Work Text:
D31/19:07:11
Being eliminated sucks.
Kunigami's given a handshake and signature grin from host Karasu Tabito, walked off stage by some PA, and sat down in a green room. A producer explains to him that he’s going to go into a hotel room for the next few weeks, do interviews tomorrow, and just hang tight.
Few… weeks? Kunigami’s not… going home?
Chigiri’s tear-streaked face flashes in his head. It tore at something deep in Kunigami’s chest, and it took a lot of insistence on Karasu’s part to get Kunigami to let Chigiri go and walk out the front door.
There’s two things that Kunigami now knows:
- There’s going to be a pre-jury Battle Back, and Kunigami needs to win.
- He’s going to see Chigiri much sooner than he thought he would.
He just has to survive a few-week sequester period (however long that is).
D32/10:18:06
The first twenty-four hours are fine. Kunigami gets to talk about the first few weeks of the game with about ten different people, news reporters from various outlets, ranging from thirty minutes to two hours. He’s not sure how much he talks about the game and how much they try to get him to talk about Chigiri, though, and he tries to lean away from answering anything concrete about their relationship.
A handler takes him to breakfast, lunch, and dinner between it all, and Kunigami can barely focus on his food because he’s too busy reveling in the fact that he’s seeing other faces besides the fifteen faces he’s become so used to seeing. Having his own room and bathroom is a godsend, but he’s not allowed to watch any TV other than a few seasons of SK8. The same ones he saw the first time he was in sequester.
D33/15:15:08
The day after all of his interviews, Kunigami forgets that he needs to request a trip to the gym the day before. So he requests three hours at the gym for all the days leading up to the Battle Back, goes back to his room, and queues up SK8.
He gets five minutes in before he turns off the TV.
Kunigami alternates between laying down on the bed, exercising on the floor, and scribbling everything he remembers from his time in the house on the pad of paper the hotel has. The handler takes him to lunch and dinner, and Kunigami takes a bit of a longer glance at the menu this time before ordering.
His dreams are weird that night. He’s Reki, and Chigiri’s Langa, but they’re still in the Big Brother house? But now, there’s a laugh track that plays every time they do something funny? Isagi and Bachira, Raichi and Nagi—they’re all there, too, moving, strategizing, laughing—there are tears falling down Chigiri’s face—
D34/09:00:05
Kunigami’s eyes snap open.
It’s 9AM.
And he is in his hotel room.
This time in sequester is a lot harder than the first time. The first time he had no idea which of the forty people he saw waiting in the hotel restaurant he was going to be playing with, he had no idea what kinds of twists and challenges he was about to be met with, whether or not he’d like anyone at all or be the hero of his own story.
And that all changed when he met pink eyes across the room, ones that rolled away as quickly as their eyes had met.
If he has to face Chigiri in the Battle Back… he doesn’t even want to think about it.
Kunigami chants the names of the players that are still in the game in his head, like the weirdest prayer he’s sure his neighbors have ever heard. Chigiri. Isagi. Bachira. Nagi. Raichi. Aiku. Hiori. Niko. Kurona. Tokimitsu. Reo. If the Egoist Four get HOH, they’re going after Kurona. If the other side of the house gains power, Kunigami has faith in Chigiri’s social game that he’d survive. Hopefully they get out Aiku, who’s been a free agent stirring up the house and riding the middle.
He hopes Raichi protects Chigiri. It’s what Kunigami whispered to Raichi as he was leaving, even though Raichi and Chigiri weren’t really working together.
Kunigami goes to the gym for three hours, as a way to do something other than stare at the four walls of his room.
D??/??:??:??
Everything kind of blurs together after that. Kunigami keeps waking up from dreams where he falls asleep with Chigiri in the HOH room and gets confused when he wakes up in his hotel room. His minutes are spent going over everything that’s happened so far in the house with a fine-toothed comb, thinking about combinations of people. Potential alliances that aren’t the Egoist Four. Best-case, worst-case scenarios.
There’s one day he spends just watching the SK8 episodes they give him. When Kunigami wakes up the next day he feels like punching the walls.
Kunigami should be counting days. It’s what Chigiri would do, when they would cuddle up in bed together: tap out some form of rhythm on Kunigami’s chest that would tell him what happened during all the days of the game. But he’s not because all of them are the same now and all he spends his time doing is daydreaming about the feel of Chigiri’s skin under his hands, his thighs bracketing Kunigami’s waist.
That time, in Isagi’s HOH bathroom…
Kunigami had been half-convinced at that point Chigiri was some kind of twist in the game specifically meant to torment Kunigami specifically. He was a biochemist and Kunigami was a physicist and fuck if he wasn’t a sucker for a smart person. Chigiri kept whipping that red hair around, too, and his braid leaves the nape of his neck open. It’s distracting whenever Kunigami’s trying to have a conversation with Chigiri without jumping the guy. Raichi had started to pick up on why Kunigami kept walking into things, and Kunigami couldn’t have the Egoists revealed so early because of him.
Maybe it’s the fact that he’s only seen fifteen people for the past few days. Or the fact that he thinks Chigiri’s the prettiest person outside of his sisters and mom that he’s ever seen. Or the fact that, because he is constantly surrounded by fifteen other men, he hasn’t had time to jack off since his hotel room sequester.
D06/22:17:25
The Egoists were sitting around in Isagi’s HOH room, talking about some inane thing, when Chigiri rolled up off the bed with a groan. “Ugh, I should probably take a shower before everyone starts hogging it.”
“You can use my shower,” Isagi offers.
“Oh, can I now?” Chigiri says, arching a brow.
Kunigami frowns. “What, is there something taboo about the shower?”
“Don’t you know what asking the HOH to use his shower means, Kunigami?” Bachira says, grinning around a mouthful of milk bread.
Chigiri rolls his eyes. “I’m literally showering.”
“I think you should help Chigiri shower, Kunigami,” Bachira presses on.
“Bachira,” Isagi says sharply, and suddenly they’re having a conversation entirely in eyebrow waggling and jerking chins which – is new, Kunigami supposes.
Chigiri’s staring at Kunigami now, measured and quiet. It’s intense, having those pink eyes narrow in on him. There’s a challenge in those eyes, like an enchantment washing over Kunigami that compels him to say, “If you want.”
Bachira’s eyes widen. Chigiri’s stare doesn’t change.
Kunigami shrugs. “It’s just a shower.”
Kunigami always thought that three words would be enough to upend his life, but apparently it takes four to completely change the course of it as he knows it.
