Sex Bucket List • Tokyo revengers

Part 4 - Chapter 20

AN:
So we're officially entering the final stretch of this story, and now that we're heading toward the end I have to ask: who do you think (or hope) will be endgame? 👀
Drop your guesses in the comments, I'm curious to see what you think !

5 years later

I woke with a jolt, but didn't move. I lay on my side, eyes half-lidded, staring toward the window, heart pounding.

I must've forgotten to close the blinds again last night. The morning sun streamed through, spilling across the sheets and painting the floorboards in stripes of light. From here, I could see the skyline of Roppongi through the tall glass panes. The view was the reason we'd picked this apartment in the first place. Me, Rindou, and Ran. We liked the way the world looked from up here.

My heart was still pounding, but I couldn't remember why at first. The dream was already slipping through my fingers like water. Fading, blurring at the edges. But I knew I'd seen him in it.

Mikey.

The one from before. From a life I never lived, yet somehow remembered.
A hollow bloomed low in my stomach, familiar now. A feeling I'd woken up with too many times to count. A quiet, invisible grief for something I'd never really had.

Like I was missing a part of myself.

An arm slid around my waist, tugging me back gently, and I let myself be pulled into the curve of a body behind me.

"Morning," Rindou murmured, his voice rough with fatigue.

Him slipping back into bed must have been what woke me up.

He'd spent the night working late at the club he and Ran had bought last year. They were entrepreneurs, proud of not having taken the clean, traditional route. No universities. No suits. Just ambition, sweat, and instinct.

It was working. They'd built something, and it was growing. They were in the process of acquiring a second club.

And me? Well, I was building too, in a different way. I'd enrolled in journalism school.

I turned to face Rindou, nestling into the space between us. His hair was a mess, and he smelled faintly of booze and cigarette smoke, the faded trace of cologne clinging to his skin.

I kissed him softly, and even in his exhaustion, he pulled me closer. His lips moved with heat, with familiarity. It didn't take much to get him stirred up. Even half-asleep, his fingers gripped me tighter. But I pulled back, brushing my nose against his.

"I have to go to class," I whispered.

"I can drive you," he offered, voice slurred with fatigue.

I smiled and brushed my thumb across his cheek. "You need to rest."

He sighed, but let me go. His fingers lingered around mine, holding on until I was too far to reach.

I padded to the bathroom, took a quick shower, tied my hair back, swiped on a little makeup. Today was packed: after my morning lecture, I had plans to meet up with Hina and Senju for drinks. It was rare that all three of us had a free afternoon, so we were going to take advantage of it.

When I came back into the bedroom, Rindou had fallen asleep. He'd curled onto his side, one arm wrapped tight around my pillow, nose buried in the fabric like it still held a piece of me.