Warmth.
There was a warmth around Gakushuu that he had gotten used to. A familiar touch that trailed over his skin.
A hand caressed his arm, going down to meet his palm, and then intertwining their fingers together.
Together.
Gakushuu liked the word.
He couldn't imagine his life going any other way anymore.
His life was a disaster after another, but in the end, if the road had led back to the one he ended up loving, it wasn't too bad a road.
"Good morning," a familiar voice whispered.
Karma pressed his lips to their intertwined fingers, then again briefly against Gakushuu's lips. He offered him the easy affection he hadn't even known he had wanted.
He sighed against Karma's lips, waking up.
"Morning," he murmured huskily.
Then he turned them over.
He didn't put much effort in, his arms letting him lift his head up but he rested his weight completely on Karma.
Karma huffed out a laugh, but agreeably placed his hands on Gakushuu's back. Gakushuu smiled, placing a kiss on the similarly smiling lips.
Fondness rose up with familiarity at the sight.
Then after a few more minutes, when they settled down again, both awake, Gakushuu sighed heavily.
He rested his head on Karma's chest, seeking comfort.
"You know, right?" He asked Karma.
Gakushuu had always been the one who feared the length of their relationship the most. The one who wondered if circumstances would pull them apart like they had a million other couples.
So it was inevitable that he was scared. That dread pooled his stomach at the thought. That he tightened his grip on Karma, wanting to claw and settle deeper under Karma's skin.
"Yeah," Karma whispered back, mood solemn. He caressed a hand through Gakushuu's hair. Gakushuu didn't like to ask, he wished he didn't feel like he had to.
He wished he could be confident in the answer.
But he wasn't. He couldn't.
"Karma?" He asked, "We're staying together," he said. His fingers dug into his own skin, when Karma's hand stopped.
He dropped an elbow to the bed, before pushing up. He placed a gentle kiss on Gakushuu's head.
"I love you, Shuu," he said, almost easily. The words slipped out like Karma hadn't struggled with the word 'love' far more than Gakushuu in the beginning. "I'm not letting you go," he reassured. "And I'll transfer in for the second year, so you better not get too busy."
Gakushuu huffed out a laugh. He relaxed.
Gakushuu was going to MIT and Karma wasn't.
He wanted to stay in Japan, get a good idea of the politics, people, and the whole set up. Karma would dive head first into the government, the hotbed for all kinds of politics.
Bureaucracy wasn't easy, or anywhere near as simple or straightforward. Behind the numbers were people, lives.
Mistakes meant livelihoods disappearing. Power or control over any aspect of bureaucracy was what gave politics the power to affect actual change.
People rose up higher by putting others down. You didn't need to be in the highest position to have the most power- you just needed to control the person sitting on the throne.
Gakushuu had no interest in blackmailing various black hearted ruthless people into cleaning up their own shit, so he stayed as far as possible from Karma's future job.
But unfortunately, this meant that Gakushuu wouldn't actually be of much help to Karma. Unless it came to a matter of throwing money, then he still had quite a bit of it.
Fortunately, it also meant that Karma would definitely be of use to him , someday. How convenient.
If Karma suddenly felt like being poached from the government, then. Well, it was unlikely, is all.
"Together," Karma promised quietly.
"Together," Gakushuu promised back, a small huff escaping him with a smile.
It'll just have to do for now.