Kuon Wataru - Blog Posts

“No Place Else”

Synopsis: During a rainy day indoors, Esther gets a bit too curious and prods too deep into Kuon’s past. How can he make it up to him?

Pairing: Esther x Kuon

Word count: 1.7k

Cw: OC X CANNON, fluff, a bit of angst, might be ooc, nicknames (darling, bread twist, taru)

A/N: Esthuon one shot for my dear suffering roach of an acquaintance @tfq-qurpl3. I hope this made you feel better and its another Kuon fic to add to ur limited collection.

“Taru?…” Esther cooed, his long limbs sprawled all over his beloved boyfriend as they sat in the warmth of the futon in their living room. Ever since Estelle left for culinary school abroad, Esther had grown lonely in their once lively home, and so he decided to move in with his best friend. In the time that they were living together, something more blossomed between them and before long they found themselves next to each other, fingers intertwined as they shared stolen moments and fleeting kisses in the comfort of their shared apartment. Now with the raging storm outside, neither of them could leave the house, and were confined to their small 2 bedroom apartment in the silent town of Yamaguchi prefecture.

Overcomed by absolute boredom, Wataru had suggested the pair pull out a puzzle to solve. Even if neither of them truthfully enjoyed doing puzzles much (for Kuon it brought back Isagi flashbacks), the quiet night shared in the company of their better half needed no words said, just the sound of their breaths falling in pace with each other, with the winds howling from the outside as the rain assaulted their windows. The pair were in their own little world, with the sweet aroma of tea and romance in the air to accompany them. Wataru could not ask for anything more.

“Taruuuuu” Esther’s whiny tone sliced through the tranquil silence, snapping Wataru out of his little world, finally gaining his attention.

“Oh sorry darling. Anything you need?”

Wataru replied in a calm tone, his fingers still sliding over the puzzle to try and piece the full image together, completely oblivious to the uneasy figiting of his partner.

“Taru…. Do you regret it?” Esther questioned softly, his tone quiet, almost as if he was carefully picking his words in fear that the wrong thing might set Wataru off. The poor vet was practically walking on eggshells around his boyfriend, and that puzzled him.

“What do I regret?” Wataru asked with an inquisitive expression, his tone laced with caution and weariness. An eyebrow raised as he continued to try to find where the puzzle piece should go amongst the vast sea of pieces that are meant to work in harmony to form a complete image. Even without opening his eyes, he could tell something was off with Esther. The boy may be quiet, but he was being uncharacteristically silent, especially around people he was close to. As much as he tried to ignore it, there was a growing uneasy feeling gnawing at the back of Wataru’s mind, warning him that he might not like the next few words out of Esther’s mouth.

Esther swallowed, glancing away as he bit the inside of his cheek, as if unsure if he should continue or not. After a moment of hesitation, he resigned.

“Quitting soccer…. Do you regret that?” Esther asked softly, his voice barely over a whisper as he turned to face Wataru. For once Wataru’s eyes snapped open, those maroon orbs that Esther could get lost in stared back at him with a mix of anger, pain, and something else Esther couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Taru?….” Esther got off his lap, fully facing Wataru who hadn’t said anything. The silence that hung between them was deafening to Esther, and he immediately wished he could take all of it back. He was never good at talking, always having Estelle to be his interpreter. He should have just kept his mouth shut. Now he's taken a jab at a sore spot for a man he swore he'd never hurt, and the guilt of seeing him in such a state was suffocating.

”Wataru—“ Esther started, trying to take his words back. But the name fell on deaf ears as his partner spoke up.

“No. I don’t.”

“Taru?….”

Esther questioned, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to get Wataru to look at him again, his eyes a sea of worry and guilt for posing such an insensitive question.

“Taru im so sorry—“

“No. Don't be bread twist. I… don't regret it. Not one bit.”

When Esther managed to coax Wataru into looking into his eyes again, his hand gently pulling his chin to face him, Wataru finally cracked into a smile, a smile so sweet, so genuine, yet so bitter and pained. The initial expression Esther hadn’t been able to make out before finally became clear: disappointment.

“It meant I wasn't good enough. I threw my teammates under the bus for a selfish reason, so I understand why none of them wanted to pick me again. And honestly, seeing them now, I understand why I was eliminated. If I had to resort to such petty tricks to survive, my skills as a striker were simply that. I wasn’t good enough, and I see that now. Those four… my old members… they are now out there pulling amazing feats that I never knew were possible. And in all honesty, I don't regret quitting. My skills pale in comparison.”

