2. the bat and the dragon

[badass_tiger]

Comm: fallintofallfestival
Prompt: Any Fandom/Any Queer Pairing/Soulmate Identifying Marks (must be matching marks and something that easily could be mistaken as a tattoo referencing Halloween - bats, pumpkin, witch hat, etc. - does it have to make sense? absolutely not)
Word Count: 2k
Author/Team: badass_tiger
Title: The Bat and the Dragon
Fandom/Original: Ace Attorney: Barok van Zieks/Ryunosuke Naruhodo
Rating: G
Triggers: NA
Summary: The existence of soulmarks is well-documented in history, but so few people have them that they are widely thought of as a myth. Naruhodo Ryuunosuke had always thought the mark on his side was a birthmark.
ConCrit: Y

In retrospect, van Zieks had always felt Naruhodo's pull. When he had heard of the Japanese lawyer who was to represent McGilded in court, he had been compelled to submit his name as the prosecution despite his hiatus. It was as if the ghost of his brother and Genshin Asogi had, in different ways (although considering what he knew now, perhaps not so different after all), urged him to meet Naruhodo Ryunosuke.

Two days after his trial, van Zieks finally accepted an invitation to dinner at 221B. He couldn't put it off for very long. When he went to his office the day after the trial, Kazuma Asogi had spent the better part of their lunch break hinting that he would regret not going to wait on Sholmes and Naruhodo. As far as van Zieks could see, he was more likely to regret going than not, but once Iris was mentioned, there was no avenue of retreat.

This was true even after he had arrived. Every time he looked away, his plate would be refilled with cakes and biscuits, his teacup brimming with freshly-brewed tea. The residents of 221B, on the other hand, were apparently obliged to fight for helpings. Quite oblivious to their guest now, Miss Mikotoba and Iris had Naruhodo pinned to the sofa as he waved a cake out of their reach.

'You said I could have it, Iris,' he moaned piteously. 'Please! I'm so hungry!'

It was a rather impressive thing to claim after single-handedly eating most of a pheasant.

'You need to learn to be more gentlemanly, Runo,' said Iris. 'A gentleman should never begrudge a lady his food. Now be a good boy and hand the bun to Susie!'

Naruhodo's uniform was rumpled from the fight. The hem hitched up as he flailed on the couch, revealing skin, and van Zieks' heart stopped. In a moment, he was on his feet and standing over the shocked trio, eyes wide and boring into Naruhodo's side.

'Um ... would you like it, Lord van Zieks?' Naruhodo said. In their surprise, Iris and Miss Mikotoba had relinquished their grip on him, and he extended the cake to van Zieks. Naruhodo blushed to realise that it had flattened somewhat in the scuffle.

'What?' van Zieks said. 'No. I ...'

His heart was beating very fast. It must be a mistake. It couldn't be. Yet the pieces fell together just so. From the moment he had first laid eyes on him, he had felt something for Naruhodo. At first, he had thought it was contempt, that he struck a chord within him that resonated with the memory of Genshin Asogi; at length, he accepted it to be a begrudging respect. But perhaps it had always been something more than that. Certainly, as of late, he had begun to consider Naruhodo with something like admiration.

'There is a mark of some sort on your side,' van Zieks managed to say at last.

'Oh.' Naruhodo's eyes went wide as if guilty of some wrongdoing. But he couldn't possibly know. Undoubtedly, it was his natural inclination to look frightened when taken by surprise. 'Yes. It's a birthmark. I've always had it.'

'May I speak to you in private?'

Naruhodo visibly swallowed. His female companions, having decided that his apparent discomfort made up for the lack of cake, shared a giggle behind their sleeves and offered little relief.

'You can use the office, Mr Naruhodo,' Miss Mikotoba said. ‘We’ll be sure not to disturb you.’

‘Right ... yes.’ He looked at the cake in his hand with some regret.

‘Go on, Runo! It won’t be your last cake, I promise!’ Iris crooned.

He sighed and released the cake at last.

As van Zieks followed him up the stairs, a remnant of courtesy through his impatience made him say, ‘I am sorry to interrupt your supper.' Of course, he wasn't really sorry. That was the British politeness.

'It's fine,' Naruhodo said with an awkward laugh.

They reached the top of the stairs, and van Zieks took a moment to look around the attic. The cluttered room that qualified as the Naruhodo Legal Consultancy was small, and even at noon, there would be shadows in the corners. But the brazier, the tea-making items, and the aquarium directly before the stairs lent it a warmth that was lacking in the prosecutor's office. Van Zieks looked at them all almost with surprise.

'I hope you've been enjoying the food,' Naruhodo said, apparently as a way of filling up the silence. The man really didn't like to stay quiet for long. 'I know that between Iris and Miss Susato's cooking, sometimes I eat more than I can take!'

Despite the urgency with which van Zieks had requested an audience, he couldn't find anything to reply to that or a way to begin. Sensing this, Naruhodo deflated. He beckoned van Zieks to take his chair behind his desk, and made to pull up his assistant's chair to sit on, but van Zieks declined.

'The ... mark. On your side,' van Zieks said. Naruhodo assumed the wide-eyed frightened-deer look once more.

