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. . .
The first time it happens is exactly two months after Reno is approved for combat usage of Weapon No. 6. Against Kafka's recommendation, the higher-ups send Reno alone for the first time to deal with a few monsters on the outskirts of Osaka.
He's clumsy about it, already too used to having Iharu watching his back. They were already a well-oiled machine that could take down a Kaiju of any strength. Without his partner, it was like missing a limb.
Regardless, No. 6 evens the battlefield. He breathes with the ice and his suit spikes with his energy. His percentages range high but unstable, still unable to be consistent without Iharu keeping him leveled. No one was really sure what the point was of sending Reno on his own this time, other than to possibly humble him.
He is their weapon. A flawed one at that.
And in one of his moments of overconfidence, one of the Kaijus landed a lucky hit on his shoulder. It's nothing he isn't familiar with, so he powers through with the help of adrenaline and No. 6. He destroys the rest of them with a few well-aimed blasts to the weak points that were reported and it's another successful mission added to his roster.
The debrief goes as it always does: Kafka berates the higher-ups, and they reluctantly announce Iharu as his permanent partner in the field, as Reno already believed him to be. They can hate the fact that one of their weapons is tied to another officer but he could care less about their opinions when he's already weary to the bone.
Kafka forces him to visit the medbay but the nurse running rounds waves him off with a warning once she realizes that his suit took most of the damage. It's the usual song and dance with them, and they're all too familiar with Reno. He nods as he expected and continues onwards to the showers to wash off the grime and sweat.
Unfortunately, the video feed must have looked worse than it is because Iharu barges into the locker room like a wild animal, shoving him into one of the private shower stalls. Iharu pushes him against the cold tile wall like a madman and kisses him for the first time.
Reno kisses him back, just as frantic. Just as starved.
"I should've been there." Iharu growls into his mouth and Reno accidently bites the tongue exploring the back of his teeth. He backs off far enough to curse, “Fuckin’ dickheads, I should’ve just stolen one of the bikes or something. The old man would have covered for me with how pissed he was.”
"Iharu," Reno breathes heavily and his eyes glaze over. He’s a little in love with this man, if that's what the burning in his chest is. He pulls Iharu back down to kiss him, "That would have been insubordination."
"Fuck off." Iharu bites at his mouth again, "At least I would've kept you safe."
He would have kept him safe. Iharu watches his back and Reno watches his - they were in sync and could only be at their best with each other.
Iharu shoves their pants down to grab at Reno’s dick and he moans at the touch. His hand is dry and warm as he strokes Reno firmly but slowly. Reno bucks into the hold and whines, kicking off his pants the rest of the way, "Then keep me safe from now on."
He grabs blindly for Iharu's dick and smears the precum on his palm. He pumps Iharu frantically, desperate for more. Iharu groans and lowers his head to bite at Reno's neck when he squeezes the base tightly, bucking uncontrollably into his hand, "Reno."
Iharu lets go and grabs at his thighs, pulling his legs around his waist. Reno pauses his motions and grips his shoulders with one arm as Iharu lowers them to the ground. He settles himself more comfortably in Iharu’s lap with his legs spread around his hips and strong thighs underneath him supporting him off the cold floor and against the wall.
“I missed you.” He whispers, admitting the obvious truth, and starts to stroke Iharu quickly all over again. Iharu bites at his neck again, this time deeper than before, before licking the mark.
He plants another kiss against throat, “Aren’t you just the cutest?”
“Shut up.” Reno says, rolling his eyes. Iharu grins and kisses him, grabbing at his dick again. He moans into his mouth when Iharu starts the same rhythm. He leans forward to touch his forehead against his and they struggle to keep their lips off each other. Reno’s sure that he’s scratched Iharu’s shoulder where his nails are dug into Iharu.
They keep the pace until Reno comes first. He spills into his hand with a moan and Iharu swallows the noise. Iharu isn’t far behind with how hard he’s panting and thrusting into Reno’s hold. He leans away, twisting his hand around Iharu’s cock, “Keep up with me, Iharu.”
