Work Text:
The sand under Yugamu's hands is warm and soft. The beach stretches endlessly into the distance, embraced by the turquoise ocean and the spotless blue sky above. The sun hovers at its peak, coats the scene into bright light and summer heat.
The waves gently purr against the edge of the beach, but it doesn't interest Yugamu. Not just yet. His gaze is set on the blue lobster idling in front of him, curiously inspecting a shell in the sand. It's blue, strikingly so, with a tiny eyepatch over its left side of its face.
Such a pretty color. Such a beautiful day. It couldn't be any better, except—
"A lobster? Really?"
Yugamu's face softens into a smile. He knows that voice, warmer than the sun, gentler than the ocean waves. The missing piece to make this fantasy truly perfect.
Takumi sits down next to him in the sand, his eyes set on the creature. It stays unbothered by its spectators, like it had all the time in the world to enjoy itself.
"Did you know? Lobsters are believed to be a symbol of longevity and good fortune", Yugamu says reverently, "They're sometimes referred to as the old man of the sea for their bent shape, looking like an elderly person."
Takumi hums. He pulls his knees up and crosses his arms on them, resting his face on top to look at Yugamu. His hair is like a bonfire in the brightness of it all. Takumi sticks out like a beacon on the beach.
"That's oddly poetic for you", Takumi says quietly.
Yugamu closes his eyes and tilts his head up to let the sun shine against his face.
"I told you I'm a hopeless romantic, didn't I?"
"Yeah... You did."
He wishes Takumi could stay like this. Make it easier to let go, to embrace his wish. But it's hard to say goodbye to someone like Takumi, knowing he would never see him again. The one person who had been real.
The waves inch more towards the beach with each time they roll against it now, closer and closer to the lobster waiting there for departure. It fills Yugamu with a sense of melancholy. Once the waves embraced it, it would never return to this beach again. It would forget this beach ever existed, along with its own origin. Not even a name would remain.
"You know... It's such a nice blue, but when you cook it, it would turn bright red", Yugamu says.
The lobster turns around and Takumi frowns.
"Crude", he chuckles awkwardly.
It makes Yugamu's heart throb with ache.
"Ah, just like you... My dear Sumino-kun. Once you've embraced me, I'll merge and become you. There's no need for blue if there's red."
Takumi blinks slowly. His face shifts into something more solemn, something sad and apologetic.
"Don't be sad", Yugamu whispers, "I'm so... so grateful to have met you."
His voice wavers. Chokes up inside his throat and threatens to drown him. He can't suffocate just yet. Not as long as there was time left for him to speak.
"Even if everything else was a lie... You gave me meaning. You gave me a kind of love I've never had. True love... the one I never knew I yearned for."
Yugamu sighs and turns to look at Takumi, his Takumi, one last time.
Tears well up in those dark blue eyes, and Yugamu reaches out his hand to wipe them away with his thumb.
"You're the ocean I want to swim inside forever", Yugamu says with his voice nearly breaking, "You're the tide carrying me away from all the pain. If it's you, I can swim away without regret."
Takumi sobs. His face scrunches and he lowers his gaze, tears dripping into the golden sand.
It shouldn't be like this. Yugamu wishes Takumi didn't have to carry this burden. But this was all he could do for him now.
"I just wish... once it's all said and done, I'll see you again. Maybe as my adorable little shrimp, so I can poke you with my claw."
Yugamu musters a smile. Takumi meets his eye again and tries to return it, but it won't stay on his face. It cracks, teeth digging into his lip, the smile falling apart.
The waves have crawled so close now that they reach the pair sitting on the beach. The lobster has turned towards the beckoning tide, antennas twitching in anticipation.
It's time to go. The lobster knows as well as Yugamu.
"I'm sorry", Takumi whines, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"Oh, for the love of murder... You saved me, Sumino-kun. So, so many times. From myself, most of all. Once the tide has taken me, I'll never have to kill again. I'll be embraced by nothing but love. Your love. Because you're the most precious person in the world to me."
Takumi drags in a shuddering breath, tears sparkling over his cheeks, forcing himself to look up. His teeth grit, he tries to blink the tears away but more and more keep coming, keep painting tiny rivers over his beautiful face.
"Let me have your back one last time", Yugamu whispers. He curls a finger under Takumi's chin, tilts his head up and places a soft kiss against his lips. "You've turned my violence into tenderness", he breathes out, "I love you, Sumino-kun. From the moment we met, I knew it would be you until the very end. I'm so... so happy to have been able to love you. You're truly special. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
Takumi crumbles. He cries, cries so hard, and there's nothing to stop it. Trembling fingers grasp after Yugamu, and Takumi kisses him back.
Yugamu sighs softly and lets the tide wash him away. The last wave rolls into the beach and invites the lobster into the endless depths, far away from ache and pain and all the blood. The ocean consumes the memories, cleanses them and frees Yugamu of all his sin.
Takumi was the one good thing in this world. Shy, stubborn and so determined to do the right thing. Holding Yugamu's violent heart with so much tenderness that it started beating in sync with his.
When the tide retreats, it leaves an empty beach behind. A lone eyepatch lays in the sand, with nothing to remind anyone of who it once belonged to.
When Takumi pulls the blade out, Yugamu is gone. He can still feel the sensation of tears pricking his eyes, but there's no time to cry.
There's a fight to be won. A fight Yugamu gave his life for, as he promised, to have Takumi's back a final time.
And even though the body in front of him was drained of life, Yugamu was still right there with him. Entrusted his last wish to Takumi, to be able to carry out their final mission. He wouldn't be able to win without him, without all of them, without their belief and their love.
So Takumi can't stop. Can't turn and run away. He has to face what's yet to come and bring it all to an end.
And once it's done... Once the war has ended and nobody else had to fight anymore, he wants to find that ocean, find a lone blue lobster and spend eternity at his side.