'A birthmark,' he said again. 'At least, that's what my mother thought. It looks like a tattoo, doesn't it?'

'May I see it again?'

Blushing, Naruhodo obligingly raised his uniform. Van Zieks pulled off his left glove and extended his wrist. Naruhodo's mouth fell open as he gazed at the twin marks: a black band intertwined with a deep blue bat. Only very much later, after van Zieks began to study Japanese, would he begin to understand what the band represented.

'What ...? How -'

As if there was a force that attracted the marks to one another, van Zieks couldn't stop himself from touching Naruhodo's skin. The breath that came out of Naruhodo was almost too sharp to be from the touch alone. Van Zieks hastily pulled back and turned away.

'Do you know about soulmarks?'

'I - I've heard of them. Some people say Orihime and Hikoboshi fell in love because they realised they had matching soulmarks.’

Following a brief explanation of the Tanabata festival, van Zieks nodded and said, ‘The phenomenon is well-recorded over the world. But amongst individuals, it remains a rare … condition.’

‘My parents had my - my mark examined by a doctor after I was born because it’s so strange-looking, but they were only told that it was … a birthmark.’

‘To most, soulmarks are only something from fairy tales. Few would think of it as an explanation.’ Van Zieks realised he was unconsciously flexing his fingers and opted to cross his arms instead. ‘But they are real. They seem to be inherited. Every van Zieks has had a soulmark as far as has been recorded.’

A thoughtful frown settled on Naruhodo’s brow. Perhaps it was only in van Zieks’ imagination that Naruhodo’s gaze was directed towards his hand.

‘What does it mean to have a soulmark?’ he asked.

‘Considering what you have told me about the Star Festival, I imagine you already know.’

Naruhodo blushed more deeply than ever, the tips of his ears burning red. It was a few moments before van Zieks could find the words to continue, but perhaps only out of fear of Naruhodo's reply. Perhaps it was because of the legacy of the soulmarks that each van Zieks bore, perhaps the inherent nature of soulmarks, or perhaps even that van Zieks had come to be attached to Naruhodo and only needed realising it; whatever it was, he knew what he wanted to say next, and he knew what it is that he wanted - or hoped - for.

‘I realise that I have done you many injustices,’ van Zieks said, as slowly because he was still finding the words as he was watching Naruhodo’s reaction. 'I was prejudiced against you from the moment we met, although - as I have said to you before - I tried to restrain what I knew to be irrational hostility. You have every right to - to be repulsed by me, or reject me. But allow me to ask you once, now, and if your answer is in the negative, then I will never broach the subject again.'

'Lord van Zieks ...' Naruhodo's words were barely more than breath. He took a step closer, and van Zieks' heart stuttered. 'I - I'm not repulsed by you. I can't claim to understand what you went through, but I know that anyone would suffer the emotional strain of such events. I believe that - that you have a pure heart.'

To hear such words was perhaps even stranger than to see his soulmark on Naruhodo's skin. Van Zieks gazed at him with something like anticipation, nearly trepidation.

Their understanding appeared to be mutual, but van Zieks had to voice his question. 'Would you be interested in pursuing a relationship with me?'

His heart plummeted at the expression that crossed Naruhodo's face. It was neither the delight he hoped for, nor the chagrin that he feared; it was dismay. 'I'm honoured,' he said, 'and I would love to. But - but I am going back to Japan. In 2 days.'

'Ah.' It was all van Zieks could do to rein in his disappointment. In truth, he thought, it was only natural. Ten years ago, he had lost everything, and had become the bitterly cynical Reaper as a result, with no thought or love for anyone. It was only fitting that when he had found someone to trust again, it should all be taken away from him once more. His only sliver of solace was the implication in Naruhodo's answer that his imminent return to Japan was his only reason for refusing.

He suddenly found his ungloved hand clasped between both of Naruhodo's, his face was inches away. There was a new look in his eyes - one that was much more familiar than any of the expressions van Zieks had seen so far that night. It was an expression of resolve.

'I can't accept now,' Naruhodo said. 'But I am sure that this won't be the last time we meet. I hope that, during our next meeting, I will have the leisure to accept - and I pray that we - we won't forget each other until then. I'm sure that the mark we share is a sign that we won't be apart from long.' He squeezed van Zieks' hand. 'After all, it's only by chance that I ended up here, but through that chance, I was able to meet you.'

The warmth of Naruhodo's hands made van Zieks wonder when the last time he had been touched was. The heat seemed to burn him, yet like a moth, he was drawn to the flame. It felt like a long time before he was able to find his voice, but neither Naruhodo's gaze nor his grasp faltered.

'I thank you,' van Zieks said at last. 'I can only hope to be worthy of your prayers.'

Naruhodo smiled, and some of the shyness returned in the colour on his cheeks. 'It's a promise,' he said. 'I don't have much time before I have to go, but perhaps we could ... see each other ... for a little while ... tomorrow.'

The word 'promise' struck a sweet chord within van Zieks. 'If you have no engagements for the morning, I would like to see you for breakfast. I have yet to thank you for your services in defending me.'

'Tomorrow then. I can't wait.'

It was a few moments more before they returned to the main party. They had precious little time together left, but the threat of loss was far overshadowed by the promise of meeting once again, someday in the future.