And just like that, Iharu comes at the sound of his name and falls forward to kiss Reno. That’s how it all starts to go downhill. Kissing, cuddling, fucking - It’s wonderful and terrible, all at the same time. Reno wakes up every day in Iharu's bigger bed and they catch breakfast together when neither of them have early training. At night, they retire to their shared dorm and use Reno’s bed as a second desk to pile on their workforms and miscellaneous mail. Reno re-organizes everything because he likes neat spaces and Iharu makes sure to tidy up after himself.
Once everything is done, they fall into bed together.
Every night.
. . .
The cafeteria isn’t as busy past-noon when everyone has finished lunch. Some officials and cadets are still scattered through the mess hall in their training uniforms and sweatshirts, but it’s empty for the most part. Reno’s eating with Kafka and Kikoru since they had a late training session with their Kaiju weapons. It’s one of his favorite things to do to bond with the other two Kaiju-weapon trainees.
What surprises him is that Iharu catches him off-guard and pops a quick kiss during one of his lunch breaks. His best friend just leans over his shoulder to catch his lips and smiles at his bewilderment.
“Hi,” That’s all Iharu says in explanation for shattering Reno's reality before he continues to greet the table, “Hey old man, hope you didn’t sprain anything. And it’s always great to see you kiddo.”
Kikoru lets it go, more likely because she’s still processing the kiss. Reno’s also trying to process the kiss Iharu just laid on him. He’s not really sure what the standard process is for friends with benefits, but he was sure that they don’t usually flaunt the relationship in public until now.
Kafka, on the other hand, just rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I hope Haruichi doesn’t break you in your spar later, he looked more disappointed in everyone this morning than usual.”
Iharu laughs at that and Kikoru is staring down Reno, trying to communicate the question hanging over them. He avoids eye contact with everyone at the table because he's not sure what to say about it either. ‘We're just best friends' probably wouldn't go well with Kikoru or Kafka. He can only imagine the stern talk that Kafka would give them.
“Aren’t you late for that spar already?” Reno talks into his stew. It’s meaty, but he’s not sure what kind of meat it was today. Late lunch in the mess hall was for survivors.
Iharu checks his wrist and shrugs, “Yeah. I just saw you from the hall and missed you.”
"That's so cute, I'm going to throw up. Oh wait, I already did a little in my mouth." Kikoru says pointedly, gagging. She slurps her water obnoxiously.
Kafka smirks and points his spoon at her, "As if none of us expected it. You should've been mentally prepared for this, Kikoru. I’ve been prepared for years."
“You’ve known us for only a year now, but okay dad.” She huffs, settling her canteen on the table.
Iharu nods in agreement, "He's right. It was bound to happen - you know how we are."
It was bound to happen? Was sleeping together a natural progression in a friendship? A familiar voice rages through the mess hall and interrupts Reno's inner turmoil, "FURUHASHI!"
Haruichi glares at them from a distance and Iharu curses. He kisses Reno one more time with a wink, waves the rest of them off, and they watch him march towards what seems like his doom. He earns a smark over the head from Haruichi and Kikoru laughs louder to make sure Iharu hears it. He flips her off before Haruichi shoves him out of the mess hall.
Kikoru swings her head back at Reno, "So how long have you two been doing this?"
"Kikoru," Kafka chokes on his spit, "I am not having this conversation here."
Reno can't tell if his face is burning but he feels flushed, "That's none of your business."
"You guys are such prudes. Fine then, I'll just ask Iharu later. He loves bragging." She rolls her eyes, "But I'm seventeen years old, it's not like I don't know what sex is."
"I'm leaving." Kafka says, standing.
Reno follows in suit, grabbing his tray, "Yessir. I'll be heading out as well."
"It's because I said 'sex,' isn't it?" Kikoru sighs, "I need friends my age."
. . .
It’s not that Reno wasn't really interested in sex, he just never felt the need for it. His previous classmates talked about attractive women and men from old magazines, as well as their endless conquests of other students. Reno would look at the models and shrug. They were good-looking and all, he just never felt any of the same feelings his classmates talked about. It was kind of boring, if he’s honest. There was nothing appealing about the models - only their appearances. But that never did anything for Reno.
He even tried watching porn once when he was younger to satisfy his curiosity. He ended up watching some woman give a faceless man a blowjob. The woman made sounds that were over exaggerated and the bodily fluids felt like too much. He tried another video but they were all the same. Unappealing and it made him uncomfortable. So, he blocked the experience out of his mind and accepted his lack of sexual drive - it just wasn’t something he cared much for.