Wataru smiled, but Esther could see the muscles of his cheek were strained. It was a bittersweet admission on his part, knowing in hindsight he just wasn’t destined to go pro. But time heals all wounds, and the pain and anguish he felt when he saw his dream get crushed before his eyes didn’t hurt so bad anymore. He should have realised this before when the thought of betraying his team crossed his mind; if he failed then, then that just meant his skills as a striker stopped there.

Esther however, just stared back in silence. He doesn’t know what he should feel. Pity? Regret? Guilt? So he just stared, unable to form any coherent sentence to comfort him.

The air around them had grown heavy, combined with the rain outside, the once tranquil atmosphere had turned melancholic and somber as the two sat there in silence, reflecting on what had just transpired moments ago; Wataru with his own self reflection and acceptance, and Esther with his heart heavy with feelings he couldn’t put into words.

Eventually, it was Esther who made the first move to break the silence. He got up, and started dragging Wataru’s wrist with him. This change of pace surprised Wataru, who glanced down at his arm being pulled by the smaller male in confusion.

“Darling what are you doing?”

“What does it look like I'm doing, idiot?! Put on your cleats!”

Esther broke into a grin, pulling Wataru along as Wataru struggled to gain his balance.

“At least let me find my cleats first!”

The rain was still pouring when Esther dragged Wataru outside, much to the poor man’s confusion. It was storming, why the hell would Esther want them outside? Wataru just couldn’t wrap his head around it!

“Bread twist where are we going?!”

Wataru yelled as Esther dragged them through the pouring rain, drenching both of them. Wataru wasn’t one to enjoy being soaked, especially not the feeling of his long chin length curls sticking to his face due to the water. It made him feel like he had a sopping wet mop on his head (which he does ngl). But Esther had left no room for protest as he continued to drag them through the downpour, running onto the soft grass, the rain drowning out Wataru’s questions.

It wasn’t until they reached the open field that Wataru finally understood what Esther had been planning. They were at the small communal soccer field in their town, the same field where Wataru grew up playing soccer with his friend. It was just as Wataru had remembered it, with the public goal posts and balls left out here for people to play with as and when they pleased.

Esther finally broke away from Wataru as he ran through the pouring rain to grab one of the balls that were left out in the open.

“Come on! Let's go! It's a one on one! You against me! Let's go! What are you waiting for?” Esther yelled back, kicking the ball around. He dribbled the ball around the whole field, the rush of adrenaline powering him to run through the pouring rain to score a goal. With that Esther turned around, to face him, strands of his hair sticking to his face as both men continued to be thoroughly drenched by the rain. But that wasn’t what caught Wataru’s attention. The only thing his maroon eyes could focus on at that moment, was Esther’s beaming grin as the boy let out a booming euphoric laugh that seemed to slice through the sound of rain that drummed in both their ears. That smile… a grin that spread from ear to ear, was just so full of life, joy and genuine enjoyment for the sport— no, not for the sport, but for him.

With that, even Wataru couldn’t help but break into a hearty laugh as he held his hips, head to the sky. The sound of both their laughter intertwined, encasing them in their own little world as they laughed at the stupidity of the situation. Sure they may have looked like maniacs laughing in the middle of the pouring rain, but that didn’t matter. Wataru felt like he was that six year old boy again, the boy who had just discovered soccer, and would run in the pouring rain with his friends, kicking a ball between them as they refused to go home. This heavy sense of nostalgia was present and overwhelming to Wataru, on top of the idiocy of their current predicament, both fully grown men standing in the pouring rain, their shirts soaked and sticking to their muscular backs as they stood in the rain, Wataru just couldn’t help himself.

The light in front of him was so bright, so brilliant, yet so warm and inviting at the same time, felt so much like home, that Wataru couldn’t help but run towards it, the icky feeling of his hair sticking to the back of his neck and the sides of his face long forgotten as he bolted towards the comforting light of his star, laughing as he rushed through the rain, the droplets of rain pattering on his skin.

“Alright! You're on! Don't think I’ll let you off that easily! I haven't gotten rusty yet!”

To Wataru Kuon, besides soccer, meeting Esther Yên Hien is the best thing to have ever happened to him, and he hopes that he will forever get to bathe in the warm glow of his star in their own little bubble. There was simply no place Wataru would rather be right now than on this field, reliving his dream with the boy he loved most.