So as to not attract suspicion, Chigiri goes down to fetch his soap and clothes first. Kunigami also goes down to ostensibly collect snacks and drinks for the group, hands some of it off to Chigiri, then makes sure the coast is clear before collecting his own things.
Once the HOH door closes behind Kunigami, Bachira claps his hands. “Thank you for your service in appreciating the freedom that comes with not wearing clothes!”
“I appreciate you, Bachira,” Chigiri snarks as he goes into the HOH bathroom. He holds the door open.
When he realizes the rest of the Egoists are just staring at him, Kunigami realizes that Chigiri’s opening the door for him. He scrambles to follow Chigiri into the HOH bathroom.
“You do know why people ask the HOH to use their bathroom, right?” Chigiri asks as he pulls off his t-shirt. Kunigami averts his eyes.
“I mean I get it,” Kunigami says. “People want their privacy and all that.”
“That’s not the only reason why.”
Kunigami looks up.
Chigiri’s staring at him, that same stare as before. But there’s something else that Kunigami recognizes in his eyes – something Kunigami can only describe as hunger. “I’ve seen you watch me. Are you ever gonna do something other than look?”
Kunigami’s cheeks burn, mouth gaping open uselessly.
Chigiri drops his pants, stepping out of them and into the shower. The water roars to life and Kunigami feels like he got the wind knocked out of him.
Kunigami could’ve sworn Chigiri’s eyes had flickered down to his lips, though.
There’s only one way to find out –
“Chigiri?”
“Yes?”
Kunigami inhales deeply. “May I join you in your shower?”
Chigiri laughs, and it’s a clear, bright sound – like the summer breeze. “Of course, hero.”
Kunigami’s not even sure he was as fast in the challenges as he is in stripping his clothes, dropping his mic pack next to Chigiri’s, and joining Chigiri in the shower.
Whether or not Chigiri reached him first or if he reached for Chigiri first will never be determined because the HOH bathroom is the only place in the Big Brother house without cameras. Either way, Kunigami tastes the echo of Chigiri’s laugh on his lips, taking his red lips between his teeth, sucking and soothing and massaging. Chigiri’s let his hair down from his usual braid, and Kunigami takes the opportunity to thread his fingers between the strands, cupping the back of his head.
Chigiri breaks away, gasping for air, and Kunigami presses kisses across his cheek, to his jaw, down his neck. He doesn’t want to leave marks for Chigiri to have to explain later, so Kunigami settles for licking Chigiri’s pale, pale skin.
Kunigami makes his way down slowly, down Chigiri’s chest, his abs, getting onto his knees in the tub. He looks up at Chigiri’s flushed face, wet and dripping. “This okay?”
“Yes,” Chigiri gasps out. His arms are braced against the shower walls, hands clenching and unclenching. “Yes, hah—please, Kunigami, oh—”
Kunigami wraps his hand around Chigiri’s pretty pink, very hard dick, grabs Chigiri’s waist with the other, and starts sucking at Chigiri’s V-line, intent on leaving a bruise. Or several.
If Chigiri’s neck can’t be fair game, this would have to do.
He pumps his hand in tandem with his biting and licking, playing with his head, twisting and changing his pressure. Chigiri’s happy trail is pink like his hair, thin and wispy and well-groomed, and the water makes everything slick and slippery and steamy.
Kunigami places kisses on top of the blooming bruises before looking up and taking Chigiri in his mouth.
Chigiri makes a choked, muffled sound above him, hand clapped to his mouth. Kunigami understands, of course, their mics are not far away and he’s not even sure if the shower’s covering all of the noise they’re making. Once they get out of the house, though, he’d love to hear all of Chigiri’s sounds and noises.
Kunigami suckles at the tip, playing at Chigiri’s slit with his tongue, slowly stroking the rest with his hand. Chigiri’s hips stutter, almost of their own accord – Kunigami grips his waist harder, forcing Chigiri against the wall, making him take it – everything Kunigami wants to give him and more.
He bobs his head, taking more of Chigiri’s cock into his mouth, massaging the underside with his tongue. He feels Chigiri’s fingers card through his hair, scratch at his scalp, and groans lowly.
Chigiri makes it so easy to get lost in the touching, feeling – Kunigami blinks through the water running down his face to watch Chigiri’s abs flex as he pants, his red hair like a curtain. Kunigami’s so locked in that he barely registers Chigiri tugging at his hair until it’s too painful to ignore, and he only has time to glance up at Chigiri’s wide eyes before sucking hard.
Chigiri comes down Kunigami’s throat with a whimper, shuddering as Kunigami works him through it. Kunigami gives one last slow lick to Chigiri’s dick as he pulls off, unsticking his fingers from the hard grip he’s unintentionally had on Chigiri’s waist. He winces. That might leave a mark.
Kunigami gradually stands, nosing his way up Chigiri’s body. It’s so foggy in the bathroom despite the fan running that even being millimeters away from Chigiri means he, too, is slightly faint. As if Chigiri is a dream come true – and what a dream to be alive for it.
He kisses up Chigiri’s neck, under his ear. Chigiri’s hands have fallen to his shoulders in the meantime, and they slide up to guide Kunigami’s face to Chigiri’s lips.
“You okay?” Kunigami murmurs between kisses.
“Yeah,” Chigiri whispers back. “Wanna fuck my thighs?”
Kunigami comes embarrassingly quickly in the slick, tight heat of Chigiri’s legs, hips stuttering as he paints the shower wall with his seed.
They shower properly after that.
When Big Brother is over, Kunigami’s taking Chigiri out on a date. He’s going to buy his sisters something nice. He’s going to spend a week with his mom in his childhood home and not talk to anyone but her. He’s going to buy the greasiest, most loaded cheeseburger ever, and savor it.
Kunigami can feel the effect the sequester is having on him, too. It’s harder to get up in the mornings, to leave the gym, to actually eat his food instead of bolting it down as fast as he can. Anything to escape the well-worn grooves his mind has etched into the few weeks he’s spent in the Big Brother house. He’d be surprised if he still had conversation skills reentering the house.
Unless he plays the “coming for revenge” angle.
D45/12:16:09
He’s lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling when someone knocks on his door.
Kunigami’s handler hands him a blindfold and a T-shirt, instructing him to put them on. He’d been told a couple days ago to be packed and ready to go, so he’s thankful for that, at least. Kunigami also quickly changes into more challenge-ready attire and better shoes, just in time for his handler to come back in, shove his blindfold on, and lead him out of the hotel and into a car.