Iharu, on the other hand, is Iharu. Something about him made it all click.
It wasn’t obvious at the beginning. Iharu was brash and loud, competitive where Reno simply wasn’t interested. Sure, he was a good looking young man, yet there was nothing special there. At least, not at the start. Maybe it was the life-or-death situations they commonly faced or their bad habit of taking turns to sacrifice themselves for each other. It was always going to be Iharu.
Reno would say that the ‘crush’ itself started at the end of his Kaiju weapon test run. There was some in the way that Iharu grinned at his success and provided the support Reno needed to gain the approval for No. 6 - it caused his heart to skip a beat. That’s the moment he started looking at Iharu in a new light. His competitive nature was more charming and it was a comfort to listen to Iharu rant about random tokusatsu facts. His heart stutters at everything Iharu does now.
And now, when his best friend is on his knees in front of him, his heart feels like it’s going to pound out of his chest. There was something about how Iharu sucks cock like he has no idea what he's doing that Reno finds very attractive. It feels so much more natural and it makes Reno all the more desperate for it.
He moans loudly when Iharu accidentally scrapes the tip of his dick with his teeth. A tongue soothes him and Iharu pulls off, panting, "Sorry. This is probably not the greatest blowjob, huh?"
It also makes Reno want to make him cry.
"Keep going," He says instead, just as breathless. He guides Iharu back down and groans when he's engulfed by wet heat, "I love your teeth."
If he makes Iharu gag a few more times before he comes down his throat, he blames it on their inexperience. Not that Iharu seems to mind with the large cum-stain on his sweatpants.
. . .
Reno swallows his pride and bites the bullet one Friday morning. It’s only five so they’re just laying in bed as Reno scrolls through his datapad and Iharu is resting his eyes. He’s awake though, Reno can tell just by his breathing but the soft petting his hand is doing on his arm is another giveaway.
He sighs and tosses the pad away. Reno rolls over, laying on Iharu's chest, and just says it. "Do you want to watch a movie with me tonight?"
It feels like the hardest thing to ask and yet, all Iharu does is open his eyes and blink slowly, like a confused cat. "We already watch movies every Friday night."
He didn't catch his meaning, Reno frowns. Sure, they watch old movies on Friday - but he wants it to be a date. A real date. He feels clueless on how to get it through to him and looks away, "That's true, nevermind then."
Something must show on his face because Iharu kisses his head. Even if he’s not the most expressive, Iharu always reads him like a book.
"Daw, Reno. Did you want it to be a little more romantic?" Iharu teases, sliding his hands down to Reno's ass and squeezing.
He huffs, "No. I was just asking. Maybe we could watch it here rather than the rec room?"
It's been a weekly ritual for them since they became friends. Iharu barters for popcorn with favors and Reno gets snacks from the commissary. The movie is up for a toss, the winner of rock paper scissors decides. Reno always picks rock, so he's not sure why Iharu always picks scissors. So he’s the one usually stuck picking a movie when he probably has the worst taste in cinema.
Once in a while, their friends and superiors join. Reno and Iharu are usually taking up the center of the cheap shitty couch in the rec room. Kafka brings a random assortment of treats and Kikoru brings only herself. Vice-Captain Hoshina makes a rare appearance when he’s on base while Captain Narumi only stops by if Hoshina or Kikoru are inside, sparing a few moments to criticize or spoil the film.
"Oh." Iharu blushes which is an uncommon occurrence. He pulls Reno up higher on his chest to meet his face and kisses him softly. "Of course. We can start having them here, if you'd like."
"Just once in a while would be nice for it to be just us." Reno says against his lips.
"Of course. It’s annoying if we have to share with those losers interrupting our time." Iharu kisses him again and wiggles his eyebrows, “We can have some us time right now.”
Reno’s datapad pings and he grabs it, “Not right now. Captain Ashido wants us now - there’s a meeting soon for our squadron.”
Iharu nods, solemnly. “The job comes first.”
. . .
“Alright,” Iharu starts as they step into the locker room. He tears off his shirt with a wince, already sporting the bruises from their sparing. “What if we tried having shower sex again?”
