“Konrooo...” the lad tries, “maybe you could -”

“No.”

“But you don-”

“Yes, I know what you want to ask and the answer is no.” There’s no way Konro is going to be stuck as a negotiator between those two. Both are stubborn, emotional, and smitten to the point that they can’t see clearly. “But if you don’t get your ass together, then I won’t cook for you anymore.”

“You can’t do that!”

Benimaru has always viewed the other man as calm and level-headed, someone who always manages to think before acting. Where Beni can lose his temper easily, Konro never shouts or gets truly angry. But eventually, even the strongest patience can be worn down.

“Boy!” Konro whips around to face him, sharp knife clutched in his hand. “Don’t test me. Stop whining like a baby and go tell her how you feel. Now!”

Of course he feels guilty straight away, still it’s a relief to see the astounded guy stumble to his feet and hurry out the kitchen.

...  Reader   ...

The watchtower has become one of your favourite spots in in all of Asakusa. Up here, you can see the entire district sprawling beneath...and no one can get close without you noticing them beforehand as long as you pay attention. Which you don’t always. At least not right now.

Lying on your back with the legs stretched up against the supporting timber, your focus has strayed to a silly bird is trying to steal loose fibres from the bell’s rope, only to have to give up each time it’s found a string to pull at because the other end is impossibly stuck. The little animal is getting increasingly frustrated. Just give up...some things are meant to be. Yellow and grey feathers fluff with anger at yet another defeat until the bird surveys the remaining options. Don’t bother. As if hearing your thought, it flutters off with an undignified squeak and you watch it disappear between the houses below.

“So this’s where you hide.”

The deep voice causes you to squeak and you scramble to face the one person you’d been trying to avoid by climbing up here in the first place.

“Shinmon.” Why does he have to look so good when the wind tussles his hair? “What...I’m not hiding.”

On your feet, you wish you were tall enough to look down at him to feel superior. Benimaru is always acting aloof, never letting anyone see what he’s thinking...unless everything really does bore him. Or annoy him. This time you notice a faint pull of his lips.

“Hiding or not...we need to talk,” he sighs.

What’ve I done now? Something has changed the day of the raid.

You’ve been feeling it in the silences...or maybe it’s all in your mind. Maybe there really isn’t something brewing in Benimaru’s eyes when he backs off from challenges he’d have picked up on before. Or could it be that Konro’s calm finally have rubbed off on the guy? He barely talks to you, and half the time he begins a conversation it dissolves into nothing and he leaves but only after lingering at the very end before leaving the room. The whole thing has been pissing you off.

“So....talk,” you challenge. As expected, he keeps quiet preferring to lean against the railing rather than face you. “Well, if you won’t then I will!” And don’t you dare look at me while I give you a piece of my mind. “Obviously, it’s brought a lot of complications from the day I’ve stayed here. No, it wasn’t entirely voluntarily from my side to begin with...staying here, I mean,” you begin to falter as you have to search for the words but try to pull yourself together, “and you made it very clear that it wasn’t out of consideration for my needs, which I suppose is fair enough but take your petty grievances out on someone else than me when you regret that decision or have the decency t-”

“I don’t regret it, damnit!” Suddenly, he’s backed you against the beam, arms caging you in as he leans over you. “What bothers me is not you staying with us but the idea of you being gone!”

Logically, you know the life down on the streets still is bustling with all the usual noises and smells, but Benimaru and you are suddenly isolated in a little bubble up under the sky and time is standing still there.

“...gone?”

“Dunno when it started or why it took me so long but I realized that day...” He licks his lips quickly. “O-bāchan...of course she had to meddle and she can be impossible to deny. She knew what she was doing when she came to get you, trust me.”

“I thought I knew that she knew but now I think what she knew was something else than I thought...”

That sentence had made a lot more sense in your brain.

“The point is -” and you could have sworn the man was blushing now -“I want you to stay because I...I really like you.”

Then why are you being such an a-oooh! His gaze has never been so tender. His hand is warm and gentle as it cradles your cheek and you can’t help but lean into it. The two of you have touched before when sparring, but to slowly let your hands wander up his chest before snaking behind his neck – it sends goosebumps racing all the way to your toes. Your breath won’t go any deeper than the top half of your lungs, but it doesn’t matter as long as Benimaru’s lips are neari-