Notes on this drawing; did I draw all the stripes on Hiromi's pjs unnecessarily? Yes. Are Takao's pjs Spiderman themed? Also Yes.

Also extra headcanons; Max's necklace is the pendant that contained Genbu, he had it repaired into a medallion, and the scars on Rei's forehead and neck are from his battle with Boris. All the boys' nails are painted because Hiromi insists that's what you do when you have a sleepover, except for Rei because painted nails + baking don't mix. He barters his freedom by having brownies ready when she arrives.

Max had insisted.

But Rei had been unable to shake this nagging feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that he should have said no. He should have ignored those big pleading eyes and refused to entertain his partner's whims.

Instead they stood outside an old dilapidated house some fifty kilometers outside of Shizuoka. The sinking sun provided one of their only sources of light as they traversed the overgrown property. The once perfectly groomed shrubs that would have lined a beautiful cobblestone pathway instead creeped over their invisible threshold, branches and vines obstructing the footpath leading to the front door.

He had tried to convince Max it was too dangerous. They were losing light quickly, and if one of them tripped on the overgrown brush, or any broken masonry hidden by the thicket; they were alone, in the dark, at least forty minutes from medical assistance. Max smiled at Rei, waving his hand almost dismissively. It wasn’t that thick, emergency medical services would respond within fifteen minutes and he had helpfully brought a flashlight anyway! 

Every fiber of Rei’s being screamed at him. While the American in Max oozed from him: arrogant, skeptical, and flippant. They had no business skulking outside the abandoned home of an executed Aum Shinrikyo member. Rei had been taught better than to linger in places harbouring such negative energy. Max however, didn’t have a spiritual or superstitious bone in his body, the idea a house could still carry its former occupants' intentions, was preposterous—he was truly his mothers son.

So he crossed his arms tightly over his chest and followed Max through the overgrowth towards the quiet, empty home. Only stopping when he heard a quiet ow from ahead of him.

“What happened!?” Rei squeaked, a tightness travelling up his throat as Max inspected his upper arm. 

“Rose bush,” Max said, shining the flashlight towards the culprit. “Just got grazed by a thorn, nothing to worry about.” He beckoned Rei to continue moving, keeping the light on the offending plant until they were both clear of it. 

“When we get to the porch, let me look at it,” Rei insisted as he trudged ahead of Max, keeping an eye out for any other murderous shrubbery on either side of them.

“It didn’t even break my skin, it’s fine.” He followed Rei closely, humming the melody of some unfamiliar song that was probably a big hit in America.

The old wooden steps creaked as the two men ascended them onto the patio. Max immediately approached the front door, placing his hand on the knob and turning it. He elicited a whispered cheer as he pushed and the door opened without any resistance. Rei felt sick at the idea it was welcoming them.

By now the remaining vestiges of sunlight could barely pierce the generous layer of filth settled on the windows. From what Rei could see from the subpar illumination of Max’s flashlight the building was empty. The wooden floors were covered in dust undisturbed for years and the stale, unmistakable smell of an abandoned, closed up home lingered in the air.

“Looks like everything was removed years ago, we won’t be missing out if we leave,” Rei commented, keeping his voice level, praying Max wouldn’t catch on to how utterly terrified he was right now. 

“We might find something interesting if we check other rooms,” Max answered him giddily, and Rei cursed the so-called “urbex” rabbit hole his boyfriend had recently discovered. He’d rather be exploring the Fukushima exclusion zone than the former home of a dead terrorist cult member. At least radiation poisoning was a tangible threat.

Max carefully walked across the floor, making sure there weren’t any soft spots where the subfloor had begun to rot away. With each step the hinoki creaked so loudly it resonated through the room, deepening the pit in Rei’s stomach. He followed him as he explored the equally empty rooms, if only because being left alone was an objectively worse alternative.

Upon exiting a small bedroom on the north side of the home, Max shone the flashlight across the corridor, stopping on a plain wooden door on the western wall, across from the entryway.

“Was that door always there?” Max asked suddenly, a hint of surprise in his voice. He had kept the doors of every room they’d explored opened specifically to mark they’d been inside them. Furthermore, the house wasn’t particularly expansive, the idea they’d somehow missed an entire room felt unlikely… but the alternative.

“That’s not funny, I don’t like when you mess with me like this,” Rei hissed, staring at Max’s expression, the slight frown and furrowed eyebrows, he wasn’t a good actor, and he wasn’t messing around. 

He stood in the corridor rigid as Max floated past him towards the closed door. Rei inhaled sharply, clenching his teeth together before forcing himself to follow him. If alarm bells had been ringing in his head before, now full blown warning sirens were screeching. It was making it increasingly more difficult for Rei to focus, as every single one of his senses told him to leave. 

But he couldn’t, not without Max.

Max stopped in front of the door, lowering the flashlight as he reached out his hand to the handle. Rei saw it then, a flash of violent red, saturating the other man's pale blue t-shirt, turning it crimson.

“I thought you said you didn’t get cut!” Rei exclaimed in a worried whisper, grabbing onto Max’s arm and pulling it away from the handle. Max’s focus shifted from the door to his arm as Rei pushed the sleeve of his shirt up revealing a considerable gash; one far too large to be made from a rose's thorns. Blood continued to trickle from it, running down Max’s upper arm before dripping onto the floor.

“I didn’t—” Max began, wanting to defend himself but being unable to as the severity of the injury became all too obvious. “Maybe there was old wire or fencing I didn’t notice?” He added, his brain looking for a logical answer for an illogical situation.

“It’s fine,” Rei sighed loudly, unfastening his bandana and wrapping it around Max’s injury, tying it taut, making a makeshift tourniquet out of it. “But I guess we’ll be spending the rest of the evening in an emergency room, I think you need stitches.” Rei carefully led them back towards the entrance of the house, the flashlights glow low to the floor guiding their way.

“I’m sorry,” Max muttered, confused at the sudden severity of the injury. All that had been there when he’d checked it only an hour ago was a tiny angry red mark, a blemish that he’d have expected to be mostly gone by now.

“It’s fine,” Rei repeated, grabbing onto Max’s hands and lifting them up to his lips to give them both a light kiss in affirmation. Max smiled at him sheepishly before opening the front door and retreating back onto the rickety porch. 

Rei held the door open, he turned his head slightly to the left and glanced behind him. In his periphery he could see the now open door immediately behind him. A figure stood just beyond its threshold, eyes reflecting the minuscule amount of moonlight that came from the open door.

With every ounce of bravery he could muster, Rei looked away from it. He allowed the door to slam closed behind him as he exited the house, and the wood creaked in protest as he quickly descended the steps. He linked arms with Max and expertly guided him through the thicket until they exited the property onto the quiet street.

The two trekked towards the closest train station in silence until Rei—finally feeling safe again—abruptly stopped and turned on his heels to face Max, surprising him.

“Do you know how close we were to—” He stopped himself when he saw his boyfriends slight tremble and pallor hue. No, he didn’t know how close to death they’d been, and even if Rei told him, he’d likely laugh and wave it off as Rei just being overly superstitious. But if Max’s sad, apologetic smile was anything to go by, he did know that he had dragged Rei somewhere he didn’t want to go and gotten himself seriously injured doing so.

As it was, Rei didn’t have the heart to lambast him for it, so instead he stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. He wrapped an arm around Max and gave him a little kiss on his cheek before muttering against his skin: