Only Once

🌙bonus chapter🌙

(If y'all are wondering yessss Taki is an adult in this story like 20 years old cz I don't wanna go to jail)

The hotel room was quiet, tucked into that hazy space between night and dawn.

Outside, the city was waking up—cars humming along distant roads, the occasional honk or shout carried on the breeze—but in here, time had folded in on itself. No schedule. No rehearsals. Just the soft rhythm of breathing and the warm weight of a shared bed.

Taki woke first.

His eyes fluttered open slowly, lashes catching morning light leaking in between the heavy curtains. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Just that he felt... warm. Safe.

Then he registered the arm curled around his waist. The thumb brushing gently across his hip in slow, absent-minded circles.

K.

Fast asleep, one cheek pressed against Taki's shoulder, his legs tangled through Taki's like they were afraid to drift apart even in dreams. His hair was messy, sticking up in soft tufts, and his lips were slightly parted, breath soft and warm against Taki's skin.

Taki smiled.

He didn't move. Not yet. He just watched. Listened to K's heartbeat, steady and grounding. Let his fingers drift lazily through the loose folds of the blanket, over the curve of K's spine, memorizing the moment.

This wasn't the kind of morning he'd ever expected to have.

Not after the diagnosis. Not after the hospital visits. Not after being told—over and over again—that his time was running out.

And yet here he was.

Alive. In love. Held like something worth staying for.

K stirred a little, brow twitching like he was fighting to stay asleep. His hand slid further up Taki's side, pulling him closer in an unconscious motion, like he could sense him slipping even in sleep.

"You're awake," K mumbled, voice still wrapped in dreams.

"Barely," Taki whispered, lips brushing against his hairline. "You were snoring."

"I don't snore," K said automatically, eyes still closed.

"Okay. You breathed loudly."

K let out a sleepy chuckle and finally opened his eyes. They were puffy, lashes clumped together, but still somehow the softest thing Taki had ever seen.

"How long were you watching me?"

"Long enough to count your freckles."

"I don't have freckles."

"You do," Taki teased. "Right here." He reached up and tapped the side of K's nose gently. "You're just too famous to notice."

K groaned and buried his face into Taki's shoulder, letting out a muffled whine. "Too early for this."

Taki laughed. The sound was soft, breathy, but full. Real.

K peeked up again after a moment, brushing his thumb along Taki's cheek. His eyes were more serious now.

"Last night... on stage... I wasn't planning to do that. Not like that."

"I know."

"I just saw you there. And I thought, 'Why am I still hiding the best thing that's ever happened to me?'"

Taki's breath hitched.

"K..."

K leaned in slowly, forehead resting against his. "I meant what I said. I want the world to know who I love."

"And I want to keep giving them something to cheer for," Taki whispered.

K smiled—soft and sleepy, but certain.

Then they kissed. Slow, unhurried. Not like last night's dizzy, crowd-fueled first kiss. This one was quieter. Sweeter. The kind of kiss you gave someone you didn't want to say goodbye to anymore.

The kind of kiss that tasted like morning sun and maybe.

When they finally broke apart, K pulled him closer and buried his face back into the crook of Taki's neck.

"Let's not do anything today," he mumbled.

"You have a show tonight."

"Okay," K sighed dramatically. "Let's not do anything until then."

Taki snorted. "Deal."

And they stayed like that—wrapped in each other, sharing warmth and silly whispers, tangled in the soft miracle of one more morning.
a/n:
Decided on making an epilogue so yeah hihi