[ There’s no hesitation in Aki as he holds on to Tsurumaru, letting him adjust to clambering on his lap, getting comfortable. It’s natural now, a familiar shift of their bodies, one arm hooking around his waist and the other resting on his thigh, rubbing his fingers over the spot there gently.

They’ve done it before, maybe a dozen times. Each time it makes his heart just a little bit giddy, because somehow he has been chosen. He is the one being loved. Tsurumaru kisses him and touches him and wears his ring, and it’s painfully beautiful to think about.

He nods, and Aki can feel his cheeks getting heated, red and hot. He didn’t wake up with the intention of proposing, but it’s tumbled out of him all the same, a mixture of desperation and uncertainty that’s mingled with his adoration and warmth time and time again. He wants this.

Aki wants him. For the rest of his life.

Drawn back to the present, he tilts his head up. ]

What are you?

[ He pauses, considering for a long moment. ]

I know you’re a blade. I know you were for someone else, once, and that person will always be special. I know you have powers, and that you’re not just a human like I am. I know you’re special.

[ But, well. Aki smiles. ]

For me? To me? You’re Tsuru. You’re my heart.