The Taisho fire

The bet

Returning to work after a week's suspension felt completely surreal. Yes, the station had not moved an inch. It was the same bustle of activity, the same people, the same piano that sat in a corner of the ground level. Her normal routine, her usual team, yet Gwen's word had just titled on its axis.

Her apartment sat five minutes away, the furniture probably pining from the absence of its mistress, but she's only seen it twice to pick up some necessary clothes and a toothbrush. For seven days, Gwen had been living upstairs, immersed in her Captain's world. Layer by layer, she dismantled him; his character, his habits, his cravings, the obsessive way he cleaned up the house, his love for mochis and white rice... Every little discovery was another step in his life.

Even when she realised everything in his way toppled over because of his long strides and swirling energy, she had to crack a smile... he suggested she found a dexterity potion to cure him of the long-life ailment of clumsiness. The sobriety of his flat made much more sense now; any object remotely in equilibrium was bound to succumb. Who would have guessed that the mighty Captain could be so erratic ? That a man with so much control could overthrow his own apartment when he wasn't focused on his movements ?

It was downright adorable, and something only a companion would ever discover. Is that what she had become in such little time ?

Gwen wasn't quite sure where they stood. So, finding herself here, in front of the piano once more before her shift began, she felt like an entirely different person.

Those were the same white and black keys she'd touched a thousand times. The last time she had played, Tōga had been her Captain, and her soul ached from his scolding. The last time, she didn't know the taste of his lips, not the feel of his body.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen allowed her fingers to start dancing on the instrument. Yann Tiersen's waltz wasn't an easy one, but she had learnt it years ago. Her hands knew the drill, freeing her mind for self-introspection.

She had a life, before Tōga. And this was the life after him; after the man she had crushed on for so long had embraced her, allowed her to barge in his life without battling an eyelash, given her a spot in his closet and a place in his bed.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Gwen feared... to be unafraid. Was it normal to attach yourself to a person so easily ? To allow him to become her entire world ? To see his face in the morning, and find joy in the sleepy smile he gave her ? To share dinner on his sofa, speaking of travels, language, culture, geography, anything that came to mind so easily ? To shiver when his golden gaze trapped hers ?

Mayhap she ought to retreat to her own place for a few days to sort her thoughts. Perhaps her rational mind still dwelt here, in the mess of her closet, hidden from view ? Was she in danger of losing herself ? Would the Yōkai Captain swallow her whole ? Was she strong enough to sustain the ever-swirling ball of energy that was the former Inu no Taishō ?

A warm hand landed upon her shoulder; she knew this touch. Intense and soothing. Without interrupting her playing, Gwen waited. What would he do ? A long trail of silver hair slid over her shoulder, shielding her from the rest of the room when a kiss landed upon her temple. The heat of his lips infused joy in her heart; Tōga wasn't shy to show affection.

Surely many of their colleagues had witnessed this simple, yet unmistakable statement. The Captain had just kissed her bare skin when he seldomly touched anyone. He retreated then, and she interrupted her playing to admire the broad expense of his back. But instead of finding a dancing ponytail over his traditional burgundy t-shirt, her eyes were captured by his. Tōga winked at her before he disappeared upstairs. Gwen's face flushed, her fingers finding the wrong keys.