He doesn’t take the blindfold off for quite some time. When they get out of the car, he’s led through doors and passageways and through groups of people talking in hushed voices until his handler tells him it’s okay to take off the blindfold.
He’s been put in a darkened green room of some sort – thankfully, considering how long he’s had the blindfold on for. There’s a jumpsuit on a hanger, likely for the Battle Back, and he puts it on.
This is simply a battle. And Kunigami intends to win the war.
D82/18:??:??
“Hello, Kunigami. I take it you weren’t expecting to see me at all tonight?”
Kunigami huffs out a breath. “You know, Karasu, I really wasn’t. I—.”
“What’s going through your mind right now?”
Kunigami shakes his head. He feels like he is somehow outside of his body, like some other version of himself is the one talking to Karasu in front of a hushed studio audience. “I think I’m kind of in shock, honestly. I—I did not see that coming.”
Karasu nods, leaning back in his seat. “Obviously, this is not the first time we’ve seen you here – the last time you were evicted, you kissed Chigiri goodbye after convincing him not to use the Veto on you. We just saw you take Chigiri on a date last week, and this week, he evicts you. What do you make of that?”
“I mean, I’d love to ask,” Kunigami says helplessly as the audience chuckles. “I mean I figured it was a foregone conclusion that we would take each other – he’s meant so much to me over this season that I honestly couldn’t see this coming.”
“You played such a dominant game, winning POVs and HOHs along with your fellow alliance members, the Egoist Four,” Karasu says. “What does it mean to you that three of you were in the Final Four?”
“Man, it was everything,” Kunigami says. “Isagi and Bachira – those are my brothers for life. I love them dearly and there’ll be a lot more of the Egoists in the future, I can tell you that for sure.”
“And Chigiri?” Karasu prompts.
Kunigami hesitates. “I really do like him a lot. He’s a really great person, a really great player, and I truly wish nothing but the best for him, but this is gonna take me a minute. I don’t… yeah.”
“Kunigami,” Karasu says, “you might get some answers to your questions soon because as juror number nine, you’re going to be able to ask one question.”
“Absolutely,” Kunigami says.
“Wait till the other jurors see it is you who is making up the final member of the jury,” Karasu says, “and we will see you shortly when you all come back and vote for the winner of Big Brother.” He turns away from Kunigami to look into the camera. “Up next, the final two are revealed to the jury and the jury gets the chance to grill them looking for critical information to help decide who deserves the 30 million yen grand prize. The live interrogation is next— stay with us.” He turns back to Kunigami. “I’d like to tell you personally that it has been a joy to watch you this season, and I really encourage you to keep the game separate from your personal feelings.”
“Right,” Kunigami says, reeling. He remembers now—Karasu Tabito, winner of season two. His partner, Otoya Eita, now does the jury roundtables and such, but they had something during their season that wasn’t resolved until All-Stars. Karasu’s eyes are shining with his own experiences, and Kunigami swallows.
“Wonderful,” Karasu says cheerily, sitting back in his seat. “I’ll see you in just a few moments, yeah?”
“Yup,” Kunigami says. A producer comes up to his elbow and starts guiding him off the stage.
He’s back in a green room again off the stage. On TV, it never seems like there’s much time between the final eviction and the jury questioning and now that he’s faced with it, there seems like even less of it—any minute now, he has to go back out and look into Chigiri’s eyes, and he’s not sure he’s ready for that.
A production assistant comes in and leads him towards the wings of the stage.
“Juror number nine come on out!”
Kunigami walks on the stage to the thunderous applause of the crowd. No one seems really shocked on the jury, and Kunigami can’t help but wonder if Isagi knew. Or Nagi. Or if the jury really thought he’d be that hard to beat, that Chigiri would evict him for it.
He takes his seat next to Nagi, who pats his knee.
Karasu’s off with his spiel, and Chigiri and Bachira flicker onto the monitor behind Karasu. Chigiri’s eyes are red-rimmed, like they are when he’s been crying, his hands twisting together in anxiety. He’s pin-straight in his chair, whereas Bachira’s slumped into it.
Hiori’s kicking off the questions, but Kunigami’s eyes are only on Chigiri. He’d braided Chigiri’s hair just that morning, watched as Chigiri patted on powder and lined his eyes and put on lip stuff. Buttoned Chigiri’s shirt and kissed his knee.
And now—
Chigiri talks about him and Aiku, and Kunigami can only stare. It was so easy to play Aiku. How can Kunigami know he wasn’t being played, too? He asked Chigiri that question when he battled back into the game, and Chigiri reassured him, but how does Kunigami know that they’re not sweet little nothings?
“Thank you, Chigiri,” Karasu says. “Kunigami, as you were the last evicted, you get the chance to ask either Chigiri or Bachira a question. Kunigami?”
Kunigami averts his eyes. He can’t be staring at Chigiri as he asks this question, or he might actually break. “Well, I—my question’s for Chigiri, for obvious reasons. Can you elaborate on why you took Bachira over me?”
“Kunigami,” Chigiri says, and he sounds as heartbroken as Kunigami feels but after three months of looking over his shoulder he can’t, he can’t look, “it was easily the most difficult decision I had the whole season and the hardest moment I’ve ever had. When I sat next to you as you were evicted the first time, I didn’t have a choice, and it almost destroyed me in this game – it killed me inside. But you had such a strong early game, came back and steamrolled the endgame – Bachira and I knew we couldn’t beat you or Isagi and all I can say is that I’m so, so, sorry.”
“Thank you, Chigiri,” Karasu says, and turns to the camera. “Thank you, everyone. All right, Chigiri and Bachira, I will be back in just a few moments when you’ll each have an opportunity to make a final statement to the jury.” He turns to face the audience. “When we return, Chigiri and Bachira have one last chance to plead their case, a speech that could cost thirty million yen. Stay with us.”
The monitor’s still on Chigiri and Bachira. Kunigami glances a chance upwards to see Chigiri patting at his cheeks, his eyes wet. Barely audible on the speakers comes, “Do you think he’s really mad at me?”
Bachira says, “I think it’ll all be okay,” and pulls Chigiri into a hug.
Kunigami thinks jumping off a cliff into frigid waters would be less of a shock.
As soon as the producers signal that they’re off the air, Raichi’s at Kunigami’s side, pulling him into a hug. “Dude, that was some crazy shit.”
