nearly to mid-thigh, the sleeves swallowing his hands to the knuckle. His hair was shower-damp and pushed flat on one side.
The sight was unbelievable for Sekai. Taiki looked so adorab—ridiculous in his clothes. Ridiculous was the word.
Sekai leaned against the doorframe and said nothing.
"Oh! good morning Sekai-san," Taiki glanced over with a bright smile. "I made coffee and toast."
"Borrowed your shower too," Taiki added quickly as Sekai walked closer. "And the new toothbrush in the cabinet. Hope that's okay."
"Mm."
They stood there sipping coffee in silence. It felt, strangely, like a Tuesday morning from ten years ago.
"Umm." Taiki wrapped both hands around his mug. "Thank you for picking me up last night."
Sekai exhaled through his nose. "Do you know how important that game was? I was in the middle of a boss game. Final boss game."
"I'm sorry—"
"And then you called me, completely dead drunk, and I have to get dressed and go to Nakame in the middle of the night and carry you into a taxi like a sack of laundry—and I don't even know where you live—"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Taiki was already smiling in guilty. "I'll treat you to dinner. Anywhere you want."
"Two dinners."
"Fine, two."
"And the Kimetsu no Yaiba limited merchandise. The Rengoku figure. The one that sold out."
Taiki laughed. "Yes, yes. Whatever you want."
The conversation after that flowed like it always did—easy and familiar. Taiki sipped his coffee and laughed at something Sekai said. Everything felt completely normal.
Which meant Taiki remembered nothing.
Which was… fine. Whatever. Sekai could live with that. Probably better that way. He'd chalk the whole thing up to a fever dream and move on.
That was until they both reached for the same slice of toast and their fingers knocked together on the plate.
Taiki yanked his hand back like the bread had burned him. The back of his neck went red first, then his ears, then his whole face in one wave.
Sekai stilled.
Oh.
Oh.
Taiki stared hard at the counter, both hands wrapped tight around his mug.
Sekai felt heat crawl up his own neck. He pressed his lips together and looked away at the wall, buying himself a second.
Neither of them spoke. The kitchen, which had felt easy and comfortable thirty seconds ago, had shifted entirely.
"Hey." Sekai cleared his throat. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Taiki's voice came out too fast. He still wouldn't look up. "Nothing is wrong."
Sekai watched him. The red hadn't left his face at all—if anything it had deepened.
Interesting.
Sekai set his mug down and stepped closer.
Taiki immediately took one step back.
Sekai followed.
Taiki took another step, then another, until his back met the kitchen wall with a soft thud. He blinked up at Sekai, who planted one hand flat against the wall beside his head and leaned.
"You're not going to continue?" Sekai tilted his head. "You were on a roll last night. Dependable, strong, genius dancer—"
"Sekai-san—"
"I'm listening."
"Stop it." Taiki's face was fully red, brows furrowed.
Sekai held his gaze and let the teasing drop out of his voice.
"... Why did you call me last night?"
The scowl softened. Taiki's eyes dropped to somewhere around Sekai's shoulder.
"Yusei or Keito could've taken you home in five minutes. Why did you call me specifically?"
The pause stretched out long enough that Sekai thought he might dodge it.
"Maybe I just… missed you." Taiki whispered.
"We were at rehearsal all day yesterday. You saw my face plenty."
"I know."
"So why?"
A beat. Taiki's fingers tightened around his mug.
"I… still wanted to see you," he said, barely above a murmur.
Sekai said nothing.
"I'm sorry." Taiki shook his head and let out a shaky laugh. "It was selfish and weird and I won't—it won't happen again, I promise, I'll just call a cab next time or ask Keito, I won't bother you like that again—"
Sekai kissed him.
It happened before he'd consciously decided to do it—he just moved. For a few seconds Taiki went still beneath him, and Sekai had already half-registered the mistake, already beginning to pull back—
Then Taiki kissed him back.
Sekai could feel Taiki's hand had come up and fisted his shirt, and that Taiki had leaned into him rather than away. It wasn't Sekai pulling him in. Taiki was there, fully present, kissing him back just as willingly as Sekai had started it.
The mug found its way onto the counter. Both of Taiki's hands moved to Sekai's shirt. Sekai's other arm hooked around his waist and the kiss deepened, Sekai tilting his head and coaxing Taiki's mouth open—tongues dancing, warmth and the quiet sound Taiki made that did something to Sekai.
He pulled back just enough to drag his mouth along Taiki's jaw, feeling him shiver. Then lower, to the side of his neck, teeth grazing the skin just beneath his ear. Taiki made a broken little noise and his fingers tightened in the fabric of Sekai's shirt.
"Sekai—san—"
The sound of his name like that, shaky and breathless, pulled Sekai back to Taiki's mouth. He kissed him harder this time, deeper, until Taiki's knees seemed to forget their purpose and he sagged back against the wall for support.
When they finally separated, both of them were flushed and panting slightly. Sekai became acutely aware that he was standing in his own kitchen, holding Taiki by the waist.
He straightened up and cleared his throat.
"You should go home." His voice came out rough. "We have work at eleven. It's already past nine."
Taiki looked like he was still in daze.
"Right," he finally blinked, visibly resurfacing. "Work. We have work."
"Yeah," Sekai whispered.
They finished breakfast quickly, neither of them quite meeting the other's eyes. Sekai dug a canvas tote bag out of the hallway cupboard and passed it over so Taiki could bundle up his clothes from last night. They moved around each other awkwardly, like they were both pretending the kitchen wall hadn't happened.
At the front door, Taiki pulled on his shoes and slung the bag over his shoulder. He turned back once, hand on the door handle.
"It's… okay… right?" he asked quietly.
Sekai looked at him. At the faint flush still sitting on his cheeks, the nervous yet hopeful face.
Sekai understood exactly what Taiki meant without either of them naming it.
"… Yeah," Sekai answered shyly. "Yeah, it's okay."
Taiki smiled back with just as much shyness.
"See you at eleven."
The door clicked shut.
Sekai stood in the entryway for a moment, staring at the closed door.
Of course it's okay.
It's you.