The Big Book Of Amaguji

A Slice Of An (Almost) Married Life: Moving Abroad

Their suitcases were stuffed to the brim with everything they had. Every window blind, every carpet held something near and dear to them like cutting your hair. The rooms felt barren with Shoelace slithering on the ground considering she's a boa constricter. It was as if she somehow connected with the house also.

Korekiyo squatted down and held out his arm to carry his beloved Shoelace around his neck, in a safe manner of course. Rantaro was talking to the moving company on a set date for when their luggage will get to their new house in America to finalize their long term relationship. It was a shame that they couldn't establish it in Japan but laws are laws.

Korekiyo heard his own stressed breathing through the hollowed rooms, he liked it. It signaled for something bigger and better in their case, the hissing and slithering sounds against his black turtleneck was a stress reliever for him also. It was like the sounds spoke to him in memories.

Rantaro and Korekiyo walked in hesitant strides towards the pet store. The old red bow of their now deceased cat, Dust Bunny, was wrapped around Korekiyo's house keys as a momentous reminder of the tabby. A sad one, though.

The glass door was light upon pushing and let in a cool breeze from the AC, which was one of the things Korekiyo didn't like about the store as of said recent events. He didn't know he was an animal lover at all until Rantaro's parents lent them the older tabby to take care of while they were on vacation. It was a sad tragedy for both parties to say the least. He could hear the tears in their voices as the spoke through the phone.

The tanks were filled with happy, skittering animals that Korekiyo completely turned a blind eye to. He wanted something that he could kick it off with immediately, unlike Dust Bunny. He didn't want a cult copy of something he knew was deceased to annoy the tingling feeling that they were just like Dust Bunny.

He walked over to the Reptilian section where something crossed his eye. A black and white boa constricter asleep in it's tank. He called Rantaro over to tell him his thoughts.

'I've thought about making this boa constricter our pet. What do you think?'

'I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news but... actually, you understand my concerns.'

'I do, I do and you're correct for having these worries. It was just a suggestion and nothing more, let's move on.'

He remembered not being able to settle on anything else other than the snake at the time and decided to take her home. Rantaro still visibly cringed at the sight of Shoelace around Korekiyo's neck which he still slightly teased him about.

The story about her name was just a thought that came to Rantaro in a dream and decided to name her as such after being nameless for months. He sighed in contempt and walked outside to see Rantaro pacing around.

"Is something amiss?"

Rantaro shot his head up from his trance and shook his head, "No, not at all. Actually, we should start heading towards the airport."

"Is that so? I should've gotten more of Shoelace's food if we're going so early, oh well."

The thing they didn't think about though is the transportation to the airport. Rantaro didn't like cars and considering that it's summer, car ACs were probably being blasted inside anyways which Korekiyo highly disliked. With the walk being around 3 miles, it would be a great time to get some cardio in. Though running with suitcases were a hassle...

Korekiyo wasn't much of a runner while Rantaro was. He didn't enjoy it but running away from dangerous animals did give a mandatory opportunity to do so, he was grateful to say the very least.

With exhausted pants, they arrived at the crowded location and sat down in the waiting area. They patted their pockets for their wallets and passports and sighed in relief. Rantaro laid his head on his fiance's shoulder.

"It may not look like it, but I'm really excited."

"No worries, I can tell." Rantaro could see Shoelace running down his arm like water. It was surprising no one noticed her yet but what he's about to do may draw alot of it anyways.

"Can I hold her?"

Korekiyo signaled a sound of surprised from the grassy haired man. He always had a resentment towards them and it didn't look like he was going to let go of that any time soon.

"It's an odd question for you especially to ask. Of course I accept your request but I've foreseen this a lot later in our lives."

Luckily, Shoelace was already on his arm so he wouldn't have to feel bad about prying he off. She slithered into Rantaro's lap and stayed there while he just stared at her.

"I assume that you like her."

"It's... a lot less worse than I thought."

He only said that because she was most likely sleeping now but his instincts might kick in soon.

Plane 509AA has arrived. Please make your way to Gate 1.

They checked their tickets once more and sighed in relief but Korekiyo halted him. He took out a tupperware  with holes in the lid and placed Shoelace inside.

"I've prepared everything in advance. If they ask about her, I'll improvise. Let us go now."

They ran to the gate and got through the scannings with minimal trouble, Korekiyo saying that the snake was a coil of rope for rock climbing. They ran to the entrance and quickly boarded within a crowd, found their seats and settled down. Korekiyo fed Shoelace her mice while Rantaro took out neck pillows for both of them.

This is it. The next step into their new lives.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year can top anything that happened last year!