“Yeah,” Kunigami says, still feeling at a loss. “I did not see it coming.”
“You and everyone else,” Raichi says, thumping him on the back. Someone yells at him to get in his seat, and Raichi leaves.
Nagi leans over towards Kunigami. “He told me he’d do it. I didn’t think he would actually, though. Not after the date.”
“Really?” Kunigami says, but he’s not surprised.
Karasu clears his throat. A producer tells them to get in their seats and be quiet as the countdown to the live begins. “Welcome back to the live season finale of Big Brother Ippon. The jury is just moments away from casting their votes to determine who will win ‘Big Brother Ippon’ and walk away with the 30 million yen grand prize. But before they do, let’s check back in with the final two.”
Karasu turns to a different camera. The monitor flickers again to show Bachira and Chigiri in the eviction chairs. “Bachira, Chigiri, the jury will now cast their votes for who they think should win this season of Big Brother. But before they do that, you both will have one last chance to convince the jury why they should vote for you. Bachira, you’re up first.”
Bachira’s speech is good. Kunigami hates to admit it, but Chigiri’s speech is also good. It’s almost impossible to choose between the two and pick who would win.
As jurors go up to vote, Kunigami’s faced with the very real possibility that he might be the deciding vote. Hell, he doesn’t know who Raichi’s gonna vote for. Isagi’s voting Bachira, Nagi’s voting Chigiri… who the fuck does he vote for?
Nagi votes, and it’s no secret he’s voting Chigiri.
“Kunigami, you’re up,” Karasu says.
Kunigami stands and makes his way up to the podium.
Even without his personal feelings to consider, there was no other winner. No one else had fought as hard as they did to get to the final two chairs, up until the bitter end.
“You both are really, really good at the game,” Kunigami says, picking out Chigiri’s key. “Had me fooled for sure.”
He slots Chigiri’s key into the podium.
When Karasu announces the winner, Chigiri buries his face in his hands.
Kunigami stands, nearly knocking over his chair. Bachira’s tugging at Chigiri, pulling him up and leading him towards the front door. The camera changes, but it doesn’t matter—Bachira and Chigiri burst through the door and the confetti explodes, and Kunigami’s already walking briskly towards the two of them.
He cradles Chigiri in his arms, shielding him from the crowd as Chigiri sobs and shakes. He’s saying something but it’s hard to make out over the din and his crying, but Kunigami thinks Chigiri’s thanking him for the win, and what a thought that is.
“You’re okay,” Kunigami murmurs, smoothing his hands down Chigiri’s back, his hair. “You’re okay.”
“I can’t thank you enough, truly—”
“No need,” Kunigami says before he could stop himself. Chigiri looks up at him, and Kunigami folds enough to wipe the tear on Chigiri’s cheek with his thumb. “You did wonderful.”
He feels a tap on his shoulder and moves away, certain that Chigiri doesn’t need to be protected anymore. Kunigami tries to stay on the outside of the group, but the PAs are insistent that he needs to be front and center with Bachira and Chigiri, so he obliges.
Kunigami was not expecting to win Japan’s Favorite Player. He lowkey thought that everyone hated him because of the brutal and efficient way he’d tackled the game after battling back into it. There’s no way for him to know how they edited him putting Chigiri on the block, for example – if they made him out to be the villain or if they went the star-crossed lovers route.
There’s no way for him to know how everyone – and he means everyone – feels about him now.
first day out of the big brother house
Reo’s rented out an Airbnb for the whole cast for a week.
“This is an Airbnb, right?” Kunigami asks Raichi as they walk down the driveway.
“Would they even have this on Airbnb?” Raichi says.
Reo had revealed that he was a Mikage to the shock and awe of everyone in the finale audience. The Mikages are a formidable, very rich family that Kunigami honestly doesn’t really know much about, but his sisters have been texting him constantly about them. Something about a TV show a few decades ago?
Reo had announced at their wrap dinner party that he’d rented out a place to decompress and hang out for the next week, that anyone in the cast was welcome to join, and that there would be a bus picking whoever wanted to join at the hotel at 1PM to drive them to the location.
Kunigami had called his sisters in his hotel room, and they’d basically yelled at him to take advantage of the Mikage money. So.
When he got on the bus, he saw Reo and Nagi sandwiching Chigiri between them in the front seats. Chigiri’s eyes were closed, headphones on, and Kunigami breezed past them to sit next to Raichi closer towards the back.
The bus took them through hills and countryside to an expansive estate that hung off the side of the hill with a driveway longer than your typical street block. It had a fucking gate.
People in suits start unlatching the bus’s compartments and unloading it. They also wave anyone off trying to help. Kunigami doesn't really know what to make of it all, and so he just follows the rest of the cast into the house.
Reo hands him a cream piece of cardstock paper as he approaches the stone stairs leading to the entryway. “Here’s the room assignments.”
Apparently, “Mikage Hospitality” would like to welcome you to “Wayne Estate,” with Reo and Nagi in the primary suite, of course. Kunigami’s sharing with Raichi, Chigiri has one to himself, and the guest house (there’s a guest house?????) is for “additional guests” or “excessively strenuous activity without interruptions.”
Huh. Well.
There’s even a little QR code for Reo’s information in order to “request entrance” to other people “following a vetting process.”
It’s kind of overwhelming.
“Elevator’s to the left,” Reo calls, and Kunigami’s brain short-circuits.
There are a couple of butler people waiting for them as they enter, and they start leading people towards their rooms. Kunigami and Raichi are beckoned over by a butler with yellow hair sweeping across their eyes, Chigiri already standing next to him.
Fucking Reo. He’s almost positive Nagi put him up to this.
Kunigami doesn’t say anything, to Raichi or…. otherwise, while the butler is leading them to their rooms. They’re on the second floor, but they don’t take the main staircase– instead, the butler leads them up a side staircase and to their rooms.
Chigiri disappears into the bedroom to the left of the staircase, and Kunigami and Raichi take the other one.
As soon as the door closes, Raichi shakes his head. “Well, that’s definitely not gonna be awkward.”
Kunigami makes a noise of agreement and starts unpacking his suitcase.
some time later....?
The house (ginormous mansion) is big enough that Kunigami’s able to avoid Chigiri pretty easily.
A good chunk of his first few days is spent sitting on the balcony (which is more of a large patio than balcony) and talking with his sisters, his mom, and his friends from back home. Kunigami reads up on what people are saying about him, the season, and Chigiri. He has to do a bunch of interviews, so he bangs them all out within forty-eight hours of them leaving the Big Brother house just to get them over with.