Reno rolls his eyes, stripping off his training gear and shoving it into his locker. He points at Iharu, “That was one time and we’re not doing it again. We could have gotten a citation for public indecency.”
“But it would be fun.” Iharu smirks, leaning over to poke at Reno’s side, “I don’t want you to get bored. Maybe a change of scenery would be good for us?”
“Are you bored?” Reno says quietly, picking at the frayed edges of his sweatshirt. He doesn’t look up in fear of what Iharu’s face might say. He doesn’t want this to end just because Reno is happy as they are
“No way, just figured you might enjoy trying new things. You’re my first, so I’d rather explore as many firsts with you as I can.” Iharu frowns. “We got a safe word already and try out lots of stuff - but maybe you would like trying it out somewhere other than our dorm.”
“I like our dorm.” Reno confesses. Their dorm is theirs. That’s the one spot where nothing of the outside world can interrupt and that’s where there are no questions about what they are.
“I like it too.” Iharu admits and that relaxes him a bit, “If you’re good with it, I’m good with it.”
Reno smiles, shutting his stuff away. Iharu leans confidently on the lockers and he smirks, too cocky for his own good. He gives him a look, “But what about jeep sex?”
Reno laughs and punches his chest, “You’re insufferable.”
“If I find both of you having sex anywhere outside of your room,” Vice-Captain Hoshina pops his head in and smiles, “I will torment you both for the rest of your pitiful lives.”
“Yessir.” Iharu and Reno snap upright at their superior’s voice and respond in tandem.
. . .
“So you know how we have a week of leave coming up?” Iharu starts and Reno looks up from cleaning his rifle. Aboard the helicopter, they’re decked out in their suits and Reno’s already equipped with weapon no. 6.
As always, they sit beside each other. Iharu looks a little flustered but Reno has always known him to be the braver one between them, so he clears his throat and continues, “We should do something.”
"Like what?" Reno questions. They rarely get the opportunity to go off base, but even so - Reno doesn’t have anyone to go visit unlike Iharu who always brings back fun stories about his siblings.
Across from them, Kikoru kicks her feet up onto Captain Narumi’s and he glares at her. She sticks her tongue out at him and he flips her off. She returns the favor.
"Well… my hometown isn't that far from here. It'd be nice to visit again - and you are more than welcome to come with me." Iharu scratches at his cheek in embarrassment. "My family wants to meet you."
Of course his family would want to meet him, Reno is his best friend. And he’s also curious enough to meet the people who helped Iharu grow into who he is. So he nods, "Sure, I'd love to meet them too."
And just like that, Iharu goes for a kiss. Easily, he has no qualms about kissing anywhere unlike Reno, who covers his face when the Captain and Kikoru make kissing faces at them.
Captain Narumi stretches and crosses his arms behind his head, “You guys are real cute.”
“More like ‘annoying.’” Kikoru gags, twirling her hair. “They’re sucking face all the time now.”
“Are you jealous?” Iharu sneers, raising his hand over his forehead in an ‘L’ shape. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, sweetheart.”
“Of what? A couple losers who don’t know how to keep it in their pants?” Kikoru raises an eyebrow and Reno hopes the seat will swallow him. At least Kafka wasn’t there this time.
“Sounds like jealousy to me! I'll be sure to kiss Reno more often when you’re around.” Iharu says, throwing his arm over Reno’s head to kiss his face various times. Reno shoves him away and struggles to hide the smile.
Kikoru closes her eyes and turns her back to them, “Let’s stop wasting energy and focus up, alright?”
“But you’re literally just sleeping.” Captain Narumi says and Iharu laughs. Reno rolls his eyes because in reality, the three of them really share one brain cell when they are together.
. . .
They have one serious argument. Their arguments aren't exactly new - Most of the time, it's just dumb and on brand for the Reno-and-Iharu show. This time, Iharu takes a hit meant for Reno and he blows up at him when they reach their dorm.
“I’m the one with a suit.” Reno yells, slamming the door behind him. His suit can take more impact than any of the other officers, he doesn't understand why his best friend doesn't understand that.
Iharu snarls back as he turns and moves backwards, purposefully keeping the bandage out of sight, “So I can’t keep up with you because I don’t have some fancy suit?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Reno says and moves into Iharu's space, pulling his shirt up to peek at the wound.
