#subscorprumi

Just because Harumi knew that Hanzo would not hold this against her, it didn’t mean she still wasn’t nervous how the conversation would go.

She doubted there was anyone in the world who wouldn’t be anxious over something like this. Not that she thought most people ever had to tell their husband they were falling in love with another man. And most that did were probably having affairs and intending to break up.

Oh she did not want to think of such things right now.

They hadn’t had a chance to be alone since Hanzo had come home. She’d been busy cooking with Kuai Liang when he first came back. During dinner they were joined by Kuai and Satoshi. And after that Hanzo had gone out with Satoshi for a while. It had taken everything in her to keep everything inside and not just blurt it out in front of their friend and their son.

But, as the pair got ready for bed, they were finally alone and she could tell Hanzo all that was on her mind.

If she could work up the nerve to spit it out, of course.

“Harumi,” Hanzo softly called as he settled next to her on the bed. “Is everything alright? You seem troubled by something.”

Ah. Maybe she hadn’t been hiding it as well as she thought she was. It was funny, really. When they were first courting, it had taken Harumi bluntly telling him she was interested in him to get him to realise. He was a popular man amongst the ladies of the village, but he was completely oblivious to all that, even now. But as time had gone on, his perception when it came to her had become razor sharp, being able to tell how she was feeling from something as simple as how she was holding her hands.

“I am, I guess,” she sighed, turning on her side so she could face him. “I need to talk to you about something, but I am unsure how to address it.”

“This sounds… Serious,” Hanzo huffed, reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder. “What is on your mind, my love?”

“Hanzo, you know I love you, right? With all my heart and the power of a thousand suns, I adore you with my very being.” The way Hanzo smiled at her words told her that he did, in fact, know that. “I tell you this, because I trust you and I know you will not be angered by my words but…”

The words got caught on her tongue. Despite everything, actually admitting her feelings out loud was terrifying. Like vocalising them would cement them as completely real.

“But?” Hanzo gently prompted, looking incredibly nervous, like he himself was terrified she was about to say something to break his heart. She knew she couldn’t stall any longer. She needed to rip off the bandage, so to speak.

“I think I’m falling in love with Kuai Liang,” she finally managed to say, closing her eyes as she did. Somehow, she didn’t want to see Hanzo’s reaction to that.

There was silence for a long moment, the only reason she knew he was still there was because she hadn’t heard him get up. Eventually, he heard a loud and tired sigh beside her, and three words that made her eyes shoot back open.

“Oh thank fuck.”

Harumi sat in confused silence, trying to figure out what exactly Hanzo meant by that exclamation. The longer she stared at him, the more his breathing began to get strange, like he was desperately attempting to hold in a laugh. Eventually, he gave up trying, and he just lay in bed chuckling to himself.

“Why are you laughing?” Harumi questioned in disbelief. “I’m being serious.”

“I know,” Hanzo managed to get out between his chuckles, wiping a tear from his eye. “First, I thought for a second you were going to tell me something terrible.” He finally managed to stop laughing, reaching out to her and cupping her cheek. “Second… I’m relieved, because I share those feelings.”

Harumi softly gasped. “Are you saying that you also-”

“Yes,” Hanzo stressed, giving her a smile. “I think I’m also falling in love with Kuai Liang.”

A voice in the back of her mind teased her for not realising before this would be the likely outcome. She had been so wrapped up in her own feelings, and her anxiety over telling Hanzo about them, that it never occurred to her that he could be in the exact same position as her.

“Oh. We are a pair of silly fools aren’t we,” she huffed, rubbing her face with her hands. Despite that, she was smiling to herself. “So. Where do we go from here?”

“That is the question isn’t it?” Hanzo agreed, nodding to himself. “Because it all rather hinges on how Kuai Liang feels.”

That was true. It was all very well that they had this realisation but it all rather meant nothing if Kuai wasn’t feeling the same way. It was hard to judge how he would react to the news. Overall, they had to be the ones to approach this, and they had to do it gently. The last thing she wanted was for Kuai to feel obligated to be with them.

“We could invite him to sit with us after Satoshi has gone to bed,” she began, frowning to herself.

“I do have some new tea I think he’d like,” Hanzo commented, rubbing his hand with his chin. “Do you think he’ll understand? Like even if we’re open and honest with him?”

“Maybe? I don’t know.” She’d asked Kuai if he’d had any romantic experiences once, just out of curiosity. He’d implied he’d had some sort of relationships, but it sounded like it was only with other men. And none of it had sounded particularly healthy. “He’s not a stranger to the subject. Even so, I think he’d appreciate us being direct.”

“So, tomorrow night, we sit down with some tea, maybe we’ll buy some extra snacks we know he likes beforehand too, and just… Be honest with him,” Hanzo relayed the tentative plan back to her. “If he seems receptive, we can ask him on a date. If not…”

“If not we back off and leave it unless he brings it up again.” It would hurt to have to do that, and honestly there was a part of her that worried the friendship and trust they’d gained would be tarnished if Kuai Liang took this badly. On the other hand, if he was receptive, maybe it would grow into something beautiful. “We need him to know it’s his choice, in the end.”

“Of course.” Hanzo smiled, propping himself up with one arm. “You know, when we got married, I never imagined we’d be lying in bed talking about how to ask a man out on a date.”

Harumi giggled, “I know. Kind of makes me feel like a teenager again.”

He lent forward, kissing her on the lips, before pulling away. Harumi wasn’t going to let him get away with just that though. She surged forward, pressing their lips together while making Hanzo roll onto his back so she was sitting on top of his chest. She could feel him smiling as his hands settled on her hips.