Of course, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of consensus from the public about how good this season was. A lot of people are shipping him and Chigiri (and having his sisters have to explain to him what “shipping” is was the most ridiculously uncomfortable conversation he’s ever had), and a lot of them are wondering if they’re really over.
The person he talks the most to out of the cast is definitely Raichi. They have a lot of conversations about the jury house, the end of the game, what they’re going to do in the future. Raichi tries to bring up Chigiri a few times, but Kunigami himself hasn’t sorted out how he feels about the whole thing yet. It’s still fresh and raw. Reo comes over sometimes, or Niko, and that’s nice.
He calls Bachira and Isagi, too, and they talk for a few hours. More often than not, they’re clearly enjoying their time with each other outside of the Big Brother house and seeing them happy together only reminds him of when he thought he’d had that with someone. They subtly hint at him to talk to Chigiri, too, but he’s putting off that conversation as long as he can.
The hot tub is in the periphery of the balcony-porch. The first night, Kunigami saw Aiku and Chigiri in the hot tub together and kind of really didn’t want to see that, so he went back inside to watch some podcast about the season on his FYP.
An hour later, he peeks back out. Chigiri and Aiku are hugging.
Kunigami recoils from the porch, regretting his decision. There’s shrieking not long after, and he peers back out cautiously.
Sendou’s wrestling and/or making out with Aiku, and Chigiri’s swimming away and cackling.
Which solves that mystery.
Reo’s been having caterers come in to feed them. Apparently, his family’s been funding this whole shebang because having their son in a popular TV show has been helping their business, or something. Especially since he was in such a dramatized relationship with Nagi. Thankfully, it’s not really sit down with the group and eat vibes, so Kunigami bolts down his food and dips before anyone can really talk to him in depth.
He’s gone back to his gym days, too. Back when he was waiting to win his way back into the game. It’s a little awkward with Aiku there, too, but at least Raichi sometimes comes with him as a buffer.
three days later
It lasts three days.
Kunigami’s in the gym with Raichi, sitting in the steam room to allow their muscles to relax. Adjusting to life outside the Big Brother house has been the biggest challenge for all of them – Kunigami’s heard Niko ask people about recharging his mic pack batteries and Raichi occasionally drops his voice down to a whisper as if anyone else in this huge mansion can hear them in their ensuite. Kunigami still half expects production to tell him to wake up or go to a competition, the walls of Big Brother closing in on him behind his eyelids when he goes to sleep.
The steam’s fogging up his brain delightfully, no longer full of thoughts waiting for someone to stab him in the back. To be honest, if Raichi wasn’t also in the steam room with him he might’ve ended up falling asleep.
He does feel kinda groggy, when Raichi gets up from his spot and Kunigami follows him out of the sauna. They take a cold shower in the gym, get dressed into clean clothes, and Kunigami yawns as he follows Raichi through the house towards their room.
Though… Kunigami’s pretty sure their staircase is flip-flopped or something, because he’s pretty sure it turns to the right instead of the left?
Maybe he should’ve paid slightly more attention, because he’s suddenly shoved forward into a room that is definitely not his and Raichi’s.
He whirls around, catching a glimpse of Raichi, tattooed arms, and a flash of purple as the door slams shut and a lock clicks.
Raichi, Aiku, and Reo. Kunigami knew it wasn’t only Raichi who pushed him.
“Nagi? Did you bring the—” Chigiri’s wide eyes take him in. He’s in a bathrobe, hair bundled up into a white towel atop his head. “What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Nagi?”
“I don’t know!” Kunigami exclaims. “I was shoved in here and the door was locked behind me – what are you doing here?”
“Nagi and I were going to have a spa night,” Chigiri says huffily. “At least, that’s what I thought this was.”
Kunigami strides over to check the lock. The door doesn’t even move when he jiggles the handle, and he’s honestly too afraid of how much the door costs to consider trying to brute force his way through. “When do you think they’d let us out?”
“When they see us making out on the balcony, I guess,” Chigiri sighs.
“Seriously?”
“Look,” Chigiri says heatedly, “this wasn’t my idea, okay? I wouldn’t do something this— dumb.”
“I wouldn’t think it was yours,” Kunigami says.
“Well,” Chigiri says, “either way, they’re leaving us here until we leave.”
“I’ll take the couch,” Kunigami says.
Chigiri looks at him, face impassive. Like during the first twenty-four hours in the Big Brother house, when everyone was still sizing each other up.
Kunigami takes the room in. There’s a big bed that takes up the center of the room, a couch with TV in front of it. The bathroom’s to Kunigami’s right, nothing separating the marble bathtub from the bedroom save the rug under the bed.
“For what it’s worth,” Chigiri says, eyes bright and fierce, “I am sorry.”
Kunigami’s turned to look at him, but Chigiri’s staring resolutely into the mirror.
Kunigami makes some small noise, barely discernable even to him, and goes to look for pillows and blankets.
uhhhhhh 3AM
Kunigami’s eyes snap open.
He scrabbles blearily for his phone, turning it on to check the time. It’s almost three in the morning.
Kunigami sits up, looking around. If he’s up, he knows it’ll take a bit before he goes to sleep. Might as well walk around for a bit, meditate, before he goes to sleep. If he can.
The sheets on the bed are rumpled, no sign of Chigiri.
Kunigami turns more, and he catches a glimpse of a figure standing at the balcony.
He sighs and swings his legs off the couch.
If he’s stuck with Chigiri for a whole four days, Kunigami doesn’t want him to be all cranky and miserable because he couldn’t sleep. It was rough enough when they were in an environment where any weakness could mean losing your shot at your dreams.
Kunigami shuffles over to Chigiri and sees the wine glass in his hands. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Didn’t,” Chigiri mumbles. His cheeks are flushed pink with alcohol, reaching his eyes and his forehead.
Kunigami sighs, reaching for the wine glass. “Come back to bed.”
Chigiri’s already shaking his head. “I don’t wanna fight anymore.”
“We can talk in the morning,” Kunigami says. He places the wine glass on a nearby chair.
“Have you seen what they call me?” Chigiri whispers. “I can’t stop looking. It’s like a car crash that I can’t look away from.”
“I have,” Kunigami says, measured, quiet. Because he has. Because either people are calling Chigiri a great Big Brother player for being so cutthroat, or calling him… rather unkind names, for manipulating men into doing his bidding, Black Widow style. Fake. Devourer of men. Charismatic. A flirt who batted his eyelashes to thirty million yen, riding on the backs of the efforts of the Egoist Four to win the game.
