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Konoe watched the Moon of Light sink below the horizon from his place pressed against a warm chest. It was by far his favorite way to end a peaceful day: secure in the arms of his lover, tails entwined, watching the last few rays of light color the sky from orange to pink to deep purple. It had been a few years since the beginning of his new life with Asato, but he didn’t think he would ever get tired of the calmness that surrounded them now. With the Void and the Sickness virtually eradicated, all of Sisa had become a little brighter, a little happier; even Kira’s ever present fog of solemnity seemed to lift just slightly. Konoe often found himself thinking about how relieved he was in the days following his encounter with Leaks, but he was careful to keep his thoughts from straying too far towards his previous life. Though even when he couldn’t stop himself, when he woke up with a puffed out tail and sweat dripping down his temples, grasping for a limb that wasn’t there, he knew he could count on Asato to bring him back to the present.
But he didn’t need to worry about that now, because he was safe in Asato’s arms, watching the moon set and feeling the cool breeze drifting over them, though his right ear did feel a little colder than the rest of him…
He was confused at first, twitching his ear back and forth to figure out why exactly it was so cold when he suddenly felt a warm and rough sensation gliding over the expanse of his ear.
“Asato?” He received only a hum in response, and a low grumble against his back which he knew well enough to know was Asato’s purr. “Asato. What are you doing?”
“Grooming.” And that was all the explanation given before Asato’s tongue was once again running over smoothly over his fur.
“Ah… I see.” There was a pause before his mind caught up. He sat up quickly, covering his ears as best he could with one hand, nearly falling off the bed in the process. “Why are you doing that?!”
Asato only looked at him with innocent confusion and a little disappointment, ears drooping slightly. “Is that bad?”
“Well, no, but, why would you want to do that anyway?” Asato furrowed his brows slightly, as he usually did when Konoe asked him for the reasons behind his actions. It was easy for Konoe to forget that he was the first cat aside from Kagari that Asato had gotten close to. Somehow, he didn’t see Kagari as the type to allow anyone else to groom her.
“I… I’m not sure. I just wanted to.” Konoe wasn’t sure what he was expecting anyway. This was just another lesson to be learned.
“Well it’s not bad, per se, but usually you wouldn’t do that unless – “ Unless you’re lovers or something, is what he was going to say, but isn’t that what he and Asato are anyway? Why was he upset? This was a perfectly normal thing to do, and the mood was definitely set up for it. “I mean, um, I guess…” He was just making it into a bigger deal than it needed to be at this point, and he hated seeing that hint of self-consciousness in Asato’s eyes whenever he pointed out a strange behavior. “…I’m sorry. Its fine, if you want to. You just surprised me is all.”
He lowered his hand and returned to his position against Asato, feeling a little embarrassed for getting so worked up over something like that.
“Is it really fine?” Konoe could hear the uncertainty in his voice, so he wrapped their tails together again as reassurance.
“I told you, you just surprised me. I don’t mind if you want to keep going.” He knew without looking that Asato’s ears had perked up again and that he had a smile so wide it showed his fangs.
Instead of a verbal response, Konoe felt him nuzzle right in between his ears and then resume right where he had left off. If he was being honest with himself, it felt really nice. He had been alone for so long that he had never really had a chance to feel what it was like to be this close to someone before Asato. He simultaneously remembered that it was the same for Asato, and was glad in a way that they could experience this together.
Asato continued to thoroughly groom both of Konoe’s ears, the gentleness of the action nearly lulling Konoe to sleep until he felt a squeeze around his waist and realized that he must have finished.
“Do you want me to do your tail too?” Konoe almost choked on his own spit.
“W-What?! No, it’s fine! I can do that myself!” Ears were one thing, but tails were definitely something best left for themselves. Not to mention Konoe was still a little self-conscious about the crookedness at the end. He unconsciously unwound his tail from Asato’s and hugged it close to himself, running his fingers over the slight angle.
“May I touch it?”
“Um, sure, I guess.” Konoe was a little confused by the request, but he trusted Asato not to hurt him or do anything too strange. And he had to admit, it was more than a little comforting to feel Asato’s strong hands moving so gently over his fur.
“Your tail is very pretty.” Konoe creased his eyebrows at the abruptness of the comment.
“You’ve said that before. I still think yours is prettier though.” Asato’s movements didn’t cease, even as Konoe squirmed a bit in embarrassment.
“I’m still very happy that you think so. But I really mean it. When I told you before, it was still black, so now that it’s back to the normal color I wanted you to know that I haven’t changed my mind. It could be any color and I would still think so, because it’s Konoe’s.”
If he wasn’t embarrassed before, he definitely was now. “What are you talking about, stupid Asato.” He turned around to hide his face in Asato’s shoulder, making sure to tuck his tail in between their bodies to keep it out of sight. Asato didn’t reply, but gave him another squeeze while he made himself comfortable. Konoe found himself suddenly very tired, and had a feeling it had something to do with their shared body heat and the calmness of the night.
“…thank you.” He mumbled so quietly he thought Asato might not have heard him, but was proven wrong as he fell asleep to a strong heartbeat and a gentle purr.