I don't need any other hand to hold so near | Fransuo | Epilogue
The Tailor cracks open the balcony door before placing his phone on the table beside his bed. He crawls into it, and into the arms of his handsome prince charmant laying there waiting for him. He presses himself in close to Matsuoâs chest, snaking his arms around him. He sighs, content. âPapa is going to be home late, so Iâm not going to make dinner until heâs here with us okay?â
âMm. Thatâs fine.â Matsuo replies, wrapping his arms around Françoisâs body as he joins him. His hand brushes up against his back as it moves towards his hair, Maxâs fingers combing delicately through it. âIf Iâm gonna keep living with the both of you, I canât do anything but respect that. Even if Iâm hungry.â Thereâs a short laugh for a beat, before the half russian boy shifts slightly to place a small kiss on his ĐťŃŃикâs head. âSoon enough we can have dinner on our own time, Iâm sure. When we find a place of our own⌠How was your day?â
âMh⌠slow. Things have been so slow at the store, Iâm not used to it. I know it makes sense, because⌠what happened but itâs still weird to have so much time.â The smaller boy pulls himself up slightly to place a small kiss on Matsuoâs jaw in return. âI had so much time I made schedules for the rest of the month for shifts. You wonât be getting many days off even if itâs not busy though.â He laughs and presses another kiss into the taller boys skin, this time on his cheek. âCanât let you get lazy now can I mon cĹur?â
Another light chortle leaves Max as the Tailor kisses him, his fingers circling a couple locks of hair on the back of Franâs head.  âBluuhh. I just wanna stay in bed all day.â He jokes. âI gueeeess itâs better that way, anywayyys. Since⌠I stopped going to the Academy.â Matsuo lowers his eyes for a moment as he recalls his conversation with Katsu about⌠All of that. Everything that he had done to hurt him in the past. He canât help but wish that Coach Takumi was still around, so then he could give him an apology, too. âI need to keep myself in shape, now. Pristine Gold Medalist Olympian Shape, just like before.â
François shifts uncomfortably at the mention of the academy, and presses himself further into Matsuoâs chest at the mention of the past he canât remember. He still didnât want to remember, heâs sure heâs happier this way but he canât help but feel awful about it anyway. âMhâŚâ Wasnât fair to her he couldnât remember those last few days, the last time they would ever spend time together as a family. He wondered if he had been happy⌠He continued to sink deeper into Maxâs chest, moving to scratch at his palms lightly. âYou could join me in yoga⌠Or dancing. We should start learning dances together you know, sooner rather than later. I used to be um⌠I used to be a fairly decent dancer in America.â
Max can sense that thereâs something off as the boy sinks closer into him, and all he can really do is tighten his grip in reassurance. Ah⌠He was trying to stop doing that, to bring up things that make François upset. Alas, thinking about what you say before you say them is still a difficult task. âMe? Yoga? Thatâs fuckinâ funny to think about.â Downward Facing Matsuo, pff. ââŚ. Dancing sounds nice. Iâm quick enough on my feet.â He pauses for a moment, before shifting one of his arms to take one of François hands in his own. âI bet youâre still a great dancer. Better than I am, Iâm sure.â
âIt feels good, and it is healthy to do, yoga.â It didnât really seem that funny to Fran, after all yoga was good for plenty of things. He nuzzled against Matsuoâs chest. âDancing was a lot of fun, I miss itâŚâ He lifted himself up slightly, giggling softly. He brought their intertwined hands to his lips. âI am probably rusty. But perhaps I am, weâll find out soon enough.â He leaned back against Max pulling their hands with him. âDo you think my aunt will come? I havenât heard from her⌠We didnât see her on our trip eitherâŚâ
âOh, I donât doubt that. I just bet Iâd look kinda goofy doinâ it. Imagine a bulky 6 foot tall guy lookinâ like a damn twisted pretzel.â He continues brushing the back of Franâs head with his free hand, his chest hopping lightly at the image in his mind. Nobody else usually looks strange doing yoga, but heâs set sure that heâd look bulky and awkward. âWell, if youâre rusty we can just get back into the groove together, yeah?â He lightly brushes his loose thumb against the Tailorâs hand as he stares out into the fading Tokyo sky. AhâŚ. Itâs good to be home. âMm⌠Iâm sure she will. Maybe you just have to be a little more aggressive about getting her attention. Or, wellâŚ. Persistent seems to be the correct word, not aggressive.â He hums for a moment in thought. âHave you invited any of our ah, classmates? I know you call âem a lot, Iâm sure theyâd like to come and visit you.â He leaves himself out of the equation, there, for reasons understandable enough.
âYouâd look goofy starting out anyway, because you havenât done it before. It wouldnât be in front of anyone else but maybe papa anyway.â Well the tailor didnât seem to have plans on giving up trying to get them to do yoga together. He closed his eyes and let himself relax a bit more. âWe shall, yes. Hm, Iâve only seen her a few times I think⌠Maybe she is just⌠busy.â François opened his eyes again, tilting his head backwards to look up at Matsuo. âI havenât yet, I wanted to make their invitations special⌠Iâm just⌠not sure how?â He felt a bit bad, trying to call them all the time, avoiding texting. He wanted to go visit them but often it was too much, it was still too much. There were so many people out here, it was overwhelming. Strange to think you could get used to your own confines so much that anything different felt scary. He pulled Maxâs hand closer to himself. It was comfortable here in his shop with Max, papa, his cashiers and the few customers that came. The trip to Canada had been good, but overwhelming itself with the amount of people, the close proximity. It also worried him, that he couldnât check on his classmates. Had to make sure they were safe, always. âI want to invite them all, I hope they will all come.â Wanted all of them to be there, be together again in person.
The Ex-Fencer waivers his head side to side for a moment, balancing the explanation in his head. âI guess so.â He mumbles. Of course, he hadnât been against doing yoga in the first place, but he supposes itâs good to know he wouldnât be in front of anyone. His ocean eyes flicker down to Fran as he goes into his thoughts. âUuuhhhhhhhâŚâŚâŚâŚ.âŚ.. Well, maybe we can invite them through some sort of video chat thing. See them and all without actually being right fuckinâ there. Iâm sure they will come, though, considering the situation.â He squeezes The Tailorâs hand gently for a moment, silent. AhâŚ. how surreal it all is. If someone told him something as joyous as this would ever happen to Matsuo, he would surely disbelieve it. ââŚ.. FiancĂŠeâs a real pretty word, huh? A pretty word for a pretty fiancĂŠe like you.â
âMaybeâŚâ That was a way to make it more special, a personal invitation done face to face. He hums softly, the idea of seeing everyone again for such an occasion was exciting. The whole occasion itself was exciting, to think a dream of his was not only within reach but also coming true. Many little dreams he had always wanted to come true had been within closer reach than he had thought. François looked up at Matsuo, using his free arm to tug himself higher up. âIt is a pretty word, that is very true.â He felt his cheeks heat up slightly, smiling softly at the person he was sure he would spend the rest of his life with. âI think husband is an even better word though.â