He got on the bus heading further downtown, a plan in motion.
If it wasn’t Joy, and it was a different person with the same name, Reno could just let it all go again. Keep focusing on moving forward, keep healing, keep leaning on his friends when the thoughts got too loud. And, above all, keep trying with everything he had to treat Luka with as much honest love as he could, and hope and pray nothing like what happened ever did again.
He tucked his questioning, his spiraling away for later. He had to focus on one thing at a time, and the most important thing right now was preparing himself to finally ask Luka to stayfor real, and actually demand an answer.
Luka had asked for two weeks, and Reno had given him that, plus a few days more while he waited for Luka to feel better. Now, he didn’t have to be patient anymore, and finally, he would get to ask Luka to be his boyfriend.
He had a good feeling Luka would say yes, but his nerves still ate at him as he walked into the store and told the clerk his order number. He showed them the invoice on his phone andthen leaned against the glass counter while the clerk went into the back.
He hoped Luka would say yes.
He hoped for it with all his heart.
He wanted the chance to prove to Luka that Reno could be the right person for him. That he’d be treated well, taken care of, and protected from harm and hurt. That Reno could make good on all his promises to show Luka he was worth giving the world to.
He imagined them together, decades from now, and Luka would be happy and healthy, without a doubt of his value or place in the world.
And Reno would be happy too, knowing he could share all of himself with someone again, knowing he could trust Luka to hold his heart gently and flourish beside him.
They’d probably sit on a beach somewhere in the sunshine, and Reno would make fun of the way Luka burned so easily, and they would kiss in the waves and the sand until it grew too dark to see where one of them ended and the other began.
Reno almost didn’t hear the clerk come back; he was lost in thought, dreaming about how beautiful Luka would be sitting by the sea, his long hair wet and wavy where it trailed down his back between bony shoulder blades, and his eyes so bright they matched the water.
The clerk handed him the package, and Reno had to clear his throat to thank them before carefully opening it to inspect its contents. Everything looked perfect, so he tucked it back into the bag, thanked the clerk again, then went directly home.
Luka was waiting for him.
He wanted Luka to wait for him at home for the rest of his life.
He wanted Luka by his side, also—exploring the world, eating good food, and jumping into the sea—and he finally got to ask him if he would.
Luka kissed him like he knew every inch of him.
Reno wound his hands through Luka’s soft, fine hair and fell into the feeling of it. Luka put a hand between them and joined them together with a soft sigh, his tongue pliant where it pressed against Reno’s, and it felt like coming home to breathe in Luka’s air.
Nothing else mattered when Reno found himself cradled by Luka’s sure hands. The past, the worry, the pressure of always having to impress, dropped away whenever Luka ran his nails down Reno’s back and ground their hips together.
Luka looked so bright against the late afternoon light spilling into the living room through hazy white curtains. Reno took in the way it made his lashes shine like gold, how it illuminated hisfading hair like a halo, and Reno thought of the paintings Luka had shown him that he loved so much. Luka would fit right into them, swathed in layers of silk and delicately rendered with so much adoration that people would marvel at his beauty for hundreds of years.
Reno pressed his lips against the front of Luka’s throat and felt him moan, low and deep in his chest, and Reno tried not to think of biting into him and swallowing until Luka could stay in him forever.
“Hikaru," Luka breathed out, and his name was so sweet on Luka’s tongue that Reno gasped. He was falling, he was falling so deep into Luka’s embrace, into his body, into his affection, he felt like he’d burst from it.
“Come in me. I want it.”
He was sure he’d never disobey Luka.
He choked from it, his forehead pressed against Luka’s sharp collarbone. Luka moaned with him, and the pitch was so perfect Reno could hear it resonate in his head long after Luka went silent.
“Missed you," Luka said, his hands trailing up Reno’s back through a layer of sweat, leaving chills behind. “Being sick is the worst.”
Luka’s voice was still a little hoarse from coughing, but his eyes were bright and clear, and his cheeks were alive and flushed with the perfect shade of peony pink.
Reno kissed both of his cheeks, relieved to find them warm instead of burning, and said, “I do love taking care of you, though.”
“Ugh," Luka groaned, “You’re unbearable. How you like fussing over me so much, I’ll never understand.”
“Mm." Reno kissed his cheek again, everything feeling soft around the edges. “It makes me feel complete.”