“Newsflash asshole, suit or not - no, fuck you, kaiju weapon or not - I’m putting my life on the line for you every time. If I can take it, I’m going to take it.” He replies and knocks away Renos hand.
That sets him off.
“You want to take it so bad?” Reno sneers at that, “Then I’ll give it to you. As much as you can take.”
“Fine. Do it then. Everything you can give me, I want it.” Iharu bites back and this time, he doesn't stop Reno. He lets Reno push him onto the bed and shoves him onto his chest to keep the bandaged wound in sight.
The doctor said it wasn't serious enough to leave a scar but he was still lucky. If it had been any deeper, it could have damaged the spinal cord. Yet, all Reno could see on the field was blood and a possibility that Iharu could have been taken from him.
One day, death might pry Iharu from Reno's hands. He will fight tooth and nail, but Reno has a feeling death will have to take them both. They're not really good at letting each other go.
"You're not giving me everything." Iharu cuts through the fog in Reno's head. Their eyes meet and Iharu shifts forward, laying as flat as he can on his chest. He spreads his thighs farther apart underneath himself to widen his stance and snaps at Reno, "Get your head out of the field, Officer Ichikawa and fuck me like you mean it."
It's like a bucket of cold water. He blinks away the spiraling thoughts and shoves Iharu's pants down to his knees. Iharu hands him the lube from the night stand where he can reach and Reno takes it, carefully taking the time to stretch Iharu.
They don’t talk during it. Regardless of how angry Reno feels, he doesn’t want to hurt Iharu past his typical limitations. The sex itself is still angry and more punishing than anything they’ve talked about, but their safeword is never spoken. Iharu claws at their bed sheets as Reno pounds into him hard, occasionally gripping his waist too tightly. It pulls at the stitches and Iharu groans at the sting.
Reno finishes inside and slips out as Iharu moans quietly, turning over onto his back. He flinches a bit when he rests on his bandage and sighs, more relaxed than before. It fills Reno with sadness when he realizes Iharu didn't finish and he had gone soft at some point.
He sighs, more disappointed in himself, and pulls away, "I'm sorry."
Or at least, he tries.
Iharu pulls him back instead, manhandling Reno so his back is flushed against his front. They lay in silence for a few moments, their breathing falling into sync, and Iharu tightens his grip around Reno.
"I'm not going anywhere, okay? It doesn't matter how many scars I get or bones I break, I will always be by your side." Iharu kisses his temple and that hurts more than anything else, "Whether you need a hand or just someone to help carry the weight on your shoulders, I'm yours."
Reno starts to realize they might need to talk about all this sooner than later before his heart breaks and he loses his best friend.
. . .
Iharu's family is exactly what one would expect. They're loud and friendly, with sharp smiles and even sharper wit. Especially Iharu’s mother, who stares at Reno with too much knowledge - as though she can see into his heart.
“This is Reno.” Iharu introduces him, like his name says everything they need to know about him. And it is enough with the way his mother accepts it. Like the last piece of the puzzle she was trying to solve. Reno shakes her hand and greets the three younger girls with a wave.
They’re dazzled by him and the ‘ice prince’ persona he seems to give off. The oldest little sister offers him her stuffed shark and Reno accepts it without a word. She stares at him and nods in acceptance, dragging her younger sisters over to Iharu.
“Take care of him, Reno.” It’s the first thing Iharu’s mother says to him and she says very quietly, such a contrast to his Iharu. They watch Iharu wrestle with his younger sisters and she says, “Regardless of his large heart, it’s a little fragile.”
Reno doesn't look away from the scene when he answers her. He just studies Iharu's carefree grin and smiles, “He’s my partner.”
It's like the sentiment reaches Iharu because he looks up at Reno with a wink, swinging one of his sisters over his shoulder. She squeals happily but Iharu flinches back, stumbling onto the floor when the oldest one bites him.
"We take care of each other.” Reno finishes, lamely. It’s just the easiest way to put it because that’s what they do. It’s what they will always do.
Iharu's mother grins at that and it's the same one that Iharu gives him when he knows something Reno doesn't want to tell him. He's a carbon copy of his mother and Reno feels as though a glimpse into the future when he looks at her - an older Iharu with laughter lines and the same kind eyes.
Reno really likes that image.
. . .
