Chapter Text
From the moment they were in sight of the shore, Takumi and Keisuke could make out the crowd.
Mostly civilians, but there was a subsection of just reporters and journalists. Which meant the pilots weren't going to be relaxing any time soon.
The helicopters touched down on the helipads, and Takumi exchanged a look with his boyfriend before they exited the aircraft, along with Nakazato, Shingo, Mako, and Sayuki.
If Jaeger pilots had been celebrities before, it was nearly unfathomable how famous the six pilots left were. They were only a step away from godhood, at this point.
There had to have been several dozen news reporters surrounding them in seconds - and Takumi was temporarily blinded from the camera lights before he tried to escape, only for the crowd to move directly in the way. Unfortunately, that meant that he had to confront them and listen to their questions and probably answer them, too.
Keisuke patted his back, staying close.
Rather than try to go inside and get private medical attention for all the injuries sustained, they were forced to receive it on the helipad, and Takumi just hid behind Keisuke’s bulkier form as his older brother helped maintain a small distance between them and the mob.
They wanted to speak with all pilots, but they wanted to speak to him most of all - seeing as he was the catalyst for their victory, the reason it succeeded in the first place.
So they were trapped for hours. And then hours turned into days stuck at the Shatterdome as more and more interviewers came from all over, and then Takumi was so desperate to go home, he considered stealing a helicopter.
Keisuke was right with him, feeling his desperation to leave, and so he begged his brother to get them off base - and of course Ryosuke obliged. He hated the constant harassment from reporters just as much as anybody else. He arranged for a helicopter to pick them up incredibly early in the morning, before most of the reporters arrived.
The two of them packed up all of their things, saying their goodbyes to their fellow (sleepy) pilots, and to their Jaeger. Takumi hoped he never had to go back to the Shatterdome - and that Panda was put in a museum somewhere close to his home, so that he could still see her. If she never had to be used again, then he’d be content for the rest of his life.
Keisuke had hugged his brother tight - making him promise to visit soon - before he left with his boyfriend, and they were flown quickly and quietly away from Hong Kong, and towards Shibukawa.
A car met them when they landed, and Takumi eagerly hopped in, holding Keisuke's hand. "My dad… didn't want me to go," he murmured, rubbing his thumb idly over Keisuke's knuckles. "I didn't want to either, at first. But I had to, and he knew that…"
Takumi sighed, and Keisuke leaned over to kiss the top of his head. "He's gonna be so happy that you're home," he said.
Chuckling, the brunette nodded, rubbing at tired eyes. “Yeah, if he’s not monumentally pissed at me,” he said. “But I… had to see Panda again. And I knew that going to the Shatterdome would help me get a little more closure, too. I - I didn’t have any, all the years I’ve been away.”
Keisuke nodded, wishing they were closer next to each other so that he could press against his side and have more contact. “I know,” he said, remembering the first year that Takumi had been home - it had easily been the worst year of his life, and Keisuke knew. He had seen how he struggled just to get out of bed, or even roll over.
The days that he could get out of bed were even more dangerous - because instead of laying in bed and doing nothing, he had the energy to do something about how miserable he was.
Keisuke had seen how scared Bunta was in those memories, too. He doubted Bunta would be pissed at all, and if he was, it definitely wouldn’t be with Takumi.
But, well - the only way to tell would be in a couple minutes, Keisuke thought as the car came to a stop outside the tofu shop Takumi’s dad owned.
Takumi stepped out first, grabbing all of his bags from the car and making sure they were secure over his shoulders - and then he looked at Keisuke, eyes searching for anything that might make his boyfriend look bad in Bunta’s eyes - before he found nothing. So he nodded, and they stepped away from the car, waving goodbye to the driver before he faced the shop door. He could already hear the sounds of his dad working - preparing to open the shop up, already.
He didn’t bother to knock on the door, knowing it was unlocked at the moment.
“We’re not open for another hour, please come back then,” Bunta said over his shoulder, sounding older than he had when Takumi had left.
“Is now not a good time, old man?” Takumi asked with a little smile, and Bunta went completely still when he recognized the voice of his son. He turned around slowly and saw him stepping all the way inside, the door shutting behind him and the person behind him.
Bunta stared at him for a few moments before he went to dry his hands and then walked over to yank his only son into a tight hug, so tight that Takumi’s back audibly popped, and Keisuke smiled a little as Takumi groaned, kicking his feet a little as he was lifted off of the ground.
“I can’t breathe,” he wheezed, tapping his dad’s back, and Bunta loosened his hold but didn’t let go.
“You’re not allowed to scare me like that ever again,” he said before he finally started to let go, and he looked over his kid’s face, making sure he was really there before he stepped back. “Watching you leave a second time to pilot that damn Jaeger was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, kid. So you’re not allowed to make me go through that ever again, alright?” He said firmly.
Takumi nodded, and he sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. “I won’t, dad, I promise,” he said, and Bunta watched his lip quiver before he pulled him into another hug.