“What they say doesn’t even matter,” Chigiri says. He flails his arms out, like a showman. “I’m getting a big ol’ check in the mail!” He leans back, stumbling a little bit. “All for me, little old me. It’s fantastic! It’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me. For fuck’s sake.”
“Chigiri—”
“Any means necessary,” Chigiri says, and he’s crying, tears running down his face as he looks somewhere around Kunigami that’s not his face. “I told myself, any means necessary, you have to win. And I’m not sorry, I’m not. I did what I had to do, I—”
Kunigami steps forward and folds Chigiri into his arms. Chigiri shudders, shakes, like he did when he won, and he lets Kunigami hold onto him.
“Let’s go to bed,” Kunigami murmurs, “okay? Go brush your teeth.”
Chigiri’s shoulders slowly drop, and he hears Chigiri sniffle before he moves away.
Kunigami follows Chigiri into the bedroom and hits the button to slide the glass balcony doors shut. He hears the tap running and gets to fixing the sheets, tugging them into an approximate of their pin-perfect original position and flipping one corner open so that it’s easier for Chigiri to get into later.
He’s about to get into his own bed (couch) when he sees Chigiri staring at the corner of the bed, folded down. Chigiri’s eyes slide over to him, and his face is less red from the alcohol and crying, like he wiped his skin down. He looks worn but wary, something deeper inside him shifted. “I thought you hate me. But you do such nice things for me. Why?”
And as Kunigami clears his throat, the words that eluded him the night he got evicted come spilling out.
“You were my friend, first,” he says. “You could’ve told me what you were going to do before you did it. I get why you had to. But it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.” He swings his legs under the blankets. “I trusted you. And I guess I thought you did, too.”
the morning after
When Kunigami wakes up again, this time at a reasonable wake up time, the bed’s once again empty. The covers are tugged back, though, and the wine glass is missing from the chair.
Kunigami goes searching, and he finds Chigiri seated at the kitchen island with a steaming mug in his hands, a platter of food set across from him. The dishwasher’s running, but Chigiri is like some marble statue when Kunigami sits down in front of the food.
“Itadakimasu,” Kunigami says, right before he digs in.
The eggs are fluffy, bacon and toast extra crispy. It’s Kunigami’s dream breakfast, something he didn’t really cook in the real world but something that he did in the Big Brother house (now that the food wasn’t coming out of his budget.)
With every bite, Kunigami sees all the information he has laid out before him – the eviction, yes, but Chigiri’s reaction when Kunigami asked his jury question, his reaction when he won, the tired eyes with bags, the crash out at three in the morning.
The avocado is sliced thinly, shaped into a rose. Chigiri gets up from his seat to go to fridge, bearing a shaker bottle as he walks back.
He slides it across the table to Kunigami, who accepts it.
“I wasn’t fighting with you,” Kunigami says. “I just—I was hurt. I am hurt. But it was a game, and I recognize you did what you had to in order to win.”
And he is too far away from Chigiri for what he wants to say next, to what he knows is true, so he walks around the kitchen island to sit on the stool next to him.
“When I took you on a date in the Big Brother house, that wasn’t game,” Kunigami says quietly. “Me comforting you after your win, last night – that wasn’t game. You cooking breakfast for me isn’t game. It’ll take work prying apart what is and what isn’t game from our relationship – and I want to believe you that you evicting me was pure game. And I’ll get there, because—because rationally, it makes sense, but I—I can’t reconcile what I know with what I feel so easily, you know?”
He’s so tempted to reach out and brush his fingers through Chigiri’s hair like he used to. He digs his fingers into his thighs to try to stave it off. He needs to get through this, and see what happens next.
“But I know you,” Kunigami says, and those bright eyes finally snap onto his own. He can stop himself from brushing his fingers from Chigiri’s hair, but he can’t stop himself from taking Chigiri’s hand. “You’re Chigiri Hyoma, a former Olympic hopeful who tore his ACL right before qualifiers, and you got back up. You’re a freaking biochemist. You left your home for three months to go on a TV show where you’re filmed 24/7, even though you’re an introvert and love running marathon-long distances and those things are the antithesis of Big Brother. You weren’t afraid to share your injury to the world, your brain with the Egoists, and your feelings with the houseguests. You listen to everyone, and you laugh like a hyena, and your smiles are few but they are beautiful. You are beautiful, inside and out. You love your mother and sister so much you would do anything to support them, including win a TV show by taking out the closest ally you had in the house because you thought he was the biggest threat to win. And I’m so lucky that I got to know you when I did.”
He intertwines his fingers with Chigiri’s, squeezing once before pulling away.
“I guess what I’m saying is… I’m willing to do the time. If you’re willing to put in the effort.”
“Yes,” Chigiri says, almost too quickly. “Yes, I—yes.” He flounders for a little, as if trying to figure out what to say. “Just—please don’t… don’t shut me away again.”
Kunigami falters, and considers that. Because that’s basically what he did, didn’t he? Straight up didn’t talk to Chigiri, and probably wouldn’t if he wasn’t trapped with him. And he can’t entirely promise that he won’t do it again, because Kunigami honestly wasn’t even aware that he was capable of doing that to—to Chigiri.
And the road ahead of them is long and imperfect.
So Kunigami offers what he can, which is, “I’ll try. I’ll tell you if I need space, and for how long. And what I’m gonna do. Because I can’t promise you I won’t do it again.”
“Okay,” Chigiri says. A furrow appears between his eyebrows. “We are okay, right?”
“We’re okay,” Kunigami confirms. “Are you okay?”
Chigiri nods, and he’s not quite the spitfire Kunigami remembers in the Big Brother house, but then again, neither of them are and that’s okay. And maybe Chigiri’s lying at little about him being okay, and Kunigami’s lying a little about the both of them being okay, but it’s only been four days since the end of Big Brother and they have a lot more time to figure out the details.
a few days, and also ten years
It’s a lot of talking.
Kunigami and Chigiri talk about everything. The game, their lives, everything they couldn’t say in front of cameras and microphones. Chigiri joins Kunigami in his workouts and Kunigami helps Chigiri cook, and it’s good.
It’s like they’re in their own version of Big Brother, where the only eyes on them are the other’s and the only voice that matters is the other’s.