"You feel so good," Iharu mutters, thrusting even harder. Braced over him, Iharu’s eyes are almost black with how wide his pupils have grown. He’s sweating and the drying cum on Reno’s stomach isn’t helping with the mess on their sheets.
Reno moans when the older boy hits the right spot again and manages to huff, rolling his eyes, "You say that every time."
Iharu pauses his movements and leans forward to lick his face, "Because it's true every single time."
"You're disgusting." Reno pushes his face away and wiggles his ass to pick up the pace. Iharu lightly spanks his side and kisses him.
“Disgusting.” Iharu mocks him, "You didn't say that when my dick was in your mouth."
Reno grabs his face and licks his cheek back, "Why are you so crass?"
"What are you going to do about it?" Iharu says as he grasps Reno's hips again to hold him still. "Will the ice prince fuck it out of me if I give him more attitude?"
Reno snarls, crossing his legs behind Iharu's back. He pivots them and they fall sideways, the larger of the two toppling over first. Reno shoves Iharu backwards again when he tries to sit up in retaliation and settles himself on Iharu's cock.
"You're going to fuck me hard tonight. And then tomorrow morning, I am going to fuck you until you have to limp to training." Reno states. He gives Iharu a rare smirk and Iharu moans at the potential threat.
“God, I love when you talk dirty to me.” Iharu pants before Reno starts riding him hard. He finds talking to be embarrassing but he seems to enjoy it when Reno does it, so he does it once in a while.
And he keeps his promise to Iharu the next day.
. . .
They're on the rooftop one night as they’ve started doing more recently when Iharu bribed Captain Narumi for the keys. Reno’s not sure what kind of favor he promised the Captain but Iharu doesn’t seem too worried. All they really liked to do up there was watch the stars as they lay on their backs with their hands entwined loosely. This night was just like any other night.
"I love you," Iharu says quietly, just as easily as he finds it to kiss Reno publically. There's no warning - it happens too quickly for Reno and his head swings towards him in shock.
“I know it's only been three months since we started dating but I already know you're it for me. You're everything I want and I want to be yours as long as you'll have me." He finally looks at Reno, all the stars in his eyes, "You don’t have to say it back - just take your time.”
“Oh my god.” Reno says and covers his face with the crook of his arm. "I can't believe this."
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to drop it on you like that. I just wanted to let you know.” It was mumbled but Iharu sounds hurt, so Reno turns over to look at him again.
"No, no. I just - I didn't realize we were dating." He stresses the last point and Iharu gives him a look of disbelief.
"Reno, we sleep in the same bed every night. We kiss each other hello and goodbye. We eat together as often as our schedules allow and we have movie nights every Friday. We're each other's emergency contact." Iharu lists off and chuckles a little, "Well, Kafkas your first emergency contact but he's like your dad, so that's fine. But you've met my family!"
"I thought we were just… best friends….with benefits?" Reno tries to explain. In retrospect, it does sound ridiculous.
"Were we not on the same page?" Iharu tries out and grabs the ridge of his nose, "Oh my god, I assumed that was our way of confessing." He drops his hands and barrels through the embarrassment with the same confidence that he uses with everything else, "I'm so sorry if you were ever uncomfortable with anything. None of this was just physical for me, so I'm sorry if -"
"No, no! You're right! I - I am in love with you. I want everything with you." Reno hurries to stop the downward spiral and grabs his hands, pulling them over his chest, "I love you too."
Iharu kisses him and it feels like a first all over again. They kiss for what feels like forever before Iharu pulls away. He grins, flashing his sharp teeth in a way that he knows works up Reno, "Kikoru is going to have a field day when she hears about this."
Reno groans and pulls him back to kiss.
The door to the rooftop swings open and Vice-Captain Soshiro crosses his arms in disappointment. He raises an eyebrow, “What are you two doing up here at this time?”
“Nothing sir.” They stand quickly, Reno pulling Iharu up with him. They salute their Vice-Captain and stand at the ready. Reno clears his throat, “Just… hanging out.”
“So if we comb this entire area with a black-light, we’re not going to find anything interesting?” Their superior questions, resting against the door and watching them with a firm expression. A light smile rests on his lips and Reno blushes.
Iharu grins, all teeth and no brains, “Not from my boyfriend and I, sir.”
Reno sighs.