“Are you okay?” He asked, and Takumi nodded, hiccuping as he tried not to cry. “That big Kaiju bitch didn’t get you too good, did it?” He asked, and Takumi shrugged. “Nothing you won’t recover from, right?”
“Right. Probably,” he said, and Bunta scowled, pulling back to look at his face. “My back was already shit beforehand, Slattern barely made it worse.”
Bunta crossed his arms, not really liking the answer. “Did the doctors over there have any solutions to the pain?” He asked, and Takumi shrugged again.
“Not really. They just recommended massages as preventative measures, and also for pain management. It’s been working so far, but they say it’s nerve damage, so it probably won’t ever go away completely,” he explained. When his dad looked unsatisfied, he sighed. “It’s fine, old man. I can handle it.”
“You just saved the world. You shouldn’t suffer for all that you’ve done,” Bunta complained. “It’s ridiculous that they haven’t come up with any solutions for Jaeger pilots and nerve pain…”
Takumi winced. “Most pilots who get that badly injured don’t live long enough to suffer nerve pain, dad,” he said quietly. “So I’m just grateful to be alive.”
Bunta looked over his son, surprised at the words - and he clenched his jaw for a moment before he sighed. “Kid… you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he murmured. Now that he noticed that one difference, he spotted a few others.
Takumi stood taller than he did before - no longer hunching over to make himself small, and there was a spark in his eye that hadn’t been there when he left. His cheeks looked the slightest bit fuller - he had been eating more. The bags he usually had under his eyes were nearly gone, too - and he looked like he was at peace. Like he had finally moved on from losing his last co-pilot.
The boy smiled somewhat sadly, and he leaned against Keisuke. “I’m sorry, dad,” he said. “For putting you through hell like I did after coming home. It’s not gonna be like that this time.”
“I know, kid. And it’s alright - you lived hell. I only caught a glimpse of it through you,” he said. Then, to change the subject, he turned to Keisuke, who tensed up now that Bunta’s attention was on him. He didn’t need to be as tall as Keisuke for him to be intimidating. “So - you’re my son’s new co-pilot?”
Keisuke nodded. “Takahashi Keisuke. It’s - nice to meet you, sir,” he said, clasping his hands together behind his back and standing tall like he would when addressing the marshal (there was a difference between his brother and the marshal - at least mentally). “Your son is…” He couldn’t find the right words to describe him, so he made a face. “He’s incredible, and a really good person with a great taste in music,” he said after a few moments. “You should be proud. He saved humanity from the apocalypse down there - the breach wouldn’t have closed if we hadn’t had him."
Bunta smiled. “He’s my son. I’m always proud, but especially since I heard what he did,” he said, and Takumi blushed, turning away from the two most important men in his life as they did their damndest to embarrass him, it seemed. “Call me Bunta - and come on in, I’ll make something for breakfast.”
Takumi relaxed a little, his smile no longer sad. “Breakfast sounds good. I can help you once we put our things upstairs,” he said, taking Keisuke’s hand.
Bunta waved him off. “That isn’t necessary. Go clean up and put all your stuff away, and then tell me all about your time back at the Shatterdome, okay? I want the exclusive full story - not the story you told all the reporters,” he said.
Takumi smiled, nodding as he set his things just inside the house before he slipped his shoes off and stepped onto the ledge that separated the tofu shop and their home. “Exclusive story, got it. I promise you’ll get the secret inside scoop,” he called over his shoulder, and Bunta chuckled as Keisuke followed him quickly. He looked way too large for this house, standing nearly ten centimeters taller than Takumi.
Takumi showed Keisuke his room, which was just as he left it. All his clothes were put away, the bed was made, the blinds were drawn shut. He had only been away a couple weeks, but it felt like a life-time ago.
“Hey, Keisuke-san…” Takumi looked over his shoulder as he went to grab a change of clothes from his closet, something warm and snuggly fitting. “Wanna shower with me?”
Keisuke raised an eyebrow, amusement crossing his features as he set his bag down next to the doorway. “I thought you wanted to slow things down, Takumi,” he murmured lowly, aware of how thin the walls were.
Takumi blushed and shoved him away before he could get too close. “Oh, shut up! We are slowing things down now, which is why we’re not doing anything in there, only showering!” He said. “It’s saving water, and I - I like having you close by.”
Keisuke laughed, going to grab something to change into as well. “I know, I know. Anyway - the answer is yes, if we can fit. I like having you close by, too.”
Rolling his eyes, the younger took his hand and dragged him to the bathroom. “Then shut up and shower with me.”
Keisuke just followed him into the shower, and even though it was cramped with both of them in the shower stall, they were still comfortable in each other’s space, kissing sweetly under the stream of the hot water.
When Takumi pulled away, he rested his head on Keisuke’s shoulder, both arms wrapping around his waist. “I love you,” he said, sliding his palm up his back, and the blonde shivered before reaching for the shampoo, intending to wash his hair for him.
“I love you too,” Keisuke said, and Takumi blushed before moving to kiss him again.
Maybe hope wasn’t such a terrible thing to have.