Kunigami even shuts their phones away, only unlocking the safe for two hours only to call their families and friends. If not, Chigiri would spiral into social media again and Kunigami would start feeling the urge to throw his phone into the pool.
They also start having “dates,” as much as they can when they’re stuck together. Sections of time where they pay each other special attention, do something that isn’t routine. Chigiri asked Reo to order a bunch of hobby stuff, like paints and canvases and some knitting things. Kunigami was okay at painting (you could at least tell it was a soccer ball) and terrible at knitting. Chigiri laughed at him when he complained his fingers were too big, but still tried to teach Kunigami until Kunigami gave up on the whole affair entirely.
The part of their relationship that was still missing, however, was physical touch.
It was a big part of their relationship in the Big Brother house. Chigiri and Kunigami would take every chance they could to cuddle under covers, in the hammock, be within arm’s reach – even during the weeks they were “fighting,” they kept it subtle – a nudge here, three taps there. Isagi and Bachira would always compare them to octopi – which was ridiculous, because they were as equally entangled with each other.
And even though Kunigami and Chigiri are slowly reforming their relationship… they haven’t really touched each other since Kunigami hugged Chigiri while he was crashing out and held his hand the morning after.
Sure, they’ll touch each other’s hands or let their limbs touch when they’re relaxing – but nothing that couldn’t also be considered platonic or accidental.
The fifth day of their stay, it’s almost like an itch Kunigami can’t scratch. A twitch of his fingers in the morning, an involuntary reaction of his arm in the evening.
The sixth and final night of their stay, while Chigiri is packing his bags in the walk-in closet, the feeling is hives under Kunigami’s skin.
It’s like what he felt, that first week of Big Brother. Less temptation and more like a need. All the haters on the internet wouldn’t even be able to comprehend that Kunigami, even if he was manipulated, even if he knew he was being manipulated – Kunigami did that shit willingly.
Because Chigiri should be worshipped, for no other reason than that he’s Chigiri.
And now it’s worse, if that’s even possible, because he knows, he knows what it feels like to hold Chigiri and hear his breathy moans, the feeling of his powerful legs around his waist and his pleasure sparking through his body. It’s like going through a withdrawal or some shit, the way that now he sees the light at the end of a tunnel, all he wants to do is sprint to the end and blast the whole world wide open.
kintsugi
Kunigami’s folding his own clothes on the bed (all washed by Reo’s… uh, butlers, somehow) when he hears Chigiri’s suitcases clatter around in the closet. He sneaks glances upwards as Chigiri rolls the large suitcase they were allowed to bring onto Big Brother towards the door. He rolls his shoulders back, yawning as he shuffles towards the main room.
Chigiri’s not really wearing anything special— a shirt with the collar cut that keeps slipping off his shoulders, baggy shorts, and his hair up in a loose bun. The back of his neck has gotten slightly tanner from all that time spent in the Big Brother backyard despite all the sunscreen he kept applying.
Chigiri tilts his head at Kunigami, and that’s when he realizes he’s been staring at Chigiri with his mouth slightly open like an idiot. “Kunigami?”
“Princess,” Kunigami rasps, the shirt slipping from his hand.
This time, Chigiri comes to him, making his way through the mess of Kunigami’s stuff. There’s not enough space for Chigiri to stand any further than a few inches away once he gets to Kunigami, and once he gets to Kunigami, Kunigami can’t help but let his gaze rove all over Chigiri’s face (and definitely not stare at his lips).
“My hero,” Chigiri whispers, and they’re kissing.
It’s like a dam breaking, concrete spraying everywhere as gallons and gallons of water come pouring down. Chigiri still smells flowery with a hint of spice, but it’s missing that Big-Brother-house underlayer that haunted them for three months. Kunigami rucks up Chigiri’s shirt, pulls him closer, and that’s somehow still not enough – he can’t stop kissing Chigiri – so he leans down enough to guide Chigiri’s leg to his hip, carefully pick him up with one arm – he shoves his clothes off the bed with the other and presses Chigiri down on the mattress.
Kunigami has the fleeting thought that they should throw the blankets up, cover Chigiri with his body, something to hide from the cameras—but there are no cameras here.
Kunigami starts kissing down Chigiri’s neck, sucking and savoring, leaving marks because he could. Chigiri tilts his head, allowing Kunigami better access, and it’s even better now that it’s just them.
Chigiri’s making these bitten off little moans, though, and Kunigami props himself up on his elbow to check that he’s okay.
He’s got a finger between his teeth, biting so hard his finger’s white. When Chigiri realizes Kunigami’s stopped, he cracks one eye open.
Kunigami carefully tugs Chigiri’s hands out of his mouth, smoothing the welts in the skin with his own fingers. He brings it up to his face, kisses Chigiri’s knuckle, then carefully sets Chigiri’s hand down on the bed, threading their fingers and pressing to keep it there.
“We don’t have to be quiet anymore,” Kunigami whispers.
Chigiri’s eyes widen with understanding. Then they soften into something warm and eased, his shoulders settling more comfortably in the pillows. “Well, in that case—make love to me?” His other hand comes up to cup Kunigami’s cheek. “Hero?”
Kunigami leans down to kiss him again, bearing down onto the mattress so that his body can sink in between Chigiri’s legs. Their clothed cocks grind together, both of them hard as rocks, and it’s all together too much and not enough.
They move against each other, slow as molasses not because they need to be quiet, but because they have all the time in the world. Kunigami goes back to determinedly sucking hickies down Chigiri’s neck, marking him for the world to see. At this point, he honestly thinks Chigiri lets him get away with it because he knows all too well about Kunigami’s kink for the nape of Chigiri’s neck.
At some point, Chigiri was able to wriggle out of all of his clothes and get Kunigami’s pants down. Kunigami parts for long enough away from Chigiri long enough to shuck the rest off.
Chigiri dives for one of the nightstands, yanking the drawer out with more force than Kunigami would’ve, considering how much one of those probably cost. He pulls out a bottle of lube and several strings of condoms, some of which land on the floor.
Kunigami gapes. “What the fuck?”
Chigiri shrugs, lying back so that he’s under Kunigami again. “Told you Nagi wanted us to fuck it out. That’s what he and Reo did.”
Kunigami makes another garbled noise.
Chigiri peers at one of the condom wrappers, then at Kunigami. “We all got STD checked and we haven’t seen anyone in ages, do you want to use a condom?”
“I—” Kunigami’s head is spinning, but also the allure of going without is preempting his thoughts about Reo and Nagi’s sex life. “If you’re comfortable with that, then yeah.”
Chigiri grins at him then, slinging his legs around Kunigami’s waist to force him back down. “Mm, I’m very comfortable with tha—ah—”
Kunigami chuckles as he resettles himself again so that he doesn’t accidentally rub against Chigiri again. “Be patient, princess. Unless you want me to take the edge off?”
“No,” Chigiri pouts, “I want you to make love to me and fuck me silly.”
“So demanding,” Kunigami sighs, but he still reaches for the lube and squirts some into his hand.
While he waits for it to warm up, Kunigami moves down Chigiri’s body so that he could lick one long, wet stripe up Chigiri’s left nipple.
“Kuni—” Chigiri squeals, then moans as Kunigami takes it properly in his mouth and rolls his nipple in between his teeth. “Kuni—Ren.”
“My princess,” Kunigami whispers as he moves to Chigiri’s right one and gives it the same treatment.
“Rensuke,” Chigiri breathes.
Kunigami’s fingers drift below Chigiri’s balls, brush his perineum, and rest against his hole.
He’s always been more concerned about the timing of what they were doing when they were in the Big Brother house, if he and Chigiri could both be satisfied before they were discovered, if their movements weren’t too obvious to the cameras. Now, Kunigami watches as Chigiri pants and moans through the press of Kunigami’s finger into his hole, moving it in and out, crooking and feeling for that one particular spot.
Kunigami has three fingers in Chigiri when he finds it, a little thing that makes Chigiri’s leg twitch and a cry to rip from his throat. It’s rapturous, and some other day he’s going to make Chigiri come from just his fingers in his asshole. But today’s not that day.
He slicks his hand up with more lube, pumps his dick a few times to get it wet. Chigiri’s eyes are on Kunigami’s, his hands in Kunigami’s hair and on his shoulders, and Kunigami lines himself up and slowly, carefully pushes in.
His head pops past Chigiri’s rim and Chigiri gasps, eyes fluttering shut. Kunigami leans down to rest his forehead against Chigiri’s, propping himself up on his elbow and gripping Chigiri’s hip with his other hand, and shifts his hips forward.
Chigiri is so warm and tight around him it’s almost overwhelming, but it feels right, like all of their loose strings are finally connected to each other. Kunigami mouths at Chigiri’s lips, his jaw to have something to focus on as he bottoms out.
Chigiri’s abs are fluttering, his eyes still squeezed tight. Kunigami waits until Chigiri doesn’t have as much of a death grip on his hair, then pulls out and plunges back in.
He starts off slow, long and deep thrusts that help keep him from coming too early and that still satisfy Chigiri, from all the noises he’s making. Kunigami wriggles his hand under Chigiri’s head so he can grab a fistful of hair and tug, and Chigiri responds in kind by leaving welts from his nails down Kunigami’s back.
“Baby,” Kunigami gasps, “oh, fuck, Ch—so beautiful—”
“Ren,” Chigiri sobs, and a tear falls down his cheek.
“Oh,” Kunigami says, bewildered, “oh, don’t cry, sweetheart—”
Chigiri kicks him in the back with his heel hard. “Shut up, shut up, just—oh, fuck me—”
Kunigami readjusts, trying to find that sweet spot again, kisses Chigiri’s tears from his face. “It’s okay, baby— Hyoma— shit—”
Chigiri shouts and hiccups and mewls, arms scrabbling across Kunigami’s shoulders, and Kunigami knows he’s found it.
He increases his pace slightly even as his muscles start to burn and his orgasm looms, intense and heavy. It’s worth it, though, because he’s always known Chigiri to be addictive, and the moment right before the jump is a high he doesn’t think is possible to ever recreate.
“Rensuke, I’m so close,” Chigiri whispers, “please, please, mmph—”
Kunigami takes hold of Chigiri’s hips in both his hands and slams into Chigiri’s hole, and Chigiri wails.
He does it again, and again, murmuring, “Come for me, Hyoma, I got you, come for me, princess, please—”
And Chigiri does, arching off the bed as his cum splashing over his chest and he whimpers, his eyes rolling back into his head. Chigiri’s hole tightens like a vice around Kunigami’s cock as he comes, and the intense sudden pressure causes Kunigami to follow Chigiri, falling apart right into his arms and filling him up with his cum.
He lowers himself on top of Chigiri, like they used to in the Big Brother house. They’re both sweaty, sticky, and even though it’s probably only been a little over a week since they last laid like this it’s felt like an entire year.
As much as he wants to fall asleep like that, Kunigami knows that it’ll make their moving out tomorrow all the more difficult. He carefully pulls out of Chigiri, watching his face for any signs of discomfort – though Chigiri looks more sleepy than anything.
Kunigami kisses his cheek, murmurs, “I’m gonna go clean us up,” and gets off the bed. Chigiri turns to face him as Kunigami walks away, eyes fluttering closed.
Kunigami turns on the shower to warm it up, then goes and plugs the tub so that it can fill while they shower. Getting Chigiri out of bed is another issue entirely, but it’s easy enough to pick him up and princess carry him into the shower.
Chigiri loops his arms around Kunigami’s neck as they stand under the spray. Kunigami rubs down Chigiri’s back, lets them rest right above the swell of his ass.
Kunigami shuts off the shower once the tub’s filled with water, and tugs Chigiri along as he makes his way over to shut the faucet off.
“When you said ‘clean us up,’ I thought you meant getting a damp washcloth,” Chigiri mumbles as Kunigami helps him into the tub. “Not all this business.”
Kunigami shrugs. “We’re in the most expensive mansion I’ve ever seen and the tub is a solid brick of marble. Might as well put it to good use.”
“Mm,” Chigiri sinks against Kunigami’s chest, the water rising to their shoulders. “My hero.”
Kunigami bends down to kiss Chigiri’s nose. “My princess.”
Up close, Chigiri’s skin is porcelain, decorated with a few moles here and there. His lashes are so long, cheeks pink in the steam.
If this is what it feels like to be swindled and hoodwinked by a Black Widow… Kunigami wouldn’t trade it for thirty million yen.
Chigiri twists his head so that they could kiss properly, lips sliding gently across each other’s. Kunigami lets his eyes droop, basking in the water lapping, the weight of Chigiri in his lap.
“Come home with me?”
Chigiri’s staring at him, his mouth twisted into the tiniest uncertain pout.
Kunigami draws his hand up out of the water, eases it away with his thumb.
“Okay.”